[tiitieu]

I am eyeing on a OPPO HA-2 or Sony PHA1A to use with my iPod. Do you think its a good buy as it will perform as a DAC for my iPod/iPhone and my PC as well? thanks

The OPPO HA-2 will perform as a DAC for your iPod/iPhone and your PC. The Sony I don't know but probably. The OPPO is 400€ here in France, so better to try it before.
Some DAP can be used like a DAC for your PC too.

 

[tiitieu]

Basically what i am looking for is to use my current iPod 5th gen paired with an IEM (most likely W50). I understand that most IEMs have low impedence and hence i wont need an amp to drive my iPod/iPhone. But, because the DAC on the new generation i Devices is terrible, an external DAC will improve the sound quality. Also, i dont want to buy Fiio E series, because you need a camera conversion kit or something to be able to bypass the audio signal from iPod. 

I am looking for an Apple MFI certified portable DAC so that you just need to connect the i Device and the DAC using the lighting connector (eg: Oppo HA-2, Sony PHA1A etc, but i understand that these can double up as an amp as well incase if i need to drive high impedence headphones like Senn HD600).

Rant on Apple:
Darn Apple needs licensing money from every manufacturer out there for their equipments to work with the i Devices. With the kind of market share Apple has, they are milking every single company!!! Too bad, the iOS eco system is so huge that a lot of audio equipment manufacturers (and any company that needs their darn lightning port) need to pay Apple big time!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Ok so if you want to keep your iPod, the OPPO or Sony is what you need. I think there are others DAC but I've no experience with it

 

[tiitieu]

Oh man, i was listening to Guns N Roses - November Rain using iPod classic and W50 (direct connection, no dac amp). Holy smokes, the bass was excellent. Its not boomy at all, but has the punch and great roll-off. Awesome.

Before I return the W50 tomorrow, i just wanted to reconfirm if I can exchange this for a new W50 because this sounds sooo good. 

Yeah the Westone W50 is very tempting. I'll take it as soon as I see a good offer. 600€ it's very pricey for iems lol

I've just token Sennheiser IE 8i yesterday, 170€ instead of 320€. But I'll receive it in 4 weeeks only.

 

[myap2328]

Oh you're unlucky. I have no problem with my 4R for 3 years.

I'm waiting the black Friday to take IEM.

You aren't satisfied with W50 ?

I am eyeing on a OPPO HA-2 or Sony PHA1A to use with my iPod. Do you think its a good buy as it will perform as a DAC for my iPod/iPhone and my PC as well? thanks

The Oppo Ha-2 is far superior to the Sony Pha-1 from my experience. Dunno how would yhe 1A fair though

 

[gcsgc]

Yeah the Westone W50 is very tempting. I'll take it as soon as I see a good offer. 600€ it's very pricey for iems lol

I've just token Sennheiser IE 8i yesterday, 170€ instead of 320€. But I'll receive it in 4 weeeks only.

Ok, so after a week with my W50 and iPhone 6, I decided to exchange it for another W50 from the dealer. I told them it is faulty on the right side connector. The cable came off the earphone atleast 4-5 times in a week with normal usage.
 
They said the new W50 will ship in a few days as they are out of stock (ETA is Nov 2).
 
I am very happy with W50' sound. It certainly has more bass compared to W30, but its smooth and not hard bass. I was able to hear separations of various instruments clearly. I don't know about sound stage and all that as I am an amateur and only listen on my iPhone/iPod. But, overall this is a great earphone. Only thing is, at a price point of $549 or $599 (regular price on the street), we do have several good options I guess (IE800, Grado GR10e, SE535 etc.,).

 

[tconlon]

Hey, my name is Tyler . I've been looking around for a excellent pair of cans but cannot seem to conclude with a pair.

I am looking at Shure Se535-CL or Westone W40 or Shure Se846 or Grado or Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser anything else?

