skeptic
Headphoneus Supremus
My Westone 4's arrived a few days ago, and I am really pleased with them overall. The Westones don't quite equal my former IE8's in mid-bass impact or soundstage, but I expected this going in and like them better in every other important respect (extension, detail, fr, transparency, coherence, comfort, isolation, etc.). They are great all-arounders, with a sound signature that is balanced and smooth without any perceptible loss of details. In other words, although they are more detailed than premium dynamics, they don't have the sort of clipped, overly articulated signature of something like etymotics - which sounds pretty unnatural to my ears when compared to live music.
The W4's sound outstanding in my bedside ipad4 -> cck (or note 2 -> otg usb) -> odac -> diy O2, and also sound very good straight out of the ipad4 hp jack. Per gsmarena, the note 2 also measures quite well, but the W4's are evidently sensitive enough that I do hear a low level hiss when using them straight from the hp jack.
Akin to Barid's comment, I can't detect any channel imbalance that would justify the premium for the 4r's. Also, I was pleased to find that all variations of the new star tips, as well as the true fit foamies, were included with my pair. The short medium star tips are perfect for me, and I defeinitely prefer the feel (and sound) of these to my old IE8's with sony hybrids.
The W4's sound outstanding in my bedside ipad4 -> cck (or note 2 -> otg usb) -> odac -> diy O2, and also sound very good straight out of the ipad4 hp jack. Per gsmarena, the note 2 also measures quite well, but the W4's are evidently sensitive enough that I do hear a low level hiss when using them straight from the hp jack.
Akin to Barid's comment, I can't detect any channel imbalance that would justify the premium for the 4r's. Also, I was pleased to find that all variations of the new star tips, as well as the true fit foamies, were included with my pair. The short medium star tips are perfect for me, and I defeinitely prefer the feel (and sound) of these to my old IE8's with sony hybrids.