[MacedonianHero]

maybe the lack of treble makes me find the w80 to be veiled.

 
I find the treble quite good actually and extended. I would play around with the eartips...they can have quite the effect.

 

[DancingBlue]

Public service announcement:
 
www.earphonesolutions.com has the w80 (and w20 and Shure SE846) on sale for 30% off until the end of tonight with coupon code FLASH5.
 
Found this via https://reddit/r/headphones.
 
Bought the SE846 a week ago from them with a similar discount. Just ordered the W80, code worked fine. They are an authorized dealer for both Shure and Westone.
 
Direct image link: https://i.imgur.com/4jO7R16.jpg
 

 

[snk8699]

Not everybody believes in burn in, some refer to it as a brain burn in, though you can either burn in by actual listening or just let it sit playing in the loop for 4-5 days.  In theory, BA drivers don't benefit from burn in like dynamic drivers do, but you still have crossover components and solder joints inside which could be susceptible to a subtle changes.  And we hear these changes differently, some more, others less.  Also, I noticed changes in a cable burn in, and many manufacturers recommend that (another controversial topic lol!!!!).  Just listen to the monitors out of the box, take some notes how it sounds, put it on a loop playing for 4-5 days in a row, and come back and see if you hear any difference.  I usually make sure every pair of headphones goes through at least 100hrs of burn in.  With DAPs, 200hrs is my burn in min (mostly for big filtering caps).

Thanks for the excellent advice! I do believe it takes time for the brain to adjust to hearing something new for the first time, especially if the driver themselves need some burn-in time to sound their best. I have seen plenty of cable manufacturers also recommend a specific number of hours on their cables as well and it doesn't take any additional time if you burn in both in simultaneously. I am looking forward to hearing my first set of Westones as soon as they arrive!

 

[twister6]

 

Not everybody believes in burn in, some refer to it as a brain burn in, though you can either burn in by actual listening or just let it sit playing in the loop for 4-5 days.  In theory, BA drivers don't benefit from burn in like dynamic drivers do, but you still have crossover components and solder joints inside which could be susceptible to a subtle changes.  And we hear these changes differently, some more, others less.  Also, I noticed changes in a cable burn in, and many manufacturers recommend that (another controversial topic lol!!!!).  Just listen to the monitors out of the box, take some notes how it sounds, put it on a loop playing for 4-5 days in a row, and come back and see if you hear any difference.  I usually make sure every pair of headphones goes through at least 100hrs of burn in.  With DAPs, 200hrs is my burn in min (mostly for big filtering caps).

Thanks for the excellent advice! I do believe it takes time for the brain to adjust to hearing something new for the first time, especially if the driver themselves need some burn-in time to sound their best. I have seen plenty of cable manufacturers also recommend a specific number of hours on their cables as well and it doesn't take any additional time if you burn in both in simultaneously. I am looking forward to hearing my first set of Westones as soon as they arrive!

 
I think with Westone, the first reaction people have is how small they are, and then move on to a sound analysis 

 

[snk8699]

I think with Westone, the first reaction people have is how small they are, and then move on to a sound analysis 

Their size and use of materials has factored into my decision to purchase them. I definitely praise their approach to focus on sound quality while simultaneously keeping them small. It's easy to pretend that as long as you have comfortable tips the size of the IEM might not matter, but after several hours I would say it absolutely does. Comfort is king and I will never give my IEMs up.

 

[djhitman]

Public service announcement:

www.earphonesolutions.com has the w80 (and w20 and Shure SE846) on sale for 30% off until the end of tonight with coupon code FLASH5.



Bought the SE846 a week ago from them with a similar discount. Just ordered the W80, code worked fine. They are an authorized dealer for both Shure and Westone.

Direct image link: https://i.imgur.com/4jO7R16.jpg

Would be interested to know your impressions between the SE846 and W80

 

[MacedonianHero]

Would be interested to know your impressions between the SE846 and W80

To my ears, it's not close...the W80's expansive sound stage, transparency and non-rolled off treble takes it for the win to my ears!

