[D-28]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sceptre /img/forum/go_quote.gif And this is why I don't need to buy the P5. I've tried them numerous times. They got better in the stores after they had burned in. I have an Apple store near me with stock but I wear my JH13s everywhere.

Wow, I just read a half dozen JH-13 reviews including some threads here. Such uniformity of unqualified praise! If those reviews are half right, Scepter, then I'm with you. If I had JH-13s I wouldn't buy P5s either.

Okay, this thread is officially hijacked (sorry):
There are definitely JH-13s in my future.
I haven't heard them yet, so that's all I'll say for now. But I've been on a long slow quest for some IEMs for use in a motorcycle helmet. I commute about 20 minutes each way every day on a moto and I do a lot of long distance touring. I've tried may things and never been satisfied. I even have some custom in-ear molds. They're made by a company called Big Ear and while I'm completely sold on the comfort and sound isolation of custom molded IEMs, the sound quality of the Big Ear BE-1C is really quite poor. Unacceptable, actually. No bass (only down to 37Hz I found out AFTER receiving a custom -non-returnable- piece). You lose bass at speed and at 70mph they are the biggest waste of $350.00 ever.

I do, however have some Ultimate Ears 5vi. They are IEMs, but not a custom mold. They're the best of all the in-ears I've gone through. At about $180.00 they are WAY better than the Big Ears and I've been quite satisfied with them. Probably ridden about 18,000 miles with them.
Now, I knew that my venerable Sony 7506s were better, but it's such an apples-to-oranges comparison that I never A/B-ed them. I knew the Sony's were better, but I never bothered to see how much better.

Anyway, the UE 5vi are what I use 90% of the time, either with my iphone or laptop. The P5s (trying to get back on track here) were meant to be an upgrade and replacement for all but in-helmet use. Having now compared the P5s and 5vi IEMs, the P5s are SO much better that now I can't live without replacing the 5vis!

The question is: do I return the P5s and just order a set of JH-13s now, or should I keep the P5s and get JH-13s down the road. The complicating factor is that I'd planned on getting a 3G iPad in a few weeks. The cost of the JH-13s alone is equal to BOTH the iPad and P5s. And I'm REALLY enjoying the P5s now.

This is really a dilema and I need some sympathy.

The JH-13s sound like my holy grail. Perfect sounding IEMs that I can use in a helmet! That would be it. One ring to rule them all . . .
Are the JH-13s really that good? My next long motorcycle trip isn't until August, so I have time. But on these long trips I'm typically in the saddle for 10-12 hours a day for 2-3 weeks straight. Music makes it POSSIBLE!

Anyway, back to the P5s, I'm really enjoying them. If it weren't for this other distraction I'd have already decided to --SQUIRREL!!!




. . . Oh. Sorry, (thanks Immtbiker). If it weren't for this little distraction I'd have decided to keep them already.

So, yeah, I'm going to keep the P5s. Despite their mild limitations I really like them now and I'm sure I will for a long time.

Thanks for indulging me guys.

--Sal

 

[Damnegy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-28 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The question is: do I return the P5s and just order a set of JH-13s now, or should I keep the P5s and get JH-13s down the road. The complicating factor is that I'd planned on getting a 3G iPad in a few weeks. The cost of the JH-13s alone is equal to BOTH the iPad and P5s. And I'm REALLY enjoying the P5s now. This is really a dilema and I need some sympathy. The JH-13s sound like my holy grail. Perfect sounding IEMs that I can use in the helmet! That would be it. One ring to rule them all . . . So, yeah, I'm going to keep the P5s. Despite their mild limitations I really like them now and I'm sure I will for a long time. Thanks for indulging me guys. --Sal

If you're really enjoying your P5 then I think you're right to keep them. Once you have what you want (in your case the JH-13

), the desire just fall down, and there is just no more excitement about "dreaming" of something And I do not really know if custom molds/IEM are appropriate for your trips, as hearing the traffic is important (even if you're driving fast and alone...). But can you use P5 with your helmet? :x
On the other hand, why would you like to buy an iPad right now? The 4.0 OS should be out soon, yes, but I think it is worth waiting for the next version of iPad, since this one has some flaws that could be dealt for the next version. But I do understand it is attractive/useful, and one wants to play with an iPad
In the end, if I were you and had enough money, I would buy the iPad and then save money for JH-13 as you seem to content yourself with the P5

 

[gorgonmusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-28 /img/forum/go_quote.gif . . . Oh. Sorry, (thanks Immtbiker). If it weren't for this little distraction I'd have decided to keep them already. So, yeah, I'm going to keep the P5s. Despite their mild limitations I really like them now and I'm sure I will for a long time. Thanks for indulging me guys. --Sal

Great choice!! you will love them more an more an more..

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-28 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Having now compared the P5s and 5vi IEMs, the P5s are SO much better that now I can't live without replacing the 5vis! The question is: do I return the P5s and just order a set of JH-13s now, or should I keep the P5s and get JH-13s down the road. The complicating factor is that I'd planned on getting a 3G iPad in a few weeks. The cost of the JH-13s alone is equal to BOTH the iPad and P5s. And I'm REALLY enjoying the P5s now. This is really a dilema and I need some sympathy. The JH-13s sound like my holy grail. Perfect sounding IEMs that I can use in a helmet! That would be it. One ring to rule them all . . . Are the JH-13s really that good? My next long motorcycle trip isn't until August, so I have time. But on these long trips I'm typically in the saddle for 10-12 hours a day for 2-3 weeks straight. Music makes it POSSIBLE!

