[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

ah... great! cuz i already arrenged the shipping back... and how long were you using ur new w4s? cuz i dnt want to take any risk and ship it back... too much costy!!. i can almost buy a shure 315 with the shiping cost ... lol so have to be shure that westone wont screw up again with me...

Well I live in the US, so shipping to and fro costs nothing. Sorry that shipping costs so much for you.
 
I used it for 2 months until the right side started sounding a lot quieter than the left side.

 

[stationwagon]

I dont think there is something wrong with the drivers being mismatched, because I have a westone 4, and sometimes they seem like the drivers are mismatched at times, but when you hear a different track it seems fine, I had sent it in for warranty replacement and westone had suggested that there was nothing wrong with them, so just send it in if there is nothing wrong they will just send it back to you.

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

I dont think there is something wrong with the drivers being mismatched, because I have a westone 4, and sometimes they seem like the drivers are mismatched at times, but when you hear a different track it seems fine, I had sent it in for warranty replacement and westone had suggested that there was nothing wrong with them, so just send it in if there is nothing wrong they will just send it back to you.

 
In my case, my W4 were steadily getting worse, to which point the right side was consistently almost 20% quieter than the left side. I was able to compare it side by side with the W4R and the UM3X RC which I have as well, so I knew there was definitely a problem. Westone sent me a new one back without question, and I haven't had a problem with this pair (knock on wood).
 
If something sounds wrong, you should get it checked out - Westone will take care of you.

 

[Pyxis]

Quote:

I dont think there is something wrong with the drivers being mismatched, because I have a westone 4, and sometimes they seem like the drivers are mismatched at times, but when you hear a different track it seems fine, I had sent it in for warranty replacement and westone had suggested that there was nothing wrong with them, so just send it in if there is nothing wrong they will just send it back to you.

Yeah, I experienced this problem too.
The fault was particularly glaring when I played songs by Beatles, but it seemed fine on other tracks, so I didn't pay much attention to it.

Anyway, got them reshelled, and the company tested the drivers and said that there's nothing wrong with them, so I guess there's something to do with how the W4s are made that makes the sound like that.
 

 

[SoundFreaq]

Hey guys,
 
I just bought the W4 for the second time. 
 
When I had them before, I listened to them for a short while and decided immediately that the bottom end would never work, and I sent them back for the W3. I like the W3 alot. They had sibilance, but I quite like them with the comply tips I found, even if it kills a bit of shimmer on the high end. Amp them, and they sound even better. It made me wonder if I shortchanged the W4. 
 
They are on the way. Things I didn't do that I need to try:
 
1. Try different tips. I only used the dark gray medium tips that came with them (silicone?). I now have some large Shure Olives ready to try. I see the PureSound tips are popular. Worth the $20 shipping to the states for a trial pack?
2. Use EQ. I found the mids just dominated the frequency spectrum. Try some negative EQ for the mids, and additive for the lows and highs.
3. Amp them. Maybe try the ZO.
 
However, I truly want these to be an on-the-go solution for when my customs aren't so practical, so an amp is not going to be in the equation in all circumstances. Do you think with EQ and different tips, I can tease the bottom end out pretty well? Or is that an exercise in futility?

 

[roycantos]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
I just bought the W4 for the second time. 
 
When I had them before, I listened to them for a short while and decided immediately that the bottom end would never work, and I sent them back for the W3. I like the W3 alot. They had sibilance, but I quite like them with the comply tips I found, even if it kills a bit of shimmer on the high end. Amp them, and they sound even better. It made me wonder if I shortchanged the W4. 
 
They are on the way. Things I didn't do that I need to try:
 
1. Try different tips. I only used the dark gray medium tips that came with them (silicone?). I now have some large Shure Olives ready to try. I see the PureSound tips are popular. Worth the $20 shipping to the states for a trial pack?
2. Use EQ. I found the mids just dominated the frequency spectrum. Try some negative EQ for the mids, and additive for the lows and highs.
3. Amp them. Maybe try the ZO.
 
However, I truly want these to be an on-the-go solution for when my customs aren't so practical, so an amp is not going to be in the equation in all circumstances. Do you think with EQ and different tips, I can tease the bottom end out pretty well? Or is that an exercise in futility?

Get Sony Hybrids + comply core IMHO thats the best tip for W4. Z02.3 gives the needed bass punch for W4 =)
 

 

[SoundFreaq]

Quote:

Get Sony Hybrids + comply core IMHO thats the best tip for W4. Z02.3 gives the needed bass punch for W4 =)
 

Are those the EPEX10A from Sony? Also, is there a difference in the EarPortz and the PureSound tips? I can get the Earportz much cheaper in the US. 

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

Are those the EPEX10A from Sony? Also, is there a difference in the EarPortz and the PureSound tips? I can get the Earportz much cheaper in the US. 

earportz and puresound tips are the exact same. just different names for different countries.
 
try normal comply tips as well - the t series large do wonders for me, but to each his own. we all have different ear shapes and tolerances, and there is no single best tip for any individual with universal iems.

