All tests were preformed using a FiiO E07k Andes, as this is my go-to portable DAC/AMP and is what I will be using with these monitors. I currently own a pair of Sennheiser HD598's, which don't have much bass, so my definition of bass may be different than somebody who is used to more bass-heavy headphones. I will be comparing these to the Sennheiser's, the Shure SE215, and Apple's $80 Dual Driver IEM's from yesteryear.
Unboxing and First Impressions:
These monitors come in a really nice box with some graphics and details about the monitor. This sleeve slides off and reveals a soft-ish grey inner-box, which has the Westone logo and a "Established in 1959" stamp. Pulling on the orange tab reveals the IEM's, a Quick Guide card, and a durable orange case which they call the "Monitor Vault". Opening this case reveals a Ziploc with all 10 interchangeable tips (5 silicone, 5 foam), and a cleaning tool. Under the IEM's you find a full user's manual, which also includes a hearing safety chart, which tells you the maximum listening time for certain volumes. This is a neat inclusion, but I don't know how the average Joe would be able to measure the dB of an IEM. Overall the unboxing was a very nice experience and I really love all of the accessories.
Firstly, I noticed that these are very small IEM's. They are much smaller than the Shure SE215. At first I thought that would mean bad sound quality with tinny highs and mids and no bass whatsoever. I'll just say I was completely wrong, but I'll save that for the sound quality section. They came with the black size "STAR" (aka Silicone) tips installed, which were much to small for my ears and did not create a seal at all. The cable was really nice (and removable). It is a braided, black cable, with a splitter around 3/4 of the way up and one of those "cinch" things to hold it against your neck. The cable is a little too short for me. My desktop amp (which I did not use for my listening tests) is around 6 inches behind my keyboard, and I could not comfortably lean back in my chair without running out of cable length. It is plenty long however, to be used with a phone or DAP in my pocket however. These headphones are remarkably easy to drive as well, my phone (Droid Turbo) could easily push these to an uncomfortable listening level. I set the gain on my FiiO to the lowest setting.
Sound and Tips:
These sound great. If I could only use three words to describe these, they would be: precise, analytical and detailed. They have the eerie noise-cancellation thing, where it makes you feel like you are listening to music in one of those anechoic chambers. This is a similar phenomenon to the one that Jude described in his Shure KSE1500 review on HeadFi TV, although the effect is a lot less pronounced with these. The sound is neutral, and *slightly* bright. It is unbelievably detailed, much more so than the Shure SE215 or even my HD598's. The bass is unbelievably precise, but there is not a lot of it (more than my HD598's however). After EQ'ing in some bass, it sounded great. Distortion is present in high volumes, as it is in almost all single-driver IEM's. Mids (esp. voices) sound like they are "in your head" sort of like out-of-phase speakers. I like this, but it may annoy some listeners. Soundstage is okay, I'd say around a 3 food sphere around my head (my Sennheisers are more of a 10 foot, but this is to be expected with any closed headphones, esp. an IEM. If you want crazy soundstage in an IEM, get the Stax SR-002, as they are open back.
The choice of tips really makes a difference with sound. I use the green foam ones and the blue silicone ones. The foam one pronounces the bass so much, that it really starts to get annoying, drowning out the mids and highs. It does isolate more sound and is marginally more comfortable, though. The silicone ones are much more detailed and really bring out the highs and mids, but lose some bass. I significantly prefer these. I am ordering some of the white "Triple Flange/Etymontic" style tips and also the "Yellow foamies", so I'll write an update on how those sound.
I listened to a FLAC vinyl (Original Master Copy) rip of Money by Pink Floyd and I was absolutely sold. These are miles better than the Shure SE215 and even SE315 (which I've listened to, but don't own)
For Hip-Hop:
35% of the music I listen to is Hip-Hop/RnB and these are great. Some might say that they have too little bass, but the QUALITY of the bass makes up for any lack of QUANTITY. "These Walls by Kendrick Lamar" sounded so rich and detailed on these IEM's. "36oz. by Skeme and Chris Brown" and "The Buzz by Hermitude" also sounded amazing. The bass was similar to a small subwoofer (6"). It is precise and present but not boomy or drowning. Plenty of bass for me, at least. Less bass than the SE215, but these are better in every other way. I prefer hip-hop on these than anything else (except my Sennheisers), because the quality of the bass is so good. I set my FiiO to +2 or +4 bass for Hip-Hop songs.
Overall:
These are my new go-to travel and out-of the house earphones. They are much better than any IEM under $200USD. They are extremely detailed, and beautiful sounding. The only complaint I have is that with some bad recordings, they can sound a little flat and thin. Get them on sale on Amazon if you can. Their value can't be beat if you can find them for $118, like I did.
