Magaosi K5

Tips: Small silicon tips
Build: Colored resin.
Comfort: Perfection. 5.6mm at the lip.
Isolation: Fantastic.

Bass: Low sub bass, solid mid bass, BA bass, missing DD tactility and dynamics. 6/10

Test tracks:
Chameleon - Trentemoller
Sadness, Pt. 1 - Enigma
They Just Haven't Seen It - San Holo

Midrange: Good lower midrange, uneven upper midrange, big dip in presence region. Vocals are recessed and muffled. 4/10

Test tracks:
Crazy - Daniela Andrade
My Work - JFDR

Treble: Peaky mid treble, low air. Presence dip makes it stand out. 7/10

Test tracks:
Red Light Zone - Colonia

Tonality: 5.66/10 (B-)
Tonality is flawed but wholly listenable without EQ, if not fully enjoyable.

Detail: Solid details, probably helped by 6kHz peak. 6/10

Test tracks:
Midnight (Kygo remix) - Coldplay

Imaging: 7/10 Precise. Very good. Soundstage: 5/10 Somewhat narrower.

Test tracks:
No Excuses (MTV Unplugged) - Alice in Chains

Dynamics: 6/10 Solid. Bass is good for a BA.

Test tracks:
heartsigh - Purity Ring

Technicalities: 6/10 (B)

Score: 3.0/5 (B)
Value: * (at €160)

It's a cool set with relaxed tuning that works without EQ. Surprising good mid bass, despite being BA. Great fit and isolation. Unfortunately, there was some technical issues (tweeters connected out of phase) and IEM died in less than a year. So in the end, I won't recommend it.

The Magaosi K5 Universal IEM


This review is for the second edition Magaosi K5; same as the original IEM offering but with a new improved cable. You will see this edition called the Magaosi K5 V2. This current edition is available for $161-$200.



I found the Magaosi K5 while sitting in my favorite IEM listening shop in Bangkok Thailand. The shop has the full FiiO line, TFZ, KZ and BGVP noise makers...........but there was just something about the K5 that made me want to take it home. Thinking back it was the pure detail and cohesiveness which attracted me.





Strangely I’m not alone:
There has been a whole group of us who have had the K5 sitting in our collections yet just started to understand how fantastic they are. So if you were curious about the story of an unappreciated underdog IEM, here it is.

Specifications

• Magaosi K5
• Driver：5 balanced Armature
• Impedance: 22ohm
• Frequency response: 20hz-40khz
• Sensitivity:118Db
• L&R Channel balanced sensitivity: <2DB
• Max Input Power：10Mw
• Wire: braided silver-plated cable
• Plug material： 3.5mm gold- plated
• Distortion: <1
• Connector: MMCX
• Cable Length: 1.2M

Package
Magaosi K5 2.0 upgrade cable version

• 8 pairs of Silicone eartips
• Carry bag
• USB charging cable
• Bluetooth earphone cable

Build:
So before we talk about the BA drivers..............the construction really needs to be covered. In contrast to CNC aluminum or 3D printing, this is a solid hand-poured acrylic shell. The end result is all the drivers submerged in resin. This creates fantastic outside noise occlusion, as well as resonance control. The other end result is an incredible tiny form-factor. In fact the Magaosi K5 is the smallest 5 BA IEM most have ever seen. This along with the semi-custom design allows for 10/10 fit and placement. The IEM doesn’t not sit outside the ear, but actually inside the ear. Such weight balance means it can stay simply in-place. In the photos the nozzle can appear unusually short, when in fact (due to the semi-custom-design) comfort and fit are great. All the sound tubes converge into a single end port which has been made of metal. Inside that single nozzle end port (the circumference of a #2 pencil lead) is a small wire screen.The MMCX connects are flush to the IEM side and reassuringly robust in clicking action.

