Westone’s 6 balanced armature universal IEM – the King of the universals?
Westone W60
Pros
- Warm detailed refined signature
- Extremely well tuned with versatile range
- Fantastic fit, Great stock cables and accessories
Cons
- MMCX is not the first choice for most people
- Replacement Faceplates prone to cracking
- Storage case could be improved on
Build quality and Fit
Westone have a patented true fit design. They have been making sensible fitting earphones for decades. The shape of the earphones and the isolation promised from them compelled me to buy my first ever IEMs some 10 years ago. I still have them now. I still am puzzled as to why there are so many different styles of fit on the market. We have around the ear and down from the ear, earbuds, in ear, bullet shaped, coin shaped etc. Some designs look very pretty; some look pretty dreadful. Westone’s design looks the way it does because it has been shaped to provide a level of isolation from the outside world. The shape correlates fairly near to the shape of the ear. The bore from the olive shaped shells is long and narrow. This allows for a deep fit.
As standard(there are many other tips supplied too) soft high density foam tips are included.
Once squashed in and inserted, the foams can be inserted deep into the ear canal. They expand almost immediately and lock gently into place. The triple whammy of ergonomic shape, deep nozzle and comply foam is hard to beat in the universal world. The isolation is up there with Etymotic as the best I have tried. This does not appear to be any different from my UM2 or W4R models. Clearly, the thing works and they don’t intend to change it.
Stock Cable
The W60 has Westone’s Epic replaceable cable. It is of a fairly thin innocuous design and is slightly microphonic. The over ear design alleviates this almost entirely. There is no clasp from the y split to pull the cable tidily under the chin. This would help to minimise cable bounce, one of the causes of cable noise. The Epic cable has a hands free mic. The hands free is designed for an iPhone and has Siri capability. I have an Android phone , and my Moto G4 was able to make crystal clear phone calls using the W60s. For an IEM in the £1000 to be fitted with a mic cable is a courageous move. With so many other supplied cables for other top tier IEMs concentrating on looks and thickness it’s refreshing to see a more practical design that can fulfil more than just it’s core function. The thickness of the cable makes it difficult to rest easily in a box without an elastic band. It will become a tangled mess without. For the purists who consider using a mic cable as sacrilege, at least the cable can be easily replaced. A more luxurious looking cable comes in the box for the more serious listening. The connection is a simple snap together affair that works without problem every time. Why don’t other manufacturers follow suit with this type of fit too?
Whatever the reasons, Westone has managed to achieve the easiest snap together cable fit I’ve used.
Sensitivity
The W60s go extremely loud very quickly.
The impedance and sensitivity;
Impedance: 25dB
Sensitivity: 117dB SPL @ 1mW
These also have the advantage of passive noise attenuation.
Westone have measured this and the W60 has a figure of 25dB.
The W60 earphones can perform extremely impressively through a phone or other small mp3 device.
A more capable device will enable these IEMs to perform at their best.
