The Westone W40 are well-designed and durable in-ear headphones. They're stable enough for sports use, and they're portable, so they're easy to carry on you at all times. They also block a lot of ambient noise and barely leak, which makes them versatile for loud and quiet environments. Unfortunately, their sound quality is a bit disappointing, especially, for more critical listeners.
Our Verdict
The W40 are decent mixed usage headphones. They have a sturdy, durable design and a stable, comfortable in-ear fit. They also isolate quite well in loud environments and barely leak even at high volumes. This makes them above-average headphones for sports and office use and thanks to their high passive isolation they do well as commuting headphones too. Unfortunately, they have a subpar sound that may disappoint serious listeners.
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Good noise isolation and low leakage.
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Stable and portable design.
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Durable build quality.
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Below-average sound quality.
Mediocre-at-best for neutral listening. The Westone W40 sound a bit too boomy and lack a surprising amount of detail, while still being sibilant on some tracks. There's enough bass, but it doesn't kick like some of the other in-ears. Instead, the big bump in the High-Bass/Low-Mid makes them sound boomy and muddy. That and the small Soundstage due to their in-ear design and high isolation means they won't be the ideal headphones for more neutral listeners. However, the rest of their sound quality is decent enough so that they should be satisfactory as a pair of casual listening headphones.
Above-average for commuting and traveling. They block a lot of ambient noise, they're comfortable and they're easy to carry on you at all times.
Good for sports. They have a stable, comfortable design and an easy-to-use controls scheme. They're also portable so that you can fit them in your pocket but the audio cable may get tangled or hooked on something when exercising.
Above-average for office use. They prevent a lot of noise from seeping into your audio and also barely leak so that you won't distract your colleagues even at higher volumes. Unfortunately, they have a subpar sound that may disappoint serious listeners.
As these are wired headphones, they aren't suitable for wireless gaming.
- 6.8 Mixed Usage
- 6.2 Neutral Sound
- 7.2 Commute/Travel
- 7.2 Sports/Fitness
- 6.9 Office
- 5.1 Wireless Gaming
- 6.8 Wired Gaming
- 6.4 Phone Call
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.1.
- Updated Nov 21, 2019: Converted to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Feb 16, 2018: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Sep 28, 2017: The microphone has been tested with our new methodology, as explained here
- Updated Aug 10, 2017: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated May 18, 2017: Review published.
- Updated May 17, 2017: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
- Updated May 16, 2017: Our testers have started testing this product.
Compared To Other Headphones
See our recommendations for the best earbuds, the best closed-back headphones, and the best earbuds with a mic.
The Westone W40 are better wired in-ears than the Shure SE215 if you want a mic and controls. Unlike the Shure, the Westone have a mic and in-line controls, making them a bit more versatile. The Westone also come with a better case and more accessories than the Shure. Their sound is very midrange-focused with a steep bass roll-off. On the upside, the Shure have a more balanced sound profile, although the treble is somewhat recessed. They also have a slightly better noise isolation performance, but it's dependent on the tip and fit in your ears. Both headphones have a similar performance for isolation and leakage.
The Westone W40 are slightly better-wired in-ears than the Etymotic ER4XR. The Westone come with an additional cable in the box. The extra cable also has a mic and in-line controls, which makes the Westone bit more versatile than the Etymotics. The Westone are also a bit more comfortable since they do not enter the ear canal as deeply as the Etymotic with their in-ear tips. On the upside, the Etymotics have better isolation thanks to their unique in-ear tips, which makes them a lot more suitable to listen to in noisy conditions. They also have a slightly better sound than the Westone with a bit more balanced mid-range and a slightly better treble.
The KZ AS-10 are better multi balanced armature headphones than the Westone W40. Their sound quality surpasses significantly the W40. The Westone, on the other hand, have an in-line mic and remote with volume control, that the mic variant of the AS-10 doesn’t have. The W40 also have a better design, thanks to more comfortable earbuds, and are more portable thanks to their solid case. On the other hand, the KZ AS-10 have better sound performance and are cheaper, making them an obvious better choice over the W40.
The 1More Triple Driver are slightly better headphones overall than the Westone W40. The Westone have a more durable, premium design with replaceable cables, a better carrying case, and a more comfortable in-ear fit with a lot of tip options. The Westone also have better noise isolation, which makes them a bit more suitable to use in noisy conditions. On the other hand, the 1More sound better balanced than the Westones. The 1More also offer a better value for your money and many tip options to help you find the right fit.
