[b0ck3n]

The ES5 is still quite new, especially in Europe. I've had some mail correspondence with Stefan Voortmans at Variphone, and he offered me the ES5 at €845 (~£720) which by rough math equals to Westone America's listed price + duties and fees. However, they don't do artprints, but they will do engravings. These engravings are ridiculously expensive however, listed at ~€180.
 
I'll be ordering my ES5 from Earplugstore, to which I linked before, as they are based in the US and that ES5 will be made at the Westone labs. They do artprints, and by the looks of it, they do them better than anyone else. To avoid having to pay taxes I'll ask them to make the invoice $10. I'm sure the people over at Variphone are very competent, but I wouldn't be able to shake that nagging feeling that maybe my ES5 doesn't sound exactly as it should.
 
@Anaxilus: I believe I forgot to mention that the ES5 demo is indeed single bore.

 
Quote:

Hi Guys, anybody here had their ES5 made by Variphone Belgium?They have their own lab , and make them. Is not possible for us in London to order them from Westone America wich is a shame.
Can you please shamre your experiences with Variphone if you purchased them from them and what price you've paid.
Your help and advices regarding this matter will be much apreciated.
Levi

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

 
@Anaxilus: I believe I forgot to mention that the ES5 demo is indeed single bore.
 

Thanks for the confirmation.  Hope it all works out for you.  

 

[rudi0504]

Dear Googleli
 
Thank you for your advise and try to order Westone ES 5 from Jaben Singapore or Hong Kong, which ones is cheaper?
 
The reason i have so many IEM, because i do not know the sound quality before i bought them,
 
in Jakarta we do not have shop Like Jaben or Kingsound Hong Kong, that we can directly compare the Sound quality
from many brand , before we buy The earphone.
 
Last month by Jaben Hong Kong i can compare the sound quality between Shure SE 535 and Sony MDR EX 1000.
and i bought Sony MDR EX1000, because in my ear the sound quality from Shure SE 535 is not so much differenet from my SE 530.
 
Cheers

 

[Tronz]

Anyone here in the process of making an ES5 review?

 

[dallan]

Well I am now looking into these.  Has anyone complained of bone conduction or noise walking with them?  I feel like a broken record but I have heard the Westones may be better in this department.  Setting up an appt with a Westone Audiologist out here to see what she says too.  The JH13 is great but can't use it portable due to the noise, which kind of defeats the purpose.

 

[LCeh]

So had a brief listening session with the W4 today, so don't take this too seriously, but I will give it what I have got:
 
A little background info first: I listened to the W4 with the small Shure grey tips (I used the medium with my W3 just for reference), and listened to them through the HM-601. I had to turn up the volume to get the same amount of sound I get from the ES5
 
Compared to the ES5, the first thing I noticed was that the clarity and transparency wasn't quite as there, vocal sounds a little bit more veiled. Second of all, the mids were a little more forward, in other words, I got a little less details out of the highs, and  less quantity and punch of bass compared to the ES5. But overall, the sound signature was definitely similar, and the soundstage wasn't that different either.
 
Obviously with universals, the tips and fit affects the sound a whole lot, so I will try to get a longer audition session when I have more time, but so far, I would say, considering it is quite a bit cheaper than the ES5, if you haven't heard the other high-end customs and is satisfied with the bass of the W4, you probably aren't missing out too much with these.

 

[spazz]

After talking to Westone for many months and reading the reviews on the ES5, I am finally going to the Audiologist and going to order the ES5.
 
Right now, I'm using Shure SE535 with custom plugs from Sensaphonics.
 
Do you think that I will hear a difference?
 
Can't wait.

 

[Wildcard30]

The difference between universal and custom Iems is very noticeable.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

Well I am now looking into these.  Has anyone complained of bone conduction or noise walking with them?  I feel like a broken record but I have heard the Westones may be better in this department.  Setting up an appt with a Westone Audiologist out here to see what she says too.  The JH13 is great but can't use it portable due to the noise, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Dave (great name!

