Westone 1 Tru-Fit Earphones

Posted by Bill on November 8th, 2009 at 04:11pm Comments

Westone 1 Tru-Fit Earphones
Reviewed by: Bill Henderson
Westone 1 True-Fit Earphones
Price: $139.00

Given the choice between stellar sound and comfort in earphones, I will almost always opt for the comfort. Its a compromise I don’t appreciate but usually you just can’t have it both ways. There are exceptions however; such as all of Klipsch earphones.  The X10s are the ones I go to for indoor use pretty much all the time, but I know the average Joe can’t afford them which brings us to the alternatives.

One of these alternatives, the Westone 1, equals the comfort of the Klipsch models (with one caveat).

Westone is primarily known for their custom molds for hearing aids in the hearing health care market. But they also have been making premium earphones that have been showing up on a lot of  ‘best of’ lists. They are mostly known for their custom-fit professional musician models with prices in the stratosphere.

Back down on earth though, I’ve been listening to the Westone 1 Tru-Fit personal model. The’re designed for the personal listener, as opposed to the similarly priced Westone UM1 which are designed for the musician. Using a single-armature design, they are essentially an affordable version of the triple-armature Westone 3s which cost almost triple the price… makes sense. So I’m pretty sure they don’t sound as full and rich as the 3s, which I have never tried. At first glance, they have this inexpensive, plastic look and feel. But after using them for a few weeks, I can truthfully say that they much tougher than they appear.

For the price, the Westone 1s hardly scrimp in the all-important sound arena. Though a little light in the bass department, the mids and highs are very realistic, without being harsh. If you are a bass-head, you may be better served with dynamic driver models as opposed to armature based ones. But I’m not a bass-head, so I was more than pleased with the sound of these. The music I mostly listen to has all the dynamics I require. For instance, while listening to The Moody Blues “Days Of Future Passed” album (remastered), I didn’t find myself ‘wishing for more.’ The orchestral pieces were light where they needed to be and the bass piano keys on the song Twilight Time had punch with no distortion. And even what current music I do listen to comes across as balanced. None of the smokiness of Tanita Tikaram’s voice is lost in her Valentine Heart.

Again, bass is not the Westone 1s strongest suit, but with a good seal, I think it’s just fine. In a way, it sounds more accurate.

Speaking of seals, these are some of the best earphones I have used that can isolate outside noise. I’ve used them on more than one occasion mowing the lawn (one of my favorite isolation tests) and can listen comfortably over all kinds of racket without increasing the volume to dangerous levels. That’s important. And because of the great seal, they stay in my ear despite all my sweating in the hot sun.

I mentioned earlier one caveat to the comfort of these earphones. And that is that there is only one way the Westone 1s can be inserted. This requires the wire to be wrapped behind your ear. It can take some getting used to, but I’m not bothered by it. And wrapping the cord around your ear helps in something else: microphonics. A nasty little fact about earphones is that even when sealed properly, tapping the cord can create a loud, thumping, stethoscope effect called microphonics. Wrapping the cord around your ears cancels a lot of that out, but Westone also uses a braided wire which furthur helps cancel microphonice. So it almost becomes a non-issue.

Something you can’t miss with the Westones is everything that comes packed with the earphones. You get 10 pair of tips, both silicone and Comply foam in all sizes. If you can’t find the perfect fit, that’s your problem, not Westone’s. Also included is a nice, almost crush-proof case, a detachable inline volume control and the usual wax loop and ¼” adapter. I’ve seen far less pack-ins with earphones costing much more.

Note that even for an ‘entry’ model earphone from a premium maker, the Westone 1s are not cheap. But if you want accurate sound and extreme comfort that won’t require a second-mortgage, you won’t regret spending a little less for something this well made.

 

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2. Atrio M8 earphones: iPhone / iPod accessory review
3. Sennheiser IE 7 earphones
4. ZAGG Z.Buds earphones/headset: iPhone Accessory Review
5. Klipsch X10 earphones: iPhone accessory review

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