[MusicFirst]

Quote:

Can i go to audiologists and take the impression and send it to westone so that i can work directly ..

In the States, this appears to be your best, cheapest, and easiest method of acquiring an ES5 or any custom IEM. For us Canadians, and I suspect the rest of the world too, we have to get the impressions ourselves and then ship them to Westone.

 

[Nabil]

ES5 and TWAG cables: I decided to try out the TWAG cables with my ES5s but at the whiplash site they have:
 
Whiplash Elite for $225
Elite Twag for $225
and another Whiplash Elite for $300
 
What are the differences and what is the preferred option for use with ES5? Or should I just stick with  the Westone cables?

 

[violinvirtuoso]

Quote:

ES5 and TWAG cables: I decided to try out the TWAG cables with my ES5s but at the whiplash site they have:
 
Whiplash Elite for $225
Elite Twag for $225
and another Whiplash Elite for $300
 
What are the differences and what is the preferred option for use with ES5? Or should I just stick with  the Westone cables?

It depends on if you believe in cables. If "Uncle Erik" were here, I am pretty sure he would post something along the lines of "There is more proof for aliens and Big Foot than for cables." On the other hand, if you believe in cables, read "warp08" review. He compares the two types of TWag and stock cable (the Westone and JHA cable are extremely similar).

 

[animalsrush]

Quote:

In the States, this appears to be your best, cheapest, and easiest method of acquiring an ES5 or any custom IEM. For us Canadians, and I suspect the rest of the world too, we have to get the impressions ourselves and then ship them to Westone.

Thanks .,. I think i will do just that
 

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

In the States, this appears to be your best, cheapest, and easiest method of acquiring an ES5 or any custom IEM. For us Canadians, and I suspect the rest of the world too, we have to get the impressions ourselves and then ship them to Westone.

I'm a bit confused by this. As I understand, outside the USA, you generally cannot deal directly with Westone as you cannot pay them directly; I tried. That means that you buy through an agent (which might or might not be an audiologist) and they send the impressions to Westone, not you.
 
It's an effective system if the agent is good. ThinkingGroup (Hong Kong, China etc.) have provided very good service.

 

[MusicFirst]

There is no agent that I know of in my city, which is hardly a small town.
 
The audiologists listed on Westone's website are not "dealers." I will have the Westone listed audiologist do the impressions, but then it is up to me to ship them to Westone. This is what I was told by both Vancouver "dealers."
 
I will call Westone on Monday to confirm though.

 

[Sinocelt]

Quote:

It's an effective system if the agent is good. ThinkingGroup (Hong Kong, China etc.) have provided very good service.

They're also in Taiwan. I was curious and asked for the price of the ES5 here. Answer: 37,900 NTD (1,229 USD), shipping included, ear impressions not included. Ouch. It may be worth going through the Ear Plug Superstore (900 USD, shipping not included).

 

[cooperpwc]

I think that these price differences also reflect whether the agent will have to pay import duty on the finished ES5. It would explain why Taiwan is more expensive than Hong Kong and Australia a lot more expensive.

 

[jermng]

Quote:

singapore: 1450 SGD
custom artwork: 150 SGD
 
 
freight included..
prices for ear impression reigns between 60-100 sgd (last i heard)

Wow ... Where is this? I was trying to get a quote from Stereo (said they don't do Westone customs) and Jaben (never could give me an exact price for 2 weeks) .... eventually had to do it overseas ... which means that although just slightly cheaper, if I had to do any refits, I'd have to pay for more shipping ... 

 

[Sinocelt]

 
Quote:

I think that these price differences also reflect whether the agent will have to pay import duty on the finished ES5. It would explain why Taiwan is more expensive than Hong Kong and Australia a lot more expensive.

Consumer electronics are a lot more expensive in Taiwan than in the States: even local brands, such as Asus and Acer, are 30% more expensive here.

 

[Mr.Toad]

Quote:

There is no agent that I know of in my city, which is hardly a small town.
 
The audiologists listed on Westone's website are not "dealers." I will have the Westone listed audiologist do the impressions, but then it is up to me to ship them to Westone. This is what I was told by both Vancouver "dealers."
 
I will call Westone on Monday to confirm though.

I had impressions for ES5s done in Toronto by an audiologist who deals with Westone and he is managing the whole thing. Not sure if that makes him a "dealer" or not. I haven't got them yet.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

It depends on if you believe in cables. If "Uncle Erik" were here, I am pretty sure he would post something along the lines of "There is more proof for aliens and Big Foot than for cables." On the other hand, if you believe in cables, read "warp08" review. He compares the two types of TWag and stock cable (the Westone and JHA cable are extremely similar).

i don't get why he's holds this view so staunchly, yet is a big fan of different amp designs. often folks who believe that cables make no difference believe the same for amps (assuming reasonable design and proper application of said devices). i'm not sure that dbt is as perfect as it's proponents are. i certainly can hear differences swapping said components, and i would recommend twagging your iems (note: i'e not tried it with es5s, just jh13s).

 
Quote:

Consumer electronics are a lot more expensive in Taiwan than in the States: even local brands, such as Asus and Acer, are 30% more expensive here.

yikes! sounds like it might make sense to pay a visit to canjam and pick up some goodies there, then take them to these other locals! 

 

 

[Joe-Siow]

Quote:

Wow ... Where is this? I was trying to get a quote from Stereo (said they don't do Westone customs) and Jaben (never could give me an exact price for 2 weeks) .... eventually had to do it overseas ... which means that although just slightly cheaper, if I had to do any refits, I'd have to pay for more shipping ... 

Thinking Group has an office in OG Building at Rochor. I liaised with the lady there, Janice. She's a nice lady who'll get the job done with minimum fuss.
Thinking Group Singapore is quoting USD 1,097 including shipping.
Forget about Jaben and Stereo. Thinking Group is the ONLY authorised dealer for Westone in Singapore.

 

[Sinocelt]

Quote:

 
yikes! sounds like it might make sense to pay a visit to canjam and pick up some goodies there, then take them to these other locals! 

 

I thought about flying to LA to buy a new computer, when the Sandy Bridge models comes out; but that's not as if I had a lot of free time.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

often folks who believe that cables make no difference believe the same for amps (assuming reasonable design and proper application of said devices).   

 
I ran into an engineer like that once at JL Audio.  Scary.  Even said JL did a DBT between their amps and their competitors and the result showed no discernable or audible differences.  Take claimed DBTs for what they're worth.  Especially in context of personal experience as long as you aren't self delusional and unaware of your limitations.  So when I hear such and such did a DBT, I 

.  If you don't think Amps sound different I'm not going to bother bringing up cables or burn-in.  Ever wonder why things like Psychoacoustics, Auto-suggestion and other 'explanations' don't apply to those that don't hear a difference in anything?  Sorry for the OT.  But yeah man, scary stuff.