Westone 4 Four Driver Universal Fit Earphones
Review by James Andrews : It might make you go for customs.

If you are looking at this product, you're either thinking "What kind of nutjob would spend $450 on some headphones?!" like a normal, sane person; or you're crazy like I am & will pay silly amounts of money for amazing sound quality. This review is for the latter.

Treble: Neither recessed nor emphasized. Pretty outstanding air, shimmer, clarity & presence. Good extension but I would not say they 'sparkle'. No sibilance whatsoever, very approachable even with volume & sibilant recordings. Cymbals sound like they're made of metal. Voices & instruments resonate nicely. I am looking for a bit more on the high end when it comes to shimmer & sparkle, but it's not technically deficient just not 5/5 for me personally.

Mids: Westone has a well-deserved reputation for amazing mids & the W4 shows why. Emphasized but only enough to produce a natural sound as opposed to a neutral sound. Slightly warm but not thick or hazy. Midcentric voices & instruments sound as though they are in the room.

Bass: Neither recessed nor emphasized. Great clarity, detail, speed, impact & decay. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these to a basshead as long as they were willing to EQ the low-end to be more present; they can handle it & handle it wonderfully, with no loss of speed or detail. Good low-end extension.

Soundstage: Great separation & placement, U-shaped around the listener without extending behind. A pretty intimate depth, you're not on stage with the band but you're within a few rows.

Comfort: The nozzles are a bit short which causes difficulty for some, not me personally. Relatively lightweight, a great cord that is very flexible & wraps nicely around the ear & stays put. A little bulky for sleeping on your side but not so much as to make it uncomfortable.

Build Quality: Very sturdy feelings, a wonderfully simple design, cables seem sturdy & very well made, they are not detachable which I personally prefer (one less thing to lose).
Packaging: Comes with a good assortment of tips, an in-line volume control connector, a 3.5mm to 1/4 inch adapter, cleaning tool & soft case. The case is great, very compact but rather protective.

Pros: The sound quality & presentation is too amazing to put into words. Extension low & high, clarity, natural presentation. Very dynamic when EQ'd. Probably one of the best, if not the best universal fit earphone on the market.

Cons: Price.

I'm satisfied with this product even at full MSRP of $450. I'm not keeping mine only because I've ordered a set of ES5 custom earphones from Westone (MSRP of $950) & I can't afford to have both.

Westone 4 Four Driver Universal Fit Earphones
Review by st_dallas : The Best of the Best: Comparing Three Top Earphones

The Best of the Best

My preference: 3rd. The Sennheiser IE 8 ($450). 2nd. Shure SE535 ($550). 1st. Westone TrueFit 4 ($450).

These three earphones rank among the very best--or at least the most expensive--universal-fit earphones. Are these $500 ear-candies worth their asking prices? Which one is the best? Below is a detailed comparison of these three earphones and the reasons for my ranking. Four more affordable earphones are also suggested for their better sonic fit and values for IPods, cell phones and the likes.

LESS EXPENSIVE CHOICES. To the questions above, there are unfortunately no simple answers. If you listen to mostly MP3 and other compressed recordings, you are probably wasting your money and missing most of the virtues of these $500-earphones. There are far more affordable earphones in the range of $50 to $80 that, on IPods and similar devices, will sound almost as good as their far-more-expensive brethrens. Three very good models to check out are, in my increasing order of preference: 3.The SoundMagic PL50 Noise Isolating In-Ear Monitor Earphones ($50)--Yep, these unassuming Chinese earphones are worth every penny. 2.The Audio-Technica ATHCK7 titanium earphones ($80). 1.The NuForce NE-700X Audiophile-Grade Earphones ($65). The ATHX-CK7 and NE-700 in-ear devices provide adequate "passive" noise-isolation in my opinion--far better than most headphones--but if you want a choice for "active" sound isolation, the Audio Technica ATH-ANC23 with Active Noise-Canceling ($75) will do very nicely albeit with a small sacrifice to the sound with the noise cancellation switched on.

COMMON SHORTCOMING. If you listen to CDs or other high-quality sources, it is worthwhile to check out the sound of high-price earphones. I have lived with them for over a year now and have become familiar with their near- and long-term virtues and shortcomings--yes, even at half-a-grand a pop, these earphones are not perfect. A shortcoming shared by all of them: you hear the sound emanating mostly from the middle of your forehead due to a collapsed soundstage (the perceived size of the space in which the recording took place). Unless you have a signal processor like the HeadRoom Total Airhead ($99) just to name one choice among many other models to create a wider, more credible sound stage, you are stuck with the sound collapsing in the middle of your forehead.

COMPARISON CRITERIA. To facilitate the comparison of relative sonic merits of these earphones, I will compare them one sonic attribute at a time. Overall tonal balance: this is the general sonic impression you get from both short-term and long-term listening. Clarity: overall perception of the details of the sound, the absence of veiling across the frequency range (lows, midrange, highs). Bass: quality, quantity, depth and control of the low frequencies. Highs: quality and extension of the high frequencies. Use comfort: how well the ear buds fit and how comfortable they are with long-term listening. Note: frequently, the quality of the sound, especially the bass, depends on the sensitivity of earphones and the quality of the amplification. I found that an inexpensive earphone-amplifier like the HeadRoom Total Airhead ($99)--not the last word in sound quality but very serviceable--can improve the sound of all three earphones evaluated even though, to my ears, it did not change their relative ranking. Here are brief descriptions of these sonic attributes followed by my rating (0-100) of the three top earphones listed in my order of increasing preference.

