[LaCuffia]

Yeah I hear you ...don't mean to paint everybody on there with a broad brush but what I hate the most is when something new comes out and someone praises or likes it enthusiastically they seem to go out of their way to cut down that person's opinion. It's mean spirited but I tend to take a different attitude in those situations- I am happy to hear when somebody finds something they like so much even if I may not agree with it.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I find as has been said that there are some cooler heads over there and you just have to take the more shall we say entrenched opinions with a grain of salt. I really spend little time there, more of a curiosity thing from time to time as head-fi is by far and away my favourite community to spend time in.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Yeah I hear you ...don't mean to paint everybody on there with a broad brush but what I hate the most is when something new comes out and someone praises or likes it enthusiastically they seem to go out of their way to cut down that person's opinion. It's mean spirited but I tend to take a different attitude in those situations- I am happy to hear when somebody finds something they like so much even if I may not agree with it.

I do have to admit that it sure seems that way at times. That is why we have head-fi right? Where we can just chill and gush if we want to. We have to watch that we don't get into much of a discussion about the other community as it is not really allowed here. It isn't a control thing, I get the sense that head-fi likes to maintain a professional decorum and not allow other communities to get flamed.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Yeah I hear you ...don't mean to paint everybody on there with a broad brush but what I hate the most is when something new comes out and someone praises or likes it enthusiastically they seem to go out of their way to cut down that person's opinion. It's mean spirited but I tend to take a different attitude in those situations- I am happy to hear when somebody finds something they like so much even if I may not agree with it.

Agreed. I find the friends site is a much tighter knit community of friends, whereas Head-Fi is an open internet community. The Friends site is all about the relationships, so when a random comes in a gives an opinion, no one knows anything about that person, and to be frank, may not care. If you had a tight knit set of friends and you were in a pub at a large table chasing about something you all cared about, and this completely unknown guys just joins your table and enters the conversation like he's ben your friend forever, you would probably be put off a little. If he sat there for a while, maybe joined your for a couple of nights, added a little here and there, but didn't act like he has been a part of gang for years, he would slowly integrated himself into the friendship.

Head-fi is more of a giant public event. Different dynamics.

There is (or at least tries to me) a WAY lower S/N ratio between the friends. Here, I find in some threads (like the Utopia thread) about 1 interesting post to 10 noises ones. The Cable building thread here is better, but there are others that are a whole lot of reiteration and me too.

That all said, this has nothing to do with the SE-MONITOR5! My post should qualify as noise

So for anyone that has actual head these headphones, any comments on the sound sig, the pros and the cons? Comfort? Anything?

 

[LaCuffia]

There's another thread about the Monitor5 in the Summit Fi section with more impressions. I have them - build quality and comfort are superb. For a comparison with a similarly priced headphone - it is better built than the Elear in my opinion. A lot of people rave about the Focal build but to me it just feels creaky and loose. The Pioneer is dead silent and solid. The sound signature is very even and well balanced. It's strength is detail retrieval and transparency. Not a bass head headphone for sure but not anemic though. Mid range is probably where it shines the most. I like it better than the Aeon I had.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I have to concur with the impression above by LaCuffia. Comfort and build quality are superb and as I said I think the Monitor 5 is gorgeous looking. Treble is very nice and where I find some brightness it may be from glare in the upper mid -range. I think I may be a little sensitive in that area so take that with a grain of salt. I listen loudly typically peaks certainly over 90db and if I'm to believe the app on my phone when I was being careful measuring, peaks sometimes slightly over 100db. I don't listen for very long sessions so perhaps that is why my hearing is still quite good. I mention the volume as being almost a basshead (but I like speed and quality) I find the Monitor 5 lacks some bass impact and I tend to inch the volume up a little in an effort to get more impact.

The bass is very textured and very fast I find so as you would expect detailed bass for sure. I find the decay spot on so the bass sounds natural but again, a tad reserved for my ears, but not so much so that I'm not really contemplating owning this headphone in the near future. I do need to audition the leather pads to really know what I think. I also find that similar to the Z1R the soundstage is quite good and doesn't feel closed in, but not at the same level as the Z1R which I think has to be the most spacious sounding closed headphone I have ever heard.

