[Anaxilus]

Give us another impression after a few weeks.  See if they sound the same as you described here.  

 

[tman87]

What color were those? I thought candy blue was lighter than that? Mine are on the way, I am definitely expecting lighter blue than that. Cross my fingers lol.
 
Quote:

After 2 months of long wait (1 month for refit), I have finally gotten my ES5. I did a closed jaw ear-impression and the custom still fits me tightly, perhaps a little too tight to my liking.
 
Out of the box, ES5 sounded pretty raw. I can hear some good micro details but then I was like, is this thing really worth me spending over USD1k+ on? Did I make a wrong decision with ES5 instead of UERM or JH13?
 
I went back and puts on the Twag V1 OM cable and let them burn in for 20hours. The sound really opens up. I am no longer sure if I could find a headphone at this price level that could trounce ES5 in terms of sound quality. The sound is warm, detailed, accurate, and well-balanced.
 
It does not have the coloration of Audio Technica iems/cans that make female vocals ever so seductive (which I personally love), does not have the well-extended highs, does not have a super large soundstage, and neither does it have great transparency.
 
However, the tonal balance is very accurate, natural and lifelike which I would guess that these will make ES5 an all-rounder performer while excelling in none.
 
I did a short test on how my two amps sounded with ES5.
 
Equipments used:

1. Mac (Audirvana v0.82) with ALAC Redbook CD Rip (Tested tracks: Carpenters' Yesterday Once more, Fujita Emi's Moon River, Hayley Westenra's River of Dreams)
2. Cheap 3.5mm to 3.5mm connector
3. iQube V2
4. Meier Corda Stepdance
5. Twag OM V1 Cable
6. Westone ES5

 
I have chosen to connect the amps directly to my Mac via a cheap 3.5mm interconnect cable to get rid of any unwanted impact on the sound due to the cable used.
 
Setup:
 

 
My ES5:
I was hoping for a lighter tone of blue but it came pretty dark. Nonetheless, it looks amazing under direct sunlight. Problem is, it will be pretty dark when worn unless I fit a little lamp inside =)
 

 
With iQube:
The soundstage on ES5 is very large. Resolution is extremely high. Everything sounded balanced, analytical, and transparent. It is a good complement to the warm sounding ES5 to enlarge its soundstage and adds micro-detail retrieval capability. This combination, together with iQube V2 onboard DAC, may make a real good studio monitoring gears as the sound is dead neutral.
 
It has a mellow characteristic too and coupled with its above-mentioned traits, iQube makes it a good amp to for easy-listening, piano, string instruments, classical music with ES5.
 

 
 
With Stepdance:
Soundstage and resolution is lower than iQube. However, the Stepdance brings one into the mood of the music. It is a little warm sounding but the tonal balance is excellent. One can feel the emotion of the singers with Stepdance which makes it an excellent amp for vocals and perhaps pop/rock.
 
 

 
Personally, because I am a fervent lover of vocals and jazz, I would prefer the sound of Stepdance with ES5 as it produces a sound that is so engaging that I couldn't take it off. I believe that this amp appeals more to the masses while iQube appeals to a niche market.
 
Overall, I don't think anyone will make a wrong decision to pair either amps with ES5 depending on the type of sound you are looking for.
 
 
PS:
I would like to thank gozalo for extending the wait for this Stepdance which I have sold to him last week but have held back the postage for the sake of comparing it with iQube on my ES5. I am listing my iQube V2 on the FS thread too. Will be downsizing my portable rig and at the same time see if I can get enough funds from them to get myself an UERM =)

 

 

[tman87]

Can someone tell me the difference between the monitor saver and the desiccant that comes with the case? Also, are the cleaning wipes worth it, or can you use pretty much anything? Want to know if I should either or both to my order before it ships.
 
Thanks!

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Can someone tell me the difference between the monitor saver and the desiccant that comes with the case? Also, are the cleaning wipes worth it, or can you use pretty much anything? Want to know if I should either or both to my order before it ships.
 
Thanks!

tman87, the dessicant pods are identical. This is great becasue I am using the pod that came with my ES5 in the Monitor Saver. The pod that came with the Monitor Saver is still sealed and waiting as a replacement.
 
...which leads to the next point. Because the Monitor Saver is so much smaller than the Pelican case, the dessicant is much more effective. It dries the ES5 quicker and better, and you also only have to recharge it in the microwave every few months. It will last much longer.
 
I am a huge fan of the Monitor Saver.
 
Are they still selling the cleaning wipes?. The big Audio-Wipes cannister is good if you find it on the Internet.  Worth it IMHO. (The individually packaged Audio-Wipes are actually a different formula which contains some alcohol. That isn't good for the vinyl so you have to wipe that off quickly.)

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

Can someone tell me the difference between the monitor saver and the desiccant that comes with the case? Also, are the cleaning wipes worth it, or can you use pretty much anything? Want to know if I should either or both to my order before it ships.
 
Thanks!

 
Well, as cooper mentioned, the Monitor Saver is much smaller than the one inside the case.  And to clarify, the desiccant in the case is inside a little pod embedded in the case, so it can't be removed and used portably like the Monitor Saver.
 
I personally think the zipper clam case that Westone sells and the UE hard TF10 case are the best options for transporting customs, I don't think that much moisture gets inside of the tips or shell--I'm not using these while I work out and I don't sweat much otherwise.  But maybe I'm wrong.

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Give us another impression after a few weeks.  See if they sound the same as you described here.  

