Westone ES5 - Page 84

I think you will get everything you want from either the ES5 or JH13Pro (don't have JH16Pro).  They're both incredible with a wide variety of sources or amps, or DAPs, offering a nice powerful, warm, rich, crisp, detailed, transparent and spacious sound.  Both have better depth of stage than my ES3X which put me on stage with the performers rather than in the first couple of rows.

There is only an occasional source or amp that doesn't work well with one or the other.  I tend to use the ES5 most with my iPhone and Pico Slim or HM-602 portable, and the JH13Pro with my balanced SR-71b/TWag cable connected to a nice USB DAC on my Macbook.  Neither ES5 or JH13Pro have as much hiss with a noisy amp as the W3 and ES3X, which I think it also very important.  As for comfort, I still prefer the heat sensitive vinyl tips (canal portion only) on the ES5 over full acrylic body and tip of the JH13Pro, but in general even the full acrylic customs are more comfortable for me for hours of listening than a universal IEM with standard tips.

- The main differences to me are that the ES5 has a little fuller or more vibrant mids than my JH13Pro, but some amps like my RSA amps (Protector/SR-71b) bring out the JH13Pro mids more.  The ES5 are slightly more forward than the JH13Pro, but not nearly as forward as my ES3X, so it's just right.  The JH13Pro mids are not really recessed and are more forward than those in a W3 (or full size Denon), but they are sometimes a little farther away than I like (depending on the amp).  Usually my complaints are when using the Pico Slim with JH13Pro, which itself is not a recessed sounding amp but somehow doesn't match the JH13pro nearly as well as my Protector or SR-71b. 

On the other hand, the Slim is a perfect match for my ES3X and ES5, with incredible soundstage approaching that of the balanced SR-71b, and good bass control, rich mids, and crisp but refined non-sibilant highs. In general I'd say the JH13Pro sound a little more laid back and I've compared them to my O2 Mk1/WES before.  I'd say the ES5 are a little more energetic or alive sounding, and remind me a bit of my HE-6 although the mids are not as forward as the HE-6.  (I've previously compared the ES3X as sounding more like an HD800, and my UE11Pro were more like a D5000).

- The second difference is in the bass, where the ES5 bass is very strong and extended but the JH13Pro bass is a little more boosted in the deep bass.  So occasionally with some amps like my Pico Slim the JH13Pro bass sounds like the deepest bass is disconnected from the rest of the bass and that it's coming from everywhere (like a unidirectional subwoofer).  One example is with the Pico Slim and the JH13Pro reproducing a string bass, where sometimes the position of the deepest bass "thump" of the string being plucked is not as well pinpointed in the imaging and soundstage as the mid-bass and upper-bass, or even the higher pitched scratching sounds of the fingers on the strings.  

Again, switching to my RSA Protector or SR-71b (and other amps) makes the bass much better in the JH13Pro, but the Slim just doesn't sound quite as good with the 13's as the others.  This bass issue for me is only one of imaging within soundstage being divided with the Slim, and I don't think the JH13Pro bass energy is too much as I found with the UE11Pro.  Neither IEM is overly warm, but they are warm enough to keep almost anyone happy.  They wont be mistaken for an ER4, RE252 or PFE122 and yet wont put off lovers of those either.

- The third difference is not as big, and that is the high treble of the ES5 is a little more present or energetic than the JH13Pro treble, but totally without grain or harshness; and so with a bright or aggressive source like a 4G Nano or RSA Protector the ES5 don't sound as good as they could with a better source or amp (SR-71b is better than Protector, and works well with both JH13Pro and ES5).  Switch to a 3G or 6G Nano, iPhone 4, HM-602 or HM-801, DACmini, Amphora, DACport, uDAC-2 and the ES5 come into their own again (as do the JH13Pro).  

Despite this slight bump in the high treble for me, the ES5 seem to work very well with all genre and with most of my low bit-rate music, and do not increase sibilance at all.  So, when I listen to some of my sibilant recordings like "Girl in the Other Room" or some Kathleen Edwards "Back to Me" I don't have an issue and can enjoy them.  However, one recording that sounds horrible with both IEM is the 3OH!3 album "Want" that my kids bought on iTunes, but it sounds much worse with the ES5 - the highs are awful with that album (at least the iTunes 256K version).

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Originally Posted by SolidVictory

Thank you for the very detailed write-up. I understand more of how the JH13 sounds now from your description. However, I am curious about how the ES5 handles bass. You mentioned that the JH13 is a little more boosted in its deep bass. Would this technically be good for someone who enjoys bass impact like myself? Can the Westone ES5 contend with the bass impact of the JH13, or does it fall short? You wrote that the Westone ES5 bass is very strong and extended; however, in your opinion, for someone who listens to a lot of J-Pop and Jazz (both of which requires a tight yet powerful bass response in my opinion), would the JH13 better serve the bass in these genres or would the ES5 do better?

I know a lot of people are skeptical of the Westone ES5's bass performance, since it only has one bass driver. Albeit, I understand that the number of drivers don't matter--it's the tuning of the drivers that does. However, I'm still a fan of a very good bass response--it is an essential part of the music that I do not want to be disappointed upon listening to the Westone ES5. For comparison, I thought the Sennheiser IE8's bass was too thick, but had the best bass impact that I've heard from an IEM (impact wise, it beat my EarSonics SM3; bass texture and bass detail-wise, it did not).

Would you say the Westone's ES5 has a slight dB boost in the lower frequencies to deliver an "expected" bass impact from modern hip-hop and club songs that emphasis bass? I don't want an overbearing bass--just something that can sound like it's not struggling to impact the bass as best as it can. I've also read some of your posts, and you seem completely content with the ES5's bass, while other users (like parrots), feels that the ES5 is lacking bass. Do you think he feels that the ES5's bass is lacking because he listens to genres of music that might emphasis the bass more? Or perhaps he would not notice the lack of bass impact on the ES5 if he had never heard the JH13 or JH16?

If no one wanted to read my long ramble (I was being rather redundant and I realize that). I am basically asking: can the Westone ES5 handle bass impact and extension as well as the JH13 or does it simply fall short (even if it is minutely, like 5%).

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict