[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

^^ HeadphoneAddict, I believe you've found your different generation iPhones to be pretty good mp3 players and, if I remember correctly, better than your Nanos. Or perhaps that was only when compared with your 4G & 5G Nanos?
 
edz81, I owned two 160GB iPod Classics (6G & 7G) and sold them and got the (now discontinued) 32GB Sony NWZ-X1061 and recently the 64GB Sony NWZ-A847. Even though I did sacrifice storage capacity & lack of gap-less playback (I have a lot of live recordings), both Sony DAP's SQ and excellent 5-band EQ with 2 custom presets were well worth it. I have to say I hardly ever use EQ but when I do, the Sony's EQ is excellent, no distortion whatsoever.
 
I will say, however, that the SQ difference between the iPod Classics & the 2 Sony DAPs was not as big ("night and day"/ "the Sony blows the Classic out of the water") as some Sony enthusiasts have claimed, but the SQ on the Sonys - with all sound enhancements off - was still good enough for me to sacrifice the features I mentioned above. Also note that you do get noticeable hiss with the (now discontinued) Sony X models, but significantly less so with the A847. I also still own 2 Nanos (4G & 5G) and found very similar SQ differences between them and my 2 Sony DAPs.
 
Also, I don't think an amp is necessary with the UM3X, which are very easy to drive - I did own the very expensive RSA P-51 Mustang amp & the less expensive Nuforce Icon Mobile amp and noticed absolutely no SQ improvement with them and iPod Classic via line-out.
 
I get great sound using 192kbps AAC files, BTW, no real difference in SQ between 192 AAC, WAV or FLAC. Same when using my $850 ES3X customs or new $450 W4s. I suggest you do your research and read up quite a bit. You will find that people will often exaggerate the qualities of a particular piece of gear, so from reading some overly-hyped descriptions you may end up with pretty high unrealistic expectations.

I was having trouble posting that night, and half my post is missing!  Weird.  I went on to say that I didn't know what generation iPhone he was using but that I thought the 3G, 3GS and 4 all sounded pretty good compared to the original or to my Nanos.  If he didn't like his iPhone, I said adding a Pico Slim via LOD adds depth, space, air, power, bass extension, and transparency to the music with UM3X.  Even with my iPhone 4 it's unmistakeable.  
 
I don't agree with you that there is "absolutely no SQ improvement" between an iPod classic headphone out and using a amp via LOD.  My HM-801 and 602 sound a bit better than my Nano or iPhone, but adding the Pico Slim via LOD brings the iPods much closer in performance.  Yet, I still enjoy an un-amped 6G Nano and iPhone 4, and only use an amp about 30-40% of the time.  It's not mandatory, but I enjoy the improvement with an amp.
 
As for your comments about "no real difference in SQ" between lossy and lossless music, I disagree to some extent - in my case I can enjoy compressed lossy music but I can indeed hear an increase in micro detail, air/ambience and transparency with lossless music.  But I find it's easier to hear the differences with better gear, and right out of the headphone jack of the iPod it's harder to hear compression artifacts.  Half the music on my iphone is 192-320K files, and half is lossless ALAC CD rips or lossless conversions down from 24/96 downloads, and I enjoy all of it without always "needing" an amp.   I do need to use an amp and LOD to get the most out of the lossless music, although I don't like to do critical listening when I just want to enjoy the music on the go.  I actually rip all my CD's in lossless and make a second lower bit-rate copy for the iPods, putting them in separate playlists.  This way I can choose whether I want the 256K version or the ALAC version to sync.
 
But when I last sat down and listened to a Pat Metheny album in 256K out of my Perfectwave DAC > Woo WES > Stax O2 Mk1 it sounded lifeless and grainy, while the lossless version was much better.  Blutarsky was there and commented about about this when he was listening, and I was thinking the same thing.  Back then I couldn't tell which version I was playing with the PS Audio Bridge off my network music server because I could only view by artist or album, not by iTunes playlist.  I've since given different album names to different bit-rate/sample-rate files, so multiple copies of one album show up in the music software as different albums now.
 

 

[music_4321]

 
Quote:

I was having trouble posting that night, and half my post is missing!  Weird.

 

 
As for the rest of your post above, I'm pretty sure I'd be able to hear some/ most of those differences you hear, and for the most part would likely agree with your assessments. I only wish other people were a little more measured in their posts, specially when directly telling other (new) members to get new gear, change bit-rate/ use lossless files, and so on.
 

 

[martinqiao7]

what u meant was http://www.audiovengeance.biz/, which is the correct link from westonemusicproducts.com?

Quote:

www.audiovengeance.com

i contacted via Email and i proposed $300.00 US max

and he accepted

(more 12,95 shipping France)

Clint seller very friendly

you can try & good luck

 

 

[CaptainFlam]

you're right
 
it's    http://www.audiovengeance.biz
 
 
Sorry for  mistake 

 

[Feynman]

I want to buy a new pair of headphones and was thinking about the ortofon e-q5 but these seem very interesting as well. Do they work with normal tips and not the comply ones, because I don't have a very good experience with those....

