Customer Reviews

WESTONE UM2 TRUE FIT DUAL DRIVER EARPHONES UM 2

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As anyone considering shelling out $300 for a set of ear phones I read as many reviews as I could find and from as many sources. Almost universally the UM2 was very well rated and boasting of strong tight bass sold me. Another thing I found is that Westone has a stronghold on there venders pricing. $299 across the net as far as the eye could see. Always looking for a deal though I found a place with free shipping, and felt in my own small way "I'm stickin it to the man".

Now I can't claim to be audio engineer, or even an audiophile, but what I can say with all confidence is that I've heard and, or owned over 12 different pares of ear phones ranging in price from $10 to $500. With all this background research under my belt I think I've earned the right to an informed opinion and so that is what I offer.

Unfortunately I found the hard way the adage "you get what you pay for" dose apply the ear phone too. There was a time when I told myself I will not spend more than $50 on ear phones, then it was $100 until here I am hundreds of dollar out of pocket, but with a smile on my face. At the $50 level you get a flat loud sound that gives the impression that an ipod is not quite a match for a CD player. At the $100 (single driver) level you get one of two things. On one side you get what is call three dimensional sound-stage were it seems there is more than just a left & right speaker like with the UM1s. You hear subtle things like a singer shifting their feet during a song. On the other side you get big brain massaging bass and an energetic sound aka "fun to listen to".

In my way of thinking if you take both sides of the $100 level sound-stage and bass then combine them into one it should cost $200 right? No it's $300 and I must say I had a very hard time justifying that kind of money when I paid only $150 for my ipod. Well one fateful day the cord to my UM1s strayed too close to the stove burner and in a puff of plastic smoke I had my justification.


Oh, I have been to the mountain top brother and sisters, and that mountain is UM2. I kick myself for holding out so long. I am constantly amazed at the quality and efficiency these ear phones. It's unreal how much bigger and real a song seems with these. The best part is they sounded great right out of the box, but with any speaker, or earphone they sound better as the break in. I can't put these thing down, it seems every time I hear them I like them more. I listen to everything classical, hip-hop, rock, jazz, electronic and I feel like I'm hearing most of it for the first time. To say it was worth the $300 is an understatement.

Ron M.

I have the cheaper UM1s and I have discovered countless new details in music that I thought I knew intimately. I hav enever heard music as clearly as this, even when listening to a $20k hifi. For some reason Westone seem to provide better quality at a lower price than Shure an dother better known manufacturers. Perhaps it's because they don't spend so much on marketing?

These monitors are the best you can get without upgrading to a custom-fitted professional monitor. They are at least as good as the Shure's, maybe even a little better, and cheaper to boot.

Proper insertion does take a little getting used to. Be sure to read the manual. If there is not a proper seal, they will not sound or feel right. But almost anyone can get a good seal with the foam tips, as long as you put them in properly with the cords going up and behind the ears.

I have owned Bose "Quietcomfort" noise cancelling headphones and Etymotic ER-4 earphones (a direct competitor to the Westone's) for a couple of years.

The first thing I will say is that the Bose were no where near as good as either of these earphones in sound quality or noise isolation. I won't talk about the Bose any longer, as I would never advise a friend to even consider them unless "in ear" earphones are too difficult to get used to.

I bought the UM2's because I read that their bass was better than the ER-4, and I wanted more thump. I did a direct comparison, listening to a song on one set of earphones, then quickly switching to the other earphones and replaying the song. I am not a music perfectionist, I simply like listening to Pop music (yeah, I know...that automatically destroys my credibility with classical and heavy metal listeners...but hey, they call it Popular for a reason.)

The UM2's were better than the ER-4's on my new iPod Nano, but not by much. I liked the bass much better than the ER-4, and although the treble was less 'bright', it still sounds great.

I prefer the UM2s, and they will be the ones I use every day. The ER-4's will be brought out of retirement when the UM2's break and when I fly (the ER-4's are better at eliminating external sounds.)

Comfort. The ER-4's are extremely comfortable. When I first bought them they hurt my ears. After wearing them for a while I got used to them and now I routinely wear them on 8 hr flights without taking them out. The UM2's are just as comfortable.

Even though a couple people complained about the UM2 "over-the-ear" wires, they are no problem at all. I don't even notice the wires.

When I first tried the UM2's the sound quality was pretty bad. As I was contemplating the complete waste of $300 I happened to see the instruction manual sitting right in front of me (I am a guy, which means I don't read instruction manuals. Besides, whoever heard of an instruction manual for earphones?) To give me something to do while evaluating the earhphones (yep, definitely a guy: can't focus on one task too long) I casually flipped to step #1, which tells you how to stick them in your ear (no joke!) When I put them in my ears the way they suggested, the sound was terrific. Go figure. I highly recommend reading that manual, or at least step 1.

The wires are 2 feet shorter than the ER-4's. I felt the ER-4 wires were way too long and I had to wrap the excess length around a stick to keep them from snagging everything they come close to. The UM2's cord is just long enough to allow me to slip my Nano into that big pocket at the bottom of my hoodie. If you need a longer reach on the cord, that will be a problem with the UM2.

