[Jmop]

Which 100 ohm adapter is a good one to get for the 4R? Also, where can I purchase the discussed Phonak ear tips? Thanks.

 

[egzbuen]

Which one would you guys recommend for the Fiio x7, westone 4r or u900s?

I'm coming from the 1more triple and looking to upgrade.

My sound preference is neutral to a tad bit bright without losing the bass of course.

Kinda like it03 with a much smaller Shell.

 

[H20Fidelity]

Which one would you guys recommend for the Fiio x7, westone 4r or u900s?

I'm coming from the 1more triple and looking to upgrade.

My sound preference is neutral to a tad bit bright without losing the bass of course.

Kinda like it03 with a much smaller Shell.

 
Westone 4 is rather balanced, no bass emphasis, its quite a laid back sounding IEM while doing a good job remaining natural considering its balanced armature based, definitely not slightly bright, neutral with a warm hint of tonality yes. Its a good IEM though, faithful without much faults, tricked me into buying at least a couple of times.
 
Are you sure IT03 won't fit? They're basically what you're describing. Maybe Fidue A83 as well.

 

[twister6]

Which one would you guys recommend for the Fiio x7, westone 4r or u900s?

I'm coming from the 1more triple and looking to upgrade.

My sound preference is neutral to a tad bit bright without losing the bass of course.

Kinda like it03 with a much smaller Shell.

 
I'm more familiar with W40 rather than W4R, and in my opinion when it comes to a tonality I find W4x to sound more natural and realistic than U900s.
 
IT03 has a more fun signature, not really the best comparison to W4x or UE900s.  Btw, also keep in mind that Fiio X7 comes with different amp modules that going to affect the sound.  Out of am1, am2, am3, and am5, I think am3 (with single ended and balanced outputs) sounds the best.

 

[Land-O-The-Free]

So I unfortunately I don't have the time to go through 370 pages lol. And I couldn't find a dedicated W40 Thread, so I figured I'd ask my question and hope for the best. I have a pair of W40's and while I really love their laid back and natural sound (which is exactly what I was looking for), they are lacking in some detail, soundstage and separation for me. I have a a Sony PHA-3 AMP/DAC, which I think is a stellar device, and. couple sets of cans that I use with it with balanced silver cables. My question I guess is do you think it's worth buying a balanced silver cable for the W40's to try and achieve the areas that I believe are somewhat lacking, or just investing in a higher end set of IEM's? The cable I would be buying would be from Moon Audio, and after the investment in the cable, the set up would be totaling around $650. So like I said, I guess I'm looking to see what your opinions are from anyone who has a balanced set up with these and/or higher end IEM's that they think are worth the price. Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[pacman46]

So I unfortunately I don't have the time to go through 370 pages lol. And I couldn't find a dedicated W40 Thread, so I figured I'd ask my question and hope for the best. I have a pair of W40's and while I really love their laid back and natural sound (which is exactly what I was looking for), they are lacking in some detail, soundstage and separation for me. I have a a Sony PHA-3 AMP/DAC, which I think is a stellar device, and. couple sets of cans that I use with it with balanced silver cables. My question I guess is do you think it's worth buying a balanced silver cable for the W40's to try and achieve the areas that I believe are somewhat lacking, or just investing in a higher end set of IEM's? The cable I would be buying would be from Moon Audio, and after the investment in the cable, the set up would be totaling around $650. So like I said, I guess I'm looking to see what your opinions are from anyone who has a balanced set up with these and/or higher end IEM's that they think are worth the price. Thanks for all your help!!!

Maybe a silver cable might work. Is the Sony on the warm side of things? I've never heard the w40 but have owned the w4 a couple times and they were on the warm lush side? But I'm thinking trying a silver cable.

 

[Land-O-The-Free]

Yeah I think that the PHA-3 is somewhat on the warmer side. Which is a + for me. Yeah I was thinking I'm gonna go with the Silver Dragon. But I will be spending almost as much on the cable as I am on the W40's themselves lol. So I was hoping someone on here may have the setup already and be able to give me some insight as to just how much it opens them up and if it's worth the investment. Thanks again!

