[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Avoiding of feeding the rumour mill at the expense of the confidence of the average consumer who forked out his hard earned money to purchase the company's product simply does not sound acceptable to me.
 
Actually, the problem is not how much the product costs. The crux of the problem to me is the treatment that is being dished out to the consumers who have the confidence in the products that are being sold by Westone. Westone's products, besides sounding excellent, also enjoy a good reputation in the industry due to it's very good customer service. I could easily have gone to Ultimate Ears for their customs, but I didn't; simply because I am confident in Westone's products both musically and well as the way they do their business. As plesed as I am Westone's excellent turnover time to my RMA, I am also disappointed in them evading my question as to how the fault occurred. Their action do not inspire confidence in me as a consumer. And because I am a paying customer, I firmly believe that Westone has an obligation to not only me, but also the rest of the paying customers in this forum.

Hey, I'm just speculating.  If that's not good enough then write back to them with your concerns and ask your question again.  I still don't think they or anyone else is obligated to give more detail than "It broke and we fixed it, sorry it happened."  Would it be nice to have a more detailed answer?  Sure.

 

[helljudgement]

Quote:

 
If I were a reader trying to form an opinion based on your perceptions, I'd be very cautious.  You seem to come away with very different conclusions than the average listener.  While I appreciate the added information and your effort, I think posts that clearly run counter to accepted opinion can be dangerous to buyers.   
 

I've tried the mage on two separate occasion. It sounded a bit bright and its clarity is among the best I've heard but when I tried it again a few weeks ago, it sound darker and not as clear and it is more laid back than when I first heard it. I think they might have re-tuned its sound signature for reasons I'm not sure of but it does sound very different.

 

[Qonad]

So what is the sound signature of the Westone ES5s like?

 

[RockaRolla]

Quote:

So what is the sound signature of the Westone ES5s like?

i would say its balanced with a slight tinge of warmness

 

[Joe-Siow]

Anyway, back to the Miracle VS ES5 impressions. I picked up my HD600 earlier in the afternoon, and also took the opportunity to re-audition the Miracle again. This was my impressions.
 
 
The Miracle is able to hold its own against ES5. ES5 is slightly brighter while Miracle is slightly darker in SQ. Miracle also comes across to me as more relax sounding than ES5, with ES being largely neutral with a tinge of warmness.
 
Bass:
Miracle hit the low notes lower as compared to ES5. But please do not be mistaken that ES5 is a bass light customs. They are not; just that Miracle hits lower. Both has the quality and quantity with the bass. To my ears, ES5's bass transient seems to be quicker.
 
Mids:
Westone's signature mids nicks it for me. Smooth and magical. Miracle's mids are quite neutral and not coloured. ES5's mids are slightly warm, but only slightly. Vocals sound equally good for both, with ES5 sounding slightly more forward and intimate than Miracle. Miracle sounds more laid back and relaxed and quite rich, though less intimate than ES5. I guess this is ES5's magical Westone mids at work here. I prefer ES5's mids.
 
Highs:
Miracle's best performing department in my opinion. Like ES5, Miracle's highs are very very smooth and very transparent and clear. Both customs have lots of details and airiness. But ES5 shades it for me cause I feel my ES5 has a sparkle in its highs. But make no mistakes, Miracle really impressed me with its highs.
 
Miracle's soundstage was very slightly wider and detailed than ES5. ES5's instrument separation is on par with Miracle's though.
 
All in all, I prefer ES5 to Miracle. But I can see why Miracle has the potential to be a hit. It is cheaper than ES5 and JH13, yet it sound on par with the other big 2. Miracle's biggest strength is its highs and soundstage. ES5's strengths are its magical mids and clarity. JH13 is famed for its versatility for the many genres of music. So the general crowd will be happy with either 1 of the 3.

 

[Joe-Siow]

Quote:

you know the funniest thing was when i demoed the miracle, i found it inconsistent. i could tell theres more bass and its very revealing, but only acoustic and alternative rock seemed to be engaging while the rest of the genres like house, trance, lounge, and even a musical soundtrack sounded completely dull and flat.  i'm thinking it might be the seal or something off with the pair i tried. anyways Janice from thinking group has gotten back to me and shes qouting SGD$1450 for ES5 including shipping but no impressions, and SGD$150 for custom art work. any kind singaporean souls willing to let me have a listen? I'll buy you coffee? =D
 
 

PM me to see if we can work something out
 

 

[3X0]

I'm aware of three (possibly more, but I haven't perused around enough) complete failures of single earpieces on the ES5s on this forum, but I'm not sure where they're all from geographically. I understand that the ES5 is quite relatively popular in Singapore, which from my visitations seems to be exceptionally hot and humid year-round. If the three+ failures all occurred in similar conditions (or even all in Singapore, given the popularity), then the moisture they mentioned in the response might somehow be a culprit. I'd keep a desiccant bag in your case with the ES5s just in case.

