The UM1s are small and neat; the transparent body fits almost inside your ear once you've got them in place, and you could almost mistake them for a hearing aid. This is a little fiddly though; as with many of the higher-end canalphones, you need to hook the cables over the back of your ears and insert the earpieces at a slight angle. The low profile means that they're more comfortable if you're leaning against the headrest in a train or airplane seat. They're colour-coded; a small red dot for right, a small blue dot for left, which makes them easier to tell apart in low light than if Westone had used letters like L and R.

The unusual Comply tips are a good mix of acoustic foam and curves.

The tips use an unusual combination of material and design. They're made of memory foam that adapts snugly to the shape of your ears, but instead of a plain cylinder it's shaped like the curved soft rubber tips common on other headphones. Westone recommends replacing the tips if they become stiff or brittle, and you get two pairs of each of two sizes.

We found the UM1s a little tricky to position, especially because you need to compress the foam before you insert them and then hold them in place; you may find yourself fiddling with them until you get the knack - or switching to eartips that fit you better. The braided cord is a good length (about 48"), with an adjustable slider, a reinforced junction where the two ear sections join, and flexible protectors on the right-angled jack and where the cable joins the earpiece. The split is deliberately placed quite high, so there's less loose cable near the ears to pull on the earpieces or pick up noise (although we had no cable noise at all with either model).

The sound of the UM1s is almost neutral; there's no distortion on high notes, no exaggeration of bass, no over-emphasis of mid tones - just a precise delivery of the details of the music with great clarity and an almost flat response. Bass and mid-tones are strong and clear, although treble can sound a little underpowered and lacking in detail. Separation of sounds is also good.

To get the full effect from your music, you may find that you want a higher volume when using the UM1s compared to similar in-ear phones. Experiment with both sizes of eartip, however, as it's getting a snug fit that gives you the best sound (and the best noise isolation). Westone claims up to 25 dB of noise reduction; this is less than some manufacturers promise, but with the UM1s you won't hear people talking beside you - or to you for that matter, unless they shout - background music, typing or even much of low frequency sounds like vacuum cleaners or jet engines. Audio quality is a definite improvement over the Shure E2c and E3c models.

The sturdy carry case is large enough to store the UM1s without coiling them up tightly, and there's an elasticized pocket so extra tips and the wax cleaning stick don't fall out when you unzip it, which is easier because the case has a double-ended zip. All in all, the UM1s are supremely practical, with excellent sound, especially for the price.