My Westone 3 just broke
Apr 21, 2009 at 10:09 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 33
The Boatman

The Boatman

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I ordered a pair of Westone 3s from earphonesolutions before Christmas. I first used the grey foamies for a month, changing them for a pair of large Shure olives (which Westome describes as compatible with the W3s) about a month ago. I thought I would replace the pair on the earphones this evening. The tip on the right earphone was very tight, and needed a LOT of effort to remove. The tip on the left earphone would not move at all. All I could do was pull off the foam itself, leaving the plastic cylinder behind. When I tried to pull the plastic cylinder off, the cylinder part of the actual earpiece cracked off with it.

Will this be covered under the warranty? The Shure black olives are supposed to be compatible with the W3s.

 
Apr 21, 2009 at 10:17 PM Post #2 of 33
Likely NOT covered by warranty since it is not a supplied tip. DAMN SHURE OLIVES! Now they are even wrecking other manufacturer's IEM's.

Same thing happened to me and I only had the olive on a few days. Didn't break the tip but it took excessive force to remove.

Shure should buy you a new set of W3's. I would be FURIOUS if you don't get this covered!
 
Apr 21, 2009 at 10:20 PM Post #3 of 33
Ugh. Let's hope Westone makes good on it. Same thing happens to Shure SE530s, and people freeze them to get the tips off. The olive sound tubes are very tight on the W3s and all that prolonged use probably fused them somewhat. Good thing for W3 owners to know, not to make your situation less critical. I would demand they replace them, and not use olives again. Seems to me, they will want to keep your business. We have a Hitachi plasma that broke out of warranty (but it cost plenty). I called nicely and told them I would never buy another Hitachi, and they fixed it gratis. They earned my respect, and hopefully Westone will earn yours.
 
Apr 21, 2009 at 10:37 PM Post #5 of 33
I remember either Westone Ads or a Westone rep (or both) claiming the W3 is compatible with Shure tips. Hope they honor it, because it could have happened with any tip.
 
Apr 21, 2009 at 10:52 PM Post #6 of 33
I have had some difficulty removing the Shure olives from the W3 also. it was a little worrisome that i had to apply so much torque to remove them.
 
Apr 21, 2009 at 11:50 PM Post #8 of 33
Just want to throw this out there...

I JUST (as in within the past several days) dealt with Westone's customer service regarding my Westone 3; the left monitor was generating little/no sound, and it was clearly a manufacturing error. Yes, I realize that the OP's issue could possibly be blamed on the OP, but I wanted to point out that Westone had excellent customer service, as they responded to all of my emails within 24 hours, and ultimately gave me a brand new pair of Westone 3.

Thought this might be helpful.
 
Apr 21, 2009 at 11:57 PM Post #9 of 33
I have the W3's also and your picture will make me very cautious when changing tips out since I too use olives. Good luck with Westone but I really think they will honor the warranty because as a company they know that this could impact the sales for potential owners.
 
Apr 22, 2009 at 12:05 AM Post #11 of 33
Just make sure to not pull the tips in one direction. Always rotate the tip while pulling carefully when you do this.

Also, they state on their website that the shure tip is compatible with all Westone products. Don't know if this will help or not.
 
Apr 22, 2009 at 12:10 AM Post #12 of 33
Ahh... that sucks. I feel your pain.

I had a pair of Westone UM2's that I loved, and I found them beside my bed, completely bent, twisted, and crushed. I (or someone) had stepped on them.
 
Apr 22, 2009 at 12:14 AM Post #13 of 33
However, on the bright side - doing that led me to purchase my current set set of cans that I love even more (Beyer DT770 PROs/250) - and it also led me to here and my first purchase of a tube headphone amp.

So, in the long run, destroying my Westones was for the better (though I do want to replace them, at some point, probably with some Westone 3s).

Your photo makes me wince and I can completely empathize... that is just s-h-i-t-t-y and a real bummer.

Westone are pretty great re. service and I hope it works out okay.
 
Apr 22, 2009 at 3:48 AM Post #14 of 33
Yikes, that really sucks. And here I was planning on ordering a pair of large olives to try with my W3's. Now I'll be sure to keep my W3s far away from them.
 
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