[discombobulation]

New favourite tips (overall) are the Ety Gliders, with the stalks cut in about half. The sound tube shortening makes the trebles sparkle more and tidies up the soundstage, bringing some immediacy to the sound. Adds more bass oomph without muddying up the other frequencies too. Mids recede ever so slightly, but overall make it an extremely enjoyable and comfortable combination. Good isolation too, probably second only to the triple flanges, and about on par with the double flanges.
 
The Ety double flanges are also good, but for some reason they irritate my ear canal. The housing of the W4 also irritate the outer ear after a couple of hours of listening, because of the short sound nozzle.
 
Out of the stock kit, the grey silicones are fantastic, choose as small a size as you can and the sound is great. The only drawback is that the midbass is slightly muddy and instrument separation isn't as good as with other tips. And the W4 housing irritates my outer ear as well.
 
**** I LOVE THESE EARPHONES, I have not heard a better universal. As others have said, the more time you spend with them, the more you appreciate the nuances. Other earphones sound strange after coming off these, though. I'll interpret that as a good thing.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Yeah, I have a hard time going back to the ER-4S after these. The ER-4S has better isolation and detail retrieval, but in the face of W4's 4 BAs vs the ER-4S's 1 BA, it's hard to deny the W4's... superior sound - And I say that delicately because I know some people will balk at that comment.
 
Quote:

New favourite tips (overall) are the Ety Gliders, with the stalks cut in about half. The sound tube shortening makes the trebles sparkle more and tidies up the soundstage, bringing some immediacy to the sound. Adds more bass oomph without muddying up the other frequencies too. Mids recede ever so slightly, but overall make it an extremely enjoyable and comfortable combination. Good isolation too, probably second only to the triple flanges, and about on par with the double flanges.
 
The Ety double flanges are also good, but for some reason they irritate my ear canal. The housing of the W4 also irritate the outer ear after a couple of hours of listening, because of the short sound nozzle.
 
Out of the stock kit, the grey silicones are fantastic, choose as small a size as you can and the sound is great. The only drawback is that the midbass is slightly muddy and instrument separation isn't as good as with other tips. And the W4 housing irritates my outer ear as well.
 
**** I LOVE THESE EARPHONES, I have not heard a better universal. As others have said, the more time you spend with them, the more you appreciate the nuances. Other earphones sound strange after coming off these, though. I'll interpret that as a good thing.

 

 

[germe83]

 
Quote:

Yeah, I have a hard time going back to the ER-4S after these. The ER-4S has better isolation and detail retrieval, but in the face of W4's 4 BAs vs the ER-4S's 1 BA, it's hard to deny the W4's... superior sound - And I say that delicately because I know some people will balk at that comment.
 


 

I'm currently, balking...
 
Seriously though, I really wish I had the funds to try these out. I'd love to have an over-the-ear monitor that can compete with the etys.
 
 

 

[discombobulation]

I take back my favourite tip statement, just picked up these tiny Ety triple flanges (I think that's what they are?) with 2mm bore to fit the W4 nozzle.
 
Fantastic, the trebles are positively sizzling, the slight midbass cloudiness is tamed, low bass presence is increased (though the W4 still benefit from some EQing in this area). Because of the wide soundbore in these tips (compared to the stock triple flanges in particular) the sound is far less congested and the soundstage and instrument separation is preserved. Greater detail is achieved because of the added isolation. The first time I've heard any triple flanges not sound mushy and compressed, great.

 

[MusicalChillies]

Today Fed Ex delivered my W4`s.
 
Carefully removed the plastic shrink wrap, opened the box as if it was a bomb. When I received the 535`s I had a little moan albeit with myself, how something costing £300 should have minor but still there niggles. 535, getting off the supplied tips.
My Westone moan, getting the **** things out of the plastic moulded package. Come on chaps I know that things can get damaged in transit but..
I am not a foamie guy but they did not return to their normal state, both returned to about 90% but heyho never going to be used.
 
You may ask "Why did you get the W4 when it is probably like the 535`s". With input from James and Eric I believed they would better the 535`s. Straight away I can tell you they do, more bass impact, more cohesive.
 
Read a couple of comments about these from forum elders.
1. These are just PFE`s with more drivers.
2. These are like the Vsonic 07`s in nature and the big brother version.
 
