New ears for your music

People will find the dead right in the headphones (c) Kurt Cobain

From time immemorial music was taken up by religious and political forces, revolutionaries, commanders. It was part of the ideology, the impact on the psyche of the masses. Music affects people literally at the level of physiology. When listening to a suitable melody, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released at the right moment in the brain, which causes a feeling of elevation, enthusiasm and even euphoria.



In the XXI century, we all run, are in a state of stress and try to accelerate even more, inserting gags with favorite tracks into our ears. However, not all headphones are equally useful to convey the composition of sounds that the author intended. It is possible, including therefore sometimes "not catchy." For music lovers, this is a loss of losses, for mere mortal listeners, an omission that they are not even aware of. Today, under the cut - wow-headphones that are responsible for the sound, namely - a whole line of Westone reinforcement headphones - Am Pro 10 , Am Pro 20 and Am Pro 30 .

Since 1959, Westone Laboratories, Inc. has been manufacturing medical accessories for hearing aids, signalers headphones, hearing aids, so-called ear monitors for professional musicians, and even noise protection headphones for jet pilots. There was just a line for those who suddenly hear the Westone brand for the first time (well, not every stall is sold) and thinks that this is some kind of regular noname. And now there will be a line that is useful for all readers: on Habré there was an interesting article about the history of the company Westone from one of the editors of Geektimes - it is recommended to read or at least to view the pictures.
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Naturally, a company with such a level of expertise could not help but join in the struggle for the right to create in-ear headphones (the same earbuds) claiming to be ideal. Meet the Westone Am Pro 10, 20 and 30 headphones line.

Equipment

Headphones are sold in cardboard boxes, which in terms of quality of performance, although good, still await any more elegant greeting from devices in this price range. On the other hand, history teaches us that it is incorrect to judge a book by its cover.



Inside there is a hare of the thicker sealer, in which the headphones themselves are neatly packed, as well as a plastic box-box for transportation.





Inside the box is a duck set of ear cushions of 10 (!) Pairs. 5 pairs of different sizes, each set in 2 versions: thin silicone and “foamy” Comply plugs. Each size has its own color - difficult to confuse.





Such equipment is far from being found everywhere - if there is almost always some kind of jacket, then a similar arsenal of ear cushions is a rather rare phenomenon. Ears literally applaud.

Appearance

I want to start from the end, from the holivar element - the plug. Both the "direct" and the "L-shaped" plug have their supporters, in the case of the Westone the L-shaped plug is used. Quite small, without any protrusions for more convenient detachment - just a plug, but high-quality and fairly durable in appearance. From a thin macbook on the table it may not be very convenient to pull it out, but from a player or smartphone, what the doctor ordered.



Next comes the wire. In this case, a braided pigtail of oxygen-free copper , which also looks very reliable, but sometimes gets confused so much that I want to listen to the roughest songs of Leningrad.





There is no volume control on the wire, and this is probably a minus - you don’t always want to reach for the device, and sometimes it’s completely uncomfortable. No microphone - all this suggests that this is not a headset for use with a smartphone while running, namely, music headphones, where the volume of the sound will still have to be adjusted with the knobs on the device itself.



The highlight of the wire and the headphones themselves - MMCX Audio connector, which they are connected into a single unit. This means that at any time they can be disconnected and replaced - for example, if you have torn the wire (sometimes it happens) or, for example, the plug is broken. Practical - MMCX-wire is cheaper than new headphones.



The headphone case, made of translucent plastic, through which the filling is slightly visible completes the audio chain.





The headphone case itself is very light and rather compact, in the ear it is located in one unique way - “horizontally”, in the ear shell anti-winder, additionally fixing itself over the ear curl due to the more rigid (in this place) part of the wire. The fact that the headset is inserted correctly you will understand the “coming” noise isolation, which is practically absent in the wrong position.



The first time to insert the headphones is somewhat unusual - you have to figure out where the left is, and where is the right, which side to insert each of them ... But after a while you get used to it and start using them almost blindly. However, all the same, the installation and disassembly of headphones takes a little longer than the usual “plugs”.

As for the "assiduity", then it can be divided into two "parts" and with both everything is good. The first is the body itself, which is very light and in the ear is almost not felt and does not move at all while moving; the second - ear cushions inside the ear canal, which, when properly selected, will provide excellent sound insulation and will not “crush” (and there is something to choose from).

As for the headphone casing - in addition to any wiring, there are balanced rebar emitters inside, which in the AM Pro 10 model are one driver, in the Am Pro 20 model there are two, and in AM Pro 30, as you can guess ... well, how do you think ? That's right, as many as three things. Three, Karl!



Visually, “from a distance,” the device can be distinguished except by color: the Westone AM Pro 10 has a “filling” in red, while the Am Pro 20 and Am Pro 30 have blue and green, respectively.


For clarity, here's a tablet with a difference in the characteristics of this line of headphones:

	Westone AM Pro 10	Westone AM Pro 20	Westone AM Pro 30
Minimum Reproducible Frequency (Hz)	20
Maximum Reproducible Frequency (Hz)	16,000	18,000
Impedance (ohm)	25	27	56
Sensitivity (dB / mW)	114	119	124
Passive noise insulation	12 dB
The number of emitters	one	2	3

Sound

AM Pro 30 is expected to be the coolest, although all three pairs of headphones demonstrate excellent sound quality in the whole range - clear and rich sound, without something “superfluous”, very loud. By the way, the music was listened to on the rather powerful Astell & Kern A320 player - a novelty that fully reveals the potential of these headphones. Yes, such a set costs a lot of money, but it allows you to hear “that very difference” and listen to your favorite tracks like you have never heard before.



As for sound insulation, you can hear the world around you in headphones (passive noise isolation is 12 dB), but only when the music is not playing. When music is playing, the world around is silent. However, with some movements (strong smile or chewing movements with the jaw) they create a small loophole for external noise.

Instead of output

Headphone cushioning is a process dependent on the owner. Sometimes it lasts for years. So, you can safely buy high-quality headphones and take care of them, rather than buying the next noodle “all for 33”. The new AM-line of Westone headphones can be safely recommended even to the most sophisticated audiophiles and music lovers (by the way, you know what the difference is?) - dopamine is guaranteed, there will be no indifferent.



Thank you for your attention, we are ready to answer your questions.