[frozst]

Guys I have a problem with the regular cable, sometimes one of the earphones stops working or the balance between L/R earpiece changes etc. This is extremely bad when I have the helmet on and riding, but even at my desk this happens. I changed to the ALO cable and this works perfectly fine.

Have you noticed something similar?

 

[Jim Barry]

Yes, I am having the same problem. Do the mmcx connectors feel loose? I think mine had a bit of play even when new but I'm sure they have become a lot looser over time. I have tried disconnecting/reconnecting the cable, cleaning the contacts etc, and the problem will generally go away for a while but always comes back before long. I am worried that I have spent a rather large sum on a pair of earphones with a limited service life due to the mmcx connectors.

 

[chid646]

If you look at the connection on the cable side there is an metal o-ring and it has a gap in it - over time the gap can decrease due to compression making the connection a little loose. This is very tricky but if you can get like a jewelers screwdriver in the gap and spread it open when you snap it back on it will have a tighter fit. I had to do this with the cables I got from Ted Allen from headphone lounge, this was not a fault of the cable but from me changing it out quite a bit, snapping them on and off a lot will compress the o-ring.

The o-ring spins which is what makes it tricky, after stabbing myself a few times I was able to spread the o-ring out and the one earphone stopped cutting out

Hope this helps!

 

[Jim Barry]

Thanks for the idea, but the connections are still loose even with a new cable. It does seem that the mmcx sockets are wearing down as time goes on.

 

[twister6]

Guys I have a problem with the regular cable, sometimes one of the earphones stops working or the balance between L/R earpiece changes etc. This is extremely bad when I have the helmet on and riding, but even at my desk this happens. I changed to the ALO cable and this works perfectly fine.

Have you noticed something similar?

Well, the good news is that you switched to another cable and there is no issue, meaning your earpiece connectors are fine. Also, you mentioned about the helmet, motorcycle? Makes me wonder if due to sweat some moisture accumulates on contacts or maybe the wires are bent in some weird way and start to wear out prematurely. I assume you are talking about the cable with in-line remote. Could be either an issue at the mmcx connector or headphone jack connector. It almost sounds like a headphone jack connector, like something is bending and wire starting to break. One thing you could try, use contact cleaner, DeOxit, in case if there is some issue with contacts of the connector. But I'm leaning more toward an issue with 3.5mm headphone jack; maybe just replace the cable under warranty?

In some case right angled 3.5mm connector is a godsend, but in other cases, depending on how you carry your dap/source - it introduces an extra wire bend which going to affect the cable, accelerating the wear and tear.

 

[javahut]

Anyone having problems with the looser connection on your Westone earpieces (it sometimes causes the sound to cut out when you move your head around... the cable connector will sometimes get cocked at an angle enough to apparently intermittently lose connection)...

I purchased this pack of little rubber o-rings. They fit perfectly over the fitting on the earpiece. Just slide them on, over the earpiece connector carefully, then attach the cable. It keeps the cable's connector more firmly connected at a straight angle, without the gap, and keeps the connector making contact much better. I had the problem from time to time, but have not had it at all since I started using 'em. It also will keep the earpieces from rotating so loosely. And there's enough in the pack for a lifetime of Westone IEM upgrades.

 

[twister6]

Anyone having problems with the looser connection on your Westone earpieces (it sometimes causes the sound to cut out when you move your head around... the cable connector will sometimes get cocked at an angle enough to apparently intermittently lose connection)...

I purchased this pack of little rubber o-rings. They fit perfectly over the fitting on the earpiece. Just slide them on, over the earpiece connector carefully, then attach the cable. It keeps the cable's connector more firmly connected at a straight angle, without the gap, and keeps the connector making contact much better. I had the problem from time to time, but have not had it at all since I started using 'em. It also will keep the earpieces from rotating so loosely. And there's enough in the pack for a lifetime of Westone IEM upgrades.

That's actually a good idea!

Care to post some pictures of these o-rings with your Westones?

