Hi All,
This is my first deal. Apologies for any mistakes.
Westone 4r on sale from amazon.com
Last cheapest posted in Ozbargain was around $399.00, sells for more from anywhere in australia including ebay.
Just bought one.
Edit
CamelCamelCamel.
Yet you give it an up vote. :-D I'd hate to lose them.
From this suggestion: http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/106002#comment-1437175
I think he's just being sarcastic.
you been stalking him?
Isn't everyone?
Not the price makes it a bargain but the value for money
might want to add that they are earfones to the title next time, i had no idea what a "westone 4r iem" was
also might like to point out this is the cheapest they have been on camelx3 :)
IEM is "In-ear Monitor"
Obviously if you do have need for this level of audio equipments you would know what they are. If you don't you probably shouldn't buy them any way. Would be a waste.
The water is deep here. Cross with care.
Actually for clarity, neither Amazon nor Westone describe these as IEM's.
Amazon says they're "Earphones" and Westone say they're "earpieces", only the professional models seem to be described by Westone as IEM's.
EDIT: From the Westone site…
"Universal Monitors. Our top of the line universal-fit in-ear monitors. Designed specifically for the onstage performer. UM3X RC, UM2 RC, UM1 Colors
Westone Series. Take your personal listening to new levels with our ergonomically designed earphones. Westone 4R, Westone 3, Westone 2, Westone 1"
hahaha
i guess that water really is deep here?
Universal Monitors is referring to the customized ones. They are all in-ear ones (obviously…). There is no point discussing does Westone's official name has the word IEM in it or not.. A bit like looking for the word "Mobile Phone" in the iPhone naming..
You seem to be impying that knowing what they are means they sound better. If so what a classic case of confirmation bias LOL.
Have no idea how you interpreted into that way. If you have need for this level of audio equipments you will be doing your research and this particular model is just as famous as iPhone in mobile phone world. If you haven't, you obviously never did the research, most likely you never need it. Simple as that. You sound like you have so much hate for people willing to spend money on audio equipments.
Great Price
The consumers need to be insured with a lifetime warranty…
There's always an argument whenever expensive headphones are put up here.
This is a decent deal for a quad balanced armature IEM.
Make sure you read the reviews to see if this has the right sound for you before committing to a purchase, the sound signature isn't for everybody.
haha how does reading reviews to see if it sounds right works? Wouldn't it be better to listen to them in person first to hear how it sounds? That's how I decide when I'm buying expensive headphones. :) I'm sure its amazing for the price and all, but yeah still wouldn't want to risk the cash until I decide until I tested them out first. :)
Good point but it's very difficult to find an audition for an earphone like this, especially in Australia. Reviews can give you a general description of the sound signature.
+1
In most places (esp in the US) you can try out headphones prior to purchasing them. When you read reviews atleast you can atleast read about how they sound in comparison to IEMs you already own or know about.
Also, there are meet-ups where people bring their gear and try out higher end stuff before purchasing.
Sadly "try before buying" and meet-ups are not very common here in Australia. :(
This is a decent deal for a quad balanced armature IEM.
Still nearly $300 more than a $75 quad balanced armature Sony XBA-4: http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/113441
No doubt the Westone 4R is significantly better than the XBA-4, but as an infrequent IEM user I still find it hard to stomach the price difference. :)
I think the XBA-4 is an example of more drivers doesn't always equal better sound quality.
please dont mention xba-4 again.
i missed out that opportunity when i actually had a chance to place the order :(
As an owner of Westone 4 who also tested XBA-4 during my decision process, I can without hesitation recommend Westone 4/4r over the XBA-4 both in terms of sound quality and aesthetics.
The Westone sound is very balanced and realistic, without any exaggerated bass.
I also found XBA-4 to be massive in size, and when you stick them in your ear a huge part protrudes outwards, which looked very silly.
I had the same experience. Loved the balanced tone of the 4Rs from the get go and they're now my daily crutch on my commute to and from work. I gave my XBA-4 to my partner and I've stopped using my Sennheiser IE80 and IE8 entirely ever since I got the 4Rs.
I also found the Westone 4Rs to be very comfortable but having to compress the comply tips before putting them in your ear and waiting 5-10 seconds for them to decompress can be annoying. Especially when you're using them at work and someone walks over to your desk to ask you a quick question. A few repeats of this can get annoying.
Amazing price for amazing sound.
