[davidcotton]

I'm not ready to bow out just yet, or fold like in a game of cards where I doubt my hand .

I am tempted by the V2 Twister, such is my admiration for the original. But they're full retail as they've just been released, I'll have to wait as what would I do with my recently purchased V1's? Also I don't need a blue tooth cable.
Someone said they couldn't hear a difference between the W60's and W80's, taking that with a pinch of salt, this new version must be very close to the W80? Also W80 is the only model they haven't tweaked, this must be because they're happy with the original tuning?

W60 V2 Vs ES60?

Only deal for westone for 80s I see right now is £945 for the v1 from hifiheadphones.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

I bought the new silver cable at CanJam SoCal for my 1st gen W60. I love the improvements in sound.

 

[Ryokan]

Only deal for westone for 80s I see right now is £945 for the v1 from hifiheadphones.

Yeah they won't budge either (They were even cheaper last Nov)

Just as well really.

 

[twister6]

So basically for fast and aggressive bass: UM 30 PRO V2 > B30? Did the UM 30 PRO V2 lose bass quantity or quality as compared to the original UM 30 PRO?

The bass between the original and v2 of UM Pro 30 is very similar. The bigger difference is in upper mids and treble, being more revealing, with improved resolution and extra sparkle. I found the original UM Pro 30 to have a smoother upper mids and more rolled off treble, closer to what I hear with B30.

 

[Kepller]

The bass between the original and v2 of UM Pro 30 is very similar. The bigger difference is in upper mids and treble, being more revealing, with improved resolution and extra sparkle. I found the original UM Pro 30 to have a smoother upper mids and more rolled off treble, closer to what I hear with B30.

I managed to audition the W60 V2, W40 V2, UM PRO 50 V2 and UM PRO 30 V2. Your review is spot on.
Starting from the least amount of bass: W40 -> W60 -> UM PRO 50.
However the UM PRO 30 seem to be inbetween W40 and W60 instead of being above PRO 50 in terms of bass quantity. I could be using a bad ear tip for the pro 30, but Twister do you mind A/B-ing the PRO 50, W60 and UM PRO 30 again to confirm that the PRO 30 has the most bass among this 3? As in bass slam.

 

[twister6]

I managed to audition the W60 V2, W40 V2, UM PRO 50 V2 and UM PRO 30 V2. Your review is spot on.
Starting from the least amount of bass: W40 -> W60 -> UM PRO 50.
However the UM PRO 30 seem to be inbetween W40 and W60 instead of being above PRO 50 in terms of bass quantity. I could be using a bad ear tip for the pro 30, but Twister do you mind A/B-ing the PRO 50, W60 and UM PRO 30 again to confirm that the PRO 30 has the most bass among this 3? As in bass slam.

I will double check it again, after work. From my review notes, I found Pro30v2 to have a little more slam in low end compared to Pro50v2. I recall W60 having less mid-bass slam, but let me go back and check 30 vs 50 again. One thing you need to keep in mind, we do hear things differently, we have different ear sensitivity; all a matter of sound perception. So, just because I hear it one way, doesn't mean it's set in stone As a matter of fact, Pro 50 has a bigger spike in mid-treble while Pro 30 has treble slightly rolled off. As a result, it could create a perception of Pro 30 having a more pronounced bass because of that slight treble roll off.

 

[Kepller]

I will double check it again, after work. From my review notes, I found Pro30v2 to have a little more slam in low end compared to Pro50v2. I recall W60 having less mid-bass slam, but let me go back and check 30 vs 50 again. One thing you need to keep in mind, we do hear things differently, we have different ear sensitivity; all a matter of sound perception. So, just because I hear it one way, doesn't mean it's set in stone As a matter of fact, Pro 50 has a bigger spike in mid-treble while Pro 30 has treble slightly rolled off. As a result, it could create a perception of Pro 30 having a more pronounced bass because of that slight treble roll off.

