[Beagle]

They are actually quite smooth and natural, but there is at least to my ears a little extra energy in the upper mids which often is going to be welcome, but if the music has any issues in that area you will hear it. For instance, given that I listen to a great deal of electronic music that would be where I encounter this. If I listen to something like the Eagles, or Fleetwood Mac, or Holy Cole Trio, not an issue ever, in fact, the extra mid range is a bonus with well mastered material. That is why for me the jury remains out. And as you know, the last few headphones I have owned have been a little closer to smooth sounding so it takes a little acclimating for sure. I know I am getting closer to wanting to keep these ...

The Z1R is richer in the bass range, which keeps brightness/harsness at bay. I'm thinking the Pioneer, being more neutral in the bottom, is not masking the upper mid and treble, and consequently they are standing out? But in musical terms (as opposed to hi-fi) I believe the Z1R is the more enjoyable in the long term. A lot would depend on musical preferences. I think classical and jazz would shine on the Pioneer.....rock, electronica for the Sony. Depending on the day of the week and which way the wind was blowing, of course

 

[Sonic Defender]

The Z1R is richer in the bass range, which keeps brightness/harsness at bay. I'm thinking the Pioneer, being more neutral in the bottom, is not masking the upper mid and treble, and consequently they are standing out? But in musical terms (as opposed to hi-fi) I believe the Z1R is the more enjoyable in the long term. A lot would depend on musical preferences. I think classical and jazz would shine on the Pioneer.....rock, electronica for the Sony. Depending on the day of the week and which way the wind was blowing, of course

I agree completely. The Monitor 5 nonetheless is very engaging and provides it's own excellent signature. I would say that it would be more like a closed version of the HD800S with the limitations on soundstage and air that you would expect contrasting open versus closed, but the tonality and balance of sound I think you can make a case for being similar. So in my mind the Monitor 5 is fantastic for those who like detail with an extra pinch of bass. I have yet to try the leather pads and regardless if I did end up feeling there was some midrange energy to remove, I can make my way around a parametric EQ so it's all good.

 

[AppleheadMay]

I don't agree with the rock part. I compared the M5 with Z1R and LA-900 with some hardrock and the M5 really let me hear the raw power of electric guitars as they should sound. The LA-900 wasn't bad at it either but the Z1R did a poor job at that.
The Z1R might be good for electronica and beat stuff like you said.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I don't agree with the rock part. I compared the M5 with Z1R and LA-900 with some hardrock and the M5 really let me hear the raw power of electric guitars as they should sound. The LA-900 wasn't bad at it either but the Z1R did a poor job at that.
The Z1R might be good for electronica and beat stuff like you said.

Yah, for me the raw power of electric guitars isn't something that deserves a bright spotlight in my opinion, and I grew up on heavy metal and hard rock. Typically rock recordings are horribly compressed with the guitar tracks being really, really pushed to the max so I kind of like the edge taken off of them. Now when the very rare well done rock recording emerges that is a different story, Pink Floyd The Wall for instance, or Queensryche Empire come to mind, but I'm sure there are many others.

 

[czy6412]

Anyone knows how is the sound leakage of SE-MONITOR 5? I have Aeon but the leakage is worse than expected.

 

[TPSRA]

Anyone knows how is the sound leakage of SE-MONITOR 5? I have Aeon but the leakage is worse than expected.

I have the Aeon and am interested in the Monitor 5 as well, but I think Aeon have minimum leakage, I can't hear a thing if I close the cups together.

 

[talan7]

How do these compare to th-900 mk 2?
Bass?
Soundstage?
Mids?

Thanks

 

[Sonic Defender]

How do these compare to th-900 mk 2?
Bass?
Soundstage?
Mids?