 

[frozst]

Well, the good news is that you switched to another cable and there is no issue, meaning your earpiece connectors are fine. Also, you mentioned about the helmet, motorcycle? Makes me wonder if due to sweat some moisture accumulates on contacts or maybe the wires are bent in some weird way and start to wear out prematurely. I assume you are talking about the cable with in-line remote. Could be either an issue at the mmcx connector or headphone jack connector. It almost sounds like a headphone jack connector, like something is bending and wire starting to break. One thing you could try, use contact cleaner, DeOxit, in case if there is some issue with contacts of the connector. But I'm leaning more toward an issue with 3.5mm headphone jack; maybe just replace the cable under warranty?

In some case right angled 3.5mm connector is a godsend, but in other cases, depending on how you carry your dap/source - it introduces an extra wire bend which going to affect the cable, accelerating the wear and tear.

I'm sure it´s not the sweat moisture as as I started using the Alo, then changed to mifi cable and started to fail, now with the alo again and it´s all good. It could be you are right and it´s from the angled cable, but still it seems weird: with my old W60 I used them a lot with the mifi cable, I did a 6 month trip on my bike in very extreme conditions and they never failed, so I´m surprised this cable is starting to fail.

I will definitely ask Westone for a replacement! I will keep you posted.

 

[twister6]

Was just looking through RMAF CanJam thread, and noticed @HeadphoneAddict posted some nice impressions of W50/W60/W80 and BT cable pair up: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can...-2017-impressions.862096/page-6#post-13769957 - just scroll down to the middle of that post.

I guess Westone was at RMAF'17. Anybody else visited their table? Just curious, maybe they had some new products?

 

[Zeeke]

Was just looking through RMAF CanJam thread, and noticed @HeadphoneAddict posted some nice impressions of W50/W60/W80 and BT cable pair up: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can...-2017-impressions.862096/page-6#post-13769957 - just scroll down to the middle of that post.

I guess Westone was at RMAF'17. Anybody else visited their table? Just curious, maybe they had some new products?

I was there and sat at the table a while. I listened to the w40 60 and 80 and the um pro 50. There was nothing new, and they only had the um pro 50 and it was not actually out on display. They were focusing on the W line vs musicians is how they explained it to me.

The silver cable on the 80 was brand new and it was pretty stiff, the 80s sounded great but I dont have a lot of high end hearing and they really focus on that as it was explained to me. So I couldn't tell a whole lot of difference from the 60 to the 80 but placebo or not the 80 was a little clearer to me.

I will say that I have had a lot of problems with universal IEMs fitting my ears and staying in place, but those things fit like gloves compared to every other universal.

 

[swesko]

Been jamming my w80 since Friday and im not able to tell them appart f4om the w60. One thing for sure though, the w80 dont exhibit any sibilance and the treble seems better. Need to do an a/b comparison using the Mojo with its 2 outputs

 

[twister6]

Been jamming my w80 since Friday and im not able to tell them appart f4om the w60. One thing for sure though, the w80 dont exhibit any sibilance and the treble seems better. Need to do an a/b comparison using the Mojo with its 2 outputs

What source are you using? I thought Mojo is warmer, so it could smooth out top-end. But, as I mentioned to a few people before, if you can't hear an obvious difference between the most expensive and next to it in price IEM, consider your wallet to be fortunate People go for upgrades because they want to hear an improvement.

 

[twister6]

I was there and sat at the table a while. I listened to the w40 60 and 80 and the um pro 50. There was nothing new, and they only had the um pro 50 and it was not actually out on display. They were focusing on the W line vs musicians is how they explained it to me.

The silver cable on the 80 was brand new and it was pretty stiff, the 80s sounded great but I dont have a lot of high end hearing and they really focus on that as it was explained to me. So I couldn't tell a whole lot of difference from the 60 to the 80 but placebo or not the 80 was a little clearer to me.

I will say that I have had a lot of problems with universal IEMs fitting my ears and staying in place, but those things fit like gloves compared to every other universal.

Wait, new silver cable? Did you take a picture? Or do you refer to hybrid Ref8 cable that comes with W80?

 

[Zeeke]

Wait, new silver cable? Did you take a picture? Or do you refer to hybrid Ref8 cable that comes with W80?

Yeah it was a brand new silver cable, ALO cable to be exact. Did it not previously come with that?

 

[twister6]

Yeah it was a brand new silver cable, ALO cable to be exact. Did it not previously come with that?

are you talking about these or something else? These are 8-conductor hybrid ALO Ref8 cable that comes standard with W80 and ES80 (it has 4 pure copper and 4 silver-plated copper conductors).