 

[gilency]

They have a very nice alo cable and very nice sounding 8 driver per side. But a lot more effort should have been put in to those housings. It really does bring the w80 down and put many people off buying it. Just take a look at iems sub £100 using well crafted and finished metals.

Why metal? To me it does not make sense. They would be cold to the touch and heavier.
I looked at the Andromeda and to my sense of esthetics they are ugly and lack the ergonomics and comfort the W60 has.
I love my Stax SRM 002 but can not sleep with them. Same problem with the Shure 846.
The W60's are in my ears every night for a reason. 
Westone beats everybody else in ergonomics. I have been a Westone fan since the UM2 back around 2007. Then W3, UM3X, W4, W60, ES3X and soon the W80. Never had an issue with quality except for a tinkling sound with UM3X which was replaced without questions.
The other reason they stay in my ears is I have always liked their sound: clean and non fatiguing. I listen mainly to Classical, Jazz and acoustic. From innumerable live concerts I have attended, from the Berlin Philharmonic Hall to LA Disney Hall, the highs don't sound overemphasized, unlike many other IEM's. To my ears, live music sounds more like Westone than any other IEM's (besides Stax).

 

[snk8699]

I like to consider myself in the know when it comes to new releases since I frequent Head-Fi and many other audiophile sites, but if it weren't for @MacedonianHero writing a nice piece on Headphone Guru, I would have never known these were out. Since they have been well-received in the community, I feel the marketing should be better to get the accolades they deserve.

 

[frozst]

 

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

Hey guys! I've just read all the 23 pages of the thread before posting and there have been some interesting posts, and hilarious as well. I'm not going to comment on the people saying at the beginning of this discussing that Westone are only for people not knowing other brands and with zero hifi knowledge, oh well...
 
I just wanted to make some comments on the W60 and questions on W80. I have used Westone as my main in ear monitor for over 10 years know, so my evolution was UM2, W30, W4r, W40, W60 and now planning to get the W80. I must say I've never kept the previous IEMs and I sold them a month after getting the upgrade. I also have different "over ears" like Alessandro or AK but that's another story.
 
It is true that the Westone W60 has some build problems:
 
- My cable was completely destroyed after 6 months use (every day to commute), but it never stopped working, it just looks really bad.
 
- The faceplates always crack, I used many and received replacements from Westone, but eventually, after heavy use, they always start cracking. I think this is an unacceptable design by Westone and I hope it has been fixed in the W80. I remember that I never had such problems with the W40, and I've always used my IEM a lot (3 - 4 hours per day approx).
 
- I don't think there is a problem with the connector but the cable, with my stock cables the connection is sturdy and I never had any problems. Of course they spin 360º but this is supposed to be a feature, which I don't mind. Other than that I really love the MIFI cable, but I think westone did something wrong with it. In the W40 the cable was perfect, no deterioration after a year of heavy use, but with the W60 the cable was destroyed in 6 months. Now it has a year and it is still working, but looks really bad.
 
I asked Westone a replacement and they sent a new one, however this one has the right connector to loose and sometimes the earpiece disconnects randomly. I think this is unacceptable and I stopped using it afraid of losing one earphone.
 
Other than that, I never had any problems. My W60 may have over 500h now and I can say it has my favourite IEM so far.
 
There has been some comments against the plastic build quality, well I guess this is to keep weight and small design. Could be the shape of my ear, but the westone IEMs have been the most confortable earphones I ever tried, and to me that's almost more important than the sound quality. I don't really care if I can get better earphones but they are bigger and look like If I had 2 monsters in my ears, but that's my preference. 
 
In reference to build quality and confortable of the W60, hence the W80, I have been overlanding with my motorbike Europe and Asia for the last 6 months, so I have spent a lot of time riding with my W60 (being able to use my IEM with my helmet is a must to me). I had some days of riding 14h and the fatigue was minimum. You could't do that with most of the universal IEMs on the market. Not to mention the Startips, I think they are the best eartips on the market, I was fan of the triple flange and then the shure olives, but man, the startips are so confortable that I don't miss my custom molds at all. Actually, that's one of the reasons why I am always getting the Wxx series and not the ESxx one: I had custom eartips but with they use the lose effectiveness. If I compare the Westone startips with custom IEM, I would l really go for the universal option, but that's my preference.
 
