WESTONE UM3X

WESTONE - UM3X

I bought myself a new pair of earphones, for this case, they are called in-ear-monitors (IEMs).
I never figured myself to be 'sound' guy, much less an audiophile.
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I remember the earphones that used to astonish me way back when my dad bought himself a Sony Walkman. The earphones came with the walkman and boy did it impress the heck out of us. I recalled being upset with my dad because he kept shouting at me. He cranked up the volume of his earphones and spoke, he too did not know he was shouting for in his audio bliss, he was merely whispering.
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I take this purchase as sort of a graduation of sorts. I have tried the ordinary no frills earphones which cost 15 bucks. Just 16 months ago, I bought myself a BOSE. I was not being wise then. I did no research whatsoever, I wanted a better pair of earphones and believed in what BOSE had to offer. I was not disappointed, but that again, ignorance is bliss. In the past month, I did think to myself, 'Why does my earphones sound so dull and the voice projection of the singers a little muffled and why does the instruments all seem to be all jumbled up?' Again, I was no audiophile, but I had begun to notice these things, and quite frankly, I was rather irritated.
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I was speaking of this to my colleague in a casual conversation, and lo and behold, he just burst forth into a deep conversation about this topic. He was ever so passionate about the topic of sound reproduction and by the end of the conversation, I knew he was a bonafide audiophile. He brought his pride and joy the following day to the office for me to try out (he seems to believe that I was not convinced and felt compelled to provide a demo). It was a set of Headphones. He even brought a portable amplifier. When I questioned the need, he looked at me as if I had said something sacrilegious.
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I was totally blown away by the sheer quality of what I heard. The clarity of the singer's voice. The clear disticntion between the sounds of the drums and guitar and other instruments. Although these were played as a single ensemble, one could clearly differentiate one from the other. Amazing. (By the way, the term for this is sound-staging, I learned this last weekend)
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I went on to ask if these qualities was available in the form of an earphone as opposed to the huge headphones. I figure it was not convenient to bring such 'equipment' onto buses and trains.
He said such earphones were available but warned that I had to be prepared to pay a premium for such a high-end product.
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He suggested that I invest in triple-driver earphones. To put things in perspective, most 15 dollar earphones have typical magnets and wound coils to produce a basic sound reproduction. One step up is the single armature driver earphone. This goes on until it reaches triple drivers. (this is the best that is available with the technology of today)
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I spent almost the entire weekend bench testing a few of these earphones. There were only a handful of reputable brands that produce earphones of this calibre - SHURE 530, ULTIMATE EARS TripleFi 10 Pro and WESTONE UM3 (and UM3X). After much testing and re-testing. After reading tons of reviews by professionals. After listening to all 3 with a set of songs from across all genres. After looking about for the best prices. I finally picked the WESTONE - UM3X.
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Most editor's choice goes something like this (1st>2nd>3rd>4th)
530>UM3>TripleFi 10 Pro>UM3X
But I guess these things is considered a very personnel choice. I rate them this way:
UM3x>TripleFi 10 Pro>530>UM3
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In terms of cost from most expensive to least
530>TripleFi 10 Pro>UM3>UM3X
I had to make a conscious effort not to lean to the stereotype of "The best product must be the one that cost the most" I know that is not true although I must admit it took some convincing to really believe that.
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When I listened to the UM3X, I was convinced, this is the earphone for me. It satisfied all of my harsh requirements. It even considered the ergonomics of the ear. Impressive. After listening to Josh Groban - February Song, I was so moved (yes I was moved!) , I made a beeline to the cashier. I must, MUST, have these.
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I guess if I had stuck to regular 15 dollar earphones, I may have been contented. Afterall, I did not know what was 'out there'. But now that I do, I have no regrets. I am not going to go crazy and start purchasing all the very expensive sound equipment. I still do not consider myself an audiophile. But some might contest this statement, for I most certainly did pay a WHOLE LOT MORE than a pretty penny for the UM3X. But you know what, I seem to sport a very wide grin everytime I listen to a song with these babies. It is hard to explain, I'm just very pleased.