Westone 4 Appreciation Thread and Reviews (a.k.a. Westone 4 ?) - Page 249

Exactly . 

cannot wait to get reunited with this baby. its been a long time

Been listening to these for 2 days now. Man, i cant imagine why i sold these before. The balance is just perfect. I literally cried when i listened to some vocal oriented songs. I will declare this the best universal. There is just something unique about the w4 that sets it apart from the rest of the competition. Customs? No thanks! Id like to share this with my friends. I wanna see how they react when i play it through my setup. Im sure it will be priceless

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenB 

Just wanted to report that the MEElectronics triple-flange tips finally arrived only to discover that they DO NOT fit the Westone 4 earbuds! I wrote to the company and they promptly responded that they have done no testing on Westone products and, furthermore, the triple-flange's only come in one inner diameter. They advised that some people make narrow posts thicker by applying a silicone stalk layer thus building up the diameter. Seems like too much work to me and, since I have subsequently switched to the Comply P-100 Mediums, I'm just gonna just toss them in with the rest of my burgeoning tip collection. This experiment only cost $6, but I wanted to post an alert before others make the same mistake. 

UPDATE:

Courtesy of ANDEROAN (a.k.a. John), I received a package of custom collars (see post #3691) designed to enable the MEElectronics triple-flange tips to fit the W4 earbuds. 

The collars come considerably longer than needed, so I used a sharp razor blade to get the length just right. Once I mounted them on the W4 posts, it was a bit of a challenge sliding the MEE triple-flange tips on, but with a little perseverance, I got them nice and tight. They were reasonably simple and easy to insert into my ear canals. Then, the listening process...

I have to admit that the MEE's are quite comfortable (soft silicone) and I was able to get a deep insertion. Truthfully, I did not find the bass to be as pronounced as with the Comply's; furthermore, when I opened my jaw wide, it changed the sound by further reducing bass response. I tried pushing them a little deeper and, if I kept gentle pressure with my fingers, I could get pretty close, but they tend not to create as tight a seal as the Comply's. The rest of the sound spectrum was comparable! One really nice feature is that they are cleanable unlike the Comply's. 

On balance, I think I still prefer listening with the Comply's, but these tips offer a nice alternative. When I removed the MEE triple-flanges, the custom collars remained inside the sleeves. The good news is that, if/when I want to put them back on, they are already mounted and ready for action.  

Ultimately, if I get tired of changing out the Comply's and/or the expense of replacing them every few months, I may just switch to these MEE triple-flanges permanently. The sound quality is just short of the Comply's in the bass department, but otherwise excellent. 

I appreciate John's generosity, which afforded me the opportunity to try the MEE triple-flange tips, which were otherwise DOA without the collars. 

Ken

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinyman392 

 

LOL, I'll test it out.  Don't have an amp for my 5G Touch though :(  Hopefully it can drive it (I don't listen that loud anyways).

Have you ended up trying this out? One of the reasons I sold my W4r was because of the recessed treble but now I see using Phonak tips can fix that, I kind of want them back ;) They did everything else well (minus the recessed treble).

Quote:

Originally Posted by moshen 

Have you ended up trying this out? One of the reasons I sold my W4r was because of the recessed treble but now I see using Phonak tips can fix that, I kind of want them back ;) They did everything else well (minus the recessed treble).

The Phonak mediums never fit me, smalls do decent, I still get the best sound out of the stock grey silicone tips though.

I don't have the Phonak tips either, using Vsonic single flanges which are about the same in length and bore diameter. Hybrids are a good option too. 

Christmas came early and my baby's home!!

The tip has a very wide bore, about the same size as the doctor's special.

One question for custom tips users...is there an quick and easy way to put in and remove the tips?

Everytime I try to insert the tips, it takes a good minutes to get them into place. Also when I remove, the tips stay wedged in my ear but the IEM has come out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kookoo 

Christmas came early and my baby's home!!

 

The tip has a very wide bore, about the same size as the doctor's special.

 

 

One question for custom tips users...is there an quick and easy way to put in and remove the tips?

Everytime I try to insert the tips, it takes a good minutes to get them into place. Also when I remove, the tips stay wedged in my ear but the IEM has come out.

