[Nirmalanow]

I just got a pair of UM56 custom tips from Westone and they have noticeably improved the sound of the UM3X. Before it always seemed like there was a slight veil over the sound, whatever universal tips I used. But with the UM56 the sound just comes alive, especially the treble is boosted but still never harsh.

It seems this gives you a lot of the benefits of custom molding without losing the ability to easily sell your phones someday if your needs/preferences change.

 

[miprasetya]

I got this custom ear canal mold from local hearing aid and it made from soft silicone



It's cost me only around USD 14, I thought the result it would be similar to UM56 tips, and looks like i'm so wrong.
The tips makes mid sounds becomes too forward and the UM3x even more "dry" in every aspect, is there someone could explain why the result is to far from my expectation?thanks (sorry for my english)

 

[tstarn06]

You know, I have UM56s and sometimes, I find myself reaching for the Shure soft flex or other tips. In my case, it's not that the custom sleeves sound bad, but the way they fit with the UM3X start to be annoying, and the comfort level is better with flex or other universal tips. It is starting to bug me. Anyway, my guess is $14 custom sleeves are just not the same, but one obvious difference is the depth with the UM56s, which as they say, "go around the second bend" in your ear canal. The ones here clearly don't. But even so, they should not sound poor. May just be there the sound tube ends, in a sort of "no man's land." Not deep enough, but deeper than a standard silicone or foamie. Not sure.

 

[bakhtiar]

With my 'generic' custome sleeves, IMO, the mid are little bit recessed compared to the modded triple flanges. Did you find the bass much more 'cleaner' ? How do you fit the UM3X's nozzle to the sleeves? Mines are using silicone tubes, before I insert them to the sleeves, as we can see in this picture.

Sound signature/SQ wise, the best tips I ever had for universal IEMs.

Thank you...

 

[lordofbahamut]

I just wonder if klipsch gel tips will fit? I heard they are great but i dunno if they will fit in.

 

[vic225]

klipsch gel will fit, and they are pretty awesome, got the deepest insertion with that tip for me, even deeper than the comply foams

 

[miprasetya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakhtiar /img/forum/go_quote.gif With my 'generic' custome sleeves, IMO, the mid are little bit recessed compared to the modded triple flanges. Did you find the bass much more 'cleaner' ? How do you fit the UM3X's nozzle to the sleeves? Mines are using silicone tubes, before I insert them to the sleeves, as we can see in this picture. Sound signature/SQ wise, the best tips I ever had for universal IEMs. Thank you...

I prefer using "dry" words reverse from "airy ", if only bass sound maybe I don't mind to use it, but I feel same thing with others sound.
The tips hole directly insert to nozzle

 

[Eternum]

Received my UM3X yesterday. When I connect them to Sansa Fuze and turn player on, I hear light background hissing sound, which does not depend on volume level. All previous earphones I used with Sansa (Phonak PFE, Atrio M5, SoundMagic PL-30, Sansa stock) were dead quiet. I wonder if this is normal with UM3X or it indicates that I have potentially defective set?

 

[Bilavideo]

It could mean you're hearing things you didn't hear before. Guess what Dolby Labs did to eliminate tape hiss.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eternum /img/forum/go_quote.gif Received my UM3X yesterday. When I connect them to Sansa Fuze and turn player on, I hear light background hissing sound, which does not depend on volume level. All previous earphones I used with Sansa (Phonak PFE, Atrio M5, SoundMagic PL-30, Sansa stock) were dead quiet. I wonder if this is normal with UM3X or it indicates that I have potentially defective set?

W3, UM3X and ES3X do tend to reveal hiss in an amp or source that previously did not show hiss, in part because of their very high sensitivity (more than the low impedance which is also a factor).

You could get a small amp like iBasso T3 or T4 to put between the Sansa and the UM3X, and it will take care of the hiss because the Sansa will hiss less with the high impedance amp input vs the low impedance earphone. Or, you could get a Westone volume attenuator and turn the volume knob on the attenuator down a very slight bit until the hiss goes away (I think the Westone has a little less impact on the sound than the Shure).

