[ApertureSilence]

I own the CA and listened to the YH-5000...with all due respect no contest..no offense

None taken. I’ve heard both as well.

 

[Zhanming057]

I own the CA and listened to the YH-5000...with all due respect no contest..no offense

The CA-1a is excellent - and I was a (the?) early adopter of the SR1a's - but they are still rather lean and no longer have the staging advantage of the SR1a. My motivations for running the YH-5000SE over a ribbon headphone are mostly not SQ related - comfort, ease of driving them with a DAP, and being (subjectively) more suitable to the genres I listen to.

That said, I consider these among the best non-ribbon headphones on the market, and I would build a system around these over the Susvara any day of the week. More precise imaging and better coherence IMO, and much less dependent on power which IMO is always a good thing.

The Abyss TC is also nice, although I could never get them to seal properly on my head without a lot of fiddling, and they have the same issue of rather high power demand.

 

[jlbrach]

agreed ,the raal HP's require more effort due to amping requirements...but damn they sound fantastic

 

[betula]

For some reason I haven't seen THIS video review linked in yet despite it is 12 days old. (A written review was linked earlier from them.)

 

[adrianm]

For some reason I haven't seen THIS video review linked in yet despite it is 12 days old. (A written review was linked earlier from them.)

Yeah, i'm not very convinced. This is too polarizing a headphone to trust a reviewer I don't know. Waiting for someone I actually trust. *cough* @Currawong *cough*

 

[betula]

Yeah, i'm not very convinced. This is too polarizing a headphone to trust a reviewer I don't know. Waiting for someone I actually trust. *cough* @Currawong *cough*

I feel the same way. The 5000SE does seem quite system chain dependent. That could explain some of the controversies.

 

[XERO1]

Where the Final still bests the Yamaha is in bass. Not only does it have more extension, but it also scales a lot better. I was actually able to get the Yamaha bass to distort with Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy at a high (but not insane) volume. So yeah, this is one for normal listening, not for cranking

 

[kith86]

Well.. Nuf said

If that's true that bass distort on specific track and on specific volume level, that's somehow deal breaking and disappointed, similar or remind me of the famous somehow certain model of Focal that has mechanical clipping distortion on certain bass heavy track, just saying.

 

[betula]

Just because one member experienced clipping on a demo unit I wouldn't immediately and completely write off brand new headphones. That seems a bit hasty. D8000 drivers can clip too on bass heavy tracks above normal listening volume. That is simply not intended usage. There are a lot of happy D8000 users. Who knows, maybe something wasn't quite right with that demo 5000SE. Audition, audition, audition. Don't make final conclusions based on a few comments.

 

[Undun]

Audition, audition, audition. Don't make final conclusions based on a few comments.

+100. Same goes for relying solely on measurements. There is no substitute for your own ears, and there will never be.

 

[ApertureSilence]

Just because one member experienced clipping on a demo unit I wouldn't immediately and completely write off brand new headphones. That seems a bit hasty. D8000 drivers can clip too on bass heavy tracks above normal listening volume. That is simply not intended usage. There are a lot of happy D8000 users. Who knows, maybe something wasn't quite right with that demo 5000SE. Audition, audition, audition. Don't make final conclusions based on a few comments.

There was actually a pretty big group of Head-Fi-ers at Audio46 the day before the con, and we all heard that unit. I pointed the clipping out to @GoldenOne and he verified it too. The Korean review that was posted a while back (the one with the kinda gross-looking frequency graph) also mentions a lot of distortion in the bass. So I do think it's real BUT it was not a deal breaker to me. My subjective listening experience was hugely positive.

 

[betula]

There was actually a pretty big group of Head-Fi-ers at Audio46 the day before the con, and we all heard that unit. I pointed the clipping out to @GoldenOne and he verified it too. The Korean review that was posted a while back (the one with the kinda gross-looking frequency graph) also mentions a lot of distortion in the bass. So I do think it's real BUT it was not a deal breaker to me. My subjective listening experience was hugely positive.

It might be real, but many people experiencing the same headphones won't make the claim sound more valid if that was a defective pair. We need reports from more 5000SEs to treat this observation as a fact.

 

[ApertureSilence]

It might be real, but many people experiencing the same headphones won't make the claim sound more valid if that was a defective pair. We need reports from more 5000SEs to treat this observation as a fact.

Oh sure, something being wrong with the demo unit is still a possibility, I just wanted to note it wasn't solely "one member's" experience.

 

[GoldenSound]

I did experience the clipping, though on a very bass heavy track and at volumes far louder than I'd ever listen.
Other headphones like Focal and Final do also do this.
IDK, something to be aware of if you listen loud, but if you listen at normal volumes I don't think it's a problem.

I didn't like the headphones mostly due to the treble unfortunately. Beautifully built but just didn't enjoy the sound at all

 

[ApertureSilence]

Funny, the treble presentation is what really sold me on the thing. Then again, I also liked the "bad" leather pads better than the "good" suede ones, so to each their own.