Review: Westone 2

As was the case with the 1, the 2 comes with all the trappings of the 3, including a zippered hard carrying case, an attachable volume wheel (which is larger than it really ought to be), a quarter inch adapter for traditional stereo systems, and a whole array of single and triple flanged rubber earbud tips of various sizes and colors, plus multiple-sized sets of squishable foam tips – the latter of which I’ve found capable of delivering noticeably superior audio quality over their rubber counterparts.

And man oh man do the Westone 2 earbuds ever sound great. Are they worth their pricetag? Absolutely. Are they the best-sounding $249 earbuds I’ve ever listened to? Yes. So why couldn’t I give them five stars? At only 60% of the price of the 3, I wouldn’t expect the 2 to measure up in terms of audio quality. But the difference is that the 3 has this magical quality where you’d swear you’re listening to big cup-style headphones – and you’d seriously consider robbing a bank just to afford the $399. The 2, on the other hand, doesn’t have that same magical feeling such that listening to them would make you consider a life of crime just to cover their $249 price tag.

So that gut-level difference tells me that the Westone 2 is not a five star product. It is, however, worth every penny if you can afford it. I just wish Westone would hurry up and start offering iPhone-specific versions of its earbud products.