Ortofon e-Q5 Impressions Thread - Page 4

Can you get these in UK yet?

As promised, e-Q5 pictures in the wild (beware of some ear hair):

No problem at all wearing these over-ears, but I have rather large ones, so YMMV.

Oh and for the downward junkies (looking at you, Bennyboy): no chin slider, no shirt clip I'm afraid. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bennyboy71 

Can you get these in UK yet?

Have been looking for them too... Seems like you can only get them imported from Japan...

As far as I know there's only one website that has Ortofon in-ears (http://www.iheadphones.co.uk/ortofon-headphones.html) and hopefully they'll add the e-Q5 soon! Am also looking to buy these.. Will keep you posted should I find them somewhere!

Phil

Wow, they have a great price on the e-Q7s. Actually, that's the cheapest I've seen them sell for.

Any impressions on this new IEM yet? I am trying to decide between the ATH-CK10, e-Q7 and e-Q5. Looking at Amazon's prices, the e-Q5 is the cheapest of the bunch - coming in at JPY18,200. The e-Q7 is JPY22,500, and the ATH-CK10 is smack in the middle.

I read that the ATH-CK10 has excellent treble, but the e-Q7 has a more enjoyable quantity of bass. However, the e-Q7's mids are a bit too forward, so really curious if the e-Q5 is a better balance between the two.

^ I haven't had enough time for extensive A/Bing, so I can't give a conclusive opinion yet, but so far the e-Q5 retain the e-Q7's basic characteristics while slightly improving on mids/highs balance. Seems to me like they've boosted treble as far as they could without risking sibilance. Soundwise I prefer both over the CK10, but this is of course personal preference.

So these seem to be more balanced than the e-Q6. Are they as good as the e-Q7 and lastly..does the fit issue with the e-Q7 in terms of the large nozzle still apply to the e-Q5. The housing looks the same but pics can only do so much. I did have some issues with that once in a while and my ears got sore so don't really want that to happen again.

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

^ I haven't had enough time for extensive A/Bing, so I can't give a conclusive opinion yet, but so far the e-Q5 retain the e-Q7's basic characteristics while slightly improving on mids/highs balance. Seems to me like they've boosted treble as far as they could without risking sibilance. Soundwise I prefer both over the CK10, but this is of course personal preference.

You seem restrained in your impressions of the EQ5.   Could it possibly sound 'better' whilst being cheaper than the EQ7?  Hmm......

I am impressed thought at how well they wear over and under the ear.  Klipsch flashbacks were definitely in order.  Thank goodness.  Toss some earguides on those bad boys.

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

^ I haven't had enough time for extensive A/Bing, so I can't give a conclusive opinion yet, but so far the e-Q5 retain the e-Q7's basic characteristics while slightly improving on mids/highs balance. Seems to me like they've boosted treble as far as they could without risking sibilance. Soundwise I prefer both over the CK10, but this is of course personal preference.

Sounds very promising, thanks for your preliminary assessment. What do you think of the build quality? I read these are likely to be Q7 drivers in a cheaper enclosure to lower costs. Has the cut backs compromised build quality? I'm intending to use them for jogging, so the cable would be flapping around quite a bit. What are the cable microphonics like?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by db597 

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

^ I haven't had enough time for extensive A/Bing, so I can't give a conclusive opinion yet, but so far the e-Q5 retain the e-Q7's basic characteristics while slightly improving on mids/highs balance. Seems to me like they've boosted treble as far as they could without risking sibilance. Soundwise I prefer both over the CK10, but this is of course personal preference.

Sounds very promising, thanks for your preliminary assessment. What do you think of the build quality? I read these are likely to be Q7 drivers in a cheaper enclosure to lower costs. Has the cut backs compromised build quality? I'm intending to use them for jogging, so the cable would be flapping around quite a bit. What are the cable microphonics like?
 

Looks to be different as the impedence and efficiencies aren't the same. Doesn't make it worse. Cabling seems odd but it looks fine over ear and should eliminate microphonics except maybe in high winds. They still stick out there in the breeze.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawrster 

So these seem to be more balanced than the e-Q6. Are they as good as the e-Q7 and lastly..does the fit issue with the e-Q7 in terms of the large nozzle still apply to the e-Q5. The housing looks the same but pics can only do so much. I did have some issues with that once in a while and my ears got sore so don't really want that to happen again.

Housing and nozzle have the same dimensions as the e-Q7, except that the e-Q5's main corpus is slightly shorter. This shorter housing may be an advantage, but for those who had fit troubles because of the e-Q7's short nozzle and wide housing, I don't expect the e-Q5 to be a significant improvement. As you can see in this post, the FAD's housing tapers towards the nozzle, therefore they might be an easier fit for smaller ears.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

You seem restrained in your impressions of the EQ5.   Could it possibly sound 'better' whilst being cheaper than the EQ7?  Hmm......

 

I am impressed thought at how well they wear over and under the ear.  Klipsch flashbacks were definitely in order.  Thank goodness.  Toss some earguides on those bad boys.

I am restrained for two reasons: first, I haven't had much time for in-depth comparing, so these aren't yet sound impressions. Second, the e-Q5 struck a chord with me from the first moment I unpacked them and put them into my ears. I almost instantly fell in love with their perfect combination of clean, beautiful design, reassuring build and stellar sound quality. These were meant as a loaner pair for reviewing, but I bought them right away. So I believe some kind of cooling-off period would be beneficial for my judgement. Odd I know, but that's how it goes.

I had the X10 and they looked ridiculous over-ear. Ortofon's design is smarter and their cable incomparably better. Oh and earguides would definitely spoil the look!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by db597 

Sounds very promising, thanks for your preliminary assessment. What do you think of the build quality? I read these are likely to be Q7 drivers in a cheaper enclosure to lower costs. Has the cut backs compromised build quality? I'm intending to use them for jogging, so the cable would be flapping around quite a bit. What are the cable microphonics like?

If anything I think the build quality is even more reassuring. The housing is pretty much indestructible, the cable is more flexible than on the e-Q7. A much better cable than on any of the FADs. We have to trust Ortofon about the inner strain relief though. You don't get the e-Q7's stylish case, that's the only cut back I've noticed.

As for jogging, I haven't tried, but assume you'd need at least a shirt clip if you want to wear them downwards. Microphonics without it would be pretty bad. Over-ear would surely be advisable, but like I've said before, this may be hit or miss depending on your ear anatomy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by goodvibes 

Looks to be different as the impedence and efficiencies aren't the same. Doesn't make it worse.

Do you think this would imply they're using a different driver? AFAIK Ortofon themselves say the driver is the same as on the e-Q7.

Yes, I'm sure it's the same type but not the exact same driver. No crossover or added resisters to account for a spec change so it must be a different driver. I db in efficiency is possible by housing/tip but a 20% impedence change can't be the exact same driver without added circuitry. Qualitatively negligible. We'll wait for you on that.

Comparing the spec sheets, it's 40 ohms +/- 25% for the e-Q5 and 31 ohms +/- 25% for the e-Q7. Sensitivity is exactly the same: 117dB +/- 3dB.

I noted that the efficiency is negligible. That they target a tolerance that the other falls into doesn't make it the same. They plan for every EQ5 to be 40 ohms and every EQ7 at 32. Is the tolerance really quoted at 25% for impedance? I've never seen that on any driver. I thought it was 5%. You couldn't build a proper x-over or match side to side efficiency withing with that type of variance. A difference from 30 to 50 ohms of acceptable tolerance just seems unreasonable to me.