[lewislink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toughnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif lewislink, i'm eagerly waiting for your verdict on this one. does UM2 replace SA6 as your fav? haha. i'm planning to get one too. does it have good synergy with D2 without amp? btw, i'm not new to head-fi. already lurking in the back for quite sometimes haha

Well, in that case, welcome. I believe it will be revealing how this turns out. I haven't even hooked them up to my D2 yet, they've mostly been confined to my Zunes, sometime without amp and mostly with. I will get around to connecting the UM2s to my D2 and I think I might just go ahead and do it now.

I'm pretty much settled on the "P"s as being the best seal solution to have...for me, anyway. So now I can focus on other aspects of evaluation.

Don't get the SA6 just yet if you are only going to get one set of phones.

 

[toughnut]

i HAD a set of SA6 before returning it. i really love the sound, exactly what i'm searching for but the build quality is a huge decider for me. i cant keep sending it back to another part of the world periodically. i'm from M'sia btw.

UM2 and Atrio are my current option, but UM2 cost twice as much lol. sorry for my wallet

 

[lewislink]

I'm going to keep mine. I love their sound quality and comfort. Just purely outstanding. But I'm going to try to be as careful with them as I possibly can...I usually am careful with all of my stuff, but am going to be extra careful with these SA6.

The UM2 cost $300 but I know of another set of high end canalphones that cost considerably more that don't measure up to these UM2s....heck, I know of several other sets of canalphones that cost more but don't measure up.

 

[lewislink]

These UM2 sound great without an amp hooked to the D2. But oh boy! Do they sound fantastic with an amp!

They have a bit warmer sound but it's fuller and more dynamic.

 

[toughnut]

lewislink, have u tried Atrio M5 before? how it compare to UM2? i missed X10 sales. else, my money will be on it

 

[lewislink]

I've never heard the M5s. I'm really not too interested in a dynamic driver canalphone at that price anyway, even if they do sound awesome according to a number of comments.

The X10 is great but they don't match these UM2s. I don't believe they match the SA6 either. And when I say they don't match the UM2s, I mean there is very little that does match them and I'm going to qualify that comment for purposes of my future statements about the UM2. Keep an eye peeled.

 

[oak3x]

UM2 have wonderful sound and detail...but no soundstage (instrument separation / layers)

Thus I sold them...

Currently own: Livewires, Sleek SA6 and Klipsch X5...all of which I like much better

 

[lewislink]

You must have had a defective set then, because these are the first and only canalphones I've experienced with the most perfect instrument separation and soundstage.

 

[oak3x]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewislink /img/forum/go_quote.gif You must have had a defective set then, because these are the first and only canalphones I've experienced with the most perfect instrument separation and soundstage.

If you own the UM2 and SA6...do a side-by-side comparison, concentrating on Soundstage characteristics...

You will easily see that the SA6 clearly seperates the layers of music...while the UM2 presents all the layers on top of each other. This aspect drove me crazy with the UM2

With the UM2, vocals and guitars are layered on top of each other.

 

[BloodSugar00]

Hmmm, be interesting to see how you clarify your hints that the UM2's are the best option out there lewislink! Looking forward to a more detailed account of your impressions of them!

 

[lewislink]

I did to a comparison and what I heard from the UM2 was amazing at the separation. It was actually *real* separation, as opposed to the mixed separation of all of the others.

One of my tunes had drum cymbals going on where the drummer used whatever that brush type thing is to tap the cymbals and it was on my 9. Guitars and sax were being played and the guitars were on my 10:30 to 11. The sax was on my 2 to 3 o'clock. It was truly amazing at the separation I was hearing. The depth of it all was incredible. They weren't just playing right up to my ears, they were spaced out and had enough distance to liken it to maybe five feet away from me on an actual stage. And each instrument was incredibly clearly defined. I have yet to hear that with any other canalphone including the SA6.

I'm going to have a few words to say in my final analysis when I actually post it, which should be later today.

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oak3x /img/forum/go_quote.gif UM2 have wonderful sound and detail...but no soundstage (instrument separation / layers) Thus I sold them...

Just to clarify and somewhat agree with what you are saying, soundstage to me is an open-ness and depth to the sound presentation. In my IEM world Trip Fi Pro had the largest and ER4 the smallest. I certainly don't think that an IEM MUST have a large soundstage to sound good. In fact some IEM's with large soundstage can be characterized as too laid back or boring (to some people). UM2 was designed as a monitor so it is suppose to have a somewhat closed in feeling...like sitting in the studio versus several rows back. Yet it's NOT clinical or (as some would say) sterile like an Ety. It's very fun and musical and intimate and in your face. I think this soundstage characteristic is the key thing that differentiates the SE530 from the UM2 but it could be open for interpretation which one a person would prefer. That being said, I DO believe there is great instrument separation with UM2 and there should be since they are monitors.

