[SilverEars]

I'm interested in the ultimate, but what is really turning me off is the requirements to wire the money. Has there been anybody that has ran into issues with this?

Also, any other top of the line CIMs to be recommended? It's a toss-up between NT-6 and these for me. I lost one of the drivers for NT6, so looking for a good replacement.

 

[proedros]

let us know how se5 ult sounds if you get it

also have NT6 (+whiplash hybrid v3 cable) and i am 101% happy with it (especially for the money i spent) but se5 seems a very nice ciem

i went for the zeus XR but se5 remains a very desirable ciem in my mind

 

[Rollk2]

Spiral Ear owner waits to be sure your ears are big enough before to ask you to sent the amount. You've no risk to purchase those CIEMs, but you've to know Spiral Ear is not a communicative brand, hence you've to be patient if you've no answer to your emails.

 

[SilverEars]

let us know how se5 ult sounds if you get it

also have NT6 (+whiplash hybrid v3 cable) and i am 101% happy with it (especially for the money i spent) but se5 seems a very nice ciem

i went for the zeus XR but se5 remains a very desirable ciem in my mind

Too bad I am unable to compare the SE5 Ult to the NT6(as I stated, lost one of the drivers). NT6 was definately better performing than the UERM, and currently UERM is the only CIEM I can compare with. I will see how it performs.

 

[SilverEars]

Hi Yall, just got my SE5 Ult. Here is a shot of it. It comes with a Pelican case, cleaner thingy, a business card, and photo'd instruction on how to put the earphones on.

I didn't know the SE5's were made of silicone material. Weird coming from acrylic as the friction on the silicone makes for forceful fittings. But, I think the benefits are tighter seal and silicone material providing more of a tolerance when it comes to fit.

I need to spend some more time with them to finalize my opinions on them, but didn't experience any wowing when I first listen to them, and now wows yet, just trying to find a reason why others think these were the top. Haven't run into it yet. Will see... Perhaps some brain burn-in. I don't claim this short impression as definate yet. I will still need to try several different sources, etc..

Edit: I edited out some statements. Took them out as my impression seems to change as I listen more to them. I think new set of headphones is akin to a new set of glasses. You need to give it time for the brain to adjust to them. More impressions to come.

 

[Bad Username]

Give yourself some time to get used to the signature. I also did not like them at first, was not impressed like i expected. They do have the smoothest, least sparkle in terms of treble out of all my totl ciems. So it sounds slightly rolled off when coming from something like a Zeus XIV. Like many others have said, they have the most organic and natural sound.

 

[SilverEars]

Give yourself some time to get used to the signature. I also did not like them at first, was not impressed like i expected. They do have the smoothest, least sparkle in terms of treble out of all my totl ciems. So it sounds slightly rolled off when coming from something like a Zeus XIV. Like many others have said, they have the most organic and natural sound.

You are right. I was being a bit hasty. I'm starting to enjoy them a bit. I changed my post, and deleted some unnecessary statements I've made.

Positive traits are the subtle details it outputs. Also, I can understand the statements regarding the SE5 Ult not being fatiguing. It's not an aggressive IEM or that forward. When I put my UERM on, I noticed it was more forward. I've I go by memory(as I do not have my NT6 anymore). NT6 were forward with vocals from what I recall. SE5 Ult is not like that, and different.

Did somebody mention SE5 Ult is akin to LCD headphones? I can understand this. It does have such signature.

 

[Bad Username]

Did somebody mention SE5 Ult is akin to LCD headphones? I can understand this. It does have such signature.

Oh yes, i have an LCD3 Fazor. Definitely similar, though the LCD3f is a bit brighter and not as smooth in the upper midrange and treble, probably due to it being the newer Fazor edition.

 

[SilverEars]

LOL. My ears are adjusting to them. I guess I didn't notice it last time my ears were adjusting to my NT6 when I first start listening to them, and then at some point it hit me, and really digged them. And I believe it's the same case with the SE5U. My ears are acustomed to it now, and it sounds much better than I initially heard them. I recall this happening with my full sized HD650. It sounded recessed at first until I listened to them a bit, and once my ears adjusted, I preferred it over other headphones at the time, became a fav fullsized. I think the infamous HD650 veil was likely due to people giving them a brief listen, and base their impressions on that. So, I learned a lesson today.

You are right, SE5U seems to be smooth in the upper midrange, and I'd describe the treble as smooth in a sense not being aggressive or sparkly(or forward), but the details are not lost, it is a detail outputting IEM. Not sure if there is as much of a deph in tonality I would ideally like(probably needs more brain burn-in).

Now, I'm starting to understand when somebody said NT6 was mid forward. I find SE5U a bit smoother on a certain area in the mids for my taste though. Very happy with the bass.

 

[13candles]

Give yourself some time to get used to the signature. I also did not like them at first, was not impressed like i expected. They do have the smoothest, least sparkle in terms of treble out of all my totl ciems. So it sounds slightly rolled off when coming from something like a Zeus XIV. Like many others have said, they have the most organic and natural sound.

So if you don't mind me asking, how would you compare your Zeus to the SE5U? Would you say one is more resolved than the other ? Or are they entirely different sound signatures?

Really interested in the SE5U but have only heard the Zeus XIV. Any comparison would be great for me in making a decision

 

[Bad Username]

So if you don't mind me asking, how would you compare your Zeus to the SE5U? Would you say one is more resolved than the other ? Or are they entirely different sound signatures?

