[gcsgc]

I enjoyed for two months the Pro 50s and today i hit the two months mark with the SE846.

Oddly enough yesterday i got a trade offer...for a pair of Pro 50s. I think i'm turning it down.

I loved the sound of the Pro 50s and love the sound of the SE846s (both driven with an iPhone 6 and an iPad 3).

I lean towards the SE846 for two reasons:

- I only could enjoy fully the Pro 50s at high volumes. At low levels the signature was too dark. Equal loudness contour curves must explain this. i guess being monitors Pro 50s are engineered for high volume listening. With the SE846s i can enjoy in full the music at all volumes. Note: EQ is forbidden in my book (as i don't like to degrade the integrity of low level sounds which is what DSPs do as a side effect, Math is math).

- Build quality: the difference is sooooooooooo big in this department that i find hard to go back to the Pro 50s. They feel way weaker to me. And skimming through both headphones threads i'd say that statistically the Pro 50s are far more prone to give up.

Somehow i miss the peculiar and unique Pro 50s signature though. But there are too much reports about the female mmxx connectors (had an issue myself with these on my defunct W30s...) that i can't go back to them as reliability is a must for me.

As for the midbass you wrote about i'm afraid that due to masking you can't get it all: less midbass->better mids & dynamics more midbass->more punch. I feel that the overall bass presentation of the SE846 is the best i have heard from any iem. It has the best traits of both dynamic drivers and armature drivers which is kind of amazing from an engineering point of view.

Hope that next time around Westone rolls out designs as sturdy as the SE846s even is price tag is a bit steeper.

One negative that I had with SE846 was the comfort/fit. Westone is wayyy better for me as the fit is sooo comfortable for long wear. Also SE846 is really bulbous and big and it moved a lot in my ear when I wore it during workout.

That said, I still like UM Pro over Shure. . That's my personal preference though.

 

[elfary]

One negative that I had with SE846 was the comfort/fit. Westone is wayyy better for me as the fit is sooo comfortable for long wear. Also SE846 is really bulbous and big and it moved a lot in my ear when I wore it during workout.

That said, I still like UM Pro over Shure.

. That's my personal preference though.

 
Honestly i'd be perfectly happy with any of them. It's just that i deem the SE846 better suited for a looong lifespan and it makes easier to listen music at lower volumes. With the Pro 50s i found really hard no to listen at full throttle and i'd like to keep my hearing unscathed for as long as i can.
 
What i would suggest Westone is to manufacture all their iems in China or if they are keeping the UM series within the US: please use machines instead of men armed with glue.

 

[Spyro]

   
 
 
Hope that next time around Westone rolls out designs as sturdy as the SE846s even is price tag is a bit steeper.

 
This is crazy talk.  Do you have any data to suggest Westone's are of poorer quality?  Then I guess even if you did....is it a result of abuse?
 
I think if you took a survey you would find that, when spending $500+ for an intricate listening device, that most people take care of them and durability is not an issue and wouldn't want the bulk and discomfort of a 200 lb tensile strength cable and huge hard plastic housings and that a 30 lb test cable and a smaller lighter housing is more user friendly.    Many including myself would find that an IEM being built like a tank is dramatic uncomfortable overkill and would be a deal breaker NOT to purchase it.  It's an IEM.  You plug it into your player and stick the ends into your ears.  You are hopefully not jumping rope with the cable or walking you dog with it.  Durability...or rather reliability is assumed but comfort is king.

 

[Baroninkjet]

I don't know if my results are typical or not. But when I got W40s, the iphone cable did not work -- had to get replacement. Then a couple of weeks later, the plug fell out of the left side and I caught it on my shoulder -- almost lost it on the sidewalk.

 

[elfary]

  
 
 
Hope that next time around Westone rolls out designs as sturdy as the SE846s even is price tag is a bit steeper.

 
This is crazy talk.  Do you have any data to suggest Westone's are of poorer quality?  Then I guess even if you did....is it a result of abuse?
 
