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(More customer reviews)Yeah, I'm an audiophile, and if you're not crazy into audio a lot of this is probably going to sound weird. Still...
Earphones really are getting better very quickly, and if you look at all of audio, that fact is pretty remarkable.
In speakers, things have peaked a long time ago, no matter what those Bose ads tell you. The Quad ESL-57 speaker was first shown in the mid 50's, and it is STILL considered to be one of the very best speakers ever made. In traditional headphones things haven't moved very quickly either, and Stax SR-Lambda headphones from 1979 sound as good as pretty much any headsets you can find today. The Sennheiser HD800 is touted as the latest and greatest, but the Stax SR-007 Omega 2 from 11 years ago is still better, and so is the 15-year-old SR-Omega, and the 18-year-old Sennheiser HE90 "Orpheus."
Which means that if you have an audio technology that's genuinely getting better, it's an exception to the rule. And the UM3x is a clear improvement on what has been released only a year or so ago.
These earphones have a very clear, detailed sound that's also very fluid. The bass is detailed and well controlled. The midrange is slightly emphasized and very tonally accurate - instruments sound very realistic and vocals sound almost live, if they're recorded well. The highs are slightly recessed (soft) but are also quite extended. Soundstage is smallish, though pretty large for an IEM, and imaging is razor sharp. The drivers are pretty fast, too, and keep up with complex music well. But the best feature of these IEMs is their ability to do texture - strings sound gravelly, brass instruments are, well, brassy and metallic, woodwinds are seductive and ethereal, and vocals are very realistic. It's the first universal-fit IEM that can do texture properly in my experience. The Shure SE530, Westone 3, UE Triple.fi 10, Etymotic ER-4S, all fail at rendering texture realistically.
Compared to the Westone 3, the UM3x has noticeably more midrange emphasis. Its bass doesn't go quite as deep but it's also much better controlled. Its highs are not as pronounced as the W3 but are also far more refined and less harsh. It's more detailed than the W3 and doesn't have the W3's plasticky, too-glossy sonic texture.
Compared to the SE530, the UM3x doesn't have the midrange warmth - its midrange favors realism over euphony. It also has noticeably more detail than the SE530 and better treble extension, as well as more refinement in the upper mids and highs. However I do prefer the SE530's bass - it goes deeper than the UM3x and seems to have better tone.
But most importantly, the UM3x, compared to the SE530, W3, and pretty much most of the competition, is very easy to use, and very easy to get a good seal with.
Seal, and fit, is very important in canalphones. The headphones themselves are only a part of the equation, and if the fit isn't right, then all sorts of sonic abnormalities can result. A very good symptom of a poor fit is insufficient bass, or very sharp, metallic, sibilant highs. And generally speaking, the more accurate a canalphone is, the more sensitive it is to correct fit. The very best canalphones are all custom-molded and require a great degree of fitting accuracy - if something is even slightly out of order, you will hear it.
The UM3x though is more forgiving - it doesn't come with a wide array of eartips but it doesn't need them. The long Comply foam tips get a good seal pretty much right away, and the UM3x sounds good out of the box with no tweaking necessary. And if you have gone through the frustration of trying to get a canalphone to fit right, sound right, and be comfortable at the same time, you know how important that is.
Sum it all up, and the UM3x is the only, and first, high-end IEM that I will whole-heartedly recommend. No, it's not perfect, and the Stax SR-001 system is still better as a portable. Custom-molded canalphones like the JH Audio JH13 or Westone's own ES3x are better still. But the UM3x has finally crossed the border from problematic compromise - with potential - to a competent product that offers good sound quality for the money, and it is the FIRST earphone to actually do so. The W3 could sound really good but its fit is extremely problematic, and when the fit is wrong you had to deal with boomy bass and piercing highs. The SE530 is also very picky in terms of fit, and even at its best the UM3x is still better.
Oh, and never mind that this is sold as a stage monitor for musicians. It is this, too, but it sounds brilliant out of an iPod, and better still from an actual quality source. The only sign of stage-monitor-dom is the slight midrange emphasis and treble recession (which is probably intentional to make the sound less fatiguing in the long term), but plenty of full-size headphones have far more severe sonic abnormalities - like most of Grado's lineup.
This is a balanced, good-sounding, comfortable, easy to use, easy to drive, and not too expensive canalphone. And no other canalphone has been able to boast all of that before, at least no canalphone that didn't require a visit to the doctor.
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Westone UM3X / 3X - True Triple Armature Drivers In-ear Monitor Professional ...Built to the highest professional standards, the true three-way, balanced armature UM3x delivers incredibly smooth response cross the entire frequency range. Using the same technology as our custom ES3X, the UM3X is the earpiece of choice for performers desiring high-end Westone sound quality in a universal-fit package. The comfortable ComplyTM foam tips form to the ear for extended use without fatigue and provide up to 25 dB of ambient noise reduction. Equipped with a durable 50" stereo "Y" cord with a 3.5mm stereo jack, 4 pair of ComplyTM foam tips, storage pouch and wax loop.The UM3X is ultimate universal-fit musicians' monitor, perfect for the on-stage performer.Available only in clear/black.UM3XWestone UM3X is the newest ear canal earphones specially designed for musicians for stage monitoring. This is the highest-end triple driver with universal fit musicians' monitors, designed to offer the performing musician a well-balanced monitor no matter what instrument you play. The new UM3X uses the latest in balanced armature technology, with a true three-way crossover configuration that delivers incredible smooth response without accentuating any particular band of frequencies. Unlike the Westone 3 which was designed for playback, the UM3X was built from the ground up for professional (and amateurs) musicians that want and need the very best monitors for their performances. The UM3X is a universal fit ear canal headphone and because of that they do not require a visit to the audiologist. Each unit includes four pair of Comply? foam tips in small and standard size, a zippered carrying pouch and user guide and the UM3X comes with a durable 50" stereo "Y" cord with a 3.5mm stereo jack. The UM3X are for stage monitoring and target the musicians' market. Once we receive our sample we will publish a review about them.
Click here for more information about Westone UM3X / 3X - True Triple Armature Drivers In-ear Monitor Professional ...