), i'd suggest going to Francis Miranda as Jerry Hrvery recommends her as one of the 2 best people in the country for making  impressions (i bet you are thinking along the same lines). i'm not sure if your problem is about bone conduction or not. but the fact that applying gentle pressure to the shells alleviates your problem, along with the fact that you've had the ear canal portions rejiggered multiple times, suggests to me that your problem is the way the rest of the device fills your conchae. i think if you had better impressions that it would fill both the canals and conchea taking out slop in your fit and reducing or eliminating the problem you have when you move with iems in place.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

After talking to Westone for many months and reading the reviews on the ES5, I am finally going to the Audiologist and going to order the ES5.
Right now, I'm using Shure SE535 with custom plugs from Sensaphonics.
Do you think that I will hear a difference?
Can't wait.

if you can't hear a difference between two sets of iems with two different sound signatures then something is wrong. that seems painfully obvious. is that really the question you meant to ask?

 

[dallan]

Quote:

Dave (great name!

), i'd suggest going to Francis Miranda as Jerry Hrvery recommends her as one of the 2 best people in the country for making  impressions (i bet you are thinking along the same lines). i'm not sure if your problem is about bone conduction or not. but the fact that applying gentle pressure to the shells alleviates your problem, along with the fact that you've had the ear canal portions rejiggered multiple times, suggests to me that your problem is the way the rest of the device fills your conchae. i think if you had better impressions that it would fill both the canals and conchea taking out slop in your fit and reducing or eliminating the problem you have when you move with iems in place.

Thanks Dave, yeah i talked to Frances, she doesn't seem to know what the problem is and wants to check all possibilities.  She also wanted me to do some type of hearing test first so i had to wait for my 13's to get back to do it.  I really think that a lot of the problem is the material.  I don't think i will be able to completely get rid of the noise but lessen it due to the use of materials that Westone uses in their shell.  

 

[daveDerek]

i don't think the shells are made of different materials, just the tips (between the jh13 and the es5). but since locking them into your conchae with external pressure helps the problem, i think that part of the shell may be the problem for you. hopefully an FM impression will help you out here. (and pls update with your experiences in this thread, following the instructions in the first post: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/440466/the-audiologists-impressions-thread-pun-most-definitely-intended )
but for now why not try some chewing gum or blu tak in your conchae and see if tha thelps with your jh13s!

 

[spazz]

I've always been a fan of Shure, but I really want custom IEM's.  Please forgive me, I"m a newbie on this forum, but I really enjoy music and wants to hear the best.  
 
As for the comfort on the ES5, how do they feel for long period of time?

 

[daveDerek]

spazz, welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet! ....
there is no best. different folks like different things. there  are a number of products that are generally considered first rate though and amongst iems the es5 is up there but it also has company such as the jh audio 13 & 16, as well as some top tier customs from other manufacturers such as ultimate ears, fit ears, ear sonics, and some others. jh audio is on the verge of releasing a product that may make me take back that statement about 'there is no best' - the jh3a (do a search for more info on it).
customs for many are very comfortable, and the es5s with their soft tips are supposed to be very nice, but for some folks, well they cannot tolerate sticking things deep into their ear canals. fit is critical with customs so don't just go to anyone to have impressions made but rather go to the person with the best reputation. (see the thread referenced in my previous post to this thread). btw, it's useful to fill out your profile with at least your location, gear present and past, and musical tastes. this sometimes allows folks to give you a more appropriate response.

 

[music_4321]

 
Quote:

Thanks Dave, yeah i talked to Frances, she doesn't seem to know what the problem is and wants to check all possibilities.  She also wanted me to do some type of hearing test first so i had to wait for my 13's to get back to do it.  I really think that a lot of the problem is the material.  I don't think i will be able to completely get rid of the noise but lessen it due to the use of materials that Westone uses in their shell.  

As DaveDerek says, "i don't think the shells are made of different materials, just the tips (between the jh13 and the es5)". I think you might want to read this post carefully: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/539898/review-future-sonics-mg6pro-ear-monitors-dynamic-driver-custom-fit-in-ear-monitors#post_7280028 -- and perhaps ask the poster to give you more details as Future Sonics use a different material in their shells. Not sure that would solve your 'problem' but you may get some additional information.