Westone UM2 - Successor to the Shure E5?
You’re probably wondering whats with the title considering this is a review of the Westone UM2 earphones. Well if you have ever seen or used the Shure E5c earphones you would be right to think the UM2’s look like the twin brother that never was.
The E5’s have been discontinued and Shure have been left with a gap till the new SE420 are launched. To fill that gap Westone have stepped in with the UM2 based on the E5 technology with several differences some for the good and some for the bad. Later in this review I will go over the main differences.
Back to the UM2, for your £230 they are supplied in a largish retail box. Packed inside you will find the earphones, the mandatory wax cleaning tool, extra Comply canal tips, carry case and some basic user instructions. While other manufacturers insist on providing three or more ways of fitting the earphones, Westone have stuck to one - introducing the Comply canal tips, at least they come in two sizes.
You may be thinking after spend this much money all you get is some foam tips, but I think Westone have method behind the madness. Over the last 5 years or so of listening to this type of earphone I can only remember ever using the foam fittings - they have consistently provided the best isolation and fit. They do have some short comings and it looks like Westone have spent some time and money to improve them.
Westone have introduced several new design changes to the humble foam fitting. Most striking change is the shape, with a slight taper from the earphone end with a nice rounded and contoured leading edge which should do wonders for comfort. A plastic tube runs down the center to provide structural support and maintain the sound port, thankfully the tube does not protude past the foam. The foam itself is very special, first thing you notice is how soft and light it feels. The foam is not porous, so they can be wiped clean, which should increase the useable life. The only negative I noted is the lack of expanding force after compressing. Westone have counteracted this by increasing the length of the tips, for example these foams are nearly twice the length of the foams used by Shure earphones. The length could be an issue for people with small ears, so there is the option of a short version.
Inside the earphones you will find a dual driver configuration with one transducer for the high end and the other to deal with the bottom end. The UM2’s do not employ a full 2 way crossover relying instead on a single capacitor high pass filter to drive the high end transducer while the other is given a full range signal. The two transducers are very different and each is tuned to produce sound over a particular frequency range. My only concern is how much high’s the low end transducer produces and how that mixes in with high’s from the other transducer.
Design wise earphones are very well shaped, smooth with no sharp edges. Ergonomically they are excellent, once fitted they stay flush with the ears which I think is important for people who like to nap with earphones or even helmet wearers. The cable length is good at 135cm (~53″).
You have to remember these earphones are aimed at the professional monitoring market not for the Ipod crowd and initial listening tests confirmed that. The sound signature is extremely neutral and cold, verging on lifeless. Imaging is excellent and the sound feels very competent and well placed.
Bass response is clean with no signs of colouring, it does however suffer from very sharp fall off. This can be very off putting for music which has a bass line fluctating between low to sub-bass. Mid-bass is better but does feel slightly under powered. High’s are excellent, extremely detailed with no colouring. I would say slightly over sharp which could be quite fatiguing with prolonged use especially listening to tracks which are generally bright.
The earphones have good sensitivity and dynamic range, you are likely to go deaf before hearing any clipping - amazing headroom! They are the earphone equivalent of a painters blank canvas, you can paint on any sound you like!
Rock
I threw various rock tracks at the earphones and it threw them straight back. I was impressed and pleasantly surprised.
On a track such as Pink Floyd’s Sorrow (Pulse CD1) the low thunder like rumbles can be felt at normal volume levels, however as the volume is turned up the earphones just run out of steam for such low bass tones.
Guitars and drums have never sounded so good. Vocals are good a touch too cold due to the lacking bottom end. Major failure points are kick drums and deep bass, while present they just sound like they are coming from the party next door.
The detail these earphones produce will blow you away. You will hear things in the music which will catch you by surprise - who put that there!
Some of the shortfalls can be overcome by spending some time and perfecting the EQ settings on your player.
80’s
Quick listen to the intro on Paula Abdul / Rush Rush was pretty good and quite impressive, when there is a call to move some air they can just about rise to the challenge. The rest of track was un-listenable without playing with the EQ to add some warmth.
