[RedJohn456]

It makes me sad to see that iBasso has refused to add true PEQ to their DAPs, because they're all I own and multi-band EQ is a **** substitute. It'll be nearly impossible to adjust these things with any real specificity, should I feel the need.

You might end up liking them as they are, so don't fret just yet. I remember reading that members have exchanged their QT5 for store credit at HCK, so SHOULD it come to that, they will most probably look after you in that manner. 
 
So with that peace of mind, keep an open mind and see if its to your liking. You are not SOL trust me.

 

[peter123]

Hang on. Why haven't they talked about it in this forum? It seems weird that they'd agree with you yet not put anything up here beforehand. I know I would be terribly confused, and would want to ask about it, if I heard what you heard considering the 5 star reviews.

Fwiw I've also got multiple PM's from people being underwhelmed with their units a couple of weeks ago. They wanted to know if I had a pair and if so, I felt the same thing.

Not everyone is comfortable to publicly go out against the kind of hype these were receiving in the beginning.

 

[Brooko]

Thanks Peter - I think Avi is getting Vince's pair pretty soon, so i'll be interested to see what he says.  Vince took a quick measurement on his new Veritas, and it seems to have a similar frequency curve. Not as pronounced as the one I took - but that could be the set-up, and different sound-card.

 

[MuZo2]

   
Ok, we all know by now that this is not your signature. Which is odd, but understandable. I think you've told us once you have some kind of hearing related issue? Isn't it possible that this could be the reason why you need more clarity/hot treble to compensate that deficiency, or the IEM won't sound good to you? Like the DUNU DN-2000J that was your perfect sound signature and several others can't tolerate the hot treble/clarity? By the way, I loved the 2000J, but I'm a treble-head and not sensitive to hot treble at all. Because the QT5 is unlike all that, it's a dark IEM, yet extremely resolving.
 
Don't take me wrong for asking you this, I always had this doubt.

No need for personal attacks...
 
There are certain reference curves according to which most headphones and iems are tuned.
 
http://seanolive.blogspot.de/2013/04/the-relationship-between-perception-and.html
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-target-response-curve-research-update#4X0e62YtIPd3DSl2.97

 

[MuZo2]

  Okay well I said I'd post some impressions on the Zhiyin Z2016 so...
 
Awful. Straight up, plain horrible. I think I understand now how many owners of the Qt5 felt.
 
The sound is just off. There's a huge boost in mid bass that brings vocals forward but they sound unnatural and unappealing have have sort of a reverb effect. Bass is loose and boomy and the sub-bass doesn't rumble or dig deep enough. Treble is actually pretty good but at this point who cares?
 
There's an obvious disconnect between the DD and BA drivers as if the maker just threw them all in the casing with no thought towards tuning and cohesion. One thing I discovered is that covering the pinhole port on the rear of the housing makes a huge difference to the sound. I mean huuuge. The bass almost disappears entirely and vocals sound closer to what they should be but the music is left feeling anaemic and lifeless. I've never experienced such a noticeable affect before from covering ports on an iem.
 
The build quality is excellent. The housings look good and feel great, all metal etc. The cable is also quite nice and is longer than average making me think these are meant to be worn over ear but I had problems getting a proper fit when trying to do so.
 
These were my most expensive purchase to date and are probably the worst sounding iem in my collection. I messaged the seller to let him know my opinion in the hope that they try to dissuade other interested parties from buying them.
 
The only positive thing I got from this is that the cable is detachable so at least I have a spare MMCX cable lying around.   

 

[Brooko]

  No need for personal attacks...
 
There are certain reference curves according to which most headphones and iems are tuned.
 
http://seanolive.blogspot.de/2013/04/the-relationship-between-perception-and.html
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-target-response-curve-research-update#4X0e62YtIPd3DSl2.97

 
I don't think there was any attack there.  My tinnitus is well documented, as are my preferences and limitations.  I wish all reviewers would be as thorough - as I find it very useful information (even though others may not). BTW - thanks for those links. First article was a cracker.  it's always amazed me why Bose gets a bad rap - I really rate their QC25 (they're on my list to review at some stage in the future - I bought a pair straight after I tried them).
 
I'm getting more people PM me about their experiences with the QT5.  I haven't found anyone praising them yet.

 

[Lurk650]

I was going to share crabdog's sentiments too. Looks like it 0 for 2 for ZhiYin. Still crazy to me that Easy would listen to his products and recommend what he felt was good, and it seems he was always right. Jim on the other hand will till you to burn in for 100hrs and it will be great when more than likely it will stay terrible. Never buying from HCK again.

 

[TwinACStacks]

Paulo, I had Vince's pair in order to do a review VS other IEMs. I heard EXACTLY the Same thing as Brooko only the mid vocals on Vince's pair weren't as bad. However there was ZERO Detail and Micro Detail even in the Mids.
 
I still give them the benefit of a Doubt. With EQ they could possibly be very good. However they are NOWHERE NEAR the Musicmaker Shockwave III, at least not in my universe.
 
JMHO
 

TWIN

 

[bhazard]

Some SW3 measurements would be nice too. I liked them, but something in the treble just hurt after 30 min or so without eq. I probably would have liked another product that won't be mentioned, but I cannot make that purchase with any trust now.
 
