ZhiYin QT5 4BA + 1DD Impressions Thread

[Paulus XII]

   
Can you please get your very well tuned unit measured.  Nik can help you with that.  It would give us better data to work with overall.  So far every unit I've had measurement info on (including bhazards) seems to measure exactly the same - so unless Zhiyin have two alternate tunings, I suspect your "well tuned unit" may be just more of the same.  Real measurements would help.  Thanks.

 
I was kidding about the "very well tuned", but seriously, I have nothing against the tuning. In fact, I like them alot. When I put them in comparison with something like the FLC8S, I see better resolution overall, better treble extension and detail, superior separation, making the amazing FLC8S sound almost veiled in comparison. No matter the filters you use. My question here is if in fact my IEM is different or if this tuning is not for everyone, which starts to make more sense. QC issues or not? Thats why Golden Ear is no longer recommending them, our review was put on hold till we have more feedback/answers/clarification (especially from the maker). 
 
I trust my ears, the measurements tell me little. What does matter to me the most is the fun, the pleasure, the enjoyement they give me and the true audiophile experience. Carlsan has quite a IEM collection and see where he puts the QT5. he prefers them to Angie and several others. This also says something, we're not alone. But now, if they do not work for everyone, something's wrong. I've had a true audiophile here testing my pair and he loved them and also prefered them to the FLC8S and many others. But at this point I prefer not to recommend them, wait some more time and just stay alert to next developments.

 

[bhazard]

  Or maybe I'm loosing my hearing.... 

.

Brain burn can be the case, or yours are actually different.
 
If you still have yours, can you run my EQ settings a page back or so and see if it makes a positive change? Could help determine some things without having a measurement yet.
 
A/Bing with EQ on/off was able to show/hear the lower mids better in comparison. Song used was Gojira - Silvera (great new album from them)

 

[RedJohn456]

   
I was kidding about the "very well tuned", but seriously, I have nothing against the tuning. In fact, I like them alot. When I put them in comparison with something like the FLC8S, I see better resolution overall, better treble extension and detail, superior separation, making the amazing FLC8S sound almost veiled in comparison. No matter the filters you use. My question here is if in fact my IEM is different or if this tuning is not for everyone, which starts to make more sense. QC issues or not? Thats why Golden Ear is no longer recommending them, our review was put on hold till we have more feedback/answers/clarification (especially from the maker). 
 
I trust my ears, the measurements tell me little. What does matter to me the most is the fun, the pleasure, the enjoyement they give me and the true audiophile experience. Carlsan has quite a IEM collection and see where he puts the QT5. he prefers them to Angie and several others. This also says something, we're not alone. But now, if they do not work for everyone, something's wrong, because I had a true audiophile here testing my pair and he loved them and also prefered them to the FLC8S and many others. But at this point I prefer not to recommend and just stay alert to next developments.

In that case a simple set of measurements would go a long way Would another datapoint to give context for the other measured sets. The FLC8S has been reviewed quite a bit with measurements and such, would be nice to see how your QT5 unit measures up against that 

 

[Paulus XII]

 
In that case a simple set of measurements would go a long way Would another datapoint to give context for the other measured sets. The FLC8S has been reviewed quite a bit with measurements and such, would be nice to see how your QT5 unit measures up against that 

 
To be quite frank, I don't care much about how they measure, I care about how do they sound against X or Y. But I'll see what I can do.

 

[Brooko]

   
I was kidding about the "very well tuned", but seriously, I have nothing against the tuning. In fact, I like them alot. When I put them in comparison with something like the FLC8S, I see better resolution overall, better treble extension and detail, superior separation, making the amazing FLC8S sound almost veiled in comparison. No matter the filters you use. My question here is if in fact my IEM is different or if this tuning is not for everyone, which starts to make more sense. QC issues or not? Thats why Golden Ear is no longer recommending them, our review was put on hold till we have more feedback/answers/clarification (especially from the maker). 
 
