[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quadrangulum, Welcome to Head-fi. That's a very well written post/ review, which I'm sure many will find quite valuable. I'm always puzzled by how people hear things, differences in ear shapes, tips used and general sound preferences. I'm currently listening to Beethoven's 6th string quartet by the Quatour Vegh recorded in 1973; I'm using the soft grey (shure) tips, and the sound of this oldish recording is breathtaking - the cellos are deep and powerful and clear - I've got only about 5 hrs' burn-in - and mids and highs are incredibly well balanced. The whole thing is such a joy to listen to, I didn't get this level of enjoyment with the W3's, certainly not at the current volume setting I'm using. Earlier listened to Beethoven's piano sonata #29 with Alfred Brendel, another oldish recording, and I also get an exceptional response on all 3 frequencies - what remarkable balance! These not being my ES3X's do an extraordinary job, makes the music so enjoyable. And Elgar's Cello Concerto with Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and the LSO (2005) sounds absolutely terrific with the UM3X's - deep, deep impactful basses, and the orchestra just enveloping the whole 'concert hall', ie great soundstage. I've to say 90% of the classical music I listen to is chamber and piano, a lot of which are recordings from the 70's and 80's I wish you (and others) could try those shure grey tips - at least for me, they're the only ones that really deliver, but I've heard far too often other people not really getting much from them.

I quite agree UM3X will do a great job in classic, instrument separation and timbre is so good. I always got a few tracks of mozart in my players for testing. Even after listening a while, I know it is no doubt better than IE8

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gameboy115 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I quite agree UM3X will do a great job in classic, instrument separation and timbre is so good. I always got a few tracks of mozart in my players for testing. Even after listening a while, I know it is no doubt better than IE8

I haven't heard the IE8's but now onto something heavier (for me) non-classical with the UM3X's:

King Crimson's Level Five from the album The Power to Believe (2003) has some brilliant drumming, DEEP basses, and extraordinary guitar playing. The W3's caused fatigue at louder volumes whereas the UM3X just nails it. Also King Crimson's The talking Drum & Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II from the live album (in Amsterdam 1973) The Nightwatch...well not much more I can add, but these IEM's are worth every penny, excellent sound reproduction - the electric guitar, violin, bass & drums...all instruments clearly defined!

Henry Cow's Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners from the album In Praise of Learning has some of the most intricate and extraordinary, yet musical, drumming I've ever listened to, and all instruments and vocals sound well... again the UM3X simply do this tremendous piece of music justice, not like the ES3X, but not too far from it.

Tool's The Grudge from the album Lateralus sounds definitely better as well on the UM3X's than the W3's - no lower frequencies covering mids and highs - FANTASTIC balance!! Instrument separation is simply superb! Some serious drumming here as well.

And Robert Fripp's Breathless & Disengage from his album Exposure (1978), the W3's NEVER delivered this clarity of sound on this album - the drumming is mad on these pieces and it's absolutely crisp! Basses and guitar are stunning with the UM3X's. Vocals on Disengage are the way they're meant to be - EXCELLENT mids.

 

[Spyro]

Gameboy 115 - I understand

With the non-fatiguing presentation and such a great sound it is very easy to turn the volume way up since the UM3X is so easy on the ears. I guess this isn't a good thing.

Quadrangulum - I also have TFPro's. Great IEM. When talking about the bass, as balanced as TFPro is I still think there is a slight mid hump bass which gives that little bit of forcefulness compared to UM3X. It also seems there is a slight veil on TFPro mid and high but UM3X peels the veil away to my ears.

 