I want something that can be powered by a IPhone 6, looks really good but most importantly has a clear nutral sound and a relatively good soundstage

Price willing to spend max 900

 

[gcsgc]

My suggestion is to get the Westone UM Pro 50. I have owned W50 and Shure SE846. UM pro 50, for me, is the best value proposition and also great sound quality for my iPhone 6. With your budget at $900, you could stretch for SE846, but Westone fit is super comfortable and the price difference of $350 between a UM Pro 50 and SE846 does not even remotely justify the overall sound quality

 

[tconlon]

okay so whats the big difference between the Westone W50, W60 and UM Pro 50, UM Pro 40 and UM Pro 30. The reason i do like the W40 is that i like the in line remote then again can i get a cable from Moon Audio with a custom remote?

 

[tconlon]

Weston W60 vs Westone UM PRO 50

 

[cuiter23]

Got a pair of Mint Condition W50 for sale! Let me know if you're interested and we can work out a deal

 

[Tyler Conlon]

i didn't want bass so i ended up with the Um Pro 30 

 

[Tyler Conlon]

thanks, i bought a um pro 30 

 

[Takeanidea]

With thanks to earphonia.com I have had an amazing week with the W60s - here is a link to my review posted below -
 
http://earphonia.com/earphones-iems-ciems/westones-6-balanced-armature-universal-iem-king-universals/

 

[h2oglasses]

Hi Buds!
I am not sure whether this place is the right stage for finding my solution, but couldn't find any other clue, therefore decided to write down.
Hoping that wisdoms could guide me where to go.
 
Issue: purchased W50 after the quite research and budgetary constraint, hoping it gives me at least seminar sound quality to Momentum2.
           current status: running burning in process, but so far not convinced.
 
I have a reasonable audio set at home, including BW801, driven by Krells' amps. , with crazy cables, etc...
However, portable environment has been very poor, after I was discouraged by Shure 5c, and small amps,
eventually ended up with Senn's M2 (BT), connected to iPhone 7+.
Surprisingly, I felt the quality of M2 with APTX was adequate to me, but, you know, M2 (over the ear) is a little cumbersome in trails and camping, therefore
therefore, ventured for a good IEM.
Frankly I was very happy to wear W50 when it arrived, perfectly fit my ears.
But, my big headache is, regardless of the amps,nor the ear tips, it sounds too resonant (mid-lowhigh) that makes muddy, and far out of good resolution,totalling unacceptable,
the sound quality of each instrument sounds good to me. ( I listen just Jazz and Classical).
 
What I would like to know from your expertise is what I should go for by a comfortable small earbuds.
More precisely I would like to know if I am listening to the right sound with W50 (something wrong), or have to spend another $300 for the next stage.
 
Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[twister6]

  Hi Buds!
I am not sure whether this place is the right stage for finding my solution, but couldn't find any other clue, therefore decided to write down.
Hoping that wisdoms could guide me where to go.
 
Issue: purchased W50 after the quite research and budgetary constraint, hoping it gives me at least seminar sound quality to Momentum2.
           current status: running burning in process, but so far not convinced.
 
I have a reasonable audio set at home, including BW801, driven by Krells' amps. , with crazy cables, etc...
However, portable environment has been very poor, after I was discouraged by Shure 5c, and small amps,
eventually ended up with Senn's M2 (BT), connected to iPhone 7+.
Surprisingly, I felt the quality of M2 with APTX was adequate to me, but, you know, M2 (over the ear) is a little cumbersome in trails and camping, therefore
therefore, ventured for a good IEM.
Frankly I was very happy to wear W50 when it arrived, perfectly fit my ears.
But, my big headache is, regardless of the amps,nor the ear tips, it sounds too resonant (mid-lowhigh) that makes muddy, and far out of good resolution,totalling unacceptable,
the sound quality of each instrument sounds good to me. ( I listen just Jazz and Classical).
 
What I would like to know from your expertise is what I should go for by a comfortable small earbuds.
More precisely I would like to know if I am listening to the right sound with W50 (something wrong), or have to spend another $300 for the next stage.
 
Thanks for your help in advance.

 
you should have opted for W60

  W50 has a bit too much bass which spills into mids, muddying the sound.  Try playing with EQ.  For example, reduce about 3dB around 60Hz, that can balance out the bass, giving mids more room to breathe.