UE TripleFi 10vi vs. Westone 3: my opinion

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GianlucaM

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I had the chance to test two popular earphones to decide which one I like better: the UE Triple-Fi or the Westone 3.

High frequencies
Triple-Fi: Clear sound. I hear sounds I can’t hear with W3. Highs are clear and don’t make my ears tired, not even with loud pop music.
W3: Highs start falling around 14k (my guess) so they sound muffled. My ears get tired after listening to pop for a few minutes because the highs are tinny and metallic

Loudness
W3: Definitely louder at same volume level, so the bass seems more powerful.

Bass
Triple-Fi: Not as loud as the W3, which makes me appreciate deeper bass more.
W3: Louder and bit boomy, which makes lower bass (like orchestral timpani) disappear.

Music Test: Pines of Rome: opening – buccine trumpets, noise makers, high bells
Triple-Fi : Clear and present
W3: Muffled and disappointing

Music test: Union Station (country)
Triple-Fi: Guitars and voice are much clearer. Can notice fingernails on guitars cords
W3: Louder. More bass but still muffled and disappointing

Music Test: Pop: Kylie Minogue – 2 Hearts
Triple-Fi: Highs are clear and present but not excessive. Bass is a little more subtle and nicer to my ears.
W3: Again: muffled highs. Louder. More Bass (maybe just because it’s louder?). My ears get tired soon.

Music Test: Guitar concerto
W3: Because of the absence of higher frequencies and the generally higher volume, the mids tends to stand out more, so it sounds better, but once I lower the volume to produce the similar dB level to the Triple-Fi, then the Triple-Fi’s win hands down.

Construction
Triple-Fi: Solid. Electric blue color stands out more than I would like
W3: Solid. Black understated color, which is nicer.

Size
Triple-Fi: They’re big and don’t look nice in my ears. I wear them reversed, so that they have a smaller profile and stick out my ears less.
W3: Nice size. They fit right in my ears so they don’t stick out at all.

Earphone cord
Triple-Fi: Better quality. Slightly thicker rubbery finish. Does not tangle as easily. Has small in-line microphone and control button for iPhone. Straight jack. Replaceable in case it breaks so you don’t have to ship back the whole earphones (if they’re under warranty) and you can keep a spare around.
W3: Double twisted. No in-line microphone nor control button for iPhones. L shaped jack. Fixed (non replaceable if the cable breaks).

Comfort
Triple-Fi: Comfortable
W3: More comfortable than Triple-Fi. because of their smaller size.

My Conclusion
Triple-Fi: I care about true sound quality and earphone features so I prefer these.
W3: If were more interested in looks, size, bass in pop music then I would like these. Their sound is NOT bad if I listen to them without comparison, but having the Triple-Fi in my hands at the same time makes me choose the triple-fis because of clarity, cleanliness of bass and ear stress (sound-wise).
 

Mochan

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The Westy's are rolled off at 14k? Wow that's one harsh roll off. You sure?

Seems UE BAs really tend not to have good bass. I have the SuperFi 3 and their bass is also rather lacking. I mean it's still tight and punchy but feels... recessed compared to the treble. Never thought I'd describe bass as "recessed."

Here's another lounger who loves the Westy's.

http://forums.ilounge.com/showthread.php?t=255091
 

GianlucaM

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Yes the W3 start tapering off the highs around 14Khz and they're almost completely gone at 16Khz. To make my TripleFis sound like the W3s I had to equalize them by turning the 16Khz slider down to 0.

I had the Shure 530, back when they were called 500 - or something, and they were all mids. I'm going to repeat myself but they were unpleasant while very comfortable and nice looking.

I tell you if Ultimate Ears changes the shape and size of the TripleFis they would be great on all aspects, in my book.

The cable on my TripleFis broke a few weeks ago (due to my abuse) and I used the W3s while waiting for a replacement (which is another nice thing about the TripleFis) . When I put on the TripleFis again after a week of W3s I was surprised at how I had forgotten how much better they sound than the W3.

That's my opinion. It's hard to make others understand unless they have them all in their hands, like I did.
 

Mochan

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I tend to agree, the Triple.Fi's weakness is its shape. UE should have made the TF10's like the Super.Fi 4, would have been way better. But I love the sound too much so it's all good.
 

Zacreth

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Have you had any problems with the build quality of the TripleFi? I heard that their cables are weak and tend to break all the time.
 

Mochan

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They haven't broken *yet* but the cable is almost the same as the Super.Fi 3 which I've had for a little longer... still no problems. But I wouldn't be surprised if the cables broke quickly. The thing I hate about the Triple.Fi 10 (and the Super.Fi 3) is that the cable is designed with memory coil wire at the end near the tips where the wire is supposed to go over your ear.

This is apparently to let you mold the wire behind your ears... but the drawback is that there is absolutely no strain relief where the memory coil ends and the "unprotected" wire begins. What this means is that whenever you bend the wire at that exact point where the memory coil ends it cuts the regular wire sharply ... can't imagine that'll be good in the long run.

The good news is the wire is completely replaceable. Once mine goes I will be looking into a custom wire that won't break easily. It's an added expense, unfortunately but one I probably don't need to worry about for a while.
 

yinyang

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how about the Westone UM3X instead of the W3 - less boomy bass and less tiring trebles. I do agree about the shape of the UE's (I have the super.fi 5 Pros) - the Westones in comparison are so easy to wear, and so much more comfortable.

at some point though I'll go custom....! ;)
 

Mochan

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I just can't get behind the idea of custom shelling, I mean the IEMs look like crap afterwards! And kinda bulky. I am sure the fit is great though, but fit isn't really my problem, more like the shape and portability of the IEM. For IEMs I want to have something really small, handy and convenient. Something like the VModa Vibe or the Klipsch X10. Now gimme a Triple.Fi reshelled into an X10 and that would be a more attractive proposition than a custom shell!
 

blu3s04

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yea, triple fi sure is one of the best universal IEM i ever heard, only losing to custom IEM in my opinion :)
replace the stock cable with westone ES2 cable, and the cable problem should be cleared, it adds a little warm feeling though to the sound but overall i think that's still good ;)
 
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