Really interested in the SE5U but have only heard the Zeus XIV. Any comparison would be great for me in making a decision

Note that my Zeus XIV is an Adel module version.
They are both relatively neutral with slight mid forward sound signature. SE5U is a touch warmer. Both are pretty neutral in the mid bass and bass with SE5U having MUCH better extension down into the subbass along with the natural dynamic driver like decay it is famous for.
The Zeus has more treble sparkle and energy, where as the SE5U has a much smoother and more airy quality that makes individual sounds appear more 3 dimensional in comparison. However, in some cases the SE5U can be too smooth and lacking in sparkle. Going from Zeus to SE5 may make the latter sound a bit rolled off (source depending) . The SE5U is a very source dependent iem, more so than the Zeus.
The midrange is where the 2 differ the most for me personally. I mostly listen to female vocal heavy music. The Zeus XIV to me, in comparison, has a forward but rather unenergetic, smooth yet unemotional presentation of vocals. Voices don't really have as much bite and don't grip your attention. The SE5U is the opposite. The SE5U has a "breathy" quality to vocals without being overly warm or thick. It's like you can hear/feel the singer stressing to get that last note out before a breath, something that was not noticed on the Zeus XIV. It also has a very slightly shouty (megaphonic?) like quality to the upper midrange that really brings out the emotion in music and makes voices sound very natural and organic. In certain types of music this may be undesirable, and even harsh/fatiguing (source dependent).
Soundstage is very source dependent for both. Above comments were with Chord Mojo and Sony ZX2. I usually run my SE5U with my Schiit Mjolnir 2 / Yggdrasil setup through my Silver Dragon balanced xlr cables. In which they sound absolutely phenomenal, better than my LCD3F in almost every way. Can't use Zeus XIV with the same setup due to excessive hiss (common issue for Zeus).

 

[13candles]

Note that my Zeus XIV is an Adel module version.
They are both relatively neutral with slight mid forward sound signature. SE5U is a touch warmer. Both are pretty neutral in the mid bass and bass with SE5U having MUCH better extension down into the subbass along with the natural dynamic driver like decay it is famous for.
The Zeus has more treble sparkle and energy, where as the SE5U has a much smoother and more airy quality that makes individual sounds appear more 3 dimensional in comparison. However, in some cases the SE5U can be too smooth and lacking in sparkle. Going from Zeus to SE5 may make the latter sound a bit rolled off (source depending) . The SE5U is a very source dependent iem, more so than the Zeus.
The midrange is where the 2 differ the most for me personally. I mostly listen to female vocal heavy music. The Zeus XIV to me, in comparison, has a forward but rather unenergetic, smooth yet unemotional presentation of vocals. Voices don't really have as much bite and don't grip your attention. The SE5U is the opposite. The SE5U has a "breathy" quality to vocals without being overly warm or thick. It's like you can hear/feel the singer stressing to get that last note out before a breath, something that was not noticed on the Zeus XIV. It also has a very slightly shouty (megaphonic?) like quality to the upper midrange that really brings out the emotion in music and makes voices sound very natural and organic. In certain types of music this may be undesirable, and even harsh/fatiguing (source dependent).
Soundstage is very source dependent for both. Above comments were with Chord Mojo and Sony ZX2. I usually run my SE5U with my Schiit Mjolnir 2 / Yggdrasil setup through my Silver Dragon balanced xlr cables. In which they sound absolutely phenomenal, better than my LCD3F in almost every way. Can't use Zeus XIV with the same setup due to excessive hiss (common issue for Zeus).

Thank you kind sir for such an extensive comparison! It was totally unexpected but definitely an informative and interesting read!

Three cheers to you !

 

[SilverEars]

Update:

The friction making it difficult to put on the IEMs is when you first get them as the surface has not gotten oiled up yet, and over time of putting them on, it will start to get some oil from your skin, and a bit easier to put on.

The turn around time was quicker than I was expecting, pretty quick. Monitors were made quicker than I was expecting. If shipping your molds from USA, you can save some money by shipping first class USPS. The post office told me it will take longer than it did(relatively fast for not priority or expedite), and the number on the receipt they give they will claim is not a tracking number, but in reality, Poland is a country that number tracks. So, you are able to send first class, and get tracking without resorting to priority, or other carrier options.

It does seem like the sound output depends on tracks(duh, this is always the case, but for this IEM it's more noticible due to the laid back nature). I think this depends on the frequency spectrum of the track it self, and the track's emphasis on what frequencies.

The plug for the audio jack I've gotten were too wide to fit through my smartphone case hole. Simple solution is to order a short 3.5mm extension cable(male to female).

If you are from the US, the exchange rate can make a bit of a difference in pricing. Definately the Euro was up higher and greater than I was expecting at the time of when I had to pay, which I wasn't happy about.

 

[SilverEars]

update:

Since SE5U is made of silicone material, it's easily flexible, and as mentioned, the monitors do not slide in as easily as the acrylic customs. So, whenever I plug it into my ears, I cannot be sure if it is fit well into place or the best fit. It's not like acrylic, which are easy slide in fit.

The silicone material is probably the reason for the low end response.

It seems slightly finicky with some variance to fit. Since the material is flexible, and has the possibility for less than ideal fit, if not put on properly, it will not sound it's best.

The impedance of these must be low as the sound get's filtered when plugged into higher impedance jacks. I think it's noticeably sensitive to amp's output impedance.

The sound from these are definitely a greater improvement over UERM at atleast.

 

[13candles]

@SilverEars , Now that you have mentioned how finicky it is for yourself in having an absolute fit with silicone, it does bring on some concerns on my part if i were to eventually do order the SE5U.

I have not heard the UERM but i have heard the UE18+ and i really liked how natural and smooth it was especially with vocals albeit its transparency could be alot better. If the SE5U does what the UE18+ do so well but is much better resolved then i would be really sold on it.

Anyways, thanks for keeping up with your impressions! Do keep them rolling !