[audio123]

More impressions, thanks for useful input folks.

At the moment, I am trying the Blue Filter + Symbio Eartips out of my DX200.

Quite a good combo I must say!

 

[rav101]

Does anyone have experience yet of trying different cables with the A5? Cable noise is something I would prefer to do without and wondering if there are any good combinations for this IEM?

 

[audio123]

Does anyone have experience yet of trying different cables with the A5? Cable noise is something I would prefer to do without and wondering if there are any good combinations for this IEM?

I will try with the Alo Litz and iBasso CB13 soon.

 

[Lidson Mendes Br]

Thanks - seems I'm no longer in vogue though. I can't seem to make a front page no matter what I do anymore. Seems to be that you need more noise than signal nowadays to feature. Pretty pictures and excessive prose seem to help ....

(don't mind me - just a little negative toward where the site seems to be going lately)

I'l try to remember to include both when I make the critical comparisons

Of all the reviewers, what I like best of you is Brooko, I feel that you can be a very detailed and fair review at the same time. And I also find your reviews very honest.

 

[rav101]

Based on initial comments here, I've taken the plunge and ordered from Penon Audio. Excited for these to come though and try them out. My pair of Flare R2Pro's seem to be broken and as they are discontinued, I can't get a replacement cable / driver for the housing. Seems I "picked" a good time to check back in and find these have only just been released

 

[OliverBB]

I might be in the minority but I absolutely hate the look...

 

[Bubblejuice]

I'm mostly interested in the comparisons between the A5s and the FLC8s and the FLC8n which should be released in a week or two.

 

[Ahmad313]

I might be in the minority but I absolutely hate the look...

You are not alone but if they sing beautiful i can live with them,

 

[phthora]

At least they look comfortable.

 

[Lidson Mendes Br]

You are not alone but if they sing beautiful i can live with them,

I saw some pictures of the A5 with the silver shell, much prettier.

 

[rav101]

The style reminds me of the Weston's 4 and Shure 535's. I agree about the wing which is a bit much but let's see

 

[stryed]

I might be in the minority but I absolutely hate the look...

Same here. A4 had a pretty cool & original look although not ergonomic. A5 reminds me of Asterix with a terrible color.
.

 

[ericp10]

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.

thanks for your initial impressions. I have mine now. I have yet to try the blue and grey filters, but the red had too much sub-bass for me (and I love bass). Right now I'm enjoying the black. The vocal details are simply amazing. This is a great value so far. Will try the other filters and get to burning it in soon.

 

[meringo]

I'm curious as to why people don't like the look? the A5 looks like any other over-ear style IEM to me. Maybe it's the Honda motorcycle logo? As a former Honda owner, I'm a big fan.

 

[Broquen]

I'm curious as to why people don't like the look? the A5 looks like any other over-ear style IEM to me. Maybe it's the Honda motorcycle logo? As a former Honda owner, I'm a big fan.

In my case, I don't like the logo shape* nor the color in the black model, plus shell seems to be plastic and doesn't help.

EDIT: * And is so big, also...

I'm waiting for A4s for more than a month now and if not for that, I would firmly consider getting A5s