Packaging and Accessories

As I mentioned on the previous page, Westone provided test samples of the entire MACH Series of IEMs but not in retail packaging, and the MACH 10 also arrived after the rest were initially tested too. The company does provide renders of the product packaging on the individual product pages though, so we get a good idea of what to expect in the form of a customized and colorful box that has the company logo and product name of the front with tech specs on the side. The size of the actual box varies based on the product you have given the contents inside. In particular, the carry case is different for the MACH 10/20/30 compared to the others that get a larger Pelican case. The rest of the accessories are the same including a soft Westone-branded drawstring bag, a cleaning tool, and a sticker for fans of the brand.


The soft bag is nice and padded enough to also be a carry/storage solution for the IEMs, and indeed there is enough room in either carry case to have the IEMs w/cable and tips inside this bag that is then placed in the harder case itself. I only have here the smaller of the two cases which Westone calls a "custom designed crushproof and watertight mini monitor vault." It's a translucent red in color and the plastic construction feels sturdy enough to where I don't really have any issues with getting it over the Pelican one. If anything, the smaller size here makes this case easier to travel with and it retains the water- and air-proof design too with O-rings and a pressure-relief built into it. The inside is lined to help prevent scratches to the IEMs and the cable, and the various ear tips were found inside here.


The cleaning tool is no different in functionality from others that I've seen before, although there is no brush end here and the metal wire is used to help remove any ear wax or other contaminants from the nozzle itself. But then we get to the ear tips which are certainly unlike anything else I've seen with Westone providing five sets each of silicone and foam tips—the fifth silicone set is pre-installed on the IEMs—that are quite long. Indeed, two sets seem to be more in line with what we get usually and then the other three are intended for a deeper seal in the ear canals. The equivalent sized silicone and foam tips have the same bore color to them, so we now know the black bore silicone tips are the ones that come already installed.


The IEMs also come with the cable pre-installed and a closer examination of the IEMs and the cables necessitates I separate them at this stage. This is also where we see there are three different cables used across the Westone MACH Series, although all of these use the same style of connector on the IEM side. Westone has gone with Linum cables that use the Estron T2 connector we saw in the Etymotic EVO review. I personally prefer it over the functionally similar MMCX connector in that this feels sturdier and also easier to attach/detach. All you have to do is carefully hold the cable housing and pull it out!