[chupacabra314]

It's a long shot but will ask anyways.
 
How does the W30 compare to the Dunu DN1000 or the Fidue A83, both of which have bass quantity that I enjoy? I've never tried a bassy BA-only IEM and am a bit concerned.

 

[ib1dance]

Edit: Please note the below review is flawed as I hadn't acheived an air tight seal on the westone 30's at the time ( though I thought I had). My later review (several posts on) is more accurate.
 
It's a learned skill to be critical ,especially when you want to like something like an IEM you have just spent money on. Or when you don't want to "believe" in something because it may scare you ( or you are biased in some other way), like human caused climate change for example ( The scientifically gathered evidence (same methodology that developed the understanding of electronics)  that suggests Carbon Dioxide (amongst other green house gases is altering the planets climate, comparably very very quickly indeed).
 
So I have attempted to listen to the Westone 30's,  from a sound quality perspective. The definition of sound quality I have available to me was how do these Balanced armature IEM's compare musically ( dynamism) to the cheaper in price dynamic headphones I have.

First impression (hypothesis) was,(whilst listening with them on a audio track I produced ( thus I know how it sounds on specific equipment ) if I'd produced the audio track whilst listening with the W30's I would of increased the volume of the kick drum slightly. I produced the track originally listening  with Ultrasone HFI-15G headphones ( As they are my favourite ultra-portable headphones I've heard to date, when paired with a FiiO amp for extra bass).
 
Second hypothesis (ok, more a guess without equipment to measure the actual sound). The kick drum sound is being slightly masked due to the comparably higher volume of the mid-high freq in the Westone 30's (can't be sure of this without doing a spectrum analysis on the outputs).
 
However the movement sensed by the interactions of the kick and sub-bass on my track is definitely not as dynamic on the westones 30's.
 
(Discredited,ignore it) Summary – The Westone 30's are very responsive BA IEM's and I'm intrigued if I could produce music ( structured sound) with them that will make use of that characteristic. Since I produced the track on Dynamic equipment, it would only be fair to compare these BA's IEM's on music that was designed specifically in order to make the best of their attributes.
 
Just out of curiosity, can someone provide the information of which combination BA & Dynamic IEM is considered to be of a high quality when it comes to musicality?. (within a similar price range as the westone 30's )

 

 

 
 

 

[woktrr1919]

I've tried the W3,W4,UM3X & UM30, and honestly, the UM30 is my favorite. They're still my go-to iems. 

 

[chupacabra314]

  It's a learned skill to be critical ,especially when you want to like something like an IEM you have just spent money on. Or when you don't want to "believe" in something because it may scare you ( or you are biased in some other way), like human caused climate change for example ( The scientifically gathered evidence (same methodology that developed the understanding of electronics)  that suggests Carbon Dioxide (amongst other green house gases is altering the planets climate, comparably very very quickly indeed).
 
So I have attempted to listen to the Westone 30's,  from a sound quality perspective. The definition of sound quality I have available to me was how do these Balanced armature IEM's compare musically ( dynamism) to the cheaper in price dynamic headphones I have.

First impression (hypothesis) was,(whilst listening with them on a audio track I produced ( thus I know how it sounds on specific equipment ) if I'd produced the audio track whilst listening with the W30's I would of increased the volume of the kick drum slightly. I produced the track originally listening  with Ultrasone HFI-15G headphones ( As they are my favourite ultra-portable headphones I've heard to date, when paired with a FiiO amp for extra bass).
 
Second hypothesis (ok, more a guess without equipment to measure the actual sound). The kick drum sound is being slightly masked due to the comparably higher volume of the mid-high freq in the Westone 30's (can't be sure of this without doing a spectrum analysis on the outputs).
 
However the movement sensed by the interactions of the kick and sub-bass on my track is definitely not as dynamic on the westones 30's.
 
Summary – The Westone 30's are very responsive BA IEM's and I'm intrigued if I could produce music ( structured sound) with them that will make use of that characteristic. Since I produced the track on Dynamic equipment, it would only be fair to compare these BA's IEM's on music that was designed specifically in order to make the best of their attributes.
 
Just out of curiosity, can someone provide the information of which combination BA & Dynamic IEM is considered to be of a high quality when it comes to musicality?. (within a similar price range as the westone 30's )

 

 

 
 

Well put
 
I've seen a lot of people here state the Fidue A83 ($280) is their favorite hybrid (flatter frequency response). For me the Dunu DN1000 ($200) (slightly more v-shaped) has a slightly better overall sound quality. The A83 has a serious dip in 4.3kHz which I didn't like at all. I am still rocking the Dunu's but I was one of the people with the infamous stiffening cable issue. The A83's cable is superb in quality and is detachable. Neither of the two has an ergonomic shape of the housings so they are a bit quirky with the fit. The Dunu DN2000 ($300) is another favorite with a flatter FR but I haven't tried it myself. All 3 are Dynamic + dual TWFK BA driven. Two favorites from Sony are the XBA-H1 and H3. I hear a lot of good things about them but their Frankensteinian shape is a dealbreaker for me.
 