Just a response to the notion of how new posters may be treated elsewhere and that analogy of a stranger acting like a best friend, well, for me it would depend on the nature of how that person was. I remember some very new posters on this site that right away spoke with incredible confidence and well expressed opinions. Despite their very few posts a few of those posters turned out to electrical and audio engineers so I think that as long as the opinions being expressed are well thought out, on topic and respectful, all posters deserve to be heard and treated well regardless of familiarity. Sometimes that causes extra signal to noise here, hard to disagree, but I think that is a fair price given how friendly and far-reaching this community is.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Just running the Monitor 5 through some tests tracks and damn if I'm not starting to really dig this headphone! The bass quality is compelling even if it doesn't hit hard. The bass is clean, tight and well controlled. I have some Depeche Mode pumping right now (Welcome to My World from Delta Machine). Love the thick and chewy synth bass. I can't say how the Monitor 5 will shake out, but I can say anybody looking to allocate this amount of money for a closed headphone should at least audition them. I'm very fortunate to be getting this extended audition opportunity!

 

[Allanmarcus]

all posters deserve to be heard and treated well regardless of familiarity. Sometimes that causes extra signal to noise here, hard to disagree, but I think that is a fair price given how friendly and far-reaching this community is.

True that.

That said, much of the noise on Head-fi is not from new posters.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Here is some audio pornography! Not sure why the detail is so low on the image? I'll have to play with the camera settings again.

 

[Sonic Defender]

So just an sonic impression update on the bass. It does seem that the Monitor 5 doesn't plumb very deep into the sub bass region. I have a feeling that in tuning the design for speed and detail in the bass some sub bass energy had to be curtailed. I also find that the way the bass is presented is interesting. It seems that the bass is integrated in a way that it is pushed slightly back with a softer, more diffused feel hence the slight loss in impact. That said, this is likely why the bass is still detailed, present and well integrated while not bleeding into the mids. Still early on in my time with this headphone but given that impressions are scant around here I thought I would provide what little I can at this point.

Of course I played The live version of Hotel California and I really did find the bass had a natural and balanced sound/feel and as a drummer I do tend to really notice percussion and bass guitar. Having fun getting to know this headphone for sure.

 

[LaCuffia]

That's a nice photo - the headphone looks really good with that set up. I concur with your comments about the bass. I guess it's difficult though to present a deep impact without sacrificing something else. I have not heard the TH900 - I think that's supposed to be the king of audiophile grade and powerful bass but I've read many comments about a slightly recessed midrange as a byproduct.

I don't know too much about the closed headphone market in the $1K price range but the Monitor5 seems to be of very high quality and performance for the money.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Well, there are several really good offerings from ZMF, B&W, Mr. Speakers and I'm sure others I'm forgetting, but there is little doubt that the build of this headphone is absolutely top notch. The more I handle it the more impressed I am with it. I would also have to think that the level of sound quality while not everybody's cup of tea to be sure, given that Pioneer moved back away from 1K plus point, and offering multiple cable options as well has to position the Monitor 5 as a very solid price to performance headphone. Subjectivity of course being what it is, some will not like it I'm sure, but I know so far that I like it, how much remains to be seen. I owned the TH900 and D7000 and then the Z1R. I actually do think of those three I would take the Z1R as the bass king when factoring in quality and quantity, but the TH900 was nothing to scoff at to be sure, but yes, the weaker mids didn't help it and had they been more present likely it would have tamed the perception of the highs that seemed to trouble critics the most.

 

[GREQ]

Here is some audio pornography! Not sure why the detail is so low on the image? I'll have to play with the camera settings again.

Because with most mobile phones you can't control the aperture and shutter speed. I can see the aperture was set to f/1.8 which is very wide - this tells me the environment was somewhat dark (not outdoor daylight).
If you want more detail, turn on some more lights. This will force the phones' camera to use a smaller aperture and a faster shutter speed which will in turn create a sharper image.

Audio porn indeed... glad this headphone is getting more love around here.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Because with most mobile phones you can't control the aperture and shutter speed. I can see the aperture was set to f/1.8 which is very wide - this tells me the environment was somewhat dark (not outdoor daylight).
If you want more detail, turn on some more lights. This will force the phones' camera to use a smaller aperture and a faster shutter speed which will in turn create a sharper image.

Audio porn indeed... glad this headphone is getting more love around here.

Thanks mate, I used to have it on manual mode and I would just set everything myself. I'll try your advice as I have to admit leaving it in auto mode generally works well, and yes, the room was a little dark at the time. Cheers.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Also, the phone will try to decide what to focus on, but you can force the focus area by tapping on what you want in focus.