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| ACS T1 - Silicon, Three Balanced Armatures IEM |
At first, going back and forth between the two, I was disappointed in the T1. I missed the bright lively sound of the UM3X, then I realized that the UM3X were overly bright.
The T1 is musical, reproducing the music as it was recorded, where as the UM3X makes almost any music sound good. There is a noticeable straining of the T1 to have clean separation between the three armatures. Going between the two, I wanted to go back to the T1, it might not be as fun sounding, but it is a really rich musical experience. With the T1I feel like I am sitting in a leather chair, oriental carpet on the floor, listening to my Thiel speakers. Hard to believe the sound quality is coming from an in ear monitor. After listening to the two, I would say the T1 is an in ear monitor and the UM3X is an earphone. It is amazing, that with the T1 I can hear Coltrane's fingers on the keys of his sax!
Comfort
It is easy to put in and take out the UM3X, comfortable to wear. The T1 is a pain to get into my ear and take out, but once they are in my ear I forget about them, amazing comfort.
Sound Quality
The UM3X is really fun, great for listening to music, but not a piece of reference equipment. When I put in the T1, feel as if I am listening to a performance.
Isolation
I now realize that isolation has big impact on sound quality, if you can separate the listener from the ambient sounds, you can create a more musical experience. The T1, has amazing isolation, the UM3X fair to good.
Westone UM3X
- Okay isolation
- Noticeably brighter than the T1
- Nice full sound
- Good bass
- Very good sound stage for an IEM
- Comply foam tips comfortable, but fall off
- More of a fun sound
- More fatiguing
ACS T1
- Richer sound
- Much fuller sound
- More musical
- Larger soundstage
- Less bright than UM3X
- Less like I am wearing IEMs, I forget I have them in my ears
- A little muddy, lower frequencies to the lower mid range
- More of a reference sound than UM3X, "notice more of the music"
Equipment:
UM3X or ACS T1 > iBasso D4 > 6" Monster USB > MacBook Pro > Pandora
