It's going to be interesting to see pricing changes with whatever Sony comes out with next. Hopefully the price of the next Sony flagship will not reflect current flagship price boosts which have occurred since 2014.
The Z5 is a classic and has a distinct world-class sound as good as any IEM at any price. IMO
Funny too as mine were a free gift from Sony when buying my 1Z. I would have never found out about the sound.On my way home I plugged the standard 3.5mm into my IPod and thought, Wow....this is my sound!
Then getting to balanced took them to a whole different level, a surprising different level.
It's going to be interesting to see pricing changes with whatever Sony comes out with next. Hopefully the price of the next Sony flagship will not reflect current flagship price boosts which have occurred since 2014.
The Z5 is a classic and has a distinct world-class sound as good as any IEM at any price. IMO
Funny too as mine were a free gift from Sony when buying my 1Z. I would have never found out about the sound.On my way home I plugged the standard 3.5mm into my IPod and thought, Wow....this is my sound!
Then getting to balanced took them to a whole different level, a surprising different level.
They are complementary, where one does the opposite of the other. Though I still am running the Encore single ended, so it’s not a totally fair fight. Lol.
The Sony is maybe a little more natural where the Encore can be both realistic and fun in a different way. The Z5 is maybe more cohesive and straight laced. I think BAs have a slightly unnatural decay, where putting a dynamic in helps the lower frequencies to decay more true to life. It’s especially noticeable how the Z5 does echo and reverb decays. IMO.
But the Encore is a wild bag of tricks. Just when you think you have it figured out, it seems to start morphing in other directions after 4 months, basicly sounding like a different animal. Others too have noticed slightly more bass after 60 days?
Audio perception is fickle, but maybe more so with certain IEMs. My favorite thing about the Z5 is how it has so much great quality bass and such a big soundstage. I guess I always wanted a bass response like the Z5, and had always hoped to find an IEM where the low end didn’t bump-into the lower midrange details. But something like Yello is a very entertaining experience as the Z5 is able to keep up with the recorded drum and lower end bass qualities. IMO.
The Encore IEM could never do Yello like the Z5, so it’s a complementary pairing. The Encore though, does other things better.
Also there is two distinct signature camps here at HeadFi. You have your warm sounding group preference and the colder more analytical crowd. It’s difficult two please both with one IEM at times. That’s why you see the use of EQ and filters and cable EQ in-line devices used, as there does not exist one single perfect sound signature to make everyone happy. The trick is to train your listening so you can mentally adapt to both tones and avoid falling into one group or the other.
Only had half an hour audition with Noble Encore before deciding to grab the JH Layla 2 instead thus checking your experience. Sold my Z5 after that since I have added much better sounding IEMs (IMO) along the way which meets my need.
Same comments like some users - for the current price of Z5 (I am in HK and you can grab a brand new set for less than US$400), it is quite the top IEM in this category.
They are complementary, where one does the opposite of the other. Though I still am running the Encore single ended, so it’s not a totally fair fight. Lol.
The Sony is maybe a little more natural where the Encore can be both realistic and fun in a different way. The Z5 is maybe more cohesive and straight laced. I think BAs have a slightly unnatural decay, where putting a dynamic in helps the lower frequencies to decay more true to life. It’s especially noticeable how the Z5 does echo and reverb decays. IMO.
But the Encore is a wild bag of tricks. Just when you think you have it figured out, it seems to start morphing in other directions after 4 months, basicly sounding like a different animal. Others too have noticed slightly more bass after 60 days?
Audio perception is fickle, but maybe more so with certain IEMs. My favorite thing about the Z5 is how it has so much great quality bass and such a big soundstage. I guess I always wanted a bass response like the Z5, and had always hoped to find an IEM where the low end didn’t bump-into the lower midrange details. But something like Yello is a very entertaining experience as the Z5 is able to keep up with the recorded drum and lower end bass qualities. IMO.
The Encore IEM could never do Yello like the Z5, so it’s a complementary pairing. The Encore though, does other things better.
Also there is two distinct signature camps here at HeadFi. You have your warm sounding group preference and the colder more analytical crowd. It’s difficult two please both with one IEM at times. That’s why you see the use of EQ and filters and cable EQ in-line devices used, as there does not exist one single perfect sound signature to make everyone happy. The trick is to train your listening so you can mentally adapt to both tones and avoid falling into one group or the other.
