The Package

The UM1s arrived in the same stylish box as the UM2s. The box front pops open and lets you inspect the earphones before opening the box. This can be nice if you like me live in a country with a postal service that manhandles a lot of the smaller packages. On the box you find all of the usual stuff like specifications and a lot of warnings. Like most IEMs the UM1s are a very sensitive piece of kit which means that even with the output on your audio device set to low it will produce a high sound pressure.


The bundle that ships with the Westone UM1s is quite good. With the monitors you get two sets of short Comply tips and two sets of long. In order to keep the monitors in tip top shape you get a small ear wax removal tool.


Comply foam tips ensure that the fit between ear canal and monitor is perfect. These foam tips are way more durable than normal foamies and do not cause as much irritation as the kind other companies use.


The cleaning tool is just a scraper that you can use to get ear wax out of the earphones tunnel.

Closer Examination

Size wise the UM1s are the smallest IEM solution I have ever tried. The body is so small that I actually had problems inserting them correctly the first time I tried them on because I could not control the angle of insertion. After figuring out how to grip and insert them the right way it was pretty straight forward. Once you get these earphones in place you will not feel a thing, the pressure exerted by the foam on the ear canal is really small. You can hardly feel that you have anything in your ears with these IEMs, this is due to the fact that they are extremely small, light weight and have Comply foam tips. Wearing the UM1s for several hours at a time was quite pleasant there were no discomforts whatsoever!

The cable is mounted on the UM1s in the exact same way as it was on the UM2s. The only difference being that the UM1's body is a bit smaller, giving off the impression that the cable is bigger. That is not true the cable used on the UM1s is the same as the one used by the UM2s.


Looking at the earphone from the bottom it becomes apparent just how small these IEMs really are. The foam tip is roughly the same size as the body of the monitor. Much like the UM2s the UM1s have the same basic construction where you have the body sitting flush with the ear and then a small tunnel that extends to the ear piece. The tunnel stops about 2 mm from the edge of the foam tip.


The body of the UM1s is clear with some opaque spots. Once you have them in your ears they are almost impossible to spot if you are not standing right next to the person wearing them. Where the UM2's body stick out a bit from my ear the UM1's are completely surrounded by the ears curvature hence impossible to spot from an angle. Each of the monitors has a small dot on them indicating left / right earphone. Red is right, blue is left.


When looking at the monitors from the ear on out you can just see the filter. Like the UM2s, the UM1s have a filter that helps to keep ear wax and moisture out of the internal parts of the IEM. The filter also helps to shape the sound signature of the earphones. The filters are not user replaceable so if they get contaminated or broken for some odd reason you need to get them repaired by a Westone dealer.


The body of the UM1s is extremely thin. Besides being so skinny the earphones are incredibly light weight. This means that you ears will not be weighed down by using these IEMs.


The angle of which the tunnel is mounted on the body is roughly the same as on the UM2s so the insertion angle is about the same. This is great and allows for easy insertion onto the ear and a good fit without the body sticking out of the ear.


In comparison to the Westone UM2 and Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio, the Westone UM1s are absolutely petite. From the left: Westone UM1, Westone UM2, Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio.