[twylight]

I would assume they are top notch, i didnt inquire about them at the doc when I was there.

 

[FYJX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigon_ridge /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here, in the US, the ES3X is around $850. Are you not considering it to be top notch material?

There's also a new contender, called the JH|10X3PRO from JH Audio at $799

 

[No Deal]

I am not the first one to question whether or not the added cost of customs is really worth iit for the difference in sound quality. Are we still talking about a 10% improvement with the move to customs for hundreds of dollars more? I would suggest that the UM56 upgrade gets you more improvement for less.

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by No Deal /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not the first one to question whether or not the added cost of customs is really worth iit for the difference in sound quality. Are we still talking about a 10% improvement with the move to customs for hundreds of dollars more? I would suggest that the UM56 upgrade gets you more improvement for less.

It might be a little more than 10% but you are generally correct. Personally I find UM3X to sound outstanding with the supplied complys and have no desire to get UM56. But to others, price is no object for even a small improvement. They just have to have it.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif It might be a little more than 10% but you are generally correct. Personally I find UM3X to sound outstanding with the supplied complys and have no desire to get UM56. But to others, price is no object for even a small improvement. They just have to have it.

An interesting inquiry would be whether or not a 10% increase in technical performance really translate to 10%, more or less, increase in enjoyment for certain genres and listening preferences.

 

[charpi]

Hi, I'm sorry if this question has been asked before, I was at this thread from the beginning, then the JH13 thread enticed me away, and now I'm back here lol.

Have anyone, instead of getting custom tips, go for custom remolding instead? I mean like if I don't plan to sell them away or something then would remolding be a better option then UM56 tips?

Have anyone tried the remolding services of null audio or Unique Melody (I know null audio outsources to UM), any impressions?(much better I perhaps, I hope). I wonder if it gives you a cheap ES3X, since westone said that the crossovers and etc are the same as ES3X and I guess the difference is in the custom molds(I might be wrong here, I'm not sure).

Anyway here's the site:
3 Driver IEM Remolding Service (SE530,TF10Pro, Westone3/UM3X etc [3DCustom] - $179.00 : Null Audio Studio, Where everything is purely handmade

Thanks guys for your help

 

[tigon_ridge]

$179 is pretty inexpensive. This site only offers $30 cable. Cabling is a critical component and I don't know if a $30 is capable of measuring up to performance of high end custom cables. However, this leaves you with the option of getting a really good (and really expensive) aftermarket cable... such as from Crystal Cables. Depending on the reliability of this company's service, it may or may not be worth it to me. Have we heard much about these people? I wouldn't risk it to let an unreliable source crack open my expensive universals, only to fail to produce customs that fits and isolates well within a reasonable number of attempts. Shipping back and forward, waiting for weeks, does not sound like music enjoyment.

 

[raisin]

I don't think the savings warrant sending brand-new IEM's south of the border for reassembling. On the other hand, i have a practically brand-new pair of broken TF's that i might risk sending out to be transmorgrified into a working custom headset.

In the meantime i've ordered a pair of the UM3x's (that sale was way inviting) to while away the time untill i make that decision...

 

[Bilavideo]

I don't mean to commit heresy but I've already got a bad sunburn so getting burned at the stake can't get much worse. (D--- you, Florida sun and your flour-white beaches!)

The only part of custom fitting that actually matters is the part you put into your ear canal. The very reason the universals can get away with differing design shells is that it's the ear canal that matters, not the outer ear. With the right foamy, you get closure, which is what you need to seal in the bass. The downside, for HF freaks, is that the same foam that closes up the earhole also soaks up treble, muffling it a bit. That's not all bad. Most monitors are equipped with filters to attenuate HF. What's more, the drivers themselves are designed to produce an HF roll-off. If you look at available frequency response graphs, you'll see an HF roll-off in every monitor that releases its graphs. That's not a design defect. It's intentional. The people who make balanced armatures are used to making them for hearing aids. Nothing is less euphonic than a high-pitched screech right into the brain. Because of driver proximity, a lack of dispersion and the echoey characteristics of the ear canal, it's good business to attenuate HF, which is what driver manufacturers have been doing for some time. Even then, the wild chatter that comes out of an undamped driver is still a bit harsh, which is why it's normal to outfit them with filters, with different color schemes corresponding to different ohms of resistance.

In conducting my own cottage experiments with drivers, I found that driver placement also has an effect on the sound signature. Just as you can adjust a pair of on-ear headphones and get different effects, you can do the same with the drivers. I purchased a pair of TWFK dual drivers from Knowles Acoustics, and matched them with a pair of CI-22955s, wired them up and put them right into a pair of foamies, to create homemade triples. Even without filters or a dedicated crossover, I found that placement had a pretty big effect on presentation. Some fits were too harsh. Some were too muted. Once I found my sweet spot, I was in sonic bliss.

They're doubling the prices of these monitors because the housing is tailor fit. But 90% of that fit is for the outer ear. It's the last 10% that really matters and that last 10% can be modified to fit any canal, which is why Westone is making $56 per custom tip. And what is this custom tip? It's an acrylic version of a foamy. Does it sound better? Everybody who has had one says yes. Are they lying? Are they under hypnosis? No. They hear a difference. What is that difference? It's the difference between hard acrylic and a soft foamy. The hard acrylic doesn't soak up the HF. If anything, it bounces it forward.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Even a UM3X with UM56 custom vinyl tip doesn't sound as open and spacious and transparent as the ES3X, although it is still a big step above the Complys foamies.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Even a UM3X with UM56 custom vinyl tip doesn't sound as open and spacious and transparent as the ES3X, although it is still a big step above the Complys foamies.

btw what amps might you recommend with the um3?

 

[gameboy115]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif btw what amps might you recommend with the um3?

Quick question, just wonder why don't you go for W3 instead, since it has better bass and soundstage which similar to SE 530

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif btw what amps might you recommend with the um3?

I have only tried the UM3X with iMod/P-51 and iPhone 3G headphone out. I would likely pick amps like the P-51, iBasso D10 (stock or rolled opamps), Pico or Predator, with my close second tier choices being the iBasso D3 and D2, or an XM5 with less forward opamps like AD8065. I suspect the 3MOVE would sound a little too forward, and the Vivid V1 or Nuforce Icon might be too bright or forward or both - but without trying those I can't say for sure.

 

[bakhtiar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif btw what amps might you recommend with the um3?

Please consider the iBasso D10. You can change the sound signature by opamp rolling. It as a very nice DAC and flexible too.

 

[talisman42]

In your opinion:

W3+UM56 or UM3X+Olive (cost not a factor)