I auditioned the W4 about a year ago. It was brief but long enough to getting a solid handle on their sound and nuances. I instantly fell in love them & I told myself I'd buy them once I could find them in the low $300s, I'd buy them. I've slowly been trimming my HeadFi collection to transition into speaker-fi, but I saw a good deal on the W4 recently (in my target PP) and took the plunge.
I've had them for a couple of days now & I'm even more impressed with them this time around. Finding the right tips for them is supremely important (I've settled on the triple flange.. which is surprisingly comfortable.. but plan on getting the ProGuard EarPortz.. just for kicks). Once you secure the proper fit, the sound is truly breathtaking. This is as close to the HD600 sound as I've heard in a universal IEM. Despite the bass rolling off a tad sooner than I would've expected (I was aware of this before buying them since I noticed it when I auditioned them), it's really well textured.. the midrange is gorgeous.. and the treble's prowess seriously surprised me. The treble quantity was probably my biggest concern.. but it was so long since I had heard auditioned it that i had sort of forgot it's proportional presence relative to the midrange and bass. Thankfully, it has a really nice blend of air, crispness, and sparkle.. while remaining faithful to the studio-monitor moniker.
While I own & appreciate a diversity of signatures, I am at heart, a fan of a neutral signature. And theW4 is so ideally suited to what I look for in an IEM (particularly the IEM equivalent of the HD580/600) that I wouldn't be surprised if this eventually ends up being the the only universal IEM I end up keeping in the long term. Like the HD580/600, it just gets everything 'right' to my ears.
Having owned a couple of well-respected customs, the UM Miracle & 1964Ears Quads (both of which I recently sold to help fund my burgeoning speaker-fi interests), I still feel immensely satisfied 'downgrading' to the W4
. The Miracle remains the finest IEM I've ever heard. I feel one of its most impressive (and overlooked aspects) is its cohesiveness & ability to texture in a natural fashion. It doesn't even sound like a 6-driver BA, in a stereotypical sense. The W4 delivers that kind of naturalness and cohesion (not necessarily as proficient on a technical level, but quite impressively approximated for a 1/3 of the cost).
The W4 scales beautifully, too. While it sounds great from my iPhone.. with my ODAC & Neco (and O2), it's even more dynamic, balanced, and neutral than out of a portable DAP. It's got plenty of headroom and while the bass rolls off sooner than I'd ideally prefer, it's capable if extended quite low and rumbling effortlessly when properly amped.
These are my first Westone phones and I feel a little late to the party.. I feel I should've purchased these when I auditioned them.. but I've gained a certain degree of appreciation and anticipation for them by waiting and I couldn't be more happy having them at my beck & call now.
If you're on the fence about these.. get off.. and buy them.