Having the both the above, I am not sure where comment 1 comes from. I side firmly with comment 2. 
That is a massive complement to Vsonic and to be honest, at the minute a pair of phones that do 90% of what these do with added flavour. Bass impact is very good and I am happy with on the W4. The 07 delivers more punch as it should imo being dynamic.
 
Early impressions, 
The 07`s are the best £119 I have ever spent.
The W4`s are the best £319 I have spent on an iem.
 
W4, fantastic detail retrieval and delivery.
07, fantastic detail with a very very enjoyable warm dynamic touch.
 
2 fantastic pairs of little things.
 
ED: pairs added.

 

[ericp10]

Congrats Sinth. The W4 and GR07 are my two favorite universals out of all of the ones I own currently.I'm glad you see (hear) them the way that I see (hear) them. Enjoy.

 
Quote:

Today Fed Ex delivered my W4`s.
 
Carefully removed the plastic shrink wrap, opened the box as if it was a bomb. When I received the 535`s I had a little moan albeit with myself, how something costing £300 should have minor but still there niggles. 535, getting off the supplied tips.
My Westone moan, getting the **** things out of the plastic moulded package. Come on chaps I know that things can get damaged in transit but..
I am not a foamie guy but they did not return to their normal state, both returned to about 90% but heyho never going to be used.
 
You may ask "Why did you get the W4 when it is probably like the 535`s". With input from James and Eric I believed they would better the 535`s. Straight away I can tell you they do, more bass impact, more cohesive.
 
Read a couple of comments about these from forum elders.
1. These are just PFE`s with more drivers.
2. These are like the Vsonic 07`s in nature and the big brother version.
 
Having the both the above, I am not sure where comment 1 comes from. I side firmly with comment 2. 
That is a massive complement to Vsonic and to be honest, at the minute a pair of phones that do 90% of what these do with added flavour. Bass impact is very good and I am happy with on the W4. The 07 delivers more punch as it should imo being dynamic.
 
Early impressions, 
The 07`s are the best £119 I have ever spent.
The W4`s are the best £319 I have spent on an iem.
 
W4, fantastic detail retrieval and delivery.
07, fantastic detail with a very very enjoyable warm dynamic touch.
 
2 fantastic pairs of little things.
 
ED: pairs added.

 

 

[MusicalChillies]

Thanks Eric,
 
Will listen again later when I can. I know BA`s do not require burn in but the brain and maybe "synergy" may make them even more lovely than my initial out of the box hour.

 

[Laptopia]

£319 for Westone 4s? Amazon.com has them for $365, shipped.

 

[MusicalChillies]

Today, Day 2....
 
Burn in. Yip I know dynamic driven phones benefit, have heard it. BA phones? The Shure 535`s didn`t change at all over 3 days.
I can hear the masses saying "Yeah no wonder! BA phones do not need burn in you fool"
 
The W4`s today, I suppose 3 hours of use. I was pretty impressed to say the least last night.
 
Today... Same seal, used the large grey silicone tips as yesterday, a seal within seconds.
 
I am typing this not as I am a: listening to them nor b: just removed after listening.
I am typing this after 5 hours after being out with friends for a few jars and a meal. What I heard this afternoon was absolutely phenomenal and stayed with me while I was out. My friend isn`t a headfier, an Iphone 4 user yes, fancy apps but not a musical geek.
I told him that I had a pair of headphones which I sent back to China blah blah and really wanted to speak about how my new pair sounded. I did say if he needed to buy a pair of phones to give me a shout and I would sort him out for just over £100 (Vsonic07)
 
Anyways, anyways,anyways.
Now I can spout out about my experience today with proper sound geeks, sorry but that is what I class "you lot" and put myself in that bracket soo it is not slander.
 
My setup is in my sig.
I mentioned earlier about burn in. Let me say there has been changes today, big changes. Ok you can rule out a dynamic diaphragm loosening thingmeajig. Soo what happened?
 
Let me say what I heard today much more than yesterday. Bass.
Yesterday straight out of the box. I was impressed after almost convincing myself that BA`s cannot do bass. Why think that? Reading these forums. Not a weird statement, dynamics which I love move air which is fantastic in the lower region. BA`s do not work in that manner. My fault I suppose in thinking that statement is cut and dry. Dynamics = bass, BA = mids/highs.
 
