Westone 4

At first I was sceptical. What earphones could warrant a near $500 price tag (Excluding the finest custom made ones)? Well, i can honestly say that the westone 4's are an incredible audible sensation. An aural nirvana, if you will. Features include 4 armature drivers (2 for the bass, and 1 each for mids and treble. What immediately got me thinking was how on earth 4 drivers AND a cross over are able to fit into these tiny ear-buds. First thing to test them i chucked on a recent mix i was working on. I was first able to immediately notice reverb, to much ring in the kick and distortion on the transients of the snare drum. Once hearing these i was able to make my mix's translate better to all the systems in my home.

The features are excellent. The westone's come with manual and warrant on a DVD and also a plethora of foam and silicon tips. This is crucial for ensuring you get the best out of these as an adequate seal around the ears is crucial for the best sound quality. Also included is a hard travel case and a small tool for removing wax from the ear pieces

As far as value is concerned these are very expensive. But the quality is %100 there. I do not see these breaking down at all in my future. I have tracked drums with these and the noise cancellation is ideal for a studio/live drummer if you don't have the budget for customs.

All on all, these headphones are a classic example of how technology can deliver an experience much like the musicians being in the room with you. I have never experienced such a soundstage in earphones before. However, before committing be sure to try out shure and sennheisers offerings as you may prefer one or the other. But for me, you can't go wrong with Westone 4r's!