[cooperpwc]

GG, if you odn't mind a brighter sound signature, the Pico Slim has a crisper presentation of the mids - less "veiled" I suppose - than the Stepdance (although I don't have that particular complaint). The Stepdanace has fuller mids. Still waiting on the TTVJ Slim. Never heard the MKII,

 

[ArrigoShred]

Quote:

What do you mean by veil? I always think the ES5's mids are too "full" and the imaging is a bit unfocused.  HP-P1 (Filter 2) with Stepdance, together with the Twag v2 cable correct that to a certain extent, and work best for me. 

Agreed, well with the first bit.

I solve that problem with a more "simple?" rig.
 
iPod Classic -> LOD -> Stepdance 2 

But note that my cables are all silver. Which can be bought from Jaben Audio for 1600hkd for the IEM Cable and 1200 for the LOD.

 

[googleli]

Is the IEM cable ALO SXC? I have two pairs of them, both with the IEM side connector broken...  Last time I bought it, it was more than HK$2K. Have you tried ES5 with your Piccolino?

 

[ArrigoShred]

Haha nope.

Its something that they stocked in Jaben recently, its called the Hippo Silver cable. Theres 3 Versions of it, the one i own being the most expensive
 
And yes I've tried the Crystal Piccolino, great cable but not worth the price.

 

[googleli]

Since this has arrived in the morning I think I will be hands off my customs, including the ES5, for a good while, except for "on-the-go" use, which I know doesn't do great justice to it.  But the ES5 is indeed a very good sounding pair of IEMs and brings me sound quality I could only dream of when going around.
 
I have been using the LCD2 and ES5 interchangeably in the office and sometimes the convenience of the ES5 and certain aspects of its sound just trumped the LCD2 in my opinion. But now it looks like I have found something which is better than both of them for office use.
 
 

 
 
 
 

 

[Joe-Siow]

Pico slim ought to solve that issue. Had it for a couple of months with my ES5. 
 
Along with iQube, the Pico Slim was 2 of the best amps I've ever had.
The Slim is very detailed with great bass and excellent volume control for iem.

 

[moseboy]

Not really a question for this thread, but doesn't the Pico Slim have an issue where it makes your IEMs pop when you turn it on/off if your IEMs are plugged in? I thought I read that somewhere when I was considering getting the Slim.

 

[b0ck3n]

Using an EQ to bump up the 8KhZ by 1dB will solve that "veil" for you. Most headphones I've tried have treble peaks in that region, and I'm not sure whether it's to compensate for an inherent loss of treble that comes with headphone listening (designed to come closer to reality), or whether it's just messed with my frame of reference, but the ES5 seems to lack it. Regardless, I've found that with most music, especially modern productions, that the ES5 does a great job without EQ.
 
I've been listening exclusively to the ES5 for a couple of months now until yesterday, when I popped in my RE-ZEROs for a listen. The lack of bass certainly drew my attention, but what struck me the most was what sounded as a layer of "grain" that masked the entire frequency range. It reminded me of radio static, but it was very subtle, and my ears pretty much got used to it after a while. Putting the ES5s back on it's pretty amazing how "noise-free" they are, and how cleanly they output sound. Also they sound like something about 50 times the size of the ZEROs...
 
 
Quote:

Hey guys, I'm looking for some info on what certain amps do to the ES5's sound.
 
CLAS +:
 
Pico Slim
TTVJ Slim
ALO RX MK2
Stepdance
 
 
I'm looking to get more clarity/detail at the same time, maintaining the original sound. The mids are a bit too veiled for me at the moment, and I have around 90 hours on it.

 

 

[Joe-Siow]

 
Quote:

Not really a question for this thread, but doesn't the Pico Slim have an issue where it makes your IEMs pop when you turn it on/off if your IEMs are plugged in? I thought I read that somewhere when I was considering getting the Slim.

 
 
What I would always do was to on the unit and wait for a couple of seconds before plugging in my ES5.
 
Minor inconvenience but the sound quality makes the little effort worth the while.

 

[moseboy]

Quote:

Using an EQ to bump up the 8KhZ by 1dB will solve that "veil" for you. Most headphones I've tried have treble peaks in that region, and I'm not sure whether it's to compensate for an inherent loss of treble that comes with headphone listening (designed to come closer to reality), or whether it's just messed with my frame of reference, but the ES5 seems to lack it.

 
I agree that the ES5 seems to not have as much "presence" in the ~8 kHz region, which I feel contributes to the slight veil that the ES5 has. (I actually just messaged somebody else about this topic.) The upside is that I personally have not experienced a hint of sibilance or induced harshness once with the ES5. It's very, very easy to listen to, even at high volumes, and I think this trait helps in that way.
 
 

What I would always do was to on the unit and wait for a couple of seconds before plugging in my ES5.
 
Minor inconvenience but the sound quality makes the little effort worth the while.

 
I guess the original Pico Slim didn't do that at all though, so to me that's disappointing.

 

[Tronz]

I was just about to add, but it was mentioned already. The ES5's has a smooth upper midrange with no "WOW effect peaks". This greatly reduces the chances of induced sibilance and leads to a easier, fatigue free listen.

 

[Girls Generation]

CLAS worth keeping?
 
TTVJ vs. Pico?

 

[Joe-Siow]

Quote:

CLAS worth keeping?
 
TTVJ vs. Pico?

 
Definitely Pico Slim for me. TTVJ would make ES5 sound too thick and syrupy as its a mids based amp.

 

[reelraw]

Guys how does the ES5 come against the Unique Melody Miracles
in terms of sound quality and built quality?

 

[uelover]

Quote:

 
Definitely Pico Slim for me. TTVJ would make ES5 sound too thick and syrupy as its a mids based amp.

 
Pico Slim with CLAS is a no go for ES5. Sounds good at first but after a while the sound is very fatiguing and robs ES5 of its lushness.