The Vsonic 07 bucks that trend, a dynamic driven iem that can deliver stunning detail. I have only owned them for just over a week.
I used them whilst my 535 refund was in progress. You may have read my comments on that thread which was something along the lines of "I was thinking about the westone 3 or 4 but I cannot see how they could beat these"
 
Yesterday, Westone`s planted in the ear, did I hear the nearly £200 difference? Nope, nada. Underwhelmed? No, they sounded great, cohesive but with less impact and that old saying, quality over quantity blah blah.
 
Forgive me, I am waffling on but getting to the point.
The Westone 4, today delivered. Slamming (yes slamming) bass, detailed and down right fun.My whole attitude towards only dynamics can deliver that sort of bass is out the window.
Track after track opened my eyes, crap saying but you know what I mean. Learnt a new saying today also. PRaT.
I will not explain but the answer is definitely yes, YES.
 
Tracks that my other phones failed when asked the question, passed with ease. You know the tracks, your favourite band, really want to listen pretty loud with but just fall over at the last hurdle and end up turning down the volume, yanking out your iems and go to bed like a spoiled brat.
 
(hopefully my pc wont crash, typed an epic)
 
Cut to the chase. I have found it. After multiple efforts, high hopes and disappointment, these are it.
Westone, you have given me sonic heaven. Believe me I am not easily pleased, far from it. 
Insisted my wife listened to "Ellie Goulding - your song). My wife has only suffered one effort with my X10`s but liked the experience.
Today she said "Amazing, it`s like she is singing in your head". A quote from a non headfier, simple,frank and no mention of "soundstage", quite welcoming.
 
Ok, I have finished this essay. I have also finished my search for the perfect iem for now.
Westone 4. I thank you.
 
 

 

[ericp10]

LOL @ Sinth!! You are one funny "rambling" dude, but I get you... And I am one of the (few) head-fiers that believe in burn-in for dynamics and BA drivers. So I don't think you are nuts by saying the W4 opened up with more bass. I had the same experience. They have still have some more settling in to do. Keep (and happy) listening. 

 

[Tronz]

Quote:

Yeah, I have a hard time going back to the ER-4S after these. The ER-4S has better isolation and detail retrieval, but in the face of W4's 4 BAs vs the ER-4S's 1 BA, it's hard to deny the W4's... superior sound - And I say that delicately because I know some people will balk at that comment.
 


 

That's interesting that you classify a sound with lesser detail to be superior, even if the sound is of your preference in terms of frequency response.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

i think it comes down to the fact that W4 sounds pretty neutral (slightly warm maybe) while still having great detail and amazing sound stage - you hear more "layers" and get a better dimensional depth of sound. it's undeniable that the er-4s has better detail retrieval/"accuracy" but it's still flat and one dimensional sounding. i'm just hearing more with the W4.
 
using women as an analogy, it's like this: at the end of the night, i'd rather go home with four 8's and have a massive orgy, rather than taking home a perfect 10. yeah each of those girls may only rank an 8/10 in hotness, but by having 4 of them at the same time, i effectively have a 32 on my hands, and a 32 > 10 in my book.
 
Quote:

That's interesting that you classify a sound with lesser detail to be superior, even if the sound is of your preference in terms of frequency response.

 

 

[MusicalChillies]

Quote:

LOL @ Sinth!! You are one funny "rambling" dude, but I get you... And I am one of the (few) head-fiers that believe in burn-in for dynamics and BA drivers. So I don't think you are nuts by saying the W4 opened up with more bass. I had the same experience. They have still have some more settling in to do. Keep (and happy) listening. 

lol thats what a few brews do to you. A case of virtual "dutch courage". Was scared to log on this morning but I stand by it
 

 

[au5t3n5]

LMAO....no comment.
 
Quote:

using women as an analogy, it's like this: at the end of the night, i'd rather go home with four 8's and have a massive orgy, rather than taking home a perfect 10. yeah each of those girls may only rank an 8/10 in hotness, but by having 4 of them at the same time, i effectively have a 32 on my hands, and a 32 > 10 in my book.
 


 

 
 

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

i think it comes down to the fact that W4 sounds pretty neutral (slightly warm maybe) while still having great detail and amazing sound stage - you hear more "layers" and get a better dimensional depth of sound. it's undeniable that the er-4s has better detail retrieval/"accuracy" but it's still flat and one dimensional sounding. but i'm just hearing more with the W4.
 
 

EXCELLENT POINT!!!
 
...and this is where I wish the Ety product development team would  wake up and offer another high-end product!