[Wiz33]

Talking that the Z5 design is identical to the A3 except for the material i assure you it is uncomfortable at all, not like wearing it for hours is annoying, not at all in fact its comfortable, but it takes time to put in and time to take and time to bind it to store in the carrying case and you need to adjust it every 5 minutes, also for some reason whenever i'm wearing it people keep staring at me, i can't wear it with a head cap, also it's almost not isolating whatever tips you use even with comfy tips, last time i wear it i was in the bus and though its quite and even the road is almost empty but i was hearing the engine of the bus and it was annoying because you have to raise the sound no need to take about the wind noise because it protrudes too much, however a one thing you will definitely notice with the Z5 is the expanded soundstage which is noticeably much bigger and of course less cable microphonics if any

That's pretty much the same reason I got the N3 except I have no problem with the fit or comfort with the A3 and since getting the MUC-M12SM2 cable, It's even more comfortable to wear and much easier to store without the loop.

 

[mer]

Yes I totally agree what you say with the graphs...

I think no matter how good is the sound it will be no good for me if I want to use it portable in busy streets and in the office.. I don't mind high levels, I just hate readjusting when I walk and I hate leaking sound in the office since I have people next to me and its a quite environment..

For example with something like a philips fidelio s2 IEM my coworker knows what genre Im listening to and with xb90ex they "can hear the beat" lol

My Cayin N3 will have no prob to power it I'm sure but no balanced...

 

[Wiz33]

Yes I totally agree what you say with the graphs...

I think no matter how good is the sound it will be no good for me if I want to use it portable in busy streets and in the office.. I don't mind high levels, I just hate readjusting when I walk and I hate leaking sound in the office since I have people next to me and its a quite environment..

For example with something like a philips fidelio s2 IEM my coworker knows what genre Im listening to and with xb90ex they "can hear the beat" lol

My Cayin N3 will have no prob to power it I'm sure but no balanced...

Yea the Z5 would be a waste in anyplace with high ambient noise, that's why I only use it at home.

 

[amrbadrawy]

This one from my point of view is one of the challenging tracks that none of the headphones i have was able to show the separation of the instruments like the N3, specially the double bass with any other earphone it will just sound muddy

 

[mer]

Yea the Z5 would be a waste in anyplace with high ambient noise, that's why I only use it at home.

what about leak ? Will my coworker be able to tell the song ? tell the genre ? or only hear the beat ? Im talking about loud levels..

For example with sennheiser they can tell the song, with fidelio s2 open IEM they can tell the genre, with xb90ex they hardly hear the beat at basshead levels, with N3 nothing

 

[Wiz33]

what about leak ? Will my coworker be able to tell the song ? tell the genre ? or only hear the beat ? Im talking about loud levels..

For example with sennheiser they can tell the song, with fidelio s2 open IEM they can tell the genre, with xb90ex they hardly hear the beat at basshead levels, with N3 nothing

I'll have to get back to you on that. I mostly only listen to music when I'm alone. I have my own office so no one is near by, I'll have to ask someone to give a listen then let you know.

 

[Wiz33]

what about leak ? Will my coworker be able to tell the song ? tell the genre ? or only hear the beat ? Im talking about loud levels..

For example with sennheiser they can tell the song, with fidelio s2 open IEM they can tell the genre, with xb90ex they hardly hear the beat at basshead levels, with N3 nothing

Download the m4a file from this link. It a recording using my iPhone 6's voice memo feature with me playing back Parov Stelar - The Lonely Trumpet on my Z5 at 50% volume through the PHA-2A in balanced mode . The phone was being held within 2 inches of the IEM, first on the left and switched to the right.

https://www.hightail.com/download/dDZGVWRyTEQzS29LSk1UQw

Then this one was made between 1:10 -2:10 of the track with the phone about 20" from the left ear then move to the right ear at about 30 sec mark.

https://www.hightail.com/download/dDZGVWRyTEQzeUtjZDhUQw

 

[mer]

Thanks! That's pretty horrible and pretty much unusable at basshead levels at office environment... Such a shame, I was ready to pull the trigger on the z5... damn!

PS You are wearing the z5 sealed in your ear, yes ? You are not recording while the IEM is playing on the desk, yes ? That's pretty extreme... that sounds almost as much as my open IEMs ... fidelios s2, which is my worst leaking iem

PS2 leak test much appreciated

PS3 I bet if you redid the test with n3 it would be dead silent, you don't have to, I know it.

PS4 I don't have pha2 although I've tried it... was it unbearable at 50%, bearable, comfortable(listening levels) ? I assume it was at bearable loudish level.. normal to loud.. ?

PS5 You said... "I can feel the bass further down my neck than the N3 ever did." Have you ever tried to EQ n3 something like +6db 30hz , +3db 60hz ? The amount of energy the 9mm LCP driver an take it's pretty amazing and I can achieve bass at least as good as my cerwin vega subwoofer or 50mm Yamaha 50mm, we are talking ear rupture levels... The 9mm driver can take 130mw without sweating and when you give it some power , it becomes better than the xb90ex, like an old acoustic lose kick drum vs new tight smaller kick drum. I'm a drummer so I can relate a lot to that example. It's just that the n3 will become unbearable since it's brighter while the z5 you can push push the volume and the bass becomes great until the voices and highs can become unbearable.

