[AstralStorm]

No, the Leckerton does not cut SE-5 highs like many other amps and sources, therefore I don't have to boost it as much in the 4-6k range and thus the ringing is less boosted somehow. SE-5 has a dip there, not the amp. It's less with the Leckerton.
 
Flat response as in measured flat without compensation means no diffuse-field or independent-of-direction equalization. T50rp Paradox has something similar to it (with some highs shelf) - it's super laid back.

 

[Bucket]

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I have Tralucent silver  and silver and gold cables and like them a lot in terms of sound. I will have the SE5 in a while, so if you can wait I will tell you how they pair. The Beat Audio Cronus is great in terms of ergonomics.

Thanks Mimouille. I'm in no hurry so definitely interested in what your opinion on it is.
I'll check out the Beat Audio Cronus in the mean time.
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Great to hear your issues have been remedied!  I will be able to do some cable testing down the road, but unfortunately I don't have time for it at the moment.

Thanks Joe. Will look forward to it when you do have time.
I was just tempted by that Whiplash cable as I have a discounted offer 

 but am worried since you mentioned you had some connection issues with the cables in your other thread.

 

[average_joe]

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Am I the only one who hears lack of high in SE5? Listened Metallica today. Cimbals are very recessed. Cimbals have very wide frequency range. Looks like I hear the only mid part of it in SE5. I hear the high part of cimbals in Miracle and Hidition NT6 but not in SE5. It's like SE5 has cut at 10Khz or around that value.

 
Would you say the Miracle and/or NT-6 treble is accurate?
 
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I can only compare it to the movie Avatar, where the aliens link up their spinal tails and directly join their minds, senses, hearts, and souls. Driving the SE-5 with a DACport LX and a Tralucent T1... is a direct vulcan mind meld connection to the music.  Powerful, subtle, effortless, transparent and uncolored. Pure sex.
 
I am at a loss to explain how the SE-5 could sound bad to some owners. I certainly agree with the first post, that just plugging it into your phone, or even the Sansa Clip+, doesn't do it justice. I can also agree with people that in general the SE-5, or the Tralucent T1, benefit from 100 or more hours of burn-in. The only other thing that can cause a problem is some desktop amps that are designed for driving high, contant impedance full headphones, work poorly with variable, low impedance IEMs. Might be worth trying one of those resistor plugs, cheap compared to the sunk cost of the SE-5.

 
I like your analogy!  
 
Also, I wanted to mention AstralStorm went on the same rant in my multi-CIEM thread.  We agreed (at least I thought we did) that his sounded different than the majority of owners (I do know of another that isn't really happy) and he should have Grzegorz try to resolve the issue.
 
Quote:

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Thanks Joe. Will look forward to it when you do have time.
I was just tempted by that Whiplash cable as I have a discounted offer 

 but am worried since you mentioned you had some connection issues with the cables in your other thread.

 
My Hybrid V3 was pre-production and any OM versions should work fine.

 

[FrostIK]

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Would you say the Miracle and/or NT-6 treble is accurate?
 

 
If we talk about cymbals - Miracle is perfect. NT6 has peak at 12,5 Khz that causes to overload sometimes.

 

[AstralStorm]

Also UE IERM might be a great pick. (assuming it's better than the old demo pair)

 

[average_joe]

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If we talk about cymbals - Miracle is perfect. NT6 has peak at 12,5 Khz that causes to overload sometimes.

 
I would say the PP6 treble falls between the NT-6 and SE5, but I could consider it north of neutral to my ears.  Although there seems to be quite varying perception of the treble.

 

[AstralStorm]

Funny thing, ringing in my SE-5 has fully resolved and it has gained some smoothness - still sounds like a balanced armature, except in bass, which easily bests everything barring my tweaked HE-500. I bet lying in storage with a moisture absorbent helped. Frequency response stayed as it is though. I'll redo the impressions etc. when I find the time and will to do so.
Soundstaging is excellent after equalization.
Sounds generally way better, but there's still some slight coherency issues - probably phase response of the crossover.
 
It's an... interesting combination of warmth with BA microdetailing. Might be a slight bit of odd order harmonic distortion around 3-5kHz in there giving the sound some extra roughness. (perhaps exaggerated by the necessary boost)
 
The following is referenced to 500 Hz. Leckerton UHA-6S mkII. Bottom is -18 dB. This is full correction, flat up to 18.5kHz and rolling only slightly beyond.
 

 
The moral of the story - hold your silicone CIEMs in drier than dry storage from time to time.

 

[ace8888]

Serene db 100 hearing aid dehumidifier and disectant

I use that after reading a_j's review on it... really valuable piece of advice and also the SE5 really sounds Damn good.. easily bests tg334. I can't thank you enough Joe for recommending this little gem )

 

[Kunlun]

A_J, would you please consider letting Analixus borrow your se5 for a few days? I think the sound as you describe it is perfect for him and he'll be able to do a full analysis of the sound with purrin (CSD graphs and the works). I think it'd be great and you know he's completely trustworthy.

