New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Westone 4 = Disappointment - Page 6

post #76 of 216
9/13/11 at 3:28pm

The only trouble I have with the fit is that the cable is reasonably heavier than the earphones, which means that the ER4S is weighed down when worn. However, coupled with the sony hybrids (using the red monster eartip adapters), it's not to the extent that they fall out. Once they're in, they're in for good. Hell, I might even do a little modding to add a bit of weight around the earpieces themselves. Hadn't thought of that until now actually. scratchchin.gif

Reply

Gear mentioned in this thread:

post #77 of 216
9/13/11 at 3:44pm

These are sounding much better with the medium comply's provided (the long/thin ones)

Reply
post #78 of 216
9/13/11 at 4:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tranducer View Post

Don't worry, a lot of people think that monster beats are much better than HD800 too.

 

What's that supposed to mean?
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by germe83 View Post

If you bought from Amazon, chances are damn near 100% that you purchased from an unauthorized dealer (probably crawfords superstore.) I've talked to Westone about their items sold on Amazon, and they could only give me one seller that was in fact authorized. It's very possible you have a b-stock/damaged/defective item. Westone said that's the reason many of their products are so much lower in price than authorized sellers. I purchased some W3's from crawfords superstore (fulfilled by amazon), and they sounded awful.


Oh man, really? The only two that were "Amazon Fulfilled" were Crawford's Superstore, and the other merchant I bought them from. It was $365, while Crawford's was $370. As soon as I bought them, Crawford's went down to $350. I guess I should be paying $450 for these then eh? Then again, I've heard users mention the W4 sound very similar to the PFE. Indeed they did, but I still thought the PFE was better sounding.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by ubercaffeinated View Post

wow, okay i missed this bit completely - katun, i think you should return those W4's to amazon/crawford's if you haven't already and get them again from a proper reseller.

 

at 365 bucks, that's about the same you'd pay at earphonesolutions, an authorized dealer, with a coupon. 

 

the sound signature you've been describing for the W4's don't match up with  - hot, fatiguing treble and sounding thin is NOT what it should sound like, and i think the entire W4 appreciation/impressions thread + joker's review would back that up.

 

you really need to think about where these unauthorized resellers are getting their stock from.


I sent them off on Saturday.

 

See, I think people are misinterpreting my explanations of "hot treble". It's not to the point where it destroys the rest of the sound with it's treble, but it is definitely annoying with pretty much any song. I believe playing around in the EQ revealed the worst spike somewhere in the 9K-13K range. Very unnatural and "ting-y" if you know what I mean. I suspect something was up, because I've heard countless IEMs under $50 that sounded better. Strange. Somethings has to be up.
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by catscratch View Post

Sounds like a fairly typical fit problem. The W4 sounded painfully bright with some tips for me as well. With your bog-standard Comply short foamies the treble wasn't hot at all for me, but with some of the plastic tips as well as the longer foamies it was - and thin, steely sound, lacking bass, and steely highs are all symptomatic of a bad fit in general.

 

Everybody's ears are different and you really need to mess around with the gamut of tips before you write off a pair of canalphones. The W4 is actually on the easier side in terms of getting a good fit - the ER-4S for instance is a canalphone that I've never been able to get a consistently good fit with. Sonically the W4 is reasonably well balanced I think, but I agree on the boring bit. It's too dry and laid-back. I still prefer the UM3x by a good margin; it's vivid where the W4 is dull, liquid where the W4 is dry, and is quite a bit more linear and accurate throughout the mids and highs. The W4 does have the wider soundstage, better separation, better bass, and a tad warmer tone.


I tired the grey ovals and they fit absolutely perfect, yet didn't sound good. Then I tried the long white ones (not foam) and couldn't get a very good fit, but they sounded slightly less treble happy. I didn't want to try the foam because I knew I would be sending them back. I realize the important of fit and choosing the right tips, but by the way the grey's were fitting, I thought those would preform pretty dang good.

Reply
post #79 of 216
9/13/11 at 4:34pm

Fit and comfort are two different things. The only way to get a good fit with the W3 for me, for instance, was pretty damn uncomfortable. Not that I'm advocating uncomfortable fit, it's one of the reasons why I don't use W3 anymore and never really did.

Reply
post #80 of 216
9/13/11 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by catscratch View Post

Fit and comfort are two different things. The only way to get a good fit with the W3 for me, for instance, was pretty damn uncomfortable. Not that I'm advocating uncomfortable fit, it's one of the reasons why I don't use W3 anymore and never really did.


Well yeah, I can understand that. I can have Etymotics hanging out of my ears and have it feel comfortable, but obviously that's a horrible seal. The tips I was using hit a perfect seal, both channels were balanced, and they were comfortable. If, for instance, getting a really good fit involved high discomfort, I'd rather take a hit on SQ and get something cheaper than have to pull them out of my ears every so often due to discomfort. Even if I did get a good pair, I'm still not certain it would have taken out my current favorite. I mainly just got them because I wanted to hear a really good top tier universal, hoping it would impressive me enough to keep it.

