[vjmh802]

Thanks for replies... now I just have to decide between the Westone 4 and the Sony EX1000.

 

[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

Hey james444... the W4's are growing on me. Especially with my home rig, they are actually very nice.
I've listened to nothing else since I bought these and the combination of very slight break-in, and becoming acustomed to the sound is having positive results.
 
Nice IEM's.

So... getting accustomed to the dark signature?

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

So... getting accustomed to the dark signature?

 
I found that it goes away with time  No joking at all really.  The 4Rs have brightened up a bit for me.  

 

[RingingEars]

Quote:

So... getting accustomed to the dark signature?

That's why Westone fans are "fans".
I love the Westone house sound. It's warm and non fatiguing

 

[Yggdrassilious]

Quote:

That's why Westone fans are "fans".
I love the Westone house sound. It's warm and non fatiguing

 
 
To me, any BA with more than 2 drivers is fatiguing - SE535, XBA3, XBA4, etc; With the exception of TF10.  
 
Now that I have W4r, it is pretty fatiguing for me.  It is trying too hard to make the sound more well rounded - by adding more treble and making bass tighter and such. All I can think about listening to my W4R is how nice the Westone sound would be without those extra drivers muddling things up. I am wishing I had gotten a W1 or UM1 instead. My W4R may just end up in the for-sale section or on eBay. Meh. 

 

[shane55]

Music_4321, yes, of course I 'blame' you too...

 
While somewhat being 'accustomed' to the sound of the W4, I wouldn't call them dark. The SM3 was dark.
No fatigue here. Not after hours of listening. But all my source files are uncompressed or lossless... and usually of good quality.
 
I too feel that these have changed. My key indicator sounds and music have a distinctly greater resolution in the upper mids than when first played. I go back to those very well known sounds every so often to check... And they have changed, and for the better.
 
I'll know just how 'accustomed' I've become when I put the DBA-02 in for the first time. Heheheheh...

 

[McCol]

I've had the W4 for a month or so now, managed to get them for £249 on the UK Amazon warehouse site, arrived in perfect condition, not sure they were even used by whoever bought them before.  Wanted to get them a while back but prices here in the UK have shot up quite a bit in the last few months, W4 seem to be retailing for around £330-365.
 
I am loving the sound from these, dont find them dark or fatiguing.  Nice detailed sound with good impact and energy for me.  Prefer them over the EX1000 which I found to be too shrill at times and struggled to get a good fit with them.  For me these are probably the best Iem's I've owned since my journey began, for the last 3 years I've tried lots of different iem's and always found myself going back to my IE8's but they have taken a bit of a back seat now.
 
Waiting for my Minerva customs to come back from repair and will see how i find the W4 compared to them.
 

 

[FlySweep]

Do the various & popular foam tips (I.e. Shure olives, complys, etc.) tend to muffle the W4's treble?  I've seen this as a common issue using Complys (& foam tips in general) on other IEMs.

 

[spkrs01]

Quote:

Do the various & popular foam tips (I.e. Shure olives, complys, etc.) tend to muffle the W4's treble?  I've seen this as a common issue using Complys (& foam tips in general) on other IEMs.

 
For me personally yes, the olives to a lesser degree......my favorite tips on the W4 are the Sony

 

[shane55]

Quote:

Do the various & popular foam tips (I.e. Shure olives, complys, etc.) tend to muffle the W4's treble?  I've seen this as a common issue using Complys (& foam tips in general) on other IEMs.

 
The Comply are all I use. All I can use, and when trimmed (the foam overhang, trimmed flat to the plastic core) they do not muffle the sound... at all. If you do not trim them they will attenuate the highs slightly. This actually is good for people who find IEM's like the B2 or DBA-02 fatiguing due to the extreme highs.
I have been doing this for many years.
The Shure olives do not attenuate the highs, even when untrimmed. I don't find them as comfortable or well-fitting as the Comply (P-series, large).

 

[james444]

Quote:

Do the various & popular foam tips (I.e. Shure olives, complys, etc.) tend to muffle the W4's treble?  I've seen this as a common issue using Complys (& foam tips in general) on other IEMs.

 
W4s are the only IEMs in my collection that sound a bit clearer with olives than with the silicone tips I've tried, with all my other IEMs it's the exact opposite. Don't really know the reason why, but I tend to think their nozzle is too short and perhaps the soft silicone overhang (as opposed to the olives hard sound tube) is affecting the highs.

 

[Jeremypsp]

Quote:

 
I found that it goes away with time  No joking at all really.  The 4Rs have brightened up a bit for me.  

Got to agree, the 4R don't seem as dark as they are at first after some time. However going back and forth with my DBA-02MKII... 

Well, I feel the strongest point of the W4 is the mids, but it is also where it slightly lacks(the veil, perhaps), more like a double-edge sword, I guess.

 

[iim7V7IM7]

I just ordered a set of Westone 4Rs for primary use when travelling with my iPhone/iPad.  I will also be interested to hear how they perform when amped at home in comparison to my open over ear monitors.

 

[shane55]

Quote:

 
W4s are the only IEMs in my collection that sound a bit clearer with olives than with the silicone tips I've tried, with all my other IEMs it's the exact opposite. Don't really know the reason why, but I tend to think their nozzle is too short and perhaps the soft silicone overhang (as opposed to the olives hard sound tube) is affecting the highs.

 
Yeah, the short nozzle has been interesting. The configuration (unlike the DBA / B2) allows the ear tips to go only so far into the ear. I have had to NOT seat the tips all the way down the nozzle as they become too short for a deep insertion and good seal.
Still experimenting. Last couple days... Shure olives. Then back to the Comply's...

 

[Inks]

Shure olives also boosted the treble a bit on my PFEs, similar short nozzle.
 
Shane, try a 33ohm resistor, it makes it a bit more flat, users  have PMed me about it are reporting good results. Sure beats using snake oil cables.