thestumper
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
- Posts
- 49
- Likes
- 0
I've had my UM1's for about a week, so I thought I'd give my initial impressions for those who might be on the fence regarding this particular IEM. I'm no expert, and my only basis for comparison is the Shure E2C, so take it for what its worth (stock buds and Sony ex51's don't count...). My source components are an iPod 5G and a Nano (wifes).
Packaging: Very nice package. More than necessary actually; the box ws quite large. Included phones, case, manual, Comply tips (2 short, 2 long), cleaning tool.
Build Quality: Very good. Not as heavy-duty as the Shure E2C's, but they're almost overkill. The cord is EXCELLENT on these. Strong but very flexible. Its only been a week, but they do seem nicely built.
Comfort: With the large comply tips, superb. It might be my favorite feature at this point. One of the reasons that I wanted to try something other than the E2C's was the simple fact that the Shure's would start to bother me after about an hour in my ear. I find the Comply tips extremely comfortable, but they are not without issue...
Seal: Up until yesterday, I had a hard time getting a good seal. The small tips are virtually useless for me. Even the large ones were giving me fits. Apparently I've found a way to wedge them in and get a good seal now, and we'll see if that lasts. Its really tight at the moment. Note that I don't blame Westone for this; my right ear canal is oversized due to surgery years ago. I could always get a nice tight seal with the Shure medium plastic tips (not the foamies), and the rumor is that you can use some of the Shure tips (e3, e4, e5) with the Westones. This might solve the seal problem, but exacerbate the comfort issue.
Sound: Like others here have said, they are a "fun" IEM. You do sacrifice some detail with these, but the upside is that for me, they never sound harsh. Detail is in the eye of the beholder; what passes as detailed for some might be considered shrill by others. The UM1 does have detail, but its not analytical. Overall its a very warm sound. I would have to say that the Shure E2C is more analytical in comparison.
- Bass is very good; better than I expected. Close to that of the E2C, but a better balance. Nice and tight, and extends deep enough for my jazz collection, as well as the classical stuff I like. The Shure's were a little TOO much in the bass department.
- Mids are a littel more compressed/congested than what I'm used to, but still good. Shure's seem a littel more open, but it comes back to that balance issue: the UM1's never get fatiguing for me, where as the Shure's bug me after a while.
- Highs are rolled off in the upper frequencies; I knew this going in. I had the same issues with E2C's but again, the Westones seem to balance everything out better. They're never grating or harsh on the high end; just a little lacking. Smooth.
Overall, a very clean sound with the tradeoffs you would expect with a single-driver IEM. I think its a great compromise; if you want to just enjoy the music, they have a great sound and are easy to listen to. If you want to analyze every pice of music you own, look elsewhere. They do respond pretty well to EQ; I found that while the "Jazz" setting on my 5G was a bit much in terms of base, the "Acoustic" setting seemed to improve things across the board. In general, I try to avoid EQ, but for testing, I found it to make a noticeable enough difference to at least mention.
Value: For the money, they're tought to beat. Well made, great sound (for the non super-critical listener) and reasonably priced. I bought mine direct from Westone, but would recommend earphone solutions as well (I'll explain later...)
Niggles: The comply tips are expensive. Assuming I have solved the seal issue, I fear that the large complys still wont last long enough to make it economical. If I switch to a flange/rubber type tip, I worry I'll loose the comfort. I know I'm a cheap SOB, but at $10.00 for three pair, I figure I'll be putting 80-100 bucks a year into tips. Too much, IMHO, but they are comfy...
Verdict: I like them a lot for what they are, but I was tempted by the SuperFi 5 Pro's. I don't have them yet, but at $150 (w/rebate) I couldn't resist. I surmise from what I've read here that the 5's will stomp the UM1's across the board. No, its not really a fair comparison, but for $50.00 more, I will likely end up keeping the super Fi's if they perform as advertised. Westone offers a 30-day money back guarantee, and thats why I ordered direct. HOWEVER, in their intended market, the UM1's are excellent. Don't misunderstand: against E2C's and similar lower end models, I think they'll excel. They represent a superb first step into high-end IEM's. If the SuperFi 5's don't blow me away, I may very well keep them; 50 bucks is 50 bucks, and they're so easy to listen to...