Honestly I find it interesting that there are no ergonomically shaped hybrids out there. Even the $1300 AKG K3003 aren't...

 

[ib1dance]

  Well put
 
I've seen a lot of people here state the Fidue A83 ($280) is their favorite hybrid (flatter frequency response). For me the Dunu DN1000 ($200) (slightly more v-shaped) has a slightly better overall sound quality. The A83 has a serious dip in 4.3kHz which I didn't like at all. I am still rocking the Dunu's but I was one of the people with the infamous stiffening cable issue. The A83's cable is superb in quality and is detachable. Neither of the two has an ergonomic shape of the housings so they are a bit quirky with the fit. The Dunu DN2000 ($300) is another favorite with a flatter FR but I haven't tried it myself. All 3 are Dynamic + dual TWFK BA driven. Two favorites from Sony are the XBA-H1 and H3. I hear a lot of good things about them but their Frankensteinian shape is a dealbreaker for me.
 
Honestly I find it interesting that there are no ergonomically shaped hybrids out there. Even the $1300 AKG K3003 aren't...

Thanks for that info. I've just ordered some A83's. As I prefer the cable over the ear design. I'll compare them with the 30's and decide which to keep.

 

[ib1dance]

  I've tried the W3,W4,UM3X & UM30, and honestly, the UM30 is my favorite. They're still my go-to iems. 

 
I couldn’t decide which to purchase, the W30's or UM30's. I eventually went for the W30's as I enjoyed listening to music with the original W3's. I'd also read they were similar, though more level, overall than the Westone 3's .

 
(Incorrect as I had an incorrect fitting seal)As I previously wrote, the westone 30's are not producing (or maybe my ears (brain) are/is not attuned to them yet) the kick drum as it sounds on the dynamic headphones. I can hear it and the frequency of the kick are there as I intended,though I have to concentrate on the kick to hear it's airiness ( thus the spatial awareness of the size of the drum and the size,shape etc of the location is being under represented (only in comparison that is>>relatively speaking)

 
I like them though . A very different response than a headphone with a single dynamic driver. They could prove very useful when you just want to sit back and appreciate the intricacies of the music.
 
Good stuff. Thanks Spyro for the (virtual) head's up on the westone 30's .

 

[chupacabra314]

 
Thanks for that info. I've just ordered some A83's. As I prefer the cable over the ear design. I'll compare them with the 30's and decide which to keep.

By the way I just got the W30. My first 30 minutes with them say you probably won't be happy with the A83 if the W30 weren't bassy enough for you...I can't believe a BA can get that much bass out...

 

[Spyro]

  By the way I just got the W30. My first 30 minutes with them say you probably won't be happy with the A83 if the W30 weren't bassy enough for you...I can't believe a BA can get that much bass out...

  LOL!
Really?  They can make the BA's to put out as much as they want.  The original W3 had THUNDEROUS bass.  W30 is tamed down to a large extent.
 
You made a good purchase.  I still think, perhaps the best "all around" universal IEM choice in the $300-400 category.  Big bass, big full sound, decent midrange for vocals, above average treble for a little crispness/detail, average to above average soundstage.  Compared to THE BEST, you are getting above average in every single category making it (in my mind), the best in it's category.

 

[ib1dance]

  By the way I just got the W30. My first 30 minutes with them say you probably won't be happy with the A83 if the W30 weren't bassy enough for you...I can't believe a BA can get that much bass out...

 
( I did not have a air tight seal)
 
I did not state that the W30's did not have sufficient bass for me. The music track I compared the W30's on had been produced using a technique called side chain compression. What this does achieve, on this particular track, is slightly lower the synthesisers sub-bass volume every time the kick volume reaches a certain level. Thus the low frequencies of the kick are audible as they don't get mixed up with the low freq of the sub-bass synthesis.
It sounds like the westone 30's IEM's do not effectively convey this Kick to sub-bass interaction when compared to the headphones I produced the track on, HFI-15G headphones. This is not the same as saying they are not “bassy enough”, as the bass on the westone 30's is present.

 
Can anyone point me in the direction of a audio gear review site that users technology to measure technology.  listening to opinions may get a little expensive and is fundamentally flawed .