I hope all that helps other to decide (or discard) towards the new W80, I am going to order them but I am not sure I will keep them or not, if the cable pops out from the earpiece easily there is no way I will keep them.
 
So, all this to ask a few questions:
 
- Does the cable pop out easily? As I said I wouln't accept this.
- It's the new cable easy to "organise"? Meaning does it get tangled easily. I used to like the westone braided cable, but the MIFI one is more functional to me.

 

 
So after these weeks with the W80 as main iem I went back to the w60 to see how I perceived the sound between them. As expected, the w80 sound now with crisper and natural sound, when I change to the w60 I perceive the sound dark, less detailed and with a lot o bass.
 
The difference is there and is obvious, call it brain or drivers burn-in, however is not as obvious as between the w60 and w40. I haven't tried the ref8 cable yet, but I will post my impressions with both cables.
 
Happy listening! 

 

[Koolpep]

   
So after these weeks with the W80 as main iem I went back to the w60 to see how I perceived the sound between them. As expected, the w80 sound now with crisper and natural sound, when I change to the w60 I perceive the sound dark, less detailed and with a lot o bass.
 
The difference is there and is obvious, call it brain or drivers burn-in, however is not as obvious as between the w60 and w40. I haven't tried the ref8 cable yet, but I will post my impressions with both cables.
 
Happy listening! 

Matches my experience!
 
Cheers

 

[twister6]

I like to consider myself in the know when it comes to new releases since I frequent Head-Fi and many other audiophile sites, but if it weren't for @MacedonianHero writing a nice piece on Headphone Guru, I would have never known these were out. Since they have been well-received in the community, I feel the marketing should be better to get the accolades they deserve.

 
Maybe you missed it since my W80 review was posted on Head-fi over 2 months ago, back in December, and spent almost a week on the front page

  But yeah, I agree, the product deserves more attention and more reviews.  I actually heard it's a lot more popular in Asia than in US and EU, to the point where their first production batch was almost gone (spoken by distributors in Asia) even before it went officially on sale.

 

[twister6]

 

 

 
So after these weeks with the W80 as main iem I went back to the w60 to see how I perceived the sound between them. As expected, the w80 sound now with crisper and natural sound, when I change to the w60 I perceive the sound dark, less detailed and with a lot o bass.
 
The difference is there and is obvious, call it brain or drivers burn-in, however is not as obvious as between the w60 and w40. I haven't tried the ref8 cable yet, but I will post my impressions with both cables.
 
Happy listening! 

 
Exactly!  It's all part of a relative comparison and brain burn in.  That's why when I hear people say "w80 sounds veiled", the real question is what is you current IEM of preference to figure out which signature you comparing it to.  And I also agree, just by listening to W60 and switching to W80 maybe the initial change will not be as drastic, but going back and forth after spending some time will paint a better and more obvious picture.

 

[Koolpep]

To keep the W80 in the spotlight it deserves.
 
My review: http://www.head-fi.org/products/westone-w80-eight-driver-system-with-dual-bass-dual-mid-and-quad-high-78508/reviews/18062
 
Cheers,
Ralf

 

[snk8699]

Maybe you missed it since my W80 review was posted on Head-fi over 2 months ago, back in December, and spent almost a week on the front page   But yeah, I agree, the product deserves more attention and more reviews.  I actually heard it's a lot more popular in Asia than in US and EU, to the point where their first production batch was almost gone (spoken by distributors in Asia) even before it went officially on sale.

I've been slowly collecting impressions of the W80 over the past few months via this thread and reviews, so I apologize for glossing over the @twister6!

Every review you produce makes the front page and I read every single one of them. You obviously have a flair for evaluating IEMs since that makes up the majority of your collection and I do appreciate all the top flight comparisons. How you have time to do it all with your family and job still blows my mind.