[twister6]

Hey twister. How would compare the w80 to xelento? Are they at all similar? Thanks

There are some similarities, and differences. W80 soundstage is wider and has a little more depth, extending a few rows further. Xelento mid-bass hits harder, and that slam will depend on eartip selection (earcanal seal), W80 bass is great but less aggressive. Treble is similar. Mids have some variation too, where W80 has more body, a little smoother, while Xelento is more revealing, a little thinner (still natural sounding). I think the biggest difference here in bass, and the fit. Too much fiddling with Xelento eartips...

 

[pacman46]

There are some similarities, and differences. W80 soundstage is wider and has a little more depth, extending a few rows further. Xelento mid-bass hits harder, and that slam will depend on eartip selection (earcanal seal), W80 bass is great but less aggressive. Treble is similar. Mids have some variation too, where W80 has more body, a little smoother, while Xelento is more revealing, a little thinner (still natural sounding). I think the biggest difference here in bass, and the fit. Too much fiddling with Xelento eartips...

That’s awesome thank you. So I take it’s more of a side step instead of an upgrade. Maybe I’m a lucky one but I don’t mind the stock ear tips. Maybe they just fit my ears properly. But I can see where some people would have a problem with the fit. I use the largest for me left ear and the second largest for my right ear as my left ear is a tad bigger I guess and seems to work very well. Thank you.

 

[twister6]

That’s awesome thank you. So I take it’s more of a side step instead of an upgrade. Maybe I’m a lucky one but I don’t mind the stock ear tips. Maybe they just fit my ears properly. But I can see where some people would have a problem with the fit. I use the largest for me left ear and the second largest for my right ear as my left ear is a tad bigger I guess and seems to work very well. Thank you.

I use only the largest ones on both L/R sides, and still, nozzle is a bit too short. Comply works better, but boosts the bass and attenuates the treble. But anyway, that's a bit off topic Yeah, in regard of W80, you are right, I would consider it a sidegrade.

 

[tienbasse]

There are some similarities, and differences. (...) I think the biggest difference here in bass, and the fit. Too much fiddling with Xelento eartips...

Making oval nozzles wasn't a brilliant idea indeed, but fortunately most silicon tips will accomodate the oval nozzles.
Don't fiddle with stock tips, they're rubbish for most people with large ear canals, because their relative lack of convexity will prevent proper seal.

The Xelento nozzles are a bit too narrow for Spiral dot tips unfortunately (seal is achieved but the tips tend to come off upon removal from ears), but most tips with a 3-4mm stem internal diameter will fit nicely and let you achive a proper seal.
No more fiddling and a premium confort due to the smooth small shell size.

 

[twister6]

Making oval nozzles wasn't a brilliant idea indeed, but fortunately most silicon tips will accomodate the oval nozzles.
Don't fiddle with stock tips, they're rubbish for most people with large ear canals, because their relative lack of convexity will prevent proper seal.

The Xelento nozzles are a bit too narrow for Spiral dot tips unfortunately (seal is achieved but the tips tend to come off upon removal from ears), but most tips with a 3-4mm stem internal diameter will fit nicely and let you achive a proper seal.
No more fiddling and a premium confort due to the smooth small shell size.

Yes, true, a silicone tip can stretch over the oval nozzle, but it becomes uncomfortable with my usual selection of large eartips and I have to go down in size to compensate for that, and it affects the seal. But anyway, we can continue this discussion in Xelento thread

 

[Down4wotever]

Looking to purchase an ALO reference cable, like the ones that come bundled with the w80. PM me if you have one you're looking to off load.

 

[skidxb]

Anyone willing to sale your w80 for reasonable price pm me..

 

[jgosroc]

Bought it from another person on the forum. Unlikely Westone would honour, as legally they wouldn't have to. Clearly less than 2 years old as the W80 hasn't existed for 2 years yet...

Thought I’d add on a postscript to this. In an act of unbelievable generosity, Westone replaced my W80 with the contact issue, with a brand new pair. They didn’t have to. I know it, they know it. But they did anyway. They wanted to stand behind their flagship and drill down to see what the underlying problem was. I’m grateful and more than a bit humbled. They also included their ALO cable that I didn’t have..! I’ll probably buy the UmPro v2, as I just gave my last pair to a friend - which will make the third new pair of UmPro50s I purchased. So at least there’s that business Karma that Westone will receive shortly.

 

[twister6]

Thought I’d add on a postscript to this. In an act of unbelievable generosity, Westone replaced my W80 with the contact issue, with a brand new pair. They didn’t have to. I know it, they know it. But they did anyway. They wanted to stand behind their flagship and drill down to see what the underlying problem was. I’m grateful and more than a bit humbled. They also included their ALO cable that I didn’t have..! I’ll probably buy the UmPro v2, as I just gave my last pair to a friend - which will make the third new pair of UmPro50s I purchased. So at least there’s that business Karma that Westone will receive shortly.