Sucks, but at the rate some of these new iems are coming out, easily forgotten in time when something better takes their place.

 

[Lurk650]

Some SW3 measurements would be nice too. I liked them, but something in the treble just hurt after 30 min or so without eq. I probably would have liked another product that won't be mentioned, but I cannot make that purchase with any trust now.

Sucks, but at the rate some of these new iems are coming out, easily forgotten in time when something better takes their place.

I would make the purchase. I trust him more than the other guy after this ordeal

 

[Yobster69]

Well, mine arrived today. I have stayed away from this thread for a little while, so my brain was not convinced before I received these that I was not going to like them. I'm no expert by any means, a layman even, though I do have quite a few phones of varying prices and I know what I like to hear.
I have had them in my ears for 3 hours now, which in any normal circumstances would be only a drop in the ocean before I would try to pass a genuine judgement on how a product sounds. But hell, these really are so awful that no amount of brain or physical burn in of the drivers will help.
Without EQ I simply cannot listen to them. I am not frightened or ashamed to say I regularly EQ my phones, little adjustments to increase my enjoyment. But these need some massive changes just to sound very average. Sorry, scrub that, below average, and I genuinely have some £30 IEM's in my possession that blow these out of the water, even OOTB.
I must reiterate that this is my impression, and although it may echo some of the more recent comments on these I have not been swayed by what has been said and I was completely open to liking these, even excited to receive them, but I have to voice my disappointment so to give others a chance to make an informed decision.
What a shame........
So, I'll be returning these. I will not be posting them for sale, I could not even pass these on to somebody else, take their money and live with myself.
I am sure others do like them, but they simply are not for me at all.

 

[Carlsan]

Wow, I feel the exact opposite about mine. I was one of the first people to receive mine here on Head-fi. 
 
Here's a theory, the initial batch were done right, with good tuning, good drivers. 
Later batches, the manufacturer changed the drivers with cheaper drivers to make more profit,and didn't update the tuning.
 
Possibility?

 

[Djinnenjous]

I've had my QT5s for a few hours now and while I've barely had a chance to listen to them I can say without a doubt that I am hearing an overwhelming, mountainous bass hump that dominates the music with a ludicrous warmth that swallows microdetails and is anything but highly resolving. While the soundstage is damn near over-the-ear-cans-sized and the instrumental separation is pretty spiffy, there is a pervasive bass hum that rarely seems to fully decay; it's simply ubiquitous, and frustratingly so.
 
Things don't sound completely flat and lifeless to me, but I already have a pair of IEMs with a far more controlled, bassy/warm signature: the Zero Audio DWX-10 Duozas. Those pleased me from the moment I popped them in, and were an absolute steal at $110 USD. The QT5s, supposed competitors to the FLC8S, sound cheap and commercial by comparison—and, quite frankly, I feel like the every car in the hype train pulled a train on me, if you catch my drift . . .
 
Like Yobster69 said, I don't think any amount of regular use will help me learn to love these. The fact is that I had an astoundingly good set of IEMs with a minor defect and instead of trading across the board for a proven 'phone, I put all my money on "00" and spun the wheel like a dumbass. What's worse is that from what I'm hearing here, I can't even get a cash refund from the seller, which I hadn't known when I'd placed my order. Now I'm out the cost of DHL shipping and left without any idea what to buy with store credit I don't even want any more. I'm pretty ********* miserable about this.
 
Oh yeah—and Brooko wasn't nearly harsh enough about the cable on these things. Not only does it look like it was braided by a four-year-old with seven fingers, but straight out of the box mine has a defect. The left channel cuts out with even the slightest tension placed on the cable above the Y-split. So far as I can tell, something is wrong with the pin on the left channel—but hey, it could be the jack on the IEM itself. Why give these things the credit of assuming the cable houses the gremlin?
 
If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go slam my face into my desk until I pass out. Hopefully I'll wake up at my next birthday, when I can actually afford another pair of quality IEMs.
 
EDIT: I'm now fairly certain that the problem with my left channel dropping is a cable issue. If I so much as lightly tap the cable on its shrink wrap there's a momentary static blip, even if the pin doesn't budge inside of the IEM's jack. Whoever built this cable was clearly drunk.

 

[Paulus XII]

  Wow, I feel the exact opposite about mine. I was one of the first people to receive mine here on Head-fi. 
 
Here's a theory, the initial batch were done right, with good tuning, good drivers. 
Later batches, the manufacturer changed the drivers with cheaper drivers to make more profit,and didn't update the tuning.
 
Possibility?

 
That's my theory too at this moment. But frankly,. I'm tired of this ****, just trying to let it go and move on. Not easy though.

 

[Djinnenjous]

   
That's my theory too at this moment. But frankly,. I'm tired of this ****, just trying to let it go and move on.

I can only hope that nothing I ever write moves someone to buy something they hate with money they couldn't spare on a loss. I imagine those of you who receive tons of gear for professional reviews and who participate in every demo tour known to man can move on quite easily from a wasted $250. Some of us can't.