Sorry to hijack this thread.

Sal, welcome to Head-Fi.

FYI, I have the custom molded Westone ES3X, which are still regarded as one of the best high-end customs. However, I had the universal Westone UM3X IEM's as well; the ES3X's SQ is only slightly better to these ears than the UM3X's. The UM3X is incredibly comfortable -- as comfortable as my ES3X, actually -- and better than any other universal IEM's I've ever had, and with pretty much the same isolation as my customs. They're currently around $325-$350, and from next month they'll come with detachable cables -- Westone cables are very highly regarded, BTW. You might want to check this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/w...thread-422240/

Apologies to all, and now back to the P5's

 

[gorgonmusic]

to put the thread back on track if you wana feel your P5s shake your head with bass but still play super clean.. play "No Problem" - by Lil Scrappy.. OMG!!!!!!!!!!lol how the hell do they play soo low and still render crystal clear highs and mids???

 

[cowincanada]

*sigh* ^^

anyway, I know the p5's were designed to run unamped, but did any of you try it with
some extra juice? impressions?

 

[Skylab]

My P5's came today. Nice packaging. They are smaller than I thought. I listened to them for a few hours tonight, but want to give them a good hundred hours break in before really reviewing them. My initial listen showed some promising things, but some very noticeable problems too, which I hope will be ameliorated with burn in.

What I doubt will resolve with burn in was comfort - I don't find them very comfortable so far. But maybe I will get used to that.

Anyway, by Monday they should be well broken in.

 

[epithetless]

Looking forward to your post-burn-in impression, Skylab.

 

[raccoon]

I gotta say, I agree about the comfort issue. Maybe I'm spoiled with the HD800, but I find the P5s clamp down a little too hard. Maybe my head is too big heh. They are a lot smaller than I expected and I have them completely extended. I'm not impressed with the bass at all. I'm not good at describing flaws in gear, but it just seems the music is lifeless right now. I just got them a few hours ago so let's hope they improve.

The angled placement of the headband is weird too.

 

[fella]

can anyone compare these to the hd25s? I want something portable that sounds great but these just look 10 times cooler and more comfortable.

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raccoon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I gotta say, I agree about the comfort issue. Maybe I'm spoiled with the HD800, but I find the P5s clamp down a little too hard. Maybe my head is too big heh. They are a lot smaller than I expected and I have them completely extended. I'm not impressed with the bass at all. I'm not good at describing flaws in gear, but it just seems the music is lifeless right now. I just got them a few hours ago so let's hope they improve. The angled placement of the headband is weird too.

Yep - agree on all fronts. Out of the box the P5 have a slightly muffled, muted sound, are lacking transparency, and are noticeably colored. Hopefully that will clean up with burn in, although the 10 hours overnight did not help. I am getting plenty of bass, but it's pretty loosey-goosey though.

I too find they put too much pressure on the ear. OK for 5-10 minutes, but a little annoying after that. But like you, I am spoiled by very comfortable circumaural headphones.

But I am keeping an open mind - I want to like these, so I will give them their full burn-in time.

 

[LQQK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skylab /img/forum/go_quote.gif Out of the box the P5 have a slightly muffled, muted sound, are lacking transparency, and are noticeably colored. Hopefully that will clean up with burn in, although the 10 hours overnight did not help. I am getting plenty of bass, but it's pretty loosey-goosey though.

If I owned those Nautilus 800s, I would not mess around with any kind of headphone's

LQQK

 

[Skylab]

LOL! Can't always listen to speakers, though!

 

[vkvedam]

Well I think it's time to coin my thoughts on these as I've spent about half an hour yesterday with these at the Apple store in central London.

I find them fairly comfortable and they do block out noise quite a bit. In fact the best isolation I've seen in headphones leaving the active noise cancellation models. But they do put a bit of pressure on the ears which some might feel uncomfortable with. It's sort of the feeling which you get when you turn on the NC circuitry in the respective models.

Sound-wise, I did enjoy them compared to the offerings from Bose or the Monster Cables. They are more enjoyable as they have got a sound that I felt more balanced in comparison to sets like Bose or Dr Dre. They do have the midrange emphasis, well in a good way. And the sound is a bit on the brighter side of the spectrum. To be precise I felt as if I were listening to some Grados. They are fun sounding but it's sort of a colored sound as Skylab mentioned. Compared to my 840s, I felt they didn't quite match up. 840s tonal accuracy is quite good along with a fairly neutral and well balanced sound in comparison to the P5s. As I don't travel a lot I feel I don't need these. But if portability if your main concern and compared to the offerings from others flashy brands I would pick these over them on any given day.

 

[HiFlight]

I got the P5s mostly for my "go-to-bed" phones. The headband placement doesn't interfere with pillow, flat earcups and decent isolation works well for when I don't want to use my IEMs.

I do find them nicely balanced tonally, but they do take some care in placement on the ears to achieve the optimum results. Build quality is excellent, but I don't think that they can be easily reterminated for balanced operation due to the internal cable jack.