[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I haven't heard the IE8's but now onto something heavier (for me) non-classical with the UM3X's: King Crimson's Level Five from the album The Power to Believe (2003) has some brilliant drumming, DEEP basses, and extraordinary guitar playing. The W3's caused fatigue at louder volumes whereas the UM3X just nails it. Also King Crimson's The talking Drum & Larks' Tongues in Aspic Part II from the live album (in Amsterdam 1973) The Nightwatch...well not much more I can add, but these IEM's are worth every penny, excellent sound reproduction - the electric guitar, violin, bass & drums...all instruments clearly defined! Henry Cow's Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners from the album In Praise of Learning has some of the most intricate and extraordinary, yet musical, drumming I've ever listened to, and all instruments and vocals sound well... again the UM3X simply do this tremendous piece of music justice, not like the ES3X, but not too far from it. Tool's The Grudge from the album Lateralus sounds definitely better as well on the UM3X's than the W3's - no lower frequencies covering mids and highs - FANTASTIC balance!! Instrument separation is simply superb! Some serious drumming here as well. And Robert Fripp's Breathless & Disengage from his album Exposure (1978), the W3's NEVER delivered this clarity of sound on this album - the drumming is mad on these pieces and it's absolutely crisp! Basses and guitar are stunning with the UM3X's. Vocals on Disengage are the way they're meant to be - EXCELLENT mids.

Glad that you have a great impression to UM3X even you have ES3X already. Yea, I cant agree more how good UM3X instrument reproduction is. Violin, guitar sounds never that lively and airy to me. IE8 was good at instrument reprdouction, but it took me like 10 sec to judge UM3X trumped IE8.

One more point I have to mention is UM3X is better to reveal different texture of sound. It is hard to explain. IE8 is carrying its special "veil" around in all specturm( some one said it was like a brother of HD 650), no matter how sound changes, this "veil" is following behind. UM3X is on the other hand, is more natural and clear, easy to let you know texture difference, like raw and rough/ plain/ thin and sharp

Good example you will know what I say when you listen at Naturally 7,a band,all instrument is mimicked by people voice.

Edit: I just found the quantity is very dependent on various tracks. In some heavy bass track, bass extend and impact come close to level of IE8 at min setting, I am not sure to say how close it is now, but it is more than 75% that I mentioned before already. I really feel thumpy and punchy sound going into my ear.

IE8 used to produce punchy bass to some of less bassy track, while UM3X tends to perform light and tight bass, it makes me wonder is that accuracy which westone claims to reproduce the song in that way

 

[lisztian420]

Man,.. these are very nice reviews! I am also enjoying my um3x immensely! SO much that it warrants a upgrade tp UM56 tips. I dunno if you guys read an review between W3 and UM3X by Ed Ng. He stated that both IEMs share more similarity with UM56. So,.. if your wallet isn't screaming and bleeding, maybe it's worth it to get the UM56 tips. This is going to be my next upgrade next week! I probably won't be getting them back until a month later though... But once I have them in my ears, I will post a review

 

[kloan]

Received mine today.

Try #1
--------
Hmm, where's the treble? Hmm.. pretty forward lower mids..... wasn't too impressed initially I must admit. I also had a headache.

Try #2
--------
Gave em another shot after getting home from spending the afternoon in Santa Barbara. Still noticeably forward lower mids. Treble still slightly lacking. Sound growing on me steadily. Noticed they're not fatiguing at all. Listening to various electronic music, the bass is very nice. It extends deep and hits pretty hard. It's a little bit cleaner bass compared to the Triple.Fi, since there's less mid bass.

Then I realized I'm only listening with the Complys. Those have always muted treble for me. So I decided to try the Sony Hybrid mod using the tube from a pair of the Complys. Treble is a bit more pronounced now, however those forward mids have all but disappeared. I think I almost prefer the Complys.... will give some more time with the Sony Hybrids.

I'd like to get a tip kit and try various tips that would normally come with the W3... I think some experimenting with different tips will prove pretty useful with these.

 

[kloan]

HOLY CRAP!!!!

These are keepers!!

I just listened to Dead Can Dance - Host of Seraphin. Sennheiser IE8 and UE Triple.Fi couldn't give me shivers listening to this song, but the UM3X not only succeeded in doing so, but I've never heard this song with such detail before. Her voice sounded so real (whereas with the other two her voice had a tendency to sound more like an instrument during her sustained notes), and the decay is phenomenal.

I'm confident to say my search is over. One day I'd like to get the E3SX, but until then these are definitely keepers.

Listening to some trip hop right now that I couldn't listen to with the other earphone because for some reason it just sounded harsh, either too trebly or lacking midrange, or dirty bass..... man, these UM3X just seem compatible with so much more music than I could play before.

I'm a happy camper!

