source for the review - Sabaj DA3
Songs used for the review
Jim Keltner - Improvisation
Eric Clapton - My father's Eyes
Nah Youn Sun - My Favorite Things
Inception - Dream Collapsing
Steve Strauss - Youngstown
Stimulus Timbre - Expression
Diana Krall – Let's Fall in Love
Trevor Jones - Clear The Tracks!
The DALI CD - Zhao Cong , Moonlight on Spring River
Baba-Yaga, for orchestra, Op. 56
Rebecca Pidgeon - Grandmother
Sara K - Maritime
Trevor Jones - Promentory
Patricia Barber - Regular Pleasures
Dire Straits - Brothers In Arms
Dire Straits - Your Latest Trick
Dave Brubeck - Take Five
Marcin Przybylowicz - Go Back Whence You Came
James Horner - Going After Newt
Hans Zimmer - Dream Is Collapsing
Hans Zimmer - Molossus
Harry Gregson - Emergency Launch
Shpongle - Shpongle Spores
Dizzy Gillespie - Could it Be You
Dominik Eulberg - Björn Borkenkäfer
Trentemøller - The Forest
Kryptic Minds And Leon Switch - Ocean Blue
Nirvana - MTV Unplugged In New York (Album)
Xiomara Laugart - Tears and Rumba (2015) [192-24](Album)
Xiomara Laugart (2006) Xiomara (24-96)(Album)
Xiomara Laugart (2010) La Voz (24-88)(Album)
specs
5 knowles BAs per side
3 way crossover, two bores
sensitivity - 103db
impedance - 20ohm
removable cable with mmcx conectors
6 pairs silicone and 3 pairs foam eartips
protective case
1.2m silver plated OCC 4 core cable
variety of color options
resin made body
Price - around 100$
They say "if you love something, be short when you write about it"
So this is gonna be short.
At the beginning of my audio journey i was not sure what i really like.
Until i got Ortofon Q5.
The difference from my normal headphones at that point was the mid range, it was incredibly forward, the voices had that very alive and close to you feeling, like the singer sing half meter from you.
I was thinking at that time "man, that ting is very addictive, it is strange with synths and electronic music but with vocals, i don't want to listen other headphones with vocal music"
The problem was the fragile cable and treble grain, so i let them go hoping that i could find something similar but more durable and with removable cable.
Before one year i was lurking on aliexpress for BA earphone. Something in 100 $ price range.
I was using the search engine and the brand Hisenior came out.
The B5+ was the cheapest model from their BA line and with Knowles drivers, one of them knowles 26989(the same one in the Etymotic ER4S), i decided to bite the bullet on that one, the build was nice, good drivers, i was thinking "let's see"
Build, fit and comfort
The build is solid, they are like half filed with resin, the nozzle is short but they are very ergonomic so the fit should be fine.
The cable is stiff, aftermarket cable is a must for me, tips are fine, the red ones are the same that come with a lot of chi fi in ears.
The comfort is very good, the shape is well thought and they are not very big.
isolation
Strong isolation when you have good fit
Overall sound signature.
warm, VERY mid forward, clean and extended treble
Bass
The bass is good not great, it rolls of at the sub bass area, it has a bump in the upper and mid bass, it is very full and interesting sounding with real instruments, never bloated because of the good speed, but is a little bit much for me stock without EQ, too warm kind of bass.
Mids
Ah the strong point, they are all about the mids.
The mids are dominating the whole signature, when you listen to Fiona Apple for example her voice is in your face. Strong, full and lush.
It is a little bit strange if you are coming from a neutral sounding earphone, but once you taste it, there is no way back.
The mids are strong in the lower to middle midrange, think from 500hz - 1.5khz.
With vocal music they are a real treat, with jazz, accustic, indie music, you get the point.
The problem with such a powerful midrange is when you start listening to electronic music and metal, the instruments that are in this area sound very forward as well, some may like it, i don't.
Treble
The treble has a dip in the lower range, but mid and upper treble are there, so the treble is more fine and airy, there is no grain, the extension is very good, one disadvantage for that tuning is that the cymbals are not very crunchy, i personally like that type of tuning, in quantity the treble is there, is not dark or bright.
Overall very nice clean treble.
Soundstage and imaging.
The soundstage is very good, probably because of that treble tunning, i find earphones with lack of upper treble to suffer in the soundstage department in general, with B5 that is not the case.
The imaging is great, the background is very dark, the instruments are very well separated and very specific.
EQ settings
With upper and mid bass reduction the sound is improved, they retain the lushness but the overall warmth is not too much, also the sub bass response is improved.
Conclusion
They are not all rounders, but for vocals they can be very intense in a good way.
Happy holidays
Edit - they make customs of the B5+ too, awesome work