[rickyfernandez]

Well I just joined the club, recently bought the z5 and should come in on Thursday. I can't wait to hear how they sound. I currently
have the A3 so I'm going to have make a decision which one to keep, decisions decisions...

 

[radrianta]

Compared to my Cayin C5. In single ended mode, kinda prefer the Cayin, but in balanced the difference was night and day

 

[radrianta]

By the way, is there any balanced-to-single-ended adapter out there? Is it technically possible? I'm thinking of getting the PHA-3 and the balanced cable. But I do not want to swap cables whenever I do not have the PHA-3 with me.

 

[BlinkST]

By the way, is there any balanced-to-single-ended adapter out there? Is it technically possible? I'm thinking of getting the PHA-3 and the balanced cable. But I do not want to swap cables whenever I do not have the PHA-3 with me.

http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-6-Inch-Stereo-Splitter-Mobile/dp/B00DIGCY0W/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1457500503&sr=1-4&keywords=3.5mm+splitter

That could be what the doctor ordered.

 

[radrianta]

Thanks! How could I not think of that! I have a couple of those at home hahaha.

 

[rickyfernandez]

Awesome, I want to get the pha-3 and had the same concern. This is a great fix.

 

[radrianta]

@rickyfernandez, let me know who the A3 fares against the Z5!
After a few days using the Z5, today I put on my A2 for a while, and everything sounded wrong. Boomy bass, less clarity. I'm now wondering if the A3 would be closer to the Z5..

 

[rickyfernandez]

@radrianta sure will. I actually had the same experience with my A3 and sennheiser ie80. After using the A3 for about month the ie80 don't sound right to me. The A3 have made me less like the ie80.

 

[rlukash]

To me A3 is different than z5, A3's bass, although tight for the most part, is more prominent in the mid and low bass but not sub bass, the Z5 has more bass which goes deeper and doesn't bleed into mids that much. I also seem to get a bit wider soundstage with Z5 than A3, but that could be just my perception. I would say the mids and treble are comparable although Z5 seems to have less prominent treble spikes.

 

[AeroSatan]

To me A3 is different than z5, A3's bass, although tight for the most part, is more prominent in the mid and low bass but not sub bass, the Z5 has more bass which goes deeper and doesn't bleed into mids that much. I also seem to get a bit wider soundstage with Z5 than A3, but that could be just my perception. I would say the mids and treble are comparable although Z5 seems to have less prominent treble spikes.

Pretty spot on, in balanced mode however the Z5 tends to break away from the A3's a bit more in terms of soundstage and overall SQ. Otherwise the A3 is leaps and bounds closer to Z5's than the A2 is to the Z5's

 

[rickyfernandez]

Just started listening to the z5 and I would have to agree with @rlukash. My take, I'm left impressed how good the A3 is. The A3 gets you close to the top while the z5 gets you there and over. I hope to hear the z5 in balanced mode.

 

[radrianta]

Thanks for the comparison between Z5 and A3, seems like I have to get rid of my A2 in favour of the A3 now haha.

 

[dweaver]

Balanced mode really took the Z5 over the top for me. I was glad I avoided cable upgrades so I could afford a Pono player.

 

[rickyfernandez]

Well the z5 passed the ultimate test, my wife loves them. She asked "are those your new earphones". I said "yeah try them". She quickly started moving her head to the songs rhythm. She said "wow these are really good, they don't sound like earphones". I guess my z5's will be missing from time to time haha.

 

[gordec]

Anyone knows if the Z5 can be reshelled? I love them so much that I want to turn then into CIEMs.

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