[daveDerek]

mosey, it might help if you'd fill out your profile with at least your location, gear present & past, and musical preferences. dunno where you are but if you can get to certain audiologists they have demos of this gear and that would be far more informative to you than anything any of us could say!

 

[moseboy]

The little gear I have and had experience with is in my signature. My location is in Milwaukee, WI, and your idea of getting demo units of the customs sounds like a good idea, but I've heard too many people say "The demo units sound so different from the actual customs," that it makes me question what the point is.

 

[lemonstory]

I think ES5 is CIEM for you.

 

[moseboy]

Me too, but when I'm spending over $1000 on earphones that I can't sell, it doesn't hurt to make sure.

 

[dj nellie]

Moseboy, I used to own the SE530 and while I enjoyed its midrange for a while, I came to see that it was artificially boosted at the expense of the rest of the frequency spectrum.  If you really value midrange richness, then I think you're looking in the right place with the ES5.  It's much more balanced in relation to the bass and treble, and instrument separation and soundstage are far better IMO.  If you want even more forwardness, it seems the ES3x may be worth looking into as well (but it may not have the refinements that Westone has made with the ES5).
 
You don't have to worry about losing any bass quality, because the ES5 has very textured and focused bass.  In terms of pure quantity, I'm not sure, but I remember the SE530 having a slight midbass bloat so that wouldn't be desirable to me.  And the ES5 won't distort at high (listenable) volumes--this is a finely crafted piece of equipment.  Then again, I haven't heard any headphones' bass distorting at high volumes except for crappy iBuds.  I guess I never cranked it up that high with the SE530, but I'd be surprised if it distorted, but maybe it got slightly flabby and uncontrolled.

 

[moseboy]

What people have been saying about the ES5's midrange is really what intrigued me the most about them. As long as the mids are still in balance with the rest of the spectrum, I'm sure I'd love it. If mids weren't so important to me, I'd probably be more inclined to choose something like the UE IERM (which I am still looking at as an option, as well as the JH-13 Pro).
 
The SE530 is quite a warm earphone, and while I don't hate it, I could do without the extra bass more often than not. It's good to hear that the ES5's low-end doesn't distort at high volumes. I remember a while ago when I was reading through its appreciation thread, some people said the JH-13's bass can distort or clip at high volumes. Whether it was the earphones themselves or the amp driving them that was clipping, it still caught my attention.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

The little gear I have and had experience with is in my signature. My location is in Milwaukee, WI, and your idea of getting demo units of the customs sounds like a good idea, but I've heard too many people say "The demo units sound so different from the actual customs," that it makes me question what the point is.

 
the demos will give you the best idea of what these units sound like short of going out and buying them all. how different they sound from the custom for you would remain to be seen, and i think that is something that can vary from person to person. but i certainly don't think it's an exercise in futility - quite the opposite actually! most likely, i think you'd love either the es5 or the jh13, or some of the other top flight customs, as the vast majority of folks who've bought them do. good luck with your decision!

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

I remember a while ago when I was reading through its appreciation thread, some people said the JH-13's bass can distort or clip at high volumes. Whether it was the earphones themselves or the amp driving them that was clipping, it still caught my attention.

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I think HeadphoneAddict said once that he only noticed clipping on his JH13s when he turned the volume way up, past what anyone could stand to listen to.  Clipping just shouldn't happen with any of the top-tier customs at any tolerable volume.

If you want a change from a warm sound signature but still like somewhat forward/rich mids, then based on my demo it seems the UERM might fit the bill.  I'll be able to confirm in about 2 weeks when I get my pair.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Quote:

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but I think HeadphoneAddict said once that he only noticed clipping on his JH13s when he turned the volume way up, past what anyone could stand to listen to.  Clipping just shouldn't happen with any of the top-tier customs at any tolerable volume.

If you want a change from a warm sound signature but still like somewhat forward/rich mids, then based on my demo it seems the UERM might fit the bill.  I'll be able to confirm in about 2 weeks when I get my pair.

That was only with portable amps like my P-51 and the JH13Pro, but I couldn't make them clip with my Woo WA6.  They seemed to demand more current from the portable amp at high volumes than others.
 

 

[Canadian411]

After reading this thread, I am not sure if I can correlate like this ?
 
Westone ES5 = LCD2
JHPro 16 = HD800
 
?
 
and I prefer LCD2 over HD800.
 
Another question is, how about the treble ? I had Beyerdynamic DT990 and didn't like the ear piercing trebles, that's what I am trying to avoid.
 
Help me here, thanks in advance.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

After reading this thread, I am not sure if I can correlate like this ?
 
Westone ES5 = LCD2
JHPro 16 = HD800
 
?
 
and I prefer LCD2 over HD800.
 
Another question is, how about the treble ? I had Beyerdynamic DT990 and didn't like the ear piercing trebles, that's what I am trying to avoid.
 
Help me here, thanks in advance.

I don't have a JH16, but I'd say the ES5 = HE-500 or well amp'd HE-6, and the ES3X = HD800.  The JH16Pro demo definitely weren't like an HD800.  Based on your tastes I think you'd be happier with JH13 or JH16 or UE18

 

[Canadian411]

Quote:

I don't have a JH16, but I'd say the ES5 = HE-500 or well amp'd HE-6, and the ES3X = HD800.  The JH16Pro demo definitely weren't like an HD800.  Based on your tastes I think you'd be happier with JH13 or JH16 or UE18

Thanks for the info, well appreciated