[javahut]

imo... westone left the se846 in the dust with the w60. the w80 has a much more balanced frequency range than the se846... from bottom to top. w80 has much more refined & extended hi end, much more present & detailed lo mids & mids. w80 has great lo end, but does not have the pronounced sub lo that se846 has. w80 also does not have the gap in frequency range between the lo end & mids that that the se846 seems to have. w80, overall, much more balanced throughout the frequency range, with more extended and refined high end than the se846.

 

[elfary]

   
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 am crazy but sure i did not lie when i wrote about my 3 incidents with the the MMCX connection, my incident with the UM Pro 50 right shell and my issue with my left W30 lossing all SPL out of the blue.
 
Never had that many issues with any other iem brand in my decade in business.
 
What i did not know is that now when you are out of warranty you are out of the game. Not so long ago when out of warranty you could purchase a new pair heavily discounted.

 

[javahut]

Sure must be some kinda heavy handed or something. I have Westone W3, W4, W60, and now W80 right here in front of me. Never had a problem with any of 'em... not with housing, not with color shell, not with connectors, not with cables. Not sure how you can be so careless with such expensive IEMs as to continue to break them over and over again.

 

[Kepller]

  Sure must be some kinda heavy handed or something. I have Westone W3, W4, W60, and now W80 right here in front of me. Never had a problem with any of 'em... not with housing, not with color shell, not with connectors, not with cables. Not sure how you can be so careless with such expensive IEMs as to continue to break them over and over again.

Is the w80s as laid back as the w60? Or does the bass and mids have a slightly more agile attack to it? I'm looking for aggressiveness and speed. Also do you feel more bass slam on the w80?

 

[elfary]

  Sure must be some kinda heavy handed or something. I have Westone W3, W4, W60, and now W80 right here in front of me. Never had a problem with any of 'em... not with housing, not with color shell, not with connectors, not with cables. Not sure how you can be so careless with such expensive IEMs as to continue to break them over and over again.

 
Nope. Very careful actually.
 
No issues with any other iem. And i had for 5 years an UM3x, i have an 8 year old SE110 and had 4 years a pair of SE420s.
 
It' all happened to me with new line of Westone.
 
How do you explain that they changed along the way the EPIC cable mmcx male pin or the faceplates for the W80s ?
 
Sure it was not due to my heavy hand LOL

 

[javahut]

  Is the w80s as laid back as the w60? Or does the bass and mids have a slightly more agile attack to it? I'm looking for aggressiveness and speed. Also do you feel more bass slam on the w80?

w80 is definitely not as laid back as the w60. definitely more slam, more agressive, seemingly somewhat fast attack and detail. The low end is not quite as cushy as the w60. But when there's low end in the audio... you hear it... and it's seemingly faster, more aggressive (with a little thump to it), than the w60.
 
I honestly really love the w60 cushy low end. But now (unfortunately for my pocket book), I also like the clarity, detail, and forwardness off the w80, too. The w80 is definitely different than the w60 in that way... with just enough low end extension and smoothness to that clarity, that it still has what I would call the Westone sound. But they seem to have perfectly dialed up the detail in the low mids, mids,and highs just enough so that it's not so aggressive that it gets tiring or harsh to listen to. Very refined, detailed sound, with just enough low end and warmth to it to keep me happy.
 
I listen to mostly abstract electronic and jazz... with a few other genres in there now and again. Android PowerAmp > RSA Predator DAC/Amp > w80. Hi res flac.

 

[elfary]

  w80 is definitely not as laid back as the w60. definitely more slam, more agressive, seemingly somewhat fast attack and detail. The low end is not quite as cushy as the w60. But when there's low end in the audio... you hear it... and it's seemingly faster, more aggressive (with a little thump to it), than the w60.
 
I honestly really love the w60 cushy low end. But now (unfortunately for my pocket book), I also like the clarity, detail, and forwardness off the w80, too. The w80 is definitely different than the w60 in that way... with just enough low end extension and smoothness to that clarity, that it still has what I would call the Westone sound. But they seem to have perfectly dialed up the detail in the low mids, mids,and highs just enough so that it's not so aggressive that it gets tiring or harsh to listen to. Very refined, detailed sound, with just enough low end and warmth to it to keep me happy.
 
I listen to mostly abstract electronic and jazz... with a few other genres in there now and again. Android PowerAmp > RSA Predator DAC/Amp > w80. Hi res flac.

 
Could we say that they have not pushed back as heavy handedly as they used to do the upper mids/lower treble ?

