Thanks, guys for valuable. Went for the SE215m+ recently, sounds not bad at all with remarkable isolation and regconisable sound from Shure, warm and forward, the top end is very well controlled (better than many. The effective noise blocking from these somehow made me question the quality of z5 so I had to switch back to the z5 right away. Guess what? Oh Lord, totally forgot how the Shure sound lol, how much I love these sweet sounds and details (both tested straight out of my iphone 6s using lightning to 3.5mm adapter I got from my friend) realize how good our Z5s are, saving for PHA-3 and the upgrade balanced cable to see its full capacity, just can't wait!!!
And the cable from Shure with inline mic of this special edition works fine on z5 but make it sound a bit less premium: more forward, less details, a bit colored and narrow down the soundstage compared to the stock cable. Not much but of course noticeable for z5 fans.
Plus, my friend is coming back from Japan and I am considering getting him help with a pair of EX1000 or EX800ST/7550. I did read some comparisons between them and the Z5 somewhere this thread but seemed like it was too soon for a adequate impression of the Z5. Can anyone tell me how do those legends sound compare to the z5? Superior or inferior? Are the sound signatures different?
Thanks, Linh.