Third. Sennheiser IE 8 ($450)
Overall tonal balance: slightly lean, very detailed though not analytical, just slightly lacking in warmth -- 92
Clarity: well articulated sound, free from colorations across the entire frequency range -- 95
Bass: very tight bass with excellent definition and timber; slightly short on quantity and impact -- 90
Highs: extended highs free of harshness or stridency -- 95
Use comfort: well shaped, excellent fit with my ears; could benefit from memory-foam buds -- 93
Overall: 93

Second. Shure SE535 ($549)
Overall tonal balance: lush and very musical if slightly lacking in inner details -- 95
Clarity: slightly veiled in the mid-range; not the last words in articulation -- 93
Bass: thunderous bass with great impact but somewhat lacking in tightness -- 95
Highs: extended, smooth highs with good details -- 95
Use comfort: excellent fit with my ears though large size & shape took some getting used to -- 92
Overall: 94

First. Westone TrueFit 4 ($450)
Overall tonal balance: smooth across the full range; finely detailed and well balanced sound -- 98
Clarity: clean, dynamic sound with good detail and musicality -- 98
Bass: excellent bass, very tight and well-defined without boominess in the upper bass -- 94
Highs: extended, smooth, silky highs with -- 95
Use comfort: excellent fit with my ears; good choices of ear-buds -- 95
Overall: 96

COMPROMISE. As you can see, not much separates these three earphones. None of them is perfect and your choice will come down to your taste and preference in sound, what qualities you prefer and what flaws you can or cannot live with. If you value subtle inner details and clarity above all and can live with a slight deficiency in bass, the Sennheiser IE 8 is a clear winner. If you prefer a lot of bass and impact in your music, the Shure SE535 is the best choice. For a good balance of details, dynamic impact and musicality, the Westone TrueFit 4 reigns supreme. Depending on your personal sonic preference, you could have ranked these earphones in a completely different order than mine. A word of caution: how earphones fit you plays a much more important role than most realize: a poor fit will cause discomfort in the long run but, just as important, it will significantly degrade the sound quality. These earphones sound their best only with a proper fit. Unfortunately, ear lobes and ear canals are shaped differently from preson to person so you have to try these earphones on--does any dealer let you do that?--to be certain of how they will fit you. Finally, it is rather silly to compare relative value of these top earphones: if you can afford and are willing to shell out $500 for a pair of earphone, $100 difference in price should not be an issue.

CONCLUSION. Are these $500 earphones worth their asking price? Yes, if you demand the very best sound from earphones and your playback equipment and recording can do them justice. The winner for me is the Westone TrueFit by a nose. If you listen to MP3 on IPods or cell phones, you can still hear the difference between these expensive models and the more modestly-priced models but you are far from hearing all that these earphones can really do. A far less expensive choice and better match may be found among the following earphones: SoundMagic PL50 ($50); Audio Technica ATH-ANC23 ($75); Audio-Technica ATHCK7 titanium earphones ($80); NuForce NE-700X Audiophile-Grade Earphones ($65).

Westone 4 Four Driver Universal Fit Earphones
Review by Steve L. Trappasse "cuznsteve" : newbee says, superb

I didnt get these through AMAZON for fear of non official sales and warranty questions, but i did make the leap elswhere and find the only setback is that the joint where there is a slide for seperating the two lines is too close to the earphones and sits way up tight under my chinnychin chin , but love all else. The "sound 2" on my Mini Disc supplies the right amount of bass quality and I find no difficiences in the high end but exceptional realism in the mids , vocals are shining, like for example in the new "The Last Waltz " 4 CD set , the vocals are dynomite all throughout , and theres alot of vocals . Also , they fit nicely into the ear , the comply are a great fit but not practical because they fall apart and start disintegrating when trying to clean earwax off with a alcohol swap , unlike the olives wich are almost as good a fit but respond well to repeatitive cleanings.(also , a note.....an alcohol swab actually in the ear with a pinky finger helps cut down on thre earwax problem!try it youll like it !)
Now, my problem is finding an inexpensive decent earphone worth its price to use outside the house , in the $50 to $120 range. Any advice welcome....so far its a toss up between the Klipsch S2 and the Westone 1.Love the Westone 4 in everyway.Glad I made the jump !

Westone 4 Four Driver Universal Fit Earphones
Review by FERRIS646 : Awesome

I only give these 4 stars because the cable does not detach. I also wish the comply foams were a bit bigger for a better seal. Overall I'm very happy these. Great sound and a comfortable fit. The protective case is nice. I also have the UE Triple Fi 10's, Shure 535's and UE IEM's as a point of reference to know what I'm comparing the sound quality to.