 

[SoundFreaq]

Quote:

earportz and puresound tips are the exact same. just different names for different countries.
 
try normal comply tips as well - the t series large do wonders for me, but to each his own. we all have different ear shapes and tolerances, and there is no single best tip for any individual with universal iems.

Thanks for the info. The large comply are my favorite for the W3, no doubt. I can't stand the Olives on 'em. 
 
The Comply foam doesn't attenuate the highs too much for you on the W4?
 

 

[au5t3n5]

the zo brings out the low end, but you lose a good amount of sound stage and detail. i hear they fixed that in version 3 (i am at v2, ill have to exchange it sometime), so i can't say for the final product. 
 
but yea, the zo does give the w4 a kick, but if you want it, be prepared to make some sacrifies...

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

Thanks for the info. The large comply are my favorite for the W3, no doubt. I can't stand the Olives on 'em. 
 
The Comply foam doesn't attenuate the highs too much for you on the W4?
 

nope, they give me the clearest sound with little to no attenuation - i've used shure olives, earportz, various flanges, and silicones, but at the end of the day, comply t-100 size L is my go to. second to that is the comply p series medium or large, but that does attenuate the highs. shure olives aren't as comfortable to me than the comply stuff.
 
yeah, comply is expensive, yeah, some people don't find them worth it, but this hobby is expensive, and nothing is as comfortable as comply to me. that said, your ears might be totally different, so i can't tell you what you'd hear or feel, but given that you've liked complys for the W3, i'd say the fit would be pretty similar.
 

 

[roycantos]

@SoundFreaq yeah EPEX10A  is the sony hybrids, for some reasons i cant find a good for earportz(i ordered trial pack, and never like comply tip - it kills the treble)
 
@au5t3n5 now you mentioned it, using z02 brings the sound forward..a little bit, but still i like the bass rumble =)

 

[SoundFreaq]

I ordered the EarPortz from a link buried in this thread. I'll have those, the Comply, and the Large Olives ready to try. 
 
Edit: I'll order the Sony's since they're cheap. Might as well try them out since you love them so much

 

[SoundFreaq]

 
I have a theory:
 
Think of your ear canal as a room. A room with a speaker in it. Like all rooms, every one will be different acoustically. That's why pro audio rooms have damping material to reduce reverberation and bouncing sound waves that will change the sound. Damping provides the listener to hear the sound from the speaker directly, without the room's acoustics added. Silicone tips on your IEMs are like a room without damping. Most say the highs have more energy, and the bass has more texture. This makes complete sense as the sound waves are ricocheting off the walls of your ear canal and silicone tips. Comply or other foam tips act as damping in an acoustic room and provide the more pure sound of the monitor to reach your ears, and absorb the extra sound waves reflected back on itself. This would create less energy in the highs and less reverb in the bass, but a more natural sound signature. For those of you that enjoy silicone tips, you like the effect the glancing sound waves sound to you, creating a false energy that isn't necessarily intended. 
 
All this to say, I highly prefer my Comply tips over the silicone for the W4. It sounds so much more natural to me. Bass is fuller and more extended, and the highs are crisp without excess energy. 
 
Can't wait to try the EarPortz however. 

 

[james444]

Quote:

The Comply foam doesn't attenuate the highs too much for you on the W4?

 
Quote:

nope, they give me the clearest sound with little to no attenuation - i've used shure olives, earportz, various flanges, and silicones, but at the end of the day, comply t-100 size L is my go to.

 
Quote:

 
I have a theory:
 
Think of your ear canal as a room. A room with a speaker in it. Like all rooms, every one will be different acoustically. That's why pro audio rooms have damping material to reduce reverberation and bouncing sound waves that will change the sound. Damping provides the listener to hear the sound from the speaker directly, without the room's acoustics added. Silicone tips on your IEMs are like a room without damping. Most say the highs have more energy, and the bass has more texture. This makes complete sense as the sound waves are ricocheting off the walls of your ear canal and silicone tips. Comply or other foam tips act as damping in an acoustic room and provide the more pure sound of the monitor to reach your ears, and absorb the extra sound waves reflected back on itself. This would create less energy in the highs and less reverb in the bass, but a more natural sound signature. For those of you that enjoy silicone tips, you like the effect the glancing sound waves sound to you, creating a false energy that isn't necessarily intended. 
 
All this to say, I highly prefer my Comply tips over the silicone for the W4. It sounds so much more natural to me. Bass is fuller and more extended, and the highs are crisp without excess energy. 

I've posted this before, on pretty much all my other IEMs except the W4, foam based tips like shure olives and Complys tend to muffle the sound in comparison to silicons. However, with the W4 my olives seem to provide better clarity than all silicons I've tried.
 
I have a somewhat related theory to explain that oddity: the W4's nozzle is extremely short, so the sound waves have to travel through part of the tip's inner tube. The tubes in olives and Complys are made of hard and stiff material and don't absorb much energy. The tubes in silicons are much softer and may have a dampening effect as the sound waves travel through. That may be the reason why foam tips sound clearer than silicons on the W4.