I spent 1/2 a half hour with the Encore then Katana before purchase, but I wasn’t actually looking for my desired sound signature, but a complementary sig.
I am going to try 64 Audio Tia technology next maybe? But I would never sell the Encore. Also the Encore is something that “for me” is always somewhat of mental gym class, which is what is fun about them, slight work at times, but the payoff is great. The XBA-Z5 is simply a known place, actually very conservative and refined, yet they have their fun with the lower frequencies. Probably how the sound is integrated, is the most amazing thing about them. I hope Sony tries to lay them flat against the ear with the next incarnations as well as maybe a two pin connection system? Anyone can dream.
At $400 they offer quite the value now, funny how they never caught on around here, like you would think they could have?
Though much of the mystery here is maybe that the Z5 is good and great 3.5mm single-ended, but transcends known scaleabilities in 4.4mm mode?
I was using Z5 balanced as well, not to WM1Z/WM1A as they were not released yet then. Tried with 3.5mm TRRS "balanced" to ZX2, and 2.5mm AK DAPs. Slightly better dynamics in quiet listening but not audible difference in day to to day usage (as mentioned, only during quiet moments at home without issue of isolation can you enjoy the sound quality of the Z5).
I am probably in the "warm" sounding IEM camp, and could not find the character with Noble Encore. Using mainly JH Lola and Oriolus Mk2 nowadays.
I am also hoping Sony will change their design for their IEM to provide better isolation, but it seems that their top tier models are all similar with bad isolation or wind magnet, such as EX1000 (another value IEM which you can grab in HK for just close to US$300).
I spent 1/2 a half hour with the Encore then Katana before purchase, but I wasn’t actually looking for my desired sound signature, but a complementary sig.
I am going to try 64 Audio Tia technology next maybe? But I would never sell the Encore. Also the Encore is something that “for me” is always somewhat of mental gym class, which is what is fun about them, slight work at times, but the payoff is great. The XBA-Z5 is simply a known place, actually very conservative and refined, yet they have their fun with the lower frequencies. Probably how the sound is integrated, is the most amazing thing about them. I hope Sony tries to lay them flat against the ear with the next incarnations as well as maybe a two pin connection system? Anyone can dream.
At $400 they offer quite the value now, funny how they never caught on around here, like you would think they could have?
Though much of the mystery here is maybe that the Z5 is good and great 3.5mm single-ended, but transcends known scaleabilities in 4.4mm mode?
I was using Z5 balanced as well, not to WM1Z/WM1A as they were not released yet then. Tried with 3.5mm TRRS "balanced" to ZX2, and 2.5mm AK DAPs. Slightly better dynamics in quiet listening but not audible difference in day to to day usage (as mentioned, only during quiet moments at home without issue of isolation can you enjoy the sound quality of the Z5).
I am probably in the "warm" sounding IEM camp, and could not find the character with Noble Encore. Using mainly JH Lola and Oriolus Mk2 nowadays.
I am also hoping Sony will change their design for their IEM to provide better isolation, but it seems that their top tier models are all similar with bad isolation or wind magnet, such as EX1000 (another value IEM which you can grab in HK for just close to US$300).
The Oriolus Mk2 is another I look forward to trying out. I’m in the warmerish segement too. For a long time though I’ve always had something like an AKG k701 full size to be in contrast to whatever darker headphone was my favorite. So as I get into IEMs, I’m simply trying to continue the concept.
For me I maybe try to make this hobby more active than just simply listening to music. So challenging signatures have always been entertaining. Also I found not one transducer does it all, and of course became surprised when headphones or IEMs that I thought would fail at subgenres ended to adapt in a good way. The Encore IEM is not really super warm, but it’s there. Guitars are very special as they have a very natural crunch which is a form of warmth. Due to their decay timing they are able to do fast music well, with a magic. I actually EQ them very slightly and take about three points away from the midrange and one point away from the treble.
That’s the great thing about the XBA-Z5 as with my ears it never needed EQ. For whatever reason I have thought balanced was a huge difference maker with the Z5. But every one is listening for different things. I think it’s pretty much given from posts in this thread that the Z5 needed as much juice as possible to open up and perform. I tend to look at it a lot like full-size headphones, where a better impedance match makes it sound like there is more bass, but in reality there is only 1dB more bass, and what your hearing is simply bass definition.
