[thesheik137]

After spending a week with the FiR M5, I feel like I can finally post my impressions.

Since I typically go for mostly neutral/warm-neutral tuned IEMs, it took some time to get accustomed to the M5 tonality. I forced brain burn-in by almost only listening to the M5 during this time. Sources ranged from LP6K to MBPro to ifiBL, but with Lid tech did not feel too much of a difference, with the exception of LP6K from which almost everything sounds better to me.

Boring Stuff:

Build quality, housings and cable are all very acceptable. Design is definitely not the most exciting out there, but it is very utilitarian: fits well, is solidly built and will definitely last. Its a shame that it is difficult to use other cables with the RCX connectors (using adapters did not lead to good fit for me), but the stock cable is quite good so I didn't mind too much.

Sound:

Strengths:
- Bass texture, kick, slam, decay are all outstanding.
- Mid-bass focused and natural tone, but quantity is quite a lot (borderline basshead?).
- Large quantity, but smooth/clean lower treble. Clear sound with no peaks. Non-fatiguing and very rarely gets too hot.
- (mid)bass and (lower)treble very present and in large quantities. Uniquely tuned to be both exciting and non-fatiguing.

Weaknesses:
- Upper-treble and slight sub-bass roll-off
- Pushed back mids, especially female vocals
- In-your-face layering and separation. Not quite TOTL.
- Soundstage is more vertical (mainly height rather than depth) and average horizontally
- Does not cope well with lots of background elements /complexity in music. They get lost in the mix due to stronger mid-bass and lower-treble presence

Other Comments:
- Able to recreate a live club/PA soundsystem-like experience
- Exciting, yet non-fatiguing "v-shape" (actually more like "m-shape")
- Not an all-rounder, but extremely enjoyable for simpler pop, electronic, rap/hip-hop genres.
(Simpler = not too many layers, easier to follow (4x4) bass/drums and melody/vocals)
- Would not recommend for complex music with lots of background elements or for female vocal focused music.

Thanks to @John2e and FiR for letting me be part of this tour, it has been an an enjoyable experience and I look forward to trying out more products from FiR.

 

[jmills8]

After spending a week with the FiR M5, I feel like I can finally post my impressions.

Since I typically go for mostly neutral/warm-neutral tuned IEMs, it took some time to get accustomed to the M5 tonality. I forced brain burn-in by almost only listening to the M5 during this time. Sources ranged from LP6K to MBPro to ifiBL, but with Lid tech did not feel too much of a difference, with the exception of LP6K from which almost everything sounds better to me.

Boring Stuff:

Build quality, housings and cable are all very acceptable. Design is definitely not the most exciting out there, but it is very utilitarian: fits well, is solidly built and will definitely last. Its a shame that it is difficult to use other cables with the RCX connectors (using adapters did not lead to good fit for me), but the stock cable is quite good so I didn't mind too much.

Sound:

Strengths:
- Bass texture, kick, slam, decay are all outstanding.
- Mid-bass focused and natural tone, but quantity is quite a lot (borderline basshead?).
- Large quantity, but smooth/clean lower treble. Clear sound with no peaks. Non-fatiguing and very rarely gets too hot.
- (mid)bass and (lower)treble very present and in large quantities. Uniquely tuned to be both exciting and non-fatiguing.

Weaknesses:
- Upper-treble and slight sub-bass roll-off
- Pushed back mids, especially female vocals
- In-your-face layering and separation. Not quite TOTL.
- Soundstage is more vertical (mainly height rather than depth) and average horizontally
- Does not cope well with lots of background elements /complexity in music. They get lost in the mix due to stronger mid-bass and lower-treble presence

Other Comments:
- Able to recreate a live club/PA soundsystem-like experience
- Exciting, yet non-fatiguing "v-shape" (actually more like "m-shape")
- Not an all-rounder, but extremely enjoyable for simpler pop, electronic, rap/hip-hop genres.
(Simpler = not too many layers, easier to follow (4x4) bass/drums and melody/vocals)
- Would not recommend for complex music with lots of background elements or for female vocal focused music.

Thanks to @John2e and FiR for letting me be part of this tour, it has been an an enjoyable experience and I look forward to trying out more products from FiR.

Oo boy not great.

 

[toaster]

Oo boy not great.

didn't seem that negative to me...and i had the m5 before sheik and they are pretty damn awesome with certain music.

