[Spyro]

  one last question , ho would you describe the w30 sound in a few sentences ?

thanx in advance

  (it would be good to view my profile of other IEM's I have owned for a reference point)
 
W30:  The best all-arounder in it's price point. 
 
BASS:  Plenty big and full and goes fairly deep.  No mid bass bleed at all.  No bloat.  Just very well done.
MIDRANGE:   Not necessarily forward like a Shure or even UM3X but very present.  I would never say W30 has recessed midrange.  Moved much more forward over W3 which was a nice "correction."  Vocals sound fine...very realistic.
TREBLE:  A very pleasant surprise.  No complaints.  Extends much farther than UM3X and most IEM's in my sound sig.  Tone is generally crisp, fast and detailed for a full-bodied triple driver.  Amount of detail is similar to W3 but more natural sounding (different driver being used) .  Zero siblance using "star" tips.
SOUNDSTAGE:  Not HUGE but larger than average.  Instrument separation and overall distance is very adequate.   Anytime the midrange starts moving forward I think it's hard to project great soundstage and distance but W30 is pretty open sounding  (I consider UM3X very closed and almost claustrophobic sounding).  No complaints at all.
 
I have had W30 since July and still have same love as when I bought.  No changes in opinion at all.  I pair it with Topping NX1 amp I paid $50 for (has to be best $50 amp in the world).  Player is 160GB Ipod Classic
 
It does everything I like.  I need decent bass, I need decent treble and detail and I must be able to crank it up with zero distortion.  W30 does all this.  Overall sound sig is pleasantly brighter and crisper than most other Westone models.  If I had to complain about something or say where it faulted?  (and this is matter of opinion because some people want it raw sounding like "live" music.)  It is a bit raw sounding and lacks the esquisite level of refinement and smoothness as W60.....but what the hell....$1,000 versus $400?  
 
Someone else mentioned this earlier about W30 being similar to W60.    I would put it this way.  I am on record as calling JH5 the poormans"s JH16 because they have similar sound sigs and I would say the same about W30 being a poorman's W60.  Main thing is both (JH5, W30) lack refinement and perhaps a little bit of holographicness (is that a word?) of many more drivers.  But you would NEVER miss it unless you heard the better IEM.  Like driving a $35,000 loaded Toyota Camry enjoying how nice it drove and having no clue that there is probably a $60,000 Lexus out there that drives even better.

 

[proedros]

thanx for the impressions spyro

 

[Wilderbeast]

A very quick update:
 
I've had the W60s for a little while now. I like them a lot. They sound much clearer than the W40 - they are much better all round.
 
I'll post a more detailed comparison if I get the chance.

 

[Kepller]

  A very quick update:
 
I've had the W60s for a little while now. I like them a lot. They sound much clearer than the W40 - they are much better all round.
 
I'll post a more detailed comparison if I get the chance.

Agreed with this and with spyro's comparison between the W30 and W60. The W60 is basically the W30 with more warm in the overall signature plus more clarity especially in the mids area. The W30 is brighter than both the W60 and W40, and has more bass quantity than the W40. Still prefer the W60 over the W30 as i feel that the W30 could use a little more warm in the overall signature. The W60 and the um 30 pro are the best (to me) in the westone line up and would definitely love to own both iems when i have spare cash. I do agree that the W60 is over priced though.. And listening to the um 30 pro can get a little claustrophobic  
 
W30
Cons: Needs a little more warm to the signature
 
UM 30 PRO
Cons: Needs a slightly wider soundstage
 
W60
Cons: Needs a price reduction

 

[Wilderbeast]

I'm not sure where you are Kepller but in the UK I can pick up the W60 for £599 (about 930 Dollars), which is a couple of hundred pounds less than the Shure SE846, unless you are prepared to order the 846s from Japan and wait a month.
 
1. I prefer the W60s 
2. International price differences baffle me
3. I agree that they are still massively overpriced

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

You can import both the W60 and SE845 from Hong Kong for about $900 and that includes express shipping which takes around 3 days.

 

[Kepller]

  I'm not sure where you are Kepller but in the UK I can pick up the W60 for £599 (about 930 Dollars), which is a couple of hundred pounds less than the Shure SE846, unless you are prepared to order the 846s from Japan and wait a month.
 
