[chef8489]

Yes, but we were all talking about universal fit earphones no Custom IEMs.

 

No you are making generalized statements about a company that you really have no clue about. I have a really good relationship with and have since the mid 90s back whenn they were making the shure iems and making ultimate ears for Jerry. Hell i was in high school back in 95 then the army in 96 dealing with them. Unfortunatly i didnt discover Head-fi till 2005 and it was ultimate ears that lead me here. Customs were startingbto take off for audiophiles. Innthe past westone has gone above and beyond for thier customers, and untill recently when they started using china for production, it limited what they could fix. Thats why they can only fix customs and a couple other of the other lines, as they are the only ones still made in USA.

 

[twister6]

 

 

   
According to Twister the W80 is is a very slight upgrade to the W60.  It is kind of not worth the price for such little sound improvement.  It seems you are paying for the new accessories and the less than impressive use of an extra 2 drivers per ear.  Yes the form factor is somehow smaller with more drivers, but realistically who cares if there is no sound improvement.  It is a pure matter of making  more drivers fit into a housing and saying we have more so we are better. There is a war to see how many drivers can be fit into an earpiece.  It means nothing to me. I really like the Westone 3 for what it is, but I would never buy Westone again due to their recent changes for the worst in quality and customer service.  Especially something so expensive.  I bought a Shure SE846 and have had the longer cable replaced once in 2 years and absolutely no other problems.  I know they are only for certain people, but I love them.  Shure's customer service was pretty good, but could have surely been a bit better too.  They replaced the cable without hassle, but they did not keep me updated via email when they received my cable through when they shipped my replacement.

 


I think you need to recheck what Twister said about the w80. Nowhere did he say they were a very slight upgrad or such ery little sound difference. I do believe he said " But for now, I’m definitely impressed with what I have seen and heard so far. In a way, W80 feels like a love child between W60 and ES60, fine-tuning Westone house sound to bring it closer to a more revealing performance. You are getting a tighter and more articulate tuning of the bass, a more revealing retrieval of upper mids details, and a more expanded soundstage." And a couple of times i even heard him say that he was preferring them to the es60, but that could just be because they were new, and the es60 are an amazing iem that give the jh audio Roxanne a run for the money.

Twister posted later when somebody asked if it is worth upgrading from the 60 to the 80 after just buying it.  He said no it is a very slight upgrade that will not be a good value for your money.

 
I think you are mistaken me with someone else 

  There has been a few posts with people complaining about the value and how much the new cable factors in, but I just looked through every post I made in this thread (search results here) and I don't see me talking about "a very slight change" or a bad value.  What I said is that it wasn't night'n'day difference since they kept Westone house sound tuning (unlike ES60 which is very different), but still it's a noticeable refinement of the sound.  As a matter of fact, I was stating the opposite trying to break down $1.5k price where the cable alone is $300 and then you get 2 more drivers, new updated tuning, redesigned shell (the smallest 8xBA driver shell available anywhere), and new accessories.  Later, I was corrected by Ken and also confirmed by Westone that the included cable is really a free bonus.  No BS, their price was determined ahead of time and even if they don't include this premium hybrid 8-core cable, the price would still be the same.

 

[chef8489]

   
I think you are mistaken me with someone else 

  There has been a few posts with people complaining about the value and how much the new cable factors in, but I just looked through every post I made in this thread (search results here) and I don't see me talking about "a very slight change" or a bad value.  What I said is that it wasn't night'n'day difference since they kept Westone house sound tuning (unlike ES60 which is very different), but still it's a noticeable refinement of the sound.  As a matter of fact, I was stating the opposite trying to break down $1.5k price where the cable alone is $300 and then you get 2 more drivers, new updated tuning, redesigned shell (the smallest 8xBA driver shell available anywhere), and new accessories.  Later, I was corrected by Ken and also confirmed by Westone that the included cable is really a free bonus.  No BS, their price was determined ahead of time and even if they don't include this premium hybrid 8-core cable, the price would still be the same.

Thanks for clarifying that for us.

 

[Riley Beale]

 

 
Yes, but we were all talking about universal fit earphones no Custom IEMs.

 

No you are making generalized statements about a company that you really have no clue about. I have a really good relationship with and have since the mid 90s back whenn they were making the shure iems and making ultimate ears for Jerry. Hell i was in high school back in 95 then the army in 96 dealing with them. Unfortunatly i didnt discover Head-fi till 2005 and it was ultimate ears that lead me here. Customs were startingbto take off for audiophiles. Innthe past westone has gone above and beyond for thier customers, and untill recently when they started using china for production, it limited what they could fix. Thats why they can only fix customs and a couple other of the other lines, as they are the only ones still made in USA.

