[Selrisitai]

IMHO, no! The W80 is a good IEM, especially for the price you paid!!
Besides, "biggest mistake of my life" - really? You are taking this hobby VERY seriously...

Really appreciate the response, and I laughed a couple times at your humor, too!
I was never overly worried, despite my verbose post, but I admit I was a bit concerned with the idea that I spent over six-hundred dollars on technology that was obsolete, and could be easily reproduced today for something like $300. Although my Shure SE215s—which are still serving me well to this day, after a good six or seven years, with no hint of damage—were around $250 when I first bought them, and I would like to think that I'm making a dramatic upgrade with the W80s, which is the most expensive IEM I've ever purchased and will have ever listened to.
Your positive opinion of the W80s renews my confidence in what has been, for a long time, my dream pair of monitors.
They arrive Thursday. Impressions will be forthcoming.

 

[twister6]

Really appreciate the response, and I laughed a couple times at your humor, too!
I was never overly worried, despite my verbose post, but I admit I was a bit concerned with the idea that I spent over six-hundred dollars on technology that was obsolete, and could be easily reproduced today for something like $300. Although my Shure SE215s—which are still serving me well to this day, after a good six or seven years, with no hint of damage—were around $250 when I first bought them, and I would like to think that I'm making a dramatic upgrade with the W80s, which is the most expensive IEM I've ever purchased and will have ever listened to.
Your positive opinion of the W80s renews my confidence in what has been, for a long time, my dream pair of monitors.
They arrive Thursday. Impressions will be forthcoming.

Oh, don't think of it as obsolete, more like a collectible classic

Prior to launch of MACH series, a lot of people had a wrongful assumption that W-series was uni version of a custom ES-series, which is not true. W-series has old-school audiophile tuning for those who like natural laidback tonality. ES-series was for musicians, but the tuning was audiophile grade, at least the one I have and tested (ES60 and ES80, still two of my favorite Westone IEMs). MACH series was an attempt to capture ES sound in a uni shell design. But in my personal opinion, Westone with a help from Ety under Lucid Audio umbrella created a new unique series with its own audio personality, especially with MACH 70 and 80 that deserve more attention.

MACH 70 is my favorite from that series, with its W-shaped balanced tonality and extra emphasis on bass to bring more weight and tighter mid-bass punch along with a clear detailed mids and non-fatigue natural detailed treble. MACH 80 will give you a flat neutral sound sig with a natural tonality. It has a more reference tuning without coloring the sound. Great for analyzing the sound without having "analytical" tuning.

 

[Selrisitai]

Oh, don't think of it as obsolete, more like a collectible classic

Prior to launch of MACH series, a lot of people had a wrongful assumption that W-series was uni version of a custom ES-series, which is not true. W-series has old-school audiophile tuning for those who like natural laidback tonality. ES-series was for musicians, but the tuning was audiophile grade, at least the one I have and tested (ES60 and ES80, still two of my favorite Westone IEMs). MACH series was an attempt to capture ES sound in a uni shell design. But in my personal opinion, Westone with a help from Ety under Lucid Audio umbrella created a new unique series with its own audio personality, especially with MACH 70 and 80 that deserve more attention.

MACH 70 is my favorite from that series, with its W-shaped balanced tonality and extra emphasis on bass to bring more weight and tighter mid-bass punch along with a clear detailed mids and non-fatigue natural detailed treble. MACH 80 will give you a flat neutral sound sig with a natural tonality. It has a more reference tuning without coloring the sound. Great for analyzing the sound without having "analytical" tuning.

Would you say that the Mach series is an overall improvement in sheer quality over the W-series, or would you say that it's more of a tuning thing?
As I mentioned before, I'm wondering how much more lifelike, clear and accurate IEMs can get. Has the $1,500 range already pierced the threshold of what we can do with tiny drivers like this, or has Westone managed to keep eking out ever more high-fidelity sound reproduction, speaking without regard to tuning?

 

[Selrisitai]

As promised, here's my first impressions:
I'm running a Surfans F20 with 320Kbps Mp3s. With my previous earbuds, the Shure SE215s, I had the EQ dialed in to reduce the mid-lows, keep the sub-bass the same, keep the mids the same, and increase the upper mids and treble. With the Westone W80s, I've deactivated the EQ for the impressions below.
The first song I listened to was by the band Keldian, their song Lords of Polaris, the dynamically enhanced version they released on Bandcamp a while back. For the totality of my impressions given below, I listened to a range of power metal, power-death, progressive power metal, symphonic power metal and power metal with folk elements. (A cookie to anyone who can guess my favorite genre. Heh heh.)

They immediately blow my SE215s clear off the continent. The sound is fuller, bigger, lusher, more realistic. Immediately examples I notice are that in songs with, for instance, cellos or thick woodwind sounds, I'm impressed by them with effortlessness from the W80s. Whereas with the SE215s certain instruments were an indication of sound, the W80s actually deliver the sound itself, no hints, just facts.