Size Comparisons:
123
456

1) BGVP DM6 Universal $200
2) Magaosi K5 $161-$200
3) Fearless S6Rui Universal $389
4) BQEYZ Spring 2 $169
5) DUNU Studio SA6 $549
6) qdc Anole V3 $600

The Classic BA set:
Saving the day is the Knowles 22955 massive bass-woofer. You will also find it included with the FiiO FA7 4 BA IEM. The Knowles 22955 is also the sub-woofer in the BGVP DM6 IEM. The sound will of course be way different in the DM6 being the driver is not submerged in resin. Results show the K5 to have a bass-clarity due to controlled resonances in comparison to the "bigger-round" bass of the DM6.
https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/218/-532680.pdf





Interestingly the $279 Shozy measures and seems like the Magaosi K5.

https://penonaudio.com/shozy-neo-bg.html

The K5 Sound:
To sum up the K5, it’s a subtle V signature yet also offers surprisingly good vocal midrange. The basic signature is only slightly warm but wonderfully detailed. Not as bright as some in my collection and not as bass heavy as many. To be critical here, the benefits of BAs are they can fit a bunch is a small area. The other benefit comes from an easy and effective way to get a desired sound by carefully choosing the different BAs/crossovers for each frequency. The down side ends with BA’s being known for a style of BA grain. This granular aspect still goes hand and hand with detail. Part of this phenomenon requires us to actually choose a low power source. In many ways it’s the antithesis of needing power to fix DD IEMs.

Bass:
First off BA bass has it’s own character. And while many seem to concern themselves with how different DD bass is, there will always be the fans of BA bass. BA bass is fast, but seems to be missing some of the reverberations and decays found in DD bass. At any rate you sort of learn to pick out the style of BA bass and either love it or hate it. It’s truly a whole different animal in comparison to how DD bass sounds. Faster attacks and faster decay, yet BA bass even has it’s own timbre character. I personally love BA bass and find the Magaosi K5 to be a classic representation of that bass. For the longest time I questioned the Magaosi in it’s ability to truly perform bass correctly; but learning to use new IEM tips and the best DAP firmware seemed to be the road to success with the K5. Still the Magaosi bass ends up fairly well rolled off below 100Hz. To me though the detail in bass that’s there is nice and makes up for any bass limitations. Still keep in mind I focus on simply using very limited genres of music with the K5. Meaning the road to success is vocal music and guitar recordings. Due to the profound midrange guitars are especially detailed and nice.

Now.......comes the good part!

Treble:
Make no mistake this is considered a bright IEM. Folk's will gravitate towards the K5 for the fullness and openness going on. Having 5 BA drivers does something here. But..........to be detailed...........what remains is a style of thinness and air without body and density, nonetheless. It's this air that's inviting and relaxing. There is an almost non-dramatic character that seems to sail the music across.....................meandering the way across the LPs.

If there was ever one single word to describe the Magaosi K5.........it would be simply metallic. A single silver shine glossed across everything all the time. This silver tone just ends up the tonality of BA drivers in general, though maybe more here affecting timbre? The people who like the tone generally like BA tone. I don't use the word in a derogatory fashion here either........but it is what it is. It's just if you were to try and describe the K5, it would be metallic and midrange? Due to the style of decay and silveriness, there ends no chance of anything sounding nasal. The K5 can start in the direction of nasal but wonderfully never ever fully gets there!

Midrange:
This is a very special midrange IEM. The midrange seems to hold the entire signature together. After acclimation, a wonderful expanded soundstage will start to be discovered connected to the midrange. This will always be remembered as a midrange IEM when grabbing it from a range of IEMs. While notes are not the thickest...............it offers a specialized complete replay. The midrange does not come off super forward, nor is it set back. The end result is a kind of subtle confidence and purity that's actually hard to find for under $200. IMO

Soundstage:
Little claps or cymbal splashes never fall that far from home. So with that said it's still not a narrow soundstage in any way. What it is is evenly filled out. Just a balance of sorts. Piano notes seem to effortlessly fall and settle into place.....with enough reverb and "slowness" to sound provocative and real. Violins scale the parameter when mixed there. And even big center drums beat their heartbeat and throb........fully independent of the rest due to soundstage and imaging. Still the stage never roams profoundly forward or backwards? It's just a medium left to right placement of everything, but holding a simple truth in positioning. My best word would be polite........it's just this simple preservation of elements. Still outside at times comes the outside reverbs and washes which again add to this predictable and real experience.

