it's good though!
IM02 VS Ortofon - EQ5
Song to test female vocals, guitars, treble, piano, thickness, bass, and soundstage.
Yasashisa no Riyuu, from this link.
Beautiful song it is.
Im02 - BASS: Now, I thought the bass would not show up in this song that well, but it does with gusto! the drums from this track are awesome, though it is the same rhythm. The im02's drumming power has more weight and balance than the eq-5s. The drums and bass are near equal in db to the highs and mids. The texture and tightness of the bass is impeccable, while having a sweet sound to it that makes it slightly warm and smooth.
MIDS: The females who sang this sound so angelic, they're pretty much there in front of you singing a lullaby. Their voices are airy with the im02, smooth, but also pretty clear. The clarity is astounding for having a smooth sound, and not to forget the instruments playing as well. The guitars are more detailed on the im02s, have a bit more crunch, but also have the thickness to help them sound natural, the timbre is better on the im02s. The piano has a great tone and weight to it as well, you can easily hear a change of pitch on the im02s, even on the eq-5, but somehow, the im02 sounded better, possibly due to the forwardness of the mids. Not that much of a fowardness, but a bit nonetheless.
Highs - The cymbals, oh man, they sounded pretty powerful and crisp, yet still smooth for your ears to enjoy. This is a big difference with the im02s as their highs are well extended, and detailed to the point where it reaches the bright limit. It's slightly bright, but no silibance at all. There is awesome texture on the cymbals, and the striking power of the cymbals here are easier to note on the im02s than the eq-5s.
EQ-5 - BASS: Again, the bass is plentiful here, and I have to say, it is impressive how the im02s have similar bass quantity to the eq-5, but since the eq-5's bass is smoother and thinner (the im02's bass is definitely a bit more thicker and not as lean), the bass on the eq-5 would need to ramp up its db to appease an audiophile's crave for bass. The im02 does a decent job at this. The drums sound a bit more dull and thin on the eq-5s than the im02s, and aren't as detailed either. The staging on the eq-5 is cleaner than the im02s due to the thinness, but the im02s have just as good of a clean sound sig as other ba phones.
Mids: It's smooooooth, buttery smooth, not liquid smooth, but damn...it's good. The im02s pale in comparison, but the sacrifice for such lush mids are the details you get to hear from the vocals and instrument timbre. It's not as accurate as the im02s because of this, and the clarity does not disappoint, but for similar pricing to the audio technica offering, it's better to spend the money on the im02 for more detail and a smooth sound sig. Instruments are not harder to discern with the eq-5s, but the weight is gone, and female vocals aren't as forward or airy. That's probably the culprit of the sound sig in the mids, nothing in the sound sig is as airy as the im02s, it feels more enclosed than the im02s, but it is airy enough to compete with other single bas. The guitars aren't as crunchy or as detailed as the im02s, but it is pretty detailed in its own right, just that the smooth sound sig did deteriorate the guitar. When you drink water, you enjoy the feeling of the liquid passing through you, that's how the eqs sound like. The im02s are like how ice cream goes through your throat, you feel the ice cream turn to liquid, but before that, you get that creamy taste as you swallow. That's what the im02s are.
Highs - The cymbals are a bit more....ehh..not plasticky, but definitely not as real or airy as the im02s, especially in the detail. The highs are also too smooth, and pretty thin that you won't hear as much of a depth and great micro details like the im02s. The power of the cymbals also get detracted because of the smoothness, no matter how hard they strike, it'll sound weak and thin. It's also slightly bright, but not as detailed as the im02s, texture is decent, not as great as the im02s, and the fullness is missing again.
Soundstage: IN terms of size, they're similar, but the im02s take the cake by being a bit more wider and taller. The imaging is great on both, but I give the nod to the im02s, especially since I have an easier time hearing the positioning on them than the eq-5s. The eq-5s's thinner sound makes the soundstage sound cleaner, however, which makes image picking easier for the listener, but at the cost of losing the immersion of the im02's. Despite that, the im02s still beat it at soundstage depth and width.