...extremely enjoyable for simpler pop, electronic, rap/hip-hop genres.

I agree with this most of all about the fir m5...if you listen to pop/electronic music, these are a definite winner.

 

[John2e]

Personal preference and my own ears withstanding. Yes I choose the M5. A few made the top of the list but of them I choose the M5 Because of a couple particular reasons.

To give brief insight on to what gear i've tested much of very recently, here's some of the list

FiR Audio M5
FiR Audio M4
Vision ears Elysium
Vision ears - crazy name, pure silver universal super expensive
Vision ears VE8
Vision ears below VE8
Empire Ears Wraith
Empire ears Phantom
Empire Ears Valkyrie
Empire legend X
Legend X SE (special edition)
U12 - 64 audio
JH Audio Layla
QDC Anole VX
Unique Melody full line up
FIBAE full line up
All A&K DAPs
All Cayin DAPs
All Ibasso DAPs
All Sony DAPs

Currently I personally have ownership and in my possession the Campfire Audio Solaris and A&K T8IE MK2. Moving on to others beyond these.

Many many other TOTL brands beyond these I've tried so many, it's too much to list. Ive been traveling Japan and other parts of Asia and have literally been scouring audio shops and testing back to back. FiR popped up out of nowhere wasn't ever in my eyesight or on my list. I didnt know of them when I began my endgame search.

The two other ones I was going to purchase, the Wraith and the Elysium. I originally preferred the Elysium the most. Across all DAPs and my list of music. The reasons I went with FiR and it beat out these two, mainly was the bass, and the way they properly use the electrostats. Not making it a gimmick.

The thing for me is, my ears after years of being a professional in audio engineering and other such music industry, have developed mild Tinnitus to high frequencies. My ears will get a static and ringing sound when they get hit by particular high pitches and especially more frequently when those sounds are off bad quality recordings. So it's a non starter for me if my ears buzz. I can't even listen to may IEMs for more then a few minutes because of this. Or only certain songs. I have this issue mainly with my Solaris currently on some songs and at some times, they cause me this buzz though I enjoy them.

I will probably do a proper posting of the FiR M5 When I recieve my custom but, the 2 things it did better for me then the other two top killers on my list (Elysium and Wraith) was the bass and the electrostats treble. I am in no way a bass head but the impact, extension, depth and just clarity and vibration to the rumble of the lows clearly outmatched the other two and gave a effect of being inside the music beyond the other two. And the emotional response increases in part because of this. The treble doesn't tweak my ears, which is rare for me. It's a issue often. Very beautiful work here.
The Wraith can at times sound better overall or maybe just larger, wider, and more encompassing.. but this required many, many extra thousands of $$ in gear and cables to reach it's pinnacle potential. The M5 out of even just stock 3.5 and a M11 Immediately shined. The Elysium was at first the killer for me in this sense overall as well, however, the bass didn't just fill the shoes the same way the M5 did and it was also $400 ~ cheaper.

Again I will probably more thoroughly cover the Kings and King killers I've experienced and the top of my choices of basically every top and good brand there is in personal audio. (Even headphones, like the Abyss hitting the top of my list quite easily) and how the FiR M5 became my choice and how my customs turn out.. when I recieve them and spend some more time with my own personal ones.

Also, my decision was based on that I was for sure purchasing custom. Not a universal. Keep that in mind for those that want Uni's.

DAP wise - much on that to say another time but.. quickly, Android is a must for me, streaming is 90% my experience. N6ii so far top my list. Possibly M15 now that I recently heard of it based on specs but I have no clue yet on that. Runner up was Hiby R6Pro.

At this level it comes down to personal preference and your's is one I certainly agree with...

 

[Rpyy]

At this level it comes down to personal preference and your's is one I certainly agree with...

agree with him too, my experience with Top list IEMs and DAPs is almost the same.

 

[lolitar2208]

I just got my M5 CIEM at new year eve. Overall is impressive but the middle sound from right side is less than left side and my fitting is not perfect
Too sad that i have to send this guy back to repair

 

[Rpyy]

I just got my M5 CIEM at new year eve. Overall is impressive but the middle sound from right side is less than left side and my fitting is not perfect
Too sad that i have to send this guy back to repair

meanwhile I can't wait for my first CIEMs - M4, May i ask how long did it take for you?


edited : just notice that you also from Thailand. Haha

 

[Levanter]

My upgraded-modded A12tr coming soon
Changes from the original A12t includes
1) Ability to use both ADEL and Apex/Atom modules
2) LID circuit removed, cable/DAP rolling expected to impact sound more.

