[Strauss95]

HBB, what are your initial thoughts on the Cayin i5? I'll be in the market for a Spotify capable DAP soon and am debating between the Fiio X7 and the Cayin i5. I know you have experience with the X7, so wondered how the two compared if you don't mind me asking? I need a good EQ option on the go and Spotify is my main audio source, hence the need for one of these DAP's. I'm too scared to attempt rooting my Galaxy S7 to run Viper4android, otherwise I'd be all set with just using my phone stacked with my E12. 

 

[warrior1975]

Neutron is an excellent player, with PEQ. VIPER, also excellent and I prefer to use them together. Never heard the i5, can't help with that. The X7 is supposed to have viper as an option in future, otherwise you can easily root, without voiding the warranty too.

Still rocking my xb90ex. I truly forgot how much I love these joints. They need more TLC from me. Stacked with my P1 and C5.

 

[talan7]

HBB, what are your initial thoughts on the Cayin i5? I'll be in the market for a Spotify capable DAP soon and am debating between the Fiio X7 and the Cayin i5. I know you have experience with the X7, so wondered how the two compared if you don't mind me asking? I need a good EQ option on the go and Spotify is my main audio source, hence the need for one of these DAP's. I'm too scared to attempt rooting my Galaxy S7 to run Viper4android, otherwise I'd be all set with just using my phone stacked with my E12. 

I bought and use the lg v10 phone as a player. I paid about $250, and I like it just as much or more than my pioneer xdp-100r. If definitely has way more power than the pioneer, it's easier to use, more durable, can easily be upgraded. You could root if easily.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

I am not a DAP person. I have a Note 4 with no sim for a host.
 
The Cayin sounds very crisp and clear and I like the UI and sound a lot better than the X7
 
I just installed Neutron on it so I am still getting used to it. I will do a full review soon and compare to X7 in vid.

 

[Mr-Nice]

Hello friends
 
I feel I am back to square one, I tried the Sony xba z5 and I feel it is a bad purchase choice as the fit is really awful, are all Sony totl iems like that. Also to get a good seal was a nightmare, so I sold it.
 
I am back to square one. What I did after I sold my Sony xba z5 is I wanted to give a less expensive Sony iem that is hailed here a try, so I bought the xb90ex and its terrible with respect to people who love it. The sound coming from the xb90ex sounds not natural and the mids and the highs are awful. Thanks god they are not expensive as they are collecting dust now.
 
So far from what I owned angie, xba z5 and xb90ex are not what I look for. I thought I can get one iem that nails it all in all departments with a great bass that has great quantity and quality with great mids and highs.
 
I am starting to think non of us hit the sweet spot that we all look for to get in iems, which explains why I see many of you guys keep buying and buying and buying iems. As that explains that in every iem you own there is something you wish to improve more.
 
Portable audio is contrary to home audio for example at my home once I set up my home audio system I barley look to change it in years.
 
Also I am starting to witness a trend that some people hail an iem soon that same person will buy another iem and the iem he hailed in the past becomes not that great of a quality to him anymore.
 
Anyhow it seems this portable audio is more tough than I thought to get what I want to achieve.
 
Cheers

 

[chillaxing]

  Hello friends
 
I feel I am back to square one, I tried the Sony xba z5 and I feel it is a bad purchase choice as the fit is really awful, are all Sony totl iems like that. Also to get a good seal was a nightmare, so I sold it.
 
I am back to square one. What I did after I sold my Sony xba z5 is I wanted to give a less expensive Sony iem that is hailed here a try, so I bought the xb90ex and its terrible with respect to people who love it. The sound coming from the xb90ex sounds not natural and the mids and the highs are awful. Thanks god they are not expensive as they are collecting dust now.
 
So far from what I owned angie, xba z5 and xb90ex are not what I look for. I thought I can get one iem that nails it all in all departments with a great bass that has great quantity and quality with great mids and highs.
 
I am starting to think non of us hit the sweet spot that we all look for to get in iems, which explains why I see many of you guys keep buying and buying and buying iems. As that explains that in every iem you own there is something you wish to improve more.
 
Portable audio is contrary to home audio for example at my home once I set up my home audio system I barley look to change it in years.
 
Also I am starting to witness a trend that some people hail an iem soon that same person will buy another iem and the iem he hailed in the past becomes not that great of a quality to him anymore.
 
Anyhow it seems this portable audio is more tough than I thought to get what I want to achieve.
 
Cheers

 
 
Yes having bass quantity and keeping everything else clear is a big challenge for us bassheads in the personal audio world.  Its just a hard feat to accomplish both in a single driver opposed to having multiple drivers to handle different frequency ranges.  thats why you see many around here having or trying endless amount of pairs.  Most is just hype trains making its way through the thread, but there are some of us in it for the love of finding that perfect pair.  Personally i'm done trying to find the perfect pair and just settled on two sets.

 

[Strauss95]

   
 
Yes having bass quantity and keeping everything else clear is a big challenge for us bassheads in the personal audio world.  Its just a hard feat to accomplish both in a single driver opposed to having multiple drivers to handle different frequency ranges.  thats why you see many around here having or trying endless amount of pairs.  Most is just hype trains making its way through the thread, but there are some of us in it for the love of finding that perfect pair.  Personally i'm done trying to find the perfect pair and just settled on two sets.

 
And what two sets are those? I'm learning with time that being a basshead in the audiophile world is a struggle lol. 
 
I got my MDR-7550's last night and gave them their first audition. I first tried them straight out of the package with no tape, and was very impressed with their vast soundstage. Bass extended nice and low, but was not there in quantity. Mids are fantastic, and the treble was better than I was expecting. For some of my music EQ'ing the treble up will help, but the laid back highs are great for listening at high volume for longer time periods. 
 
