- 5,622
- eMadman
I picked up a pair of Westone UM1 headphones from the local music store a few days ago for about $130 after tax. The brand specializes and sound isolating technologies for hearing aids, musicians, and personal listening devices. They came very highly reviewed from Head-Fi.com and I needed a replacement for my cheap quality Skullcandy IEMs and the old Sony IEMs I used to have.
The Skullcandy headphones were approx $30 and the Sonys were approx $75. The skullcandy ones suffered a torn cable internally and couldn't give sound with any consistency after less than a year of use. The Sony headphones suffered torn insulation and exposed/fraying wire after about 1.5 years of daily use.
For a quality comparison, we will look at my Grado SR-60's which I tend to use at home for movie watching late at night. These are open air cans and are considered to be the best of their kind for under $100. I used to have a $200 pair of Sony DJ cans but will not compare to those as I don't have a familiarity with their sound any more.
Pros
Foam Earpieces
These are, by far, the most comfortable in-ear headphones I have ever worn. Ever. The earpiece t is made of a one-size-fits-all soft foam, similar to that in most earplugs. You squeeze it down and stick them in your ear. The foam expands and fills in the space. As a result, the seal is almost perfect. Compare that to the SC and Sony headphones which came with 3 different sized rubber earpieces. If they fit and make a seal, great. If they don't, well... they won't seal and won't sound too great.
Because these are a soft foam, they're super comfortable. It doesn't feel like a hard piece of rubber shoved into my ear canal at all. They also fit perfectly in my oddly sized ears as my right ear is a touch smaller than the left.
Back to that perfect seal - it's like wearing foam earplugs. You can't hear most things. They even isolate most of the sound of a train engine from a distance of 10 feet. It's incredible. This means I can listen at MUCH lower volumes while walking down the street - 10% volume on these vs 90% on the Skullcandy and approx 75-80% on the Sony pair. Indoors, it gets tricky since it's hard to get the iPod Touch to play back audio at that low a volume. The touch screen makes it hard to scroll in 1% increments down to approx 2-5% (more on this in the sound quality section)
Sound quality
These are the amongst the nicest sounding headphones I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. I'm comparing these to my Grado SR60's which are considered to be the best <$100 headphones on the market.
The sound is VERY neutral, with no excessive emphasis on bass, mids, or treble. This is comparable to my Grados, however I feel they do a more accurate job with "shimmering" sounds and trebles. Overall, considering they haven't been broken in yet, I find them to be more accurate than my Grado headphones. Just not as bright sounding.
Compare this to the SkullCandy and Sonys and you'll see a vast world of difference. Both of my old IEMs were VERY muddy and overpowered the bass and mids with very little emphasis on trebles. The sound on both pairs was wildly innacurate and was immediately noticed when I listened to the UM1s in a quiet setting. Listening to Thievery Corporation heard all sorts of instruments and textures in the sound that I had never experienced with these cheaper earpieces. To top that, the incredible sound isolation these headphones provide means I can hear these details even at the train station while keeping volumes at a level safe for human listening.
The sound stage is VERY wide and it feels as though i'm in a room with speakers rather than walking around or sitting at my desk with chunks of foam shoved into my ears. Compared to my Grados, I find them to be a bit more closed in, but not hugely so. The SkullCandy and Sonys fail in this department. The sound stage is very close to the ears, making for some uncomfortable listening over extended periods of time.
These headphones require VERY LITTLE power to them. You'll be fine with volumes as low as 2% on an iPod Touch.
Accessories / Extras
Came with 4 pairs of foam earpieces - Two long and two short. I wear the short ones and haven't tried the long. There's no difference in materials, just length. I'm assuming the long ones will provide a better seal for large ear canals.
Also came with a nice, clamshell case and a cleaning tool.
The cord is Y configuration. I tend to prefer J cables, but it's not a showstopper for me.
Warranty
1 year out of the box. 2 years if you mail in the registration card.
Quality of Materials
As I mentioned, both my old IEMs have hit the dust. Both also seemed to have some low quality construction. These have a nice, thick insulation on the cords and the cables are a twisted pair. Even the earpieces have two individually insulated cables going to each of them (positive and negative). At the endpoints, there's a nice "sleeve thingy" to prevent the wire from being bent at a 90 degree angle and potentially getting damaged.
Price
A few years ago, this price point only had a few options and none of them sounded as good as these. This pair reviews better than Shure's more expensive E3C line or whatever it's called now.
Cons
Outside Noise
It's not a con, but rather a warning. The seal is so good that it's risky walking around with the volume up. Keep the volume low, it will sound just as good, and you'll be able to hear a car honking at you when you're jaywalking.
Earpieces
They are foam and not rubber. Cleaning foam isn't easy and you have to replace them every few months. Directly from Westone, you can only buy the low quality earpieces (cheap foam) in bags of 100 for $50. Other retailers sell these fancier ones that came with the headphones at a much higher price in packs as large as 3 pairs.
Price
$100 is still expensive for most people. If you have the budget, go for it. If not, you'll unfortunately be stuck with the crappy Sony and Skullcandy options.
