[JoeyRusso]

Quote:

Hi Joey:

Just my 2 cents...with the sparkly-like treble that is boosted for a nice colourful affect, I didn't find the W3's dark at all. I usually reserve that comment for headphones/IEMs with a over emphasized bass/mid bass AND rolled off treble. The Westone 3s did have the former, but certainly not the latter. If fact, taking the 2-3kHz and higher spectrum, you could describe, the treble as on the brighter side of neutral.
 
Just my 2 cents again...YMMV.
 
I gotta admit, I am tempted to pick up a pair of W4s....but with my Edition 8s, I rarely use IEMs much anymore. But you never know?

I think my definition of dark/warm varies from others and I may be describing them differently.  Although the W3 does have sparkly/peaky/extended treble, I wouldn't describe the W3's as bright to someone outside of this hobby.  The overall sound package of the W3 sounds warm to me. Dark, really has no place in their description (I used it incorrectly to identify warm/bassy).  For reference, I'd consider the RE0's bright but not cold.  The W3's bass/mid bass and slightly recessed mids paint a warm sound picture more for me than their highs make them bright. So, good, bad or indifferent.. my interpretations are based on the most prominent feature/features overall effect on the sound signature. That may not be the best way to describe sound. As I learn/identify how others describe what they hear, I'm noticing that there is no real consensus definition of all the terms used to identify what we hear. (not everyone has read the glossary of terms, including me)
 
So given that, I find the W4's overall sound signature brighter/clearer and more balanced than the W3's.  No one frequency range overpowers another to my ears.  I wouldn't call them cold. Cold to me is clinical/sharp, lacking depth/body or missing life.  The W4's sound full and smooth, but not bloated or messy.  They are detailed throughout and very engaging, not dull, dry or lifeless.  I wouldn't call them bright on the whole, but the overall sound is lighter and less bottom heavy than the W3's.  I couldn't call them dark as I find them detailed, refreshing and alive from bottom to top.  I don't know that I'd call them warm, but they are smooth and unlikely to cause ear fatigue.  What does that leave??  I guess I would best describe them as: well balanced, smooth, engaging, detailed (but not clinical) and refreshing.  They do well with all genres and sound great out of all of my sources.  Are they perfect?  Not quite, but they are my favorite IEM to date.  They are a jack-of-all, master of none kinda listen for me.  They take the best of what I loved about the W2's and W3's and blend them into a one and done comfy little package.  
 
Oh and I had an interesting brain burn/auditory overload scenario last night... After listening to my W4's I decided to switch over to my RE0's, then back to my W4, followed by the W3 and then finally back to the W4.  After about 45 minutes of that everything started to sound muddled and congested with all of them.  I had to take a break for about an hour before going back to listening.  I won't be doing that anymore.. 
 

 

[JoeyRusso]

Quote:

 

I'd appreciate it if more people came up with their own percetages, specially compared to the UM3X/ W3/ TF10.

I would say the W4 requires at least 10% more volume to match the W3, regardless of source. 

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

(not everyone has read the glossary of terms, including me)

 
you have your homework assignment now, Joey! 

  seriously, great impressions! keep 'em coming.
 
 

They take the best of what I loved about the W2's and W3's and blend them into a one and done comfy little package. 

 
so you find them to be sort of a blend of the w2 & w3. i'm guessing you mean that they have the better balance of the 2s with the greater impact & resolution of the 3s, but i don't want to put words into your mouth. 

  would you mind further elucidation of this point. thanks.
 
 

 

[JoeyRusso]

Quote:

  so you find them to be sort of a blend of the w2 & w3. i'm guessing you mean that they have the better balance of the 2s with the greater impact & resolution of the 3s, but i don't want to put words into your mouth. 

  would you mind further elucidation of this point. thanks. 

 
Thanks Dave and yes, I find the W4's to be a better marriage of what the two did well for me. 
 
