[i4mt3hwin]

I currently have a pair of Shure SE425s - unfortunately they happened to go through the washer twice and now the right piece creates noises from hell. Even before my accidental washing though, I had problems at the rotating connection joint of the headpiece, I would have to tweak it in order to get sound to fully come out. Other than that though, I really like the sound of the SE425s - so what I'm looking for is an IEM that sounds similar to SE425s, maybe slightly more lower end bass - but that doesn't have the build quality problems as the Shures do. So far I've tried IE80's and they did not work for me at all. They made my music sound muddy as hell and I wasn't a fan of that mid range bass that it has. I've also owned Triple Fi 10's in the past, those sounded decent to me, but also had problems with build quality, overall I think the SE425 were better sounding though.
 
I've had a friend tell me Westone 4's would sound similar to the 425's signature, but with just greater detail and a little more depth in the bass. Is that actually the case?

 

[Techno Kid]

I had the SE425 (just sold it a few weeks ago) and the W4 is more detailed than the Shure with a bit more depth to the bass as well, they are a nice sounding IEM.
 
I think the e-Q5 is a good upgrade even though they cost about $100 less.  They have better bass impact and depth along with somewhat similar mids though they might not be quite as forward but they're more of the focal point of the presentation and I think the e-Q5 is more balanced than the SE425.  The e-Q5 has better highs that sound more crisp but aren't harsh and a better soundstage thats quite large, not IE8/80 large but better than average.
 
I compared my friends W4 to the e-Q5 and they didn't sound that much better and I don't think they sounded good enough to warrant the $140 to $200 more they cost but they do sound a bit better over all.  The W4's soundstage seemed a little bit larger but not by much and as far as detail I didn't think that one really had more than another so its was more a wash in that respect, either of them would be an improvement over the SE425.