[YoengJyh]

Just bought the Westone 4R, and i would like to say the sound is incredible nice! It is Superb!
 
Here are my impression on it.
 
First of all i would like to say that this iem sound signature is very similar to my LCD2r2. If you like LCD2r2 sound signature you will love this iem definitely!
 
Before i purchased the Westone 4R, i had compared it to Westone UM3X and Shure 535 (normal edition).
 
UM3X is very similar to Shure 535 but slightly better than Shure 535, which i could say is UM3X > = Shure 535. The bass quality is about the same; STRONG. But when comes to clarity of background details which is very very minor light/low mid, the Shure 535 sounds muddy compare to UM3X. UM3X is better than Shure 535 in this section. The bass quality i felt coloration of the Shure 535 and UM3X which i considered not a nature bass.
 
Built quality (including cables) of course goes to Shure 535 side but it doesn't meant that UM3X is cheap. Therefore, your money is half into sound quality and half into figure/outlook quality for Shure 535 but not for Westone UM3X
 
On the other hands, IMHO the sound signature from Shure 535 and UM3X will fatigue your ear in long listening. (which i found nice through Westone 4R)
 
When i plug Westone 4R into my ears... I smile... Because this is the sound quality that i want and this is what I CALL SOUND QUALITY.
 
The Bass of Westone 4R is not as strong as Shure 535 and UM3X but in my opinion this is so call BASS. So nature... it sounds when it comes, it sounds when the recordings were made to be sounded in that way. Build quality is better than UM3X for sure, but i felt that build quality of Westone 4R is still losing itself if compare to Shure 535. Soundstage as others head-fiers mentioned before; Bigger, and of course i feel the same way. Separation is the best compare to UM3X and Shure 535, easily win hands down. I could hear into very minor and detail sound signature even i am using it without a portable DAC and amp. It sounds just like my LCD2r2 paired with my Audio-GD 10SE... Darn! To be frank, i felt that this little tiny earphone sounds better than my LCD2r2, because i have listened background sounds that i do not listen through my LCD2r2 before. I was shocked and surprise. Hmm... maybe due to IEM (In-ear monitor) and it isolates 95% of noise and it was plug inside to my ears hole.. perhaps it is not my fantasy.
 
So? My conclusion is in this way: Westone 4R is much much better than the others two. Which i said the equation of them were: Westone 4R >>>>> [Westone UM3X >= Shure 535] 
 
Cheers~
 
I am sorry to my Wallet! Darn!
 
Jyh
 
 

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

When i plug Westone 4R into my ears... I smile... Because this is the sound quality that i want and this is what I CALL SOUND QUALITY.
 
 

Couldn't have said it better myself. There is a reason I have two W4s - one as back up/reference and one for everyday use. When something makes you smile this much, you just know it's good. And I agree, UM3X > SE535. I just couldn't justify keeping the SE535 know the W4 and the UM3X covers all my bases, taste-wise. 
 
I'm sure in the long run you've done your wallet a favor - the W4s are a big satisfier.

 

[SoundFreaq]

 
Quote:

 I could hear into very minor and detail sound signature even i am using it without a portable DAC and amp. It sounds just like my LCD2r2 paired with my Audio-GD 10SE... Darn! To be frank, i felt that this little tiny earphone sounds better than my LCD2r2, because i have listened background sounds that i do not listen through my LCD2r2 before. I was shocked and surprise. 
 

I have always wondered how the W4 would stack up when compared directly to a big-gun like the LCD. This is great to know. I didn't think the W4 would fare so favorably. 
 
If you care to elaborate a little more on the W4 vs LCD, I would be an attentive audience. 
 
It seems you enjoy the detail of the W4 more? How about Soundstage and transparency? Do the LCD's reach higher on the high end? How does bass quantity and quality stack up? etc...

 

[YoengJyh]

Quote:

Couldn't have said it better myself. There is a reason I have two W4s - one as back up/reference and one for everyday use. 

Need or not... two? wait for Westone 5 better bro~

 

[YoengJyh]

Quote:

 


I have always wondered how the W4 would stack up when compared directly to a big-gun like the LCD. This is great to know. I didn't think the W4 would fare so favorably. 
 
If you care to elaborate a little more on the W4 vs LCD, I would be an attentive audience. 
 
It seems you enjoy the detail of the W4 more? How about Soundstage and transparency? Do the LCD's reach higher on the high end? How does bass quantity and quality stack up? etc...

I will try to do comparison but it was late for yesterday night. Stay tuned. >.<
 

 

[YoengJyh]

Comparing the Westone 4R and LCD2r2... hmm..
 
First of all i would like to say that Audiophile Headphone vs Little Tiny In ear-monitor.. were incomparable.
 
LCD2r2 is like a Ferrari Sport Car with Full of Horse POWER and the Westone 4R is like a mini Ferrari Sport Car with its mini Horse POWER.
 