 

[Rmccullo]

Quote:

I want to buy a new pair of headphones and was thinking about the ortofon e-q5 but these seem very interesting as well. Do they work with normal tips and not the comply ones, because I don't have a very good experience with those....

They work very well with the modded shure bi-flanges and shure olives. 

 
 

 

[Rmccullo]

I wouldn't even use the comply's with the um3x.  The only time the um3x sounds muddy is with the comply's

 
Quote:

I want to buy a new pair of headphones and was thinking about the ortofon e-q5 but these seem very interesting as well. Do they work with normal tips and not the comply ones, because I don't have a very good experience with those....

 

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

I want to buy a new pair of headphones and was thinking about the ortofon e-q5 but these seem very interesting as well. Do they work with normal tips and not the comply ones, because I don't have a very good experience with those....

The original, fixed cable UM3X (April 2010), only came with 3-4 pairs of Comply tips. Don't know if that's still the case.
 
The more recent UM3X RC (with Removable Cables) comes with 3 or 4 sets of Complys, 2 types of single-flange tips (3 pairs for each type) and a pair of triple flange tips. So, altogether you get 10 or 11 sets of tips. With the Removable Cable UM3X - unlike the original fixed cable version - you also get a 1/4" to 1/8" jack/plug and an in-line volume adaptor. Can't remember right now if you also got a wax removal tool with the fixed cable UM3X, but you do get one with the UM3X RC.

 

[lescanard]

I've been greatly enjoying my UM3X's for several months. The only other decent IEMs I owned were Shure SE420s, which I found rather underwhelming and sold. They were very thin IMO, simply not my cup of tea. I had thought IEMs just were not for me, finally took a chance on the UM3Xs and am so glad I did - these are incredibly involving and detailed, and the bass is perfect for my ears, they remind me a bit of my full size Beyers.

Anyway, I finally decided if I were investing this much in these, I would get the UM56 custom tips as well. Got impressions and ordered the otoblast. When they arrived - I had a very rough time getting the right one in (really tough) and the left did not fit at all and they took another impression of the left ear and re-ordered that one. After another few weeks, the new left arrived. I've had them for a few days and absolutely think they make a huge difference for me, a great seal, bass, and mids are greatly improved to me. They are a huge upgrade from the soft greys that were my previous tip of choice. My one concern is that the right one is still quite a struggle to get in. After some serious fiddling, I can finally get a good seal, but it can sometimes take a minute or more to get it right. I have no pain, but it's much harder to get in than the left. I have some time to get another one made, the audiologist said I can request another and ask it to be made a bit thinner, however I worry that it would then not give me a proper seal. If I have a new one made, I'm required to send the old one back and I don't want to trade one problem for another. Any opinions on this for those who have had fit issues with the UM56 tips? Thanks.

 

[Rmccullo]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Feynman linkI want to buy a new pair of headphones and was thinking about the ortofon e-q5 but these seem very interesting as well. Do they work with normal tips and not the comply ones, because I don't have a very good experience with those....



The original, fixed cable UM3X (April 2010), only came with 3-4 pairs of Comply tips. Don't know if that's still the case.

The more recent UM3X RC (with Removable Cables) comes with 3 or 4 sets of Complys, 2 types of single-flange tips (3 pairs for each type) and a pair of triple flange tips. So, altogether you get 10 or 11 sets of tips. With the Removable Cable UM3X - unlike the original fixed cable version - you also get a 1/4" to 1/8" jack/plug and an in-line volume adaptor. Can't remember right now if you also got a wax removal tool with the fixed cable UM3X, but you do get one with the UM3X RC.

I have the hard wired one and it came with a wax removal tool

 

[Stevtt]

My right one is a little harder to get in than the left and usually takes a slight twist to get past the outer part of the ear.

 

[nico_g]

Hello,
I just would like to share my new experience with Westone IEMs :
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/540617/questions-for-westone-um3-x-3-or-4-owners#post_7348387
I finally choose the UM3-X, against W4 and W3 (caming from Shure SE-530).
 

 

[matto]

I finally got to hear these about 4 days ago, must say was impressed and now really regretting getting the MD's, I found the bass to be just right and when listening to really complex songs the seperation came through and didn't sound muffled 1 bit! the mids was also great and while the highs were lacking the sparkle it didn't really bother me and when listening to these then TF10s I start to notice the sibliance issues people reported with the TF10s that I never really paid attention to till after hearing the um3x. If I can't get the ex1000 for a good price then these are definitely on my next to buy list.

 

[Eternum]

Had recently great experience with Westone customer support. Sent mine um3x for cable replacement. I think I am going to stick with their product line for a while due to quality of product and support.

 

[elfary]

Very very late into the party but going through 234 pages took me a while.Thanks to Music_1234 i've have betrayed Shure for the very first time and i'm thrilled.
 
When i close my eyes listening to the UM3x my mind travels to a rehearsal studio where i use to visit a few pals of mine who do music for a living. Now i know what all the fuss was about. No fake soundstages (And the SE530 has a lovely faked one) just what it is there for better or worse. That's what i've always strived for.