 

[MuZo2]

I dont think silver cable will help much to drastically change the soundstage or darker tonality of W40. You can spend the same amount on another pair of decent iems (FLC8 or LZ A4)

 

[aiaosu]

So I unfortunately I don't have the time to go through 370 pages lol. And I couldn't find a dedicated W40 Thread, so I figured I'd ask my question and hope for the best. I have a pair of W40's and while I really love their laid back and natural sound (which is exactly what I was looking for), they are lacking in some detail, soundstage and separation for me. I have a a Sony PHA-3 AMP/DAC, which I think is a stellar device, and. couple sets of cans that I use with it with balanced silver cables. My question I guess is do you think it's worth buying a balanced silver cable for the W40's to try and achieve the areas that I believe are somewhat lacking, or just investing in a higher end set of IEM's? The cable I would be buying would be from Moon Audio, and after the investment in the cable, the set up would be totaling around $650. So like I said, I guess I'm looking to see what your opinions are from anyone who has a balanced set up with these and/or higher end IEM's that they think are worth the price. Thanks for all your help!!!

Just my 2 cents. BTW, I'm not a contributor or anyone special...just a guy that loves enjoying music. From owning and trading quite a few headphones, amps, dacs, and daps, I have learned that, IMHO, it's best to find the headphones with the sound you enjoy rather than investing a lot in accessories. Also consider synergy with your gear. One amp/dac may not sound as good to you with a certain set of headphones.

For example, I traded and tried a bunch of iems until I hit on the Sony EX800ST's. They're my endgame as I get great separation, detail, soundstage which sounds like a live speaker. I get clarity and great sound from an iBasso DX90 and a Fiio E12A amp. When I want, I can cover the vents on the Sonys and they turn into bass monsters. The point is, they're the sound I like best. I recently purchased a cable for the Sonys because the stock one is terrible and I'll be keeping them but it's more about functionality than sound. The sound is still the Sony.

 

[twister6]

 

So I unfortunately I don't have the time to go through 370 pages lol. And I couldn't find a dedicated W40 Thread, so I figured I'd ask my question and hope for the best. I have a pair of W40's and while I really love their laid back and natural sound (which is exactly what I was looking for), they are lacking in some detail, soundstage and separation for me. I have a a Sony PHA-3 AMP/DAC, which I think is a stellar device, and. couple sets of cans that I use with it with balanced silver cables. My question I guess is do you think it's worth buying a balanced silver cable for the W40's to try and achieve the areas that I believe are somewhat lacking, or just investing in a higher end set of IEM's? The cable I would be buying would be from Moon Audio, and after the investment in the cable, the set up would be totaling around $650. So like I said, I guess I'm looking to see what your opinions are from anyone who has a balanced set up with these and/or higher end IEM's that they think are worth the price. Thanks for all your help!!!

Just my 2 cents. BTW, I'm not a contributor or anyone special...just a guy that loves enjoying music. From owning and trading quite a few headphones, amps, dacs, and daps, I have learned that, IMHO, it's best to find the headphones with the sound you enjoy rather than investing a lot in accessories. Also consider synergy with your gear. One amp/dac may not sound as good to you with a certain set of headphones.

For example, I traded and tried a bunch of iems until I hit on the Sony EX800ST's. They're my endgame as I get great separation, detail, soundstage which sounds like a live speaker. I get clarity and great sound from an iBasso DX90 and a Fiio E12A amp. When I want, I can cover the vents on the Sonys and they turn into bass monsters. The point is, they're the sound I like best. I recently purchased a cable for the Sonys because the stock one is terrible and I'll be keeping them but it's more about functionality than sound. The sound is still the Sony.

 
Maybe you are not a contributor, but you are surely speaking with a wisdom of one

 
For anybody who read my reviews, you know I'm a huge cable believer and supporter.  But I still stick to the main principle of cable replacement being the last step in sound refinement.  Cable can make a noticeable difference, but they can't drastically change the signature.
 
For example, with W40, the first step would be to play with different included eartips.  Loosening the seal (smaller size tip) with relax the low end impact which can improve the perception of the upper mids/treble.  As it was mentioned, synergy with a source can play a big role too.  I'm not familiar with PHA-3 dac/amp, but if it's on a warmer side - it will only make W40 more congested and even can muddy the sound a bit due to too much of the laid back feeling.  Maybe a more neutral source?  I don't know what is your digital transport (what @Land-O-The-Free is using to drive PHA), but for example something like iBasso D14 dac/amp is bright and revealing, reasonably priced, and versatile to be even driven from smartphone.  If you want to go with a cable, you don't need an expensive pure silver, silver plated copper (SPC) can work too.  Linum BaX had a great pair up with Westone IEMs.
 