 I liked the balance of the W2's. They did well with every genre and I could listen to them for hours in the background, while working or reading.  They didn't overly influence the music in any direction.  However they weren't as inspiring as I'd like for other times.
 
The W3's have always been my release IEM.  I used them when working out (when I worked out) or when I wanted to let off a little steam.  They brought out the best/beast in my music and took me away from life's stress.  When I wanted to learn a new piece of music in the past, I would reach for my HD600's.  They were more revealing than the W2 or any other IEM I owned, so they were much better for dissecting a bass line.  The W3, although detailed in the lower region, would have me tapping my toes, playing air drums or make me lose track of what I was doing.
 
The W4 takes the neutrality of the W2 adds more life and spice across the board and adapts to whatever mood I'm in. I can lower the volume and be less distracted when reading and turn them up when I want to unwind.  Again, I could nit-pick the W4 and tell you what I'd like more of to suit my tastes, but I'd rather point out what they do well on their own.  Like the W2's, they don't do anything necessarily wrong..  but they do more right..  Make sense??

 

[imackler]

Initial impression of the W4: Very, very well done. Great depth, clarity, extension, speed. Healthy balance between bass, mids and treble. Mids are a less rich than the SE535 but both treble and bass have more extension. Treble is nicer on the W4. Very musical iem. Not overly analytical but rewards attention. The harder you listen the more you find. Very layered presentation.
 
So far, with a bunch of genres, I can't find any flaws. Just very impressed.
 
And very comfortable. For me, personally because of glasses, much nicer than than the SE535's memory wire.
 
Kudos, Westone, Kudos.

 

[rhsauer]

Some newbie impressions:
 
This is my first experience with what I would consider high-end headphones.  I bought the W4's on an impulse (in a mid-life crisis moment -- cheaper than a Ferrari).  I've owned Shures (very old series 2), Etymotic Hf2, Klipsch S4's, B+W P5's.  I was afraid my relatively old ears would not appreciate the difference, but, luckily, I was wrong.  I can't compare these to other high end universal IEMs like the SE535's or the SM3's because I haven't heard them, but I can say that the upgrade from my more medium-priced headphones is profound.
 
Here's my very unsophisticated take on one of the things that makes the W4's so much better than the others 'phones I've had:  When I bought my first stereo, in the 70's, the salesman at Tech Hi-Fi (in Ann Arbor) told me that the hardest thing for most speaker manufacturers to get right was the bass.  Specifically, he said most speakers overemphasized the bass to cover up the fact that they couldn't faithfully reproduce sounds at low frequencies.  To me, that describes one of the things the W4's get just right.  The W4's bass just seems more accurate (and less artificial) than I can remember ever hearing.  It doesn't muddy all the other sounds - which is what happens, from time to time, on most of my other headphones.  (Perhaps that's a direct advantage of having two discrete bass drivers.)  And getting the bass just right seems to open up the rest of the frequencies -- there just aren't all these manufactured sounds interfering.  Anyway, that's what it seems like to me.
 
As others have said, I too would be very interested in hearing more direct comparisons between the W4's and the SM3's -- and also, perhaps, the Grado GR10's.  (If the W4's hadn't become available on the day they did, I probably would have pulled the trigger on the Grado's.)

 

[shotgunshane]

 
The W3's have always been my release IEM.  I used them when working out (when I worked out) or when I wanted to let off a little steam.  They brought out the best/beast in my music and took me away from life's stress.  When I wanted to learn a new piece of music in the past, I would reach for my HD600's.  They were more revealing than the W2 or any other IEM I owned, so they were much better for dissecting a bass line.  The W3, although detailed in the lower region, would have me tapping my toes, playing air drums or make me lose track of what I was doing.
 
The W4 takes the neutrality of the W2 adds more life and spice across the board and adapts to whatever mood I'm in. I can lower the volume and be less distracted when reading and turn them up when I want to unwind.  Again, I could nit-pick the W4 and tell you what I'd like more of to suit my tastes, but I'd rather point out what they do well on their own.  Like the W2's, they don't do anything necessarily wrong..  but they do more right..  Make sense??