IM02 VS Ortofon - EQ5
Song to test female vocals, guitars, treble, piano, thickness, bass, and soundstage.
Yasashisa no Riyuu, from this link.
Beautiful song it is.
Im02 - BASS: Now, I thought the bass would not show up in this song that well, but it does with gusto! the drums from this track are awesome, though it is the same rhythm. The im02's drumming power has more weight and balance than the eq-5s. The drums and bass are near equal in db to the highs and mids. The texture and tightness of the bass is impeccable, while having a sweet sound to it that makes it slightly warm and smooth.
MIDS: The females who sang this sound so angelic, they're pretty much there in front of you singing a lullaby. Their voices are airy with the im02, smooth, but also pretty clear. The clarity is astounding for having a smooth sound, and not to forget the instruments playing as well. The guitars are more detailed on the im02s, have a bit more crunch, but also have the thickness to help them sound natural, the timbre is better on the im02s. The piano has a great tone and weight to it as well, you can easily hear a change of pitch on the im02s, even on the eq-5, but somehow, the im02 sounded better, possibly due to the forwardness of the mids. Not that much of a fowardness, but a bit nonetheless.
Highs - The cymbals, oh man, they sounded pretty powerful and crisp, yet still smooth for your ears to enjoy. This is a big difference with the im02s as their highs are well extended, and detailed to the point where it reaches the bright limit. It's slightly bright, but no silibance at all. There is awesome texture on the cymbals, and the striking power of the cymbals here are easier to note on the im02s than the eq-5s.
EQ-5 - BASS: Again, the bass is plentiful here, and I have to say, it is impressive how the im02s have similar bass quantity to the eq-5, but since the eq-5's bass is smoother and thinner (the im02's bass is definitely a bit more thicker and not as lean), the bass on the eq-5 would need to ramp up its db to appease an audiophile's crave for bass. The im02 does a decent job at this. The drums sound a bit more dull and thin on the eq-5s than the im02s, and aren't as detailed either. The staging on the eq-5 is cleaner than the im02s due to the thinness, but the im02s have just as good of a clean sound sig as other ba phones.
Mids: It's smooooooth, buttery smooth, not liquid smooth, but damn...it's good. The im02s pale in comparison, but the sacrifice for such lush mids are the details you get to hear from the vocals and instrument timbre. It's not as accurate as the im02s because of this, and the clarity does not disappoint, but for similar pricing to the audio technica offering, it's better to spend the money on the im02 for more detail and a smooth sound sig. Instruments are not harder to discern with the eq-5s, but the weight is gone, and female vocals aren't as forward or airy. That's probably the culprit of the sound sig in the mids, nothing in the sound sig is as airy as the im02s, it feels more enclosed than the im02s, but it is airy enough to compete with other single bas. The guitars aren't as crunchy or as detailed as the im02s, but it is pretty detailed in its own right, just that the smooth sound sig did deteriorate the guitar. When you drink water, you enjoy the feeling of the liquid passing through you, that's how the eqs sound like. The im02s are like how ice cream goes through your throat, you feel the ice cream turn to liquid, but before that, you get that creamy taste as you swallow. That's what the im02s are.
Highs - The cymbals are a bit more....ehh..not plasticky, but definitely not as real or airy as the im02s, especially in the detail. The highs are also too smooth, and pretty thin that you won't hear as much of a depth and great micro details like the im02s. The power of the cymbals also get detracted because of the smoothness, no matter how hard they strike, it'll sound weak and thin. It's also slightly bright, but not as detailed as the im02s, texture is decent, not as great as the im02s, and the fullness is missing again.
Soundstage: IN terms of size, they're similar, but the im02s take the cake by being a bit more wider and taller. The imaging is great on both, but I give the nod to the im02s, especially since I have an easier time hearing the positioning on them than the eq-5s. The eq-5s's thinner sound makes the soundstage sound cleaner, however, which makes image picking easier for the listener, but at the cost of losing the immersion of the im02's. Despite that, the im02s still beat it at soundstage depth and width.
