[EraserXIV]

I've had zero issues with microphonics, with the e-Q5 actually giving me one of the better ergonomic experiences in an IEM.

 

[rawrster]

Maybe it's the way I'm wearing them. I'll have to experiment some when I get home then. I get some cable noise that I'd rather not have esp when walking around.
 

 

[Inks]

x2 for me, I'm very surprised of your report rawrster. 

I've had zero issues with microphonics, with the e-Q5 actually giving me one of the better ergonomic experiences in an IEM.

 

 

[rawrster]

I guess it was the tips. I decided to switch to my sony hybrids and it is much better now. I haven't put too much time on them yet but will spend a bit more with the e-Q5 tomorrow. I'll also give some impressions assuming I haven't done any yet. I'm not really sure if I have as I've been spending more time with other stuff.

 

[DogMeat]

As per james4444' suggestion, I am copying my post to this thread;
Just Got My Ortofon e-Q5's today!
 
And they sound NICE, right out of the package!

I can't wait to hear them after burn-in......

 

Tested my first impressions with selections from Wendy Carlos' Switched on Bach"...I know, I know, but it's GREAT stuff for hearing each individual voice in the music, sprightly enough to test responsiveness, and, if a 'phone is going to have a fault or demonstrate an inaccuracy, you can usually hear it with this stuff.

About the only thing that you won't find with Wendy is "spaciousness", but that's not gonna happen with moog.

For that I chose a 2008 recording of Leo Kottke playing "Vaseline Machine Gun" live at the Nugget. I wanted to hear the room, I wanted to hear how they sounded during some of those low heavy chords and sliding shifts that he does, as this would demonstrate any "mudiness" that the phones might exhibit.

 

Well, the moog Bach sound great.

Separation of the voices was clean and crisp, highs sparkled without being "shreiky" or tinny.

 

The Kottke was very nice, the living "space" of the stage and the audience was detectable without being hollow or intrusive, and these little phones carried through those slippery lower chord passages without any discernable loss of clarity and without any of that irritating bass artifact one can sometimes find with moderately priced, small IEMs when the volume isn't set low enough. No "mud" to be heard in passages that can easily go boggy with an inferior set of 'phones.

Mids were quite nicely present, accurate, if I had to choose a "temperature" to the sound, I'd say these are just a smidge to the side of being warmish, without muffling ANYTHING. 

And, without BLASTING or risking the break-in, I did try the volume up fairly high for part of the initial listen, just so I could get a sense of how well these armatures perform.

 

I think that they will only become more pleasing over time.

 

If I have any complaint, it's the lack of a "bolo" for snugging the ear wires into position.

I was able to do over-the-ear, under-the-chin, no problem there as regards wires flexibility, I just like that ability to snug the wires into position.

The in-ear fit of the tips they came with was fine, without any fiddling. I can see where a double-flanged tip might be a nice addition to what comes in the package.

 

I got red ones, just because it's a different colour from my typical range of blacks and greys....and it's a nice brushed aluminium scarlet....not that it matters, but it's part of the fun. And these have a nice red band at the wire entry on the "butt" of the right phone to distinguish it from the left.

Oh, and I rather like the metal tin that they come packaged in; big enough to carry spare tips and what-not in there, not so large as to be portability-prohibitive, didn't make me immediately starting thinking over which zip-case I would use to carry these in instead.

 

All-in-all.... I'd say this set of phones, IMMEDIATELY out of the box, out-perform their very nice price tag and I highly recommend them.

 

P.S.

Thanks to Uncle Jesse for his recommendation and comments that sold me on these great IEMs!

And thank you to the GREAT Dimitri Trush at Musica Acoustics for getting these to me in LESS THAN 2 WEEKS in spite of Japans earthquakes, tsunamis and melt-downs!

The guy actually apologized to me for a delay in responding to my order....and I was, like, expecting at least another week or so delay just because of that situation following my order placement by less than 12 hours!

No doubts about the excellent experience I'm having with this merchant. 

 

[JosephKim]

I received my e-q5s and have listened to them for a few hours. Thought Id share some of my initial impressions. My last IEM was the Shure se530 so Ill compare them a bit. I must say it pained me a to give away the 530s because the mids were so gorgeous and natural. I was able to love them despite some sonic shortcomings (rolled off treble) because of their mids. I have heard many of the people on my music list live, and the 530s made vocals the way they are supposed to sound. Even though I loved the 530s, my lack of money and desire to try other IEMs made me trade them. Also I was petrified of breaking the very fragile looking nozzles every time I changed tips.
 
So on to the e-q5. The mids on the e-q5 cant compare to those on the 530 as far as their ability to sound natural. There is something very weird about the mids of the e-q5, where voices do not sound like the voices of the artists. Its not very obvious, but noticeable to me. I was listening to a particular male artist, and I thought, this does not sound like his voice. Im not talking the quality; I mean it did not sound like his voice. I guess its just coloration?
 
I was thrown off by this at first. But once I accepted that I wouldnt be hearing the voice like I would live or next to the person in studio, it became a very enjoyable IEM. There is something about them that makes it very pleasant to listen to. There is no wow factor for me, but they are very balanced and other parts of the spectrum are very good, maybe because coloration isnt as noticeable as it is with the vocals. The build quality is also awesome. I do not fear breaking these at all haha.
 