Thanks

Well, I haven't had my TH900 in quite some time, and it was the first version, but bass will always go to the Fostex without a doubt. That said, the Monitor 5 has very tuneful bass with plenty of snap and detail so depending on what is more important to you about bass, impact versus speed and detail. It isn't like the Monitor 5 has no impact, but it most certainly has less impact than the TH900. I have to date only heard the Monitor 5 with the velour pads and as a bass head (although I like quality over raw quantity) I still think the Pioneer is very good in that department and I suspect most people would be pleased. Soundstage, going by memory they are comparable, but the Fostex has more depth which would be an area of weakness with the M5, in my opinion. Now weakness isn't to say fatal flaw, however, there is room to improve in that area.

The mids are most certainly more prominent with the Pioneer, and quite good, but I do at times feel there can be some glare, but frankly as I have been listening to them for longer now, I think I either notice it less, or it bothers me less. It is at the point where I think I can say I enjoy the mids very much, and same with the treble. The M5 is a pretty balanced performer. I think it is well worth an audition. It is no doubt closer toward a detailed signature and as I seem to have been becoming more attracted to slight warmth it can at times throw me. I am happy to say that it isn't fatiguing which at first I thought it might be for me, but that isn't the case, and I listen very loud which would emphasize that trait if anything.

For me I am still on the fence, but not because I don't think the Monitor 5 is quite a solid headphone because it is, it hedges more on personal preference as opposed to any technical anomalies or wonky sound signature concerns. The Monitor 5 sounds in many ways like a closed but more revealing version of an HD600. If you can audition it and return it I would seriously say try it out, and it is really beautiful, comfortable and extremely well made so taken as a whole package, with todays high prices, it is actually a solid value if it matches your preferences.

 

[Oregonian]

Anyone try these with a vintage speaker amp? I have the SE Master 1 and from vintage they are outstanding. I'd imagine these fed with the power and tone controls/loudness circuitry of a vintage amp the bass would be very nice.................

 

[Sonic Defender]

Anyone try these with a vintage speaker amp? I have the SE Master 1 and from vintage they are outstanding. I'd imagine these fed with the power and tone controls/loudness circuitry of a vintage amp the bass would be very nice.................

I have been driving them right from the speaker terminals of my NAD M3 amp so not going to get much better power into a headphone than that. The bass is quite good, it just isn't as impactful, but if I had to guess the design was meant to be more detailed and fast sounding, which it is.

 

[nemomec]

After some days only listening to the SE Monitor 5 i must say this headphone is very involving. Yes the mids are sometimes to prominent and the soundstage depth is to less, but overall this headphone isn´t on any time fatiguing for me. Finally i would say this is for me actual the best closed headphone that i heard beside the rare Stax 4070 and i like it more than a Fostex TH-900, Denon D7000, Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd or a MrSpeaker Ether C.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Definitely involving and yes it isn't fatiguing at all, as Beagle says, it seems more neutral with some zip than anything. I got to listen to it on the Lake People G109 amp last night as well as my NAD rig. Really like this headphone and I can't say enough about the premium build, it certainly feels worth the price tag for what that matters. I loved my HD800S, and while not poorly constructed in any sense, it didn't feel quite as premium as the Monitor 5 feels.

 

[LaCuffia]

I think it would be hard for anyone to fault the build quality. Certainly welcome when some manufacturers charge three time as much and it feels like a toy (looking at you HiFiMan).

The Master1 feels even more amazing. That even beats the Utopia for build and comfort for me.

 

[Sonic Defender]

Due to a very good opportunity to pick up the Monitor 5 I have decided to do so. It is a very nice headphone indeed and I have grown fond of the clarity and speed it brings to the table. Bass is most certainly quite good even if not bass head impact styled. The quality of the bass is quite high so any impact left on the table is very fairly compensated for, plus I have yet to hear these with the leatherette pads which may yet change the bass signature.

 

[LaCuffia]

Cool, welcome to the club...it's not a headphone that makes waves around here but a very worthy product indeed. Sturdy with a simple and modern design and clean and even sound.