 

Reply
post #81 of 216
9/13/11 at 6:02pm

Katun is the FOTM killer.

Reply
post #82 of 216
9/13/11 at 6:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiteki View Post

Katun is the FOTM killer.



No he is not kiteki, young lady. There are far more people who have tried the W4 and like it to love it than the few on this thread who said they didn't like it or won't try it now. Heck, it took me forever to try it, but I'm so glad I did (plus I got a great great deal on it).

Reply
post #83 of 216
9/13/11 at 6:58pm

I might be open to doing a temporary swap with someone who has something I am interested in, for those who want to try before buying. Not exactly the place for it, but it's more an idea than a solid thing. If anyone is interested, send me a PM. :)

Reply
post #84 of 216
9/13/11 at 6:58pm

I'm not a young lady, but ok. =p

 

When Katun posted in [active] Z1000 thread saying it didn't sound good, the thread died.

Reply
post #85 of 216
9/13/11 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiteki View Post

When Katun posted in [active] Z1000 thread saying it didn't sound good, the thread died.


I remember that. Haven't seen that thread since. tongue_smile.gif

 

Those were pretty awful headphones for the money though...

Reply
post #86 of 216
9/13/11 at 7:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katun View Post


Oh man, really? The only two that were "Amazon Fulfilled" were Crawford's Superstore, and the other merchant I bought them from. It was $365, while Crawford's was $370. As soon as I bought them, Crawford's went down to $350. I guess I should be paying $450 for these then eh? Then again, I've heard users mention the W4 sound very similar to the PFE. Indeed they did, but I still thought the PFE was better sounding.
 

 


I LOVE Amazon & am a paying Amazon Prime member, but I really hate how they sell items as 'fulfilled by amazon.' From personal experience, it's misleading & gives consumers a false sense of security thinking they bought a genuine item from Amazon, when in fact it's just shipping from their warehouses. It's still considered sold through the third party (unauthorized seller.) All they do is ship Amazon their merchandise, and Amazon uses their warehouses to ship to customers. Westone even clearly calls out Crawfords Superstore on their website:

 

http://www.westone.com/unauthorized-music-dealers

 

As far as the W4 sounding like the PFE, I read dfkt's comparison of the two. While I love dfkt's reviews & agree with him on about 99% of things, I just completely disagree with him about the 2 sounding pretty much the same. Personally, I think they sound very different. The PFE is more of an 'analytic' iem with emphasis on detail & clarity, but also sounding more one dimensional. Don't get me wrong, I love the PFEs, but personally, they sound more like an Ety ER4 than the Westones. 

 

The W4 sounds much warmer to me. Less detail in the treble region, but much better instrument separation & much wider soundstage. Bass impact is much more powerful as well. They're very detailed & articulate, but I really wouldn't describe them as 'analytic.' They have a much warmer signature. Just my opinion though...

Reply
post #87 of 216
9/13/11 at 7:49pm

Um. Side by side A-Bing between two ER4-PTs, one brand new and one 50hr, and experiences with countless BA based IEMs state otherwise. Says me. YMMV
 

Quote:
Originally Posted by ocswing View Post




BA IEMs shouldn't need any burn-in whatsoever. That being said you should listen to them for an extended session to allow your brain to get used to the sound. Also it's unfair to have one set EQ'd and the other without it. You've fixed what you felt was wrong with one set. I don't think you'll really see the Westone as being worth the money, but you might not see your previous pair as superior in every aspect.

 



 

Reply
post #88 of 216
9/13/11 at 8:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zalithian View Post

I might be open to doing a temporary swap with someone who has something I am interested in, for those who want to try before buying. Not exactly the place for it, but it's more an idea than a solid thing. If anyone is interested, send me a PM. :)



I'm really interested in hearing the W4 because I'm torn between reshelling my TF10 and getting the W4.

 

Ultimately, there are too many people saying it's thin and boring for me to want to spend $370 on them. I'd rather reshell the TF10's and gamble with the fit and sound quality than to gamble with trying the W4's...

Reply
post #89 of 216
9/13/11 at 8:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kiteki View Post

I'm not a young lady, but ok. =p

 

When Katun posted in [active] Z1000 thread saying it didn't sound good, the thread died.



Haha, before anything become potentially FOTM status, Katun should be given a pair to try out to see if the headphone is actually deserving of FOTM status.biggrin.gif

Reply
post #90 of 216
9/13/11 at 8:14pm

I think the TF10's are better sounding in every regard.   Many could say the W4 midrange is superior but since I didn't care for the somewhat forward sound of the W4 midrange, personally I'd still take the TF10.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

Gear mentioned in this thread: