Mimouille
Headphoneus Supremus
Lotoo Paw Gold sounds much better than the 240 with SE5 Ultimate in my opinion. And no need for an amp as it is very powerful.
Obviously the new Sony sounds good too but it costs 3k...
Spiral Ears SE5 Ultimate Discussion/ Impressions thread
- Thread starter jelt2359
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Obviously the new Sony sounds good too but it costs 3k...
dbq5anlxj
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Mimouille
Headphoneus Supremus
They are but I find the SE5 shine more with more power. They are nice with the 240 but will lack body and weight.
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Hi all,
In an attempt to revive this thread, I'm posting a (cell phone) photo which I just took of my first ciem's, the freshly arrived SE5 Ultimate! They are transparant black with red filling.
In the past few months, I tried to read everything I could about them. I could find a lot about the Reference version, but this thread has slowed down unfortunately. Now, I finally have them in my hands. Now I can enjoy the sound myself!
I wanted to connect them to my Lake People amp which has no mini-jack, but it seems my standard adapter plug doesn't fit on the iem cable (it does on my other iem's). Seems like the headphone jack is slightly shorter than on my other iem's. So listening with my preferred setup will not be for today unfortunately. Unless I can find a suitable adapter. Not sure if I got one.
Listening to them with my DX90 is already very promising though, but I only listened to a few songs. So, no impressions yet.
But happy already!
Hi guys I just discovered this thread and was scrolling through when I found this post! I have the exact same colour combi as you and I think we might have even made them at the same time!
Is your red really as bright as it is in your picture though? Grzegorz posted pics of my se5ult on 1st October last year but my friends were commenting the colour has faded. Thinking about a reshell but it would take a while for me to raise the cash
zachchen1996
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What size are you looking for? Because if you want something transportable, the wagnus epsilon s or mass kobo 404 will do nicely.
steinerhippo
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Hello Spiral Ears SE5 Ultimate owners,
I'm new on this forum and I'm contemplating getting custom in ears. Since most of them are quite an investment, I wanted to make sure to get the right ones and generally, the SE5 Ultimate seem to suit me. The thing is, I haven't had much high-end gear to listen to and thus don't have too much personal comparison between headphones and in ears.
Can any of you maybe recommend a cheap universal in ear that will roughly point in the direction of the SE5 Ultimates in terms of sound signature? I had a look through various threads and I can get my hands on the SoundMAGIC PL30+ which is described as analytical (I had a look at this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/541204/concise-multi-iem-comparison-final-update-march-1st-2013). I know that these are really, really cheap and I don't expect them to sound the same as the SE5 Ultimates. I thought I can listen to some in ears that will just give me roughtly a similar sound signature. Money-wise, I'd be willing to spend a more as well.
I do like to listen to all sorts of music, a lot of which is EDM. I like to hear bass but I don't need it to be overpowering. I just don't want it to be really weak.
Do you guys think it's a good idea to get a cheap pair of in ears to make sure the sound signature is indeed what I'm after?
Thank you for your help
I'm new on this forum and I'm contemplating getting custom in ears. Since most of them are quite an investment, I wanted to make sure to get the right ones and generally, the SE5 Ultimate seem to suit me. The thing is, I haven't had much high-end gear to listen to and thus don't have too much personal comparison between headphones and in ears.
Can any of you maybe recommend a cheap universal in ear that will roughly point in the direction of the SE5 Ultimates in terms of sound signature? I had a look through various threads and I can get my hands on the SoundMAGIC PL30+ which is described as analytical (I had a look at this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/541204/concise-multi-iem-comparison-final-update-march-1st-2013). I know that these are really, really cheap and I don't expect them to sound the same as the SE5 Ultimates. I thought I can listen to some in ears that will just give me roughtly a similar sound signature. Money-wise, I'd be willing to spend a more as well.
I do like to listen to all sorts of music, a lot of which is EDM. I like to hear bass but I don't need it to be overpowering. I just don't want it to be really weak.
Do you guys think it's a good idea to get a cheap pair of in ears to make sure the sound signature is indeed what I'm after?
Thank you for your help
roguepp88
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Sigh. No black Friday deals with Spiral?
dbq5anlxj
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mine se5way ult should come next week. Lol
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I've had my SE5 Ultimate for just over a year now and thought I would post a few comments that may be useful to other head-cases (like me) that own or are considering buying Spiral Ears flagship CIEM's.
My journey started with a visit to Gisele Flowers (Aid2hearing) for my ear impressions. If your going to spend in excess of £1200 on a pair of CIEM's, get your impressions made by someone that knows what they are doing. If you live in London, Gisele has a CV as long as your arm for sorting out the music industry with ear impressions specifically taken for IEM fitting. The lady is quick, professional, comes recommended by the leading manufacturers of in ear monitors (including Spiral Ears) and makes a lovely cup of tea. I sent photos of my ear impressions to Spiral Ears (as per their instructions) and got the 'thumbs up' from Grzegorz Baran regarding fit compatibility within a couple of days. I sent my impressions and the money transfer on the 20th November 2015 and received my SE5's on the 23rd December (happy Christmas to me). Communication with Grzegorz throughout the ordering process was excellent.
First impressions:
The stock black cable with angled plug that comes with the SE5 Ultimate did not fit the 3.5mm reassessed socket on my Chord Hugo. As the sole purpose for my SE5's was 'on the go', I was not best pleased. I had to plug them into a 3.5mm / 6.3mm adaptor I had lying around which made the whole set-up a bit clunky and potentially added a week link to the signal. I contacted Grzegorz and he agreed to send me (free of charge) a set of the graphite coloured stock cables that usually come with the lower end Spiral Ear monitors. What a decent chap. However, this compatibility with Hugo issue is something (in my opinion) Spiral Ears need to consider in the design of their cables going forward.
Sound:
To be honest, my first impressions with the sound of the IEM's was not the outright, mind blowing WOW that I was expecting. Yes, they have an extremely detailed, neutral and spacious sound signature. But, they did not come out head and tail in front of the Westone 3 IEM's that I was currently using, and they just cost me 5 times as much. My home headphone rig consists of PC, Chord Hugo and Grado PS1000's. Rightly or wrongly, I had subconsciously benchmarked the sound quality delivered by this set-up and had expected a similar level of detail (hairs on the back of your neck experience) to be produced by the SE5's. Unfortunately, there was no way at the time I could have tested the SE5 monitors prior to taking the leap and purchasing them. With this in mind, I accepted the insane cost, concentrated on the music and moved on. Over the year the SE5's definitely grown on me. These silicone iem's are the most comfortable monitors I have ever used. You can where them all day (London to Bangkok) without any fatigue or discomfort at all. The sound isolation is exceptional, even on the Underground. The level of detail is impressive and space / separation is truly remarkable for an IEM. Overall, I was happy with my purchase
Upgraditis:
Now, let me be clear on one thing, I am not / was not a cable believer. Yes, I have a Naim Powerline on my Superuniti. It was a drunken impulse buy off ebay when I had some spare cash floating around. I am still not really convinced what (if any) difference this cable makes to the sound of my home set up? Oh well, its in the system now and the initial cost outlay has been long forgotten. Moving on, the problem for me was that I did not like the look of the stock grey / graphite cables that came with the SE5's. After a lot of surfing custom IEM after market cable reviews and deliberation on, do I really need to spend more money on what is perceived by many to be IEM perfection? I settled for a very reasonably priced Quad hybrid semi-Litz UPOCC Cryo 7N cable with a ViaBlue 3.5mm jack from Forza Audioworks. Mmmm! sounds the business. The cable cost around £120 and looked great in the photos. I emailed Matt (Forza CEO I think?) to confirm the 2 pin connectors were compatible with the SE5's, got the ok and parted with my money via PayPal. It took around four weeks for the cable to arrive from Poland which was a bit disappointing. However, when I plugged them in my first impression was OH MY GOD! These cables have completely transformed the sound of the SE5's. In a word, detail, detail, detail. The soundstage has opened up, vocals are far more realistic / natural. I can honestly say that the whole experience is what I was expecting when I first listened to the SE5 monitors. Well done you Forza Audioworks. What have I been listening / putting up with to for the past year?
Jelt2359 responded to me some time ago in an email stating; "SE5 Ultimate is pretty much as good as it gets for soundstage size. The airiness is also top notch, which further adds to the feeling of openness. I can't say that it will definitely meet your needs since you're really talking about IEMs vs cans in general, but put it this way: if this doesn't meet it, probably nothing will". Having spent a lot of time with the SE5's and upgraded cable now, I can not disagree with this statement and should thank Jason for his advice on this.
To conclude, the Spiral Ear SE5-Way Ultimate are (in my opinion) the end game in custom IEM's. I prefer them in every way to the sound signature, detail and delivery of my Grado PS1000s, even on my Naim Superuniti set-up. My on the go set-up (Samsung S7 Edge - Chord Hugo - SE5's) is nirvana for me. I can not imagine how it could be bettered in any department. The sound delivered is truly breathtaking with the right cable fitted. For the price one would expect them to come fitted with a cable of this standard, or am I expecting to much?
A quick final note; the Lindy .5 metre micro b - micro b OTG cable is the best out there for anyone considering an Android set-up similar to mine. Don't be fooled into spending silly money on USB cables. It's digital transfer and they all do the same job. I have tried around 10 different usb cables to date and some fit poorly and some just didn't work at all. The Lindy OTG cable fits well and just works as it should.
My journey started with a visit to Gisele Flowers (Aid2hearing) for my ear impressions. If your going to spend in excess of £1200 on a pair of CIEM's, get your impressions made by someone that knows what they are doing. If you live in London, Gisele has a CV as long as your arm for sorting out the music industry with ear impressions specifically taken for IEM fitting. The lady is quick, professional, comes recommended by the leading manufacturers of in ear monitors (including Spiral Ears) and makes a lovely cup of tea. I sent photos of my ear impressions to Spiral Ears (as per their instructions) and got the 'thumbs up' from Grzegorz Baran regarding fit compatibility within a couple of days. I sent my impressions and the money transfer on the 20th November 2015 and received my SE5's on the 23rd December (happy Christmas to me). Communication with Grzegorz throughout the ordering process was excellent.
