[fuzzybabybunny]

I have a cracked Westone W60 IEM that uses a standard bean-shaped shell like the onles that Shure uses.

I LOVE the bean shape and I find that it fits my ears wonderfully, they block out plenty of noise, they're ultra lightweight and I can literally wear them 24 hours a day. Also a bonus is that they're not flashy at all so no one even thinks they're expensive headphones, which I love.

Since the shell is cracked I have the option of buying some bean-shaped shells on TaoBao or AliExpress and trying to fit the drivers into them.

Or I can get an acrylic "universal fit" shell made that looks kind of blocky.

Or I can get a custom shell made.

I dabbled a bit in a custom shell by using a compound that is intended for making custom ear plugs. You put it into your ear and it hardens over time. I wrapped my IEM in them and I ended up with a custom fit, BUT it didn't feel great because...

The size of your ear actually changes. When you move your mouth it changes. When you lie on your side it changes. When you wear a helmet that presses on your ears it changes.

A hard "custom fit" shell would not contort to these changes in shape, so it seems that a custom fit shell could actually be LESS comfortable and noise-isolating for extended wear because you've got this large hard thing that doesn't change with your ear?

The bean-shaped shells don't even try to fit flush, obviously. They stay in my ear quite well, but the actual fit and comfort is provided by the large soft silicone ear tips which do a fantastic job of isolating sound and changing with the shape of my ear. Plus they're so small and light that I don't even notice they're there.

I have a pair of larger "universal fit" acrylic IEMs (KZ AS10) and I still much prefer the bean-shaped shells for isolation and extended comfort.

So what are your thoughts on getting my broken shell replaced with a custom molded shell? Or just try to reshell it with an AliExpress bean-shaped shell since I like the bean-shaped so much already?

 

[serman005]

It seems to me you should calculate how you spend your listening time. Do you move around a lot, eat, sleep in them? If so, it sounds like a universal would work better. If you just sit and listen, maybe the custom would be better.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

It seems to me you should calculate how you spend your listening time. Do you move around a lot, eat, sleep in them? If so, it sounds like a universal would work better. If you just sit and listen, maybe the custom would be better.

Yes, I'm fairly active when I'm using my IEMs. Just sitting down and listening to music is probably only 25% of how I use them.

So that is a legitimate issue with custom shells? They don't do very well when the listener is eating, sleeping, being active, etc?

 

[boomhaur]

Some background I use custom silicon Hocks noise breakers ear plugs 8hours a day 5x a week at work.

Customs have the benefit of isolation and comfort IF the mold was done right. If your active or talking a lot it should have been made with a bite block in place. My mold was made properly and I used a bite block while it was made so I don’t suffer from any of the issues of the seal breaking or weird issues. I always end up talking to customers while wearing these.

If the mold goes past the second bend it can stop the occlusion effect which is one of the strong points of going custom gives you.

If a universal provides good isolation and excellent isolation and the occlusion effect is of no concern to you than going custom won’t have much benefit to you. And it is true your ears change with time as well as weight, so weigh that to into your decision.

 

[davidcotton]

Why not email westone and ask how much for a repair or replacement s

I have a cracked Westone W60 IEM that uses a standard bean-shaped shell like the onles that Shure uses.

I LOVE the bean shape and I find that it fits my ears wonderfully, they block out plenty of noise, they're ultra lightweight and I can literally wear them 24 hours a day. Also a bonus is that they're not flashy at all so no one even thinks they're expensive headphones, which I love.

Since the shell is cracked I have the option of buying some bean-shaped shells on TaoBao or AliExpress and trying to fit the drivers into them.

Or I can get an acrylic "universal fit" shell made that looks kind of blocky.

Or I can get a custom shell made.

I dabbled a bit in a custom shell by using a compound that is intended for making custom ear plugs. You put it into your ear and it hardens over time. I wrapped my IEM in them and I ended up with a custom fit, BUT it didn't feel great because...

The size of your ear actually changes. When you move your mouth it changes. When you lie on your side it changes. When you wear a helmet that presses on your ears it changes.

A hard "custom fit" shell would not contort to these changes in shape, so it seems that a custom fit shell could actually be LESS comfortable and noise-isolating for extended wear because you've got this large hard thing that doesn't change with your ear?

The bean-shaped shells don't even try to fit flush, obviously. They stay in my ear quite well, but the actual fit and comfort is provided by the large soft silicone ear tips which do a fantastic job of isolating sound and changing with the shape of my ear. Plus they're so small and light that I don't even notice they're there.

I have a pair of larger "universal fit" acrylic IEMs (KZ AS10) and I still much prefer the bean-shaped shells for isolation and extended comfort.

So what are your thoughts on getting my broken shell replaced with a custom molded shell? Or just try to reshell it with an AliExpress bean-shaped shell since I like the bean-shaped so much already?

Or just ask westone how much to repair or replace affected shell?

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Why not email westone and ask how much for a repair or replacement s

Or just ask westone how much to repair or replace affected shell?

Westone is a complete and utter dead end. An apologetic dead end, but a dead end nonetheless.

This is what they said to me:

I'm sorry to hear that your W60s broke like that. Unfortunately, these are manufactured and stocked in complete pairs. For that reason, do not do any repair work on them and do not have any their loose components. Whether in warranty or outside of warranty, the only thing that can be done for that kind of damage is full replacement. If you were in warranty you would qualify for a free replacement. If you're outside of warranty though, a replacement has to be purchased either at a discount (with valid proof of purchase) or at full regular price.

I'm sorry for the bad news but there's nothing that can be done to salvage that unit. If you can provide an original proof of purchase, we can tell you what kind of discount you would qualify for. That said, the max range would only be 40-50% which you mentioned is not in your budget at this time.

Please let us know if you have any other questions.

The moral of the story is to not buy Westone in the future. I bought mine used at $600 but $600 is still a lot of money that I won't risk in the future because it's designed (via lack of parts) to be a disposable product.

The electronic guts of the product are durable but the outside casing is fragile, as evidenced by lots of other people with shells broken in the same place as mine. The product is also extremely expensive and there is no option to repair due to lack of parts from the manufacturer and even online, whereas headphones like Shure have lots of replacement shells that you can readily buy online.

There's nothing more stupid than having a $600-$1000 product rendered unusable and unfixable due to a break in a $2 plastic part.