I could not get the same ear tip which I tested the PRO 50, W60 and W40 with, onto the PRO 30 because the shop I visited had a PRO 30 with a malfunctioned bass driver on the right side. I ended up travelling down to another shop, which this time had the PRO 30 V2, unfortunately they didn't have the other 3 westones. But at this shop, their demo PRO 30 was working fine, just with a different ear tip.

Therefore my A/B comparison might not be accurate. (I am hoping that is the case)

It is a very pleasant surprise that the W60 V2 seems to have a faster and more powerful mid bass slam than the W60 V1. I sold my W60 V1 because i got bored of the relax and boring sound signature especially in the bass department, after 3 months of using it as my daily driver. I completely agree with you that the W60 V2 now sounds more like the W80 especially in the bass department. They sound more energetic than the W60 V1.

 

[twister6]

I could not get the same ear tip which I tested the PRO 50, W60 and W40 with, onto the PRO 30 because the shop I visited had a PRO 30 with a malfunctioned bass driver on the right side. I ended up travelling down to another shop, which this time had the PRO 30 V2, unfortunately they didn't have the other 3 westones. But at this shop, their demo PRO 30 was working fine, just with a different ear tip.

Therefore my A/B comparison might not be accurate. (I am hoping that is the case)

It is a very pleasant surprise that the W60 V2 seems to have a faster and more powerful mid bass slam than the W60 V1. I sold my W60 V1 because i got bored of the relax and boring sound signature especially in the bass department, after 3 months of using it as my daily driver. I completely agree with you that the W60 V2 now sounds more like the W80 especially in the bass department. They sound more energetic than the W60 V1.

So, I just spent time listening and comparing W60v2 vs UMPro50v2 vs UMPro30v2. Each one with the same westone silicone star tips (orange), using LPGT as my neutral source, playing the same song, volume matched. Went back'n'forth multiple dozens of times, focusing only on bass: sub-bass rumble and mid-bass punch. And here is how I'm hearing it.

sub-bass rumble: W60 > UMPro50 > UMPro30
mid-bass punch: UMPro30 > UMPro50 > W60

W60v2 has a deeper sub-bass rumble extension, while Pro50/30 sound a little leaner in comparison when it comes to sub-bass, but I can still hear Pro50 to be a little meatier in sub-bass. With mid-bass punch, actually Pro50 and 30 are not too far off, but I still hear 30 having an edge over 50. The bass of 30 punches a little faster because it has a leaner sub-bass and to my ears that causes the attack of the bass to be faster, giving a little more power to the punch.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

 

[Kepller]

So, I just spent time listening and comparing W60v2 vs UMPro50v2 vs UMPro30v2. Each one with the same westone silicone star tips (orange), using LPGT as my neutral source, playing the same song, volume matched. Went back'n'forth multiple dozens of times, focusing only on bass: sub-bass rumble and mid-bass punch. And here is how I'm hearing it.

sub-bass rumble: W60 > UMPro50 > UMPro30
mid-bass punch: UMPro30 > UMPro50 > W60

W60v2 has a deeper sub-bass rumble extension, while Pro50/30 sound a little leaner in comparison when it comes to sub-bass, but I can still hear Pro50 to be a little meatier in sub-bass. With mid-bass punch, actually Pro50 and 30 are not too far off, but I still hear 30 having an edge over 50. The bass of 30 punches a little faster because it has a leaner sub-bass and to my ears that causes the attack of the bass to be faster, giving a little more power to the punch.

Interesting! Yeah I think your comparison sounds exactly as what I had experience during my brief audition. In terms of sub bass, even the W40 seems to dive deeper than the pro 30 but pro 30. It has been awhile but from memory, the original PRO 30 had more bass quantity (mid-bass and sub bass) than all the westone v2(s) UM & W. A pity i am unable to get it with local warranty anymore.
Do you or any other headfi-ers here know of any other iem(s) that have similar fast and strong sub and mid bass slam with the thick mids and slightly rolled off (smooth) treble sound signature of the original v1 PRO 30?

Also after this A/B, do you think the UM PRO 30 V2 is lacking in sub bass and mid bass or their quantity is just around the neutral level or slightly higher?