 

[lewislink]

Okay, my final thought on the Westone UM2, what I have appraised of them:

First off, here's my collection of what are considered by me to be "high end":

Shure SE530
Ultimate Ears Triple fi-10 Pro
Klipsch Image X10
Sleek Audio SA6
Etymotic ER4P

And this is the rest of the ones I really dig:

Denon AH-C751
Ultimate Ears Super fi-5 v2
Ultimate Ears Super fi-4
Ultimate Ears Super fi-3
Etymotic HF2
Klipsch Custom-2
Klipsch Custom-1
JBL Reference 220

Now that those canalphones are listed, I'll continue with this statement.

This is the sound I've been looking for. Of all of the canalphones I've purchased to date, these UM2 are finally what I ever expected to hear from a high end canalphone. These are the ones with the dynamic of sound I thought the others would have. The richness and quality of sound is deep and encompassing. It's so very easy to hear the quality of sound in these particular canalphones. It's like a singer who sings a very moving and emotional song well and another who sings the same moving and emotional song with heart. These represent the song sung with heart. They reach way down inside and bring forth music that reaches in and grabs at your heart.

I don't know how to describe it any other way. These are what I have been expecting all along from all the other high dollar, high end acquisitions. The Clarity of sound is actual and not just a sales ploy. Under the cover of the retail package it declares, "Pure Clarity". On the back of the package it says, "Undeniable Range" These claims are fact, from my perspective.

I have never heard a canalphone with such clarity and perfection of audio output before these UM2. The 3 driver this and that of the other high enders claim a lot about them and from a naive perspective, they live up to the claims. But from a person who has heard the true sound of audio perfection...as close so far as I've come...those others are just imitations of the real.

When I hear of multiple drivers in a canalphone I envision being able to hear outstanding separation of instruments, voices and a sound stage that really puts out a whole stage of band members doing their thing. I have heard a lot of goodness in the others but these UM2s really do provide that separation, that quality of genuine soundstage I have been expecting from these other canalphones. It's as though these UM2 have real and genuine engineering in their construction, in the programming of their crossovers and in the build of the drivers. It's like people stayed up late and put in that last bit of strenuous effort to really make something that is real and does what all the others claim they do.

Threse UM2 are the real deal. They are the best there is and there is nothing that matches them in the universal canalphone world. I believe the Shure SE530s come close but they fall short in a few areas. They don't have that deep impact of the midrange, that clarity of overall sound, that amazing instrumental separation that these UM2s have. What Westone has done with two drivers leaves questions about why the others, who use three drivers, can't even match this level of quality.

My goodness! If Westone has done this with a two-driver phone, I can't imagine the awesomeness of their future three-driver phones.

Take it for what you will but that is what I see and hear and feel about these amazing products from Westone. I CANNOT wait to sample the UM3, or Westone 3, as I have heard they will be labeled.

Thank you for your patience in this review. I wanted to make absolutely certain I wasn't having some kind of "good day" or other before posting my findings on these UM2. Sometimes that can happen to me. One day I will find a product just perfect. The next day, not so perfect. But these have stood the test of a few days time and are still as good as I felt.

 

[silverknit3]

I must say, good review mate. I owna pair of UM2's for about 3 months already (man it seems longer than that) but these IEM's still blow me away to this day. I'm amazed. I thought the cable would meet some sort of ill fated death but after beign riped out of my ears froma branch from a tree branch on a bike. These beasts are still i tact and playing some sweet music.
I never realized it but some recordings actually want me to live life as th lead singer. In dirty little secret by all american rejects, I'm placed on the stage as the singer and I hear the band backing me up in the back. It's amazing. Leona Lewis' album sounds like perfection in these IEM's. I've never been moved to tears but i was welling up listening to her singing. It was as if I was hearing her heart being poured out over her songs. You develope this intimacy with the music that you never heard before. On my vocal trance songs, which i believe are the true test of these bad boys, the bass alive and I don't know how to describe bass but I'm a pretty big bass head. These deliver amazing bass with smooth vocals that hardly ever hiss. Factoring in that they never hiss. Wow. I'm simply blown away. I have no prior experience to Shure's SE530 or UE Trip-fi. However, I'm no longer curious as to see what 3 drivrs can do for me. I'm sold on the 2 of Westones.

My only problem was that I listen to them too much. My ear canal is a bit sore from the plastic casing. I'm sure this isnt really a down side, just me being a wimp.

Mods: I decided to experiment a bit. I took a Shure gray silicone sleeve, I cut off a bit of the tubing and put it under the tips I use. The result SEEMS to be a bit less pressure on my ear and the hissing I heard before is practically gone. If you guys want to see what I've done just say so and I'll post up a picture later.

 

[Spyro]

lewislink - Wow. Pretty high praise. I totally agree with you about the clarity thing and it's hard to explain. In some regards SE530 and TFPro have better detail but for pure, natural clarity throughout the whole frequency range, I think UM2 beat them. I definitely prefer them over the TFPros and have them about equal with SE530 because I like the Shure house sound. But straight out on an Ipod, I'm always grabbing the Westones.

Glad you found a great IEM! Thanks for the comprehensive descriptions.

By the way, you should be able to find Westone dealers selling them for $270 versus the $300 standard price.