I have a pair of Westone 3 the build quality is decent.  The new models build quality is all bad based on the faceplates breaking and the cable connector breaking very easily.  I had dealt with Westone over warranty issue.  They do not fix or replace anything without a valid receipt within the warranty period from an authorized dealer that is universal fit.  You are S.O.L. if you are out of warranty.  I talked to them over the phone about repairs and replacements.  I asked if I sent mine in if they could give me a discount on a new pair they said they do not do that.  I have no freakin idea where you came up with the ridiculous 80% off a new pair statement, but that would make them lose a ton of money if they offered that.  Please recheck you "facts" and let us get back to topic.  No need to take over the thread trolling each other.  We are all here for our love of audio.  Let us leave it alone now.

 

[chef8489]

I have a pair of Westone 3 the build quality is decent.  The new models build quality is all bad based on the faceplates breaking and the cable connector breaking very easily.  I had dealt with Westone over warranty issue.  They do not fix or replace anything without a valid receipt within the warranty period from an authorized dealer that is universal fit.  You are S.O.L. if you are out of warranty.  I talked to them over the phone about repairs and replacements.  I asked if I sent mine in if they could give me a discount on a new pair they said they do not do that.  I have no freakin idea where you came up with the ridiculous 80% off a new pair statement, but that would make them lose a ton of money if they offered that.  Please recheck you "facts" and let us get back to topic.  No need to take over the thread trolling each other.  We are all here for our love of audio.  Let us leave it alone now.

 


I did not state anything about 80 percent, that was someone else. I am in contact with westone about once a week. The reason you can not get out of warranty work done on most of the universal line is because all the production was mooved overseas. Only the customs and one other line are still made in the US, and thats all they can repair. Everything else just gets replaced under warranty.

I am glad they listened and changed the faceplate design. Hopefully it is a step forward and less concerns about quality issues. If the w80 do sound close to or better to the es60 they have a winner on their hands. My es60 are pretty amazing. Just makes me wonder how the new cable is with them. Hey Twister care to comment how the w80 cable is with the es60?

 

[klove4252]

I'm anxiously waiting to see some more positive reviews on the W80. I keep saying that I am done buying IEMs, but I know these will have a great fit with 8BAs. 

 

[Riley Beale]

Unsubbing due to this thread being very unfriendly.  I had little interest in the W80 to beging with.  No interest now plus it is way out of my budget.  Please be kinder in this thread.

 

[chid646]

 Time to throw my 2 cents in - got my w80's at the end of last week so only have had 2 days of burning them in and the sound is definitely better than the w60's. The better part is subjective to the listener as always but I do enjoy them over the w60's. The sound is very detailed throughout the range, bass does not disappoint and the clarity of the mid range is what i enjoy the most.
 
 I listen at work and get at least 6 hours a day minimum and here at work after getting someone to pick up my old model after grabbing the latest and greatest this is what is floating around the office - UM PRO 10, W30, W4r, W60, JH Audio Roxanne, and the W80. We are constantly comparing them. I got the W80's after using the Roxanne's for the past year which I prefer the Roxanne's for sound but the fatigue I was getting from wearing them so long drove me right back to the Westone brand which are so much more comfortable.
 
 So the jump from the W4r to the W60 was significant  and the jump from the W60 to the W80 was less as much but still a noticeable and enjoyable improvement and I am very happy with my purchase and am looking forward to hear them after a proper burn in  

 

[blazer78]

   Time to throw my 2 cents in - got my w80's at the end of last week so only have had 2 days of burning them in and the sound is definitely better than the w60's. The better part is subjective to the listener as always but I do enjoy them over the w60's. The sound is very detailed throughout the range, bass does not disappoint and the clarity of the mid range is what i enjoy the most.
 
 I listen at work and get at least 6 hours a day minimum and here at work after getting someone to pick up my old model after grabbing the latest and greatest this is what is floating around the office - UM PRO 10, W30, W4r, W60, JH Audio Roxanne, and the W80. We are constantly comparing them. I got the W80's after using the Roxanne's for the past year which I prefer the Roxanne's for sound but the fatigue I was getting from wearing them so long drove me right back to the Westone brand which are so much more comfortable.
 
 So the jump from the W4r to the W60 was significant  and the jump from the W60 to the W80 was less as much but still a noticeable and enjoyable improvement and I am very happy with my purchase and am looking forward to hear them after a proper burn in  

 
Could you describe which aspects of the sound were better than the W60s? Its ok to have subjective opinions, there is likely common ground amongst most listeners

 

[EarG]

   
Westone sound is indeed excellent, but the cracked face plates and cable connector issues are a fact ... people who complain about these issue are not "crazy and lying".

I like the Westone house sound, I own both W4R (now with the wife), and the W60s. My W60s developed problem on the left earpiece overtime. It broke loose and nearly lost it for the nth times, I was able to find/get it back. The last time it happened, I was not fortunate enough. I now left with orphaned/useless right earpiece! I contacted Westone re. this but I was only given one option, buy a new pair. So...
 
What made me think twice when I purchased a replacement( a Shure SE-846) for my W60 was the weak link which is the MMCX connectors. Thought I'm going to be problem free with the Shures, but then I still found it plagued with some imperfection on the MMCX connector(again). With the stock cable, sound is cutting out once in a while. So I went to get a Linum Bax balanced cables as replacement, yet still didn't solved the problem! 