I think if you took a survey you would find that, when spending $500+ for an intricate listening device, that most people take care of them and durability is not an issue and wouldn't want the bulk and discomfort of a 200 lb tensile strength cable and huge hard plastic housings and that a 30 lb test cable and a smaller lighter housing is more user friendly.    Many including myself would find that an IEM being built like a tank is dramatic uncomfortable overkill and would be a deal breaker NOT to purchase it.  It's an IEM.  You plug it into your player and stick the ends into your ears.  You are hopefully not jumping rope with the cable or walking you dog with it.  Durability...or rather reliability is assumed but comfort is king.

I have a decade of experience.

Westone: 4 issues in 4 years
Shure: 0 issues in 10 years

Ftr i'm extremely careful with my gear. And i find the 846 extremely isolating and comfy.


It's almost crazy to think that before Facebook, all of this nonsense stayed in people's heads

 

[Spyro]

OK, fair enough.  We can only go by our own experiences.  Both Shure and Westone are highly established reputable companies.   Shure IEM's are actually only about 10% of the companies business but either way..... I am certain that if EITHER company TRULY had a quality issue out in the field it would be addressed with dramatic aggressiveness.  The rest is spotty user quality issues.
Shure is a robust product but I cant tolerate SE846 more than 20 min so it doesn't matter.  I have to think many consumers just deal with the uncomfy fit because " they bought the best."

 

[TCD1975]

As much as I love the Westone sound, and far prefer it to the Shure sound, I think Westone have had fairly well documented issues with build quality (cable connectors or cracked face plates) on their latest UM Pro and W ranges.
 
This forum has seen lots of comments regarding Westone build quality issues. I had 3 separate, and slightly different, issues with cable connectors on my UM Pro 50 within the last 3 months, despiter being careful with them. It's a credit to Westone that they've replaced them quickly each time (though I've been hit for another £96 import tax on the latest pair received) and I believe they have improved the cable connectors so hopefully I'll have no more issues with them.
 
My recently purchased W60 have a cracked face plate on the right side already. I only changed the faceplate once, on the day I received them, and I think I was careful. They just aren't strong enough material. It's only cosmetic damage so I'm not going to bother sending them back, but it doesn't fill me with confidence in the product.
 
On the basis of sound, I'd still choose Westone over Shure any day of the week, but there's no denying that the Shure SE846 is a much more solidly built product.

 

[Spyro]

Okay,  no argument....TCD...cracked faceplates?  Are you able to elaborate under what circumstances that happens?  They seem really flexible and pliable?

 

[TCD1975]

  Okay,  no argument....TCD...cracked faceplates?  Are you able to elaborate under what circumstances that happens?  They seem really flexible and pliable?

 
Hi,
 
The cable connector issues I've had have been with the UM Pros. The cracked faceplates are an issue with the W range. The seem to have a tendency to crack close to where you screw them to the earphone ...
 
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e328/twister6/twister6065/westone_w6-27_zps24sde1wr.jpg~original
 
As I've said, it's just cosmetic but I would expect better build quality for such an expensive IEM.

 

[Kogyaru]

My pro 30's seem fine and much more comfortable than my shure 215's I also preferred their sound over the 425/535; I can sleep with the um pro 30's but not with the shure 215's.
 
I think for the price and during a good sale the pro 30s are a much better buy than the 435s I'm not sure how they compare to the 535's though... then again I really prefer the clean sound the pro 30's has.

 

[Gosod]

maybe you need to change the filters on um pro 50

 

[arftech]

Greetings All,
 
Would someone chime in and explain to me the difference in sound between a good IEM versus a good over the ear headphone?  I know how headphones sound but I've never heard a good IEM other than the Beats I use at the gym.  I'm exploring a way to make my portable listening more mobile as I've just placed an order for the Pro 50 based on some of the comments here and reviews.
 