Most 80’s tracks just sounded cold, worst cases extremely bright. While detail was present the overall sound felt unbalanced, mid-bass was missing in action.
I did find the experience too clinical for this genre. This genre demands earphones that are much more mellow, laid back bordering on lazy. EQ can balance the sound to perfection but it still lacks the required warmth.
Pop / Indie
I’ve been listening to Amy Winehouse / Back to Black, I quite like the album and it has had lots of play time on my home system - and as I suspected what the earphones produced whilst being technically perfect lacked soul. You just cannot get the big speaker sound from these earphones.
One genre I expect great things would be Indie, so I settled on Ian Brown / Solarized. This album uses lots of distortion and harmonic overdrive pedals, which the UM2’s had no trouble reproducing. Everything put on the CD is delivered to you accurately, you really feel like there is nothing missing.
Classical
Take your time balancing the sound then sit back for one of the best classical experiences you will have.
Detail will blow you away, the rich harmonics are all present and accounted for. You can make out valves and keys being pressed in the brass section, hear the violinists skating their bows over the strings.
Totally opposite of the 80’s expereience, sound is full bodied and full of life - your own portable orchestra for an audience of one.
Electronic
Like classical once you have adjusted the EQ you are rewarded with an amzing sound experience.
Perception and expectation is an important element in music with 80’s synth generated tracks these earphones came across lifeless and too sharp, where as with electronic music you want to hear lifeless and sharp.
After going through several Jean Michel Jarre tracks I can say the sound is clean and sharp, with excellent imaging. The sound stage was perfect with the instruments well placed. I think imperfection is easy to spot in this genre and I did not notice any.
Metal / Punk
Lastly I wanted to see how the UM2’s would deal with highly dynamic and complex tracks, come forth : System of a down / Toxicity. The earphones kept a cool head even when the volume was turned up. Sound was excellent, detailed and clean I would say slightly too sharp which was corrected with a little treble adjustment.
Comparison with the Shure E5
You may remember I started this review saying the UM2’s are the spiritual successor to the Shure E5’s after listening to them I woud change that to re-incarnation in the form of version 2.
The biggest improvement is the replacement of that user unfriendly cable that the E5’s where supplied with, it was too thick, heavy and just unmanageable. It was hard to be a casual user of the Shure E5’s. The UM2’s on the other hand have a thinner and more flexible cable which begs for casual use, they can be used with no planning required.
Ergonomically the earphones are similar in shape and size, so they fit the ear in the same way. The supplied fitting kit is an area where there has been the biggest change. The Shure was supplied with triple flange, foams and silicon cups of various sizes whereas the Westone only has foams. Westone’s Comply tips are better and provide greater comfort than the yellow Shure foams but can that make up for the lack of fitting choice? I would hazard a guess and say most people will be fine with the Comply tips, sometimes more choice is not necessary better.
Finally sound difference, small but very significant. The E5’s are brighter with much smoother highs, whereas the UM2’s have better bass response with warmer mid range. I also found the UM2 high’s to be harsh and over sharp compared to the Shure. The E5 is equipped with a proper 2-way crossover which is tuned so that there is minimal overlap between the two transducers, in the UM2 the single capacitor high pass filter gives a modest 3db roll-off and lots of overlap. This means the high end transducer still sees plenty of mid range signal as well as the intended high’s, while the bottom end is sent a full range signal. The warmer mid range seen in the UM2 is the result of both drivers adding to the sound in that range, while the high’s are being poluted by the bottom end transducer trying to produce sound beyond it’s remit, hence the harshness.
Conclusion
- Good ergonomics and fit
- Very comfortable
- High isolation from external sounds
- Extremely detailed and neutral sound stage
- Too honest from some music types
- Too honest for MP3 (yes even high bit rates)
- Requires EQ’ing to get that Lost in Music feeling
- Amazing dynamic range and head room
- Sub/low bass non existent and slightly harsh high’s
- Expensive
Ideal for
- Music lovers after a clean and neutral sound signature
- Detail seekers
- Classical and Electronic genres
Not for
- Most 80’s and modern synth pop
- People who prefer warmth over less detail
- Reggae and Ska listeners
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