Westone ES5 - Page 354

The TG!334 is a costly evaluation to make. I want to try it so badly, sounds like I might love it. And I love that it is universal and I don't have to deal with all the junk associated with customs now or in the future. But then again, it's universal. What if I can't make it fit right? And if I don't like them, selling them or returning them will be very difficult, and if I DO like them, selling my ES5 for anything worthwhile will be very difficult. I could afford to replace the ES5 with the TG!334, but it just win't work that way. It's too bad. I REALLY want to hear them. 

Yeah Yeah I feel the biggest gains and most appreciable difference to be made in phones is in simply switching to another phone. I haven't felt that switching components in the chain or using EQ has addressed my needs where the ES5 are concerned. Mostly, if the 334 does signify a largely quantifiable set of gains in most areas, I'd consider that highly appealing. Especially when people say, it sounds more "larger, transparent, full and has more weight and body" that's what I want out of it. More bass quantity, more transparency, detail, and a larger soundstage with more precise imaging. But yeah you're right in that no one does it all. I was rather taken aback when A\Bing my DDM against the ES5 the other day, for all the things that the ES5 betters the DDM, there was one track where the DDM was putting out sub bass that just didn't exist when playing back the same song with the ES5. It was this deep, resonant, quaking "boom" from a drum. I couldn't believe it haha

Soundfreq - You and me both man haha. Sometimes I think about the single cost of investment in the TG334, and think, man that's inching into Stax/Audeze territory... But I can't necessarily haul a Stax setup on the go can I? I dunno my eyes will be peeled in the FS section in the coming days. I will say that for my money, the fact that its a universal is a drawback since the shells look very large and ungainly. For someone who has two differently shaped set of ears, i appreciate the fact that the ES5 just twists in for a perfect seal every time. The plus side being that I could finally allow people to understand what im hearing with the 334. Anyway, with that said, first set to hit $1000 has my money
Edited by Idsynchrono_24 - 12/4/12 at 8:26am

People have summarized my impressions of the TG334 well. I found it to be insanely transparent, like nothing I had ever heard in an IEM. My one criticism was that the bass was a bit flabby and uncontrolled compared to the ES5. This issue was completely resolved with the universal demo of the Private 335 that I tried. If I were getting a custom IEM and cost was no issue, I would seriously consider the Private 335. However it is about $2000 through Jaben in HK. That's twice the price of the ES5 (although it does include free impressions.) It would actually be a nice complement to the ES5.

 

Back to the TG334, as with uelover fit was an issue for me too. I never really got comfortable. It is an awfully large IEM to have hanging off a solicon tip. (shigzeo did suggest some third party tips that might help.) As I said when I posted my TG334 impressions, when I walked away from Jabens I was still very happy with my ES5. Indeed I wonder if I have ever enjoyed such pleasure for my money as I have from the ES5 which still delights me every day. uelover is right that they have a grace that the TG334 lacks. This is a necessary trade-off. They have different sound signatures.

 

Having only spent about an hour with the TG334, I do not know if I would tire of its sound signature. It is not obvious to me that I would.

 

I will not be getting the TG334. They are too clunky for my tastes and the ES5 suits my listening very well. No doubt though, I am impressed by the TG334's clarity and transparency. To be clear, the TG334 does not lack nuance. (I felt that the Private 333 did - too bold and forward for my tastes.) Still the ES5 has a special subtlety and grace. 

 

The TG334 and ES5 are both fine headphones.

Thanks for the reply, cooper. Seems like a gamble. So many prefer a universal fit, and it may be great, or it may not be. One thing I love about the ES5 is the clean bass. Going backward seems unfortunate. But if it is meatier in exchange, I can live with that. Does it have a bit more meat to it? And how does it compare in quantity?

May I ask what cables you were using for the ES5?

 

Going from memory, I think that the TG334 did have a bit more bass than the ES5 but not as good quality. To my mind, the ES5 bass is close to perfect: it is deep and tight and does not impinge at all on the mids. It has the right quality as well as the right quantity. (Sorry, I'm not sure about meatiness; that word does not mean a lot to me.)

 

FYI the huge woofer in the ES5 has lots of headroom for adding bass. Using the the 10-band equalizer in Aroldan's Rockbox builds on my Classic, I played for a while with creating intricate bass boosts from sub-bass through mid and upper bass. The ES5 handled this beautiful. Ultimately I abandoned EQ as I like the ES5 sound signature just the way it is. However if you want more bass, you do not necessarily need a new IEM. You do need a DAP with a good equalizer; the stock iPod equalizer will not do.

 

 

I am using the stock Westone cable. I did use a copper TWcu cable for a while. I thought that it thickened the sound a bit but overall did not provide any real improvement. I actually have no desire to alter the ES5 sound signature to be more like the TG334 or any other IEM. I think that Westone did a great job in their audio design. 

 

In addition, any third party cable would make it impossible to use the Westone Monitor Vault; there is just no room to spare. I really like this case. I also have the Otterbox 1000 and Pelican 1010 but they reduce portability.

I see. It'd be nice if you could add additional thoughts after hearing the ES5 with the current cable I'm using. It really improved on so many things that made me keep the ES5 instead of selling it. I really didn't like the sound when I was using it with the stock cable.

GG, I know that you are a big fan of your cable upgrade. I would like to hear it someday.

Everyone says the Westone Mids and Vocals are excellent but on mine they always feel recessed.  The lower bass always seems to cover them up.  It is something I tried to fix.  I tried silver cables, different dacs and amps.  Always feels the same to me.  Do you think something is wrong with my pair of ES5s?  

 

Even my pair of LCD-3s dont feel vocal recessed.

Edited by Hiyono - 12/5/12 at 5:43am

 

Something sounds wrong. There is absolutely no need to switch from the stock cable. How does it sound directly from your iPad Mini with no EQ?

I dont remember what It sounds like directly from the ipad mini, but it has the similar recessed vocals directly from iphone 4s and iphone5 , Leckerton 6s mkII, and many others I tried.

You are hearing the ES5's as they are. I also tried two different cables and different sources including DX-100 and not one of these items opened up the sound of the 5's. I decided to go to full size over the ear portable headphones instead.

Not everyone is going to have the same taste in headphones; that is a given. However, the ES5 should not have recessed mids.

Wow, I never thought I'd hear the words "mids" and "recessed" in an ES5 thread. There's definitely something wrong there, maybe a bad fit?

I'd say bad fit or bad tuning. Let Westone know.