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Final Audio Design Impressions and Discussion Thread
Jul 27, 2020 at 9:30 PM Post #9,886 of 11,644
Dicoy said:
I'm planning to get a sony NW-A55, does it has enough power to drive e4000 ?
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It's hard to say since measurements aren't linear. But with the numbers they give on paper, no. If you look at E4000's impedance and sensitivity they require 2mA to drive to 85dB. That's still louder than I would normally listen. The N55 outputs around 1.4mA. So at levels under 85dB you're probably fine. I used an A45 that has the same output power with E4000s and thought they sounded good. I didn't have anything to compare them to except Audio Technica AHD700s. But they still sounded good to me. The E5000s require 50% more power than the E4000s (2mA vs 3mA). But again, these are ballparks since it's not all linear.

http://www.digizoid.com/headphones-power.html
 
Jul 27, 2020 at 10:37 PM Post #9,887 of 11,644
omlettes said:
I played around with it but didn't do many listening tests.

Now I made two custom profiles: one for the E3000s/E5000s and one for the B3s. That brought them even closer together. My only EQ points below 1k I can choose from are 400hz and 60hz. I brought them both up close to max for the B3s and on 9/10 songs they sound better across most genres. I made another profile with 2.5k, 6.3k and 16k boosted for the E3000s and E5000s. Again, helped out.

The overall loser here is the N3s. You can EQ low and highs, but not clarity or bass definition, which is N3's shortcoming. Now the E3000s and B3s are both sounding like something I can enjoy 80-90% of, where they were 50% before the EQ.

- E3000's: Not as much clarity or detail, but treble is somewhat better, and the tone/weight of the lows is nice. About 70-80% as happy with these as the N3s, and $250 less they became fantastic value.
- B3s: Now with more lows. 80% of the E5000s, not quite as clear or defined bass, but good enough to get 80% of the soul back of a song. Feels about the same as the N3s.
- N3s: Lacks the clarity of B3 treble and mids. Lack's the E5000's low bass definition. Feels close to E3000s. Decent, but nothing stands out, especially for $300.

I still feel pulled toward a more powerful source to try driving the E3000s, or just going end game and getting the B1s... if they offer the bass of the E5000s with the treble/mid clarity of the B1s.

Can anybody comment on the B1's bass and treble clarity and airiness as a direct comparison to the B3s?
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Jul 28, 2020 at 12:35 AM Post #9,889 of 11,644
omlettes said:
$700-$900 for a NW-ZX300 or ZX500... then E500s or B1s... why not.... oof.
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If you want to save some DAP money, check out the HiBy R5, pretty impressive in my view.
 
Jul 28, 2020 at 6:36 AM Post #9,890 of 11,644
lifeinabox said:
I found the M7 disappointing especially when compared to the older XBA-N3 and XBA-Z5. Small soundstage, congested, and, of course, the BA bass. E4000 to me is the start of a very good chain of all-rounders with warmth and dyamics. The N3 and Z5 improve on one of more areas but it's hard to beat the E4000's cohesiveness.
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What kind of music/tracks you listened on M7 and found them sounding congested? I ask this because my experience with M7 is almost the opposite. They don't have an overly huge sound stage but these are monitor type headphones. Instrument separation and clarity are outstanding. M7 bass may have the decay of dynamic drives, but its impactful and precise. I have both M7 and E5000. I don't think they can/should be compared directly, as both serving the different purpose.

Edit: I upgraded the balanced stock cable with Z1R cable. Makes them sound more airy.
Regards
 
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Jul 28, 2020 at 12:20 PM Post #9,893 of 11,644
Dinche said:
What kind of music/tracks you listened on M7 and found them sounding congested? I ask this because my experience with M7 is almost the opposite. They don't have an overly huge sound stage but these are monitor type headphones. Instrument separation and clarity are outstanding. M7 bass may have the decay of dynamic drives, but its impactful and precise. I have both M7 and E5000. I don't think they can/should be compared directly, as both serving the different purpose.

Edit: I upgraded the balanced stock cable with Z1R cable. Makes them sound more airy.
Regards
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In absolute terms they aren’t congested, but I compared them to the Z5 primarily running off of balanced, which has a wide soundstage and dynamics that few IEMs can match. The M7 honestly sounded boring to me. Not in a bad way but not worth $500. I generally agree that the M7 and E5000/E4000 are targeted to different audiences/ears but I was just responding to the poster who mentioned both.
 
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Jul 28, 2020 at 3:14 PM Post #9,894 of 11,644
Jul 28, 2020 at 7:41 PM Post #9,895 of 11,644
I have to do it. I have to try the Final B1s, too, and see if they have the treble and clarity of the B3s with the weighty bass/low end of the E5000s... And an Astell Kern SR25 to drive them. Unless somebody else has another recommendation.

That sure escalated quickly....
 
Jul 30, 2020 at 2:07 PM Post #9,896 of 11,644
omlettes said:
I have to do it. I have to try the Final B1s, too, and see if they have the treble and clarity of the B3s with the weighty bass/low end of the E5000s... And an Astell Kern SR25 to drive them. Unless somebody else has another recommendation.

That sure escalated quickly....
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For me, the B1 has the best treble in all B-series. And as for the bass, I don't quite like the bass of E5000. The B1 is much better from my point of view. The BEST iem for symphony at that price range.
 
Jul 30, 2020 at 2:56 PM Post #9,898 of 11,644
I think I'll be buying a Qudelix-5k or a BTR5 to drive the E5000s, and then try out the B1. I wonder how much I will be missing by driving them with a BTR5 over an M11 Pro or Shanling M6 Pro. I figure a $100 Android and the right $100 DAC will save me quite a bit and should have very similar sound.
 
Jul 31, 2020 at 11:22 AM Post #9,900 of 11,644
For the people that are searching for a Dap. I have tried the e5000 with ALOT of daps/dacs/amps but the most magical is still the cowon plenue d2. The player itself is "aged", slow, but the sound and power in balanced (4vrms).... Just great.

The combination with the finals is one of the best I've heard in all of my headfi hardware. Again the player itself isn't fancy (no streaming, no Bluetooth, just great audio)

I've tried the finals with the:
Ifi hip dac (great but d2 is better, my Denon D7200 matches SUPER with the ifi)
Shanling up4 (sounds good, nothing more)
Sony zx300 (very good, d2 better)
Dragonfly cobalt (great, but like the d2 better)
Shanling Q1 (poor)
Fiio m11 (great sound, but dont like ANDROID, battery life yak... , d2 sounds better, more reference like, way better battery)

So in the end my cowon plenue d2 will be my end game with the final e5000 :) one of the reasons is the jeteffect is think!
Ofcourse it's my cup of tea, it won't be everybody's cup of tea.
Sorry for the language iam not English.
 
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