[soLicitous]

Just throwing my two cents in about FiR:

I own a universal M5 and demoed the M3, M4, and M5 prior to my purchase. None of them had anything near what I would call bloated bass. They were all significantly more balanced and controlled than my Nemesis and Valkyrie from Empire Ears.

As far as their tuning - I was under the impression they made a final decision on tuning during the summer of 2019 after a few re-tunings earlier in the year following some feedback. I could be incorrect, though.

 

[Luke Skywalker]

New plan guys... I'm going to Chicago CANJAM in October and that way I'll be able to audition all the choices and have my ear impressions made right there

Anyone else going to the Chicago one? i'm pumped

 

[Levanter]

Any M5 that has been sold since June 2019 has the final tuning.

 

[mvvRAZ]

the sr15 definitely did not do it for me.

still have yet to hear the m, but the sp1k i heard was fantastic.

I'd say around that price point my favourite so far has been the WM1Z. It plays extremely well with more neutral monitors like the ones I have and the timbre is spot on. Extremely wide soundstage as well

The other player I'm really interested in is the LGPT but I haven't had the chance to demo that yet

 

[twister6]

New plan guys... I'm going to Chicago CANJAM in October and that way I'll be able to audition all the choices and have my ear impressions made right there

Anyone else going to the Chicago one? i'm pumped

With everything going on in the world now, I would only get excited a few weeks before the show, knowing it's still on. Who knew it will escalate that fast; exactly a month ago I was in NYC attending CanJam...

 

[mvvRAZ]

With everything going on in the world now, I would only get excited a few weeks before the show, knowing it's still on. Who knew it will escalate that fast; exactly a month ago I was in NYC attending CanJam...

My main concern is the summer canjam in London considering they’re estimating that the virus will peak in about 2 months the changes are looking a little bleak

 

[twister6]

Any M5 that has been sold since June 2019 has the final tuning.

Yep. I had final pre-production unit before CanJam SGP '19, and after the show with all the accumulated feedback the tuning was finalized since early summer of 2019. The final production unit I reviewed had more forward mids, bringing M5 to a more balanced signature while also lowering the perception of bass impact.

 

[normie610]

Yep. I had final pre-production unit before CanJam SGP '19, and after the show with all the accumulated feedback the tuning was finalized since early summer of 2019. The final production unit I reviewed had more forward mids, bringing M5 to a more balanced signature while also lowering the perception of bass impact.

There could be something wrong with the tour demo version. Perhaps an issue with the estat driver?

 

[subguy812]

I have had a little time now with the JH Lola and I must say it is unique. I have used the stock cable as well as a pure silver cable(also with bass adjustment). Both cables do provide and excellent experience, with the silver cable providing a tad less warmth to the overall tone, but the details and clarity are superb. The stock cable provides tonality as JH obviously wanted it to be heard. The details of a description need to lie in the tonality of this musical performer, the Lola. I found the bass setting sweet spot with the stock cable to be 2:00 o'clock and the silver cable to be at 3:00.

The overall character of the Lola is full with the bass being transparent with plenty of air, so that the bass lines are not jumbled, but clear. The mids have a spark with a tinge of warmth. Mids are detailed due to the amount of air around notes but there is still an aura of warmth and incredible tonality. The treble can display itself in a bit of a brightish manner. Not to say it is harsh, but the brightness is dependent on the tracks you are listening too. The treble extends and due to this, the Lola has a dynamic tinge. Overall, it is pretty cool to be able to achieve a dynamic sound, with clarity, while still achieving a glow of warmth. The sense of space is great, providing you a lot of headroom.

Again, I am kinda torn on which cable I prefer, it may very well depend on my mood or the genre of music I am listening to. If you have the opportunity to hear a seasoned Lola, you should do it. It is worthy of more attention than it has received.

 

[twister6]

There could be something wrong with the tour demo version. Perhaps an issue with the estat driver?

Just speculating, but something could have happened to miniature transformer driving EST tweeter. Sonion EST drivers come bundled with a separate transformer (used inside of all these IEMs). If your high frequencies are attenuated, the low end emphasis scales up.

Btw, per one of the previous comments about these EST drivers benefiting from more power, not higher voltage, but a source with a higher current drive (similar to Planars that benefit from higher current source). It's true, for example, I found M5 to scale up with Class A amplifiers or other DAPs with higher current drive (R2R2000 or N6ii w/E01). But it wasn't the case with EE Wraith, which could be related to its crossover design. Thus, not every IEM with EST driver will behave the same.

 

[ceeloChamp]

Well I finally turned my e-mail notifications back on...I missed so much!

I have just demoed the M4 and M5 and I haven't heard the M3, but I would certainly recommend the M5 over the M4. Putting them on back to back, it did sound like the M4 was a bit less warm, but it also lacked the depth, detail and overall wow-factor of the M5. I think if you are considering getting the M4, save your money and get the M5.

Overall I was pretty impressed with the M5 as one of those IEMs I would recommend to someone who just wanted to own 1 TOTL IEM and wasn't interested in cable rolling. The M5 played all genres well and all the hardware/features it comes with is very impressive. The M5 has: LID, Atom Modules (pressure EQ/Tuning inserts), and a really beefy cable connector were my favorite features. Great IEM if you want to own 1 IEM, don't have a large cable collection, or want a rock-solid well rounder....and a 3 year transferable warranty.

 

[toaster]

^ nice thoughts, @ceeloChamp.

agree that the m5 is one of the best new iems on the block...extremely fun and engaging sound.

 

[MrLocoLuciano]

My review of Ambient Acoustics AM5LE, MAD16 and MAD24 is up. Click on the pic


A great opportunity to listen to this gears, thanks AA for making this possible (@vaduts) !

 

[Luke Skywalker]

hope you think the elysium are awesome, too.

if this is your first high-end gear, i'm nearly certain you will be blown away...

I have JH Lola universals and Audeze LCD-2’s but it sounds like the Elysium’s are at a whole other level...

thanks

 

[Luke Skywalker]

You’d still need a pretty good DAP to get that treble out though... it’s a pretty demanding IEM as far as setups are concerned

I have a HiBy R6 Pro. Is there another that would get me superior sound do you think? I can grab another one...