After comparison of A/B, i understand that why people said Westone 4R is flat in sound. Yes, correct. It was, compared to LCD2r2.
 
Because of this reason, the low background details were easily listen in Westone 4R compare to LCD2r2, which you feel like more emphasizing or special in tones. For LCD2r2, you could hear it as well but there is a main actor playing in front of the music thus the background details would become unnoticeable if you do not pay attention on it.
 
Everything play via LCD2r2 is better than Westone 4R, whatever W4R has, LCD2r2 is even better like in high, mid, bass, much more creamy, extension, refined, smooth and more air, and sounding more impacts on every section.
 
This is consider unfair comparison... IEM vs Ortho-dynamic headphone.
 
I love both of them. Home rig vs On the Move rig. Muaksss~
 
Cheers
 
Jyh

 

[orb2k]

Quote:

Comparing the Westone 4R and LCD2r2... hmm..
 
First of all i would like to say that Audiophile Headphone vs Little Tiny In ear-monitor.. were incomparable.
 
LCD2r2 is like a Ferrari Sport Car with Full of Horse POWER and the Westone 4R is like a mini Ferrari Sport Car with its mini Horse POWER.
 
After comparison of A/B, i understand that why people said Westone 4R is flat in sound. Yes, correct. It was, compared to LCD2r2.
 
Because of this reason, the low background details were easily listen in Westone 4R compare to LCD2r2, which you feel like more emphasizing or special in tones. For LCD2r2, you could hear it as well but there is a main actor playing in front of the music thus the background details would become unnoticeable if you do not pay attention on it.
 
Everything play via LCD2r2 is better than Westone 4R, whatever W4R has, LCD2r2 is even better like in high, mid, bass, much more creamy, extension, refined, smooth and more air, and sounding more impacts on every section.
 
This is consider unfair comparison... IEM vs Ortho-dynamic headphone.
 
I love both of them. Home rig vs On the Move rig. Muaksss~
 
Cheers
 
Jyh

It's totally unfair. It's like comparing a Motorcycle vs. Car, how is the handling? how does it feel? etc...

 

[mogumagnus]

Been thoroughly enjoying my new W4Rs directly from my iPhone 4S. Here's my humble review, and being new to high end iems, please forgive my limited lingo or if my impressions differ from yours I've been using re0s for nearly two yrs, and I've been quite accustomed to their cold analytical sound, so they'll be my point of reference for comparisons.
 
The W4r bass is quite stellar. While the re0s lacked quantity, I always thought quality wise the bass was very tight and clear, allowing me to hear a lot of detail due to it's cleaness. Surprisingly the W4R manages to reveal more detail even with a much stronger bass presence. On Massive Attack's "Angel", I could hear more texture and detail in the bass twangs. Perhaps just a little bit more bass impact would make it perfect though, but any more and I wonder if it'll get bloated.
 
The midrange was interesting. The W4Rs are much warmer than the re0s. I really had to grapple with that in the beginning. I mentioned in an earlier post that on first listen the W4R sounded too thick. I thought how could such a thick sounding iem satisfy detail-heads. But boy was I wrong. It was easily more detailed than the re0s, and I now understood what people meant when people mean by adjectives like 'warm, sweet and musical". Andrea Corr from The Corrs Unplugged album never sounded better, as did most female singers in my collection. Male vocals however, came across as slightly more "meatier" than I'd like, but that's me nitpicking. I don't think the mids are veiled, but on Hell Freezes Over the guitars and Henly's voice did sound a little far away. But will fuller mids make female voices on other recordings too loud?
 
On Eric Clapton's "Old Love" from the unplugged album, in particular the guitar solo from 4:00 onwards, I always felt it to be a bit too "sharp" on the re0s. W4Rs smoothed that out, but at the expense of some bite and crispness. Again I'm being very picky here.
 
I thought the re0s treble was great. But the W4R blew it away. I had read contrasting reviews that the treble was either too polite, or too harsh. For me the treble was just right, well extended and present with a ton of microdetail, although it was leaning on the side of laid back. On some songs the highs did seem to take a slight back seat than what I'm used to, but on the bright side (no pun intended), I no longer winced at songs such as the cymbal crashes towards the end solo of Dire Straits' "Private Investigations". A/Bing this song with the re0 revealed while the re0's cymbal crashes was louder and seemed more "sparkly", it also now came across as a little harsh and uncontrolled. Further evident on the triangles on Stacey Kent's "The Ice Hotel". Yea I can hear the re0 fans sharpening pitchforks.  
 
After an hour of listening to the W4Rs, I switched back to the re0s and got a shock, as they sounded thin, almost like a transistor radio. It was shocking how much musicality I had been missing. It was very alarming when listening to John Mayer's Live In LA concert. Also the re0 needed 10% volume more on my iPhone 4S compared to the W4R. Having said that I feel the Westones don't perform as well at low volume. :/
 
The soundstage on the Westones is quite stellar. I suppose it's as "out-of-head" as an universal iem can go. But I'm especially pleased that now I sense different heights. I'm also beginning to hear artifacts now. Looks like I need to start converting my fav FLACS to ALACs for the iPhone.
 