First impressions:
The stock black cable with angled plug that comes with the SE5 Ultimate did not fit the 3.5mm reassessed socket on my Chord Hugo. As the sole purpose for my SE5's was 'on the go', I was not best pleased. I had to plug them into a 3.5mm / 6.3mm adaptor I had lying around which made the whole set-up a bit clunky and potentially added a week link to the signal. I contacted Grzegorz and he agreed to send me (free of charge) a set of the graphite coloured stock cables that usually come with the lower end Spiral Ear monitors. What a decent chap. However, this compatibility with Hugo issue is something (in my opinion) Spiral Ears need to consider in the design of their cables going forward.
Sound:
To be honest, my first impressions with the sound of the IEM's was not the outright, mind blowing WOW that I was expecting. Yes, they have an extremely detailed, neutral and spacious sound signature. But, they did not come out head and tail in front of the Westone 3 IEM's that I was currently using, and they just cost me 5 times as much. My home headphone rig consists of PC, Chord Hugo and Grado PS1000's. Rightly or wrongly, I had subconsciously benchmarked the sound quality delivered by this set-up and had expected a similar level of detail (hairs on the back of your neck experience) to be produced by the SE5's. Unfortunately, there was no way at the time I could have tested the SE5 monitors prior to taking the leap and purchasing them. With this in mind, I accepted the insane cost, concentrated on the music and moved on. Over the year the SE5's definitely grown on me. These silicone iem's are the most comfortable monitors I have ever used. You can where them all day (London to Bangkok) without any fatigue or discomfort at all. The sound isolation is exceptional, even on the Underground. The level of detail is impressive and space / separation is truly remarkable for an IEM. Overall, I was happy with my purchase
Upgraditis:
Now, let me be clear on one thing, I am not / was not a cable believer. Yes, I have a Naim Powerline on my Superuniti. It was a drunken impulse buy off ebay when I had some spare cash floating around. I am still not really convinced what (if any) difference this cable makes to the sound of my home set up? Oh well, its in the system now and the initial cost outlay has been long forgotten. Moving on, the problem for me was that I did not like the look of the stock grey / graphite cables that came with the SE5's. After a lot of surfing custom IEM after market cable reviews and deliberation on, do I really need to spend more money on what is perceived by many to be IEM perfection? I settled for a very reasonably priced Quad hybrid semi-Litz UPOCC Cryo 7N cable with a ViaBlue 3.5mm jack from Forza Audioworks. Mmmm! sounds the business. The cable cost around £120 and looked great in the photos. I emailed Matt (Forza CEO I think?) to confirm the 2 pin connectors were compatible with the SE5's, got the ok and parted with my money via PayPal. It took around four weeks for the cable to arrive from Poland which was a bit disappointing. However, when I plugged them in my first impression was OH MY GOD! These cables have completely transformed the sound of the SE5's. In a word, detail, detail, detail. The soundstage has opened up, vocals are far more realistic / natural. I can honestly say that the whole experience is what I was expecting when I first listened to the SE5 monitors. Well done you Forza Audioworks. What have I been listening / putting up with to for the past year?
Jelt2359 responded to me some time ago in an email stating; "SE5 Ultimate is pretty much as good as it gets for soundstage size. The airiness is also top notch, which further adds to the feeling of openness. I can't say that it will definitely meet your needs since you're really talking about IEMs vs cans in general, but put it this way: if this doesn't meet it, probably nothing will". Having spent a lot of time with the SE5's and upgraded cable now, I can not disagree with this statement and should thank Jason for his advice on this.
To conclude, the Spiral Ear SE5-Way Ultimate are (in my opinion) the end game in custom IEM's. I prefer them in every way to the sound signature, detail and delivery of my Grado PS1000s, even on my Naim Superuniti set-up. My on the go set-up (Samsung S7 Edge - Chord Hugo - SE5's) is nirvana for me. I can not imagine how it could be bettered in any department. The sound delivered is truly breathtaking with the right cable fitted. For the price one would expect them to come fitted with a cable of this standard, or am I expecting to much?
A quick final note; the Lindy .5 metre micro b - micro b OTG cable is the best out there for anyone considering an Android set-up similar to mine. Don't be fooled into spending silly money on USB cables. It's digital transfer and they all do the same job. I have tried around 10 different usb cables to date and some fit poorly and some just didn't work at all. The Lindy OTG cable fits well and just works as it should.
dbq5anlxj
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Mimouille
Headphoneus Supremus
No more sentences? "lol". Can't I have and use both?
dbq5anlxj
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Mimouille
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Good because I am about to add the DX200, but the Paw will always be my darlingyou sure can. LOl
dbq5anlxj
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also thank you for the recommanditions. Love this combo.
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