[Wiljen]

My pair arrived at long last. Initial impressions are that they are indeed a step above the K3HD in most respects when run wired. I have not tried the Bluetooth yet as I wanted to see the full potential of the drivers first to know what limitations the bt introduced.
They have good bass punch for an all BA arrangement and the mids are way more present than the K3HD. The imaging is good but the soundstage isn't huge which is a bit of a disappointment. Not to say not good, just not competitive with the B400 at the same price point. Got a lot more listening to do but right now b400 > K5.

 

[trelag]

My pair arrived at long last. Initial impressions are that they are indeed a step above the K3HD in most respects when run wired. I have not tried the Bluetooth yet as I wanted to see the full potential of the drivers first to know what limitations the bt introduced.
They have good bass punch for an all BA arrangement and the mids are way more present than the K3HD. The imaging is good but the soundstage isn't huge which is a bit of a disappointment. Not to say not good, just not competitive with the B400 at the same price point. Got a lot more listening to do but right now b400 > K5.

Thanks for the quick impressions. I'm curious if the Magaosi K5 has any advantages over the Brainwavz B400?

I'm choosing between the two, and I was able to try the Magaosi K5 (really liked it). After reading some reviews about the B400, it seems that its treble is not too prominent? I also heard that the Magaosi K5 is really good when used with a balanced cable.

I lean towards V-shaped sound signatures, clarity, imaging and soundstage, but there's no way for me to test the B400 in my country right now.

Looking forward to hearing more impressions from you!

 

[Wiljen]

Ok, finished my AKG n40 review up - had the text written before the K5 showed up but finally got around to taking pictures. The K5 review should be up by the close of the day today as I am writing now. The spoilers are Good Sounding mild V shape with a fun signature, great fit on the earpieces, and one of the worst cables I have ever had the displeasure of trying to use. If you are going to buy the K5 plan on disposing of the cable immediately and using something better. I had all kinds of problems, one earpiece or the other would just suddenly cease working. Once I put one of my aftermarket mmcx cables on them all of that nonsense ended. It is a shame that a product at this price point cant include a cable that makes them usable.

 

[Wiljen]

review is up:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/magaosi-k5.22812/reviews#review-19592

 

[audioIQ]

review is up:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/magaosi-k5.22812/reviews#review-19592

Did you notice any audible hiss? For me there is hiss even with the bluetooth cable provided. After reading your review I'm starting to think my unit might be faulty, or is it a cable issue?

 

[Wiljen]

I think the IEM itself is hyper-sensitive and very susceptible to issues depending on the pairing. I found the smartphone or Cayin N3 to work best with it as the Fiio X5 and the Xduoo X10 both introduced an audible hiss regardless of cable used. I didn't notice any hiss with the BT module but only used it with the Cayin and the phone that didn't produce it with the wired cable so hard for me to say if it was a source issue since neither of the sources that produced hiss had BT to test it against.

I remember something awhile back that showed that Cayin's line out setting (which matches the High Gain at volume 86 when using the headphone jack) is only 1 volt as opposed to the normal 2 volt output of most line out jack in other DAPs. If that is the case, that may be why the Cayin N3 pairs well with the K5 as it has a much lower output voltage than some of the other DAPs and amps that produced poor results.

 

[audioIQ]

I think the IEM itself is hyper-sensitive and very susceptible to issues depending on the pairing. I found the smartphone or Cayin N3 to work best with it as the Fiio X5 and the Xduoo X10 both introduced an audible hiss regardless of cable used. I didn't notice any hiss with the BT module but only used it with the Cayin and the phone that didn't produce it with the wired cable so hard for me to say if it was a source issue since neither of the sources that produced hiss had BT to test it against.

I remember something awhile back that showed that Cayin's line out setting (which matches the High Gain at volume 86 when using the headphone jack) is only 1 volt as opposed to the normal 2 volt output of most line out jack in other DAPs. If that is the case, that may be why the Cayin N3 pairs well with the K5 as it has a much lower output voltage than some of the other DAPs and amps that produced poor results.

