Quote:
Don't expect to get the instant feeling like: WOW! because 5 way isn't those type of IEMs. Sit down and listen to them carefully and then you will be giving up all your other CIEMs.
Thankyou for the word of caution, tupac - I appreciate and respect your honesty (there's far too much FOTM on Head-fi), but as far as 'Mython+SE-5' goes, it's OK, I've chatted privately to Joe (and Grzegorz),
very extensively, about the SE-5. Consequently, my understanding is that the SE-5s are
subtly intricate, and
unassuming yet highly revealing.
Not a stodgy, 'pig-out' double-cream-and-chocolate eclair or MSG-laden chinese takeaway, but layers and layers of fine, err... layers(!) like choux pastry! LOL
I chose the SE-5 after a
huge amount of deliberation. CIEMs are
always a risky proposition,
no matter how well-reviewed they may be.
I now understand this
from first-hand experience (I'm happy to elaborate if you like but will refrain from doing so, at this point).
I appreciate that I may receive the SE-5 and fail to enjoy it. I know the harshness of that difficult truth, because I've wrestled with it head-on, and therefore I don't say that lightly, but I'm a very honest person (not just with others, but with
myself, too). I say it as I see it, and, consequently, I've experienced disappointment with CIEMs, just as almost everyone who's invested in expensive CIEMs can attest to (
if they're
honest enough). It's quite common for someone to spend a thousand bucks on a CIEM, not like its sound signature, and go into self-denial because they can't admit to themselves that they just spent a thousand bucks on something they don't like.
I'm looking for a CIEM which simply tries its best, not to '
impress', but to render music in as convincing/realistic a fashion as possible. As you know, 'Realism' and 'Impressive aural firework displays' are not the same thing. From personal experience, I've found that most things that sound 'impressive' to begin with often sound fatiguing or unconvincing in the longterm. Many IEMs, regardless of whether they're Custom or Universal, often try to impress the listener by emphasising some portion of the frequency spectrum. For example, the JH16, to me, would be emphasising the bass (and, to a certain extent, also the MG6Pro, though this is not conceived as a 'critical-listening' 'audiophile' product - it's a Pro, stage-use product). Many IEMs, at various pricepoints, tend to favour the 'V-shaped' signature, which I find contrived, because it
is contrived. No piece of audio gear is perfect - not even stuff costing several hundred thousand bucks. I know the SE-5 will be no exception to this inexorable 'rule'. Nothing is perfect; nothing is infallible.
All I'm looking for in a CIEM is a fairly-neutral portrayal of music, with plenty of (
not-emphasised) detail to help render important psycho-acoustic cues, and with reasonably-competent portrayal of bass, in order to provide a convincing foundation to underpin the music (I do understand the difference in sub-bass portrayal of cones vs. armatures). The trick is to find a CIEM which can accomplish this without sounding 'cold' or 'detached', but rather 'lush' and 'organic'. Will the SE-5 succeed or fail
for me, in this aim? I don't know yet, but I know Grzegorz aims to satisfy similar requirements to mine, so I am hopeful that I will enjoy the SE-5.
If the SE-5 doesn't please me, I am mature enough to accept this, even though it is a whole month's wages for me. I do know, from my communications with Grzegorz, that he sincerely tries his best to produce an exceptional quality, and exceptional-performance, product, and I will respect that, accordingly, regardless of whether the SE-5s suit my taste.
Did you choose the non detachable cable version? Or your ears are really small so that you have to?
.
