[vokain]

My w60 which for years have been my go-to IEM on the road have finally died. I like them due to the excellent fit and good sound once PEQ applied. If I could find a w80 or w60 at a good price used or on sale, would they be worth buying, or has the IEM world moved on so much the, say, £350 - £500 can be better spent elsewhere? I’ve been looking at things like the Moondrop Variations, to give one example, but no way to try before I buy and good fit is crucial. Any thoughts?

I’ll mainly be using them with an ibasso DX320.

https://slickdeals.net/share/iphone_app/fp/892333

I bought this one

 

[Painterspal]

https://slickdeals.net/share/iphone_app/fp/892333

I bought this one

Thanks, sweet deal, if I was in the US that would certainly tempt me. Suggests there are still well priced options around, I’m just wondering if the performance will still be competitive with other more recent designs. But then again, would something different be such a good fit? That’s my dilemma.

 

[MarkParity]

Thanks, sweet deal, if I was in the US that would certainly tempt me. Suggests there are still well priced options around, I’m just wondering if the performance will still be competitive with other more recent designs. But then again, would something different be such a good fit? That’s my dilemma.

I got the MACH80 as a replacement for the W80. I wish I’d gone for the MACH70 as it has a "funner" sound apparently. Fit is very similar to the W80.

 

[vokain]

It appears they ship internationally

 

[Painterspal]

I got the MACH80 as a replacement for the W80. I wish I’d gone for the MACH70 as it has a "funner" sound apparently. Fit is very similar to the W80.

Both good shouts from what I’ve read but the Mach 80 is about £1300 here in UK. I’m looking to spend much less if possible. I really just want to find out if folk here think the older premium Westones still compete on sound quality with current models from other makers in the £350 - £550 range - which is what I’d expect to pay for something like a used, mint W60 or W80 etc.

 

[vokain]

Both good shouts from what I’ve read but the Mach 80 is about £1300 here in UK. I’m looking to spend much less if possible. I really just want to find out if folk here think the older premium Westones still compete on sound quality with current models from other makers in the £350 - £550 range - which is what I’d expect to pay for something like a used, mint W60 or W80 etc.

This was a comment on the Slickdeals post I shared upthread:
Don't have W80 but tried W40. These are Westone's legacy IEMs. Top tier about 5-10 years ago. They still sound good for the money when on sale, but they've been far surpassed by the IEM industry. The W series have been replaced by Westone's own MACH series, but those aren't on a steep sale. If you're going to go with a "professional" IEM manufacturer, I'd check out Fir Audio or 64 Audio's offerings, but be prepared to be shocked by how much those IEMs cost. They are having a 20% sale right now though.

Best deal is B-stock 64 Audio U4s at $714.

https://www.64audio.com/pages/b-stock

Chi-fi is so extremely competitive and cut throat these days, releasing IEMs that sound better and better every month. It's a crazy rat race, which is good for consumers because build and sound quality keeps going up, prices keep dropping. Companies like Simgot, Thieaudio, Penon, 7Hz, Kiwi Ears, and so many others are pumping out great IEMs at insane speed. Just avoid KZ. They're a trash company with trash, cheap IEMs. Moondrop had good releases but they've also had problems with QC and customer service. Their upcoming Aria 2 and Blessing 3 Dusk seem to be good though. Variations is nice but in my opinion, a bit overpriced now.

 

[Painterspal]

This was a comment on the Slickdeals post I shared upthread:
Don't have W80 but tried W40. These are Westone's legacy IEMs. Top tier about 5-10 years ago. They still sound good for the money when on sale, but they've been far surpassed by the IEM industry. The W series have been replaced by Westone's own MACH series, but those aren't on a steep sale. If you're going to go with a "professional" IEM manufacturer, I'd check out Fir Audio or 64 Audio's offerings, but be prepared to be shocked by how much those IEMs cost. They are having a 20% sale right now though.

Best deal is B-stock 64 Audio U4s at $714.

https://www.64audio.com/pages/b-stock

Chi-fi is so extremely competitive and cut throat these days, releasing IEMs that sound better and better every month. It's a crazy rat race, which is good for consumers because build and sound quality keeps going up, prices keep dropping. Companies like Simgot, Thieaudio, Penon, 7Hz, Kiwi Ears, and so many others are pumping out great IEMs at insane speed. Just avoid KZ. They're a trash company with trash, cheap IEMs. Moondrop had good releases but they've also had problems with QC and customer service. Their upcoming Aria 2 and Blessing 3 Dusk seem to be good though. Variations is nice but in my opinion, a bit overpriced now.

Thanks, appreciate the insights. Your comments align with the kind of thoughts I’d been having, but because haven’t had the opportunity to try any of the huge number of releases I’m seeing here on headfi, ive been kind of wedded to a “maybe better the devil you know” idea, but I’ll definitely look at other options now.

 

[vokain]

Thanks, appreciate the insights. Your comments align with the kind of thoughts I’d been having, but because haven’t had the opportunity to try any of the huge number of releases I’m seeing here on headfi, ive been kind of wedded to a “maybe better the devil you know” idea, but I’ll definitely look at other options now.

That being said, on paper it seems like the w80s are better than the commenter’s recommended u4’s. Spec wise it seems like they outclass the u4’s in every metric, although I know numbers aren’t everything

 

[Jim Barry]

My w60 which for years have been my go-to IEM on the road have finally died.

Are both sides dead, or just one?

 

[vokain]

I believe that is the only real difference between the Gen 2 & Gen 3. The exclusion of the accessories (BT & ALO cable) is the reason for the lower price.

I got both the BT and ALO cable with my W80-V3

 

[Painterspal]

Are both sides dead, or just one?

Just one. Unfortunately, they escaped from their case in my bag and the nozzle of one got damaged by my laptop. Freak accident, but definitely beyond repair.

 

[Jim Barry]

Just one. Unfortunately, they escaped from their case in my bag and the nozzle of one got damaged by my laptop. Freak accident, but definitely beyond repair.

Left or right?

 

[Painterspal]

Left or right?

It was the right one. Nearly went for a refurb w80 at a decent price to replace but just taken the plunge on a hugely discounted Black Friday deal instead.

 

[Selrisitai]

That being said, on paper it seems like the w80s are better than the commenter’s recommended u4’s. Spec wise it seems like they outclass the u4’s in every metric, although I know numbers aren’t everything

As someone who is still loving his W80 IEMs, I say you cannot go wrong with them.

 

[Jim Barry]

It was the right one. Nearly went for a refurb w80 at a decent price to replace but just taken the plunge on a hugely discounted Black Friday deal instead.

Ah, I should have been more upfront but the reason I asked is that I broke the connector on my left earpiece a while back trying to fix the annoying mmcx dropout problems. So I do have a spare right W60 earpiece if you are interested, however I believe they are manufactured as matched pairs so the balance may be a bit off. I thought about having them reshelled but I don't think it's worth it. To my ears, the W80 is a big improvement on the somewhat muffled-sounding W60 (I actually prefer the W40) so I think you will be pleased with the upgrade anyway.