For me almost all of my sources are producing a hiss except for mojo or straight out of the iPhone/laptop. I would really like to use these with a fiio x7 (am3a) since I really like it's layering and analytical sound, but it is simply impossible. the IEM's themselves sound good, there is good imaging and staging, detail is better after having listened to them for a while, mids are good. But it really defeats the purpose of having a good pair of IEM's if you cannot listen to them out of your favorite sources. I really think they messed up the sensitivity on these.

Can you listen to them with the bluetooth cable again? Try using spotify/tidal, Turn the volume to zero and then play something. then exit/close the app. is there an audible silence after you close the app?

 

[Wiljen]

Interesting - I don't do spotify but tried with Tidal on my android phone and Iheartradio on my iphone and both have an audible noise floor that isnt present when the app is closed. Didn't really notice it when I opened the app or listened but when you turn the volume to zero before you close the app you do indeed hear a drop off when the app closes.

 

[audioIQ]

Interesting - I don't do spotify but tried with Tidal on my android phone and Iheartradio on my iphone and both have an audible noise floor that isnt present when the app is closed. Didn't really notice it when I opened the app or listened but when you turn the volume to zero before you close the app you do indeed hear a drop off when the app closes.

Yep, Thats exactly what I'm talking about. theres noise even with the provided bluetooth cable and with most of my sources using wired. None of my other IEM's have this issue, It's just lack of proper extensive testing from the RnD dept at Magaosi I think (which also explains the provided cable), seems like an unfinished/unrefined product. I'm sure it must be unnoticeable for many, but for some (like me) its quite irritating.

 

[Ted Presley]

Yep, Thats exactly what I'm talking about. theres noise even with the provided bluetooth cable and with most of my sources using wired. None of my other IEM's have this issue, It's just lack of proper extensive testing from the RnD dept at Magaosi I think (which also explains the provided cable), seems like an unfinished/unrefined product. I'm sure it must be unnoticeable for many, but for some (like me) its quite irritating.

Maybe iEmatch could help, I use NX5 headamp, and there's no hiss (maybe my ear can't hear?). I had a lot of background noise with iFi nano iDSD.

BTW, to boost the bass, a pure copper cable is recommended. Bass is almost missing if I use K5 with any silver plated cable.

 

[audioIQ]

Maybe iEmatch could help, I use NX5 headamp, and there's no hiss (maybe my ear can't hear?). I had a lot of background noise with iFi nano iDSD.

BTW, to boost the bass, a pure copper cable is recommended. Bass is almost missing if I use K5 with any silver plated cable.

Thanks, I'll give it a try, I seem to have misplaced my shure copper cable. but IEMatch is interesting, I think it might be exactly what I need. currently, shanling m1 on low gain sounds ok (with a replacement silver cable)

 

[Wiljen]

Best for me was Cayin N3 on low gain. I'm not sure about how much sense it makes to put another $50 into a $169 headphone that I already had to put $62 in for a cable. At what point have you spent enough on these to simply have bought the FLC8s to start with and had a better product?
$169 retail for K5, $49 for Ifi Match, $62 for custom mmcx oxygen free copper cable = $280. Look at What $280 buys these days and then decide if this is a good way to spend it.

 

[audioIQ]

Best for me was Cayin N3 on low gain. I'm not sure about how much sense it makes to put another $50 into a $169 headphone that I already had to put $62 in for a cable. At what point have you spent enough on these to simply have bought the FLC8s to start with and had a better product?
$169 retail for K5, $49 for Ifi Match, $62 for custom mmcx oxygen free copper cable = $280. Look at What $280 buys these days and then decide if this is a good way to spend it.

True, thats exactly what I feel right now, you should always shell out extra from the get go and procure a good well tested and reviewed product. Unfortunately, since I've already purchased the k5, the only way to save my investment is to make this work somehow. I'm not sure how returns work on AE, and it'll cost me alot to ship it back either way. I think i just got excited about the newly released magaosi, since I'm very fond of my k3 pro. but lesson learnt. spending $50 for iematch and getting a copper cable will definitely sting.

 

[Wiljen]

I can save you a few $ on the cable - the base Veclan.com expresso cable seems to be a great improvement over the stock cable and is about $12 shipped. Try that one first before you go looking at the Shure or something more costly.

 

[Ted Presley]

Actually, IEMatch could be also used for other future sensitive IEMs and the same for pure cooper cable. It's not something only used for K5. If you live in the IEM world only (like me) it's quite useful.