[FatmanSize48]

Would anyone who had both the Westone 4 and the 4.Ai like to comment on their performance with classical and opera? I really am stuck between the two right now.

 

[jpmilner]

Hilariously, the OP and I are working together right now and we were just discussing headphones at dinner the other day.  I am going to corner him in the next few days and demand use of his headphones for an AB comparison on the music that I am working on right now.  Will let you know.

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Would anyone who had both the Westone 4 and the 4.Ai like to comment on their performance with classical and opera? I really am stuck between the two right now.

 
Between these two, I can only say that the Westone 4 would be much better for classical.  Same goes for vocals in general.  Upper vocal dynamics, especially female, is almost entirely lost with the 4.Ai, but retained well with the Westones. 

 

[CJG888]

I'm a little surprised nobody has mentioned the ER4S here. It is certainly extremely accurate and resolving (but needs a good amplifier to come alive).

I would have thought it is certainly an alternative to consider...

 

[jpmilner]

The problem with too accurate (ie the ER4S) depends on the recording and the quality.  In general, most of the good recordings of operas come from pre-1970 (personal bias).  They are oftentimes transfers from LPs and sometimes live.  With too accurate of an iem you hear every single crack and pop and noise.  The iem needs to be more forgiving to these older recordings yet still retain the detail and accuracy that you want.  That's why I tend to prefer a more warm sounding iem and one of the many reasons why I bought a set of AS2.

 

[FatmanSize48]

That's quite the coincidence that the two of you are now working together! I'm looking forward to your impressions.

 

[Operaphile]

I ended up getting the W4's and am pretty happy with them, but I don't feel they are "the ones." They've got great clarity, not fatiguing at all, and are really smooth from top to bottom. They're def not bass happy but neither am I so that works for me. I agree that their clarity/accuracy can be a negative, depending on the recording. I sometimes get a little frustrated because I am now hearing some of the editing in my favorite recordings.
 
I'm planning on picking up other iems and looking for my ideal pair. I'm not in the least unhappy with my W4's, they're pretty great. They're the best iems (opinion) I've owned. And I'm curious how they'll compare to jpmilners AS2's.

 

[Mimouille]

I just got the StageDiver 3 (roughly 490$) and they would sound nice with Opera I think as they have great soundstage, smooth mids and great realism in tone IMO.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/657665/new-custom-to-universal-iems-inear-stagediver-2-3
http://www.head-fi.org/t/664229/review-inear-stagediver-series

 

[ephemere]

Quote:

The problem with too accurate (ie the ER4S) depends on the recording and the quality.  In general, most of the good recordings of operas come from pre-1970 (personal bias).  They are oftentimes transfers from LPs and sometimes live.  With too accurate of an iem you hear every single crack and pop and noise.  The iem needs to be more forgiving to these older recordings yet still retain the detail and accuracy that you want.  That's why I tend to prefer a more warm sounding iem and one of the many reasons why I bought a set of AS2.

 
Isn't that the job of the transfer engineer?  Sure, some transfers are better than others, so you pick the one you like, reproduce it as faithfully as possible with your audio system, and learn to hear through the flaws.  Connoisseurs tend to prefer minimal filtering in the transfer and let their brain do the work.  IMO, it makes no sense to apply a fixed blunt distortion signature ("forgiving", "warm", etc.) to every single recording across the board.  Just my opinion.  And anyone who shares it should look at the ER-4.

 

[jpmilner]

Isn't that the job of the transfer engineer?  Sure, some transfers are better than others, so you pick the one you like, reproduce it as faithfully as possible with your audio system, and learn to hear through the flaws.  Connoisseurs tend to prefer minimal filtering in the transfer and let their brain do the work.  IMO, it makes no sense to apply a fixed blunt distortion signature ("forgiving", "warm", etc.) to every single recording across the board.  Just my opinion.  And anyone who shares it should look at the ER-4.

That would be awesome. But there is only one company that is attempting to cleanup and transfer older recordings. For them it's a passion project so I think that they only did one recording of Traviata from Lisbon in '56. EMI and Deutsche Grammafone and the whole slew are not interested in the quality of these older recordings. They just push them out the door.

Even with modern recordings, I would gladly place the AS2 above the ER-4. There is something about that BA/Dynamic combo that brings this music to life. There is a sense of power and depth that is often necessary for listening to a full orchestra.

 

[vocalist]

Quote:

The problem with too accurate (ie the ER4S) depends on the recording and the quality.  In general, most of the good recordings of operas come from pre-1970 (personal bias).  They are oftentimes transfers from LPs and sometimes live.  With too accurate of an iem you hear every single crack and pop and noise.  The iem needs to be more forgiving to these older recordings yet still retain the detail and accuracy that you want.  That's why I tend to prefer a more warm sounding iem and one of the many reasons why I bought a set of AS2.

I agree with the AS-2 and love mine.  I've been using the PFE 232 while mine are being re-fit and also think they are still very good for classical/opera but I lean more towards the AS-2 for my personal preferences.  I don't remember hearing recording issues with the Westone 4 but can sometimes hear them with the 232.  I should be able to comment on the ASG-2 (non-custom) soon as well. 

 

[nNAVID]

hey guys dont waste your money on some craps!I must tell you that best thing that you can buy is rhapsodio r^2 .just search for it in site.after hours of searching l reach to point that i must buy w4 or heir audio 4.ai but at end I found sonny and he told me that r^2 is best thing that 400$ can buy.this blows all of other competitors in every way but comfort that is very good but not best.I hope this help

note:this iems have universal and custom model and both can be bought by emailing company.

 

[Mimouille]

Hum...so one person says it has to be true...interesting take.

hey guys dont waste your money on some craps!I must tell you that best thing that you can buy is rhapsodio r^2 .just search for it in site.after hours of searching l reach to point that i must buy w4 or heir audio 4.ai but at end I found sonny and he told me that r^2 is best thing that 400$ can buy.this blows all of other competitors in every way but comfort that is very good but not best.I hope this help

note:this iems have universal and custom model and both can be bought by emailing company.