LZ A5
Jan 16, 2018 at 2:34 PM Post #286 of 1,177
An update to my initial impression -

I received cp100 spinfit eartips today. THEY DO THE TRICK. Finally sibilance/harsh free! Onto the sound. Comparison is against the A4.

Bass: quantity like black back filter. Quality improved. It's a bit tighter. Sub-bass extension increased.

Mids: male vocals are thicker. Female vocals are sweeter. Guitar strings are euphoric! Lower mids are better for sure.

Highs: biggest improvement. They extend REALLY far up. Airy presentantion.

Resolution is better. Soundstage is a BIT wider. Instrument placement is more accurate. What more can you ask for? Small improvements over the spectrum. LZ, you did it again!

Cheers!
Snap!

Now these or Dunu Falcon Cs?
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 11:07 PM Post #288 of 1,177
First impressions.

Really nice build, perfectly ergonomic - easy to get a fit for me.

Cable is really well built, personally I like the formable ear guides - understand others may not. Cable covering is microphonic though (one of the issues with cloth) - so going to depend on your activity, what you're wearing, and how you manage placement.

Connectors are brilliant. Very firm.

So far have tried Comply, Symbio, Shure Olive (stretched), and Sony Isolation (Sony Hybrid + foam inner). All of them gave me practically perfect fit. I like the Shure Olive and the Sony Hybrid the best. Comfortable. Brilliant seal.

Filters are interesting. Black and Blue have very heightened upper-mids and tend to get a little glarey or grainy for me. I can see why LZ used this tuning though. Doing it this way sets them above the bass, and masks the warmth to a certain extent. For people who like a cooler signature with more mid-range energy, the blue and black will likely be their preference. I just find them a little over-done. There is very little between the blue and the black. Blue is very slightly brighter. Blue and Black give a very V shaped sound.

Grey and Red are very different from Blue and Black and the upper mid-range (2-5 kHz) is the biggest difference. Where Blue and Black both rise to a big peak at 2 and 3.5 kHz, the Grey and Red instead have a shallow slope to a 3 kHz. Because the amplitude of the peak is lower, there is less masking, and overall these two sound a lot warmer, and the sub-bass is a lot more noticeable.

All 4 filters have an enhanced sub-bass presence, and all have a minor peak in the lower treble at 7 kHz which gives great definition to cymbals. The Blue and Black are too much for me personally, but the Red and Grey are really good. Both bass and treble extension is very good. Lower mids are a little recessed, but tonally things sound relaxed rather than excessively scooped.

My personal preference at this stage is the Red filter. Good balance overall - just with an enhanced sub-bass.

Will post graphs later.
 
Last edited:
Jan 16, 2018 at 11:48 PM Post #289 of 1,177
First impressions.

Really nice build, perfectly ergonomic - easy to get a fit for me.

Cable is really well built, personally I like the formable ear guides - understand others may not. Cable covering is microphonic though (one of the issues with cloth) - so going to depend on your activity, what you're wearing, and how you manage placement.

Connectors are brilliant. Very firm.

So far have tried Comply, Symbio, Shure Olive (stretched), and Sony Isolation (Sony Hybrid + foam inner). All of them gave me practically perfect fit. I like the Shure Olive and the Sony Hybrid the best. Comfortable. Brilliant seal.

Filters are interesting. Black and Blue have very heightened upper-mids and tend to get a little glarey or grainy for me. I can see why LZ used this tuning though. Doing it this way sets them above the bass, and masks the warmth to a certain extent. For people who like a cooler signature with more mid-range energy, the blue and black will likely be their preference. I just find them a little over-done. There is very little between the blue and the black. Blue is very slightly brighter. Blue and Black give a very V shaped sound.

Grey and Red are very different from Blue and Black and the upper mid-range (2-5 kHz) is the biggest difference. Where Blue and Black both rise to a big peak at 2 and 3.5 kHz, the Grey and Red instead have a shallow slope to a 3 kHz. Because the amplitude of the peak is lower, there is less masking, and overall these two sound a lot warmer, and the sub-bass is a lot more noticeable.

All 4 filters have an enhanced sub-bass presence, and all have a minor peak in the lower treble at 7 kHz which gives great definition to cymbals. The Blue and Black are too much for me personally, but the Red and Grey are really good. Both bass and treble extension is very good. Lower mids are a little recessed, but tonally things sound relaxed rather than excessively scooped.

My personal preference at this stage is the Red filter. Good balance overall - just with an enhanced mid-bass.

