Introduction

Westone is one of the oldest in-ear-monitor (IEM) producing companies out there. They are mostly known for their range of custom in-ears geared towards musicians called the Elite Series. The in-ear-monitor I will be taking a look at today is the Westone UM2. The UM2 is a universal fit earphone that features two balanced armatures with a passive crossover.

The Westone UM2s are aimed at audiophiles and other people who value great sound more than the price of the unit. Because the UM2s feature two drivers instead of one they are significantly more expensive than its single driver brother the Westone UM1. The two drivers also result in a far more balanced and rich sound because you have one armature for bass and one for mid- and high-range tones.

Even for a high-end universal fit IEM the price is kind of steep. With a price tag of around $299 they are for the people who want the best at any expense. One area where Westone has chosen a different path than many of the other IEM producing companies is their design.
The entire IEM is made to sit flush with the ear with only a minimal amount of the ear piece sticking out. Another small treat is the fact that Westone uses the brilliant Comply foam tips, these are the most durable and comfort oriented foam tips available on the market today.

Specifications

• Sensitivity: 119 dB/mW
• Frequency response: 20 Hz - 18 kHz
• Impedance: 27 ohms
• Driver: Dual balanced armature drivers with a passive crossover
• Features: Soft padded pouch, replaceable Comply™ foam tips, and wax loop for cleaning.
• Available Colors: Black, Clear.

The impedance of the UM2s is a bit above the ordinary at 27 Ohms, but it is not nearly high enough to pose a problem with any normal portable media players on the market today. The UM2s are available in both a black and clear color scheme. The ones I will be taking a look at today are "clear", but do have some areas where the plastic is a bit opaque.

The Package

The Westone UM2 earphones ship in a very stylish black box.


On the back of the package you can read all about the specifications of the IEMs. Right next to the specifications you can find the usual warnings about listening levels and how listening at a high volume for an extended period of time can cause damage to your hearing. Since the UM2s are a fairly efficient pair of headphones you should make sure that your player’s volume is set to minimum the first time you try out the earphones, not doing so could result in both damage to your hearing and the drivers inside the headphones.


The box front pops open and allows you to inspect the in what condition the headphones are before opening the box. This can be neat if you bought them off the net and want to see if they were damaged during transport.


Westone has chosen to go with a dual driver solution for their high end universal headphones. In the works right now is the Westone 3 which as the name suggests is a triple driver solution. The number of drives inside the headphones is not alpha omega, but generally a dual or triple driver IEM has a fuller sound because they have one driver for bass and another one taking care of the mid and high tones. The Westone UM2 uses one driver for bass and one to produce the mid and high tones. Each of the monitors hold two drivers and a passive crossover filter. The drivers used are all balanced armatures.


In the box everything is fixed in place by a black room separator. With the UM2s you get a lot of extra accessories like a little cleaning tool and a semi hard carrying bag which is quite handy for storing the monitors in while you are on the move. Beside that you also get a spare small foam tip along with two pairs of long foam tips all made by Comply foam.