I've decided to sell my Westone W60, but hold on to my UM Pro 50.   http://www.head-fi.org/t/830417/westone-w60   The W60 is technically a better IEM, but I've been grabbing for the UM Pro 50 more.

I've decided to sell my Westone W60, but hold on to my UM Pro 50.   http://www.head-fi.org/t/830417/westone-w60   The W60 is technically a better IEM, but I've been grabbing for the UM Pro 50 more.

  "Underwhelming" sounds a bit harsh on my part. It might sound like I'm saying they're not good, which isn't my intention. I just don't consider them £1,200 worth of good (and I've been arguing with myself if any IEM will be at that price).   I don't think the W80 justify a 50% price...

I've got a few theories why the Westone W80 isn't creating that much buzz at the moment ...   1) There's a lot more competition around than there was even 2 or 3 years ago.   2) Westone had quite a lot of problems with build quality, of cable connectors and face plates, on previous models...

  What is better in your opinion? Or you are missing the power of sound?

    The gold faceplates, on both sides of my W60, cracked even though I've never removed or changed them. The problems are fundamentally down to design and material.   Hopefully cracking faceplates will not be an issue with the new design for the W80 (though time will tell).

I'd not even heard of Dita until you mentioned them. There are so many expensive universal IEMs available now.   When I first started visiting this forum, about 10 years ago (registered with a different username) the 3 pinnacles of the universal IEM world were probably Shure SE530, UE TripleFi...

  I don't think I said that I thought the highs were harsh - they may be, but I didn't notice in the short time I spent listening - just that I noticed hiss from my Sony NW-ZX100. Sony DAPs have a bit of a reputation for hiss, but I can't say I've noticed any hiss before using my other (limited...

Yep, I've seen the S-EM9 review on your blog. If the S-EM9 has more forward mids than the W80 it might not be for me. I am a fan of the laid back, smooth presentation of the W60. I am actually very happy with my W60, and UM Pro 50, so I don't know why I'm mucking about trying other earphones...

Hi Twister6,   That graph is very interesting. I can see what you mean about the difference between the tuning for the W60 and the ES60, and how the W80 is tuned more towards the ES60 signature. I'm surprised  how similar (apart from the boosted bass response) the W60 is to the UM Pro 50.  ...

I received some Westone W80 this morning, but I've already decided to return them, due to some initial concerns ...   I personally find the ALO a bit too springy and microphonic, and I don't like the memory wire. I'm yet to be convinced of the benefits of "upgrade cables" so I prefer the...

  Then you've been lucky.   Lots of people have had problems, and it has nothing to do with not being careful.        If you read through the Westone threads on this forum, you would see that there are lots of comments about the build quality and connector issues.   I've seen...

  Nothing to do with being heavy handed. The UM Pro and W range have been notorious for build quality issues.   I had to return my UM Pro 50 3 times, and my W60 1 time, in the past year due to MMCX connector issues.   I still love the Westone sound, and have been considering getting the W80...

  Westone sound is indeed excellent, but the cracked face plates and cable connector issues are a fact ... people who complain about these issue are not "crazy and lying".

Sorry, I've just Googled a photo of the W50 and W60 and I can see the shell joint as you describe, in addition to a second joint that runs straight.       I don't have a camera that will take a decent close up photo, but my W60 does not have the angled joint (?!!?!??!?)   I apologise for...

Sorry but I disagree with Westone's claim that the crack on the W60 is "normal as intended by design"     1) In your photo you can clearly see where the proper shell joint runs straight, as highlighted in green, and when I check my own W60 I can also see a clear, but sealed, joint which...

Yep, exactly the same thing happened to the epic cable on my UM Pro 50 (the third issue I had within the space of a few months).   How new or old are your W40? Westone did have a LOT of problems with their cable connectors, but I thought they'd finally got round to sorting the issues.   If...

  twister 6 posted a video, and within that video you can see the case from 2 minutes in ...     I personally wouldn't go so far as to call it a "luxury" case, but it's an added bonus for anyone that wants a larger case in which you can keep your earphones, accessories and DAP

  If the W80 did not include the ALO cable, you really think Westone could justify a 50% price increase ($500) over the already expensive W60 ... for what boils down to two additional high-frequency tweeters and some cosmetic modification to the face plates ?!?!!??   I'm sorry, but the idea...

  I was thinking the W80 would be somewhere in the £1,100 to £1,200 region. The W60 is supposed to retail for £800 in the UK but usually goes for about £720 from authorised sellers.   With sterling currently falling in value, the price of stuff coming from America is getting more...

   

  Passing the buck on to Chinese manufacturing is out of order in my opinion.   My W60 (made in China) had to be replaced due to sound cutting out in left ear. In my opinion this was a result of the loose cable connectors that Westone were using up until recently ... a design flaw rather than...

True. SE846 does go very deep. Too deep in my opinion. It's all sub bass, with a great big hole where the mid and upper bass should be. UM Pro 50 has more enjoyable bass presentation for me. Plus SE846 mids are too foward and aggressive, and they have very narrow soundstage. UM Pro 50 aren't...

  I couldn't disagree more on this point. Bass goes plenty deep on the UM Pro.

  I think a lot of buyers have already deserted Westone.   Back in the days when Westone were setting the agenda, with things like the Westone 4 (the first quad driver universal), they used to get a loads of attention on this forum. Westone threads hardly set this forum alight nowadays.  ...