[Jazzyfi]

The SE5 is really EQ friendly. So if you need more high just EQ it as you need and you'll get it. If I remember correctly my SE5 has the same amount of high as my Westone ES5, which is pretty spot on.
 
I was listening to Megadeth - Rust In Peace and Endgame this morning, a little bit of extra boost in treble really help in Rust In Peace but it became ugly in Endgame. My Rust In Peace is an old recording (mine is the first edition rip, I really hate the brickwalled remaster) and EQing it help enhanced the aggressiveness. The Endgame is pretty much brickwalled and super aggressive, EQing it is just too much, sibilance everywhere.

 

[FrostIK]

Sad you cannot sell SE5 if you don't like it because no one can reshell it in silicon with 5 sound tubes. And reshell by Grzegorz costs 50% of CIEM price as far as I remember.
 
That's why it's laying on my shelf for almost a year without usage

 

[Jazzyfi]

Btw, what do you use as a source to listen to the SE5?
Quote:

Sad you cannot sell SE5 if you don't like it because no one can reshell it in silicon with 5 sound tubes. And reshell by Grzegorz costs 50% of CIEM price as far as I remember.
 
That's why it's laying on my shelf for almost a year without usage

 

[FrostIK]

Quote:

Btw, what do you use as a source to listen to the SE5?

 
I tried HM801, DX100, some other players. No big differences.

 

[tupac0306]

Quote:

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.

Yes. I will agree that SE5 has a cut around 10khz, but only by 3 db at most to my ears. The rest is super smooth and linear.  Cymbals are never recessed, in fact they are very easy to be heard, cymbals are more shimmer than my NT6 actually (more extended high from 12-18 k Hz), though it's not as bright. I am very interested in Mimouille's finding when he gets it cuz now I wonder how different can each 5 way sound. People probably think I am like a hype man of spiral ear or average joe since only me is hearing the same thing he hears. But I really do, every time I put SE5 on, I couldn't stop telling myself how neutral and amazing this pair of CIEMs sounds. I am driving from Anedio D2 dac + 627 amp, it just sounds almost as good as LCD 3.  by the way, I had the SE5 rev.2 for a couple of weeks with deeper fit and IMO it doesn't sound as transparent as my rev.1 with a narrower soundstage IMO. I somehow changed it to a SE3 pro, than I was disappointed just like some people here since they hardly sound like a thinner/brighter 5 way at all. But it doesn't take away anything from SE5.

 

[tupac0306]

Rust in Peace (remastered) sounds super with SE5

.

 

[Jazzyfi]

I hate Dave changing guitar parts and vocal in the remaster version 

.
Quote:

Rust in Peace (remastered) sounds super with SE5

.

 

[AstralStorm]

Quote:

Funny, I recall you saying something totally different. Allow me to quote you if I may.
 
Originally Posted by AstralStorm 
 
<old post>

That's true and false at the same time. Also "frist post" - I've became more careful since with such statements.
 
RE-272 are actually not flat. and I've since changed from reference comparative equalization to precise sine tone equalization.
So, there you have it. RE-272 are not flat either and are definitely bit brighter, but not a lot.
The other comparison was a dark sounding variant of Beyerdynamic DT1350.
So yes, they're more linear in midrange than RE-272 or DT1350. (flat "radius" from 500 to 3000 Hz) Not really linear though.
 
Since then I had Brainwavz B2 (DBA-02 / TWFK), RE0, RE-ZERO, another RE-272, RE-400 (more neutral than RE-272, but less refined), Beyerdynamic T70p (reasonably neutral - ringy and rolled off), Hifiman HE-500 (most neutral, but less refined than latter) and now modded Fostex T50rp Paradox (not DF-equalized thus colored, but super low distortion and superb smoothness).

 

[Toe Tag]

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.

 

[AstralStorm]

The more annoying part of SE-5 is that when the upper midrange (4-6k) is equalized, it becomes ringy, oversharp. Some might like that BA feature, I don't. Makes many kinds of music sound fake and a bit glassy. Not to mention the slight issue with coherence, as in different range instruments not sounding blended in live recordings, instead sounding like a (good) mix.
 
Leckerton UHA-6S mkII is probably the best possible portable pairing for SE-5.

 

[Mimouille]

Quote:

The more annoying part of SE-5 is that when the upper midrange (4-6k) is equalized, it becomes ringy, oversharp. Some might like that BA feature, I don't. Makes many kinds of music sound fake and a bit glassy. Not to mention the slight issue with coherence, as in different range instruments not sounding blended in live recordings, instead sounding like a (good) mix.
 
Leckerton UHA-6S mkII is probably the best possible portable pairing for SE-5.

I think the most annoying part of the SE5 so far is you.

 

[Jazzyfi]

The point of EQ is to get it to the correct level. When it is overly sharp and ringy shouldn't you just decrease the EQ? I think there are a lot of headroom in SE5 to EQ.

The more annoying part of SE-5 is that when the upper midrange (4-6k) is equalized, it becomes ringy, oversharp. Some might like that BA feature, I don't. Makes many kinds of music sound fake and a bit glassy. Not to mention the slight issue with coherence, as in different range instruments not sounding blended in live recordings, instead sounding like a (good) mix.

Leckerton UHA-6S mkII is probably the best possible portable pairing for SE-5.

 

[Toe Tag]

Quote:

Leckerton UHA-6S mkII is probably the best possible portable pairing for SE-5.

 
The DX100 and the DACportL X + Tralucent T1 are also worth trying. Anyone here own all 3 setups (and an SE-5) and can compare them head to head?
 
Some purists feel there are better DACs than the one Leckerton picked. Its amp is unimpeachable, and also can be changed. It could probably even be changed to the op amp in the Tralucent. I wonder if Mr. Leckerton would consider changing DACs too? I will admit that for portable use (not an issue for me) the DACport LX adds another component, and a hot-running power-guzzling one at that.

 

[AstralStorm]

Quote:

The point of EQ is to get it to the correct level. When it is overly sharp and ringy shouldn't you just decrease the EQ? I think there are a lot of headroom in SE5 to EQ.

No, that will make it dark again. Ringing can sometimes be suppressed with surgical eq (as in equalized out - it's still there damaging the sound some), but unfortunately I haven't been able to do so while keeping SE-5 neutral - it's too high magnitude. Compared to this, B2 (TWFK) ringing is minor.
 
Leckerton is best because it vastly (3-4 dB) reduces the necessary magnitude of equalization in this range, making for slightly less standing out ringing.

 

[Toe Tag]

Quote:

No, that will make it dark again. Ringing can sometimes be suppressed with surgical eq (as in equalized out - it's still there damaging the sound some), but unfortunately I haven't been able to do so while keeping SE-5 neutral - it's too high magnitude. Compared to this, B2 (TWFK) ringing is minor.
 
Leckerton is best because it vastly (3-4 dB) reduces the necessary magnitude of equalization in this range, making for slightly less standing out ringing.

 
Are you saying the Leckerton amp is not flat and has a (3-4 dB) dip at the upper midrange (4-6k). And that as such it happens to flatten out the SE-5? 
 
Posts here on head-fi that say you don't want flat response out of headphones/IEMs, that you want something perceptually flat. (Which I guess means the ears have their own EQ curve. And if this is so, its probably not the same from person to person.) But I think you said that you measure using your ears?
 
I thought ringing was an artifact of (some) digital filtering. I would blame the filters (the EQ) but perhaps you would say that IEMs with perfectly flat (post-perceptual) response wouldn't need any EQ.