P.S. Break(Burn)-in is a thing with these headphones and takes approx. 10hrs to completely come into it's own. If you get these and they sound underwhelming, wait a little bit.
TL;DR: Buy them now.
Unboxing and First Impressions:
These monitors come in a really nice box with some graphics and details about the monitor. This sleeve slides off and reveals a soft-ish grey inner-box, which has the Westone logo and a "Established in 1959" stamp. Pulling on the orange tab reveals the IEM's, a Quick Guide card, and a durable orange case which they call the "Monitor Vault". Opening this case reveals a Ziploc with all 10 interchangeable tips (5 silicone, 5 foam), and a cleaning tool. Under the IEM's you find a full user's manual, which also includes a hearing safety chart, which tells you the maximum listening time for certain volumes. This is a neat inclusion, but I don't know how the average Joe would be able to measure the dB of an IEM. Overall the unboxing was a very nice experience and I really love all of the accessories.
Firstly, I noticed that these are very small IEM's. They are much smaller than the Shure SE215. At first I thought that would mean bad sound quality with tinny highs and mids and no bass whatsoever. I'll just say I was completely wrong, but I'll save that for the sound quality section. They came with the black size "STAR" (aka Silicone) tips installed, which were much to small for my ears and did not create a seal at all. The cable was really nice (and removable). It is a braided, black cable, with a splitter around 3/4 of the way up and one of those "cinch" things to hold it against your neck. The cable is a little too short for me. My desktop amp (which I did not use for my listening tests) is around 6 inches behind my keyboard, and I could not comfortably lean back in my chair without running out of cable length. It is plenty long however, to be used with a phone or DAP in my pocket however. These headphones are remarkably easy to drive as well, my phone (Droid Turbo) could easily push these to an uncomfortable listening level. I set the gain on my FiiO to the lowest setting.
Sound and Tips:
These sound great. If I could only use three words to describe these, they would be: precise, analytical and detailed. They have the eerie noise-cancellation thing, where it makes you feel like you are listening to music in one of those anechoic chambers. This is a similar phenomenon to the one that Jude described in his Shure KSE1500 review on HeadFi TV, although the effect is a lot less pronounced with these. The sound is neutral, and *slightly* bright. It is unbelievably detailed, much more so than the Shure SE215 or even my HD598's. The bass is unbelievably precise, but there is not a lot of it (more than my HD598's however). After EQ'ing in some bass, it sounded great. Distortion is present in high volumes, as it is in almost all single-driver IEM's. Mids (esp. voices) sound like they are "in your head" sort of like out-of-phase speakers. I like this, but it may annoy some listeners. Soundstage is okay, I'd say around a 3 food sphere around my head (my Sennheisers are more of a 10 foot, but this is to be expected with any closed headphones, esp. an IEM. If you want crazy soundstage in an IEM, get the Stax SR-002, as they are open back.
The choice of tips really makes a difference with sound. I use the green foam ones and the blue silicone ones. The foam one pronounces the bass so much, that it really starts to get annoying, drowning out the mids and highs. It does isolate more sound and is marginally more comfortable, though. The silicone ones are much more detailed and really bring out the highs and mids, but lose some bass. I significantly prefer these. I am ordering some of the white "Triple Flange/Etymontic" style tips and also the "Yellow foamies", so I'll write an update on how those sound.
I listened to a FLAC vinyl (Original Master Copy) rip of Money by Pink Floyd and I was absolutely sold. These are miles better than the Shure SE215 and even SE315 (which I've listened to, but don't own)
For Hip-Hop:
35% of the music I listen to is Hip-Hop/RnB and these are great. Some might say that they have too little bass, but the QUALITY of the bass makes up for any lack of QUANTITY. "These Walls by Kendrick Lamar" sounded so rich and detailed on these IEM's. "36oz. by Skeme and Chris Brown" and "The Buzz by Hermitude" also sounded amazing. The bass was similar to a small subwoofer (6"). It is precise and present but not boomy or drowning. Plenty of bass for me, at least. Less bass than the SE215, but these are better in every other way. I prefer hip-hop on these than anything else (except my Sennheisers), because the quality of the bass is so good. I set my FiiO to +2 or +4 bass for Hip-Hop songs.
Overall:
These are my new go-to travel and out-of the house earphones. They are much better than any IEM under $200USD. They are extremely detailed, and beautiful sounding. The only complaint I have is that with some bad recordings, they can sound a little flat and thin. Get them on sale on Amazon if you can. Their value can't be beat if you can find them for $118, like I did.
P.S. Break(Burn)-in is a thing with these headphones and takes approx. 10hrs to completely come into it's own. If you get these and they sound underwhelming, wait a little bit.
TL;DR: Buy them now.
