[originalsnuffy]

Interesting comments on the treble. I may need to go back to Mahler's first. I thought there was some harshness in the latest movements, but then again I thought that was in the recording itself.

I have relatively few hours on my unit, and did not perform the recommended break in. So what I am wondering is how will these sound after extended wearing?

The reason I ask that is one of the hottest threads for IEM units is the $100 It01. Yet it appears that one needs over 100 hours (maybe 150?) before they sound right. So naturally my question is how does the A5 sound after extended use? The same or ..... ?

 

[Brooko]

I have about 50 hours on mine already. Interestingly it measures the same now as it did when I first got them. Burn in .... please .... just no.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Well it appears these are going to be quite the polarising IEM.

(redacted a bit)

Blue and Black are practically identical and upper mid-range is overdone - making things appear too vivid, thin and a little brash.
Red and Grey are again practically identical, and only issue I have with this combo is that the sub-bass is too dominant, and needs cutting so that it doesn't mask other frequencies. Mid-range is really nice on both the red and grey.

If you're prepared to EQ - these are a pretty good IEM. Without it, they probably aren't my cup of tea. The good news is that there should be the possibility of retuning to a certain extent through filter modifications.

I am starting to wonder if there is quite a bit of variability in the filters themselves. Based on Brooko's comments I put in the red filter. I had been living in gray. And the life was literally sucked right out of these IEMs. High was gone as was imaging. Put the gray back in and all was good. Hi end is a bit more brash than with my beloved FLC8S (where I hang out in in red - gray - gray/gunmetal). If you know the FLC8S, most users prefer the gold mid/treble filter over the gunmetal. The gold is more mid range forward and has a bit less high end the the gunmetal on the FLC8S.

And the low end on the A5 is definitely stronger than the tuning I am using for the FLC8S. So certainly more V shaped than my tuning on the FLC8S; but not radically so. Again, that is the A5 with the gray filter.

So the A5 that I have definitely does not sound the same with both red and gray filters.

If I am on to something, that might explain the wild swings in reviews of this unit. Variability in filters could explain quite a bit.

I very much respect Brooko's work; so variable filters (e.g. not much consistency between batches) is my best theory right now.

Oh.... I should mention that my source is the Cayin N5II with a balanced cable; not the stock cable.

Test material was Mahler's first symphony, later movements, and in a non sequitur kind of way, Led Zeppelin I (recent remastering, hi res version). No EQ applied. The FLC8S is also being tested (well really compared) with the factory balanced cable.

I am enjoying these so I must admit some confusion as to what is going on here. So many mixed opinions from people with good ears.

 

[Skullophile]

Could be that someone just compares every iem to a 2k$ iem.

 

[Skullophile]

Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate Chris' efforts and I have never heard him say anything wrong. Compliments to you Chris. What I am getting at though, is the sizzle like 1% bad or like 100% bad? Or just bad during critical listening sessions which is what I take it as.

 

[Bubblejuice]

Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate Chris' efforts and I have never heard him say anything wrong. Compliments to you Chris. What I am getting at though, is the sizzle like 1% bad or like 100% bad? Or just bad during critical listening sessions which is what I take it as.

For me it's 1% bad during critical listening sessions. But that's just me.

Most of the issues brought up are true, but from my experience with these so far, they are not bad at all IMO.

It's like saying that your Mercedes doesn't have big enough cup holders for your big gulp and the built in gps navigator is not as snappy as your smartphone touch screen. Yeah it's an "issue", but it's still not something that would cause someone not to love the car or not buy it in the end.

These sound really good. The base (not to be confused with bass) signature is pretty ideal in all respects. They can handle most types of music without a sweat. Technicalities are secondary and can be tinkered with by changing filters, tips, and lastly EQ if none of that makes you happy or you can't be bothered.

But part of critical reviews is to put a magnifying glass on everything (with a sprinkle of bias and individual sound perception). Unfortunately it's the closest most people will get to trying before buying, so reputable reviews like what we have here are pretty important.

 

[originalsnuffy]

Just for grins and giggles; can some other users compare the sound of their red filter and the grey filter? Just wondering how many people get almost the same sound signature as referenced by Brooko, and how many get a different experience.

