Closer Examination

The set we received were made from clear acrylic. On the JH AUDIO site there are a lot of different color options to choose from, and they even do custom graphics.


The cable is slightly thicker than what is on current generation Westone products and is also slightly harder. In terms of microphonic noise this cable is a wee bit worse off than the Westone equivalent, however, it seems better built and less prone to unraveling. Also the cable jacket seems to be much tougher.

One annoying detail to my ears is the memory wire inserted in the cable near the ear pieces. This upsets the fit and makes them hard to insert quickly.


Behold octo-driver galore! Since our sample is transparent you can see every little detail inside of them. It is remarkable how they got everything fitted inside such a small volume. The eight drivers are all hooked up to the cross over in pairs.


The drivers are placed wherever they fit inside the shell. There is still some room left inside the ear pieces but it is mostly towards the upper part of the shell where the crossover is fitted.


One of the things that surprised me was just how small the treble drivers are and where they are located. The smallest of the four pairs is positioned inside the nozzle part of the in-ear.


These in-ears are triple bore which means there are three sound tubes. The configuration is one big sound tube with two small ones inside. The midrange and bass drivers use the two small tubes whereas the treble driver fires into the large one.


The detachable cable uses a simple two pin connector. The connector does not hit the shell but the gap is only about 0.1 mm.


Size wise a custom in-ear will always be a bit bigger than your average universal in-ear. Notice how the cable of the Westone 3 is thinner and lacks the memory wire near the end.