[gilency]

No. The W3 is not being replaced, but it is geared to consumers. The UM3x is supposed to be more for stage musicians, etc. The problem is that they elaborate who are they made for, but not much in their characteristics and differences at more detail. I read all there is to be read about the 2 and I am not yet sure what the main differences may be.

 

[NAUTIKOS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaoDi /img/forum/go_quote.gif I asked westone the other day, they said they share the Same Drivers. Not sure if they have the same sound signature though

I stand corrected, and so does the wise man.

<--- this is westone drinkin up after all these preorders....... but then again maodi, i could be wrong.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward Ng /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know if enough people would have all access to all three (Westone 3 IEM, Westone UMX3 IEM and Westone UM56 tips) to actually test and provide meaningful poll results (there may only be a small handfull of legitimate, good responses and the rest from people just guessing without actually trying with their own ears). -Ed

I wont, but I will have had the W3 up till the point of selling them oh and I also have UM56, i'm getting these to see if I would maybe like ES3X as the ultimate goal for m is to buy them, but would like to see what sig they have and if I prefer to W3.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif So what would you say is the main characteristic(s) of that house sound? Transparent and natural ???

Well the UM2 isn't very transparent. But it does get tone more right than wrong, and that I think is the biggest characteristic of the Westone sound: everything that I've heard so far has had a very good and natural tone, together with a fairly fluid sound with good dynamic range, and slightly bumped up mids to sound fuller in general. The W3 of course if fitted wrong can have all sorts of nasty colorations so it only fits into the sound signature if it's fitted well.

 

[Spyro]

The biggest problem with UM3X reviews in comparision with W3 is that there is so little consistency with what people hear with W3 due to the fit issues. There seems to be comprimises across the board except for a select few that are probably hearing them the way they are suppose to be heard.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif The biggest problem with UM3X reviews in comparision with W3 is that there is so little consistency with what people hear with W3 due to the fit issues. There seems to be comprimises across the board except for a select few that are probably hearing them the way they are suppose to be heard.

Excellent observation!

I didn't know if I'd have fallen into that select few category you mention, but when I had my W3's I tried all tips and within minutes found the large grey silicon tips did the trick for me perfectly without pushing them too far into my ears but still getting great isolation. I now have the ES3X which are a different beast altogether, but if I were to buy the new UM3X's I'd be wanting to use those same tips I used with my W3.

Unfortunately, Westone don't sell these tips separately at the moment and you'd have to get what they call a Fit Kit which includes an earpiece-cleaning tool and the price is $24.99. I believe, though, the grey silicone tips are the same as the Shure soft grey silicone tips which can be bought separately directly from Shure, Amazon & eBay.

 

[Spyro]

Yea, I can't believe it took me this long to figure the soft flex tips out. It just sounds "right". Full sound but not overwhelming bass. Very detailed treble but no siblance...I'm thrilled to use an IEM without having to use a foamie of some sort.
So for the people that do W3/UM3X comparisons, they should probably note whether or not they think they hit that sweet spot with W3 which is really tough to beat SQ wise.

 

[Spyro]

I'm sure they will sound great but one thing that makes me leary is how close will they sound to ES3X?

Consider this. UM2 is a universal ES2 but ES2 is still a significant step up from UM2. With UM3X, again, using this same housing....can it possible get close to ES3X?

Ahh....the wait.....

 

[MaloS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm sure they will sound great but one thing that makes me leary is how close will they sound to ES3X? Consider this. UM2 is a universal ES2 but ES2 is still a significant step up from UM2. With UM3X, again, using this same housing....can it possible get close to ES3X? Ahh....the wait.....

You should satisfy yourself with an answer that makes sense from statisticaly/engneering points of view: No, UM3X won't be close to ES3X. You can hope for more of a hint at ES3X sound, assuming we can observe same parallels as between UM2 and ES2.

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif You should satisfy yourself with an answer that makes sense from statisticaly/engneering points of view: No, UM3X won't be close to ES3X. You can hope for more of a hint at ES3X sound, assuming we can observe same parallels as between UM2 and ES2.

I agree, and would also add that it would be very odd to have a very similar sounding universal IEM to their flagship custom IEM and costing less than half the price.

I wonder, though, if I didn't have the ES3X's how the UM3X would sound now that I know that, at least for me, ONLY the soft silicone tips did the trick for me with the W3's. I know I just couldn't use any other tips as I found them very uncomfortable and didn't get the right sound out of them either.

So, I wonder if it wouldn't have been wiser for Westone to include the same tips they provided with the W3, or perhaps being designed for musicians the UM3X are not intended to be used with the soft silicone tips as they may alter the sound in a negative way. In that case there may still be a strong case for the W3, for those, like me, who got the best sound from the grey tips.

I know, I know, it's all speculation at this stage.

 

[gilency]

I received this email today:

Thank you for contacting us.
Yes, we have received the W3 and the return has been processed. We have applied the credit to your UM3X pre-order.
We have just received our UM3X demo today and I have to say it is fenomenal
Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions
Thank you,
Adriana Q
EarphoneSolutions.com
MicrophoneSolutions.com
Divisions of FMASolutions.com

So earphone solutions has a UM3X in their posession, but there is no review yet in their site,

 

[bakhtiar]

Phenomenal ? Very tempting word...

 

[DeadpoolRJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakhtiar /img/forum/go_quote.gif Phenomenal ? Very tempting word...

I have to agree with you, man. That certainly is a tempting word, now I want it(the UM3X).

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yea, I can't believe it took me this long to figure the soft flex tips out. It just sounds "right". Full sound but not overwhelming bass. Very detailed treble but no siblance...

That's the W3 sound that I've been banging on about ever since I got the fit right. IME if there is excessive sibilance and bloated bass, then the fit is not right. A well-fitting W3 should be very non-sibilant and should be very well balanced top to bottom, with only a slight bump in the mids.

 

[syed786]

well i preorder mines today from earphonesolution with rebate30 i got 30 dollars off