HISENIOR Mega5EST - Bass+ Edition

General Information

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PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Tribrid 5-Drivers (1DD+2BA+2EST) our 1st Tribrid In-ear Monitor with 2*Electrostatic Super Tweeter
  • custom 10mm Bio-cellular Diaphragm Dynamic Driver (superior airy and dynamic lows, THD <0.5%)
  • 4-Way Integrated Crossover(Passive)
  • 2Est Super Tweeter in (up to 80Khz S-highs Extension)
  • It was modified by adding some low frequency while the midrange and high frequencies remains to sound smooth and coherent with crystal-clear detail and definition on the vocals and instruments.

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL:
HISENIOR MEGA5EST -- BASS+ EDITION
IMPEDANCE: 25Ω
SENSITIVITY: 105dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 10Hz - 50kHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): 1 DYNAMIC DRIVER + 2 BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVER + 2 EST DRIVER (SONION ELECTRET)

Comments

THE 001 Music

New Head-Fier
I just ordered mine! I wanted an upgrade over the Moondrop Variations but with a warmer sound. The 7th Anniversary weren’t there yet but looking at graphs these seem to be what I was looking for!

Just closing 2024 the best way possible 😁
Now that you've had them for a few weeks, what's your opinion?
 

Or1onSLi

100+ Head-Fier
Now that you've had them for a few weeks, what's your opinion?
This is the best set I own. I don't have many sets over 300GBP nor kilobuck IEMs, my most expensive set was the Moondrop Variations and this improves over the Variations in every way. Fit and comfort is okay, sound is superb, accessories are quality.

The 3.5mm cable is surely not giving them justice and I am still waiting for the 4.4 cable from HiFiGo, I am waiting to spend some time with them using a balanced connection but in the meantime I can give a 5 star rating of sound when listening different albums:

- Eminem, The Death of Slim Shady: 5/5
- Kendric Lamar, GNX: 5/5
- Steven Wilson, The Harmony Codex: 5/5
- Sum 41, Heaven X Hell: 4/5
- Mastodon, Crack The Skye: 5/5
- Arch Enemy, Rise of The Tyrant: 4/5
- Slipknot, IOWA: 4/5
- Dream Theater, Metropolis Pt.2: 5/5
- Opeth, The Last Will and Testament: 5/5
- Michael Jackson, Thriller: 5/5
- King Crimson, In The Court of the Crimson King: 5/5

I will go into details in my review but I can tell that with congested and punchy mixes (Punk Rock, Hard Rock, Nu Metal, Thrash Metal, Death Metal) they are not at their best. I personally prefer something simpler like the FatFreq Deuce with those genres or something more V-Shaped like the Meze Alba. Hip-hop is an exception because the clean bass united to the other qualities of the Mega5EST really make for an amazing sound!

For things like Prog Rock/Metal, Pop, Alternative Rock...they just shine. They give you the detail, the punch and enough sound-stage to feel like headphones, more than IEMs.

I highly recommend them!
 

Or1onSLi

100+ Head-Fier
Hi, thank you so much for the comparison and info.

After the refinement to the origin (it doesnt have to basshead territory as long as the quality is there with this tuning), do you think origin would have wider and a deeper soundstage by a mile? Also would you say is it detailed enough to catch the details without much effort? Highs seems to be perfect for me, vocals and mids also seems to be great so far as long as they're not recessed (there are some conflicts from what I see, some says its too forward with vocals, some says recessed.).

I have the pilgrim noir, which I like. Do you have any experience with it to give some comparison? (Although I wish that it had more bass) (Sorry for asking so much 😅) Not tuning wise, but again soundstage width/depth and resolution. Also the quality of the bass instead of how much it is there.
Hi, sorry for the very late response!
From my limited experience I think that the soundstage between Origins and Mega5EST Bass+ is comparable, but the Mega5 sounded cleaner to my ears. The positioning of instruments sounded more natural to me, at least.
But I have to say that if you prefer the extra rumble the Origins have that warmth factor that sets them apart without losing much in "spatial awareness", if it does make sense.

Unfortunately I have never tried the Pilgrim Noir, but my impression is that tonality would be the biggest changing factor, due to the drives composition. I have to say that I am not fan of all BAs or hibrid IEMs much. I miss the ESTs in the highs and nothing sounds as natural as a DD in Bass and Mid-Bass frequencies. So over time I started leaning towards al DD or Tribrid sets.
 

