[John2e]

ooof that's a big jump

I've been listening to the M5 with the Noirte and the U18t on the side for the past two days.... It's positioned quite nicely between the two in terms of sound signature and presentation, having the tubeless smoothness of the Noir and the detail of the U18t. But after spending a little longer with the U18t today that harshness is just something I can't let go of, I love it - I have never heard an IEM that performs instruments that good

The Noir is even smoother than the M5 which really gives me a woah feeling on certain tracks, but it's proper niche given my bright preferences

Extremely happy with the M5 and loving it more every day - I stand by my original assessment that this is the best all rounder I've heard at any price point, couldn't recommend it enough

I listen on the go. I commute an hour each morning and wait an hour and a half for a ride home. So carrying a couple of IEMs is impractical also changing to another on a crowded NYC subway could get you killed . So I chose the best all rounder which we both agree is clearly the M5. If I only listened to IEMs, I would have a few more. I am keeping the Solaris for the Treadmill.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I listen on the go. I commute an hour each morning and wait an hour and a half for a ride home. So carrying a couple of IEMs is impractical also changing to another on a crowded NYC subway could get you killed . So I chose the best all rounder which we both agree is clearly the M5. If I only listened to IEMs, I would have a few more. I am keeping the Solaris for the Treadmill.

Agreed indeed

For music I use IEMs pretty much exclusively, so the U18t with the FiR 13 is my open back, the Noirte is my rock, EDM, alternative rock etc IEM, the Katana is for ultimate reference and audio shows, and the M5 is that all rounder for when I rotate genres one after the other and don’t feel like the sound presentation of any of the other ones in particular, so most days will be spent with the M5

 

[John2e]

Listening to live Jazz : The sound stage gives an up close presentation. The U18t's feel like you are in the 10th row of a concert hall. The musicians are in front of you and spread wide 8 " outside the head. The M5's image is not far in front of you like the U18ts. The live presentation feels like you are ON the stage with the musicians. Sounds extend out 6" or so depending on the material. Images are coming from right and left but are also slightly BEHIND you.

Listening to Disturbed's live version of the "Sound of Silence" you can hear the crowd surround you. Listening to Van Hallen's little Dreamer; Eddie Van Hallen is ON my left shoulder completely outside of my head.

 

[chungjun]

I will soon be writing up a full review...

We're still waiting...

Would be interested to read your full review after you've had some time with the M5.

Recently, I have had a short listening session with the M5. I was made to understand it is the final tuning of the M5, soon to be launched officially (at HK AV show?).

Coherent and captivating. It is certainly something I find very much to my liking. As far as hybrid IEMs goes, M5 is the one that has me (subjectively) feeling it is 'well-tuned' and the tech comes and works well together (and not trying to out-do each other). One of the hybrid IEMs that I put on my want-list for what I've had the chance to listen to recently (on separate occasion and not side-by-side - AAW Canary, Solaris, IER-Z1R, Khan). Haven't had the chance to listen to VE Elysium - anyone?

 

[mvvRAZ]

We're still waiting...

Would be interested to read your full review after you've had some time with the M5.

Recently, I have had a short listening session with the M5. I was made to understand it is the final tuning of the M5, soon to be launched officially (at HK AV show?).

Coherent and captivating. It is certainly something I find very much to my liking. As far as hybrid IEMs goes, M5 is the one that has me (subjectively) feeling it is 'well-tuned' and the tech comes and works well together (and not trying to out-do each other). One of the hybrid IEMs that I put on my want-list for what I've had the chance to listen to recently (on separate occasion and not side-by-side - AAW Canary, Solaris, IER-Z1R, Khan). Haven't had the chance to listen to VE Elysium - anyone?

I really, really liked the Elysium too - it is a completely different animal to the M5 though - much more energetic and intense which is fun for a Canjam listen but certainly a bit much of I’m to spend prolonged sessions with it. The Elysium has absolutely gorgeous highs though, as they come from double estats and no BAs - it is spectacular. Also highly coherent

The M5 has a certain airiness to it, it takes its time to play out every note and ensures to not miss a single detail in a track. It is much more on the analytical side of things than the elysium, with better lows and imo - better mids - I’m generally not a huge fan of DD mids as they become very energetic and well, dynamic, but not as separated and detailed. I would recommend the Elysium but I couldn’t recommend it over the M5

The Solaris is far too much bass for me, as someone who’s spent extensive time with the Andromeda S - it honestly feels like someone took my Andro S and slapped extra lows to it

The Khan is a great hybrids I agree, but the transition from the upper mids to the highs felt a bit off in certain tracks as I could kinda hear the extra driver kicking in. Very specific situations though, also on my want list

 

[mvvRAZ]

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/fir-audio-m5.23861/reviews there it is!!!