Summary
What can I say? Best. Headphones. Ever. Worth every penny I paid and then some. If the UM2's were in the $200 price range, I would have opted for those instead. These are still absolutely incredibleand the sound matches high-end hi-fi speaker setups which cost thousands more.
10/10
The Skullcandy headphones were approx $30 and the Sonys were approx $75. The skullcandy ones suffered a torn cable internally and couldn't give sound with any consistency after less than a year of use. The Sony headphones suffered torn insulation and exposed/fraying wire after about 1.5 years of daily use.
For a quality comparison, we will look at my Grado SR-60's which I tend to use at home for movie watching late at night. These are open air cans and are considered to be the best of their kind for under $100. I used to have a $200 pair of Sony DJ cans but will not compare to those as I don't have a familiarity with their sound any more.
Pros
Foam Earpieces
These are, by far, the most comfortable in-ear headphones I have ever worn. Ever. The earpiece t is made of a one-size-fits-all soft foam, similar to that in most earplugs. You squeeze it down and stick them in your ear. The foam expands and fills in the space. As a result, the seal is almost perfect. Compare that to the SC and Sony headphones which came with 3 different sized rubber earpieces. If they fit and make a seal, great. If they don't, well... they won't seal and won't sound too great.
Because these are a soft foam, they're super comfortable. It doesn't feel like a hard piece of rubber shoved into my ear canal at all. They also fit perfectly in my oddly sized ears as my right ear is a touch smaller than the left.
Back to that perfect seal - it's like wearing foam earplugs. You can't hear most things. They even isolate most of the sound of a train engine from a distance of 10 feet. It's incredible. This means I can listen at MUCH lower volumes while walking down the street - 10% volume on these vs 90% on the Skullcandy and approx 75-80% on the Sony pair. Indoors, it gets tricky since it's hard to get the iPod Touch to play back audio at that low a volume. The touch screen makes it hard to scroll in 1% increments down to approx 2-5% (more on this in the sound quality section)
Sound quality
These are the amongst the nicest sounding headphones I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. I'm comparing these to my Grado SR60's which are considered to be the best <$100 headphones on the market.
The sound is VERY neutral, with no excessive emphasis on bass, mids, or treble. This is comparable to my Grados, however I feel they do a more accurate job with "shimmering" sounds and trebles. Overall, considering they haven't been broken in yet, I find them to be more accurate than my Grado headphones. Just not as bright sounding.
Compare this to the SkullCandy and Sonys and you'll see a vast world of difference. Both of my old IEMs were VERY muddy and overpowered the bass and mids with very little emphasis on trebles. The sound on both pairs was wildly innacurate and was immediately noticed when I listened to the UM1s in a quiet setting. Listening to Thievery Corporation heard all sorts of instruments and textures in the sound that I had never experienced with these cheaper earpieces. To top that, the incredible sound isolation these headphones provide means I can hear these details even at the train station while keeping volumes at a level safe for human listening.
The sound stage is VERY wide and it feels as though i'm in a room with speakers rather than walking around or sitting at my desk with chunks of foam shoved into my ears. Compared to my Grados, I find them to be a bit more closed in, but not hugely so. The SkullCandy and Sonys fail in this department. The sound stage is very close to the ears, making for some uncomfortable listening over extended periods of time.
These headphones require VERY LITTLE power to them. You'll be fine with volumes as low as 2% on an iPod Touch.
Accessories / Extras
Came with 4 pairs of foam earpieces - Two long and two short. I wear the short ones and haven't tried the long. There's no difference in materials, just length. I'm assuming the long ones will provide a better seal for large ear canals.
Also came with a nice, clamshell case and a cleaning tool.
The cord is Y configuration. I tend to prefer J cables, but it's not a showstopper for me.
Warranty
1 year out of the box. 2 years if you mail in the registration card.
Quality of Materials
As I mentioned, both my old IEMs have hit the dust. Both also seemed to have some low quality construction. These have a nice, thick insulation on the cords and the cables are a twisted pair. Even the earpieces have two individually insulated cables going to each of them (positive and negative). At the endpoints, there's a nice "sleeve thingy" to prevent the wire from being bent at a 90 degree angle and potentially getting damaged.
Price
A few years ago, this price point only had a few options and none of them sounded as good as these. This pair reviews better than Shure's more expensive E3C line or whatever it's called now.
Cons
Outside Noise
It's not a con, but rather a warning. The seal is so good that it's risky walking around with the volume up. Keep the volume low, it will sound just as good, and you'll be able to hear a car honking at you when you're jaywalking.
Earpieces
They are foam and not rubber. Cleaning foam isn't easy and you have to replace them every few months. Directly from Westone, you can only buy the low quality earpieces (cheap foam) in bags of 100 for $50. Other retailers sell these fancier ones that came with the headphones at a much higher price in packs as large as 3 pairs.
Price
$100 is still expensive for most people. If you have the budget, go for it. If not, you'll unfortunately be stuck with the crappy Sony and Skullcandy options.
Summary
What can I say? Best. Headphones. Ever. Worth every penny I paid and then some. If the UM2's were in the $200 price range, I would have opted for those instead. These are still absolutely incredibleand the sound matches high-end hi-fi speaker setups which cost thousands more.
10/10
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