I find the AMP3 and ALO Amphora also hisses a lot with Westone and Livewires, but not so much with the JH13Pro and UE11Pro, and even less with Phonak, IE8, RE252, NE-7M, Denon C700 etc...

 

[Eternum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bilavideo /img/forum/go_quote.gif It could mean you're hearing things you didn't hear before. Guess what Dolby Labs did to eliminate tape hiss.

This is not tape hiss type of things. I hear hiss when player is on but no music is playing.

 

[Hsiu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif W3, UM3X and ES3X do tend to reveal hiss in an amp or source that previously did not show hiss, in part because of their very high sensitivity (more than the low impedance which is also a factor). You could get a small amp like iBasso T3 or T4 to put between the Sansa and the UM3X, and it will take care of the hiss because the Sansa will hiss less with the high impedance amp input vs the low impedance earphone. Or, you could get a Westone volume attenuator and turn the volume knob on the attenuator down a very slight bit until the hiss goes away (I think the Westone has a little less impact on the sound than the Shure). I find the AMP3 and ALO Amphora also hisses a lot with Westone and Livewires, but not so much with the JH13Pro and UE11Pro, and even less with Phonak, IE8, RE252, NE-7M, Denon C700 etc...

I know Clip+ and 5800xm has no hiss with UM3X, iBasso T3 has hiss when sound turn loud enough but it just improve the sound good enough that I can ignore these minor hiss.

Thanks to the super sensitivity, I have hard time decide on other MP3 player that I worry about the hiss

 

[pomme de terre]

Luckily, it doesnt hiss on my Touch 2G. There is some hissing out of the 1G Shuffle though.

So some of you may remember that many pages back I wasnt satisfied by the UM3X's sound, mainly saying that it didnt sound clear or crisp enough. Its been a month later and I guess I just got used to the sound. Im now finding the long Comply foams work best for me. The isolation is pretty amazing with them, and the longer tube seems to bring out the sound better. The Shure soft flex just didnt work for me (and actually came off the phone on several occasions when taking them off). Maybe now I should get the UM56...

 

[Nirmalanow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pomme de terre /img/forum/go_quote.gif Luckily, it doesnt hiss on my Touch 2G. There is some hissing out of the 1G Shuffle though. So some of you may remember that many pages back I wasnt satisfied by the UM3X's sound, mainly saying that it didnt sound clear or crisp enough. Its been a month later and I guess I just got used to the sound. Im now finding the long Comply foams work best for me. The isolation is pretty amazing with them, and the longer tube seems to bring out the sound better. The Shure soft flex just didnt work for me (and actually came off the phone on several occasions when taking them off). Maybe now I should get the UM56...

If you want just enough more cripsness and clarity to bring the UM3X alive, then the UM56 is definitely worth considering. Not only does it bring the treble more alive but it also adds clarity throughout the spectrum. The only thing I still did not like was the small soundstage, but I may have found an inexpensive solution (a crossfeed adaptor) as described here:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f21/ni...operly-457220/

Edit: I have now noticed a slight blurring of the sound with the crossfeed which I have added a mention of to the thread about it. I haven't decided if the added space is worth the loss of sharpness.

 

[Bilavideo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eternum /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is not tape hiss type of things. I hear hiss when player is on but no music is playing.

I know that. We're not talking about a tape player. We're talking about hiss. My point is that Dolby Labs had a similar issue with tape hiss. It's an issue of impedence and sensitivity. The UM3X picks up more than a lot of cheaper earphones. If it's out there, the UM3X is more likely to reveal it. This is where a better pair of earphones will bring out the imperfections in the rest of your setup. Grado went through this with their GS-1000 where the salad bowl cushions not only widened the soundstage but shifted the center frequency. On a Melos amp, they were terrific - just what the doctor ordered - but on cheaper amps, everything sounded a little too sweet. There's a running debate over whether the fault is in Grado, for designing his cans that way, or with those whose equipment didn't measure up. I, myself, was critical of the GS1k until I tried them on my M^3, which brought out sound I had no idea was there. On the M^3 with the variable bass turned up, the GS1k needed that extra bit of HF extension to keep the bass from burying the soundstage. As someone suggested above, maybe it's time to look at what you're using as a headphone amp.