 

[salla45]

This is torture...

Would it be possible for someone who has both A4 and A5 please advise if the treble is qualitatively worse on the A5 than A4?

Really appreciated.

 

[SteveKiwi]

This is torture...

Would it be possible for someone who has both A4 and A5 please advise if the treble is qualitatively worse on the A5 than A4?

Really appreciated.

In my opinion the treble is better on the A5
Even taking into account the filters

 

[Astonish]

Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate Chris' efforts and I have never heard him say anything wrong. Compliments to you Chris. What I am getting at though, is the sizzle like 1% bad or like 100% bad? Or just bad during critical listening sessions which is what I take it as.

I’m not comparing it to a $1000 iem. In fact if it was a $100 iem or a $50 iem it wouldn’t matter, the treble spike is unpleasant. I’m not biased in either side for lz, I came into it with a open mind having been a fan of Chinese phones in the past actually. I even said this might be the most detailed sounding headphone in my collection, but at the same time it doesn’t sound right at all in my opinion and not worth listening to if it actually gives me a head ache lol

I’m just saying these threads are for sharing opinions and sometimes the hype is warranted, but users should respect different opinions because a few people have said the same thing and it’s worth pointing out to potential buyers.

The headphones sound great for sub bass, male vocals, detail retrieval

They sound horrible in terms of treble, screeching highs, thin upper mids and female dominant songs

That’s just my opinion, but it’s the truth too. I have no brand loyalty to lz or reason to bash them, that’s just how the iem sounds

Do you guys have a filter suggestion that takes the treble? I’m using the stock right now. I thought grey sounded good better in the mids, but needed more bass

 

[HiFiChris]

Don't get me wrong. I do appreciate Chris' efforts and I have never heard him say anything wrong. Compliments to you Chris. What I am getting at though, is the sizzle like 1% bad or like 100% bad? Or just bad during critical listening sessions which is what I take it as.

Err, let's say 30% "bad". To me, definitely not only apparent during critical listening - it was the thing I noticed first during casual listening, way before listening to sine sweeps, noise files and performing acoustic measurements. What I noted was that it's a perfectly fine and natural, well-tuned in-ear with a nice sub- and lower midbass implementation that nicely stays out of the lower mids. But as soon as cymbals are hit, they don't appear realistically reproduced while the rest is. It's not an unpleasant presentation (unpleasant as in being strident, peaky or sibilant) - just lacks a bit of naturalness when cymbals hit.

By the way, it can be mostly corrected by deleting the 12 kHz spike that emphasises the cymbals' reverb and upper tones and causes this behaviour. Then the presentation is fine.

 

[salla45]

In my opinion the treble is better on the A5
Even taking into account the filters

Great, thanks Steve. Good to hear! A couple of others? Brooko? Chris?

They sound horrible in terms of treble, screeching highs, thin upper mids and female dominant songs

Astonish, would you mind me asking your age? As a middle aged man who's hearing is dropping off in the upper registers, I am wondering if your sensitivity to the treble spike may be related to age? I am 49 btw

Cheers!

 

[HiFiChris]

Great, thanks Steve. Good to hear! A couple of others? Brooko? Chris?

Don't have the A4 to compare, sorry.

 

[Astonish]

Great, thanks Steve. Good to hear! A couple of others? Brooko? Chris?



Astonish, would you mind me asking your age? As a middle aged man who's hearing is dropping off in the upper registers, I am wondering if your sensitivity to the treble spike may be related to age? I am 49 btw

Cheers!

Late 20s

Also if you have amazon I say go for it and try them out since they have an awesome return policy. They certainly sound good a lot of the time, it’s just the highs really and some artificial cymbal sounds like HiFi said

I even bought a $40 aftermarket cable for the iems so it’s not like I’m not trying to enjoy them

 

[salla45]

Thanks Astonish, could well be you are extra sensitive. Did we get a response for the Comply tips? There are also ones with wax-guards in them which should tame them further. I had treble issues with my K3003s when I got them, the Comply's sorted them out very nicely.

Thanks for the Amazon tip. That is a possibility of course.

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I bought my last pair A4's from Penon, great service, they have A5's for 269usd. Rip off Britain-OK!