Westone ES5
Jan 4, 2013 at 11:59 PM Post #5,357 of 5,554
just got an app called accudio for my ipod.
its made by golden ears, and aside from being by far the best equalizer app, and music player app i've ever tried, it has an AMAZING feature.
you can pick your es-5's from a list and download what is supposed to be a perfectly neutralized eq curve made especially for them.
some of you may know i am in relentless pursuit of true neutral, and i have never been able to do as well as they did. 
 
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/accudio-pro/id553759905?mt=8
 
I highly recommend spending $5 and trying out what neutral sounds like, though i have to warn you - if you are set in your ways, or used to the stock sound of the es-5  YOU MAY NOT LIKE HOW NEUTRAL SOUNDS.
 
I personally love it, but it took some serious getting used to.  i had my es-5's dialed in really well and pretty close to neutral already.. but after i heard this,and got used to it, going back to my old eq settings sounded downright muddy, and i quickly realized golden ears had done way better than I had.
 
if you want a REAL shock.. listen to their neutral eq for a while without switching back to the non-eq'd version.. when you switch back you will be shocked..  I always thought the stock es-5 sound was pretty bad, but maybe thats just me.
 
anyway...  i'd love to hear some feedback on this
 
Jan 5, 2013 at 1:20 AM Post #5,358 of 5,554
Just grabbed the app. There's a free version of it on the App Store as well. Pretty impressed so far, don't think my ES5 has ever sounded this clean and spacious before. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Jan 8, 2013 at 1:53 AM Post #5,360 of 5,554
Quote:
Just grabbed the app. There's a free version of it on the App Store as well. Pretty impressed so far, don't think my ES5 has ever sounded this clean and spacious before. Thanks for the heads up!

glad you like it.  I agree, by far the best my es-5's have ever sounded. 
 
i didnt notice at first, but there is a free version of this app, which if all you wand to do is neutralize your es-5's, is all you need. 
 
Jan 9, 2013 at 2:06 AM Post #5,361 of 5,554
The way my particular ES-5 sound in my ears, I simply cannot fathom EVER needing to EQ them to enjoy them.  They are maybe slightly forward in the upper mids, but they are without etch, sibilance or grain in that region.
 
Jan 9, 2013 at 2:17 AM Post #5,362 of 5,554
Quote:
The way my particular ES-5 sound in my ears, I simply cannot fathom EVER needing to EQ them to enjoy them.  They are maybe slightly forward in the upper mids, but they are without etch, sibilance or grain in that region.

 
It would be especially interesting to hear your reaction to trying accudio given that is how you feel.   
 
Jan 9, 2013 at 4:03 AM Post #5,363 of 5,554
Quote:
 
I highly recommend spending $5 and trying out what neutral sounds like, though i have to warn you - if you are set in your ways, or used to the stock sound of the es-5  YOU MAY NOT LIKE HOW NEUTRAL SOUNDS.
 
I personally love it, but it took some serious getting used to.  i had my es-5's dialed in really well and pretty close to neutral already.. but after i heard this,and got used to it, going back to my old eq settings sounded downright muddy, and i quickly realized golden ears had done way better than I had.
 
if you want a REAL shock.. listen to their neutral eq for a while without switching back to the non-eq'd version.. when you switch back you will be shocked..  I always thought the stock es-5 sound was pretty bad, but maybe thats just me.

 
It would be especially interesting to hear your reaction to trying accudio given that is how you feel.   

 
The bold quotes above are why I am reluctant to spend my lunch money on the app (and I already have two different parametric EQ apps that I never use).
 
Jan 9, 2013 at 12:26 PM Post #5,365 of 5,554
Quote:
 
The bold quotes above are why I am reluctant to spend my lunch money on the app (and I already have two different parametric EQ apps that I never use).

there is a free version
wink.gif

 
but hey if you're happy with how they sound thats all that matters.
 
Jan 9, 2013 at 12:32 PM Post #5,366 of 5,554
It's amazing to me with the amount of money spent in this hobby that people are reticent to spend literally a couple bucks on something that is new and innovative and could potentially be very cool. If its not, it should be worth the effort. I downloaded it immediately. The potential value FAR outweighs the possibility I wasted 5 bucks. Even if you don't like neutral, aren't you curious what they came up with here? Use it as a baseline. Only experience can be gained from this little experiment.
 
Jan 9, 2013 at 1:41 PM Post #5,367 of 5,554
Quote:
It's amazing to me with the amount of money spent in this hobby that people are reticent to spend literally a couple bucks on something that is new and innovative and could potentially be very cool. If its not, it should be worth the effort. I downloaded it immediately. The potential value FAR outweighs the possibility I wasted 5 bucks. Even if you don't like neutral, aren't you curious what they came up with here? Use it as a baseline. Only experience can be gained from this little experiment.

For what its worth, i downloaded the free version to try on my jh13. the bass was siginificantly less..i reckon about 50% and a bit of dynamics were lost. The upside is that the soundstage increased, more air,sparkle and a sound i would describe as "light and airy". i could see myself using this app when im listening at very low volumes in bed( only one notch on my ipad) to tame down the bass and make the music lighter.
and no, i dont consider it neutral but it sounds great with the purpose i intend to use for. maybe with es5 its different. Thanks for pointing out this app!
 
Jan 31, 2013 at 6:29 PM Post #5,368 of 5,554
I think the app is great. I alway felt that the female vocals on the ES5s were recessed. This app makes it all better.

Also my left driver might be damaged. I went to UE HQ to get the sweet sweet sounding UE PRMs. I asked them to test my ES5s and the left driver seems to be all fuzzy compared to the right.

 
Feb 3, 2013 at 6:50 PM Post #5,369 of 5,554
I had the ES5's for a week once, they were the best I ever heard in an IEM, far better than the Shure 535SE, I loved the high end Westone sound. I only returned it because of the color of the off red was pink in real life. Should I even consider the IE800 or just go back to the ES5?
 

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