As we all know Westone always strives for excellence in their releases and this IEM is a clear testament to that. The UM Pro 10 is the revamped version of the non detachable and limited UM1. The UM Pro 10 now has a detachable Shure like connectors) soft flexible braided cables, the highly comfortable startips / westone foamies and an improved single armature driver.
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| Meet the Westone UM Pro 10 |
Unboxing
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| The box of UM Pro 10 |
The packaging of Westone offers a great looking box. It is fairly easy to open and return the items inside once unboxed. If you're a box collector I must say this could be one of the lookers among your collection.
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| Unboxed |
Specifications
- Sensitivity: 114 dB SPL @ 1mW
- Frequency Response: 20 Hz – 16 kHz
- Impedance: 25 ohms @ 1 kHz
- Driver: Balanced armature, full-range
- Cable: EPIC Replaceable Cable
Accessories
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| UM Pro 10's accessories |
- Westone UM Pro 10
- 5 Pairs of Westone Foams
- 5 Pairs of Westone Startips
- Westone Hard Case
- UM Pro Owners Manual
- Cleaning Tool
- Price: PHP 7,450.00
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| A very high quality hard case by westone |
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| There's even a tool included to keep your filters clean |
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| Then a bunch of high quality eartips to choose from |
The accessories of Westone UM Pro 10 nailed it, all of the accessories included are made out of premium materials and have their usable purpose. The hard plastic carrying case is the one of the most robust looking I've seen to make sure your IEM is safe and sound, the Westone Startips is currently my favorite set of eartips that provides the best sound and comfort and the foamies included seems to be better and more comfortable than other proprietary foam tips.
Build Quality
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| The shells and connector |
This is the part where Westone is really highly regarded and the UM Pro 10 is no exception to that. The IEM's finish is great, the clear polymer used here feels really durable, the strain reliefs are well placed and flexible. When it comes to the cable part, this is probably one of the softest and most flexible but durable looking twisted braided cable. I'm liking it better than FiiO's proprietary replacement cable when it comes to comfort and a lot better than other twisted cables from Brainwavz B2 and Mee Electronics A151. The jacked used is a pretty standard 3.5mm gold plated L-Jack. Overall, I feel that this IEM can take a lot of abuse and should last for a long while. Plus as long as you won't destroy the body, you can always get a replacement cable in case it will break.
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| Whole IEM view |
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| The L-type 3.5 mm jack |
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| The Y Spliter and cable cinch |
Comfort / Isolation / Microphonics
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| It could only be worn over-ear |
The UM Pro 10 is meant to be worn over-ear, those who's used to wearing straight down should adjust as it is awkward to wear it that way. Comfort wise this ranks up among the most comfortable in ear monitors I've used. The eartips were top notch "both foam and silicon" and the shells of the IEM feels like I'm not wearing anything on my ears as they're very light. It also isolates enough for me not to hear anything on the outside world. I won't advise to wear this on the streets as you might encounter an accident if you're not careful. As an overear IEM, I did not experienced any cable noise when walking as expected.
Note 1: Tip selection is very important to get the best seal and comfort
Note 2: It is also not advisable to use this during workouts as armature drivers aren't sweat proof compared to dynamic drivers.
Sound Quality
Even if it is just a single balanced armature driver, this set can definitely deliver. It has an bright analytical sound that packs a lot of details and clarity. If you love listening to details and voices the UM Pro 10 performs very well. Most audiophiles will surely love this one as it has very minimal bass, but not to the point that there's almost no bass like some single armature sets. The sub-bass part may be very limited, but the bass quality of this one is fast and tight. Treble heads will surely love this though some may find it fatiguing and sharp at times. I enjoyed the way it separates the instruments as you can clearly hear them. Guitars sounded heavenly on this specially on acoustic tracks, the bass guitars are fairly listenable and the drums slams sweetly. To my surprise it also has a decent soundstage unlike to my old Mee A151 from memory. So far the cons I've heard with this set are just some hiss with some songs and that very light sub-bass.
The UM Pro 10 is a very easy to drive IEM, just make sure not to pair it with a bright set. Even some local MediaTek powered phones can drive it, though its best to pair it with a real HiFi players like the FiiO X1 for example to maximize its potential. Overall this is a great sounding pair when played using the preferred genres like acoustic, instrumentals, country, rock and other sub bass light songs. It won't sound complete with RNB, Hiphop and Pop songs though.
Lossless Tracks Used:
1. Better Days - Franco
2. Through The Fire - Nina Live!
3. Pretty When You Cry - Lana Del Rey
4. Shatter Me - Lindsey Stirling
5. Team - Lorde
Pro's - highly analytical, very detail oriented, microphonics is almost non existent, great build quality, soft twisted braided cables, awesome treble, replaceable cables
Con's - hiss on some tracks, sub-bass is almost not present, not suitable for those who like to wear it overear, not suitable for those who love heart thumping bass
Verdict
I would recommend this IEM for serious listeners and musicians, it packs a lot of details and clarity on its very small size. It is also very good in treble, vocals and instruments. The only thing missing on it is that sub-bass. Overall, its a great buy as it has good sound quality, top notch aesthetics, replaceable cables and a lot of accessories.
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