[Pianist]

Quote:

 
Perhaps bloat to you is natural and full bodied to me.  I have never heard anyone before consider the the DBA bass bloated.  I wouldn't call the EQ5 bass tighter, I'd call it leaner.  It is better textured and more detailed w/ better decay than the DBA.  It is just lacking in realistic presence to me.  Listening to a live piano or drum kit doesn't sound like it does on a EQ5.  The only recourse is to say the EQ5 is truer to the recording.  Maybe, maybe not.  Just not truer to my ears.  YMMV.  Like I said before, the DBA sounds more 'natural' the EQ5 is like the natural progression of the ER4S as they both achieve great technical performance.   I think you need to realize we are looking for different things from OUR final sound.  Nobody is right or wrong here.
 
I still think the mids are a bit dry but very detailed.  I like them better than the Coppers mids for sure.  I prefer the better vocal lushness of the ES5, IERM, MD's, DBA's over the FX700 depsite the FX700 being more detailed in the mids than the DBA or MD.  The mids on the FX700 simply aren't how I hear people speak to me in real life.  At least they aren't offensive w/ the right tips.  Horses for courses.
 
Just so you know, since having my customs I have become much more nit-picky of my universals.  I should probably stop commenting on them.

 
lol Ok, the way we hear things is completely different in this case. I think the bass on e-Q5 is more impactful and fuller than DBA-02 bass with at least similar overall quantity. It is in no way dry and analytical like ER4 - it is very rich and musical and involving. I found DBA-02 the drier, more clinical sounding IEM. e-Q5 is lusher, more delicate, more dynamic, more refined and has a more natural timbre IMO. As for FX700, I find the vocals on it the most natural I've heard. With FX700 I often feel that the singers are right there with me and I say "Wow, this just sounds like real life!" However, with some tips, the mids can sound a bit murky/muddy and distant. Make sure you get a good fit with them. I found the e-Q5 tips to work better than the stock ones with FX700 in my ears.

 

[Anaxilus]

 
The FX700 mids aren't recessed or distant.  The timbre is just slightly off.  Too dry and harsh at times.  Shure silicones, one size smaller.
 
EQ5 is more delicate and refined.  More impactful?  No way.
 
I think the DBA and EQ5 are more similar than different.  Twins born from the same parents.  One grew up and went to law school to become DA.  The other joined a gang and became the Mafia boss.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

 
The FX700 mids aren't recessed or distant.  The timbre is just slightly off.  Too dry and harsh at times.  Shure silicones, one size smaller.
 
EQ5 is more delicate and refined.  More impactful?  No way.
 
I think the DBA and EQ5 are more similar than different.  Twins born from the same parents.  One grew up and went to law school to become DA.  The other joined a gang and became the Mafia boss.

 
Ok, timbre is not off with FX700. It just isn't. I know what human voice sounds like in real life too you know. I wasn't raised by the monkeys.

 
DBA-02 is similar to ER4 in that both are quite dry and analytical with short decay. e-Q5 is significantly wetter and smoother IMO.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 

I wasn't raised by the monkeys.

I'll start the poll.  

 

[Enanthate]

I definately find this to be a midcentric phone.  Mids are pushed in the foreground which makes detail retrieval easier for the liquid midrange.  Treble and bass aren't too far behind though.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

I definately find this to be a midcentric phone.  Mids are pushed in the foreground which makes detail retrieval easier for the liquid midrange.  Treble and bass aren't too far behind though.

You may be right. The e-Q5 is no e-Q7 though. With e-Q7, the mids really were forward, no question. But with e-Q5, the frequency response is significantly more even.

 

[goodvibes]

Bass sounds punchy due to the forward mid while still having some weight. They're are bit too forward for me overall but lots of fun. I'll keep their more costly cousins which are noticably different tonally with a bit more texture and air. I could see the Orto's being another's choice.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Bass sounds punchy due to the forward mid while still having some weight. They're are bit too forward for me overall but lots of fun. I'll keep their more costly cousins which are noticably different tonally with a bit more texture and air. I could see the Orto's being another's choice.

 
Sorry, but which phones are you talking about here? It's not clear from your post.

 

[goodvibes]

I prefer the GR10 but I like the Orto and suspect the E-Q5 is right on your preferences. They're cleary different but both have that clear seemless sound. I find the Grado more refined and cooler overall. More texture and air/extension of note. My kind of sound but I could easily understand someone prefering a punchier sound more forward sig. To me, the Gr10 is a bit more revealing but less forgiving of source. Perhaps too demanding sonically for some but quite rewarding for others.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I prefer the GR10 but I like the Orto and suspect the E-Q5 is right on your preferences. They're cleary different but both have that clear seemless sound. I find the Grado more refined and cooler overall. More texture and air/extension of note. My kind of sound but I could easily understand someone prefering a punchier sound more forward sig. To me, the Gr10 is a bit more revealing but less forgiving of source. Perhaps too demanding sonically for some but quite rewarding for others.

How do you find the bass presentation compared to each other?  
 

 

[goodvibes]

Probably similar extension though I haven't really tested it on the Orto. I have about 1/2 hour on some broken in Orto's to try sources, tips and genre's. I'm good for getting their sig and don't really care about a couple of cycles one way or the other. The Grado sounds like it may go lower due to less midbass but I suspect it doesn't. The bottom is more natural and a string bass more correct but perhaps the bass is also less fun and tangible. I find the grado more linear in general, wide band. The orto more tangible and brighter overall but not in a ringy or sibilant way. Just more up front tonally and less textured. E-q5 has a bit more fill that probably makes it more forgiving of the chain and allows it to always sound fun. Nice and solid but I personally just prefer the GR10 perspective. Orto's less tip sensative. Grado's have less sig or one extremely well suited to there own tips and change more with others. I still really like their own significantly more than anything else I've tried. Of course they also cost a good chunk more so no problems with an E-q5 overall for me either.
 
Oh, and I didn't want to make this into a Gr10 thread and is why I intentinally said cousin in the first place. The E-q5 is a very good IEM by any standard.

 

[Anaxilus]

Thx.
 
The EQ5 is a very good IEM.  We are all nit picking the search for our personal sound at this point.

 

[Pianist]

^ Yeah, the DBA-02, e-Q5, RE262, SM3, FX700, ES5 (

) are all on the same playing field and the differences between them are mostly, if not completely, personal preference.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

^ Yeah, the DBA-02, e-Q5, RE262, SM3, FX700, ES5 (

) are all on the same playing field and the differences between them are mostly, if not completely, personal preference.

I think you misspelled ER4S.  Wasn't that the greatest IEM ever made a few weeks ago?  

 I get your point though, the ES5 doesn't belong it that group for sure.
 

 

[rawrster]

The bass of the GR10 and e-Q5 is very very similar. I'll have a review posted tomorrow including both the GR10 and e-Q5. I was planning on having it a few days ago but I forgot to take pictures as I was formatting the review and forgot to take them last night.