If you want a wireless in-ear, then go for the Jabra Elite 65t Truly Wireless, but if you don't want to deal with battery life and wireless reliability issues, go for the Westone W40 instead. The Westone have a more durable and premium design, which comes with two cables in the box. They also have a lot more accessories, and tip sizes so you can easily find a fit that works for you. On the other hand, the Jabra are truly wireless headphones that are a bit more compact to carry around on your person. They also have an EQ so you can better customize their sound profile to your liking. They're a decent option for sports since they have no cable to hinder your movements, but their fit won't be as comfortable as the Westone.
Test Results
The Westone W40 have an ear-hook-like design which means the earbuds are at an angle to better fit the contours of your ears. They come with two cables; one that looks pretty standard and has the in-line remote and the second, the 'Epic Cable', is braided and gives off a much more high-end appeal. They also have interchangeable faceplates that come in 3 color variations, black, blue, and red, to better match your tastes and preferences. However, their overall design feels a bit bland and doesn't quite reflect their hefty price range.
The W40 have a wide variety of tips to help you find a fit that's comfortable for you. They have a more comfortable fit than the Etymotic ER4XR. They have multiple tip sizes and types, some made of memory foam that better conform to the shape of your ear canal. They're also worn like an ear-hook design, so the earbuds are shaped in a manner that fits snugly within the contours of your ears. This makes them more comfortable than typical in-ears, although if you're not a fan of the in-ear fit, they may still get a bit fatiguing after wearing them for a while.
The W40 have a simple and efficient control scheme. The inline remote is only available on the default cable which is not ideal, but the controls themselves are easy-to-use and well-spaced out. They provide the essential functions; call/play/pause, track skipping, and volume controls. The buttons are a bit flat, but they have good tactile feedback when you press them.
The W40 are as portable as most in-ear headphones. They will easily fit into your pockets and aren't much of hassle to carry on you at all times. They even come with a sturdy carrying case that also portable. It adds a bit more bulk to W40s so they may not fit into your pants pocket when they're in the case, but it shouldn't be an issue if you keep them in your jacket or your bag.
Comes with a tough carrying case that will protect the headphones from scratches, water damage, impacts, and drops. It's a bit bulky, but it's one of the sturdiest cases we tested so far for any in-ear headphone.
The Westone W40 are sturdy in-ear headphones with a lot of replaceable parts for added durability. They have the regular cable which is relatively thick and has the inline remote. However, it's not as resistant as the second cable provided in the box. The 'Epic Cable' is braided and a lot more durable than any other in-ear cable we've tested so far, but since it doesn't have the in-line remote, it might not be the cable you end up using. Unfortunately, the interchangeable faceplates are not as solid and broke when we tried to change one of them.
These headphones are quite stable. They have a pseudo-ear-hook design, so the cables adjacent to the earbuds are not as stiff or as stable as other ear-hook models. However, they're still stable enough to run with and won't easily fall out of your ears unless you physically pull them out or the audio cable gets hooked on something. This makes them above-average headphones for working out and for sports use.
- Westone W40 headphones
- Audio cables (x2)
- Earbud tips (x9)
- Wax removal tool
- Carrying case
- Manual
Excellent consistency. Like most in-ears, if the user is able to achieve a proper seal using the multiple tips that come with the Westone W40, then they should be able to achieve consistent results every time they use the headphones.
Average bass accuracy. The Westone W40 shows an under-emphasis of about 5dB in low-bass meaning these headphones will lack thump and low-end rumble in their sound. The overemphasis in high-bass translates into excess boominess in the sound but doesn't make up for the lacking low-bass.
Average mid accuracy performance. The bump in low-mid is the continuation of the high-bass overemphasis which continues up to 700Hz. This makes the sound of these headphones noticeably muddy and mid-rangy. High-mid also shows a bit of overemphasis which shifts the tonal balance of these headphones even more towards the mid-range.
Poor treble accuracy. The dip surrounding 5kHz, which spans from 2kHz to 8kHz, noticeably hurts the clarity, detail, and brightness of these headphones. The peak 10kHz means that these headphones could sound sharp and sibilant on S and T sounds like cymbals which may be uncomfortable for some. Our tests showed that the 10kHz may be attenuated by using the foam tips instead of the Westone W40's default silicone tips.
Good Isolation. Although these headphones don't have active noise cancellation, they achieve an impressive 10dB of reduction in the bass range. This is followed by 20dB of reduction in the mid and more than 30dB of reduction in the treble ranges. All of these values being good and impressive for a passive in-ear design.
Excellent leakage performance. Like most other closed in-ear headphones, the Westone W40 leak very little. The significant portion of the leakage is spread between 3kHz and 9kHz which is a narrow range. Additionally, the overall of level of leakage is very low.
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