THE 001 Music

New Head-Fier
@Or1onSLi
Thanks for your response. Quite coincidentally, I auditioned the Mega5EST Bass+ for the first time just today, along with several others, and I preferred the cheaper Kiwi Ears Punch and the far more expensive Theiaudio Origin.
 

Or1onSLi

100+ Head-Fier
@Or1onSLi
Thanks for your response. Quite coincidentally, I auditioned the Mega5EST Bass+ for the first time just today, along with several others, and I preferred the cheaper Kiwi Ears Punch and the far more expensive Theiaudio Origin.
Hey mate, yeah as I said before if you like a certain type of sub-bass there is better out there. This is still a neutral leaning set with a bit of punch. I have the FatFreq Deuce for the basshead feeling, but more than that feels like too much bass to me, I've always like more analytical sets with a bit of warmth. Did you buy one in the end or stiull on the fence between the Kiwi Ears and the Thieaudio? :)
 
and the far more expensive Theiaudio Origin.
Given that people like the mmk3 a lot more than the origin makes me feel bad i have the mmk3 here without use while
i wait for the hisenior bass+ ciem.
I asked thieaudio's support which is ass, if i can reshell or buy a new mmk3 as ciem, they said they dont do ciems..
hope the ciem bass+ wont let down.
 

Or1onSLi

100+ Head-Fier
Any chance you can elaborate on the improvement? also how is the comfort as its heavier
I feel like che terminations are of higher quality and the cable sleeve becomes easier to manage after just a few sessions. Also it doesn't have inverse polarity like the White Whale has (I might be wrong on this but I clearly remember having a problem with that).

From an Aesthetic point of view I prefer the steel-like colouring of the terminations over the blueish tint of the WW. From a sound point of view I don;t think there is much difference, but I don't have a White Whale at home to A/B test...I have to ask a friend if he can lend me the cable to review my impressions, it was 3 months ago last time I held one.

A.t.m. I'm super happy with the Manta and how it looks though.
 

THE 001 Music

New Head-Fier
Given that people like the mmk3 a lot more than the origin makes me feel bad i have the mmk3 here without use while
i wait for the hisenior bass+ ciem.
I asked thieaudio's support which is ass, if i can reshell or buy a new mmk3 as ciem, they said they dont do ciems..
hope the ciem bass+ wont let down.
Unfortunately, until I make it to CanJam next month, I've not auditioned any Theiaudio earphone, apart from the Origin. However, I definitely prefer the Origin over the Mega5EST Bass+.
Thanks for the warning regarding Theiaudio's customer service!
 

Hoods

New Head-Fier
I feel like che terminations are of higher quality and the cable sleeve becomes easier to manage after just a few sessions. Also it doesn't have inverse polarity like the White Whale has (I might be wrong on this but I clearly remember having a problem with that).

From an Aesthetic point of view I prefer the steel-like colouring of the terminations over the blueish tint of the WW. From a sound point of view I don;t think there is much difference, but I don't have a White Whale at home to A/B test...I have to ask a friend if he can lend me the cable to review my impressions, it was 3 months ago last time I held one.

A.t.m. I'm super happy with the Manta and how it looks though.
"Also it doesn't have inverse polarity like the White Whale has"

I'm intrigued by that comment; I can't wait for the Manta 4.4mm to arrive!
 

Hoods

New Head-Fier
I prefer the Manta. I think it's a slight improvement over the WhiteWhale.
The Manta 4.4mm has arrived!

For me, the improvement over the WhiteWhale 4.4mm is substantial. I’m experiencing better resolution, separation, detail, and clarity with the Manta. The "signature" is quite similar, but with thicker mids; it doesn’t over-emphasize the bass, and as I mentioned earlier, the overall technical performance has improved. It still sounds bassy, but with a cleaner presentation and slightly more emphasized mids, it gives a more "balanced" sound, I can even notice this in the listening volume. I highly recommend this cable! It definitely seems made for this IEM, great synergy (better than with the WhiteWhale 4.4mm).

And if you don’t believe in cables, that’s fine too! :s
 
Last edited:
The Manta 4.4mm has arrived!