In Conclusion:
Just like many IEMs, results seem to be from knowing and understanding the whole package here. IEM sound is the end result of everything..................file quality, IEM tips, cables, DAP and firmware. While actually not needing power to come alive the Magaosi K5 will sound perfect from a phone. Though due to it's resolution you will find great results after combining the K5 with upper tier DAPs.

Success:
Success here comes from understanding the bass limitations but somehow getting used to them. After coming to terms with the bass signature..... total enjoyment is right around the corner. Personally my success came from discovering the MrWalkman DMP-Z1 MK2 aftermarket firmware. Such firmware with the Sony 1A seemed to bring a whole new level of musicality and involvement with the K5. So it was basically the same sound only firmware improvements seemed to make the bass become stronger. MK2 also offers a soundstage enhancement which the K5 was able to parlay in flying colors. And finally..........it’s all about detail. So this review was motivated to be written simply due to the K5 responding and climbing to an exciting new level.

Get that life-changing firmware here:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-walkman-os-fw-mods-non-android.943661/#post-15894148

Equipment used:
1)Magaosi K5 V2 Stock Cable MrWalkman DMP-Z1 emulation #2 Sony Hybrid Tips "Japan Region" Sony Walkman 1A
2) Apple iPod 32Gig Touch Generation 5



Final Words:
While detailed and being able to deal with complex musical passages, the K5 does suffer from it’s fair share of grain. Though considering the price that grain level can be forgiven. It’s just if you were wondering what separates this from more expensive TOTL IEMs, it’s going to primarily be the grain issue. Surprisingly the bass issues ended not that big of a thing. As far as tone goes it’s a pretty complete package. What’s missing below 100Hz is still compensated in a way with lower midrange quality. That means music like Electronica, Techno and EDM are not that bad. The lower midrange even allows Heavy Metal to be enjoyed. With how great the K5 does Singer Songwriter genres it could be someone’s only IEM if they knew they were going to listen to EDM and Metal 20% of the time. These are the benefits we get from finding a subtle V signature.


Disclaimer:
The Magaosi K5 in this review was purchased at full retail. When ordering.......the V2 edition will come with either a black or white cable. The V1 cable would be noted as being brown in color. This review is simply one individuals interpretation, your millage may vary.

The Greeks say great minds think alike and with that quote in mind I’d like to believe that great looks sound alike when it comes to a particular brand of IEM’s. Don’t stress your mind, I’m talking about Magaosi. Try to check out their X3, K5, K5 Pro, K6 and MGS-401 IEMs and you’d be thinking that they are one model except the customization offers for the shells and faceplates.

One of Magaosi’s dead ringer IEMs came to my possession and finally allowed me to see if this is just really a mirror image for a set of IEMs designed to either confuse buyers or maybe a surprise ready to excite our ears. This supposed surprise comes in the form of the Magaosi K5 V2 (see? even its own model has an alter ego) which was provided by Linsoul to be reviewed. Priced at $179, you can grab a pair off Linsoul Amazon or Linsoul Direct. The Magaosi K5 V2 features 5 Balanced Armature drivers, one by Knowles and the other 4 custom-tuned by Magaosi. The K5 V2 is spec’d out with a 20Hz – 40 kHZ Frequency Response, 119dB Sensitivity and a 22 Ohm Impedance.

Entering the scene looking alike its competition in its own brand alone, will the K5 V2 even be remembered for its looks or for its sound? Let’s take a dig deeper.

