144 MacDirectory
PROFILE
HEAR HEAR > WESTONE GIVES AUDIOPHILES SOMETHING TO
CHEER ABOUT
For nearly 50 years Westone
has been a leading name
in products designed to increase your
musical listening pleasure, including the
ES49 Custom Fit earplug and the UM56
Universal Tip ear tips. So it is not
surprising that they are touting the release
of their newest, most ambitious product
to date, Westone 3 earphones.
Designed specifically for the iPod,
Westone 3 are high-end earphones that
deliver a sound quality that cannot be
beat. Designed for and by "confirmed
audiophiles," these headphones are, said
Westone's music products and media
marketing specialist, Doug Leavy, "the
only three-way, universal fit earpiece on
the market."
The '3' in the product name comes from
Westone providing a high, mid, and low
frequency driver in the earphone, giving
users a more balanced and neutral sound.
Since the whole area of iPods was
somewhat new to them, before embarking
on the development of the Westone 3,
Westone's marketing department spent
quite a bit of time conversing with high-
end users about what they did and did not
like in their earphones.
Most of the answers centered around ear
piece comfort and sound quality, which
are two domains in which Westone excels.
Leavy explained, "With any earphone, be it
custom or universal, the first thing we aim
for is universal fit and comfort. (Secondly),
there is a certain sound signature that
Westone is known for, and it is a signature
of very high quality and we will not
compromise on that."
It is this commitment to quality that has
made and continues to make Westone the
top choice for professional musicians, a
market, says Leavy, that the company
thought would always be their main con-
sumer base – until the advent of the iPod.
"In the early 1990s we started getting
into the in-ear monitor market…and…
for a while we were just OEM'ing (Original
Equipment Manufacturing) universal fit
ear monitors for some other guys. Then
about 2002 we went out under our own
name and started designing products…
iPods didn't exist back then. (So) when
we first started doing this we aimed at
the musician. We always figured there
would be (consumers) who would adopt
(the pro-duct), but for it to become the
boom that it has, particularly over the last
18 months, none of us could have
predicted this."
Of course Westone isn't the only
manufacturer that has responded to the
ever-increasing popularity of the iPod, but,
Leavy maintains, they are one of the only
ones that can bring to the table decades
of expertise on in-ear technology and 50
years experience fitting the human ear.
Leavy told
MacDirectory that he expects "a
flood of (iPod) products" to hit the market
in the near future. But as for how, or even
if, this will impact sales of the Westone 3,
Leavy has no worries. "What will separate
the companies will be the product they
release. Right now you can run to Best Buy
and see a flood of $30 and $40 ear buds,
but none of them are great."
Westone's premise is that people who love
music and are really into sound will want
something that can deliver what the Wes-
tone 3 does, and they won't mind paying a
little more for it. These individuals, Leavy
explained, are already paying large
amounts of money on their equipment, so
"in these cases, chances are you're not
going to buy $50 ear buds. (And) that is
the market we're aiming at (with the
Westone 3). We're not trying to be a mass
market earphone company – we are taking
more of a boutique market aspect."
So if you're looking for a product that
delivers comfort, style, and 50 years
knowledge of the ear that can guarantee
an open, professional sound from your
iPod, Westone 3 is the first – and last –
place you should look.
WORDS BY JONE DEVLIN
