[Law87]

 
 
here is my friend W60 after close to 3 years of ownership. The black piece literally fall out as he takes it out of his ear. Due to Twister request, I'm not going to reply to anymore trolls or any hardcore fanboys but this is proof that quality needs to be better! and before anyone says that he need to take care of his IEM better, just shut up, no one own a 1k IEM and throw it around like an apple earbud.
 
 
P.S look at post #284 if you think I'm just trolling Westone.

 

[Law87]

 
 
this was sent directly from Westone. when I purchased a new set of W60, the slanted "crack" looking line does not apear on the other ear piece.

I immediately initiate a return.

 

[MacedonianHero]

In case anyone is interested, I suggest this article:
 
http://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics-2/why-anecdotal-evidence-is-unreliable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
 
Might expand your mind. I am a Professional Engineer who's worked in the high reliability manufacturing world and lead a team of Product/Process AND Quality Engineers and the information above is quite invaluable. 
 
Playing around with the eartips with these IEMs and I really like the Shure olives with them...anyone else try these?

 

[435279]

 
 
Playing around with the eartips with these IEMs and I really like the Shure olives with them...anyone else try these?

I haven't, are the Shure olives these ones? 
 
http://www.earphonesolutions.com/shure-pa910-5-pair-olive-eartips-for-shure-westone-klipsch-and-etymotic.html

 

[MacedonianHero]

  I haven't, are the Shure olives these ones? 
 
http://www.earphonesolutions.com/shure-pa910-5-pair-olive-eartips-for-shure-westone-klipsch-and-etymotic.html

 
Correct. The one quirk with them is to remove them, I'd recommend putting them (with the IEMs) in your freezer for 30 seconds to harden the eartip and they pop right off quite easily; otherwise it can be a bit too finnicky.

 

[435279]

   
Correct. The one quirk with them is to remove them, I'd recommend putting them (with the IEMs) in your freezer for 30 seconds to harden the eartip and they pop right off quite easily; otherwise it can be a bit too finnicky.

Thanks, I will order some. Odd that cooling them down helps removal.

 

[MacedonianHero]

  Thanks, I will order some. Odd that cooling them down helps removal.

 
They have the added bonus of offering excellent comfort and noise isolation and don't shave too much off the top like the Comply eartips can.

 

[435279]

   
They have the added bonus of offering excellent comfort and noise isolation and don't shave too much off the top like the Comply eartips can.

Ordered from Amazon so I will be able to check them out tomorrow, looking forward to trying them. Thanks again.

 

[twister6]

  In case anyone is interested, I suggest this article:
 
http://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics-2/why-anecdotal-evidence-is-unreliable
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
 
Might expand your mind. I am a Professional Engineer who's worked in the high reliability manufacturing world and lead a team of Product/Process AND Quality Engineers and the information above is quite invaluable. 
 
Playing around with the eartips with these IEMs and I really like the Shure olives with them...anyone else try these?

 
Yep, the same here!!!  I need to use large eartips, the one with an orange marking, my earcanal insertion is wide and shallow.  Large eartips form a perfect seal, BUT they are too long for my ears.  So, I also switched to using Shure olive silicone tips.  They are a little shorter so Westone shells don't stick out too far.

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
Yep, the same here!!!  I need to use large eartips, the one with an orange marking, my earcanal insertion is wide and shallow.  Large eartips form a perfect seal, BUT they are too long for my ears.  So, I also switched to using Shure olive silicone tips.  They are a little shorter so Westone shells don't stick out too far.

Yep...same thing with me, but I use the medium eartips. But the shorter length helps further.

 

[berzerk428]

I currently own a pair of Westone W40 which I plan to replace with the W80. I bought the "Ultra-Thin Balanced 52 Inch Cable" directly from Westone a while back and I'm using the cable for my W40 in combination with my DP-X1, they really sound great. Is anybody using these cables with a pair of W80 and can tell me if they're a good match up? It's a shame I wont be using the highly praised Ref 8 Cable that's included with my DP-X1 since it's not a balanced cable.. but I'll probably get an LG V20 as well so I'll be using them with the SE there : )

by the way, I'll be selling my Westone W40, they're brand new and only a few months old, in mint condition and everything has been handled very carefully, with the complete accessories and the Box and everything the W40 came with, if anybody is interested send me a PM with a price offer, I will be shipping them from Switzerland. 

 

[twister6]

  I currently own a pair of Westone W40 which I plan to replace with the W80. I bought the "Ultra-Thin Balanced 52 Inch Cable" directly from Westone a while back and I'm using the cable for my W40 in combination with my DP-X1, they really sound great. Is anybody using these cables with a pair of W80 and can tell me if they're a good match up? It's a shame I wont be using the highly praised Ref 8 Cable that's included with my DP-X1 since it's not a balanced cable.. but I'll probably get an LG V20 as well so I'll be using them with the SE there : )

by the way, I'll be selling my Westone W40, they're brand new and only a few months old, in mint condition and everything has been handled very carefully, with the complete accessories and the Box and everything the W40 came with, if anybody is interested send me a PM with a price offer, I will be shipping them from Switzerland. 

 
I don't have experience with DP-X1, but do you hear a big difference between single ended and balanced outputs?  Many DAPs I tried in the past had a subtle soundstage expansion when going balanced, and the only noticeable change was higher output power.  I noticed that Ken's Ref 8 widens sounstage to my ears, so who knows, you might get a similar effect using balanced cable (Linum BaX which you purchased from Westone) as you would with Ref 8 single ended cable.  Wait till you get a chance to test both and let us know.

 

[435279]

   
I don't have experience with DP-X1, but do you hear a big difference between single ended and balanced outputs?  Many DAPs I tried in the past had a subtle soundstage expansion when going balanced, and the only noticeable change was higher output power.  I noticed that Ken's Ref 8 widens sounstage to my ears, so who knows, you might get a similar effect using balanced cable (Linum BaX which you purchased from Westone) as you would with Ref 8 single ended cable.  Wait till you get a chance to test both and let us know.

I have the Pioneer xdp-300r, I agree with you there is very little difference between balanced and single ended. For me its simply making use of the twin DAC's and headphone amps, if I don't use balanced then I might as well have saved the money and got the xdp-100r

 

[oknidius]

@SteveOliver @twister6
 
I used to feel the same. And then I heard the Beyerdynamic AK T8iE-II via balanced on the Onkyo DP-X1. Holy [expletive]! It was night and day for me. Crisper highs; deeper bass; massive 3D soundstage that's simultaneously wide and "in your face"... I couldn't understand the balanced-out hype until I heard that combo. Until then, I though exactly as you described: some improvements in sound stage. But that pairing totally changed my mind about what balanced can achieve.

 

[435279]

  @SteveOliver @twister6
 
I used to feel the same. And then I heard the Beyerdynamic AK T8iE-II via balanced on the Onkyo DP-X1. Holy [expletive]! It was night and day for me. Crisper highs; deeper bass; massive 3D soundstage that's simultaneously wide and "in your face"... I couldn't understand the balanced-out hype until I heard that combo. Until then, I though exactly as you described: some improvements in sound stage. But that pairing totally changed my mind about what balanced can achieve.

Interesting, I'm not spending any more money though at the moment, I just got the W80
 
On the subject of the W80. The Shure Olive tips arrived this morning I've been listening with them for around 3 hours and so far I like them, thanks MacedonianHero for the advice, I've been meaning to try them for a while but didn't know which ones to get.