The guys behind Magaosi’s packaging design needs some callouts because honestly, it sucks, just check out Whizzer’s packaging for comparison at roughly around the same price point. Even BGVP’s DMG and DM6’s packaging which doesn’t scream premium looks neat when placed side by side with the Magaosi K5 V2’s packaging. Good thing though is the awful packaging ends right away when the sleeve is removed to show a glossy jagged box with a transparent plastic cutout to show the Magaosi K5 V2 and its black carbon fiber-like gold-plated 3.5mm L Plug.
Inside this box shows a foam cutout housing the K5 V2’s themselves as well as the stock cable. A cardboard flap covers the chunky black synthetic leather carrying case which kept the collection of silicon ear tips that came in clear silicon with wide black bores (S, M, L) and white silicon with narrow bores (S, M, L) along with a translucent set of double flange narrow ear tips (S, M, L). The Magaosi K5 V2 also came with an over-ear behind-the-neck bluetooth cable, no chip information was provided for the Bluetooth cable so we’d go with the usual assumption that it only supports aptx at most.
The Magaosi K5 V2 that was provided for review came in the clear shell with the implanted Magaosi gold font brand on the faceplate. The metal nozzle is also molded in the shell and the nozzle lips were aggressive that ear tip rolling was often times hard since it was at the middle of the nozzle rather than the usual position near the tip. The Shell is clear acrylic and has smooth finish with no noticeable cast imperfections, it has a yellowish tinge to it and compliments well with the gold MMCX connectors along with the internal metal BA drivers and its solders. There are dedicated sound bores for all the BA drivers and the nozzle has a white mesh unlike some IEMs with open bores.
The stock cable that came with the Magaosi K5 V2 was a 4-core OCC silver-plated round braided cable in black with plastic barrel-type Y-split and a bead-type chin slider which also came in black. A gold-plated 3.5mm L-plug is also used in a black metal housing with carbon fiber design. The black insulation over the total length of the cable is glossy and soft, there is almost no microphonic noise when used and storage was easy. The Bluetooth cable is also black with micro-usb port for charging and the usual 3-button setup. I found it hard to use as the curves were off and it didn’t give justice to the K5 V2’s comfort level.

A surprisingly well-balanced sound signature was the overall tonality exhibited by the Magaosi K5 V2, there must have been quite a backlash on the V1 for this IEM which should make for a positive user-friendly listening aspect for the Magaosi team. I tried to get the best out of the included ear tips and although they are good, the synergy the K5 V2 had with the Spinfits in terms of isolation and seal made me go with the Spinfits for the duration of the realview. The Magaosi K5 was driven by the Xduoo x3ii and the Xduoo X10Tii with the iFi xDSD. The Sony CAS-1 desktop setup was tried but it gave an annoying hiss, this aspect set the tone for the realview for me to forego using a desktop setup.

The Magaosi K5 V2 gives out just more than enough sub-bass which doesn’t resonate the best rumble and doesn’t dig deep to be really felt, still enjoyable yet easy to fall out of love. Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin Something” in 16/44 FLAC shows that the K5 V2 is able to play with the bass, texture is smooth and doesn’t bleed towards the next frequency. This isn’t the best bass-centric IEM so if you’re all about that bass, say bye.

Hi! Guess you ain’t about that bass after all, the Magaosi K5 V2 tackles the midrange with excellence. There is distinct and stellar transparency across the frequency. The lower midrange defines clarity with ease, that non-existent bass bleed is paying off. The male vocals of Michael Jackson’s “The Girl is Mine” in 16/44 FLAC sounded full and hits the timber accuracy just right. The upper midrange is easy to the ears and compliments well with the lower midrange if not enhance clarity, makes it at least stable. The Magaosi K5 V2 won this frequency over with its clear cut honesty in the vocals.

It has already been a roller coaster ride with the Magaosi K5 V2, although with its not so utter fail at the lower frequency, it that was already a loss. I decided to stick it out with Michael Jackson and with him chugging out “Human Nature” in 16/44 FLAC rendered the treble hits with crisp and has great detail to it. There is no harsh peaks and sibilance is absent, I love my treble and the K5 V2 handles it well. Air and sparkle is easy to distinguish. The Magaosi K5 V2 rides the midrange and the upper frequency with great risk on its way to attracting users.

The Magaosi K5 V2 has more focus on the depth and height of the soundstage than the width. There is no congestion of instrumental hits. Imaging is definite and specific, the positioning of the different harmonic tones are easy to identify. Left to right and right to left panning is present albeit not stellar.

