[average_joe]

 
Quote:

I just got my aud 5x 20 minutes ago, after a quick comparison with my sm3s, the sm3s give me more bass with the stock grey tips, Joe, do you find this to be true?
I am afraid that I might have a fit problem.

It is possible to get a very bass heavy presentation from the SM3, but there is no contest between the bass capability.  Try using some lubricant such as saliva or a non toxic lubricant on the canal portion to see if you can get a better seal. I have experienced man new CIEMs that need to be lubricated at first. 
 
Let us know if anything changes. 
 

 

[silverkaze]

After playing with the aud-5x for several hours, I do seem to get a better fit with them now. I am listening them straight out of my macbook air, iphone4, and sansa clip. They sound very good, but I am not sure if I am feeling the power of the three bass drivers. For example, both of sm3s and atrios have more bass quantity and atrios have more sub bass rumble as well. Does the 5x need more power(a better source or an amp) to bring out a little more impactful bass? I also did a sound frequency test on youtube, I don't know how accurate the test is(with some people claiming they can hear the whole frequency range in the test), I can't hear anything below 80hz, it is completely silent when it gets to that point. Once again, I don't know if this'll change when they are paired with a better source.

 

[average_joe]

If you can hear 80 Hz from the sound frequency test with the SM3 but not the 5X, there is something wrong.  As the source improves, so does the quality, but they should produce the deepest bass from a Clip, iPhone 4, etc.  Let Mitch know.
 
Edit: Fit will depend greatly on the impressions, and if you did not get a deep enough impression, the deep bass could be severely rolled off.  You can try to hold them in your ears deeper and see if that makes any difference.

 

[silverkaze]

I couldn't find the same test, I found a similar bass frequency test for sm3 and aud-5x, I can hear up to 30hz on the sm3 and 60hz on the aud-5x, I tried pushing my aud-5x in my ears and holding it in that position while hearing the test, I couldn't hear anything below 60, where on my sm3s, I could easily hear up to 30hz. So this is not a problem with my ears and my sound source, either there's a fit problem, or the bass sub driver is not doing its job.

 

[silverkaze]

Actually lubracating helps a lot with the fit, and the bass has is a lot better felt. But this gets a little troublesome everytime I put them in my ears

 

[average_joe]

It sounds like a fit issue.  Go back to the audiologist where you got your ear impressions and see if they will help you out and make another set.  Make sure they get the oto block (dam) in as deep as possible for a good impression.

 

[silverkaze]

After listening to them for 2 days, I actually don't find the fit to be too bad now, it is my first ciem and I never had experience with them in the past. The sound is indeed very good, clarity and transparency surpasses SM3s, bass quantity is not thunderous, but there's a lot details in the bass in some tracks. Overall more details than all my universals and better balanced than many non custom iems I have heard in the past, SM3, IE8, atrios, shure 535, to name a few. Comfort wise they don't hurt my ears but they don't disappear in my ears either. The treble is also very enjoyable as they do have that energy up there and it never gets sibilant. Now I am happy with my purchase and this is hugely due to Joe's review. I'd not have known about Dream Earz if it wasn't for Joe's epic reviews.
And also Mitch is a great guy, I had some problems with payments and et cetera and it was all taken care of in the end.
 
 

 

[silverkaze]

Comparing the looks of our monitors I did notice that mine have significantly shorter nozzles than yours, you are probably right, the impressions weren't made as deep as they are supposed to.

 

[average_joe]

The 5X should have a bit more emphasis than the SM3 and a lot more capability.  It seems like you are not getting the full potential out of the 5X and missing out on the exceptional bass capability.  I would contact Mitch to see what can be done if you get another set of impressions; it might not be free, but would be worth getting right IMO.

 

[caracara08]

my aud5x has about 100 hours burn in on them now. thought id share my impressions now.
 
coming from Beyer T1, FX700, FXT90
 
amps: o2 and unamped via DAPs
 
daps: J3 and Clip Zip (stock)
 
cable: stock
 
short and sweet. 
 
