[twister6]

That's a great suggestion, though I might prefer to get a second SE846 in bronze and keep one at home and one at work.

BTW, I took your suggestion and tried the W80 with Shure tips and thought they sounded better. The bottom line for me is though, for this kind of money, if I'm not thrilled I should look for something else.

Yeah, I use shure olive silicone tips with every pair of Westone iems (sweetwater on-line has the best prices for 5 pairs in a pack). I need the largest size, and Westone large (w/orange core) makes them stick out a bit too much out of my ears, while shure ones are not as deep, yet the same large diameter of the cap.

Completely understand where you are coming from. Flagship iems is a serious investment, not a trophy collection, so you have to pick'n'choose

 

[sanjeewasam]

In Westone cables the connector housing mold extends a little further, giving the connector an appearance of shorter profile. That's why Westone cables don't work with other mmcx connector iems (like 846 or UE900). But any universal mmcx connector cable will work with Westone iems, and ALO Ref8 has universal connector. The rotation is normal.

ALO Ref8 is a premium cable, 8 separate conductors (thus Ref8 name) with 4 pure copper and 4 silver-plated copper vs Westone typical oxygen free copper cables. I personally hear the difference and improvement, but then I'm a very strong cable believer

Thanks for all your advise. Just wondering if Shure SE846 cable would work with W80?

 

[twister6]

Thanks for all your advise. Just wondering if Shure SE846 cable would work with W80?

It should, that cable has universal mmcx connector, so when attached it should look like ALO cable joint with a slight gap.

 

[sanjeewasam]

Thanks again. What is the risk of the connectors failing or wearing off because it freely rotate (I mean compared to say Shure)

Sound impression- I am happy with it but Hifiman man full size cans 400i onwards can easily outclass W80 for me in items of every thing. I am searching for HE1000 replacement and one person suggested W80. With my experience now I do not think there is any - May be LCDi4?

 

[Sarnia]

Thanks again. What is the risk of the connectors failing or wearing off because it freely rotate (I mean compared to say Shure)

Sound impression- I am happy with it but Hifiman man full size cans 400i onwards can easily outclass W80 for me in items of every thing. I am searching for HE1000 replacement and one person suggested W80. With my experience now I do not think there is any - May be LCDi4?

The W80 are very good IEMs but there's no way they'll replace the He1000.

I think the LCD-i4 should be a viable alternative. Mine should be here tomorrow and I will be comparing them to my He1000v2.

 

[sanjeewasam]

The W80 are very good IEMs but there's no way they'll replace the He1000.

I think the LCD-i4 should be a viable alternative. Mine should be here tomorrow and I will be comparing them to my He1000v2.

That would be great. Thank you so much.

 

[twister6]

Thanks again. What is the risk of the connectors failing or wearing off because it freely rotate (I mean compared to say Shure)

Sound impression- I am happy with it but Hifiman man full size cans 400i onwards can easily outclass W80 for me in items of every thing. I am searching for HE1000 replacement and one person suggested W80. With my experience now I do not think there is any - May be LCDi4?

The risk is just like with any other iem, tight or loose fitting. Btw, DeOxit helps a lot to maintain a "healthy" metal contact But as long as the company stands behind their product and you have warranty - that's all that matters. For example, Westone has 2 year warranty, and sometimes they even honor it after it expires (like with faceplate replacements and in some cases with cables).

I'm not too familiar with HFM full size cans, only their iems. Also, not familiar with iSine iems, sorry. Keep in mind, those are open back so no isolation and definitely a sound leakage.

 

[sanjeewasam]

I am bit confused with regards to cables that come with W80 out of the box. I know the ALO cable but can some one place confirm if the other cable which is Westone's own included cable is the one attached below. I have seen difference cables in different places so not sure what it is. Also will W80 gain much with balanced mode?

 

[sanjeewasam]

 

[sanjeewasam]

Can anyone comment on pairing W80 with CHod Mojo, Onkyo DS X1, QP1R or Fiio X7 AM1 (or AM2/AM3). Which one would be better for classical, acoustic type of music and female vocals

 

[twister6]

I am bit confused with regards to cables that come with W80 out of the box. I know the ALO cable but can some one place confirm if the other cable which is Westone's own included cable is the one attached below. I have seen difference cables in different places so not sure what it is. Also will W80 gain much with balanced mode?

Look into my W80 review: https://www.head-fi.org/f/showcase/...nd-quad-high-78508.22094/reviews#review-17578 and scroll down to Cable section. I have the official product packaging with ALO Ref8 and their Epic cable with in-line mic. Some of the pictures you are seeing with Epic audio cable (braided wire cable) are probably from people switching cables with their other Westone iems.