As you may guessed, the Magaosi K5 V2 is very responsive to power and coloration as well as ear tip rolling. It exhibited the best synergy with silicon tips with narrow bores with its ability to let the bass breathe and expand more as compared to when used with some Comply foam tips. The Magaosi K5 V2 scales well with more power yet very prone to hissing once excessive power is supplied. The filter changes on my Xduoo DAPs and the xDSD especially the 3D+ soundstage effect were also easily detected by the Magaosi K5 V2. Pairing it with a mobile phone was good yet sounded best with the neutral sounding Xduoo X3ii. The Zishan DSD when paired with the Magaosi K5 V2 was rendered like a mobile phone, not the best pairing.

The Magaosi K5 V2 tried its best to distance itself from its fellow Magaosi peers as well as the load of CIEM-like acrylic BA IEMs rounding the audiophile community and its efforts didn’t come in vain. There is questionable moves though like the addition of an awkward Bluetooth cable which wouldn't please everyone except when you gift it to a friend or family. The accessory set is great and even though I opted to go with the Spinfits ear tips for the realview, the stock ear tips weren't bad too (KZ ear tips bad). The carrying case was chunky and allowed the K5 V2 to be well protected, I was even able to add another IEM to carry it with or a portable DAC/AMP like the Zorloo ZuperDAC-S with me.

A long drawn out conclusion is tiring but the ending of an easy to love balanced sounding Magaosi K5 V2 with although a not so punchy bass recovers well with an excellent sounding midrange and upper frequency performance that ends it well with the absence of harsh peaks. If only the Bluetooth cable (sell it or gift it) was absent thus pushing the price lower, the Magaosi K5 V2 would be a really really great buy.

To give you a background, i have never been into iems. Don'tlike the hassles of finding a perfect fit with so many combinations of tips and flange etc.I love my open back headsets and for portable i do have a vast array of earbuds to choose from .


On the topic of portable use,earbuds with few exception do falter to reproduce a very clean and tight bass.So i finally decide to get the magaosi k3 pro pro(they seemed interesting and it was 11.11).Surprised by the way they sound,till date they have been my go to portable iems. Very good low end reproduction and almost an unbelievable sound stage in them.But mids and treble left a lot to be desired(treble especially).


The K5 seemed interesting to me being a 5ba and custom headphone.I decided to pull the trigger and order them from Penon during the new year sale and been happy ever since the day i got them


**These are my views of the iem,based on my impression on the bench marking tracks that i use.Your experiences may differ.I am no expert and they are my own view(not guided by any seller or manufacturer)


Whats in the box??

• The box has a nice premium design,and its very aesthetically pleasing to see to the transparent earphones on them
• They come with a simple yet very function pouch(wish it had been a bit more spacious to carry spare cables)
• The cable in the v2 is something to behold,very premium looking and a good sturdy feel to it.
• Bluetooth adapter cable--not sure about this one....not sure if it was absolutely required.I would have been so glad if this iem costed say about 30 $ less or came with a spare mmcx cable like the one provided. Don't think these are the sporty,waterproof kind of iems,i could be wrong maybe you can.They sound so very good i always want to plug it to the best source and that's never Bluetooth

How do they Feel??


In a word "awesome".By far the most comfortable iems i have ever worn.Tried a lot of iems,you always have to experiment from regular tips to foams to double and triple flange.I faced similar issue with the k3 pro also.


The K5s impressed me in this regard.They fit so well right out of the box.And a lot of friends tried them too,with no need of any change(except the one case we needed a larger eartip).Its a snug fit and extremely isolating.Sometimes i do feel its constructed for my own ears(that maybe exaggerating),but that how easily they sit on your ears.



Sound


I have my humble lgv20 for them and they do work well for me(Running uapp with the v20 and tidal).

Did also try them with a desktop setup and it does bring in a lot more details in the treble and improved dynamics.


Bass:-Very tight and well controlled bass as expected from an iems. And its a very linear bass too.But it does not slam very hard and extend very low .Its a very linear low end and may not be to everyone liking.Though with the mimby i did find a significant increase in slam.


Mids:-

Exceptional mids here,nothing to complain about.Vocal heavy tracks are a treat to listen to in these iems. Very forward mids,with both male and female vocals sounding very smooth and organic with no bleed form the low end .The thing you notice coming from k3 to k5 is there is no veil,its brilliantly transparent across the mids.