The wires are the same thickness as the ER-4, which means they are frighteningly thin, and are twisted and wrapped in rubber, just like the ER-4 so they behave well (no tangles.) My ER-4's have had quite a bit of use over the last couple of years and show no sign of breaking, and I would expect the same of the UM2. However, if the (thin) wires break, your earphones are useless. (I hope Westone will be easy on me if I have to send them for repair.)

Conclusion
Good: Very enjoyable sound, good comfort, and the UM2's were made in America, which clinched the deal for me.
Bad: Not as much external sound isolation as the ER-4's.

Ok, after reading this you will think that I work for Westone, I don't. I have my own pair of UM1's and I use a pair of UM2's when I play at my church. The UM2's have uncompairable bass quality. I don't know if i can say enough about them. We also have a pair that our bass player uses as his monitor and he said, "These are better than my Bose." They are truly the best for not only qulaity, but also in cancellation of un-wanted noise. I've used my UM1's in a car ride, and operating a CAT, all you hear is the music in the highest quality. Oh this is a little bit of a side note and history of the company, they use to make the shure headpnones, then they broke off and started their own company and they are thriving. And if those ever fragile wires break, just ship it back to Westone for $26 and shipping and get new replacement wires installed. Again I don't work for them nor did they pay me, I'm just another satified musician.

I've blown through countless Shure earphones(2,3 and 4 series) due to the wire construction.I am a heavy heavy user and somehow ,the body oils destroy the cables. Shure's replacement policy is amazing but I was tired of replacing them every 3-4 months. The Westone's have a better cable for my usage, mine are a year old now and just fine. The sound quality is comparable to the 4 series single driver Shure as far as imaging is concerned but with better bass response. I read somewhere they are made in the same factory as the 5 series (old style). They have a suspiciously similar look so that is entirely possible. My only gripe is the cord is shorter than the Shure products which may not be a problem with your application. Anyhow, if you're in the market for really good quality headphones and cheap like me give these a try. Comparable to the $500 Shure

I'm writing this review because I recently purchased a pair of Noise Canceling Headphones for some cross-country airplane travel I have coming up. I'm a UM2 owner and have enjoyed them immensely but I thought for sure that a nice pair of noise canceling headphones would make for a quieter, more relaxing flight. So when I received these new noise canceling headphones I immediately tried them...and to my surprise the sound quality was NO WHERE NEAR my UM2's! It wasn't even close.

Then I compared how much noise I could hear with both, again the UM2's were far better and they don't bill themselves as noise canceling. Thus the reason I went out and purchased the noise canceling 'cans'.

On top of that, I had to play the volumn louder on the noise canceling headphones to compete with outside noise. The final note I made was it didn't take long before the noise canceling headphones started to feel warm and uncomfortably so.

I had "heard" enough. I boxed them up and returned them the same day. Sometimes, you don't know how good you have it until you buy another set of headphones. Yes, when I originally purchased my UM2's I compared them to a number of high-end ear buds like a few from Shure, Etoymotic and a few others and it was the clear winner with much cleaner, detailed sound.

But I quickly found out I didn't need to spend more money because what I have is truly an outstanding product. So I wanted to share my experience.

These are a very serious "sweet spot" in today's market for earphones. In terms of sound, they have an uncanny naturalness to them. They remind me of classic British speakers like Spendor or Harbeth in that respect. They are probably the most comfortable earphones out there - especially when you get the Shure "Black Foamie" ear inserts to replace the stock yellow ones from Westone (which are not bad, but many UM2 fans prefer the "Black Foamies" from Shure, which fit UM2's perfectly.)

I am very much an audiophile and I've tried earphones by Shure (entire line, from 210 to 530) and Ultimate Ears, etc. I admire most earphones starting at around $150, but overall I prefer the Westone UM2. (BTW the $100 Westone UM1's are a nice "sweet spot" as well and great value per dollar.)

By the way, UM2's are fairly bass heavy, especially while they are breaking in (first 100 hours or so). The treble detail is very refined and natural - not overpowering like some other earphones.

To me these are an obvious first choice.

Caveat: There are some earphones in the $1000 range, with custom fit, that I have never tried. I'm perfectly happy with UM2.

Oh yeah, the cord is thin and flexible with a slider to adjust tension. Best to wear these with the cord draping over the top of your ear, and down your back. It is comfortable, it seems to be how they were designed to be worn, and it looks cool (can't see the cord from the front).

Wonderful with iPods! No external amp necessary.

I bought these only for motorcycling. I wanted decent sound, to cut the wind noise, and long term comfort under a helmet with something stuffed into my ears. These are perfect. I've worn them up to 12 hours on my bike with no pain, no ringing, no rawness in my ear. They come with 3 sizes and I tried a couple before settling into the medium size. The long cord has plenty of room under my jacket, to reach my iPhone remote on my tank bag (griffin product....also awesome).

They are expensive - and they ARE worth it. I had high expectations based on the cost, and they beat my expectations.

I suggest that you listen to your original CDs with them, because you may find that you need/want to re-rip the MP3/WMA files at a higher rate (less compression, less loss) because you CAN hear features you never heard before.

Also, if the bass doesn't amaze you, you don't have them fitted correctly. When you get the right fit, the outside world almost disappears and you'll know it's right by the dramatic improvement in bass.

The sound is very well balanced across the spectrum with excellent clarity. You need to spend an obscene amount of money to get better than this.