What you've said about the W3 has me torn between ordering it or the W4. I really enjoy the sound of the TF10 but have thought they could use more body to the bass. And whatever I get I don't want to lose that sparkle in the highs.

 

[albau]

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 

Just my 2 cents...with the sparkly-like treble that is boosted for a nice colourful affect, I didn't find the W3's dark at all. I usually reserve that comment for headphones/IEMs with a over emphasized bass/mid bass AND rolled off treble. The Westone 3s did have the former, but certainly not the latter. If fact, taking the 2-3kHz and higher spectrum, you could describe, the treble as on the brighter side of neutral.
 

But that's my problem with W3! Everybody were talking about sibilance and over brightness which i hate coming out of HJE900. in fact as you I found I had to boost via EQ the highs. And not just to balance out the bass and mask the warmish mid tint but also to simply add some sparkle. So, yes, to me W3 have rolled off treble or maybe it's so overshadowed by upper lows that it comes this way.
 
Quote:

 
 Although the W3 does have sparkly/peaky/extended treble, I wouldn't describe the W3's as bright to someone outside of this hobby.  The overall sound package of the W3 sounds warm to me. Dark, really has no place in their description (I used it incorrectly to identify warm/bassy).  For reference, I'd consider the RE0's bright but not cold. 

I guess everyone's ears are different. I would find it hard to describe W3 as "sparkly/peaky/extended treble", more like a little subdued if not dull. At least not with moded tri-flanges or long complys which were the only tips that would propely fit my ears. I never heard RE0 but I would for sure describe HJE900 as bright (sometimes unbearably so) while at the same time being warm. Former because of sometimes grainy and sibilant highs and latter because of fabulous big bass that bleeds a little into low mids.
 
That's why I have love/hate relationship with W3 - in order to enjoy them I have to EQ the hell out of them by taming upper bass and at the same time boosting highs. Which as you can guess is impossible with iPhone 4 iPod app's EQ presets. Judging by W4 reviews here I'm really expecting them to be what I'm looking for without any EQ.
 
I got rid of W2 because un-EQ'ed they also sounded to me veiled despite being more balanced (but also more anemic and less detailed) than W3. At least on iPhone most presets like Rock will work but at the expense of collapsing soundstage.
 
I'm worried that my impressions of W2 and W3 seem to contradict what others are saying and wonder why this could be? And am I expecting tot much of W4s if they are a sort of blend between W2 and W3?
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I think my definition of dark/warm varies from others and I may be describing them differently.  Although the W3 does have sparkly/peaky/extended treble, I wouldn't describe the W3's as bright to someone outside of this hobby.  The overall sound package of the W3 sounds warm to me. Dark, really has no place in their description (I used it incorrectly to identify warm/bassy).  For reference, I'd consider the RE0's bright but not cold.  The W3's bass/mid bass and slightly recessed mids paint a warm sound picture more for me than their highs make them bright. So, good, bad or indifferent.. my interpretations are based on the most prominent feature/features overall effect on the sound signature. That may not be the best way to describe sound. As I learn/identify how others describe what they hear, I'm noticing that there is no real consensus definition of all the terms used to identify what we hear. (not everyone has read the glossary of terms, including me)
 
So given that, I find the W4's overall sound signature brighter/clearer and more balanced than the W3's.  No one frequency range overpowers another to my ears.  I wouldn't call them cold. Cold to me is clinical/sharp, lacking depth/body or missing life.  The W4's sound full and smooth, but not bloated or messy.  They are detailed throughout and very engaging, not dull, dry or lifeless.  I wouldn't call them bright on the whole, but the overall sound is lighter and less bottom heavy than the W3's.  I couldn't call them dark as I find them detailed, refreshing and alive from bottom to top.  I don't know that I'd call them warm, but they are smooth and unlikely to cause ear fatigue.  What does that leave??  I guess I would best describe them as: well balanced, smooth, engaging, detailed (but not clinical) and refreshing.  They do well with all genres and sound great out of all of my sources.  Are they perfect?  Not quite, but they are my favorite IEM to date.  They are a jack-of-all, master of none kinda listen for me.  They take the best of what I loved about the W2's and W3's and blend them into a one and done comfy little package.  
 