 

[chid646]

   
Could you describe which aspects of the sound were better than the W60s? Its ok to have subjective opinions, there is likely common ground amongst most listeners

 
Challenge accepted - so I did an A-B with the W60 and W80 using the ALO cable with both and the results were surprising. First thing I noticed was with the volume level the same on the player the W80 was louder than the W60's. The vocals was more pronounced and pulled forward with the soundstage wider, the bass seemed more open, the highs defined and tight, but the difference in the mids seemed to be the most noticable being so clean and spread out.
 
 I have always been a fan of the Westone house sound and on the W80's they improved on it by bringing the vocals out then cleaning up everything around the vocals plus widening the bass and crisp highs - So at first I thought the difference between the 2 were closer than it actually is. To my ears the $500 difference in price is worth it. 
 
 So I did the jump from the W4r to the W60 and that change was significant - the jump between the W60 and the W80 is not near that dramatic but when you sit down an compare the 2 the difference is there.

 

[blazer78]

   
Challenge accepted - so I did an A-B with the W60 and W80 using the ALO cable with both and the results were surprising. First thing I noticed was with the volume level the same on the player the W80 was louder than the W60's. The vocals was more pronounced and pulled forward with the soundstage wider, the bass seemed more open, the highs defined and tight, but the difference in the mids seemed to be the most noticable being so clean and spread out.
 
 I have always been a fan of the Westone house sound and on the W80's they improved on it by bringing the vocals out then cleaning up everything around the vocals plus widening the bass and crisp highs - So at first I thought the difference between the 2 were closer than it actually is. To my ears the $500 difference in price is worth it. 
 
 So I did the jump from the W4r to the W60 and that change was significant - the jump between the W60 and the W80 is not near that dramatic but when you sit down an compare the 2 the difference is there.

 
Sounds like they achieved their design goals then, to improve soundstaging and imaging

.

 

[mflynt]

I am not a sound engineer or musician, however have a good ear to identify a great sound given my years around music.  I looked for several weeks for reviews on the new W80, did not see many but decided to pull the trigger....INCREDIBLE IEM's
 
I do not care about packaging, I care about the sound, so will not go there other than the fact I will use the smaller portable case (within the larger case) as it's very well built and small enough to put in your pocket.  Over the last 3yrs I have owned the JH Roxanne (they were stolen along with my computer), enjoyed these quite a bit but I never felt like they had the tight sound I was looking for... They had a ton of space within them-too much for my liking, the sound seemed a bit distant. As for getting a good seal- you could get one but if you moved around much the seal was lost fairly easily.  Ergonomically they were large but did not feel as large in the ear, however after a few hours you did feel fatigue and they would fall out with movement regularly.  I went with the JH Angie's as a replacement, the sound, even though they had a smaller number of drives (8), was much tighter and clearer.... Having a choice regardless of price (Roxanne's were more expensive), I would have chosen the Angie, which made me feel like the higher quantity of drives did not translate directly to better sounding music.  I happened to leave these while traveling so found myself looking again.  This time I looked closer at Westone, although the sense I got from reviews was they were yesterday's technology, I went ahead and purchased the W50's thinking that may'be 5 drives would not sound that much different than Angie, but no where close in terms of sound quality. The W50 fit was so outstanding, easy to seal, and overall very functional-much more comfortable than the JH IEM's from prior purchases.  I considered buying another set of Angie's but felt like if I could get a pair of Westone's that had really good sound it would be worth waiting to see what was coming next given the W60's had been out for a couple years, a new version was eminent. Fast forward 12 mths and now I have the W80's....  As for the complaints around the Westone shell, they feel great and the plastic covers are so small I do not see how they could become a nuisance to anyone (the W50 covers were much larger and never gave me a problem either). The sound is so IMPRESSIVE- tight with plenty of separation, but not too much space like the Roxanne's had in my opinion. By far the best sounding pair of IEM's I have owned to date, every single instrument is heard with pure clarity.  Now regarding the ALO cable, I have tested several hours back and forth between the two cables that come with the IEM's.  I again am not a sound engineer, I can hear about a 20% difference in improved sound quality, volume is noticeable. I was not a big believer in cables prior, however I always used stock one's, but this is a very nice addition to making the sound as perfect as I have heard to date. Crystal clear, great separation, the harmonic effect is pronounced, but seems very natural in the way these are tuned.  I have listened to several different genres of music with these and everything comes at you with perfect clarity with great bass (not too bassy), well balanced-FANTASTIC SOUND. Not sure why other reviews take a soft swing at Westone, they nailed it with these and you would be hard pressed to find something close to the same price range that can produce such great sound quality. These were more expensive than the Angie's, but they sound twice as good and did not cost twice as much.

 

[Shure or bust]

Is it worth picking up ? I own ie800, se846, k3003 currently.

 

[corentin]

I'm interested in knowing how well it stacks up against the SE846...