Hello everyone. I am a new Head-fier and this is my first post. I bought my AKG N5005 this February and at first I was not happy with its performance due to lack of naturalness and dynamism. I always felt there was something missed in the sound. I have read all posts in this thread and find out there are two main reasons for this:
(i). short and a bit weird angle of the nozzle; and
(ii). ear tip sensible
To solve these issues, I have come to conclusion that I need to not only select the right ear tips which provide best fit and comfortability but also need to insert the tips deeper into the ear canal.
I finally cut 2mm inner bore of stock silicone tips of ATH CKR100is (similar to all silicone tips with bore diameter of 4-5 mm) and insert into the nozzle to serve as the fixed rubber ring. This artificially makes the nozzle 2 mm longer but still keep the ear tip tightly attached to the nozzle without falling off. This method was also shared by one member in this thread.
While my common ear tip size is medium, I use large Sony hybrid ear tips (the ones with light blue inner core). It really transform AKG N5005 into a wonderful successor of AKG K3003 with wider soundstage, better separation, similar full sound, lifelike and dynamic music with balanced bass, mid and treble. Bass is punchy enough and treble is never harsh. Imaging is very well presented also. The sound quality surpasses almost all iems I have currently. Thanks to another member’s post in this thread. With additional 2 mm rubber ring, the earphones are actually better.
To combat with “a bit weird angle” of the nozzle, I do not try to pull the cable hard and straight over the ear while inserting the earphones. Instead, I keep the earphone in the position where the cable is relax, insert the earphone and adjust the cable over ear later.
Your mileage may vary. However, to reach this conclusion, I own and use many mid-end and higher end iems and earbuds like RHA T20, AKG K3003, ATH CKR90is, ATH CKR100is, Sennheiser IE800, JVC HA-FD01SP, Ety ER4SR/XR, Dunu DN-2000J, Shozy BK, Sennheiser MX985, K’s 500, Yuin PK1, etc.
I tried and tested different ear tips in different price ranges: RHA single and double flange ear tips, K3003 stock ear tips, ATH stock ear tips, JVC EP-FX9ML (spiral dot+), JVC EP-FX10M,ML,L (spiral dot ++), Symbio hybrid eartip (normal bore, size M and size L), Sony hybrid ear tips, Dunu stock ear tips (silicone and comply foam (TS500,TSX500, T500) included in DN-2000J package) and various cheap silicone ear tips from China.
Among these, Symbio eartips are good but not very comfortable. JVC spiral dot ear tips help retain clear music and separation but do not bring in full, natural and lively music. For others nothing special to mention.
My current setting is Android Onkyo HF Player/ USB Audio Player Pro (for ape files)/ Neutron Music Player (for DTS files) + Chord Mojo + AKG N5005 (reference/grey filter).
I really hope this post may contain useful information for existing AKG N5005 owners. I want to thank you all for previous informative and attractive posts that lead to my tests and post J. Warm regards.
