[orifiel]

Since we don't have a dedicated ES80 thread, I figured to continue posting my ES80/W80 updates here. So, wanted to share my ES80 REVIEW I just posted on my blog, and soon will mirror it on Head-fi. In there, I have a comparison to ES60, W80, and UM Pro 50, along with other iems. Plus, my take on pair ups with different cables and sources.

I am very interested in a Westone CIEM, but now the APEX modules of 64 Audio caught my attention too...
I love the signature of Westone IEMs, previously i have only Westones (W40,W60 and W80), my idea of this triade of IEMs are:
1 for the audiophile approach of sound (W80)
1 for the musical/Rock approach of sound (later W60, now JH audio Roxanne perfomance s.)
1 mid tier IEM for walking in the streets, good for all approaches of sound in a mid-fi presentation (later W40 now U4-SE)

Now i want a new, maybe better audiophile IEM (or CIEM) to play with my AK240SS or AK320 (maybe an AK380 or SP1000 in the future), i love the signature of the Westone family but in the W80 maybe i could use a bit less of sub/mid bass with the same retrieval of details in mids and highs...
In your taste/opinion which is better for your AK120II? ES60 or ES80?

 

[twister6]

I am very interested in a Westone CIEM, but now the APEX modules of 64 Audio caught my attention too...
I love the signature of Westone IEMs, previously i have only Westones (W40,W60 and W80), my idea of this triade of IEMs are:
1 for the audiophile approach of sound (W80)
1 for the musical/Rock approach of sound (later W60, now JH audio Roxanne perfomance s.)
1 mid tier IEM for walking in the streets, good for all approaches of sound in a mid-fi presentation (later W40 now U4-SE)

Now i want a new, maybe better audiophile IEM (or CIEM) to play with my AK240SS or AK320 (maybe an AK380 or SP1000 in the future), i love the signature of the Westone family but in the W80 maybe i could use a bit less of sub/mid bass with the same retrieval of details in mids and highs...
In your taste/opinion which is better for your AK120II? ES60 or ES80?

In your case I would go for ES60. ES80 stirs farther away from a "typical" Westone sound sig. Definitely a big improvement in resolution and transparency, but at an expense of a more neutral sound sig with less bass impact. ES60 will sit between W80 and ES80.

 

[Jim Barry]

I am rather surprised at this, as I have queried Westone as to the difference in sound signature between the W80 and ES80, and was told that the ES series has more bass than the corresponding W models. I am not questioning your assessment at all - you have both W80 and ES80 at your disposal, so if you say that the ES80 has more bass than the W80 then it must be so! As a W80 owner (and W60, W40, W4, UM2 before that), I had been considering making the leap to the long-awaited ES80 but got tired of the waiting and instead went for the 64 Audio A10. Unfortunately the A10, while good, doesn't measure up to the sound quality of the W80, to my ears. I had been considering "writing off" the A10 and getting the ES80 instead, now it is finally available, but honestly I find the W80 quite close to perfection and certainly wouldn't want any less bass...

 

[swesko]

I am rather surprised at this, as I have queried Westone as to the difference in sound signature between the W80 and ES80, and was told that the ES series has more bass than the corresponding W models. I am not questioning your assessment at all - you have both W80 and ES80 at your disposal, so if you say that the ES80 has more bass than the W80 then it must be so! As a W80 owner (and W60, W40, W4, UM2 before that), I had been considering making the leap to the long-awaited ES80 but got tired of the waiting and instead went for the 64 Audio A10. Unfortunately the A10, while good, doesn't measure up to the sound quality of the W80, to my ears. I had been considering "writing off" the A10 and getting the ES80 instead, now it is finally available, but honestly I find the W80 quite close to perfection and certainly wouldn't want any less bass...

Would you consider the switch from w60 to w80 a wow experience or do the w80 just bring some subtle refinement to the sound?

 

[twister6]

I am rather surprised at this, as I have queried Westone as to the difference in sound signature between the W80 and ES80, and was told that the ES series has more bass than the corresponding W models. I am not questioning your assessment at all - you have both W80 and ES80 at your disposal, so if you say that the ES80 has more bass than the W80 then it must be so! As a W80 owner (and W60, W40, W4, UM2 before that), I had been considering making the leap to the long-awaited ES80 but got tired of the waiting and instead went for the 64 Audio A10. Unfortunately the A10, while good, doesn't measure up to the sound quality of the W80, to my ears. I had been considering "writing off" the A10 and getting the ES80 instead, now it is finally available, but honestly I find the W80 quite close to perfection and certainly wouldn't want any less bass...

I wonder if they meant ES series in general. From talking to a lot of people who have ES series, majority of them have either ES5 or ES50. ES5 became very popular after Steve Guttengerg review on CNET about 5-6 years ago. ES5 and ES50 were more aligned with UM Pro50 and W50, from what I heard, and you know those x50 are tuned for more powerful bass. But ES80 will not give you the same bass impact, it will be more neutral in comparison to ES60 and W80. A10/A12 will not have the same resolution and will be warmer. You might like A18/U18, but that's in $3k price range.

 

[Jim Barry]

Well, that's an interesting question. When I got the W80, I was initially a bit disappointed because it sounded less bassy and somewhat thin compared to the W60. However, after further listening, I realized that while the W80's bass is leaner, it is "tighter" and goes deeper. Also, while the W80's upper mids seem forward compared to the W60, I soon realized they are far more natural sounding. This is especially noticeable with speech/vocals. In retrospect, the W60 sounds overly thick in the upper bass and is actually quite attenuated in the upper mids (say around 5 KHz). The improvement in sound with the W80 takes a little while to fully appreciate, but I would say going back to the W60 is definitely a wow experience, as in "wow, nowhere near as good as the W80".

