Ortofon e-Q5 Impressions Thread - Page 7

I have seen paint coming off of red e-Q7s in a couple of cases now.

^ You're right it's possible, but I'm pretty sure the driver is sealed against the back of the housing, so I'm pretty confident this won't actually become an issue.

Short summary of my first week with the e-Q5:

I've been using them mostly for commuting and while lying down in bed and overall they've passed the test with flying colours. Wearing the e-Q5 downwards in bed is a breeze, just stick them in and you can comfortably lie on the side with them. Wearing them over-ear while out and about takes a bit of practice, but after a few days becomes equally effortless: stick them in downwards first, then slip the cables over your ears in one swift move - and you're done.

Speaking of the cable, it's without a doubt the best I've seen on MAs so far (shame on you Final Audio), very flexible and it stays that way even in colder weather. Tangling is no big issue, neither is microphonics if you wear it over-ear. Isolation is entirely satisfactory for my needs, slightly better than with the e-Q7 and noticably better than with any of the FADs. I had no problem at all while listening to music during my daily subway rides and ambient noise was kept at a perfectly tolerable level.

Favourable impressions continue as far as audio quality is concerned, to my ears these are extremely good and refined sounding IEMs with jaw dropping transparency. Compared to the e-Q7 (which are still among my very favourite phones) there are much more similarities than differences. If anything the e-Q5 are a tiny bit less mid centric with slightly more highs, but don't expect significant changes vs. the e-Q7. Sibilance is again no issue with the new Ortofon model, the FAD SB and SS are noticably more touchy in this regard. When I got the e-Q7 a year ago it had by far the best bass quality I'd heard and one year later with the e-Q5 nothing much has changed. There are many IEMs (mostly DDs) that hit harder and many (mostly BAs) that are faster, but IMO the combination of both bass precision and texture in MAs is unrivalled.

Of course not everything is perfect with the e-Q5, but so far all I can think of are minor complaints: a chin slider would have been handy, a shirt clip a nice gesture and I would have preferred an L-shaped plug. Oh and there's no case included - no big deal for me, but most likely an annoyance for some.

I hope I'll have the time soon to do these little beauties justice and add them to my moving armature shootout, but let me just say as a preliminary conclusion that the e-Q5 are winners in my book and worth a wholehearted recommendation. As for the price/performance ratio, of course you won't find any bang-for-buck blockbusters at the $250 level, but nevertheless I've rarely seen such stellar design, great build quality and sonic excellence at a better price.

Wait until you get into customs and start thinking $400 is a steal lol :P

You mean low. $400 is near the cheapest you would expect to spend on a pair of customs with some exceptions. Down the line when I get more money I plan on getting something closer to the top of the line customs. Maybe I'll fly to Austria to visit and rob James to afford something like that

James you pushed me over the edge! Just ordered them from Dimitri, have been itching for the e-q7, when I saw almost the same thing for $120 cheaper I just had to do it. Thats the Panasonic HJE900, the Fischer Audio Silver Bullet and now the Ortofon e-q5 in less than a month  Monster Miles Davis too if I throw in my moms gift 

You mean low. $400 is near the cheapest you would expect to spend on a pair of customs with some exceptions. Down the line when I get more money I plan on getting something closer to the top of the line customs. Maybe I'll fly to Austria to visit and rob James to afford something like that

BTW what would you do if your mom preferred the e-Q5 over the MDs?