Personally, I find W60 and W80 as a natural progression from W40, but that will cost you a lot more, and other options above could be a better start.  Also, worth keeping in mind, that getting a dac/amp and a cable is an investment that will work down the road with different headphones, not just one specific pair you're looking into now.

 

[Land-O-The-Free]

Yeah I've messed around a little bit with the tips. I think I got a pretty good seal. One of the biggest improvements in my mind will be getting them going in balanced mode with the PHA-3 plus the silver. I'm thinking it will substantially open them up, as it has with other headphones, but I haven't done this with IEM's. I was just hoping someone has been down this road before me to provide a little insight.

 

[Land-O-The-Free]

So is there anyone running there set up with fully balanced? If so, what kind of improvements do you think it has made? Thanks guys!

 

[skeptic]

When you go from a two channel to four channel balanced (push pull) amp, you quadruple power and cancel common mode distortion but also double output impedance and noise.

Output impedance in particular impacts cross overs in multidriver ba iem's and will shift frequency response. It is not at all surprising that people hear differences from doing this, but it is enduring headfi mythology that it is a desirable upgrade to basically cause ba's to run out of spec. YMMV of course, but "going balanced" with multidriver headphones is generally a dubious proposition. Balanced amps driving single driver dynamics are obviously a different ballgame.

 

[Xcellent]

Dear fellow headfi'ers,
 
I have a burning question I need answered. After receiving daily amusement for the last 5 years my W4R finally decided to end our relationship :'( . After about an half hour of playing the right monitor loses volume, which leaves me with a unbalanced pair of IEMs. My left monitor seems fine after continued hours of playtime, I only experience problems with the right one. I also bought a new set of cables to try to fix this problem, but without success.
 
After that I contacted the official Westone dealership in my country where I bought my pair (Variphone). They told me that the life expectancy for this line of IEMs is 3 years and they didn't have any spare parts because of the replacement of the older line of models. Long story short: I'm left with a broken pair of IEMs. I'm planning on contacting Westone itself and ask if they can help me out, but I'm not feeling very hopeful.
 
My question: are there any third-party companies or individuals who can repair my IEMs? Or maybe fixes I can preform myself? I don't really have the budget to upgrade or replace them at the moment.
Thanks in advance !!

 

[twister6]

  Dear fellow headfi'ers,
 
I have a burning question I need answered. After receiving daily amusement for the last 5 years my W4R finally decided to end our relationship :'( . After about an half hour of playing the right monitor loses volume, which leaves me with a unbalanced pair of IEMs. My left monitor seems fine after continued hours of playtime, I only experience problems with the right one. I also bought a new set of cables to try to fix this problem, but without success.
 
After that I contacted the official Westone dealership in my country where I bought my pair (Variphone). They told me that the life expectancy for this line of IEMs is 3 years and they didn't have any spare parts because of the replacement of the older line of models. Long story short: I'm left with a broken pair of IEMs. I'm planning on contacting Westone itself and ask if they can help me out, but I'm not feeling very hopeful.
 
My question: are there any third-party companies or individuals who can repair my IEMs? Or maybe fixes I can preform myself? I don't really have the budget to upgrade or replace them at the moment.
Thanks in advance !!

 
You got a lot of mileage out of your W4R, 5 years of daily use is VERY good.  For sure, these are discontinued since they were introduced over 6 years ago, and now Westone switched to mmcx connectors, W4R was still using 2pins.  Since you switched the cable and problem still there, it's obviously not the cable issue (btw, you could have just switched L/R sides of the cable to test if it's a cable or IEM problem).  And because it plays at first and then volume drops, the wire shouldn't be broken, otherwise it wouldn't play from the start.
 
To be honest, I don't think there is a way to fix it because mostly likely one of the drivers is acting out.  With BA, if you ever dropped them in 5 years or they experienced some shock, after awhile the driver will start acting out the way you have described you symptom.  Someone will have to take the shell apart, check every driver, find the one which has problems, but you can't fix that driver, it has to be replaced.  But with what?  I'm sure they don't make these anymore since they're discontinued.
 
I mean, 5 years of daily use is damn good!  Maybe if you contact Westone and explain your situation, perhaps they can offer a discount on a new model?  Also, Westone marketing director is on Head-fi, @BKG22, so maybe you can ping him for suggestion.