Oh and I had an interesting brain burn/auditory overload scenario last night... After listening to my W4's I decided to switch over to my RE0's, then back to my W4, followed by the W3 and then finally back to the W4.  After about 45 minutes of that everything started to sound muddled and congested with all of them.  I had to take a break for about an hour before going back to listening.  I won't be doing that anymore.. 
 

I agree with you that the W3s aren't bright overall...just over 2-3kHz range a bit bright. Overall it is hard to call them either warm or bright. Their bass/mid bass is warm, yet their treble is a bit bright. I know....just really good fun IEMs.

 

[shigzeo]

Music: if the UM3x with removeable cables has been fixed, great, but locally, dealers have had to pack more of them back than the old version. The body shell just didn't support the cable as well - that is what I meant. I broke my arm, so I sort of lose place here and there. Koreans are, however, really rough on their stuff, but still, it seems the newer cable isn't doing as well here.

 

[ValSic]

Went for the W4's instead of the JH5's as someone told me that I'm better off with universals 'til i get older (I'm just 15). Gonna post my impressions as soon as i get them. EXCITED!

 

[50mm]

Hello folks,
Just received my W4 in the mail. (thanks for the quick delivery, earphonesolutions !).
The sound is so much better than my Q-Jays, which has always sounds clear and crisp but left me wanting as it always sounds a bit "thin". The W4 has a richer, more complete sound that covers the whole spectrum well. It is not a bass monster but that's what you'd expect from the higher end IEMs, but overall, the sound is very clear, crisp, full and complete. The bass is very defined and crisp. Percussions and double bass notes sound fast and crisp, while jazz vocals sound rich, full and has depth (as compared to my Q-Jays that has that crisp, clean clear sound, but always lacks the richness that jazz vocals need......clinical is the word ?). The W4 is clean. clear and crisp, but is not clinical in any way.
Instruments with multiple gutars sound very well separated and the acoustic drums are to die for ! You can almost hear the vibration of the skin on those bongo-style drums. I am even hearing nuances that was previously not there.......go figure !
listening to plucking of string instruments is so much fun, while listening to vocals such as Somewhere over the rainbow by Eva Cassidy is TOTALLY haunting ! (I may not be able to listen to that song again ! Westone's fault ! .....in a good way).
Diana Krall, Stacy Kent, and even very different songs from Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's breathing can be heard clearly. Gypsy Kings, Govi and Buena Vista Social Club takes on a new life !
 
OK, going to stop now before someone tells me to...........
 
Enjoy...

 

[SolidSnake3]

Quote:

Went for the W4's instead of the JH5's as someone told me that I'm better off with universals 'til i get older (I'm just 15). Gonna post my impressions as soon as i get them. EXCITED!

Good advice, really waiting on customs is probably the safest bet, at your age your ears are still changing and the chances of poor fit or being unable to wear them comfortably over time is quite high. I'm 20 this year and I was really on the fence about customs for a long time partially because of the thought that my ears may still be changing and growing. 

 

[imackler]

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to "Audio Vengeance"! They are an authorized Westone dealer and offer a competitive price! I got mine through an ebay offer your price and priority mail shipping (in a small box) for a great deal!

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Went for the W4's instead of the JH5's as someone told me that I'm better off with universals 'til i get older (I'm just 15). Gonna post my impressions as soon as i get them. EXCITED!

wise move, Val!  you don't want to have fit issues with a custom iem in 6mos, or 12mos, or 24mos as your body changes. it sounds like you'll likely enjoy the w4s a lot, and they can nicely tide you over while you save for customs. get them when you stop growing. let us know what you think of the westones.