For me, the improvement over the WhiteWhale 4.4mm is substantial. I’m experiencing better resolution, separation, detail, and clarity with the Manta. The "signature" is quite similar, but with thicker mids; it doesn’t over-emphasize the bass, and as I mentioned earlier, the overall technical performance has improved. It still sounds bassy, but with a cleaner presentation and slightly more emphasized mids, it gives a more "balanced" sound, I can even notice this in the listening volume. I highly recommend this cable! It definitely seems made for this IEM, great synergy (better than with the WhiteWhale 4.4mm).

And if you don’t believe in cables, that’s fine too! :s
Thanks a lot for the explanation, I am waiting for a ciem version with manta, will update when it arrives, not sure when yet, hisenior's SA on instagram told me the ciems are made by only 2 of their technicians so if they are on time off, proccess is delayed further
 
@Hoods do you know / tried to see if the iems scale with different amps? I wonder it ill notice changes between lets say questyle m15 and wa7 firefles 3rd gen as with monarch mk3, i notice none, doesnt scale or change the sound.
 

Or1onSLi

100+ Head-Fier
@Hoods do you know / tried to see if the iems scale with different amps? I wonder it ill notice changes between lets say questyle m15 and wa7 firefles 3rd gen as with monarch mk3, i notice none, doesnt scale or change the sound.
From my experience I can tell that if properly powered you won’t notice any difference. The big differentiator would be changing between solid state and valve amps.

A good dongle like the Questyle M15 or a good DAP like the HiBy R3 would already push the IEM to it’s designed sound at 99%. Changing the source would surely change some aspect of the sound but the sound signature would not be altered that much. The biggest leap I heard was going from SE to Balanced…for some reason the new cable works better than the previous one…I haven’t tried 3rd party cables.
 

Hoods

New Head-Fier
@Hoods do you know / tried to see if the iems scale with different amps? I wonder it ill notice changes between lets say questyle m15 and wa7 firefles 3rd gen as with monarch mk3, i notice none, doesnt scale or change the sound.
I think you should notice an improvement, but I’m not sure how much it scales, to be honest :thinking:

If you notice changes in the sound, it’s always due to the "signature" of the source. Depending on your preferences, you can decide whether it sounds better or worse, although sometimes we identify that it sounds objectively better but we don’t end up liking it.
 

Hoods

New Head-Fier
From my experience I can tell that if properly powered you won’t notice any difference. The big differentiator would be changing between solid state and valve amps.

A good dongle like the Questyle M15 or a good DAP like the HiBy R3 would already push the IEM to it’s designed sound at 99%. Changing the source would surely change some aspect of the sound but the sound signature would not be altered that much. The biggest leap I heard was going from SE to Balanced…for some reason the new cable works better than the previous one…I haven’t tried 3rd party cables.
What I did do was an A/B test with both cables. I used the same source and music from Qobuz via Audirvana exclusive mode, and the difference was pretty obvious right away. I also checked the continuity of both cables and they were the same, so yeah, the Manta is better overall. I tried it with another ivipQ cable too, but wasn’t totally convinced by the result (though it did improve the technical aspects compared to the WhiteWhale, the final sound wasn’t as good, it sounded more artificial).

Note: I’m not really a cable guy, I always use the stock one. With the Mega5EST Bass+, I’ve had the chance to try it with different cables, and I’ve noticed some significant changes, both in the technical aspects of the IEM and in the overall enjoyment. Still, my practical recommendation would be to buy an IEM with a "good" cable (at least nice-looking, and visually durable like this model with the Manta) and stick with tip-rolling :)
 
From my experience I can tell that if properly powered you won’t notice any difference. The big differentiator would be changing between solid state and valve amps
makes sense ye.
for instance i could tell the sound on wa7 was better than the sound of the 788 monolith dac/amp on the diana v2 when i had them, and barely on the arya organic that i have.
but couldnt tell crap when plugged the monarch mk3, it sounded amazing on both, didnt manage to hear the differences.

I think you should notice an improvement, but I’m not sure how much it scales, to be honest
still waiting on the ciem to come : /
i plan to keep only the m15 of all my gear as i lost interest in headphones and desktop gear. i find the mmk3 on a simple apple dongle or m15 better than any headphone i tried, just cant stand uiems for more than 1 hr, hence the ciem attempt ; )
and the difference was pretty obvious right away.
upgraded to manta! cant wait to get my order!
 
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