Another way to counter this is if I get a phone or a dap with a warm sounding signature, I'm guessing the Sony's or Plenue but I'm new to this. A smart phone or portable/bluetooth headphone receiver would be preferred.
To my ears, I recall A/B-ing my LG G6 phone (ESS Sabre 9018 32 bit quad dac) with one of the Astell and Kern DAP. Both the W30 and UM PRO 30 suddenly had their bass elevated by x2 the slam on the Astell & Kern DAP with neutral equalizer settings on both devices. Can the source really have a huge difference on the sound signature or maybe I failed to checked the equalizer properly.

 

[musicday]

That lady was really helpful. Did they announced who won the competition?

 

[twister6]

Interesting! Yeah I think your comparison sounds exactly as what I had experience during my brief audition. In terms of sub bass, even the W40 seems to dive deeper than the pro 30 but pro 30. It has been awhile but from memory, the original PRO 30 had more bass quantity (mid-bass and sub bass) than all the westone v2(s) UM & W. A pity i am unable to get it with local warranty anymore.
Do you or any other headfi-ers here know of any other iem(s) that have similar fast and strong sub and mid bass slam with the thick mids and slightly rolled off (smooth) treble sound signature of the original v1 PRO 30?

Also after this A/B, do you think the UM PRO 30 V2 is lacking in sub bass and mid bass or their quantity is just around the neutral level or slightly higher?

Another way to counter this is if I get a phone or a dap with a warm sounding signature, I'm guessing the Sony's or Plenue but I'm new to this. A smart phone or portable/bluetooth headphone receiver would be preferred.
To my ears, I recall A/B-ing my LG G6 phone (ESS Sabre 9018 32 bit quad dac) with one of the Astell and Kern DAP. Both the W30 and UM PRO 30 suddenly had their bass elevated by x2 the slam on the Astell & Kern DAP with neutral equalizer settings on both devices. Can the source really have a huge difference on the sound signature or maybe I failed to checked the equalizer properly.

Don't think Pro 30 v2 is lacking anything, the differences I described is how I hear it in a relative comparison. So, it's just a sound performance of one relative to the other. The sources do certainly affect the sound, DACs have different signature, output impedance varies, DAPs use different op-amps and capacitors at the head-amp output stage while something like 9018 (LG phone) will have everything built into a chip, etc. That's why it's not easy to make a decision without actual auditioning with a source you are planning to use. Also, source will affect the technical performance of IEM, not just the tonality. There could be a variation in soundstage expansion and imaging, as well as layering and separation of the sounds which you can pick up on a more advanced flagship DAP, but not as much on your phone or entry level audio player.

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

That lady was really helpful. Did they announced who won the competition?

Unfortunately not that I know of, but I'm not sure how the competition was being run

 

[TimeSnow]

Weirdly I just got a pair of the w40s v2 in a trade. I liked the v1s, but haven't heard them in... Years... Trying to remember what they sound like... Should have them on Thursday.

They're basically neutralish aren't they?

 

[twister6]

Weirdly I just got a pair of the w40s v2 in a trade. I liked the v1s, but haven't heard them in... Years... Trying to remember what they sound like... Should have them on Thursday.

They're basically neutralish aren't they?

I covered all v2 models of W-series in my review here. Regarding W40 v1 vs v2, here is a quote from my review, they are actually quite different:

"W40-2 vs W40-1 – The soundstage here, in both width and depth, are nearly identical. When it comes to tuning, I hear some noticeable differences. The original W40-1 bass has a very similar extension and quality, but the bass quantity in W40-2 is more elevated and sounds more analog; W40-1 bass is more neutral and a little faster/tighter, while W40-2 bass is more dynamic, deeper, with more impact. Mids, both lower and upper, are nearly identical in quality and quantity, being detailed and natural. But treble is different again, with both being crisp and sparkly, but W40-1 is brighter and harsher in comparison to W40-2 sounding more natural and less fatigue. I never really thought of the original W40-1 treble as being fatigue, but when you compare these two side-by-side, you can hear the difference."