Westone is possibly the oldest manufacturer of in-ear monitors providing the best in hearing protection and solutions since 1959. They bring their years in the hearing industry together to produce a very comfortable line of in-ears.

The first model I was able to test was the Westone UM-1. They were by far the lightest of the in-ears I had tested and was very excited to hear how they sounded. The UM1 is based on a single full-range driver design.

The earphones came with a nice but sparse set of accessories which included a nice zippered storage case, replacement eartips, miniplug to ¼ inch stereo adapter and the all important cleaning tool. I missed some of the other accessories such as the attentuator and airline adapter that had been included with other in-ears but that wasn’t really a big deal.

The in-ears were constructed in very solid clear acrylic plastic, which gave them a very solid feel while still maintaining their lightweight character. The black braided cord was also very lightweight and seemed less prone to tangling. The length of the cord was longer than expected which was a nice surprise. The construction along with the braided cord made the UM1s very easy to handle and provided a near hassle-free experience when getting them in and out of their case which I really enjoyed using.

Westone uses soft foam eartips they call "Comply" which seems to be a sort of memory foam material that is very easy to handle and really does "comply" when you are fitting them in your ears. Again getting a good seal is crucial to getting a good sound for your in-ears.

I placed the UM1s into my ears and noticed how almost unnoticeable they felt. Keeping the weight down really makes a difference, especially when wearing in-ears for an extended period of time. They also fit close to the head and contoured somewhat to the ear, which makes the profile seem very sleek and discreet. You could almost lay your head on a pillow and hardly notice you had anything in your ear.

The sound here again was superb. One thing I noticed right away about the sound was the feeling of an extended low end. Not only tight but seemed to extend somewhat a little lower than other single driver in-ears. I was also able to keep the volume turned down somewhat while still being able to get the full range of sound from the UM1s. The UM1s did not sound overly bright but warm and punchy.

Westone also is the only manufacturer in these reviews that are still producing their products in the United States, which is very admirable. This possibly is one of the reasons that they limit the amount of accessories included but the tradeoff is worth it in the end. I would much rather see them put all of the quality in the product itself rather than run the risk of compromising things just to keep costs down.

Comfort, size, fit, sound, quality construction and value; add them all up and you have Westone. Visit them by going to www.westone.com.