In all honesty, the 4r's here are good value for money, but you could probably buy some had650's with that, and sure, you may be able to use these for travel, but quality doesn't really resonate when you're on the average bus. With a cheapo amp, any mid-tier over ear headphone would easily outshine these (dt880, hd650, k702). I've owned all of these including the 4r's, and whilst many people say audio is a matter of personal preference, many of those same people opt for proper headphones/speakers. There are definitely exceptions to the rule, but if you've just stumbled upon this ad and were genuinely considering investing, I highly suggest reading up on some of the aforementioned headphones :)
Investing? … good luck with that.
i saw someone wearing a of HD5xx on a bus. thank god, i was not sitting next to him.
Open cans on a bus? Good one champ…
half the people reading that are probably thinking "yea, drinks aren't allowed on buses!"
I beg to disagree. So far as travel is concerned, the HD650s limit portability - they need an amp to drive them decently which adds to the weight and periherals one has to lug around. Worse still, the HD650s for example are open back ear phones which means it's not only you but your neighbours who're getting exposed to the sound. Definitely not ideal for travel.
Whilst IEMs might not give you the soundstage that something like the DT880 or HD650 will, in terms of sound quality, noise isolation and protability while traveling/commuting, they can't be beaten. Most of the IEMs are also earier to drive.
Sourc: I own a HD650, HD700, DT660 in addition to a plethora of lesser headphones and IEMs (Senheisser IE80 & IE8, Sony XBA-4 & XBA-3 included). I use a Maverick AudionTubemagic D1 to drive my headphones and the sound is awesome.
damn this is a good price, would buy if i didnt pick up ue900s a couple months ago
A bit OT:
Would you know where to get some spare "blue" cables for the UE900s? I had some issue with mine and all it required was a cable swap. However, being under warranty I sent it off to Logitech where the turn-around for RMA is 4-6weeks. Big mistake. Still haven't haven't received my IEMs and it's been around 5 weeks now. Would rather stock up on spares so that I never have to deal with the extremely protracted replacement process. AFAIK, they're $20 a pop from the US store. Unfortunately, they're not listed in the Logitech Aus site.
I bought mine from the US shop and used Shipitto to get them over here. Wasn't the cheapest exercise, definitely by a few.
Whoa! That would be quite pricey I'd imagine. $8.5 for administrative charges and $40 for shipping to WA.
http://www.noisymotel.com/product.asp?ProductID=515
I know it's a pain to replace cables. These fit the UE900, and are probably of a higher quality too. It's also a silver plated cable as well (if one believes it makes a difference).
Edit: Australian shipping too.
Ahh cool!
The issue is that the blue cables (with the inline mic and volume controls) have a slightly higher failure rate than the black ones (no inline mic). I use the inline controls a fair bit so I was looking at the "blue" cables.
Legend:
Blue cable: Spare 3.5 MM VI Communication Cable for UE 900
Black cable: Spare Audio Only Cable for UE 900
So guys, is this basically an in-ear monitor version of the Audio Technica ATH-M50??
No, the Westone 4R is far superior to the ATH-M50.
Would hope so, M50 is like 150 on ebay
These are considered one of the best top end IEM you can buy, before you'll get into custom moulds.
There are not many you can buy which can out perform them.
Balanced, with awesome sound stage, if you're willing to spend the cash, they are worth every penny!
I've had a pair of westone 3s for about 3 years now and aren't sounding as good as they once did after going through the wash a few times. this is a seriously tempting deal…. though custom moulds do sound interesting
I've gone all the way up to the JH13 before. It's not a massive difference in sound quality between the universal iems and customs. I really love the extra isolation a custom mold gives over a universal so that's why I got my Shure SE530 custom molded.
where did u get urs remolded? unique melody? how do they sound? im thinking of getting my tf10 remolded
Yep I got mine done with UM. They sound pretty much the same as it was as a universal iem except you get a perfect fit with a custom. Isolation is excellent, my TF10 universal blocks out a good amount of sound but nothing is comparable to a custom fit.
You can also look into InEarZ (Fisher Hearing). They offer one of the cheapest remolding services available, and they're based in the US.
yea, UM charges so much for australian order, its 240 now, while us order is still 169
chunkystyler have u dealt with them before? any good?
I know this is based purely on preference, but which do you prefer - the tf10 or se530?
I recently purchased a cheap used pair of the se530s and was set on remolding them, but after reading countless comparison threads between the two, I'm having second thoughts.
I still don't know what sound signature I'm looking for, being fairly new to personal audio equipment :(
I haven't dealt with either company, so I can't comment on the quality/service of either.