My headphones consists of a B&W P7 for portable use and a HiFiMan HE-500 that is used for home listening via a DAC, Amp, Mac and a CD transport.  The P7 is currently being run by a Oppo HA-2 and iPod Touch128 Gig combination.
 
What is the transition like going to IEM?  What is the sensory like?

 

[Danz03]

Interesting, I personally find the new Westone series' built quality really good, never had any problem with my Pro 30 and W60, except I lost my Pro 30 2 months ago and had to buy a new pair. I had a lot of problems with my UM3x/RC before, had 3 dead drivers so far. Shure's built quality used to be so bad that I swore never to buy any Shure IEMs again since the sound tube of my SE550 broke off, and I switched to Westone UM2, then UM3x, UM3xRC, then W4, W4r and now Pro 30 and W60. I like Westone products, but SE 846 did changed my mind about Shure, and now the KSE1500, my favorite IEM right now, though I still love my Pro 30 and use them everyday when I'm out and about, absolutely no complain about its built quality. The SE 846 sure built like a tank, whereas the KSE1500 don't look so great in comparison, but then, with that kind of sound quality, who cares.
 
Quote:

  As much as I love the Westone sound, and far prefer it to the Shure sound, I think Westone have had fairly well documented issues with build quality (cable connectors or cracked face plates) on their latest UM Pro and W ranges.
 
This forum has seen lots of comments regarding Westone build quality issues. I had 3 separate, and slightly different, issues with cable connectors on my UM Pro 50 within the last 3 months, despiter being careful with them. It's a credit to Westone that they've replaced them quickly each time (though I've been hit for another £96 import tax on the latest pair received) and I believe they have improved the cable connectors so hopefully I'll have no more issues with them.
 
My recently purchased W60 have a cracked face plate on the right side already. I only changed the faceplate once, on the day I received them, and I think I was careful. They just aren't strong enough material. It's only cosmetic damage so I'm not going to bother sending them back, but it doesn't fill me with confidence in the product.
 
On the basis of sound, I'd still choose Westone over Shure any day of the week, but there's no denying that the Shure SE846 is a much more solidly built product.

 

[Danz03]

It's kind of hard to describe. To me, headphones seem to have a more open sound (unless they are closed back ones), but that could be just psychological, IEMs make me feel there's something inside my ear canals, but after getting used to them, there isn't much difference. Headphones like HD800 or AKG K812 do have super open and wide soundstage, but so do some IEMs, like W60 or Layla, especially the latter used with balanced output from AK240. But I think the main difference with IEMs for me is that the tips you use are quite important, if you cannot get a comfortable seal, or a good fit, it can make a big difference to the sound signature. To me, I think Westone's IEMs have the best and most comfortable fit in general.
 
Quote:

  Greetings All,
 
Would someone chime in and explain to me the difference in sound between a good IEM versus a good over the ear headphone?  I know how headphones sound but I've never heard a good IEM other than the Beats I use at the gym.  I'm exploring a way to make my portable listening more mobile as I've just placed an order for the Pro 50 based on some of the comments here and reviews.
 
My headphones consists of a B&W P7 for portable use and a HiFiMan HE-500 that is used for home listening via a DAC, Amp, Mac and a CD transport.  The P7 is currently being run by a Oppo HA-2 and iPod Touch128 Gig combination.
 
What is the transition like going to IEM?  What is the sensory like?

 

[arftech]

UPDATE:
 
Good Lord...I have not played my HiFi system in weeks which consists of Classe, Cary and Sonus faber. This is nuts!  It all started after venturing into a more portable solution with the Oppo HA-2, iPod Touch 6th generation and B&W P7 headphones that I have.   
 
Yesterday my UM Pro 50 arrived and oh my!  Following this thread gave me all of the data I needed to make the purchase and I want to thank each one of you for the posts referencing the Pro 50 and actually I prefer the 50 over the P7.  My portable system sounds wonderful!  
The next phase is to find an IEM that will provide that sub-bass for when I transform into a bass head listening to hip/hop and edp.  Any ideas?