Westone 3 - Headphones ( in-ear ear-bud )

by Westone

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.2 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001MBLBXQ
• Item model number: Westone 3
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,391 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 26, 2008

Product Description

Westone 3 Specifications Sensitivity: 107 dB SPL Frequency response: 20 Hz -18 kHz Impedance: 30 ohms Driver: Balanced armature Features: Soft padded travel case, ten different eartips, and wax loop for cleaning. Standard Color: Black Also on a side note, there is a difference between a "triple driver" and the "3-way driver". The "3" is not a triple driver. triple driver = dual bass, single high 3-way = low driver, mid driver, high driver The Westone 3 is the culmination of almost 50 years of experience creating products for the human ear, and 20-plus years of developing in-ear technology for pro musicians. Westone monitors’ clarity, response and fit have made them the favorites of top recording and performing musicians worldwide. Technical Specs: Sensitivity – 119 dB/mW Impedance – 27ohms Drivers – 3 balanced armatures with 3-way passive crossover Accessories: Inline Volume Control ¼” Adapter Travel Case Ti

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensationalism, but less precision, January 29, 2009

By 

P. Tashman "P. Tashman" (Athens, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Westone 3 - Headphones ( in-ear ear-bud ) (Electronics)

When I decided to purchase my first pair of pristine-quality headphones, I tried the Shure SE310s, Shure SE530s, and these Westone 3s. The first and primary thing I noticed was that both of the Shures were focused on clarity and precision with defined mids and medium highs and lows. When you hear a voice with the Shures, it's like the singer is right there singing to you, but the basses and highs are there, but not as focused. The Westone 3s on the other hand have a very sensational sound with very clear highs and lots of bass. The focus on these headphones are the ups and downs of the music. They make the listening experience a roller coaster ride of "wow". In my opinion, if you are listening to rock or pop, then get these. If you are listening to jazz, classical guitar, or musicals, get the Shures. These Westones and the Shure 530s are of comparable quality, but with different focuses.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These are criminally underrated. A love story from a Shure SE530 owner, October 9, 2009

By 

Gaseous Clay (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Westone 3 - Headphones ( in-ear ear-bud ) (Electronics)

After the novelty of the Shure SE530s wore off on me, I began to realize that their sound was very consistent, but rarely did I find myself wanting to sing/rap along or dance uncontrollably. In other words, the sound of the 530s was smooth and rich, almost to a fault. I listen to a lot of house and hip-hop music, and the bass frequencies were there, but lacked any visceral impact. With rock music, the cymbal crashes were muffled and the drums didn't resonate or slam like I thought they should.

So while I would have been content to live with the Shures and assume that they were the best, I started reading user impressions on [...] about other high-end universal earphones, namely the Westone 3, Westone UM3x, Sennheiser IE8, and Ultimate Ears Triple.fi. Most users seem to agree that these models have surpassed the 530s. I read that the Westone 3s, Sennheiser IE8s and Triple.fis offered what I was looking for: a more "U"-shaped sound, with the treble and bass accentuated.

After a few months, I gave in and got a pair of the Westone 3s ("W3"), and after 3 days of near non-stop listening, I know I have stepped up in class. The W3 don't get marketed as heavily as the Shures, which in my view is unfortunate because they are of exceptionally high quality and Westone offers great customer service.

Build Quality and Comfort:

The Shure 530s, while well-built, always stuck out of my ears even with the deepest insertion of tips. I haven't had problems with the cable fraying after 3 months of use, but the cable's thickness produced microphonics whenever the cable brushed up against my shirt or hit my chest. These problems are things of the past now that I have the W3. The thin cable is light and hardly makes any noise even when I run. The flatter design of the part of the earpieces that rest on your outer ear canal, combined with the short nozzle, make the earpieces feel like they've disappeared once I put them on.

Sound Quality:

I've only heard the Shure 530s and Triple.fis, so I can't offer a comprehensive comparison. The Triple.fis did make a powerful impression on me, with their booming bass, wide soundstage, and bright treble. I chose to go with the W3 because of the massive size of the Triple.fis (impossible to sleep on), and concerns about the cable and short warranty. I also seriously considered the Senn IE8s, but ultimately went with the W3 because I already had a collection of tips (including Westone UM-56 customs) that would fit the W3.

I don't regret my decision at all. Unamped out of my iPod Touch 2g, the sound is bright and lively without being fatiguing, and the bass rumbles and slams when it's supposed to. The main complaints some people have about the W3 are that it produces sibilance (harsh "S" sounds), has a "mid-bass hump" (unbalanced higher bass frequencies), and sounds wildly different with different tips. I haven't had any of these issues. The sound with the gray silicons is somewhat bright, but still has punch in the bass. With the medium Comply tips, the bass is deepened and the treble muffled slightly, but there seems to be more distance and reverb in the sound, creating a larger soundstage. Unlike with the Shures, I haven't found a tip set that I just think sounds awful--they all sound very good to me.

In summary, the W3 have delivered what I was looking for but not always getting from the Shure SE530s: A lively sound, with energetic highs and deep bass impact, that still has great detail in the mid-range. Now, I AM finding myself nodding my head to beats, playing air guitar, and grinning with the sheer joy of music.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not enough detail, January 24, 2009

By 

Robert T. L. Chang "Lunatique" (Sunnyvale, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Prior to the Westone 3's, I had a pair of Shure E4C's, Denon AH-C351, and JVC Marshmallows for in-ear-monitors/ear-canal headphones. The Denon and JVC's were quite cheap and meant for my wife who only needs them when on a plane, and the E4C's were my portables for whatever situation where I needed to block external noise and enjoy the music. The E4C's were known for being anemic in the bass, and I remedied that by turning on the bass boost in my MP3 player (Creative Zen 32GB). The E4C also had a slight bump in the 10Khz region and can be slightly fatiguing. When my E4C's got fried because of a faulty pair of airline adapters, I got the Westone 3's after reading all the reviews and discussions online I could find. My taste for speakers and headphones is simply to have them be as neutral as possible--no hype or dip in any of the frequency ranges. The idea is that sound reproduction devices should be invisible and not color the original recordings.

The Westone 3, unfortunately, isn't for someone like me. They are far from being neutral. The bass in the 100Hz region is boosted about 3~4db, and the treble in the 12Khz~14Khz range is about 3~4db recessed. The highest frequencies is also a bit rolled off because the W3 has a slight limitation in the upper frequency by design (goes up to about 16Khz only). This results in a signature sound that is very warm--in fact too warm on certain materials like jazz or classical. The sizzle of the cymbals, the articulate detail of the double bass, the buzzing blast of the brass section, the upper harmonics of the string section--all of them will be compromised by the overtly warm sound of the Westone 3's. To put it bluntly, the Westone 3's makes everything sound a bit muddy and muffled, but quite smooth. When I compare the Westone 3 to my reference quality speakers/headphones (Klein + Hummel O 300D's, Sennheiser HD555's, Audio-Technica M-50's) The Westone 3's just lacked detail in the higher frequencies, and the bass is too bloated and boomy, lacking tight detail in the bottom end. I guess the good thing is that the Westone 3's will never be too harsh or sibilant, since it's so rolled off at the top end--and that means you can listen for a long time without ear fatigue (though the bloated bass might get annoying after a while).

Currently I use a custom EQ setting to make the Westone 3's more neutral, and it works pretty well, although doing so drains the batter on my MP3 player faster. I might keep looking and see if I can find a different brand/model that doesn't require any EQ'ing to sound neutral.