Westone 4R Review

[xtroria]

My first ever review, I'm sorry if it's bad and not amazingly detailed 

 

 

 

If you ask a random joe about the brand westone, he probably would shake their head and ask "what's westone?" But for audio professionals and most audio enthusiasts, westone is a very recognizable company that makes hearing aids, along with Universal IEM and Custom IEM. 

 

Westone 4R is a BA (Balanced armature) based universal IEM with 4 (go figure) BA drivers in 3-way crossover system. 2 for bass, 1 for mid and 1 for high.

 

I bought my Westone 4R around 3 weeks ago at the time of this review. The earbud costs $500 on MSRP, but right now it's discountinued and the successor, Westone W40 took 4R's place. Personally I like the look of 4R better, along the new MMCX connector on Westone W-series which is notorious for picking up dust and cutting off sound much easier compared to the robust and tested 2-pin cable on 4R which is used by most Custom IEM manufacturers. 

 

Reviewer's audio story:

I started getting into headphone with a set of HD202 and Soundmagic E10, which are great for their prices but of course it's subpar at best if you compare them with the more expensive gears. Fast forward 2 years later and I've owned AKG Q701, Sennheiser HD558, HD600 and HifiMan RE-400. Currently I own AKG K7xx, Westone 4R and Sennheiser momentum over-ear for my collection. 

 

I listen to a wide variety of genres. Top 40, R&B, country, accoustic, blues, rock, jazz, you name it and probably I do listen to it.

 

Build, Isolation & Comfort:

I'd say the build on the 4R is good, but it's not great especially if you compare it to SE846 which looks much better and feels more robust in general with its thicker feeling acrylic and metal nozzle compared to the plastic nozzle that the westone has. The cable is however is a very strong point as it doesn't have any microphonics at all, as it is thin and 4R needs to be used as an around-ear IEM.

 

Isolation for IEM always depends on your fit with the tips. Being a BA driver IEM, it already has the upper hand against normal dynamic driver since BA drivers doesn't require any port for additional air. Previously, I tried to use the silicone tips and foam tips that came from westone without any luck. I feel the foam changes the sound of the earbuds and while the silicone gives me good sound, the isolation is still isn't enough for me, as I used comply tips previously for my HifiMan RE-400. Both of them also feel weird on my right ears as my right ear's lobe is bigger than the other one.  The problem irked me so much, I was tempted to get a custom eartips (Westone UM56) to get a perfect seal and isolation. 

 

The solution? I bought the shure triple flange and got the problem solved. The thing goes super deep into the second bend of your ear canal, so it's definitely not for everyone but the isolation with this thing is so good, I almost can't hear (or feel) myself talking through the vibration of my throat. With the triple flange, I could really hear everything the 4R can offer.

 

 

For comfort, it really depends on the shape of your ears but my ears fit perfectly with the earbuds. 

 

Sound:

An audio gear could use unobtanium for its magnet and pure silver for its cable, but if it sounds bad, there's no use to it. Of course, this is isn't the case with the westone 4R. I perceive the westone 4R as a very warm IEM, maybe a bit dark to some extend. Here are the details across the frequency:

 

Bass:

Play a bassy track on this little buds and you'd be surprised by the amount of bass it has. The bass has some roll off along the sub-bass but you still could feel the extension deep down. As the frequency gets higher into the mid-bass territory, the bass sounds more apparent and boomy. However, even with the amount of bass the westone 4R has, it sounds punchy and very well controlled. Westone 3, the 4R's little brother was criticized being a very bassy IEM and so when westone worked on 4R, despite having 1 more driver for the bass, they focused on having the quality over quantity for the bass. Although, I suppose having both is even better and they succeeded.

 

Mids:

Lets get to the negative aspect first, there are some bass-bleed into the lower region of the mid although if you like a more meaty sounding vocal, this actually might be a positive aspect. If you're looking for an IEM to listen to accoustic music, you might like the Shure SE535 more as it has a more mid-forward sound signature. The vocal takes a very slight backstage in the music, making 4R a slight U-shaped sounding IEM. Some people might like a more laid-back vocal while some crave for 'in your face' mids, so YMMV. 

 

There's a dip around the high mids to the lower treble region which makes the 4R sounds a bit dark and feels like it lacks some dynamic. This dips causes the 4R to sound lacking a bit in surrounding detail, although personally for an IEM, I think it still has wonderful details.  So string instruments like guitar or violin probably will sound a bit quieter compared to the vocal, so this isn't a perfect IEM for instrumental music.

 

Treble:

After the dip in the lower treble, the treble starts sounding more forward until it peaks around the 10 Khz region and so if you have a badly mastered music file, it will sound peaky and you should be able to hear sibilances. With good mastering though, the treble will sound wonderful as it gives a more realistic feeling to the music without sounding offensive to your ears. This is where the westone 4R wins against its number 1 competitor, Shure SE535 as the SE535 is notorious for having a rolled off treble. 

 

Soundstage & Imaging:

For a warm sounding IEM, the westone 4R has a very good spatial ability. The 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional aspect from the IEM is good although it's still not on the level of something like the $700 1964 Ears V6-Stage. For a comparison, I think it has the same 2 dimensional soundstage as M50x and for the 3 dimensional soundstage / imaging, 4R really beats M50x in this aspect. Yes, this IEM will be better for gaming than audio-technica M50x.

 

Conclusion:

For the price I got them for (under $300, used). I think it sounds fantastic. Of course it still can't compete with the shure SE846 with its amazing bass that extends like an orthodynamic or the 1964 A12 which I prefer Audeze LCD-3 with its impossibly clear sound. The slightly elevated bass serves me really well since I most use my IEM for commute on bus. For the MSRP price of $500, I think you could get away with a custom IEM instead.  But if you're looking a well isolating IEM with warm sound where you could just sit back and relax, the Westone 4R might be just the IEM you're looking for. Some alternatives like the Shure SE535 as I've said previously, is better for vocal-focused songs although the bass doesn't have the punch the 4R has. The custom IEM Alclair reference is probably the one you want if you're looking for a true monitoring / stage IEM.

 

Gears used:

One+ One

PC > iBasso D-zero (DAC) > Objective 2 Amp

 

 

 

[GamerDude]

Great mini-review/impression of the 4R, and yes, I've heard of Westone before. Looking at an IE800 just because I'm a dynamic kind of guy......

[panzerfan]

I have the W4R, and I am finding the W40 to be something totally different to the W4R sonically speaking. The bass on W4R is finely controlled, but the slight messiness that you are noting in the 500hz range is there. It's analytical enough to be quite unforgiving to the music; if you fed it with excrements, then it will spit that right back at you.

 

W40 emphasizes on bass response, and I feel that it losses that absolute resolution that you get with W4R.

[spwath]

Good review.

I can't justify spending that much on in ears, but I'm more of a speaker person now anyway.