As a analogy. It's like someone believing their own opinion that the air temperature is actually plus 5 degrees Celsius, even though the thermometer is clearly recording that in reality it is minus 5 degrees Celsius.

 

[chupacabra314]

   
I did not state that the W30's did not have sufficient bass for me. The music track I compared the W30's on had been produced using a technique called side chain compression. What this does achieve, on this particular track, is slightly lower the synthesisers sub-bass volume every time the kick volume reaches a certain level. Thus the low frequencies of the kick are audible as they don't get mixed up with the low freq of the sub-bass synthesis.
It sounds like the westone 30's IEM's do not effectively convey this Kick to sub-bass interaction when compared to the headphones I produced the track on, HFI-15G headphones. This is not the same as saying they are not “bassy enough”, as the bass on the westone 30's is present.

 
Can anyone point me in the direction of a audio gear review site that users technology to measure technology.  listening to opinions may get a little expensive and is fundamentally flawed .

As a analogy. It's like someone believing their own opinion that the air temperature is actually plus 5 degrees Celsius, even though the thermometer is clearly recording that in reality it is minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Ok valid point. I did a sine sweep today and noticed there is a rolloff after 30Hz. Maybe that's where the difference comes from. For measurements I usually refer to innerfidelity but the new Westones haven't been measured yet...

 

[ib1dance]

I stand completely corrected ! . I'm human thus prone to making mistakes. In this case it would seem I have learnt from them .
It was simply a problem of the supplied tips not quite fitting correctly. So,even though the IEM's felt right they didn't sound as they should due to a lack of an air tight seal ( I should have known when they weren’t isolating as well as expected). It seemed strange that some reviewers were saying that the westone W30's provide sufficent low frequency articulation. When that wasn't what I was hearing.  I found some different silicon tips that I'd kept from previous IEM's that I owned. With these tips the difference was very significant .

 
So a quick review: (previous hypothesises null )

 
 Low,Mids and Highs,i.e, the frequency spectrum that I can perceive, sound relatively similar  to how I perceived them when producing my track on the Ultrasone's headphones.
Generally very good audio quality with no significant issues on the whole musical presentation.
Conclusion;
Excellent BA IEM's. Looking forward to comparing them to Fidue A83's. I will be pleasantly surprised if they improve on the 30's. Even though I owned and used the original westone 3's for a few years. I can't honestly compare them to the westone 30's as it has been a few years since I last heard them.

 
Apologies for any confusion coursed by my previous comments on the Westone 30's.

 

[ib1dance]

  Ok valid point. I did a sine sweep today and noticed there is a rolloff after 30Hz. Maybe that's where the difference comes from. For measurements I usually refer to innerfidelity but the new Westones haven't been measured yet...

Thanks chupacabra314. That difference was produced by an oversight  .I hadn’t achieved a decent air tight seal.

 
Doh! I feel like a Muppet now (not a fool though ,as I learnt from my mistake).
Oh well,at least listening to music with the correctly fitted westone 30's will quickly alleviate me of my self inflicted Muppetness .

 

[dkstott]

FWIW I've had a variety of the Westone UM series and they were nice, but they seemed a bit flat for my personal tastes
 
I've had my  W30's for about 6 months now & still love them. It took me a while to settle on the right tips for my ears..  I liked the Westone tips, but they slipped out of my ears every so often... I'm using the Comply tips now... Great seal and they stay in place for me.
 
Dave

 

[ibs63]

... I can't tell you how much fun I'm having here. To add to what I said above about the right fit and to try lots of different tips, I'm also having some amazing results with the iPhone app CanOpener. Great EQ and crossfade functions and best of all, it lets you save profiles for each of your phones. iPhone 5 and W30 with crossfade and a dash less bass / more treble is good for me...

I have the W40's as well and THANK YOU for posting about the CanOpener app! What a huge difference in sound (and I have tried a few apps). All the hype about the W30's is making me want to try those as well but I am happy with the W40s.

I did try the se535 and I hated them. Sounded like a wall of loud, mashed up sound and the hiss was unbearable. I could only use them on my I devices without the hiss. The comfort level on the Westones was also in a different league. Still don't get the se535 hype and it makes me hesitant about the se846. I did try the se425 and it was better than the se535 in not hissing on everything but still has the wall of sound. For me, Westone sound is more detailed and articulate even though it sounds warmer.

 

[chupacabra314]

Hey does anyone's faceplates make some unpleasant cracking noise when you are pressing the housings in your earcanals?
 
It's like they don't fit perfectly in the housing slots. If I loosen up the screws the noises disappear but that makes the screws slowly unscrew themselves from the housings.