Westone Westone 3 Three-Way Speaker Earphones

Nearly two years have passed since we first wrote about Westone's Westone 3 ($400), a "three-way driver" earphone with drivers specifically dedicated to lows, mids, and highs respectively, unlike "triple-driver" solutions with two bass drivers and a high-end driver. We tested a prototype, found the audio to be very warm and bass heavy, and expected a final version by May 2007. Since then, 3 has apparently been through a pretty major retooling process, and has finally emerged as a final product in final packaging, complete with an insane collection of different ear tips -- single-flange and triple-flange rubber, as well as Comply foam -- plus a carrying case, cleaning tool, headphone plug adapter and volume attenuator gear. The headphones remain roughly the size of Shure's SE530s, now made in black with red numbers on their sides, and use braided cords with an L-shaped headphone plug. We'll report on the sound when we've had a chance to give them a good listen.