[radji]

Howdy all. This seems like a great forum to get recommendations for audio stuffs.

I am now in the market for a new pair of IEMs as my Westone W40's are no longer working properly. Westone will not repair them and I cannot find anyone who will, so I reckon it's time to look at what's out there now as opposed to 2013 when I bought my W40's.

Some facts:
-I use my IEMs everywhere, including at the gym and on long runs outdoors. So any potentials need to be able to take a bit of abuse...but not much

-I prefer 4 driver IEMs since I listen predominantly to symphonic rock with heavy bass. Got to hand it to Earstudio for their ES100. It does a great job (with my W40's) for Spotify over bluetooth or USB mode with lossless files. Almost no distortions at higher volume levels, so I hope to find a suitable pair of IEMs to continue that trend.

-Somewhat flexible on price point. I will go up to Mid-upper range IEMs.

-I am OK with universal fit or custom fit. But they need to be repairable so I don't have to buy a new pair if they break and are out of warranty.

-I prefer the IEMs to have an mmcx connector, but realize that may be solely a Westone connector. Reason I prefer it is due to the audio cable I was currently using. I went thru 6 different cables, all broke near the mmcx connector, in 2 years. Then Westone came out with a twisted cable that has an over the earloop built into the cable. 4 years with this cable and no issues. So if the mmcx connector is not an option, I will have to see what connector the potential IEM uses so I can find a similarly designed cable

Let me know what you think, or if I'm being too picky.

 

[serman005]

Not totally sure what your upper price-point is for this IEM. Mid-upper range. That said, you might look into an IT04 and see if it might meet some of your requirements. I think it is a good value at its price-point. Sounds terrific and well-built. Definitely worth a look-see, IMO.

 

[megabigeye]

-I prefer the IEMs to have an mmcx connector, but realize that may be solely a Westone connector. Reason I prefer it is due to the audio cable I was currently using. I went thru 6 different cables, all broke near the mmcx connector, in 2 years. Then Westone came out with a twisted cable that has an over the earloop built into the cable. 4 years with this cable and no issues. So if the mmcx connector is not an option, I will have to see what connector the potential IEM uses so I can find a similarly designed cable

I don't have a recommendation for you, but I believe that the MMCX that Westone uses is a semi-proprietary low profile MMCX. Other MMCX cables fit onto Westone IEMs, but Westone cables do not fit onto other IEMs. So if you're looking to use your old Weston cable with a new earphone, it might not work (unless it uses the same low profile connector).
That is my memory, anyway.

Also, I don't think you should limit yourself to a four BA layout, as they can come in many flavors and tunings. I'd look instead for something with your preferred signature / that suits your musical tastes.

 

[Tadeas]

Have a look at IMR R1 (can be bought used or B stock for quite nice money) or the replacement, the R1 Zenith.

 

[radji]

The IT04's looked nice. I'm just turned off by the 'ergonomic fit' part. Everyone's ears are different shaped so I worry their ergonomic shape won't be comfortable for long periods of use.

The R1 Zenith is very attractive with the B stock price, but will IMR support out of warranty repairs on this model? I am also curious as to their frequency range. Its 14 Hz to 40 KHz on a single driver?

Are there resources around here that I can cross reference based on my preferred sound signature and the genre I typically listen to?

 

[Tadeas]

> The R1 Zenith is very attractive with the B stock price, but will IMR support out of warranty repairs on this model?

No idea. They might respond to an email though. My IMR R1 (not Zenith) looks built like a tank though so personally I never felt the need to research this.

Regarding the frequency range, I mainly purchased it because I was missing some extension on the Noble X I used previously. IMR R1 is much better in this regard, both bass and treble. It's a hybrid design with one dynamic driver and one piezzoelectric tweeter. The bass is, well, a proper dynamic driver bass .

Preferred sound signature: It's too personal and subjective for real cross referencing I'm afraid. The Custom Art for example provides some basic charts for their IEMs and it's supposedly quite spot on. And there are some measurements laying around here at head-fi and other sites. Additionally, you might want to research sound target response curves (Harman curve and it's history) if you want to dig deeper into this rabbit hole .

 

[radji]

IMR does not support repair of their R1's outside of warranty. I'd have to buy new, which isn't what I want to do if they need repair. I wonder if only custom fit IEMs are repairable or is it only universal models?

I don't have a recommendation for you, but I believe that the MMCX that Westone uses is a semi-proprietary low profile MMCX. Other MMCX cables fit onto Westone IEMs, but Westone cables do not fit onto other IEMs. So if you're looking to use your old Weston cable with a new earphone, it might not work (unless it uses the same low profile connector).
That is my memory, anyway.

Also, I don't think you should limit yourself to a four BA layout, as they can come in many flavors and tunings. I'd look instead for something with your preferred signature / that suits your musical tastes.

Could you at least point me in the right direction?

 

[megabigeye]

Sorry, I'm not as well versed in recommendations as a lot of other members here. If you liked your old Westones maybe try something else by them? I have and enjoy the UM Pro 50, which has a pretty bass-forward signature, non-fatiguing mids, and attenuated but extended and articulate treble. I'd call them, maybe, subtly engaging, but not exciting. I enjoy them with rock (and pretty much all other genres I've used them with), but I don't listen to symphonic, so I can't comment on that.
Westone also just launched a new "B" line, which you might look into. "B" is for bass.

 

[TwilightAudio]

NF4U has my vote. sound signature is really well tuned and build is very very nice.