 

[TCD1975]

  Sure must be some kinda heavy handed or something. I have Westone W3, W4, W60, and now W80 right here in front of me. Never had a problem with any of 'em... not with housing, not with color shell, not with connectors, not with cables. Not sure how you can be so careless with such expensive IEMs as to continue to break them over and over again.

 
Nothing to do with being heavy handed. The UM Pro and W range have been notorious for build quality issues.
 
I had to return my UM Pro 50 3 times, and my W60 1 time, in the past year due to MMCX connector issues.
 
I still love the Westone sound, and have been considering getting the W80 over the past week, but I've lost confidence in Westone's product durability.
 
When using the ALO cable, does the MMCX connector have a solid connection, or can the earphone spin around 360 degrees?

 

[corentin]

What exactly is the problem with the MMCX connector ? I have a pair of W4R with the two-pin connector, and don't really like the way it seems flimsy and was considering the MMCX an upgrade over the W4R connector... Don't know what to think now :-/

 

[javahut]

Like I said... none of my Westones have ever had a problem. Not sure how someone can continually, repeatedly break them... unless you're just not careful. Or maybe from popping the cables on/off so many times. I tend to leave whatever cable I'm using on them, and am not constantly disconnecting/reconnecting them. Maybe that's the difference.
 
But saying Westone is notorius for build quality issues is, at the least, misleading. I would bet there's many more users who've never had problems than there are that have. If Westone had very many issues and people complaining... they would have changed it.

 

[javahut]

Originally Posted by TCD1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
When using the ALO cable, does the MMCX connector have a solid connection, or can the earphone spin around 360 degrees?

 
The MMCX connector allows the earphone to rotate 360°... as MMCX connectors are designed.

 

[TCD1975]

  Like I said... none of my Westones have ever had a problem. Not sure how someone can continually, repeatedly break them... unless you're just not careful. Or maybe from popping the cables on/off so many times. I tend to leave whatever cable I'm using on them, and am not constantly disconnecting/reconnecting them. Maybe that's the difference.

 
Then you've been lucky.
 
Lots of people have had problems, and it has nothing to do with not being careful. 
 
 

  But saying Westone is notorius for build quality issues is, at the least, misleading.

 
If you read through the Westone threads on this forum, you would see that there are lots of comments about the build quality and connector issues.
 
I've seen comments on reddit about Westone build quality, and reviews on Amazon mention build quality issues as well.
 
 

  I would bet there's many more users who've never had problems than there are that have.

 
I would hope that there are more people who haven't had issues, than have had issues.
 
Saying that there are issues with the UM Pro and W range doesn't mean that 100% of people have had a problem but, even if only 25% of people have, that would still be too many.
 
 

  If Westone had very many issues and people complaining... they would have changed it.

 
Well they did have a lot of people complaining, so they did have to change the MMCX connector. 
 

   
The MMCX connector allows the earphone to rotate 360°... as MMCX connectors are designed.

 
Yes, I'm aware that MMCX connectors are designed to turn 360 degrees.
 
But is the connection quite secure (i.e. it takes a little bit of effort to turn them) or loose (i.e. the earphones will swivel around 360 degrees without any effort)?
 
My first pair of W60 had loose connectors, and the earphones would swivel round without any pressure. After 6 month the sound started cutting out in the left ear.
 
My replacement pair have a much more secure connection. Westone have updated the MMCX cable, so that the black plastic around the connector is a bit longer and there is no gap between the cable and earphone.
 
With the ALO cable, that comes with the W80, there's a gap between the cable and earphone. I'd just like to know how secure the connection is.
 
If is is secure, and the earphones don't swivel on their own, then I'll be tempted to get the W80. If they do swivel on their own I will wait for a few months to see if there are any reports of people finding the sound cutting out.

 

[ljnew]

  First detailed impression: https://twister6.com/2016/09/30/first-look-at-westone-w80/
 

 
How would you compare them to um pro 50?

 

[twister6]

 

  First detailed impression: https://twister6.com/2016/09/30/first-look-at-westone-w80/
 

 
How would you compare them to um pro 50?

 
Should start working on the review soon.  I can only keep up with one review per week

  For sure, will include comparison to W60, UMPro50, and ES60.

 

[ljnew]

   
Nope. Very careful actually.
 
No issues with any other iem. And i had for 5 years an UM3x, i have an 8 year old SE110 and had 4 years a pair of SE420s.
 
It' all happened to me with new line of Westone.
 
How do you explain that they changed along the way the EPIC cable mmcx male pin or the faceplates for the W80s ?
 
Sure it was not due to my heavy hand LOL

I saw reviews on Amazon 0nly 3 stars for the cable.  Constant complaint that cable doesn't last.  But to me, Westone has the best fitting universals ever!