[joey99]

I do love the H3 quite a bit and came close to walking out of the store with them many times after audtioning them.

For me, I like the H3 more than my Ie800. The H3 is smoother and fuller .. mids not as recessed .. more comfortable and so much more less fiddly. The Ie800 I feel is more tony bit more thin sounding and slightly sibilant and almost tinny on some of my songs .. and I have to really sit still and not move with them.

 

[svyr]

H3s have too much bass, if Z5 and A3 have more that sucks :/

too much mid bass yep

 

[lomenhk]

So, more subbass on the z5 than the h3?

I am no expert, but I would say the bass produced by H3 focuses more on the mid-bass region, the lowest, deepest end of the bass, does not reflect in many songs that I heard. I think that's why some others saying that H3 does not produce the full body of bass.
 
Z5's bass does not like H3, It is very powerful and punch really hard and very deep to reflect the whole body of the bass, which is a  really wonderful listening experience. I auditioned Z5 again with my ZX1 yesterday at Sony Store, reviewed most of the songs and confirmed the bass is much more powerful than in H3. Z5 is not hard to drive and paired perfectly with my ZX1!

 

[lomenhk]

Unboxing Z5 in a Chinese head-fi forum:
 
http://bbs.imp3.net/thread-11185441-1-1.html

 

[audionewbi]

  Unboxing Z5 in a Chinese head-fi forum:
 
http://bbs.imp3.net/thread-11185441-1-1.html

I hope it gets the same legendary status as EX-1000 because if it does I will be getting it when it prices comes down just like EX-1000

 

[Kunlun]

I am no expert, but I would say the bass produced by H3 focuses more on the mid-bass region, the lowest, deepest end of the bass, does not reflect in many songs that I heard. I think that's why some others saying that H3 does not produce the full body of bass.

Z5's bass does not like H3, It is very powerful and punch really hard and very deep to reflect the whole body of the bass, which is a  really wonderful listening experience. I auditioned Z5 again with my ZX1 yesterday at Sony Store, reviewed most of the songs and confirmed the bass is much more powerful than in H3. Z5 is not hard to drive and paired perfectly with my ZX1!

Thank you! From listening again, did you find the z5 to be dark? Did the midrange and treble remain balanced with the powerful bass or were they less noticeable?

 

[lomenhk]

Thank you! From listening again, did you find the z5 to be dark? Did the midrange and treble remain balanced with the powerful bass or were they less noticeable?

Dark sound indeed. mids and highs remain clear and balanced along with the heavy deep bass, clearly to be noticed and heard, but the highs definitely not bright and sparkling. Although the highs is not sparkling, micro details still can be heard clearly, mids still stands out and does not fall back like H3. The whole sound signature is still very very rich.
 
Z5 recalls my memory of audio-technica IM04, they are quiet similar, both having dark sound, but the bass of Z5 is much more powerful than IM04. I like dark sound signature, which would be comfortable for long hours listening.

 

[TheBoss]

 
Dark sound indeed. mids and highs remain clear and balanced along with the heavy deep bass, clearly to be noticed and heard, but the highs definitely not bright and sparkling. Although the highs is not sparkling, micro details still can be heard clearly, mids still stands out and does not fall back like H3. The whole sound signature is still very very rich.
 
Z5 recalls my memory of audio-technica IM04, they are quiet similar, both having dark sound, but the bass of Z5 is much more powerful than IM04. I like dark sound signature, which would be comfortable for long hours listening.

 
Have you demo-ed or owned other Sony IEM's like the MDR ex1000 and ex800st / 7550?

I'd like to know how the ex1000/800st sounds to your ears compared to XBA z5

 

[lomenhk]

   
Have you demo-ed or owned other Sony IEM's like the MDR ex1000 and ex800st / 7550?

I'd like to know how the ex1000/800st sounds to your ears compared to XBA z5

Hi TheBoss, please find my comment on EX1000 vs Z5 below, it was on page 8 of this thread:
 

  Quote:
Compared to EX1000 ? is it similar sound signature?

I did not own EX1000, but I had a chance to listen to it when it was issued several years ago. Recalling the memory long time ago, EX1000 sounds brighter than Z5, its tuning is focused more on mids and highs, it is not as bassy as Z5. It did have bass but just a general quantity. Overall the sound stage of EX1000 is wide opened, clean and bright, that's the impression in my memory.

 

[audionewbi]

 
Hi TheBoss, please find my comment on EX1000 vs Z5 below, it was on page 8 of this thread:
 

I did not own EX1000, but I had a chance to listen to it when it was issued several years ago. Recalling the memory long time ago, EX1000 sounds brighter than Z5, its tuning is focused more on mids and highs, it is not as bassy as Z5. It did have bass but just a general quantity. Overall the sound stage of EX1000 is wide opened, clean and bright, that's the impression in my memory.

Having the EX-1000 right now in my ear this is a very accurate description of it. For me if the EX-1000 brightness was reduce this IEM would not be possible to be beaten for me. Do you think Z5 was able to maintain the same opne and clear soundstage ?

 

[lomenhk]

  Having the EX-1000 right now in my ear this is a very accurate description of it. For me if the EX-1000 brightness was reduce this IEM would not be possible to be beaten for me. Do you think Z5 was able to maintain the same opne and clear soundstage ?

I would say the soundstage of Z5 remains clear and wide opened, but the whole imagery is not a bright, sparkling sound, I can say the highs are 'rich', but not as bright as EX1000. I remembered I was very impressed when I listened EX1000 for the first time several years ago. Just a single 16mm driver can deliver such amazing soundstage and clarity. To summarise, I would comment EX1000 has bright sound, Z5 has dark sound signature.

 

[Kunlun]

I've just been told by a sony rep that both the xba-z5 and the z7 headphones will debut in America at the RMAF in two weeks.

 

[Mini0510]

Hopefully someone will get them soon and review them. Really interested in a comparison between other high end IEMs

 

[gerelmx1986]

If the XBA-Z5 prove to be better than XBA-H3 then i would sell my H3's and buy the Z5's but i will wait until there are more review of them

 

[Mini0510]

  If the XBA-Z5 prove to be better than XBA-H3 then i would sell my H3's and buy the Z5's but i will wait until there are more review of them

It's probably better and different though. It has more bass. So for some people, H3 has enough bass and they wouldn't get the Z5. I'm not sure if you are satisfied with H3's bass.
For me, there is not enough subbass. So Z5 might be a potential buy. But it's kind of too expensive for me.