Build Quality: if you've ever had a fisher reshell, you know they do good work.  this is my 2nd and the fit is good, finish is good. 
 
they sounded horribly thick out of the box.  not dark, just thick.  the treble was there, its just the low end was thick sounding.. i dont know how else to put it really.  i really didnt like it at all but burned it in more.  i think around 30-50 hours, it did open up and sounded much better, but still had a hint of thickness as Joe mentioned.  I guess at this point it could be termed as full sounding.  
 
separation and space is really really good for an iem.  the soundstage seems pretty 3d and envelopes you in the music.  i think this is one of the aspects the aud5x excel at and offers the biggest difference to my other iems.  the 3d'ness of the sound.  the separation of the fx700 was good too but it just feel more crisp on the aud5d.  the transparency is great.  
 
the low end as i said is on the thick side, but has good quantity, quality and impact. nothing over the top at all but offers a clean sound.  im actually surprised and find them on the bass neutral side for having 3 drivers down there.  i have a great fit too. no sound leakage.  
 
now something that bothers me and could just be me.  i really feel the timbre is off.  it seems on the bright side. these are no means bright but it just seems the tone of voices, etc are slightly off.  its kind of hard to explain since im not a musician or singer or CIEM reviewer.  i wonder if that makes sense.  i could be totally wrong but thats just my impression.  the timbre on the fx700 sounds natural to me.  voices seem more properly toned.  
 
Overall, these are very interesting.  clarity is very good, bass is better quality than quantity for me, mids are forward which is fine, but brighter than they should be.  i think they will appeal to a lot of people out there since, in my experience, many headphones are slightly bright. Mitch is a great guy and answers all my questions etc. most of Joe's review is spot on except my personal preference with the tone.  is it the end game CIEM under 600$? i have no idea since i havent tried the 1964Q or any of the other lower to mid end CIEM offerings.  but having had a wide range of IEMs including the JH16, i think these are very very good for the price.  

 

[average_joe]

Thanks for sharing your impressions.  They don't have the bass always on like the JH16 or the FX700, but with bass heavy songs the 5X can pump out plenty of bass.  This is most apparent with electronic and hip-hop, but the bass is toned down for other genres where the bass isn't overpowering, being more true to the source than the JH16 and FX700 IMO.
 
How close are your impressions of the JH16 vs. the 5X?  I didn't get the tone thing, and I have experienced some tonal differences when doing various comparisons, and the 5X isn't perfect and isn't on the level of a $1000 CIEM, but it is pretty close technically.   I am looking forward to your additional thought.

 

[ballcall2]

average_joe, do you think that this CIEM will be good for classical, jazz and voices? I am mostly listening to this genres and not modern ones. If not what do you think would be a good CIEM for those types of genres?

 

[caracara08]

Quote:

Thanks for sharing your impressions.  They don't have the bass always on like the JH16 or the FX700, but with bass heavy songs the 5X can pump out plenty of bass.  This is most apparent with electronic and hip-hop, but the bass is toned down for other genres where the bass isn't overpowering, being more true to the source than the JH16 and FX700 IMO.
 
How close are your impressions of the JH16 vs. the 5X?  I didn't get the tone thing, and I have experienced some tonal differences when doing various comparisons, and the 5X isn't perfect and isn't on the level of a $1000 CIEM, but it is pretty close technically.   I am looking forward to your additional thought.

oh dont get me wrong, the bass on the 5x is really good. more balanced than the fx700 which sometimes i feel is too much (usually not though since i love impact and texture of bass).  
 
i havent had my jh16s in probably a year but.. if the 5x were 1149, im not sure which  i would go for.  but since the 5x is half its price and performs above its price point, i am happy with the 5x.  again, the separation and presentation is wonderful on the 5x.  
 
as for the tone, maybe its just gonna take some getting used to the brighter sound.  but thats the thing, i dont find them bright really... does that even make sense? lol  maybe its my preference of tube amps/sound, using the fx700, etc.  ? /shrug. 
 
thank you for recommending these and the rest of your work.  i wouldnt even be able to come close to what you have done even if i had every CIEM in the world.  you just do a great job of explaining everything.  

 

[average_joe]

I do understand that the integration of the lower, mid, and upper midrange is critical to vocal tonality, and in direct comparison one headphone can sound more natural than another.  If you listen to only the 5X for an extended period of time, how will the FX700 sound?  Keep us updated.
 
And thank you, I enjoy reviewing and my #1 goal is to explain the sound the right way.

 

[caracara08]

listening to the 5x out of my birfrost and O2.... very nice. powerful bass that isnt over powering. clarity is great.  maybe the j3 just isnt an ideal match?  just cant invest 400+ in another dap+amp or a top tier dap.  but these are sounding pretty dang good right now.