 

[singingbee]

We're still waiting...

Would be interested to read your full review after you've had some time with the M5.

Recently, I have had a short listening session with the M5. I was made to understand it is the final tuning of the M5, soon to be launched officially (at HK AV show?).

Coherent and captivating. It is certainly something I find very much to my liking. As far as hybrid IEMs goes, M5 is the one that has me (subjectively) feeling it is 'well-tuned' and the tech comes and works well together (and not trying to out-do each other). One of the hybrid IEMs that I put on my want-list for what I've had the chance to listen to recently (on separate occasion and not side-by-side - AAW Canary, Solaris, IER-Z1R, Khan). Haven't had the chance to listen to VE Elysium - anyone?

Can you compare the m5 to your anole vx?

 

[mvvRAZ]

Has anyone listened to the more entry level models of FiR? The M2/M3?

The M5 has really gotten me interested and I'd like to have a look at the rest of the line up

 

[eldss]

Has anyone listened to the more entry level models of FiR? The M2/M3?

The M5 has really gotten me interested and I'd like to have a look at the rest of the line up

I did. The M3 is the fun sounding one, w/ the most bass qty out of the M2, M3 and M4 (never heard M5). The M2, was slightly V shaped, as described by Fir, but I found it fairly balanced. It kinda made me think of it, as the baby brother of the M4. Solid bass (more qty than M4), nicely extended up top, but smooth non offending. The tubeless open 3d soundstage was more evident on the M2 than on the M3.

 

[CYZZM]

Heyo dropping a message on the thread to get it going!

Just ordered a universal M4, as I've heard consistently amazing things about their IEMs.

Furthermore FiR is doing an upgrade to my A18t (along with a reshell), and the customer experience so far has been absolutely exception, couldn't dream of better.

Will be dropping a review of the M4 soon!

Hi, I am wondering that what kind of upgrade are they doing?

 

[CYZZM]

I actually decided to go for the M5 in the end as I got a pretty good deal on it and I can afford it atm

It is going to be the new line of universals though, they haven’t been officially announced yet I believe but Bogdan gave me a sneak peak at them

I heard that new universal line will only be released in Asia.

 

[mvvRAZ]

I did. The M3 is the fun sounding one, w/ the most bass qty out of the M2, M3 and M4 (never heard M5). The M2, was slightly V shaped, as described by Fir, but I found it fairly balanced. It kinda made me think of it, as the baby brother of the M4. Solid bass (more qty than M4), nicely extended up top, but smooth non offending. The tubeless open 3d soundstage was more evident on the M2 than on the M3.

That’s interesting... I get the feeling the M2 and M3, maybe even the M4 are geared towards artists (as they generally like their IEMs warmer), while the M5 is pure audiophile material... just listened to Tuesday Fresh Cuts and that voice gave me an eargasm

Hi, I am wondering that what kind of upgrade are they doing?

I already got them back but I haven’t gotten around to really playing around with them as the insertion is quite deep so it’s not very comfy, but I’ll need to spend some time with them to decide. Technically speaking - Bogdan upgraded the internal wiring which gave them an elevated treble response

It’d be a shame if the universals don’t make it into the EU, they’re amazing

 

[IneffableMusic]

Can anyone compare the sound quality of the uni's vs customs especially with m5? Is there even a slight difference in sound someone could notice? Probably going with customs anyways but I'm wondering in case I change my mind

 

[eldss]

That’s interesting... I get the feeling the M2 and M3, maybe even the M4 are geared towards artists (as they generally like their IEMs warmer), while the M5 is pure audiophile material... just listened to Tuesday Fresh Cuts and that voice gave me an eargasm

Well, I’m a musician, but from what I’ve seen around Here, people have all sorts of preferences and a ton of favorite iems around here were specifically designed for musicians. I really liked the lineup and bet a lot of people will appreciate them once they’re out in the masses.

 

[chungjun]

Can you compare the m5 to your anole vx?

I probably need more time with M5 to comment vs VX. Listening session was brief and I would hesitate to make any comparative discussion at this point. Suffice to say, M5 has attracted my attention enough for me to want to revisit it and finalize my thoughts about getting a hybrid IEM / CIEM. So far, I felt that hybrid driver configuration is still in its early stages for me to adopt (may need more time for the tech to mature) but M5's tuning seems to deviate me from that. Oh well, we'll see.

Can anyone compare the sound quality of the uni's vs customs especially with m5? Is there even a slight difference in sound someone could notice? Probably going with customs anyways but I'm wondering in case I change my mind

The general take away from fellow members are that customs give you better seal when the fit is right and usually bass presence will be a notch more with customs.