The W4Rs certainly arent perfect. But they're pretty close. I'm contemplating a cable change to perhaps tune the thicker male voices down just a touch and add some crispness to those acoustic guitars. Perhaps just a little bit more sparkliness in the trebles and more bass slam won't hurt. I also tried using Sony Hybrids, but try as I might, I really couldn't hear a night/day difference between them and the default grey silicons. Oh well. The memory wire is very well done. Hardly feel it, but still prefer not having one for e ease of wearing/removing.
 
But I suppose the most impressive thing for me, coming from the re0s, is how much music sounds more like music now. The transistor radio comparison might be an exaggeration, but the re0 really did sound shrill, metallic and cold now.
 
PS: Anyway I do understand the re0s are in a completely diff price bracket. They're still pretty unbeatable for the price. 

 

[soullinker20]

i just traded my ex1000 japan for these... after acquiring the japanese cables it became too bright for my liking but the improvement on the SQ is unbelievable
 
W4 for me is an assassin... a silent killer 

 
it wowed me on its nothing special presentation, i wasn't expecting anything from it.. i must say they are a tad better on the details than on the ex1000 japan..
 
i can't believe how it sounds really addicting to my ears.. i remember a decade ago i put on my friend's hearing aid and now the vocals of the um3x/w4 sounds just like it (maybe better this time) 
 
it is very natural in nature and no color to me...
 
is it already proven that the highs of the w4r are different from the w4?

 

[ubercaffeinated]

Quote:

 
 
is it already proven that the highs of the w4r are different from the w4?

 
they are the same dude - i have both.

 

[soullinker20]

thank you.. i knew it...
 
 
i wonder why others say the other way.. makes it confusing.. given that it now has an RC version, the um3x didn't have any findings like this on the w4r..
 
anyways thanks ubercaffeinated

 

[_Stooge_]

So it that time again for me to upgrade my portable rig and the westone 4's have caught my eye. Im wondering if anyone that owns the W4's has also had experience with the Panasonic RP-HJE900 (The IEMs that I'm currently using). There is no doubt in my mind that the W4s are gonna be quite a large improvement, but I'm just trying to justify the price tag.

 

[james444]

Quote:

So it that time again for me to upgrade my portable rig and the westone 4's have caught my eye. Im wondering if anyone that owns the W4's has also had experience with the Panasonic RP-HJE900 (The IEMs that I'm currently using). There is no doubt in my mind that the W4s are gonna be quite a large improvement, but I'm just trying to justify the price tag.

I didn't have both at the same time, but the W4 are quite different to the HJE900: less bass punch (especially midbass), more forward mids and less aggressive treble. Overall the W4 are significantly flatter and more polite sounding than the Pannys, so if you happen to love your HJE900's fun and engaging sound signature, you might consider going for a more V-shaped pair of IEMs (e.g. W3, FX700) instead. On the other hand, if you're looking for a more balanced upgrade to the HJE900, the W4 are definitely a great choice.

 

[_Stooge_]

Quote:

I didn't have both at the same time, but the W4 are quite different to the HJE900: less bass punch (especially midbass), more forward mids and less aggressive treble. Overall the W4 are significantly flatter and more polite sounding than the Pannys, so if you happen to love your HJE900's fun and engaging sound signature, you might consider going for a more V-shaped pair of IEMs (e.g. W3, FX700) instead. On the other hand, if you're looking for a more balanced upgrade to the HJE900, the W4 are definitely a great choice.

Definitely looking for a more neutral sound. Something close to my home rig would be ideal as I've been very happy with that setup for a few years now. The HJE900s get pretty fatiguing to my ear after 45 minutes or so which has prompted the want for an upgrade the most. Will the jump to the W4s be more of a complete improvement across the board in terms of sound quality or will it be closer to just being a different flavor?

 

[james444]

Quote:

Definitely looking for a more neutral sound. Something close to my home rig would be ideal as I've been very happy with that setup for a few years now. The HJE900s get pretty fatiguing to my ear after 45 minutes or so which has prompted the want for an upgrade the most. Will the jump to the W4s be more of a complete improvement across the board in terms of sound quality or will it be closer to just being a different flavor?

In my book they're definitely an upgrade, though the actual gain tends to get less the more you're approaching high-end. I personally rate the W4 very highly and even preferred them to JH13 demos in an A/B audition. IMO their greatest weakness are extremely short nozzles, which make them more tip dependent than most other IEMs and probably account for the widely differing opinions about their sound quality. I'm using reversed Shure olives and to my ears the W4's balance, clarity, detail and separation are all very, very good.