[LouisLoh]

How comfortable are these to sleep in?

 

[BRCMRGN]

Quote:

Interesting. If westone gets their new EPIC MICS cable in production any time soon, I might replace my SE215 with these.

I have a Beat Audio SPC cable that I use on my UE900 and SE535. I will try it on the ADV to see if it adds some sparkle to the treble.

 

[Nhare90]

The cable has quit responding to the volume up button. Has anyone else had this happen?

 

[Gilly87]

Yikes, sounds like an awesome combo but definitely out of my range...

I have a Beat Audio SPC cable that I use on my UE900 and SE535. I will try it on the ADV to see if it adds some sparkle to the treble.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

The cable has quit responding to the volume up button. Has anyone else had this happen?

 
As far as I can tell, you, dweaver and I are the only early adopters...
 
And ouch! Have you tried seeing if there is any lint on your headphone jack preventing a proper connection with the terminals?

 

[Towwers]

Quote:

Unfortunately my preference leans towards mid/treble (mostly bright) so I am actually starting to think I will return these to Earphone Solutions and get something different. Not sure what yet but something... If anyone is interested I would be willing to sell these for the cost minus restocking fee's ($170) passing the savings on to someone else versus just returning to the vendor.
 
I am going to see if I have time to do up a review of them this weekend.

I can give you a SE215 limited edition (blue) + some cash for those if you want..

 

[dweaver]

I appreciate the offer but I have gone down the SE215 route already so decided to send these back to the reseller.

in the end the subdued treble was just to much for me (same reason I don't have the SE215 anymore).

I will just caution anyone looking at these about the mids and treble. If you like tons of bass and want tamer mids and treble then the build quality and comfort make these a great choice. But if you want anything else sound wise I think you will be better served with a different headphone. Certainly of your like me and love your mids and treble then look elsewhere.

I do think Westone has a great design in the shell and possibly the driver if the damping material in the filter can be changed. But I think they need to at minimum change the filter and they need a different cable that eliminates the microphonics, cable noise, and roughness.

 

[Gilly87]

Yeah I'm not sure what made them think reflective cabling (which usually goes inside the shirt when working out anyways) was good enough justification to go with a cloth cable, the WORST option for durability, on a durability-oriented product, when the competition uses friggen Kevlar...o_O

@dweaver This all bass / less mids n treble, is it similar to the SE215 in this sense, or are the mids more recessed?

I appreciate the offer but I have gone down the SE215 route already so decided to send these back to the reseller.

in the end the subdued treble was just to much for me (same reason I don't have the SE215 anymore).

I will just caution anyone looking at these about the mids and treble. If you like tons of bass and want tamer mids and treble then the build quality and comfort make these a great choice. But if you want anything else sound wise I think you will be better served with a different headphone. Certainly of your like me and love your mids and treble then look elsewhere.

I do think Westone has a great design in the shell and possibly the driver if the damping material in the filter can be changed. But I think they need to at minimum change the filter and they need a different cable that eliminates the microphonics, cable noise, and roughness.

 

[dweaver]

Actually I would say the mids are more recessed than the 215 which while warm was a mid centric IEM.

The one thing is this can be EQ'd to good effect except the treble which I was unable to get to a crisp enough level.

I do think the driver has potential with either a different filter or possibly in a BA/dynamic configuration. I just find it to limiting in this model.

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

I do think the driver has potential with either a different filter or possibly in a BA/dynamic configuration. I just find it to limiting in this model.

 
I like the ADV but the tuning only works for me when I am in the city. It's comfortable and very isolating, and I don't feel like I am turning up the volume too high to get over the city hubbub.
 
When I'm at home, the ADV sounds quite dull. 
 
Disappointingly Westone is not getting back to me regarding the cable. I sent them an email about it. It seems unreasonable to replace the entire earphone because of the cable, and I would send my current cable back to get a replacement if necessary.

 

[Schokolade bar]

Quote:

 
I like the ADV but the tuning only works for me when I am in the city. It's comfortable and very isolating, and I don't feel like I am turning up the volume too high to get over the city hubbub.
 