Nice,

I just picked up my silicone UM56 from my audiologist. Initial impressions are 1) isolation is fantastic(triple flange level), 2) comfort is better than any tip I've used before, 3) soundstage widens a bit, 4) amp pairings are more noticeable. Overall, I think it was well worth the $150 I spent out the door. If you're on the fence I'd say go for it.

I don't have the issue of the tips falling off. I just carefully twist and pull out grasping on the entire w4 shell--takes about 10 seconds. It might be easier for me to secure a good fit because I hated the memory wire and removed it carefully with a utility knife on day one. It's much easier to manipulate the shell without the wire. I wish Westone would offer a memory wire free cable with a good relief at the plug end.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazuline 

 

Nice,

 

I just picked up my silicone UM56 from my audiologist. Initial impressions are 1) isolation is fantastic(triple flange level), 2) comfort is better than any tip I've used before, 3) soundstage widens a bit, 4) amp pairings are more noticeable. Overall, I think it was well worth the $150 I spent out the door. If you're on the fence I'd say go for it.

 

I don't have the issue of the tips falling off. I just carefully twist and pull out grasping on the entire w4 shell--takes about 10 seconds. It might be easier for me to secure a good fit because I hated the memory wire and removed it carefully with a utility knife on day one. It's much easier to manipulate the shell without the wire. I wish Westone would offer a memory wire free cable with a good relief at the plug end.

Doesn't that put alot of undue stress on the connection if you remove the memory wire?

After abit of practice I can get the tips into my ear fairly easily but removing them is still a problem. However, they are super comfy.

Finally got around to replacing the Olives on my W4 that I've been using for roughly 20 months. Ahh, much better! 

Quote:

Originally Posted by treal512 

Finally got around to replacing the Olives on my W4 that I've been using for roughly 20 months. Ahh, much better! 

wow 20 months, don't think i've ever used a set of tips for more than 6months.

Hey everybody,

I've got a really difficult question ..

I'm looking for good iems (i've tried W4, they were near perfect but my ear were crying cause i have to up the level too high to be able to hear all sur subteties of a song .. And it was insuportable, but i was loving them ...

So i decided to go for the Heir 4ai, and i cried again ..

Before i was listenning to music with Q jays, and the heir were like the Q jays, really, for the price I think it's a fkcing shame ..

So i'm tired to find the perfect iems .. but i heard that etymotics were good .. Does anybody think the er4 are similar as the w4 or i'm totally out of it ?

I anybody know an iem like the W4, less tiring or with much sensibility/less impedance, i'll be please to read you :)

(Sorry if i made any mistakes, i'm french ..)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klypso 

Hey everybody,

 

I've got a really difficult question ..

 

I'm looking for good iems (i've tried W4, they were near perfect but my ear were crying cause i have to up the level too high to be able to hear all sur subteties of a song .. And it was insuportable, but i was loving them ...

 

So i decided to go for the Heir 4ai, and i cried again ..

 

Before i was listenning to music with Q jays, and the heir were like the Q jays, really, for the price I think it's a fkcing shame ..

 

So i'm tired to find the perfect iems .. but i heard that etymotics were good .. Does anybody think the er4 are similar as the w4 or i'm totally out of it ?

 

I anybody know an iem like the W4, less tiring or with much sensibility/less impedance, i'll be please to read you :)

 

(Sorry if i made any mistakes, i'm french ..)

ER4 would more likely than not be more tiring than the ER4.  The Q-Jays are similar to the B2s (I've heard the B2) and which are more tiresome than the W4.  Both fall under the analytical sound on Head-Fi, hot treble doesn't help with the tiredness of the IEM.  Both of these IEMs will help you hear the subteties of a song.

I'd need to know exactly the part of the treble that tires you out with the W4 in order to make a suggestion.  Every person has a frequency (range) they find distracting, without this information, I really can't tell you what would or wouldn't be tiresome to you.  I didn't find the W4 tiresome at all.  You can try tip-rolling the W4s to get a preferred sound.  Different tips will alter the sound greatly.  Maybe give the Klipsch Oval tips a try or Comply Foam?