Hi all
I just wrote a massive amount of text about my thoughts on the WM1A with the Shure 535 bronze vs Westone W40. Then my browser crashed and I lost it all. Feeling a bit gutted as it was 90 mins of time wasted.
To re-cap but now briefly ... The 535's are clearer, brighter and have a jaw-dropping soundstage but they are painful (from the start) to wear. Even with using the Westone braided cable and Westone rubber tips my ears felt sore and tired after 30 mins. The bass, while present and controlled and strong, is never deep, never purring like a dirty, wild cat and never enough. The Westone W40s, on the other hand, have a distant sound like listening to speakers rather than being dropped into the middle of all the instruments making the music, they're devoid of any engaging soundstage, have insufficient register on mids, whilst the vocals / highs are never on the edge of your ear-drums but somehow they work. It's bizarre. I really enjoy listening to music with them. If only the soundstage was a little more engrossing and the mids and highs perked up a bit they would be awesome. The bass, whilst not at Funkadelic levels, is like a medium sized cat with a twinkle in it's eye...
Sooooo my questions are thus:
1) What would a balanced cable bring to the Westone W40 / WM1A - is worth getting a balanced cable? And if so which one? I've seen the Sony one, but it's currently about £170. And for a cable, "dat's a spicy meatball!". I know you can pay silly money anything but the degrees of improvement drop off after a certain price point!
2) Would I be better off just going for an improved version of the W40? E.G W60? I did read a few reviews of the W40 vs W60 which said the W40's were bright. And the W60's less so - in which case they might not be the IEM for me.
3) Is there a significant difference in characteristics with the balanced output vs 3.5 output on the WM1A?
4) Sony and cases. They are naughty. I had to get the nice leather case for the ZX2, so I ordered the one for the WM1A only to discover it's a flip not a fold case. Grrrrrrr. Had a look for the 3rd party cases but can't find anywhere that ships to the UK. Any suggestions?
5) I'm going for a demo of the ie800s soon, any thoughts on them with the WM1A?
Apologies for typos, it's late and I lost my mahoosive review...