[Paulus XII]

FROM DARK TO RIGHT
 
 
After listening to some songs from my speakers and being delighted with the treble/high-end sparkle, I took my W40s to listen to the same tracks. I was shocked how dark with completely recessed highs they sounded with the silicone Star Tips. A bit frustrated and inspired on some Shure foam tips for SE535 that have 2 big holes in the back for airflow, I thought this could work with the Star Tips, since they have much better bass than the foam tips.
 
Here are the Shures (see those holes?):
 

 
I tried the Westone foam tips and they have much more present treble and sparkle than the silicones, pretty close to my speakers, but lacked in the bass, so I decided I would punch a couple of holes in the silicone tips (Star tips) for airflow, till I reach the treble presence and detail of my speakers. I took a thick needle and started opening 2 very small holes in the tips at the top of the dome. Improvement was immediate. More treble quantity/sparkle, brighter and larger soundstage. But went to the speakers again and W40 was still not there. So I started punching a few more holes (one by one) till I finally reached the EXACT same ammount of treble of my speakers. Voilá! No longer dark, no more recessed highs and keeping the amazing bass punch/impact of the Star Tips.
 
RESULT: A much brighter IEM, much more treble presence and sparkle, cleaner and clearer mids, more micro-details, better instrument separation and a wider soundstage, airier, much airier than before, never congests even with the darkest of the Metals. Bass has more definition too, even texture, sounds terrific and there's no decrease in quantity (my main concern).
 
Benefits are obvious.
 
I can safely affirm this is a huge improvement in SQ. No cable, no burn-in will give you such improvement. I think this is pretty much how a custom tip sounds like and if you use the stock Star Tips you are not getting the full potential out of your Westone Wxx. Not even close. Of course this is just my opinion, your mileage may vary, but I'm 99% sure you'll be glad you've tried this mod.

 

[kurczak323]

After listening to some songs from my speakers and being delighted with the treble/high-end sparkle, I took my W40s to listen to the same tracks. I was shocked how dark with completely recessed highs they sounded. A bit frustrated and inspired on some Shure foam tips for SE535 that have 2 big holes in the back for airflow, I thought this could work for the W40's with the Star Tips, since they have much better bass than the foam tips.

I tried the Westone foam tips and they have much more present treble and sparkle than the silicones, pretty close to my speakers, but lacked in the bass, so I decided I would punch some holes in the silicone tips (Star tips), till I reach the treble presence and detail of my speakers. I took a very thick needle (those used for shoes) and started punching some holes in the tips near the dome (on top). Improvement was immediate. More treble quantity/sparkle, brighter and larger soundstage. But went to the speakers again and W40 was still not on par. So I started punching as much holes as possible (one by one) till I finally reached the EXACT same quantity of treble of my speakers. Ended up opening some 8 holes in each side or so.

RESULT: A much brighter IEM, much more treble presence and sparkle, cleaner and clearer mids, more micro-details, better instrument separation, incredibly detailed and a wider soundstage, airier, much airier than before, never congests even with the darkest of the Metals. Bass has more definition too, even texture, sounds terrific and there's no loss in quantity (my main concern).

Benefits are obvious.

I can safely affirm this is a 50% improvement in SQ. No cable, no burn-in will give you such improvement. I think this is pretty much how a custom tip sounds like (or better) and if you use the stock Star Tips you are not getting the full potential out of your Westone W Series. At all. Of course this is just my opinion, your mileage may vary, but I'm 99% sure you'll be glad you did this mod.

Try it at your own risk and enjoy as much as I do! Whole new level, at least to these ears.

How could you cause an improvement of sound produced by you earphones when decreasing the seal? Its kind of like using incorrectly sized tip. This will decrease the bass for sure but not improve the sound quality.

 

[Paulus XII]

It does not decrease the seal nor the bass. Improvement in sound quality is night and day.
 
Brings more “air” to your music, making sound more 3-dimensional and alive.

 

[Law87]

can you take picture of the westone tip?

 

[Paulus XII]

Hi Law87,
 
Would be useless. You can't see anything. The holes are so small and since its silicone its not visible. Just use a needle and open the holes near the dome of the tip. On top.

 

[Paulus XII]

Will you risk without a picture? ; )
 
I don't know how can I explain this better, pal. It's so simple : )

 

[felixaaron]

Shure tips don't have holes. Those are dents to know the tip size. E.g. 2 = medium 3 = large