Brief impression from Bogdan mentioned that sound signature is closer to A18t but sounds a bit more meatier with a little more mids.
Will do a comparison once I receive them.

 

[lolitar2208]

meanwhile I can't wait for my first CIEMs - M4, May i ask how long did it take for you?


edited : just notice that you also from Thailand. Haha

It take a month for me. Distributor said that Fir has just expand from two countries to 6-7 countries and new year holiday , so it might take longer than that

 

[ngd3]

- In-your-face layering and separation. Not quite TOTL.
- Soundstage is more vertical (mainly height rather than depth) and average horizontally

Agreed. I demoed the M4s and while they were great the smaller stage was a dealbreaker. Seems like getting the Atom module is a must if you value a wider stage

 

[artpiggo]

My upgraded-modded A12tr coming soon
Changes from the original A12t includes
1) Ability to use both ADEL and Apex/Atom modules
2) LID circuit removed, cable/DAP rolling expected to impact sound more.

Brief impression from Bogdan mentioned that sound signature is closer to A18t but sounds a bit more meatier with a little more mids.
Will do a comparison once I receive them.

Sorry. Just passer-by to this thread. what company provides this type of service?

And what to do if I want this services? Email directly? How much?

 

[John2e]

Sorry. Just passer-by to this thread. what company provides this type of service?

https://www.firaudio.com/

Give them a call or send an email

 

[Lucidmotion]

Agreed. I demoed the M4s and while they were great the smaller stage was a dealbreaker. Seems like getting the Atom module is a must if you value a wider stage

I would say the M4 does have a smaller soundstage but this is where the electrostats on the M5 make up the difference. In direct A/B of M5 to M4, there was a substantial veil lifted from the sound and a expansion to the stage. Also a airiness and clarity I really noticed to vocals that came out more on the M5. Many electrostat implementations so far haven't really done much for me on IEMs, this is why I say the surprise of the M5 being one of the few that do electrostats well and show what difference they can really make and why even having one is worth it vs BA's. In my personal preference/listening I believe the soundstage is quite grand and large as well as wide.

A big thing I find that many IEMs will vary between; a good emotional response, a punch and rumble to the middle and low ends - Or a very wide and large soundstage and seperation but with the widening usually pulling out the middle of the sound presentation because it's pulling it out larger to the sides and top/bottom. This latter catagory IEM I often find pulls out the emotional leans meffects andof the music as well and leans more analytical. Not always but most common.

This is something I feel the M5 does the best, it pulls both of these catagories together. Combining quite a lively, rumbling, and punchiness with great emotion along with electrostats done well that give a large stage of sound and pulls things in full circumference around your head.

After spending a week with the FiR M5, I feel like I can finally post my impressions.

Since I typically go for mostly neutral/warm-neutral tuned IEMs, it took some time to get accustomed to the M5 tonality. I forced brain burn-in by almost only listening to the M5 during this time. Sources ranged from LP6K to MBPro to ifiBL, but with Lid tech did not feel too much of a difference, with the exception of LP6K from which almost everything sounds better to me.

Boring Stuff:

Build quality, housings and cable are all very acceptable. Design is definitely not the most exciting out there, but it is very utilitarian: fits well, is solidly built and will definitely last. Its a shame that it is difficult to use other cables with the RCX connectors (using adapters did not lead to good fit for me), but the stock cable is quite good so I didn't mind too much.

Sound:

Strengths:
- Bass texture, kick, slam, decay are all outstanding.
- Mid-bass focused and natural tone, but quantity is quite a lot (borderline basshead?).
- Large quantity, but smooth/clean lower treble. Clear sound with no peaks. Non-fatiguing and very rarely gets too hot.
- (mid)bass and (lower)treble very present and in large quantities. Uniquely tuned to be both exciting and non-fatiguing.