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

ES5 however sounds very different. Comparing it to JH13, it is equally transparent and clarity is excellent. Soundstage is wider than JH13. However, if JH13 comes across as a bit analytical and dry, ES5 is more listenable; reason being ES5 is a wee bit warmer and also airier. Despite just sporting a single bass driver, rest assure that bass is not lacking and quality of it is very good. But if u prefer IE8 bass, please look elsewhere. The signature magical Westone Mids is still there. The highs are quite crisp and very very smooth.

Can you please clarify how you compared the ES5 to the JH13?  I assume you heard a universal demo of the JH13?  If so, it would help to clarify that when posting impressions.  Listing of source and amp would also help.  Thanks.

 

[3X0]

Personally I don't think universal demos are very useful for comparative purposes. They're mainly for getting a singular impression of a custom's signature before a big plunge IMO.

 

[Joe-Siow]

 
Quote:

Can you please clarify how you compared the ES5 to the JH13?  I assume you heard a universal demo of the JH13?  If so, it would help to clarify that when posting impressions.  Listing of source and amp would also help.  Thanks.

 
I auditioned the universal demo of JH13 at Jaben before I got my ES5. I clearly remember the SQ of JH13, simply because it took my breath away when I first auditioned it. The clarity and transparency of the IEM was simply unrivalled in anything that I have tried up to then. It left an extremely deep impression on me.
 
The source was ipod video 5.5G with Pico amp with DAC and a copper/ silver hybrid LOD that I used on my ES5 when I got it. The source and amp with the LOD did not change.
 

 

[Joe-Siow]

Quote:

Personally I don't think universal demos are very useful for comparative purposes. They're mainly for getting a singular impression of a custom's signature before a big plunge IMO.

To a certain extend, I have to agree with you.
 
The JH13 demo that I tried in Jaben was simply marvallous in terms of fit and SQ. But the JH16 was horrendous. The bass was just so booming I could not hear the mids and highs.
But I was pretty sure I managed to get a fairly good idea of what the JH13 was capable. Like I said, the SQ of JH13 blew me off. No other IEM had that effect on me. Yet I preferred my ES5 after I plunged in blind after getting the impressions from forumers here.

 

[Kunlun]

Quote:

I'm aware of three (possibly more, but I haven't perused around enough) complete failures of single earpieces on the ES5s on this forum, but I'm not sure where they're all from geographically. I understand that the ES5 is quite relatively popular in Singapore, which from my visitations seems to be exceptionally hot and humid year-round. If the three+ failures all occurred in similar conditions (or even all in Singapore, given the popularity), then the moisture they mentioned in the response might somehow be a culprit. I'd keep a desiccant bag in your case with the ES5s just in case.

There were a few on westone's facebook page, too.
 

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

Anyway, back to the Miracle VS ES5 impressions. I picked up my HD600 earlier in the afternoon, and also took the opportunity to re-audition the Miracle again. This was my impressions.
 
 
The Miracle is able to hold its own against ES5. ES5 is slightly brighter while Miracle is slightly darker in SQ. Miracle also comes across to me as more relax sounding than ES5, with ES being largely neutral with a tinge of warmness.
 
Bass:
Miracle hit the low notes lower as compared to ES5. But please do not be mistaken that ES5 is a bass light customs. They are not; just that Miracle hits lower. Both has the quality and quantity with the bass. To my ears, ES5's bass transient seems to be quicker.
 
Mids:
Westone's signature mids nicks it for me. Smooth and magical. Miracle's mids are quite neutral and not coloured. ES5's mids are slightly warm, but only slightly. Vocals sound equally good for both, with ES5 sounding slightly more forward and intimate than Miracle. Miracle sounds more laid back and relaxed and quite rich, though less intimate than ES5. I guess this is ES5's magical Westone mids at work here. I prefer ES5's mids.
 
Highs:
Miracle's best performing department in my opinion. Like ES5, Miracle's highs are very very smooth and very transparent and clear. Both customs have lots of details and airiness. But ES5 shades it for me cause I feel my ES5 has a sparkle in its highs. But make no mistakes, Miracle really impressed me with its highs.
 
Miracle's soundstage was very slightly wider and detailed than ES5. ES5's instrument separation is on par with Miracle's though.
 
All in all, I prefer ES5 to Miracle. But I can see why Miracle has the potential to be a hit. It is cheaper than ES5 and JH13, yet it sound on par with the other big 2. Miracle's biggest strength is its highs and soundstage. ES5's strengths are its magical mids and clarity. JH13 is famed for its versatility for the many genres of music. So the general crowd will be happy with either 1 of the 3.

*curses* Those two are the two customs I am interested in as well as the UERM but they have issues with the silicone so not looking at them seriously until those are resolved. That makes me want to get both

 

[shigzeo]

I am extremely happy to say that I finally got a chance to hear the ES5 at CES! It was a universal demo and I didn't expect to hear so much strong, tight bass from a WESTONE custom. The truth is that I should have been ready for it since the W3 and the UM3x have great bass response, but still, the ES5 blew me away. 
 
I won't be going for more custom earphones for a while, but if I did, I'd be very tempted to get this one. 

 

[GTL]

Interesting that so many seem to think ES5s are better than the JH13s. Apart from Headphoneaddict, anyone else has both the custom version of the ES5s and the JH13s?