Another example is in piano: When a piano key is hit, if it's a real instrument, the key has a kind of clunky sound as the key strikes the piano's frame, a kind of knocking. This is revealed in totality with these earbuds. Again, you could technically hear it on the SE215s, but you didn't experience it for yourself: you were just being given the information, advised of the sound's existence. With the W80s, you are there experiencing it first-hand.

Sub-bass is far, far more. . . well, relevant. There's pretty much no strong sub-bass presence in the SE215s, not in the full, powerful buzz that the W80s present. One other thing I found interesting is that I hooked it up to my Nintendo 3DS for a couple rounds of Tekken 3D, and boy was it intense! It was like wearing a high-end gaming headset when playing a full console game. I look forward to playing more games on my 3DS now, ha ha!
I'm not going to give a general lows-mids-highs breakdown now because I haven't spent enough time with them, but one other thing I'm noticing is that they're more dynamic, or perhaps I should say they're more revealing of dynamics. When things get quieter and louder, these volume changes seem more pronounced and evident with these than with the Shure SE215s.

I wish I had a higher end IEM to compare these with. I paid a paltry $130 for the Shure SE215s on July 23rd, 2017 (that recently?) and they have been stalwarts ever since, but at $130 bucks, they weren't ever trying to be high-end, but only "excellent for the price," which they are. If the Westone W80s weren't head and shoulders above them, then Westone would retire in shame, given the massive price difference.
I'm listening to these buds as I write this, and anticipate listening for a good while longer, since I just charged the battery.
At the moment, if anyone wants to listen along, I'm listening to the band Asylum Pyre's song Love Ecstasy. Great stuff, requiring equipment capable of reproducing operatic and non-operatic female and male vocals, classic instruments like piano, and of course the heavy metal kit of a metal band, electric guitars and drums. These earbuds seem to be doing so, hitherto, with aplomb.

 

[twister6]

Would you say that the Mach series is an overall improvement in sheer quality over the W-series, or would you say that it's more of a tuning thing?
As I mentioned before, I'm wondering how much more lifelike, clear and accurate IEMs can get. Has the $1,500 range already pierced the threshold of what we can do with tiny drivers like this, or has Westone managed to keep eking out ever more high-fidelity sound reproduction, speaking without regard to tuning?

W-series and MACH series are different flavors of ice cream, depending on what you like So, yeah, mostly a tuning thing. BUT, you do need to keep in mind that MACH series switched to Linum T2 (IPX connectors). So, it is no longer mmcx which is a blessing and a curse. IPX plug connectors are A LOT more reliable, but also rare. At the same time, many Westone users I talked to don't cable roll as much, and I have a feeling majority won't cable roll MACH series either.

 

[twister6]

OK, as promised, Westone MACH series review is up! And despite having 8BA drivers, W80, ES80, and MACH 80 still sound different

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Resurrecting W80 out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/post-17274374

 

[iFi audio]

Resurrecting W80 out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/post-17274374

Kudos for this review. It's very detailed and was highly entertaining to dig into. Thanks!

 

[Selrisitai]

Resurrecting W80 out:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/post-17274374

In this review, I find it fascinating that you came to a similar conclusion that I did: I think Westone may have shot themselves in the foot--despite multiple protective measures against just such a pedal malfunction--by having tips that just don't bring out the quality of the earbud itself.
I find that from day to day I might love my Westones and be frustrated by them. Sometimes the sub-bass smoothly rumbles, while the mid-bass softens the entire spectrum, even as every frequency chimes in with its crystalline clarity; other times the sub-bass is gone, the mid-bass is muffled and from the mids to the treble is nothing but fuzz.

I think it's because I get slightly different fits every time I put my earbuds in. Sometimes shallower, sometimes deeper; sometimes angled into the ear-canal and sometimes reflecting off of the entry wall; and the result is an inconsistent experience. I have said, in this very thread, that I believe a lot of people must be getting a poor fit, because no one could claim that this earbud has no bass response, sub- or mid-bass, or that its mids are without detail, albeit somewhat recessed by the pervasive mid-bass warmth.

I'm tempted to try purchasing the earbud tips you've recommended to see if I can get a more consistent, if not superior, experience.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

In this review, I find it fascinating that you came to a similar conclusion that I did: I think Westone may have shot themselves in the foot--despite multiple protective measures against just such a pedal malfunction--by having tips that just don't bring out the quality of the earbud itself.
I find that from day to day I might love my Westones and be frustrated by them. Sometimes the sub-bass smoothly rumbles, while the mid-bass softens the entire spectrum, even as every frequency chimes in with its crystalline clarity; other times the sub-bass is gone, the mid-bass is muffled and from the mids to the treble is nothing but fuzz.

