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Test headphones Westone UM3X

Westone UM3X headphones come from the USA. The manufacturer positions them as stage monitors – professional instruments designed for use by musicians during performances. But the professional purpose is not an obstacle for the interest of ordinary fans of high quality sound – many audiophiles are happy to use Westone UM3X to listen to their favorite songs.

Each Westone UM3X earphone has three armature drivers each responsible for reproducing the bandwidth assigned to it. The distribution of the frequency ranges between the radiators rests on the shoulders of the three-way passive crossover.

There are two versions of the Westone UM3X: with fixed and interchangeable cable. The second version is a little bit more expensive, but in the case of damage to the cable the owner will not have to pay for the replacement headphones – it will be enough to buy a new wire. You can, of course, try to solder the wire to the “regular” Westone UM3X – but this work is difficult and painstaking, not every experienced soldering engineer will undertake it.

Ergonomics

The only possible way to place the Westone UM3X in your ear is with the wire up and then behind the ear. headphones do not sit very deeply, but are able to provide some strong isolation from background noise, enough to listen to music in noisy places like the subway, without significantly increasing the volume.

Sound

The sound of the Westone UM3X can be called a reasonable compromise, or the “golden mean” between the scrupulosity of single-driver armature, and the charm of dynamic headphones.

They are fast, precise and detailed – but not as much as the “single-drivers” their sound has its own characteristic “tricks”, “beauty”, but unlike the dynamic class representatives, we can’t say that these “tricks” play the main role in their sound.

The sound character of the Westone UM3X is very interesting. The mid-bass is slightly lifted, the high frequencies are muted a little, and the lower part of the middle frequencies noticeably prevail by quantity over the top one. In addition to all this there is a slight phase delay between the transducers, which creates the effect similar to reverberation, which has a peculiar influence on the construction of the imaginary scene.

What do we have as a result? Quiet, unsharp, slightly muffled, but at the same time – driving, powerful and punchy sound.

Because of the recession in the upper midrange, voices and live instruments sounded Westone UM3X not very natural, but, thanks to a fairly good resolution of the headphones, it is pleasant to listen to them anyway. Also, the dip in the upper midrange adds volume and depth to the sound.

The combination of this and phase delay in the drivers, gives a very interesting spatial effect, similar to what you could hear in the Fischer Audio Tandem, but more pronounced.

Due to this, very interesting in Westone UM3X sounds “guitar” rock – when listening to such music the headphones create an atmosphere of a cozy, soulful “apartment. The same thing happens with punk rock and heavy rock – only we get not so much “flatshop” as “garage”.

Another “path” of Westone UM3X is chamber music – the headphones can create a convincing sense of the presence of the listener in a small concert hall.

In general, Westone UM3X are universal headphones, but the aforementioned styles sound in them especially beautiful.

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John Techno

Greetings, everyone! I am John Techno, and my expedition in the realm of household appliances has been a thrilling adventure spanning over 30 years. What began as a curiosity about the mechanics of these everyday marvels transformed into a fulfilling career journey.

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Comments: 1
  1. Matthew Nguyen

    Are the Westone UM3X headphones comfortable to wear for long periods of time?

    Reply
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