If there's one area they could be improved, I'd say transparency and soundstage. The Triple.Fi are noticeably more transparent (more separation between instruments). The soundstage I think sounds slightly smaller because of this. But overall, considering all of the other positive aspects of these, I think it's a fair trade off.

-------------------------------------------

Other things to add:

- These are VERY comfortable.
- Cable noise is virtually non-existent.
- A little bit of hiss from iPod Touch v2, but less than IE8 and TFPro 10.
- IMO, the casing is pretty ugly and cheap feeling. As long as they're durable, that's the most important thing. I would have preferred them painted, since the outside shell is clear, a paint on the inside could have looked sweet, but that's ok I guess.

 

[toughnut]

kloan, glad u found your grail. Since u tried both E500 and triple.fi, UM3X sound signature is more skewed toward which IEM?

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFC_SL /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm pleased they kept to the same body as the UM2. Anybody used them with Shure Olives? So I have a reference point

With the UM2 the Shure Olives were my favorites. With the UM3X they reduce the bass too much for my taste....the triflanges sound fantastic to my ears. It was the opposite with the UM2's.

 

[kloan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toughnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif kloan, glad u found your grail. Since u tried both E500 and triple.fi, UM3X sound signature is more skewed toward which IEM?

If I had to choose one, I'd say E500/SE530. The treble reminds me of the rolled off highs of them, while there is more treble with the UM3X (recording dependant), there is a tendency to be slightly rolled off in some recordings (upper mids and high treble).

Mids are very comparable in my opinion, while the Triple.Fi seemed to have veiled mids.

Bass seems better overall to me, going by memory, which is a little difficult since it's been a couple years since I heard them, but definitely closer to the Shure sound than the UE sound.

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilney /img/forum/go_quote.gif My large shure olives arrive today. Wow, those are freaking huge, literally twice as large as my old medium ones. I wonder if there are two version of large olives lulz. Anyway, they sound the best among my tips, very expansive, clear, impactful BUT the isolation sux.

Are they longer or just thicker? I have always used the medium size, which sound somewhat disappointing with my UM3X.

 

[kloan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gilency /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are they longer or just thicker? I have always used the medium size, which sound somewhat disappointing with my UM3X.

Oh no, that sucks... I just ordered some.

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music_4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Quadrangulum, Welcome to Head-fi. That's a very well written post/ review, which I'm sure many will find quite valuable. I'm always puzzled by how people hear things, differences in ear shapes, tips used and general sound preferences. I'm currently listening to Beethoven's 6th string quartet by the Quatour Vegh recorded in 1973; I'm using the soft grey (shure) tips, and the sound of this oldish recording is breathtaking - the cellos are deep and powerful and clear - I've got only about 5 hrs' burn-in - and mids and highs are incredibly well balanced. The whole thing is such a joy to listen to, I didn't get this level of enjoyment with the W3's, certainly not at the current volume setting I'm using. Earlier listened to Beethoven's piano sonata #29 with Alfred Brendel, another oldish recording, and I also get an exceptional response on all 3 frequencies - what remarkable balance! These not being my ES3X's do an extraordinary job, makes the music so enjoyable. And Elgar's Cello Concerto with Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos and the LSO (2005) sounds absolutely terrific with the UM3X's - deep, deep impactful basses, and the orchestra just enveloping the whole 'concert hall', ie great soundstage. And btw, also earlier I listened to some random pieces from Bach's complete organ works, and I think we must be hearing things very differently - again, to these ears the sounds coming out of these little minitors is simply amazing. In these particular pieces the blending of all 3 frequencies is outstanding. I've to say 90% of the classical music I listen to is chamber and piano, a lot of which are recordings from the 70's and 80's I wish you (and others) could try those shure grey tips - at least for me, they're the only ones that really deliver, but I've heard far too often other people not really getting much from them.

Good. We have similar tastes. Brendel sounds great with my UM3X. I listen to a lot of Baroque, but other chamber music and piano solos are up there in my book. Rubenstein playing Chopin is also one of my favorites since I grew up with his LP's played with my fathers old Phillips console....sigh!

 

[toughnut]

Thanks for the comparison, kloan.

 

[kloan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toughnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the comparison, kloan.

Hope it helped. I'm not very good at articulating what I hear...