Weaknesses:
- Upper-treble and slight sub-bass roll-off
- Pushed back mids, especially female vocals
- In-your-face layering and separation. Not quite TOTL.
- Soundstage is more vertical (mainly height rather than depth) and average horizontally
- Does not cope well with lots of background elements /complexity in music. They get lost in the mix due to stronger mid-bass and lower-treble presence

Other Comments:
- Able to recreate a live club/PA soundsystem-like experience
- Exciting, yet non-fatiguing "v-shape" (actually more like "m-shape")
- Not an all-rounder, but extremely enjoyable for simpler pop, electronic, rap/hip-hop genres.
(Simpler = not too many layers, easier to follow (4x4) bass/drums and melody/vocals)
- Would not recommend for complex music with lots of background elements or for female vocal focused music.

Thanks to @John2e and FiR for letting me be part of this tour, it has been an an enjoyable experience and I look forward to trying out more products from FiR.

Though I won't disagree thesheik, because everyone's perceptions and preferences are different and you can't compare how people each recieve or like something. However, I would make comments to my own perceptions that I feel are counter to some of his negatives.

1. Build quality is quite substantially more then 'acceptable'. These are solid IEMs. I would have no fear dropping them. They're not plasticy, they're not pliable in any way. I find it hard pressed to find many other IEMs with a build quality this strong and durable AND having such a good fit just for universal. I'd have to see which other ones could even compare to this good. I don't know of many. Even the CIEM's, they add an extra fattened layer to the moulding, check out how they build they CIEM you can see the extra layering to the moulding of the shell they give it for strength. Quite a bit more then most other CIEM makers.

2. "In your face layering/seperation and not good at complex music with many things background"
This one I feel is quite far from my experience. First off, the 2 genres mentioned that this IEM is good for (electronic and pop) are among the genres that I absolutely do not even listen to. I listen to extremely complex music among many other types. From things with many many instruments at once like Reggae to psychedelic/progressive rock. Art/experimental rock. Folk, acoustic, soul, funk, mantra/chanting. And many more.

I would inquire what songs specifically are you having this experience with? And what DAP are you using because I would recommend some songs to you to see where I'm saying the detail and clarity and separation is superb. And the capacity to handle many, many different sounds at once is there in spades. Maybe there's something in the audio chain that was used giving this perception to you but mine is quite counter to this.

3. "Not good for female vocals" this one lends me to thinking blanket statements are always hard to accurately state. What is the definition of good female vocals? This varies entirely from person to person so a blanket "not good for" is something I often find people saying in reviews when, once again it's perception based. Some people would prefer female vocals where it sounds like a woman a sitting on your lap singing directly into your ears. To others, would be if she sounds like she's on a stage singing a few feet infront of you while the band plays music to the sides of you complementing her voice. Others would even at times want an ethereal and whispery far and all encompassing female vocal. Floating around and just filling air and space. So this is very perception based. And much of my music is female vocals, I would say to my preference the M5 did it quite substantially well.

Again. In direct comparison to Totals - Empire Ears Wraith and Vision Ears Elysium, I preferred the vocals on the M5 over the Wraith originally. Until the Wraith was paired with $2k cables and a $3.5k DAP did I find it had more space and stage and sound. But for me this pulled out much emotion and middle sound vs the M5 maintaining the balance between both. The Elysium does possibly have an edge over the M5 In these regards, without needing crazy expensive cables/DAPs, but it doesn't carry the middle and low end the same way. So that's a variance there.

I would be curious to know what gear would be what is the comparison to the M5 that had these statements, to see if I maybe A/B'd between the IEMs you're comparing them too when calling it average build/soundstage, not good female vocals. Etc. I wonder what does these better in your opinion.

No shade being thrown or faulting of your opinion at all sheik, I don't do that. I understand everyone sees/hears and percieves things in their own sense. I think you did a very good write up and review of your own experience and statement on how you see things. Just have a different observation of my own. And I would be very interested to know what the comparisons were too, because maybe there's some IEMs I haven't heard that I can learn of a better stage/ sound, etc for myself to know of that I havent yet found on my listening journey

 

[thesheik137]

I would say the M4 does have a smaller soundstage but this is where the electrostats on the M5 make up the difference. In direct A/B of M5 to M4, there was a substantial veil lifted from the sound and a expansion to the stage. Also a airiness and clarity I really noticed to vocals that came out more on the M5. Many electrostat implementations so far haven't really done much for me on IEMs, this is why I say the surprise of the M5 being one of the few that do electrostats well and show what difference they can really make and why even having one is worth it vs BA's. In my personal preference/listening I believe the soundstage is quite grand and large as well as wide.