If you are looking for natural vocals, or extremely accurate reproduction of music, I would stay away from these. However, if you are looking for a pleasant, balanced, slightly colored IEM, I think these are great.

 

[james444]

Quote:

So on to the e-q5. The mids on the e-q5 cant compare to those on the 530 as far as their ability to sound natural. There is something very weird about the mids of the e-q5, where voices do not sound like the voices of the artists. Its not very obvious, but noticeable to me. I was listening to a particular male artist, and I thought, this does not sound like his voice. Im not talking the quality; I mean it did not sound like his voice. I guess its just coloration?

I agree that the mids on the e-Q5 are quite different from those on the SE530, but IMO most who've heard both would think that the SE530's are too forward to sound natural. But since you loved your Shures and have been used to their sound signature, I can easily see why it's the other way round for you.

 

[Redmetal1897]

Quote:

I received my e-q5s and have listened to them for a few hours. Thought Id share some of my initial impressions. My last IEM was the Shure se530 so Ill compare them a bit. I must say it pained me a to give away the 530s because the mids were so gorgeous and natural. I was able to love them despite some sonic shortcomings (rolled off treble) because of their mids. I have heard many of the people on my music list live, and the 530s made vocals the way they are supposed to sound. Even though I loved the 530s, my lack of money and desire to try other IEMs made me trade them. Also I was petrified of breaking the very fragile looking nozzles every time I changed tips.
 
So on to the e-q5. The mids on the e-q5 cant compare to those on the 530 as far as their ability to sound natural. There is something very weird about the mids of the e-q5, where voices do not sound like the voices of the artists. Its not very obvious, but noticeable to me. I was listening to a particular male artist, and I thought, this does not sound like his voice. Im not talking the quality; I mean it did not sound like his voice. I guess its just coloration?
 
I was thrown off by this at first. But once I accepted that I wouldnt be hearing the voice like I would live or next to the person in studio, it became a very enjoyable IEM. There is something about them that makes it very pleasant to listen to. There is no wow factor for me, but they are very balanced and other parts of the spectrum are very good, maybe because coloration isnt as noticeable as it is with the vocals. The build quality is also awesome. I do not fear breaking these at all haha.
 
If you are looking for natural vocals, or extremely accurate reproduction of music, I would stay away from these. However, if you are looking for a pleasant, balanced, slightly colored IEM, I think these are great.

I think you would really like the re262's. They are more vocal forward than the e-q5's and more musical.
 

 

[JosephKim]

Hm the se530 definitely has more forward vocals, but I dont know if what I noticed in the e-q5 is a lack of 'forwardness'. I guess by natural I mean it sounds the same live, no coloration.
 
And yes I was very interested in the re262, but have read that it needs a decent amp to shine. Ive decided to leave amps alone. I am anxiously waiting on the re272s though.

 

[EraserXIV]

Quote:

 
And yes I was very interested in the re262, but have read that it needs a decent amp to shine. Ive decided to leave amps alone. I am anxiously waiting on the re272s though.

The RE262 is really a star and it's a shame that an amp is necessary to bring out its true capabilities. For what it's worth, I e-mailed Hifiman and they responded saying they are planning on releasing the RE272 in 2-3 weeks. However, Hifiman has had a long history of giving overly generous estimations of release dates so don't hold your breath.

 

[Pianist]

Neither RE262, nor e-Q5 can compare with SE530 in the mids IMO. e-Q7 is actually much closer to the truth than the e-Q5 to my ears and beats the RE262 for me, but still lags behind the SE530. The only other IEM that I heard that can possibly match SE530 in the mids is the Etymotic ER4 and the HF series.

 

[JosephKim]

The more I listen to these the more more Im liking them. I did have to EQ them a bit on my Cowon s9. Very enjoyable.

 

[goodvibes]

If they're like others MAs they may need some extended break in before being all they can be. They have suspensions just like dynamics and their breakin should be more similar to dynamics than BAs.

 

[ichbinder]

Hey guys.
 
I am currently on an odyssey of finding my first pair of great IEMs, except having had Panasonic RP-JHE900-K for only $85, which are now already broken after only 6 months of usage. So, my most important criterion for new IEMs is their durability. With 33 pages on these E-Q5's, it was too much to look for comments about that, so: can anybody give me an update on that? How durable are these? Anybody had them in (excessive every day) usage for more than 6 or 12 months?
 
I didn't plan on spending much more than $180 for IEMs and I am really a noob when it comes to real audio quality. However, I am listing a lot using headphones daily... so, again durability is most important for me... Maybe, if you want, any hint for IEMs is highly appreciated! Here is also a link to my thread and the recommendations I got so far:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/546089/looking-for-durable-iems-price-range-80-200
 
Thanks for reading!

 

[db597]

Quote:

Anybody had them in (excessive every day) usage for more than 6 or 12 months?

The e-Q5 is a pretty new model, I don't think anyone has owned one for more than 3-4 months. If it comforts you, the enclosure is made from a solid block of aluminium, should be pretty robust.