 

[swesko]

Well, that's an interesting question. When I got the W80, I was initially a bit disappointed because it sounded less bassy and somewhat thin compared to the W60. However, after further listening, I realized that while the W80's bass is leaner, it is "tighter" and goes deeper. Also, while the W80's upper mids seem forward compared to the W60, I soon realized they are far more natural sounding. This is especially noticeable with speech/vocals. In retrospect, the W60 sounds a overly thick in the upper bass and is actually quite attenuated in the upper mids (say around 5 KHz). The improvement in sound with the W80 takes a little while to fully appreciate, but I would say going back to the W60 is definitely a wow experience, as in "wow, nowhere as good as the W80".

Thanks for the impression, i think im gonna exchange my w40 for the w80 and keep the 60

 

[twister6]

Thanks for the impression, i think im gonna exchange my w40 for the w80 and keep the 60

and W80 has an updated j-clip faceplate design, in my opinion an improvement over W60 c-clip faceplate design.

 

[swesko]

and W80 has an updated j-clip faceplate design, in my opinion an improvement over W60 c-clip faceplate design.

Hahaha you know my second set of faceplate shows cracks on the back now :/

 

[Jim Barry]

I wonder if they meant ES series in general. From talking to a lot of people who have ES series, majority of them have either ES5 or ES50. ES5 became very popular after Steve Guttengerg review on CNET about 5-6 years ago. ES5 and ES50 were more aligned with UM Pro50 and W50, from what I heard, and you know those x50 are tuned for more powerful bass. But ES80 will not give you the same bass impact, it will be more neutral in comparison to ES60 and W80. A10/A12 will not have the same resolution and will be warmer.

Well, I asked Westone specifically about the ES80, but I agree I may have received a stock answer about the ES series in general. As for the A10/A12, I auditioned the demo units, which are supposed to be essentially the same as the U10/U12 universal models. The A12 demo unit seemed like a "fun" earphone, but a little too much fun, if you know what I mean! The A10 demo unit sounded pretty spot on, so I went for it. Unfortunately, the actual A10 that I received has a thicker sound than I remember from the demo unit, and with less high/low extension than I hoped for. The 64 Audio crossover also seems quite sensitive to impedance, compared to Westone. The frequency response of the A10 varies considerably between the iPhone (low impedance) and my Yamaha AV amp (higher impedance) where the mids are much more forward, whereas the Westone sounds about the same, regardless of the source.

 

[Jim Barry]

and W80 has an updated j-clip faceplate design, in my opinion an improvement over W60 c-clip faceplate design.

I agree, the 'J' clips are a massive improvement on the fragile 'C' clips. Like you, I use a blue clip on the left and a red clip on right. Even better, the latest version of the UM56 tips is similarly colour coded!

 

[twister6]

I agree, the 'J' clips are a massive improvement on the fragile 'C' clips. Like you, I use a blue clip on the left and a red clip on right. Even better, the latest version of the UM56 tips is similarly colour coded!

You know, I totally forgot about UM56, got those as well, need to find it. Is there an improvement in sound with UM56 over silicone star tips? I had Red (right) / Blue (left) theme with ES60 and used red/blue faceplates on W80. With ES80 I choose to have the same color on left/right earpices, and now pause every time before I put them in my ears lol!!!

 

[twister6]

Well, I asked Westone specifically about the ES80, but I agree I may have received a stock answer about the ES series in general. As for the A10/A12, I auditioned the demo units, which are supposed to be essentially the same as the U10/U12 universal models. The A12 demo unit seemed like a "fun" earphone, but a little too much fun, if you know what I mean! The A10 demo unit sounded pretty spot on, so I went for it. Unfortunately, the actual A10 that I received has a thicker sound than I remember from the demo unit, and with less high/low extension than I hoped for. The 64 Audio crossover also seems quite sensitive to impedance, compared to Westone. The frequency response of the A10 varies considerably between the iPhone (low impedance) and my Yamaha AV amp (higher impedance) were the mids are much more forward, whereas the Westone sounds about the same, regardless of the source.

Here is a thing about A/U10, 12, etc. - they were tuned for higher impedance sources, since many musicians use wireless packs on stage. You will hear an improvement when add something like UE Buffer jack (it's about $10, here).

 

[Jim Barry]

You know, I totally forgot about UM56, got those as well, need to find it. Is there an improvement in sound with UM56 over silicone star tips? I had Red (right) / Blue (left) theme with ES60 and used red/blue faceplates on W80. With ES80 I choose to have the same color on left/right earpices, and now pause every time before I put them in my ears lol!!!

Yes, I think the UM56 is definitely the best sounding tip, though the Comply P-Series is still the best by far for running, due to the much reduced "thudding" effect. (The Westone True-Fit is a pale imitation of Comply, in my opinion.) I got the wenge wood finish on the A10 (very nice, by the way) - same issue, I have to look for the hard-to-see blue/red printing on the inside surface, though it quickly becomes obvious when you get it wrong!

 

[Jim Barry]

Here is a thing about A/U10, 12, etc. - they were tuned for higher impedance sources, since many musicians use wireless packs on stage. You will hear an improvement when add something like UE Buffer jack (it's about $10, here).

Yeah, I read about that. I do actually have one of those UE attenuation jacks (that I have mainly used for air travel), but I think the sound from a low impedance source is better without it!