I trust my ears, the measurements tell me little. What does matter to me the most is the fun, the pleasure, the enjoyement they give me and the true audiophile experience. Carlsan has quite a IEM collection and see where he puts the QT5. he prefers them to Angie and several others. This also says something, we're not alone. But now, if they do not work for everyone, something's wrong. I've had a true audiophile here testing my pair and he loved them and also prefered them to the FLC8S and many others. But at this point I prefer not to recommend them, wait some more time and just stay alert to next developments.

 
This is why we need to get your pair measured.  There is no possible way this pair could make anything seem veiled in comparison.  The Rasiel has more resolution than these - and if you check my review of those, they were extremely bassy and bled into the mid-range.
 
The problem at the moment is that while you may not believe in measurements - right now they are the only things that will tell us whether we are all hearing the same tuned IEMs, or whether yours are different.  That is a very important point to establish - and because its reasonably easy to do - I'm not sure why people are averse to getting it done.  I believe @MuZo2 even offered to measure them for you.
 
If they all measure the same - and there are still differences in what people are hearing, I'd suggest next thing to do would be to get them into the hands of other reviewers for their viewpoints. For that I'd recommend Twister6, HiFiChris and HiSoundFi - maybe Joker too.

 

[Paulus XII]

Yes, I understand that, Brooko. I'm looking at a quick solution. 

 

[MLTKSHHBT]

Because IEMs come and go. And for reviewers then... There's always a new kid on the block.

Are you still having your pair may I ask?

 

[Paulus XII]

Are you still having your pair may I ask?

 
Yes, it's still with me.

 

[Lohb]

   
Yes, it's still with me.

Feel free to add any macro photography to the thread. At least they photograph well
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/699781/the-member-judged-fine-art-head-fi-gallery/1050#post_12623338

 

[chicken beer]

The QT of QT5 must be for Quan Tie (圈铁).

Nice simplified Chinese typing seeing you are from Malaysia~

 

[Brooko]

My thoughts on the QT5 - http://www.head-fi.org/products/zhiyin-qt5/reviews/16328

 

[MUSICCURE]

I've been going back and forth between Mojo and the C&C BH2. Both sound great, but I prefer the C&C BH2 with the sp switch turned on. I'm extremely happy with my purchase. The QT5 has exceeded my expectations and has such a natural smooth engaging signature for me. If this is only a taste of what 4ba 1dd tech offers then am interested in what other iem with similar tech sound like for comparison. Maybe the Shockwave is next...

 

[FUYU]

Well, this adventure was quite the valuable lesson:

> Never post reviews so short after first listening.
> This again reinforced the tuning > quantity of drivers matter (if that wasn't obvious)
> I need a measurement-tool ASAP

Thanks for Brooko for the valuable data.
For anyone else, have fun with your QT5.

 

[RedJohn456]

  My thoughts on the QT5 - http://www.head-fi.org/products/zhiyin-qt5/reviews/16328

Thanks for the review Brooko and really nice of you to include the Curve, as @AudioDHD definitely does deserve to own what a properly well tuned iem sounds like. Must have been a chore to write, but a very needed voice of reason and resource for potential buyers who may be swayed by misleading reviews (not just head-fi, there are blogs with glowing reviews as well). 

 

[bhazard]

Thing is, even as is, I still like it and preferred it over the Shockwave 3 and my other sub $100 sets (did anyone measure that yet?). Would I recommend it still? Hell no. I don't really care about how something looks, as I cared more about getting a silver plated 8 core cable. Insertion was fine to me. Not ideal at 7mm, but not sliding out of my ears either.

Why I still like it, I have no idea. I still think the separation and soundstage is there even without EQ. Measuring is vital now, as I didn't catch the lower mids/upper bass, but felt it was somewhat W shaped, and that was a head smack moment. Kind of embarrassing and will change how I approach reviews from now on. I did spend 3+ weeks with them as a daily, so it wasn't a one night thing. If I can go back and edit, I would change it to 4 stars, as it's still very good on a technical level to me with EQ to smooth out those problem areas. I'd still be interested to see if in fact the majority of ours are duds.

I do need to spend more time with $500+ sets though in comparison. Even the HE-500 didn't engage me enough to keep it more than a year without modding though.