Westone 1 True-fit Earphones
Company: Westone
Price: $139.00
http://www.westone.com/content/300.html
It’s not an advertisement for laundry detergent or breakfast cereal, but where else can you get two-thirds the joy for one-third the price? If Westone’s mighty super-premium, ultra-audiophile, Westone 3 in-ear headphones are too expensive for you but you wish you could afford them, the wait is over.
Westone 1’s under-$150 price tag is a sweet spot for many serious music lovers. MyMac considers Westone 1 True-fit Earphones (abbreviated here as W1) to be a bargain at that cost. I have been a little uncomfortable carrying $400 W3 headphones with me for routine usage, but with a $139 alternative, I have no such concerns.
I am not usually happy draping earphone cables behind my ears, but the fit and listener experience are both enhanced when doing so with W1. The driver enclosure and speaker tip fit nicely into my ear cavity. Their weight is so light, and their feel so comfortable, that within a minute or two after inserting W1 I am immersed in the music.
Again I am pleased with the flexible gray blob tips, described in our earlier review of Westone 3. Many serious listeners prefer Comply tips. Their new Tx series should deliver outstanding audio with a snug, squishy fit.
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I had several questions for the company about these W1 in-ear headphones. See our Q & A below:
MYMAC: Are ALL the tips included with W1 mentioned in your included accessories catalog? Are users given full info on how and when to replace the included tips?
WESTONE: Right now they are not, but in the new one, yes. Tips are replaced when the user feels they need to be. No real timeline. There are instructions on how to change the tips in the users guide.
MYMAC: Where are users supposed to put all the extra tips? They don’t fit into the new case. Why not have a simple gadget bag for extra tips, manual, and the other plug accessories, with your logo?
WESTONE: We’ve found that most folks will only keep the tips they use and maybe an extra pair with their earphones. Most will keep them in the baggie at home or in their desks at work. To create a second pouch would be a waste for the vast majority.
MYMAC: Which tips do people use most with W3 and W1? Which do you and your colleagues at the company use most often?
WESTONE: It varies greatly, from what I have read online. I would say most in the office use the Comply tips. I’ll use the soft grey ones while riding my MTB bike, but chilling at home or the office, I’ll also use the Comply tips.
MYMAC: How do the new Tx series tips from Comply fit into the scheme?
WESTONE: No current plans to move to the Tx Series. They fit fine and I have a few sets in my desk.
MYMAC: Did you ever consider making a larger ear cavity driver enclosure for W1, similar to the one for W3? Is the latter more or less comfortable for most people?
WESTONE: No reason to make the enclosure larger than needed. The W1 doesn’t need all the extra space and this design will fit in most people’s ears.
MYMAC: Am I correct that W1 is louder than most other in-ear headphones?
WESTONE: It’s not that they are loud, it’s that they are very efficient drivers, so it takes very little to push them compared to a dual or even the Westone 3. I noticed I had to use a lower volume right off the bat when we started playing with this one.
MYMAC: What is the most important thing our MyMac readers need to know about W1?
WESTONE: The single driver, lower cost, personal listening earphone.
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When I asked the company, “Why do you make it so difficult to determine left from right ear quickly,” I was told they are aware of this complaint and are working on a solution. Come on, Westone — how about a blue dot for left and a red dot for yellow, placed conveniently but stylishly, on the appropriate speaker enclosure?
Westone’s custom black case has been redesigned and improved substantially since we reviewed W3 last year. The case is now constructed out of stiff, rugged nylon. The zipper pull is a little too small. There is a handy two-sided carrying clip. A useful inline volume attenuator and a 1/4 inch plug adapter are provided, along with an ample supply of ten different types of ear tips, plus an ear tip cleaning tool. Only a black color is available for W1. These headphones do not have an iPhone microphone; they are exclusively for listening.
As with all in-ear products, you must try before you buy, or be able to return them if they don’t fit well or sound right to you. And as with all headphones, keep the volume at a reasonable level. I’m an aging hippy rock ‘n’ roller who still has good hearing, because I didn’t overdo it in my wilder years, and I still don’t. W1 earphones are so efficient that you are being very foolish if you take your iPod/iPhone’s volume level up to or past the halfway point. You will damage your hearing before these headphones peak or distort, so don’t push your luck.
The sonic experience is exceptionally clear. There are no obvious emphases or gaps within the listening spectrum. These are not “neutral” or “reference” headphones, which is a good thing for consumer audio. Bass is ample, treble is crisp, and midrange has plenty of punch. With volume levels in the thirty to forty percent range that is safest for personal loudness, sound isolation is good from ambient noise with the flexible tips, and is almost complete with the foam or flanged tips.
An inexpensive way to test everything in the paragraph above is listening to the new song “Dangerous” by Kardinal Offishall, which was a recent free weekly iTunes offering. If your taste in music is more sedate, you can try “Life’s a Railway to Heaven” by Patsy Cline, with its rich vocal harmonies and bass. Do you miss disco? “Automatic” and “Jump” by the Pointer Sisters will challenge any headphones or speakers.
MyMac awards Westone 1 True-fit earphones a strong recommendation. Your music will sound as good as the original recording allows, relative to your equalizer setting. These are not upper bracket audiophile headphones, but for moderate-priced consumer models, they are tops.
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