I have been looking through the threads on Head-Fi for quite a while though, and as with most companies, there are generally a lot of happy customers, with the exception of a few.
edit:
UM Remold thread:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/443197/unique-melody-remold-appreci…
InEarZ threads:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/454174/iems-reshelled-into-custom-m…
http://www.head-fi.org/t/464570/inearz-fisher-hearing-custom…
Also, from what I've read, InEarZ have a much, MUCH faster turnaround time compared to UM.
cool cheers, i have 535 and tf10, not sure about 530, but i like 535 better even tho i listen to a lot of hiphop, edm. 535 is great for all music genres, tf10 is amazing overall, only complain is the vocal perfomance (mids). Also I'd probably like tf10 more if it has better fits
It is all about preference. I would say the TF10 has superior treble and bass but the SE530 is very hard to beat on it's midrange.
I can't say I prefer one or the other. I find myself switching based on my mood but if I had to keep one only I'd probably go with the SE530 based on its midrange since I don't listen to a lot of bass heavy music.
Remolding universals into customs would set you back at around $250ish at the cheapest, including ear impressions.
And you won't have to deal with annoying tips anymore ;)
You're right about that, I was lucky to get the SE530 drivers for free from a friend so it seemed like a good deal.
Serious qn… why would you spend so much on these… if sound quality is as big a deal do you, why not get better over-EAR ones?
I am making the assumption that over ear is better… am I wrong?
Portability and isolation. Over ears are too tedious for me to carry around when I'm travelling about and don't give me anywhere near the isolation from outside noise than these will.
I'd like to add "comfort" to the mix. I find wearing headphones quite uncomfortable for extended usage. After a few hours, I tend to get a mild headache (not to mention, my ears get a bit sweaty). I've used both IEMs and closed over-ears for long flights and IEMs win hands down since:
1. I can easily sleep with them on.
2. Very little bulk
3. Excellent isolation (especially with comply tips)
4. Less fatigue (again this is subjective as I'm very sensitive to "clamping")
Ofcourse, personal preferences are subjective and YMMV.
5 . You won't mess up your hairdo.
:)
Forgot about that. :) IEMs are very mohawk/fauxhawk friendly. :D
I got the sony ones which have similar shape and find it horrible to use because it keeps falling out. I think headphones > the earphones if you want a good experience.
Put tips that actually fit your ear canal. If you can't get a proper seal, they'll sound shite and they'll fall off.
Alternatively use comply tips that mould to the shape of your ear canal.
I actually found the Westone shape very tight fitting in my ears. The chord wrapping around the ears also reduces pull when exercising.
They. were. Dr. Dre.
Stop trolling.
Who's Dr Dre?
Ear Specialist?
Yea those Dr Dre headphones are an extreme example of not receiving any considerable value for money spent.
Any Earphone worth $3.51 for OZ bargainer?
A worthy upgrade from the UE900?
not really an upgrade…
they're neck to neck
it's all about what kind of sound you prefer
deleted.
Great deal!
Just for those wondering, Amazon is an authorised dealer of Westone products. Although not listed on the Westone site, they will honour the warranty.
so tempting….
I've got UE900 but I'd love a pair of these….
I have 5 years old Shure SE530. Can someone please give comment of my IEM against this Westone 4r?
westone 4R is such a grate product , i bought it half yr ago & love it
It's over, price is not US$419 and can't be shipped to Australia. Looks like Amazon's stock has run out and is now being supplied by a third party.
To whoever neg'ed me. When I checked there was no more stock at the cheap price.
However Westone has added more and the deal is back on!
missed out a good deal, but saved a fortune. i already have ue900.
Actually you can still order from Amazon for $320 - just says it will take a couple of weeks, look to the right of your screen.
i saw that last night too.
Westone just added more stock, so the deal's back on!
but they cant be shipped out of the us.
I tried and i could proceed after selecting australia address. Able to check out with international shipping address. Not sure why it did not work in your case.
click the link, scroll down to product details:
Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
@alwayseric
No issue shipping this to Australia for me; it currently says "Want it Tuesday, Oct. 1? Order within 38 hrs 53 mins and choose AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping at checkout", which indicates it can be shipped overseas. I'm able to add it to my cart and go through all stages of check-out. Are you sure you're selecting Amazon as the seller and not some other third-party seller?
thanks a lot guys. my bad. i have "Sennheiser CXC 700 Active Noise-Canceling Ear-Canal Headphones" in my cart too. Senn's are the one that cant not be shipped to australia. my mistake.
should i or should i not place the order then…..decision…
btw, cxc700 is very cheap at the moment. if you also have others to ship back and want to use shipping forwarder, you may want to consider it. cxc700s imo only have two issues: not loud enough when anc is activated (but i consider a portable amp may solve the issue) and a little bit bulky battery case (well…..it depends…) however, its anc is quite good. watched a comparison on youtube, it seems to me cxc700s are much better the mm550x in the anc department.
Lolwot how can earphones more than $5 be a bargain derp.