I quickly pulled them out to tape the vents. Bass quantity did increase, but overall I was honestly a little disappointed. I think I went into it expecting too much, expecting them to want to shake themselves out of my ear canals with slamming bass. The damn SZ2K's have ruined the bass quantity of all other headphones I think lol. I did boost the bass a lot with my EQ, and of course was running the bass boost on my E12 the whole time. I did notice the soundstage get smaller with the tape as well, but I knew that was going to happen going into it. 
 
I kept A/B'ing them against my JVC FX850's, and was more surprised how well the 850's stacked up against the 7550's. The 7550's have the upper hand with actual sub-bass, but the 850's were very close in the upper bass range. The JVC's are way more V-shaped so the treble was much hotter on them, and on some songs I actually preferred the stronger treble. It gave them more of a sense of "air", which also made the soundstage seem larger on them compared to the taped 7550's. So in the head to head battle, this was how they compared IMO...
 
Sub-bass: 7550 taped
Mid-bass: About equal
Treble:  FX850 (although on some music the rolled off treble on the 7550's was easier to listen to)
Soundstage:  FX850 beat out the taped 7550's, but the 7550's may beat the 850's without the tape
Comfort: About equal
 
Another added bonus for the 850's is how easy they are to drive, and the fact that they are V-shaped out of the box. The 7550's need the E12 to shine, and benefit from EQ for more bass and treble. Originally I was going to sell my 850's once I got the 7550's, but right now I'm not sure if I want to do that. I'm going to give the 7550's some more time for me to adjust to them, and possibly for some burn-in if that really matters. 

 

[warrior1975]

I've never heard the woodies, but they've always intrigued me. Interesting impressions, IIRC you are the first one to say such.

 

[Strauss95]

Well holy cow, I let the 7550's play all night last night while I slept, along with all day while I was at work. I've never been a big believer in burn-in, but my god did the bass wake up on these things! I can now say without question that these have more bass all around compared to the 850's. Sub-bass, mid-bass, impact, rumble, etc. And my god these things can take some serious power! Like others have already mentioned, in order to get the elevated bass I am having to feed them high gain from my E12 along with a big boost of 60hz and below on my EQ.
 
Adjusting the EQ to more tame levels of bass, they can and do sound very good. I still stand by my previous comparisons with the 850's though, except for the bass. Now after almost 20hrs of burn-in, they outclass the 850's in low-end for sure. But as odd as this may sound, after doing this comparison it has just made me appreciate the 850's more. I think I prefer them for overall sound quality and soundstage. The 7550's excel in the bass department, and with their less fatiguing treble they are easier to listen to at high volumes for extended periods of time. 
 
Both absolutely FANTASTIC pairs of IEM's. I will be keeping both

 

[warrior1975]

That sounds more like what others say. Glad you like them.

 

[LHS]

Let me know if this isn't allowed but is anyone interested in my ASG 2.5?

 

[MikiRawr]

  Well holy cow, I let the 7550's play all night last night while I slept, along with all day while I was at work. I've never been a big believer in burn-in, but my god did the bass wake up on these things! I can now say without question that these have more bass all around compared to the 850's. Sub-bass, mid-bass, impact, rumble, etc. And my god these things can take some serious power! Like others have already mentioned, in order to get the elevated bass I am having to feed them high gain from my E12 along with a big boost of 60hz and below on my EQ.
 
Adjusting the EQ to more tame levels of bass, they can and do sound very good. I still stand by my previous comparisons with the 850's though, except for the bass. Now after almost 20hrs of burn-in, they outclass the 850's in low-end for sure. But as odd as this may sound, after doing this comparison it has just made me appreciate the 850's more. I think I prefer them for overall sound quality and soundstage. The 7550's excel in the bass department, and with their less fatiguing treble they are easier to listen to at high volumes for extended periods of time. 
 
Both absolutely FANTASTIC pairs of IEM's. I will be keeping both

 
I also found 7550 more enjoyable over time.
 
Btw guys ... the ones who have 7550's vents taped. Did you poke a hole into the tape or not?

 

[myemaildw]

I don't believe in burnin. onece I changed my opinion and believed in burning and then I compared to another and it's just delusion. mostly new iem syndrome we all get. my best bass iem is still qkz x6 super bass for 8 euro. it's **** in mids and highs but bass at least what bass head bass must be on bass iem. even beats don't have good bass for bass heads. just in between neutral and basshead.

 

[warrior1975]

I also found 7550 more enjoyable over time.

Btw guys ... the ones who have 7550's vents taped. Did you poke a hole into the tape or not?

No hole for me.

I'm not sure I believe in burn in either. So hard to say for sure. For some things burn in makes sense, DD being on of them. For cables? No, I definitely don't believe in cable burn in. That's a difficult one for me to accept. If it does exist, I don't hear any difference. Not even sure if I hear a difference between DD burned in and not. Would love to be able to ab that.

Side note, still rocking my xb90ex. Really missed these, a lot.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

warrior1975 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
                                 Hawaiibadboy

No hole for me.

I'm not sure I believe in burn in either. So hard to say for sure. For some things burn in makes sense, DD being on of them. For cables? No, I definitely don't believe in cable burn in. That's a difficult one for me to accept. If it does exist, I don't hear any difference. Not even sure if I hear a difference between DD burned in and not. Would love to be able to ab that.

Side note, still rocking my xb90ex. Really missed these, a lot.

 
Edited your post

Cuz I woulda typed the same thing on all 3 points
 
No hole
No burn in
Rockin the original   "What? where did these gems come from? 2011??"   xb90ex