Will post graphs later.
Nice to see your first impressions/thoughts about the A5, waiting for your FR graphs and a full review ,
 
Jan 16, 2018 at 11:55 PM Post #291 of 1,177
I received my A5 yesterday. For those concerned about plastic don't be - the A5 is all metal, shells and nozzles.

Some very early impressions: A5 has a very powerful bass but it's a goooood bass. No boominess or looseness. It has a real impact, a bit like the DUNU DK-3001... As for the mids and treble, for the moment I'm just going to say they are really nice. Will give more impressions after I've spent more time listening. Also, mine has no hiss and no sibilance, just sweet music. Very sweet. :)

Sounds really exciting ,
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 12:36 AM Post #292 of 1,177
First impressions.

Really nice build, perfectly ergonomic - easy to get a fit for me.

Cable is really well built, personally I like the formable ear guides - understand others may not. Cable covering is microphonic though (one of the issues with cloth) - so going to depend on your activity, what you're wearing, and how you manage placement.

Connectors are brilliant. Very firm.

So far have tried Comply, Symbio, Shure Olive (stretched), and Sony Isolation (Sony Hybrid + foam inner). All of them gave me practically perfect fit. I like the Shure Olive and the Sony Hybrid the best. Comfortable. Brilliant seal.

Filters are interesting. Black and Blue have very heightened upper-mids and tend to get a little glarey or grainy for me. I can see why LZ used this tuning though. Doing it this way sets them above the bass, and masks the warmth to a certain extent. For people who like a cooler signature with more mid-range energy, the blue and black will likely be their preference. I just find them a little over-done. There is very little between the blue and the black. Blue is very slightly brighter. Blue and Black give a very V shaped sound.

Grey and Red are very different from Blue and Black and the upper mid-range (2-5 kHz) is the biggest difference. Where Blue and Black both rise to a big peak at 2 and 3.5 kHz, the Grey and Red instead have a shallow slope to a 3 kHz. Because the amplitude of the peak is lower, there is less masking, and overall these two sound a lot warmer, and the sub-bass is a lot more noticeable.

All 4 filters have an enhanced sub-bass presence, and all have a minor peak in the lower treble at 7 kHz which gives great definition to cymbals. The Blue and Black are too much for me personally, but the Red and Grey are really good. Both bass and treble extension is very good. Lower mids are a little recessed, but tonally things sound relaxed rather than excessively scooped.

My personal preference at this stage is the Red filter. Good balance overall - just with an enhanced sub-bass.

Will post graphs later.

Very similar to what I was hearing. Grey filter is my preference for now. Wish they included a filter in-between grey and black, that would be the sweet spot for many, I believe. Looking forward to the graphs!
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 12:41 AM Post #293 of 1,177
Very similar to what I was hearing. Grey filter is my preference for now. Wish they included a filter in-between grey and black, that would be the sweet spot for many, I believe. Looking forward to the graphs!
That would be interesting, if LZ just released new sets of filters for the A5s in a few months. I think that would sell quite well.
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 1:25 AM Post #294 of 1,177
Hey guys,

In the market for a new pair of iem's. I've previously had the Weston's W4 which I loved and the Flare R2Pro which I was never fully happy with.

I loved the design of the W4 and this A5 looks similar to me. I have smaller ears and the design was comfortable to me so I'm thinking this will be similar. I also liked the sound of the W4 though felt sometimes there could be a little more bass. From what I'm reading these A5's with the black filter could do the job nicely as a replacement?

Would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts?
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 6:39 AM Post #295 of 1,177
First impressions.

Really nice build, perfectly ergonomic - easy to get a fit for me.

Cable is really well built, personally I like the formable ear guides - understand others may not. Cable covering is microphonic though (one of the issues with cloth) - so going to depend on your activity, what you're wearing, and how you manage placement.

Connectors are brilliant. Very firm.

So far have tried Comply, Symbio, Shure Olive (stretched), and Sony Isolation (Sony Hybrid + foam inner). All of them gave me practically perfect fit. I like the Shure Olive and the Sony Hybrid the best. Comfortable. Brilliant seal.

Filters are interesting. Black and Blue have very heightened upper-mids and tend to get a little glarey or grainy for me. I can see why LZ used this tuning though. Doing it this way sets them above the bass, and masks the warmth to a certain extent. For people who like a cooler signature with more mid-range energy, the blue and black will likely be their preference. I just find them a little over-done. There is very little between the blue and the black. Blue is very slightly brighter. Blue and Black give a very V shaped sound.