Treble:-

As i told k3 left a lot to be desired in terms of treble. K5 is a vast improvement,but you do realize there is a treble roll off.How aggressive is it ?...not very i would say,but it would again depend on where your coming from.If you like sharp and a bit bright sound,k5 can leave you disapointed. For me,though i use a hd700 and 6xx i am perfectly alright with the k5 treble response.You have to keep in mind these are going for the "custom headphone" for a comfortable iems you cant risk a harsh and fatiguing sound.I am perfectly alright with the treble signature of this iem,makes for long listening session.Though a part of me desired for more air and sparkle in the presentation.




Sound stage :-Overall sound stage is quite good(doesn't have the very large sound stage of my k3 pros)..But the depth of the sound is what impress the most.I see a lot of imaging and separation going forwards and backwards also sideways(of-course) in these iems

**The iem does benefit by driven from a nice DAC. Going from the lg v20 to mimby did clear a lot of the treble and low end slam.



Verdict:-

These are quite a unique iem to me.They are not perfect,the bass and treble would not be to everyone liking.But for the custom fit and comfort and the exceptional mids,i would pick these anyway. The interesting comparison would be with the fiio f9 pro and the rose br5(have not managed to get one for review yet.)As soon as i get my hand on one will do the comparison.

**Yet to try out the Bluetooth adapter(have no inclination to go wireless on these )

I’ve recently started reviewing several mid-fi iems on a journey to enlightenment. This has included the FLC8s, the venerable Shure 535, the Brainwavz b400, the AKG n40, Sennheiser ie80, and the LZ A4. Penon Audio graciously sent the new Magaosi K5 for review. This sample was sent to me with the understanding that I would send it along to Ngoshawk to review as well. As I type this, the box is in the mail on its way to him for further review.

I have received no guidance, advice, or suggestions regarding this review from Penon Audio or Magaosi and the thoughts represented here are mine and mine alone. I have tried to be as objective as possible as I see no benefit in a review if it cannot be trusted to be objective.

A short note about me: I am a music enthusiast, and audio hobbyist. I make no claim to have the level of experience of some here. I tend to be quite pragmatic and value oriented. I am a lover of blues, jazz, and rock music and listen to a very broad range as I am always interested in what is new.


Build Quality:


Wow, where to start! Let’s go with the positive first.



The earpieces are as close to a custom fit in ear as any universal I have tried. In-ear fit is simply superb. They are a clear acrylic with the BA Drivers stacked (one large under 4 smaller). The tubes between the BA Drivers themselves and the nozzle are clearly visible through the acrylic.



The nozzles are metal and also moulded into the body of the acrylic very solidly. Nozzles themselves are smaller than standard (3mm) with a flange to hold the ear-tips in place. The MMCX connectors are recessed into the body of the acrylic and should last for years with proper care as they are very solidly attached and not susceptible to being rocked loose in the medium as some others are. Plenty of provided tips means finding a good fit was a relatively easy proposition even with the smaller than usual size. (Your 5mm tip collection will not work, I tried).



I found I could wear these for extended periods with good comfort and not a lot of heat generated.






Ok, now for the negative. The earpieces are not labeled left/right that I could find but fit will tell you pretty quickly which is which. The cable is marked on the mmcx connectors but that brings us to our next point.
Throw the cable away. The wired cable is, simply put, the worst cable I have had the displeasure of trying to use in quite some time. The connections at the earpieces are so bad they suffered random cut-outs where one side or the other would suddenly be silent in the middle of playback even when seated while listening. Any activity would guarantee music would randomly cut in and out as the cable moved. If I were not responsible for sending these on to another reviewer, I would have the used the cable for some more suitable purpose like tying a garbage bag closed.



And the middle ground, the Bluetooth cable has definitely had more time spent on it than the wired cable. The controls are very straight forward and the weight is kept to a minimum while not sacrificing features. The AptX function worked well and cut outs were rare unless distances exceeded 15 Meters from the source. The microphone worked as advertised but due to its position on the rear of the remote it is susceptible to noise as it rubs on jacket collar or scarf etc.




