I saw some people were curious about EPZ K5, so I wanted to share my review here too. You can also check out the graph of the K5 and compare it with other iems at my squig:
https://fahryst.squig.link/?share=EPZ_K5
EPZ K5 Review: Everything is too shouty?
Some of you may know the EPZ brand but I assume most of you didn’t hear any of their earphones before. That’s because they are, although not new, not a very popular manufacturer in the global market. However I know they are pretty active in China and Japan. K5 is their current 1+4 hybrid iem. With around a $100 price tag and a premium build and accessories I think the K5 is pretty competitive.
Pros
- Well built
- Decent accessories
- Non-fatiguing listenin experience
- Decent technicalities
Cons
- Recessed mids
- Weak bass
- Unusual tonality (subjective)
Disclaimers
EPZ sent the K5 for review but I won’t be keeping them as they will be going to someone else. As I always say, everyone is biased one way or another so take everything you read with a grain of salt. Also I will try to be more concise and to the point in my reviews from now on without worrying about the word count etc. If you have any questions please ask me in the comments and I will try to answer them to my abilities.
A Little About the EPZ
Roots of the company extends as early as 2008, but as a brand EPZ was established in 2019. They make iems, custom and universal, micro speakers, tws and etc. They also have several dongles and other accessories under their brand name. Right now most notable products in their line-up include K5, 530, Q1, Q5, G10, TP20, TP30 and many more.
Build and Accessories of the K5
The shells of the K5 are made out of resin. They feel nice to touch and are probably skin friendly. The nozzles are long and provide a deep insert if that is important for you. I don’t have the full package since they are loaned to me but I can say the included cable is a decent modular one. It is made out of 6N high purity copper and can be bought separately for around $25. Cable and iems use regular 2 pin connectors and cable entries on the shells are flush. They are not very small but fairly comfortable even for someone with weird shaped ears like me. Carrying case also looks and feels very premium.
Sound of the K5
Although I will try to comment on every part of the frequency range, I don’t want to separate them to different headlines because in my experience they are all tied together and I tend to mention each in another’s headline.
Tonality
Anyway, generally the K5 is a slightly warm iem with recessed mids. They are very easy to drive. In fact they might be the most sensitive iems I have at hand. But that also means if your equipment has a high noise floor you will hear a noticeable hiss.
First thing I noticed was the recessed mids, especially the upper mids are quite relaxed. This might be a good or a bad thing depending on your taste or if you are sensitive to the area or not. Some people are especially sensitive to this area and find most of the recent iems shouty. But if you like your vocals, especially female ones, the sound of the K5 may come as distant and unenergetic.
The presentation of K5 is slightly warm but you may as well call it neutral at this point because what I perceive as neutral (like moondrop or etymotic style) sounds thin to most people. I’m more of a headphones guy and I’m forever cursed (or blessed) by the Hifiman and the Sennheiser sound.
I found the bass in the K5 weak to be honest and that’s probably because of the rolled of sub-bass. There is just not enough power behind every hit. You can also say the transients are fast and if you like it, that is fine. But in the K5’s case I think they are a little too fast.
Treble on the K5 is interesting. Although it is pushed to accentuate the details, it is not overly aggressive. It kind of reminded me Hidizs MS5 that I listened to for a brief period of time but I liked the sound of the K5 much better. It is just much more natural. The MS5, on the other hand, was much more aggressive.
Technicalities
Technically I’d say K5 is decent. Some of the technical prowess of the K5 comes from its tonality like most of the other iems but driver configuraton, housing and implementation also somewhat play a role. The K5 sound decently wide thanks to the recessed mids for example. But also details in the midrange are lost to the rest of the frequency response. Thankfully there is no severe bass bleed that would drown the already recessed mids.
Apart from the mids, the K5 is fairly detailed for its price, especially in the treble. But timbre is somewhat unnatural, still it is not down the drain and didn’t make me want to remove them from my ears.
Short Comparisons
From the iems I have on my hand, I thought comparing the K5 to Audiosense AQ4 and Truthear Hexa made the most sense in terms of price and drive configuration.
EPZ K5 vs. Audiosense AQ4
Compared to K5, AQ4 is much bassier and has more note weight. Also I like Mids on AQ4 better since they are not recessed like K5’s. They are similar in treble, both are relatively relaxed but K5 is safer. All in all AQ4 sounds more balanced.
K5 is wider, compared to that, AQ4 sounds relatively intimate. Imaging is also more precise on K5. Resolving capability and separation of instruments is also better on AQ4. This may be because of the quality of the drivers used in AQ4. K5 may present details more easily because of its tonality but AQ4 sounds more competent. Timbre sounds more natural on AQ4. K5 sounds a little bit more synthetic because of its tonality.
vs Truthear Hexa
Tonally they are the exact opposite. Hexa extends deeper into the bass and has more slam.
K5 is warmer in the lower mids. Rest of the mids are more accentuated on Hexa, female vocals and higher pitched instruments are more energetic on Hexa but neither is harsh. Lower treble or presence region is slightly more relaxed on Hexa therefore it is less prone to sibilance or harshness but neither is really sibilant. Rest of the treble is also more forward on K5. This helps hearing minute details easier on K5. Technically K5 is superior to Hexa in almost every aspect. K5 is wider and deeper but imaging is similar. Only in timbre K5 loses out but not by a big margin.
Conclusion
If you are underwhelmed by Hexa’s tonality or you are allergic to forward upper mids, K5 might be a competent choice. Although K5’s tonality is not my favorite, it never offended me or fatigued me during my listening sessions. For the price, they are very well built and offer premium accessories that would surprise you.