I was looking at other IEMs but decided to buy these since I haven't owned a sony iem or earphone in some time. I owned a model that used those round foam covers that was my favorite for many years in the 90s. The fit is the only thing I don't like on them. I need to try all of my eartips and hope I find one that I really like with these. And the wire and plug seems cheap. I'll look to upgrade to something down the road. These things really need power huh? They seem really weak on the phone, but are great hooked up to a dac/amp. I hope I made the right choice of these over the N3 and some others that I was looking at.
N3 is a surprisingly good IEM, and actually a very good buy! Sometimes, pricing is not always accurate on the sound quality, but user decides.
For Z5, there are a few areas that could be improved, hopefully in the next version. Mainly isolation, comfort, MMCX connectors, standard cables included, etc.
I would suggested upgrading the cable as the first start to make it sound better, as well as improving comfort. Comply tips is good for Z5, as well as Spinfits and Symbio W.
I was looking at other IEMs but decided to buy these since I haven't owned a sony iem or earphone in some time. I owned a model that used those round foam covers that was my favorite for many years in the 90s. The fit is the only thing I don't like on them. I need to try all of my eartips and hope I find one that I really like with these. And the wire and plug seems cheap. I'll look to upgrade to something down the road. These things really need power huh? They seem really weak on the phone, but are great hooked up to a dac/amp. I hope I made the right choice of these over the N3 and some others that I was looking at.
I was looking at other IEMs but decided to buy these since I haven't owned a sony iem or earphone in some time. I owned a model that used those round foam covers that was my favorite for many years in the 90s. The fit is the only thing I don't like on them. I need to try all of my eartips and hope I find one that I really like with these. And the wire and plug seems cheap. I'll look to upgrade to something down the road. These things really need power huh? They seem really weak on the phone, but are great hooked up to a dac/amp. I hope I made the right choice of these over the N3 and some others that I was looking at.
The Z5 is a noticeable step up from the N3 with a proper DAC/AMP. If you're willing to use over the ear method, then JVC Spiral Dot is wonderful with the Z5. I use the Sony Kimber balance cable from my PHA-2A or ZX300 with the Z5 and the sound is great, but I mostly just use the N3 with the ZX300 over BT LDAC while on the go since the N3 is much easier to wear.
Single ended they may seem bloated/boomy bass but once you step into the balanced game they are other set of headphones, and further if you upgrade cables
The Z5 is a noticeable step up from the N3 with a proper DAC/AMP. If you're willing to use over the ear method, then JVC Spiral Dot is wonderful with the Z5. I use the Sony Kimber balance cable from my PHA-2A or ZX300 with the Z5 and the sound is great, but I mostly just use the N3 with the ZX300 over BT LDAC while on the go since the N3 is much easier to wear.
I have spiral dots lying around since I own the fx-1100 and fx-850. Using the stock cable, I might stick with over the ear as long as I use the stock cable as it feels like it might fall out. It sounds good so far with the mojo dac/amp.
I may investigate a custom mod for the Z5s? If I could find someone to do the work? I would superglue a 2 pin over the MMCX for the two pin cable mod, then go 2 pin to 4.4mm. Then I would investigate an ear measured CIEM wrap made of silicone, to get rid of any isolation issues. Basically a CIEM made around the Z5, though it may get sketchy at the nozzle distance changing the sound? Also I'd need to get a new pair to Frankenstein with.
I'm a little worried how much resonance is created with the case, and if I'll deaden it?
Probably safer for you to try "Snug" as it does not affect the overall design and positioning of the drivers within the Z5. Just not sure if they can create one for the Z5: https://snugs.com/
I may investigate a custom mod for the Z5s? If I could find someone to do the work? I would superglue a 2 pin over the MMCX for the two pin cable mod, then go 2 pin to 4.4mm. Then I would investigate an ear measured CIEM wrap made of silicone, to get rid of any isolation issues. Basically a CIEM made around the Z5, though it may get sketchy at the nozzle distance changing the sound? Also I'd need to get a new pair to Frankenstein with.
I'm a little worried how much resonance is created with the case, and if I'll deaden it?
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