1. I prefer the W60s 
2. International price differences baffle me
3. I agree that they are still massively overpriced

I'm currently in Singapore and there's a gst charge of 7% of the total price of the item if it costs more than $SGD400. If I were to purchase it from the UK, it would be USD 930 = SGD1208.07 and then add the 7% GST and it would be  $1292.63 (exclude shipping). In singapore the W60 is selling at $SGD1399, but I do know of a couple of retailers which would be willing to give me a lower price perhaps reaching close to $SGD1150. So overall there may be little to no benefit purchasing the W60 online (as long as I'm in Singapore) unless the price is greatly discounted. Price of the Shure se 846 is about the same as the W60 here as well.
 
Do you guys get charged tax/gst in the UK/US?

 

[Malevolent]

  I'm currently in Singapore and there's a gst charge of 7% of the total price of the item if it costs more than $SGD400. If I were to purchase it from the UK, it would be USD 930 = SGD1208.07 and then add the 7% GST and it would be  $1292.63 (exclude shipping). In singapore the W60 is selling at $SGD1399, but I do know of a couple of retailers which would be willing to give me a lower price perhaps reaching close to $SGD1150. So overall there may be little to no benefit purchasing the W60 online (as long as I'm in Singapore) unless the price is greatly discounted. Price of the Shure se 846 is about the same as the W60 here as well.
 
Do you guys get charged tax/gst in the UK/US?

 
If you don't mind me asking, where in Singapore can you get the W60 for S$1,150? That's a pretty good discount from the MSRP. Thanks.

 

[lookingforIEMs]

I'm currently in Singapore and there's a gst charge of 7% of the total price of the item if it costs more than $SGD400. If I were to purchase it from the UK, it would be USD 930 = SGD1208.07 and then add the 7% GST and it would be  $1292.63 (exclude shipping). In singapore the W60 is selling at $SGD1399, but I do know of a couple of retailers which would be willing to give me a lower price perhaps reaching close to $SGD1150. So overall there may be little to no benefit purchasing the W60 online (as long as I'm in Singapore) unless the price is greatly discounted. Price of the Shure se 846 is about the same as the W60 here as well.

Do you guys get charged tax/gst in the UK/US?

Our good friend ConnectIT ah?

 

[Danz03]

I don't know, if one wants the best, one can't complain about the price, the AKR03 cost much more than both the W60 and SE846 but I much prefer the cheaper W60 as a whole.

I'm not sure where you are Kepller but in the UK I can pick up the W60 for £599 (about 930 Dollars), which is a couple of hundred pounds less than the Shure SE846, unless you are prepared to order the 846s from Japan and wait a month.

1. I prefer the W60s 
2. International price differences baffle me
3. I agree that they are still massively overpriced

 

[Stalkeryan]

Hi everyone,
 
I have a question. I bought my brand new W60 last week, but when I received, its box was opened.  I thought it was fine since an "open box new, item never be taken out" was still good.  But I found the replaceable covers of my W60s were red. I searched online and saw that new W60 were golden covers. So I suspect that the seller has taken them out and replaced the covers. Or my W60 may simply be used item. 
 
So anyone here who bought your W60s new, please tell me what your cover color was when you opened the sealed box! Thanks a lot!

 

[Danz03]

Mine were gold, I think the default is supposed to be gold.

So anyone here who bought your W60s new, please tell me what your cover color was when you opened the sealed box! Thanks a lot!

 

[T.R.A.N.C.E.]

Mine were gold also, the W50's are red default. Make sure you check they have W60 printed beneath the cover area lol.

 

[alchemical]

Gold for mine too.

 

[Spyro]

  Hi everyone,
 
I have a question. I bought my brand new W60 last week, but when I received, its box was opened.  I thought it was fine since an "open box new, item never be taken out" was still good.  But I found the replaceable covers of my W60s were red. I searched online and saw that new W60 were golden covers. So I suspect that the seller has taken them out and replaced the covers. Or my W60 may simply be used item. 
 
So anyone here who bought your W60s new, please tell me what your cover color was when you opened the sealed box! Thanks a lot!

I would be pissed! 
 
You did not get a brand new pair, its a return.  Hopefully they still appear brand new and the previous owner had buyers remorse but they are all shipped from the factory with the gold sleeve.
 
If it were me I would see if the seller could credit me $75 or $100 since they were NOT "brand new."
 
The way I look at it, even if the previous buyer only owned them a few days that is plenty of time to abuse them.  As a buyer I have absolutely no clue where these things have been or how they have been treated.  That sucks....