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I've had both for an extended amount of time and they are from the same tier. The W80's were initially $1500 when they first came out, and that's when I first bought them. I had the SE846's at that time as well. The SE846 had better bass, and it's one of the best bass IEM's on the market, and slightly elevated trebles, but I had ear fatigue after a few hours and also it wasn't as comfortable as the W80's. The W80's, while initially not much as a wow factor, really shines after extended use. It's the most comfortable universal IEM's I've ever used, and it's a true "monitor" IEM meaning it doesn't elevate the trebles or bass artificially as some of the other IEM's do, but represents what you're supposed to hear. It's also a really good monitor for musicians for this purpose. So in the end it really matters what you prioritize, if you want a slightly V-shaped sound and listen to a lot of EDM then go for the SE846's (the sony IER-Z1R's are even better in this aspect and is what I have now), but if you want something that's more neutral and comfortable for extended amount of time then the W80's. The W80's IMO was worth its dime even at $1500 when it was initially released, but it never picked up traction which is unfortunate. If you do get it I do recommend getting the ALO cables (or something similar) as it brightens it up a bit, since more of a darker sound, which is what the Westone house sound is like.
are these good? how do these compare with AKG n5005 which are 80% off at 199 instead of 1000?
I'm wondering if I should pay 150 more for these or not...
I got the $399 W80 deal with the ALO cable and I think they're great. I much prefer it to the Blessing 3 I also ordered to test against contemporary Chi-Fi because the lows were way better with the Westone, and were much more comfortable. Blessing 3's sound like cheap Chinese. Can't comment on your AKGs but I'm sure they're good too
I've had both for an extended amount of time and they are from the same tier. The W80's were initially $1500 when they first came out, and that's when I first bought them. I had the SE846's at that time as well. The SE846 had better bass, and it's one of the best bass IEM's on the market, and slightly elevated trebles, but I had ear fatigue after a few hours and also it wasn't as comfortable as the W80's. The W80's, while initially not much as a wow factor, really shines after extended use. It's the most comfortable universal IEM's I've ever used, and it's a true "monitor" IEM meaning it doesn't elevate the trebles or bass artificially as some of the other IEM's do, but represents what you're supposed to hear. It's also a really good monitor for musicians for this purpose. So in the end it really matters what you prioritize, if you want a slightly V-shaped sound and listen to a lot of EDM then go for the SE846's (the sony IER-Z1R's are even better in this aspect and is what I have now), but if you want something that's more neutral and comfortable for extended amount of time then the W80's. The W80's IMO was worth its dime even at $1500 when it was initially released, but it never picked up traction which is unfortunate. If you do get it I do recommend getting the ALO cables (or something similar) as it brightens it up a bit, since more of a darker sound, which is what the Westone house sound is like.
I got the $399 W80 deal with the ALO cable and I think they're great. I much prefer it to the Blessing 3 I also ordered to test against contemporary Chi-Fi because the lows were way better with the Westone, and were much more comfortable. Blessing 3's sound like cheap Chinese. Can't comment on your AKGs but I'm sure they're good too
Don't know what cheap chinese sounds like but blessing 3 is lacking bass for sure. n5005 will have more accurate bass than both w80 and b3. It would be my pick if I had to choose.
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If I recall correctly the "v-3" version of the w80 is literally just the old version without the alo cable or the bluetooth cable. This was Weststone's flagship iem back almost 7 years ago, but the "W" series has since been superseded by the "Mach" series". Considering how rapidly iems have been improving in recent years, largely due to competition from Chinese brands, you should be able to find iems that sound as good or better for significantly cheaper.
Keep in mind, the audiophile industry is infamous for the sheer amount of snake-oil constantly peddled. A higher price is very often not an indicator of better sound quality. More drivers in an iem doesn't automatically make it better (and if implemented poorly will make it worse), and silver plated cables are nothing but a waste of money.
The weststone w80 are rated C- on the crinacle iem rankings (read the notes and disclaimers): https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/
Here's the frequency response graph: https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/westone-w80/
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I'm wondering if I should pay 150 more for these or not...
I'm wondering if I should pay 150 more for these or not...
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- Ultimate Ears Triple Fi VI
- Sennheiser HD6xx
- Sony WH-1000XM4
?Am curious about these and whether there's enough of a quality difference in these versus what I already own.
ifi Go blu,
Fiio btr5,
Fiio btr7
Topping G5
I use the fiio btr5 and love it, and want to upgrade to the btr7 or for more power the Topping G5
I mean either way this is $350 vs $800
- Ultimate Ears Triple Fi VI
- Sennheiser HD6xx
- Sony WH-1000XM4
?Am curious about these and whether there's enough of a quality difference in these versus what I already own.
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Keep in mind, the audiophile industry is infamous for the sheer amount of snake-oil constantly peddled. A higher price is very often not an indicator of better sound quality. More drivers in an iem doesn't automatically make it better (and if implemented poorly will make it worse), and silver plated cables are nothing but a waste of money.
The weststone w80 are rated C- on the crinacle iem rankings (read the notes and disclaimers): https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/
Here's the frequency response graph: https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/westone-w80/
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