Westone Laboratories has been creating earpieces, hearing protection and audiology products for hearing health since 1959, and later pioneered the custom in-ear monitor market in the 1980s. Various collaborations in the pro audio market followed with companies such as Jerry Harvey, Ultimate Ears and Shure, before launching its own Westone-branded IEMs in 2002. In 2020, the parent company sold the Westone Audio music/pro audio IEM division to Lucid Audio.
Recently, Westone Audio unveiled its AM Pro X universal- fit IEMs, available in single, dual and triple balanced-armature configurations, combined with a StageSense filter system. The latter provides users with a balanced mix of audio and feedback from the audience and fellow performers on stage via an acoustic port on the rear of the earpiece (see image above). By blending the direct monitor mix feed with ambient stage sounds, performers get a better sense of the house/stage environment. For monitor engineers, a key benefit is they can converse with someone at monitor world without constantly having to remove their in-ears.
I reviewed the three-driver AM Pro X 30 ($479/list), which includes the earpieces, cleaning tool, carrying case, 10 foam and 10 silicon tips in various sizes and a replaceable cable. The latter is a 52” Danish-made Estron Linum Bax T2 model with ultra-low resistance 84-strand, silver-plated copper litz wires. A 64” cable is an available option — the extra length being a plus when working on larger consoles.
The tough, molded “monitor vault” case locks tight with a waterproof seal and has a pressure relief valve to compensate for air pressure differences when opening it. No TRS 1/8”-to-1/4” adapter is included; you’ll have to supply your own if you’re connecting to most pro consoles.
I began listening to the AM Pro X 30s with some medium- sized foam ear tips on some dynamic 24-bit program material from mixes I had done. These IEMs really deliver, especially in the HF detail, which was surprising, considering their affordable pricing. The mids were nicely balanced and LF response was spot-on — not exaggerated or flabby.
Next, I switched to listening from an ATW-R3250 beltpack of an Audio-Technica ATW-3255 IEM system. With a sensitivity of 124 dB @ 1mW, the results were clean and capable of handling some very high SPLs — no issues with headroom here!
The ambience port offers a good balance of being able to communicate with other people, without losing a sense of the mix. I do wish there was some means of slightly tweaking the ambience/program levels or sometimes even switching to a sealed operation to block the environment entirely, but a bit of gaff tape over the ports can accomplish that objective. The musicians who tried the AM Pro X 30 really liked both the ambience feature and the overall sound of the earpieces.
I could definitely agree with that.
For more info, visit Westone Audio at westoneaudio.com.