Cable wire material aside, the balanced terminated (2.5mm TRRS cable) will only improve the sound if your source has a properly designed balanced output. Not all do. Some have balanced outputs with increased power (you can double the voltage swing of single-ended output by going to balanced), they could have better SNR ratio with blacker background (since you are not referencing your signal to the ground), in some cases I also hear a wider soundstage with better L/R imaging and improved sound separation. But none of this comes magically by switching a cable from 3.5mm TRS to 2.5mm TRRS (and I'm not talking about less common hifiman 3.5mm TRRS balanced termination). So, it's all in the source

 

[twister6]

Can anyone comment on pairing W80 with CHod Mojo, Onkyo DS X1, QP1R or Fiio X7 AM1 (or AM2/AM3). Which one would be better for classical, acoustic type of music and female vocals

I wasn't too crazy about X7 pair up, and based on people describing Mojo as fuller warmer sounding - maybe not the best pair up either (just assuming since I didn't hear mojo). Sorry, not familiar with Onkyo, but did hear a lot of great feedback about QP1R (hoping to get a chance to test QP2R sometime in a near future).

 

[clinkzclinkz]

I finally have my W80 arrived. I cannot agree with "twister6''s review anymore regarding this:
Ref8 vs Epic (OFC) – With Ref8 you can hear a lift throughout lows and mids, while treble remains the same. The first big noticeable change is the expansion of soundstage width, the sound becomes wider, wrapping around you. Both sub-bass and mid-bass gets lifted and become more energetic and better defined. If you want a more neutral sound, better stay with Epic cable since it keeps the overall frequency spectrum more balanced, while Ref8 lifts both sub- and mid-bass up with more rumble and tighter and faster punch. It does the same to the mids, from lower mids to upper mids, giving more body to the sound and a little more clarity to the vocals. With bass slightly elevated, you get vocals pushed a little back while with Epic cable the bass and the mids are more balanced, but not as energetic.

the sound coming from the stock mic cable is really really good and fits my taste really well. The sound sounds so real and good, and I mean it is just that good. However, it is kind of hard for me to get the stock cable around my ear properly as the stock cable doesn't have the plastic transparent "ear hook" part close to the mmcx connector as most of the cables do...is there any suggestion on that? Thank you.

 

[sanjeewasam]

I finally have my W80 arrived. I cannot agree with "twister6''s review anymore regarding this:
Ref8 vs Epic (OFC) – With Ref8 you can hear a lift throughout lows and mids, while treble remains the same. The first big noticeable change is the expansion of soundstage width, the sound becomes wider, wrapping around you. Both sub-bass and mid-bass gets lifted and become more energetic and better defined. If you want a more neutral sound, better stay with Epic cable since it keeps the overall frequency spectrum more balanced, while Ref8 lifts both sub- and mid-bass up with more rumble and tighter and faster punch. It does the same to the mids, from lower mids to upper mids, giving more body to the sound and a little more clarity to the vocals. With bass slightly elevated, you get vocals pushed a little back while with Epic cable the bass and the mids are more balanced, but not as energetic.

the sound coming from the stock mic cable is really really good and fits my taste really well. The sound sounds so real and good, and I mean it is just that good. However, it is kind of hard for me to get the stock cable around my ear properly as the stock cable doesn't have the plastic transparent "ear hook" part close to the mmcx connector as most of the cables do...is there any suggestion on that? Thank you.

Bit confused here/ You were referring to Ref8 vs Epic in the first phara and then you are referring to stock mic cable . So are these 3 cables or EPIC and stock mic cable are same? Which came with the unit. I believe only two cables are included-ALO Ref8 and ?

 

[sanjeewasam]

Look into my W80 review: https://www.head-fi.org/f/showcase/...nd-quad-high-78508.22094/reviews#review-17578 and scroll down to Cable section. I have the official product packaging with ALO Ref8 and their Epic cable with in-line mic. Some of the pictures you are seeing with Epic audio cable (braided wire cable) are probably from people switching cables with their other Westone iems.

Cable wire material aside, the balanced terminated (2.5mm TRRS cable) will only improve the sound if your source has a properly designed balanced output. Not all do. Some have balanced outputs with increased power (you can double the voltage swing of single-ended output by going to balanced), they could have better SNR ratio with blacker background (since you are not referencing your signal to the ground), in some cases I also hear a wider soundstage with better L/R imaging and improved sound separation. But none of this comes magically by switching a cable from 3.5mm TRS to 2.5mm TRRS (and I'm not talking about less common hifiman 3.5mm TRRS balanced termination). So, it's all in the source

Thanks a lot for the reply. Based on the info I believe what the seller (I got a used unit) included is a Westone EPIC cable or cable from a perilous model and not cable with in-line mic that come with W80. I provided a photo above of the EPIC cable that I got.

Now the question is would there be difference in Sonics with westone Epic cable (say the ones they sell separately or included in previous models) and W80 cable with in-line mic

Thanks
Sanjeewa