When I'm at home, the ADV sounds quite dull. 
 
Disappointingly Westone is not getting back to me regarding the cable. I sent them an email about it. It seems unreasonable to replace the entire earphone because of the cable, and I would send my current cable back to get a replacement if necessary.

What amp are you using? With an Arrow 4T on treble setting one they sound quite nice. I've left them for burn in for about 75 hours as well.

 

[Gilly87]

I see...thanks for saving me the $200.
Quote:

Actually I would say the mids are more recessed than the 215 which while warm was a mid centric IEM.

The one thing is this can be EQ'd to good effect except the treble which I was unable to get to a crisp enough level.

I do think the driver has potential with either a different filter or possibly in a BA/dynamic configuration. I just find it to limiting in this model.

 

[a_recording]

Okay, earphone solutions got back to me about the cable and will replace it so that is awesome.  
 
I'm really of two minds about whether I should keep the ADVs at all though. I get the strong suspicion that I my like the SE215 more and it will be cheaper

 

[dweaver]

In many ways I just want to warn people about the ADV simply to save companies like Earphone Solutions from having to do so many refunds on this earphone. I think almost every early adopter have either sold or returned the ADV. There are a couple people who like it and have kept it which I respect because the ADV is good at what it excels in. I just think that many people on Head-fi are looking for more balance or are not happy with aspects like a microphonic or noisy cable.

I can actually see some resellers reach a point where they will simply stop selling this IEM unless they are stuck with stock on hand they can not return. It is unfortunate because based on what I have seen Westone does make quality stuff. I just think they placed to much value in the reflecting cable and aimed a bit to much into the bass end of the spectrum at the expense of the rest of the sound signature. It will be to bad if these need some crazy number of hours of use before the driver reaches a real optimum sound signature because to many people will never give them a chance to reach it.

Having said that I REALLY REALLY HOPE  Westone is watching this thread and hopefully others like it and taking notes. Because they shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water here. They just need to fix a few things and then try again. If they do I also suggest they put together a focus group of users (possibly do a small controlled contest like VModa did with the M80 a few years ago) who under NDA will help them ensure they hit a sweet spot signature wise as well as overall functionality and design. They might want to even offer a very short term introductory price to regain buyer confidence in this new brand of their company.

 

[Gilly87]

I hope they are watching, too. Putting a consumer-oriented product at the $200 price point is dangerous as hell, especially given its lack of user-friendliness. I hope they wise up and either drop the price and put them on Best Buy shelves, or stick a different driver in there. Or maybe even just bump the price $10 or something and chuck a TWFK in there to balance things out...not sure how they came to think a gimmick like reflective cabling would save them in the audiophile market.
Quote:

In many ways I just want to warn people about the ADV simply to save companies like Earphone Solutions from having to do so many refunds on this earphone. I think almost every early adopter have either sold or returned the ADV. There are a couple people who like it and have kept it which I respect because the ADV is good at what it excels in. I just think that many people on Head-fi are looking for more balance or are not happy with aspects like a microphonic or noisy cable.

I can actually see some resellers reach a point where they will simply stop selling this IEM unless they are stuck with stock on hand they can not return. It is unfortunate because based on what I have seen Westone does make quality stuff. I just think they placed to much value in the reflecting cable and aimed a bit to much into the bass end of the spectrum at the expense of the rest of the sound signature. It will be to bad if these need some crazy number of hours of use before the driver reaches a real optimum sound signature because to many people will never give them a chance to reach it.

Having said that I REALLY REALLY HOPE  Westone is watching this thread and hopefully others like it and taking notes. Because they shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water here. They just need to fix a few things and then try again. If they do I also suggest they put together a focus group of users (possibly do a small controlled contest like VModa did with the M80 a few years ago) who under NDA will help them ensure they hit a sweet spot signature wise as well as overall functionality and design. They might want to even offer a very short term introductory price to regain buyer confidence in this new brand of their company.