That's great to hear it, man. There are some special situations where it's not black'n'white when it comes to warranty. And especially when you have Westone rep present and reading this thread - they made it right!

I assume you will be getting Pro50 v2? I think W80 and Pro50v2 are two of favorite Westones right now. Once you get it, share your impressions, please. I feel like I'm the only one writing about these IEMs, while I know and have spoken to many in PMs who enjoy them as much

 

[jgosroc]

Yeah, I genuinely can’t praise the UmPro50 too much. People forget that fundamentally it was designed to sound (drivers and all) to sound like the ES5 or ES50 CIEM. While my W80 was out of action I was happily listening to my UmPro50 with a silver cable... just killer. I think it stomps many, many iems with higher specs - and then it’s so damn comfortable. I’m sure the V2 will give it something extra, but the v1 was/is amazing to my ears. Love the bass and treble. Of course the W80 brings a little more across the table with extra 3 drivers... but really it’s a deminishing return situation. The fact is the UmPro50 is my most purchased iem, or certainly will be. I’ll also grab a second hand pair (v1) and inevitably convert it to a CIEM - I keep intending to.

 

[swesko]

@twister6 im back again, how you would compare the w80 and the u18t, before i pull the trigger. Is the sound improvement worth the 1500usd price difference?i'm expected to be wowed, if i'm not i'll be very disappointed :/i read your review but still not convinced

 

[twister6]

@twister6 im back again, how you would compare the w80 and the u18t, before i pull the trigger. Is the sound improvement worth the 1500usd price difference?i'm expected to be wowed, if i'm not i'll be very disappointed :/i read your review but still not convinced

I covered the comparison of W80, ES60, and ES80 in my U18t review, just scroll down: https://twister6.com/2017/06/25/64-audio-u18-tzar/2/

All I can do is to describe how I hear it and what sounds different to me. It's up to you if you're going to like it or not, and without a doubt when you go into $3k price range you should be realistic and expect diminishing returns. Entry level and some mid-fi IEMs have sound limitations. Manufacturers put a lot of effort into tuning flagship IEMs, so at this point it's just a matter of personal sound preference and your budget limitation. Also, we all hear things differently, and I recently had private discussions with a few headfiers who had a strong opinion that w80 is too smooth and u18t is too bright. While I personally don't agree with either statements, I respect other people's opinion. Of course, the bigger dilemma in your case - can you audition both to determine which one is your cup of tea...

 

[tienbasse]

Manufacturers put a lot of effort into tuning flagship IEMs, so at this point it's just a matter of personal sound preference and your budget limitation.

This should be quoted to all posts in these forums so people finally stop arguing about "reference" sound and value for the money. Because it is pointless.
You like the tuning or you don't, you can afford it or you can't. Simple.

1500-3000$ without demo-ing first ? Huge risk in my opinion.
When you're ready to spend this kind of money for leisure, maybe you could spend some money and travel to an area where you can demo these IEMs.
I couldn't demo anything high-end in France, so I used some vacation time/money to visit Singapore and demo-ed half of the high-end IEms that are listed on these forums. Best experience ever, and very enlightening about what I like and what I don't. Saved me a ton of money. Of course, the UK would have been closer and cheaper if I had been tighter on my vacation budget.

 

[swesko]

I covered the comparison of W80, ES60, and ES80 in my U18t review, just scroll down: https://twister6.com/2017/06/25/64-audio-u18-tzar/2/

All I can do is to describe how I hear it and what sounds different to me. It's up to you if you're going to like it or not, and without a doubt when you go into $3k price range you should be realistic and expect diminishing returns. Entry level and some mid-fi IEMs have sound limitations. Manufacturers put a lot of effort into tuning flagship IEMs, so at this point it's just a matter of personal sound preference and your budget limitation. Also, we all hear things differently, and I recently had private discussions with a few headfiers who had a strong opinion that w80 is too smooth and u18t is too bright. While I personally don't agree with either statements, I respect other people's opinion. Of course, the bigger dilemma in your case - can you audition both to determine which one is your cup of tea...

you just made the choise even harder as you said some think they are bright, i'm sensitive to sibilance and sometimes the w80 are bright when especially when its a badly mastered track. Anyway, since no way for me to audition, i will take a pause do more readings and hopefully make teh right choise. Thank you as always

 

[swesko]

This should be quoted to all posts in these forums so people finally stop arguing about "reference" sound and value for the money. Because it is pointless.
You like the tuning or you don't, you can afford it or you can't. Simple.

1500-3000$ without demo-ing first ? Huge risk in my opinion.
When you're ready to spend this kind of money for leisure, maybe you could spend some money and travel to an area where you can demo these IEMs.
I couldn't demo anything high-end in France, so I used some vacation time/money to visit Singapore and demo-ed half of the high-end IEms that are listed on these forums. Best experience ever, and very enlightening about what I like and what I don't. Saved me a ton of money. Of course, the UK would have been closer and cheaper if I had been tighter on my vacation budget.

yup you are right, but i wanted something soon. I'm going to London in June, maybe i can have a listen then