Grey and Red are very different from Blue and Black and the upper mid-range (2-5 kHz) is the biggest difference. Where Blue and Black both rise to a big peak at 2 and 3.5 kHz, the Grey and Red instead have a shallow slope to a 3 kHz. Because the amplitude of the peak is lower, there is less masking, and overall these two sound a lot warmer, and the sub-bass is a lot more noticeable.

All 4 filters have an enhanced sub-bass presence, and all have a minor peak in the lower treble at 7 kHz which gives great definition to cymbals. The Blue and Black are too much for me personally, but the Red and Grey are really good. Both bass and treble extension is very good. Lower mids are a little recessed, but tonally things sound relaxed rather than excessively scooped.

My personal preference at this stage is the Red filter. Good balance overall - just with an enhanced sub-bass.

Will post graphs later.
How you feel the height of soundstage compared to A4 , it is more or less tall than A4 or equal ,???
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 6:43 AM Post #296 of 1,177
Will advise in coming days. My usual methodology is to get used to it first before critical comparisons.
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 7:13 AM Post #297 of 1,177
I don't know about Falcon Cs, but these are
bringing a big smile on my face every time i put them on.

I was looking at the 3001s, and then the Falcons came out.

I'm a massive fan of the A4s, but would like a wow upgrade, if you know what I mean.

Stupid rabbitholes :wink:
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 7:37 AM Post #298 of 1,177
I was looking at the 3001s, and then the Falcons came out.

I'm a massive fan of the A4s, but would like a wow upgrade, if you know what I mean.

Stupid rabbitholes :wink:

I usually can only buy my stuff online due to geographical and other factors, but just before Xmas I had the good fortune of being able to visit my usual dealer of online gear, in their shop about 250km away. I spend an hour or 2 in there trying out various IEMs in the hope of getting a "wow" upgrade for the LZ A4's which I have been using for the last year or so almost exclusively.

Nothing wowed me in the least, and I tried about 4 or 5 of the raved-about IEMs around the 3-500usd range; it was only when I said to the guy, "let's forget this and go top end...shock me" that things got vaguely interesting. He scurried off into the back room and brought out a pair of Campfire Andromedas. I can honestly say that they were better than the A4's but not by a shocking amount. They were smoother and disappeared a bit more than the A4's but otherwise I left the place really quite confused. I'd never heard of Campfire or the Andromeda, but I did do some research subsequently and it's an end game IEM for many people. For the A4's to stand up so well against such elite brethren says something.

Incidentally I also have a pair of AKG K3003's and prefer the overall sound of the A4's.

What I'm trying to say is that the A4's punch WAY above their class, and so I don't think you can expect too much of a wow! even when considering IEM's at multiple times their price.

For the A5's to incrementally improve generally on the A4's and improve comfort, is way enough for me. I'm saving surplus cash now!

It just makes me wonder where it leaves the Big Dipper; wonder if LZ have just shot themselves in the foot viz that model?
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 7:37 AM Post #299 of 1,177
JVC HA-FD02, almost the same price range ,
I was also looking at the new ones, the HA-FD01.

It's so frustrating not being able to try any of these. Grrrr.
 
Jan 17, 2018 at 7:39 AM Post #300 of 1,177
I usually can only buy my stuff online due to geographical and other factors, but just before Xmas I had the good fortune of being able to visit my usual dealer of online gear, in their shop about 250km away. I spend an hour or 2 in there trying out various IEMs in the hope of getting a "wow" upgrade for the LZ A4's which I have been using for the last year or so almost exclusively.

Nothing wowed me in the least, and I tried about 4 or 5 of the raved-about IEMs around the 3-500usd range; it was only when I said to the guy, "let's forget this and go top end...shock me" that things got vaguely interesting. He scurried off into the back room and brought out a pair of Campfire Andromedas. I can honestly say that they were better than the A4's but not by a shocking amount. They were smoother, more natural, and disappeared a bit more than the A4's but otherwise I left the place really quite confused. I'd never heard of Campfire or the Andromeda, but I did do some research subsequently and it's an end game IEM for many people. For the A4's to stand up so well against such elite brethren says something.

Incidentally I also have a pair of AKG K3003's and prefer the overall sound of the A4's.

What I'm trying to say is that the A4's punch WAY above their class, and so I don't think you can expect too much of a wow! even when considering IEM's at multiple times their price.

For the A5's to incrementally improve generally on the A4's and improve comfort, is way enough for me. I'm saving surplus cash now!

It just makes me wonder where it leaves the Big Dipper; wonder if LZ have just shot themselves in the foot viz that model?
 

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