I think it's because I get slightly different fits every time I put my earbuds in. Sometimes shallower, sometimes deeper; sometimes angled into the ear-canal and sometimes reflecting off of the entry wall; and the result is an inconsistent experience. I have said, in this very thread, that I believe a lot of people must be getting a poor fit, because no one could claim that this earbud has no bass response, sub- or mid-bass, or that its mids are without detail, albeit somewhat recessed by the pervasive mid-bass warmth.

I'm tempted to try purchasing the earbud tips you've recommended to see if I can get a more consistent, if not superior, experience.

Great minds think alike Yes, buying those eartips won’t hurt so much, I’d recommend to get from amazon, if you didn’t like, there will be always an easy return policy for amazon.

 

[Zbell]

Happy to have picked up some W80s on super sale from Adorama last week. I haven't been into the IEM scene in a long while, but I think these W80s sounds superb for the money and they are sooo comfortable (that's why I got into headphones to begin with). Of course I perused the reviews from 2016-2019 for the W80s, but curious how folks here think the W80 holds up to the competition now that they're 6+ years old. Seems like a lot of new companies are in the IEM space these days with interesting tech. Does the W80 still compete with newer offerings in the $500-$1000 price range?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

There are few $500-1000 with similar config of W80, so it’s hard to push, I’d say for sub $500, W80 still hold competitive technicalities let aside of its rather dark tuning.
W80 has a peak around treble region which in a sense works as resolving capabilities rendering spot, but to some it may sound dry.

If you use a stem short converter that comes with some ear tips (one of them is AZLA Xelastec Crystal)

And re-requip W80 with modern IEM ear tips, W80 still have great technical chop.

The stock ear tip, as someone who lived from the beginning of IEM market, is “old-fashioned” and outdated.

The narrow bore stock ear tip will only chop down anything beyond 200hz and up, making W80 to sound “Westone”. And yes I lived with that tonality so I was feeling very nostalgic and welcoming, but in this modern IEM market, I can see hardly anyone would find that “dull” sound very amusing to their libraries.

Right now most of IEMs with $500-1000 are Sonion EST (electret driver that you can find from old STAX) equipped tribrid, of which in terms of resolution it a tough call for all BAs to compete.

Also modern hybrid&tribrids are now equipped better dynamic /planar drivers which does keep up with the transient response speed of balanced armatures, so the “sound coming of different drivers” type of tonal inconsistencies are less noticeable as well.

Also W80 is sensitive to cables as well, I’d swapped my AKG N5005’s mmcx cable to W80, as it will add transparency that stock W80 was not intended to reproduce. The final result is a very solid warm-neutral sounding competitive 8BA IEM.

However I feel the way Westone designed W80’s crossover is a bit old fashioned, it had all drivers to certain range, but implementation of each drivers are still bit rough compared to, say Thieaudio Monarch, Mangird Tea. Those have 6BA for mid-treble, same to W80.

 

[MarkParity]

There are few $500-1000 with similar config of W80, so it’s hard to push, I’d say for sub $500, W80 still hold competitive technicalities let aside of its rather dark tuning.
W80 has a peak around treble region which in a sense works as resolving capabilities rendering spot, but to some it may sound dry.

If you use a stem short converter that comes with some ear tips (one of them is AZLA Xelastec Crystal)


And re-requip W80 with modern IEM ear tips, W80 still have great technical chop.

The stock ear tip, as someone who lived from the beginning of IEM market, is “old-fashioned” and outdated.


The narrow bore stock ear tip will only chop down anything beyond 200hz and up, making W80 to sound “Westone”. And yes I lived with that tonality so I was feeling very nostalgic and welcoming, but in this modern IEM market, I can see hardly anyone would find that “dull” sound very amusing to their libraries.

Right now most of IEMs with $500-1000 are Sonion EST (electret driver that you can find from old STAX) equipped tribrid, of which in terms of resolution it a tough call for all BAs to compete.

Also modern hybrid&tribrids are now equipped better dynamic /planar drivers which does keep up with the transient response speed of balanced armatures, so the “sound coming of different drivers” type of tonal inconsistencies are less noticeable as well.

I can't agree with most of that but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Yea ofcourse. Stock tuning will have some fans. But as you can see W80 is rarely discussed anymore.

I still value W80 as A+ overall. Of which in S classes, I only could put few of them. Dunu SA6 (mini Anole VX), Moondrop Variations(2EST+2BA+1LCP), UM MEST II( double bone conduction driver +2EST + 4BA + 1DD), Thieaudio Monarch (2EST+6BA+1DD), qdc Anole VX (10BA)

 

[Zbell]

Well I'm always one for pad... err tip rolling. @AmericanSpirit Do you recommend the AZLA Xelastec Crystal tips or are there other tips you prefer on the W80? I'll probably grab the AZLA SednaEarfit Crystal since they're on Amazon and come with a stem adapter.