Sound:

As mentioned at the top, I am a lover of blues, blues/rock, classic rock, and anything with good guitar work in it. For that reason, I use the following as my test tracks. (artist, album, track, thoughts)

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Texas Flood – Lenny (Guitar to die for but the thing I look for is the percussion.)

Lindsey Buckingham – Fleetwood Mac, Best of - Go Insane, Live (Probably the most complicated simple song you’ll ever hear, all about nuance and subtleties with this track).

Johny Lang – Lie to me – Lie to Me (Looking for tight bass, bleed over into the mids, and controlled sub-bass)

Tedeschi Trucks – Let me get by – I want more (Female Vocals, backing brass band)

The Blasters - Testament – Blue Shadows (Saxophone and piano with male vocals)

Vintage Trouble – The Bomb shelter sessions - Blues hand me down (Looking at attack speed and decay especially in bass and sub-bass. This track gets muddy quick if the equipment can’t handle it.)





Sound Quality


Sources: Due to the extreme sensitivity of the K5, it does its best work with a low power system. Plugged directly into a smartphone or portable DAP with a relatively low output power, the K5 did very well. The more power you add, the worse the background hiss becomes. As an example, the K5 did well with the Cayin N3 on low gain but when moved to high an audible hiss became present. When paired with the Walnut F1 the K5 was unusable due to the background hiss and impedance mismatch. This is a case of these might actually be a bit too easy to drive but the upside is for those looking for something to run directly from a smartphone, these are a great option as they do not require an external amp to perform.



Bass: The k5 has good mid-bass but does not have great low-end extension. Bass rolls off pretty dramatically below about 100hz and sub-bass presence is lacking. Here the K3HD has an advantage with its dynamic driver. The BA in the K5 just can’t drop into that sub-bass space as effectively as the dynamic. Where the K5 wins is in its control of the bass. Bleed into the mids and the mid-bass hump that were very present in the K3 are much less so in the K5. Overall, the K5 did well in the bass for the genres I listen too most but for lovers of EDM where the sub-bass presence can make or break a track, the K5 will struggle. I was particularly impressed with Vintage Trouble as Blues hand me down makes a lot of iems struggle as the bass is very busy and separation usually suffers. This is where the BA has an edge in that attack and decay are quicker than most dynamics.

Mids: This is where the K5 shows a huge leap over the k3HD. Mids are well defined with lots of detail and the veiled sound of the k3 has been replaced with good clear sound. Vocals are well represented but perhaps even more to my liking strings are very well rendered. I cannot say the K5 is mid forward but it makes large strides away from the mid-recessed nature of its predecessor.

Treble: The K5 treble is also a step above the K3 but that step is more about better control than enhanced presence. The K3 had plenty of treble as it was a very V shaped sound. The K5 makes that v a bit shallower (thus my capital V vs lowercase v). So while the K5 does not have as forward a treble as it predecessor, it does manage it better. Detail comes through well without coming across as harsh or metallic as the K3 sometimes could. Air and sparkle are still there, just only when really called for rather than being full force full-time.

Soundstage: Soundstage is good with a little loss at the very bottom end as previously mentioned. To my ears, the stage is wider than deep. Instrument separation is very good within the space although imaging may take a step backwards from the K3 as at times the mix of 5 BA drivers is not as cohesive as the earlier 2+a Dynamic of the K3.



Thoughts:

Would I buy the K5, yes. Would I be disappointed in the cable absolutely! It makes little sense that an earphone this good is being plagued by a cable this bad. In comparing this with some of the other mid-fi in my recent trials, I would say the b400 is more neutral than the K5. The K5 is perhaps a bit more fun with its V shape. The n40 is more laid back and musical, but the K5 produces a bit more detail in the mids. The Flc8s and LZ a4 give more tuning options but the fit of the K5 has the LZ beat by miles and the price point of the FLC is nearly double. Perhaps as should be expected, the other mid-fi in my stable I find is closest to the K5 is the Shure 535. They both are all BA arrangements with some of the same limitations and similar signatures. With the Shure 535 being as venerated as it is, putting the K5 in the same class is high praise indeed. For the record, the cable from the Shure 535 is a huge step up for the K5 and is available as a replacement part from Shure.