A big thing I find that many IEMs will vary between; a good emotional response, a punch and rumble to the middle and low ends - Or a very wide and large soundstage and seperation but with the widening usually pulling out the middle of the sound presentation because it's pulling it out larger to the sides and top/bottom. This latter catagory IEM I often find pulls out the emotional leans meffects andof the music as well and leans more analytical. Not always but most common.

This is something I feel the M5 does the best, it pulls both of these catagories together. Combining quite a lively, rumbling, and punchiness with great emotion along with electrostats done well that give a large stage of sound and pulls things in full circumference around your head.






Though I won't disagree thesheik, because everyone's perceptions and preferences are different and you can't compare how people each recieve or like something. However, I would make comments to my own perceptions that I feel are counter to some of his negatives.

1. Build quality is quite substantially more then 'acceptable'. These are solid IEMs. I would have no fear dropping them. They're not plasticy, they're not pliable in any way. I find it hard pressed to find many other IEMs with a build quality this strong and durable AND having such a good fit just for universal. I'd have to see which other ones could even compare to this good. I don't know of many. Even the CIEM's, they add an extra fattened layer to the moulding, check out how they build they CIEM you can see the extra layering to the moulding of the shell they give it for strength. Quite a bit more then most other CIEM makers.

2. "In your face layering/seperation and not good at complex music with many things background"
This one I feel is quite far from my experience. First off, the 2 genres mentioned that this IEM is good for (electronic and pop) are among the genres that I absolutely do not even listen to. I listen to extremely complex music among many other types. From things with many many instruments at once like Reggae to psychedelic/progressive rock. Art/experimental rock. Folk, acoustic, soul, funk, mantra/chanting. And many more.

I would inquire what songs specifically are you having this experience with? And what DAP are you using because I would recommend some songs to you to see where I'm saying the detail and clarity and separation is superb. And the capacity to handle many, many different sounds at once is there in spades. Maybe there's something in the audio chain that was used giving this perception to you but mine is quite counter to this.

3. "Not good for female vocals" this one lends me to thinking blanket statements are always hard to accurately state. What is the definition of good female vocals? This varies entirely from person to person so a blanket "not good for" is something I often find people saying in reviews when, once again it's perception based. Some people would prefer female vocals where it sounds like a woman a sitting on your lap singing directly into your ears. To others, would be if she sounds like she's on a stage singing a few feet infront of you while the band plays music to the sides of you complementing her voice. Others would even at times want an ethereal and whispery far and all encompassing female vocal. Floating around and just filling air and space. So this is very perception based. And much of my music is female vocals, I would say to my preference the M5 did it quite substantially well.

Again. In direct comparison to Totals - Empire Ears Wraith and Vision Ears Elysium, I preferred the vocals on the M5 over the Wraith originally. Until the Wraith was paired with $2k cables and a $3.5k DAP did I find it had more space and stage and sound. But for me this pulled out much emotion and middle sound vs the M5 maintaining the balance between both. The Elysium does possibly have an edge over the M5 In these regards, without needing crazy expensive cables/DAPs, but it doesn't carry the middle and low end the same way. So that's a variance there.

I would be curious to know what gear would be what is the comparison to the M5 that had these statements, to see if I maybe A/B'd between the IEMs you're comparing them too when calling it average build/soundstage, not good female vocals. Etc. I wonder what does these better in your opinion.

No shade being thrown or faulting of your opinion at all sheik, I don't do that. I understand everyone sees/hears and percieves things in their own sense. I think you did a very good write up and review of your own experience and statement on how you see things. Just have a different observation of my own. And I would be very interested to know what the comparisons were too, because maybe there's some IEMs I haven't heard that I can learn of a better stage/ sound, etc for myself to know of that I havent yet found on my listening journey

Yeah, fair enough. For your reference, here are the sources and IEMs I was using as part of my assessment with the M5:

Source: Lotoo Paw 6000 (primary), iFi iDsd micro black label.
IEM: ItsFit Fusion (primary), CA Andromeda.

 

[macdonjh]

My son tells me there's a box at home: probably the tour M4. As if my wife and kids weren't reason enough to want to be home today from working out of town all week. The fun begins tonight and will go on all next week.