Packaging: Very nice package. More than necessary actually; the box ws quite large. Included phones, case, manual, Comply tips (2 short, 2 long), cleaning tool.
Build Quality: Very good. Not as heavy-duty as the Shure E2C's, but they're almost overkill. The cord is EXCELLENT on these. Strong but very flexible. Its only been a week, but they do seem nicely built.
Comfort: With the large comply tips, superb. It might be my favorite feature at this point. One of the reasons that I wanted to try something other than the E2C's was the simple fact that the Shure's would start to bother me after about an hour in my ear. I find the Comply tips extremely comfortable, but they are not without issue...
Seal: Up until yesterday, I had a hard time getting a good seal. The small tips are virtually useless for me. Even the large ones were giving me fits. Apparently I've found a way to wedge them in and get a good seal now, and we'll see if that lasts. Its really tight at the moment. Note that I don't blame Westone for this; my right ear canal is oversized due to surgery years ago. I could always get a nice tight seal with the Shure medium plastic tips (not the foamies), and the rumor is that you can use some of the Shure tips (e3, e4, e5) with the Westones. This might solve the seal problem, but exacerbate the comfort issue.
Sound: Like others here have said, they are a "fun" IEM. You do sacrifice some detail with these, but the upside is that for me, they never sound harsh. Detail is in the eye of the beholder; what passes as detailed for some might be considered shrill by others. The UM1 does have detail, but its not analytical. Overall its a very warm sound. I would have to say that the Shure E2C is more analytical in comparison.
- Bass is very good; better than I expected. Close to that of the E2C, but a better balance. Nice and tight, and extends deep enough for my jazz collection, as well as the classical stuff I like. The Shure's were a little TOO much in the bass department.
- Mids are a littel more compressed/congested than what I'm used to, but still good. Shure's seem a littel more open, but it comes back to that balance issue: the UM1's never get fatiguing for me, where as the Shure's bug me after a while.
- Highs are rolled off in the upper frequencies; I knew this going in. I had the same issues with E2C's but again, the Westones seem to balance everything out better. They're never grating or harsh on the high end; just a little lacking. Smooth.
Overall, a very clean sound with the tradeoffs you would expect with a single-driver IEM. I think its a great compromise; if you want to just enjoy the music, they have a great sound and are easy to listen to. If you want to analyze every pice of music you own, look elsewhere. They do respond pretty well to EQ; I found that while the "Jazz" setting on my 5G was a bit much in terms of base, the "Acoustic" setting seemed to improve things across the board. In general, I try to avoid EQ, but for testing, I found it to make a noticeable enough difference to at least mention.
Value: For the money, they're tought to beat. Well made, great sound (for the non super-critical listener) and reasonably priced. I bought mine direct from Westone, but would recommend earphone solutions as well (I'll explain later...)
Niggles: The comply tips are expensive. Assuming I have solved the seal issue, I fear that the large complys still wont last long enough to make it economical. If I switch to a flange/rubber type tip, I worry I'll loose the comfort. I know I'm a cheap SOB, but at $10.00 for three pair, I figure I'll be putting 80-100 bucks a year into tips. Too much, IMHO, but they are comfy...
Verdict: I like them a lot for what they are, but I was tempted by the SuperFi 5 Pro's. I don't have them yet, but at $150 (w/rebate) I couldn't resist. I surmise from what I've read here that the 5's will stomp the UM1's across the board. No, its not really a fair comparison, but for $50.00 more, I will likely end up keeping the super Fi's if they perform as advertised. Westone offers a 30-day money back guarantee, and thats why I ordered direct. HOWEVER, in their intended market, the UM1's are excellent. Don't misunderstand: against E2C's and similar lower end models, I think they'll excel. They represent a superb first step into high-end IEM's. If the SuperFi 5's don't blow me away, I may very well keep them; 50 bucks is 50 bucks, and they're so easy to listen to...