 
Both amp used for this impression write-up were gone to good homes. Was rushing to compare them with my ES5 to make sure that I wasn't missing out on big things also before my downsizing begins =)
 

 

[cooperpwc]

Quote:

Quote:
 
Well, as cooper mentioned, the Monitor Saver is much smaller than the one inside the case.  And to clarify, the desiccant in the case is inside a little pod embedded in the case, so it can't be removed and used portably like the Monitor Saver.
 
I personally think the zipper clam case that Westone sells and the UE hard TF10 case are the best options for transporting customs, I don't think that much moisture gets inside of the tips or shell--I'm not using these while I work out and I don't sweat much otherwise.  But maybe I'm wrong.

Dj, I really don't understand your post. The dessicant pod in the Pelican case can of course be removed. Just pull it out. It is the exact same pod that comes with the Monitor Saver. The Monitor saver is a small white "pill box" case that snaps shut. The dessicant pod goes in the bottom, followed by a thin piece of foam, followed by the ES5.  Everything is snug and the IEMs stay dry. It works like a charm.
 
 

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uelover /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
...
 
Out of the box, ES5 sounded pretty raw. I can hear some good micro details but then I was like, is this thing really worth me spending over USD1k+ on? Did I make a wrong decision with ES5 instead of UERM or JH13?
 
...
 
It does not have the coloration of Audio Technica iems/cans that make female vocals ever so seductive (which I personally love), does not have the well-extended highs, does not have a super large soundstage, and neither does it have great transparency.
 
However, the tonal balance is very accurate, natural and lifelike which I would guess that these will make ES5 an all-rounder performer while excelling in none.

Well done on the review, thanks for putting that together.  I'd probably agree that the ES5 is a good all-rounder, although like you I think it excels in vocal/midrange heavy music.  I don't own the JH13, but I'd actually say the JH16 is a bit more neutral overall, especially in the upper midrange and midbass, and those features might make it even more the "jack of all trades."
 
I'd say that the highs are extended, they're just not particularly bright or sparkly.  They're not dramatically different to me than the JH16's highs, which may be slightly more prominent.  In terms of transparency, the JH16 may have the slight edge, but again I wouldn't say that the ES5's transparency is poor at all.  But if absolute transparency is what you're looking for, and if my experience with the UERM demo was accurate, the UERM probably edges out both the ES5 and JH16.

 

[dj nellie]

Quote:

Dj, I really don't understand your post. The dessicant pod in the Pelican case can of course be removed. Just pull it out. It is the exact same pod that comes with the Monitor Saver. The Monitor saver is a small white "pill box" case that snaps shut. The dessicant pod goes in the bottom, followed by a thin piece of foam, followed by the ES5.  Everything is snug and the IEMs stay dry. It works like a charm.
 
 

 
Hah ok, that's news to me.  I haven't tried to pull out the pod in the case yet, I basically just stuffed the case in my closet and forgot about it.  But the pod doesn't have a lid like the Monitor Saver, does it?  If not, it doesn't seem very practical to take out, and the pod would need the pelican case to be closed in order to keep the customs dry.

 

[cooperpwc]

DJ, ypu are definitely not pcturing the concept.   
 
The dessicant pod has to be inside a sealed case with the ES5 to work. The Pelican Case and Monitor Saver both qualify, but the Monitor Saver is much smaller so the dessicant pod works more effectively.
 
I will try to post pics tomorrow. It's getting late here.

 

[tman87]

Ok, so if I were to bring the big nice case every time I use them, is it worth it to buy the monitor saver? Can you not "recharge" the built in one? Or is the monitor saver more for little cases. Is the big Audio-Wipes can what westone sells? Is that a brand name? 
Quote:

Quote:

tman87, the dessicant pods are identical. This is great becasue I am using the pod that came with my ES5 in the Monitor Saver. The pod that came with the Monitor Saver is still sealed and waiting as a replacement.
 
...which leads to the next point. Because the Monitor Saver is so much smaller than the Pelican case, the dessicant is much more effective. It dries the ES5 quicker and better, and you also only have to recharge it in the microwave every few months. It will last much longer.
 
I am a huge fan of the Monitor Saver.
 
Are they still selling the cleaning wipes?. The big Audio-Wipes cannister is good if you find it on the Internet.  Worth it IMHO. (The individually packaged Audio-Wipes are actually a different formula which contains some alcohol. That isn't good for the vinyl so you have to wipe that off quickly.)

 

 

[tman87]

Alright, I didn't realize the monitor saver was a case. (I think), is the desiccant pod in the monitor saver add any value if you just use the big case every time?
 
Quote:

Ok, so if I were to bring the big nice case every time I use them, is it worth it to buy the monitor saver? Can you not "recharge" the built in one? Or is the monitor saver more for little cases. Is the big Audio-Wipes can what westone sells? Is that a brand name? 


 

 

 

[Jazzyfi]

Yes, it really protect keeps the earphone dry. You can see that the desiccant will change color to black when it absorb water. Just microwave it for max 1 minute, do it 2 - 3 times until the color return to yellow/white.
 
Quote:

Alright, I didn't realize the monitor saver was a case. (I think), is the desiccant pod in the monitor saver add any value if you just use the big case every time?
 


 

 

 

[Wildcard30]

Ok so I took some quick pics with my iPhone of 3 different cases discussed the Westone pelican case, The UE small hard case, and the Westone Monitor Saver.
 
Group shot of the three cases.
 

 
The Westone Pelican
 

 
The UE Small Hard Case
 

 
The Westone Monitor Saver with Desiccant Pod
 

 
 
Hope this helps.

 

[dj nellie]

Cool, thanks.  I'll have to try to remove and actually use my desiccant pod.  Wildcard, have you given your impressions of how the UE11 and ES5 compare yet?  If not, I'd like to hear them.