I played a 15hz tone and it's so clear and defined on the N3 ... Below 15hz sounds are inaudible... so I can't see how ANY headphone or subwoofer for that matter can go much "further down any neck than the n3 ever did". I understand the 16mm driver can take more energy and thus produce more air but so does my cerwin wega subwoofer which is huge, doesn't mean it produces clearer or more controlled or better 15khz-30hz frequencies, just louder. In fact the n3 is clearer, because it's smaller and can be more controlled.

 

[Wiz33]

Thanks! That's pretty horrible and pretty much unusable at basshead levels at office environment... Such a shame, I was ready to pull the trigger on the z5... damn!

PS You are wearing the z5 sealed in your ear, yes ? You are not recording while the IEM is playing on the desk, yes ? That's pretty extreme... that sounds almost as much as my open IEMs ... fidelios s2, which is my worst leaking iem

PS2 leak test much appreciated

PS3 I bet if you redid the test with n3 it would be dead silent, you don't have to, I know it.

PS4 I don't have pha2 although I've tried it... was it unbearable at 50%, bearable, comfortable(listening levels) ? I assume it was at bearable loudish level.. normal to loud.. ?

Does you co-workers seat within 2 inches of you? I can hear some notes and beats on the 1st recording but I can't pickup any notes or beat from the 2nd recording, the constant background was probably my PC fan.

It was pretty loud at 50%, probably won't listen at that level for long period. I usually run it at about 40%

 

[mer]

Yes I just listened to the 2nd recording and I don't hear anything.. My coworkers sit around at least a meter from me and while commuting I usually have people's head around 40-50cm. They complain a lot with my fidelio s2 and I also had complains with the xb90ex

But I would trust the microphone at closer distances than long , since the iphone microphone or any voice mic is tweaked for closer distances... There is some DSP noise reduction I think when you record with iPhone also but don't quote me on that ... ( but wouldnt that remove the pc fan too ? )

When I want to test for leakage, I just hold the IEM as far as I can with my hands and block the tips with my fingers.... this is very similar to how someone hears us who sits next to us.

When I do the block tip with my finger test, the N3 is dead silent or I can hear the beat at 100% level which I never listen to at that level.

The xba-z5 is only 480usd.. and I have a feeling from your tests that I could get away with the leaks...at least when people don't sit 50cm from me and I don't listen at basshead levels


.. OR just let the complain!!!! Miserable people ( Anarchism in Europe )

( one time I was listening to xb90ex and someone told me they could hear the beat from the end of the office at the end of the corridor lol at least 6 meters away )

Moral of the story: get your own office

 

[Wiz33]

Yes I just listened to the 2nd recording and I don't hear anything.. My coworkers sit around at least a meter from me and while commuting I usually have people's head around 40-50cm. They complain a lot with my fidelio s2 and I also had complains with the xb90ex

But I would trust the microphone at closer distances than long , since the iphone microphone or any voice mic is tweaked for closer distances... There is some DSP noise reduction I think when you record with iPhone also but don't quote me on that ... ( but wouldnt that remove the pc fan too ? )

When I want to test for leakage, I just hold the IEM as far as I can with my hands and block the tips with my fingers.... this is very similar to how someone hears us who sits next to us.

When I do the block tip with my finger test, the N3 is dead silent or I can hear the beat at 100% level which I never listen to at that level.

The xba-z5 is only 480usd.. and I have a feeling from your tests that I could get away with the leaks...at least when people don't sit 50cm from me and I don't listen at basshead levels


.. OR just let the complain!!!! Miserable people ( Anarchism in Europe )

( one time I was listening to xb90ex and someone told me they could hear the beat from the end of the office at the end of the corridor lol at least 6 meters away )

Moral of the story: get your own office

Tried it your way this morning before I left the house. at 20 inches, I can't hear anything just like the 2nd recording, at 10 inches, I can pick up heavy beats and I can pickup notes and beats at 2 inches.

 

[mer]

Awesome, many many thanks, that doesn't sound as bad as I was hoping so I don't have to buy it but I'll guess I have to buy it

 

[Wiz33]

Awesome, many many thanks, that doesn't as bad as I was hoping so I don't have to buy it but I'll guess I have to buy it

LOL! Call it payback for getting me to buy the Sony turntable . on that subject. it arrived and seems fairly easy to use except that my left channel is 10% louder than the right on every album I tried so far according to the recording software. Maybe the cartridge alignment is off. Need time to play with it, worst case, send it back for another one. None of the review on Amazon note this problem so hopefully it's a easy fix.

 

[Vladimir_F1]

Finally got mine N3AP. First impressions are positive! Burn in process started

 

[Bepli]

Finally got mine N3AP. First impressions are positive! Burn in process started

I see you got a little sticker on the top left, its a proof thats it not fake. Do you know if it is only available on asian products ? I bought mine in europe and it didnt have that