 

[Mimouille]

Well my three sets of prints (one SE5 for me, one SE5 for a friends, one SE3 for my wife) are certainly flying over Russia right now toward Grzegorz. Godspeed !

 

[AstralStorm]

If Anax wishes, I can also send him my pair for comparison, but he has to PM me first.
 
However, the mids on RE-400 (but not the highest end) win with SE-5, because of the latters noticeably high distortion (most likely odd order) in this range. The difference is audible as a dry tone of string instruments and trumpets.
On the other hand, RE-400 is a bit heavy handed in detailing, and loses to both Paradox and HE-500 with Jergpads and perhaps SE-5 everywhere except mids.
(everything equalized)

 

[tupac0306]

Quote:

Serene db 100 hearing aid dehumidifier and disectant

I use that after reading a_j's review on it... really valuable piece of advice and also the SE5 really sounds Damn good.. easily bests tg334. I can't thank you enough Joe for recommending this little gem

)

Yeah I use this too. this is a incredible piece of gear It really does a great job on cleaning silicone CIEMs. so Thanks Joe for that too

 

[AstralStorm]

Besting another BA CIEM is not good enough. It has to pretty much best or equal headphones to warrant the price.
It does not, it comes resonably close though in terms of bass in general and highs in timbre and in decay. However, other IEMs (RE-400, TWFK) also come close enough, closer in some ways. (e.g. RE-400 in mids timbre, distortion and general blending, TWFK in general balance if deep fitted)
 
SE-5 loses out a lot on portability (it's not pocketable) and looks. (uhm, huge cyborg hearing aid) It really wins out on isolation of course, but that's rarely required in a not-really-portable form - perhaps for recording monitoring while playing, which is quite rarely for me and closed-back headphones like Paradox hold their own well enough.
(and they're way better without equalization for starters, despite also being a bit dark due to being non-diffuse-field equalized - but it's not a shelf, it's a slope.)
 
So unless you're an actual gig musician in a stupid places that cause deafness, I'd pass on this specific CIEM.
(or better still, strong-arm the manager to not be an idiot if you have enough chutzpah)
 
I'd probably be better off with UE IERM or UM Miracle in the grand scheme of things. CIEMs are so much hassle, getting properly done impressions, sending them back and forth for tuneups and replacements... I've done that two times (impressions three times) already and I say enough.

 

[average_joe]

Quote:

Serene db 100 hearing aid dehumidifier and disectant

I use that after reading a_j's review on it... really valuable piece of advice and also the SE5 really sounds Damn good.. easily bests tg334. I can't thank you enough Joe for recommending this little gem

)

 
Thanks for reminding me about the DB-100.  I often forget about that gem.  And I agree with your assessment of the SE5 vs. 334, glad you like it 

 
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Well my three sets of prints (one SE5 for me, one SE5 for a friends, one SE3 for my wife) are certainly flying over Russia right now toward Grzegorz. Godspeed !

 
Nice!  Looking forward to sound impressions.
 
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Yeah I use this too. this is a incredible piece of gear It really does a great job on cleaning silicone CIEMs. so Thanks Joe for that too

 
Yes, works beautifully with silicone, and acrylic shelled CIEMs could also benefit.

 

[Alias Gu]

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Well, folks, I've only had my SE-5 running for 10 minutes, so don't take the following as gospel, it's just preliminary impressions (I've now taken them out of my ears and am 'burning them in' at the moment (not listening to them):
 
 
 
It's too early to say, because the sound may change, but my preliminary impressions, in comparison to the UM Miracle, are:
 
 
SE-5 don't project vocals as much as the Miracle
SE-5 midrange sounds drier than Miracle
SE-5 cymbals sound better-rendered than they do on the Miracle
SE-5 guitar strings are rendered slightly more realistically than the Miracle
SE-5 soundstage is much smaller than Miracle (which is a pity, as I do love this about the Miracles)
SE-5 soundstage quite narrow by comparison with Miracle
SE-5 bass seems slightly more potent than the Miracle
SE-5 is, as I expected, a bit more detailed than the Miracle
 
But I must stress, this is very, very early impressions, and sound is likely to change as BAs burn-in.
 
They're quite tricky to get into my ears, because the silicone is quite 'sticky', so I may need to buy some lubricant
 

 
The highlighted words really surprised me.
I read Joe's similar sounding part, describing 5 ways sound like To Go! 334, which i own.
Personally, i think 334 really focus from midrange to bass. Hardly can believe a darker-tone CIEM isn't good at midrange.
Since it's Mython's first impression, i will follow up your later comparisons.