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Showing 1 of 34 conversations about:
pgrozev
32
Mar 20, 2018
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sangviro
45
Mar 21, 2018
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pgrozevI was wondering if the hiss issues are sill present in the 2.0 edition of these iems. Your advice bro?
pgrozev
32
Mar 21, 2018
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Al89To be honest with you the reviews are split in the middle. Some say that there are still some issues with the base cable. Others do not.
What I can confirm is that replacing it with a base SHURE replacement cable fixes the problem everyone that tried it. You can find it for relatively cheap prices at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shure-EAC64CL-Detachable-Earphone-Earphones/dp/B0046HADYG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1521658821&sr=8-4&keywords=shure+replacement+cable
You might be able to score a better deal if you try and find one on ebay. In the end, it's just a cable. So long as someone was not using it to tie his school bag or anything extreme like that, they should do the trick just fine.
Also worth pointing out that one can try and invest in some good cables. However, spoiler alert, the really good ones cost more than the IEMs themselves! If you're that type of guy for whom money is no object, I'd ask why the hell would you consider these IEMs if you can just buy SE846 or a custom IEM tailored specifically to your ear shape and preferred sound signature?! :D
Anyways, there are MMCX silver cables out there for cheaper prices ranging from 30 to 90 bucks. Whether they are any good, I can't say. Never tried them before.
What I can confirm is that replacing it with a base SHURE replacement cable fixes the problem everyone that tried it. You can find it for relatively cheap prices at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shure-EAC64CL-Detachable-Earphone-Earphones/dp/B0046HADYG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1521658821&sr=8-4&keywords=shure+replacement+cable
You might be able to score a better deal if you try and find one on ebay. In the end, it's just a cable. So long as someone was not using it to tie his school bag or anything extreme like that, they should do the trick just fine.
Also worth pointing out that one can try and invest in some good cables. However, spoiler alert, the really good ones cost more than the IEMs themselves! If you're that type of guy for whom money is no object, I'd ask why the hell would you consider these IEMs if you can just buy SE846 or a custom IEM tailored specifically to your ear shape and preferred sound signature?! :D
Anyways, there are MMCX silver cables out there for cheaper prices ranging from 30 to 90 bucks. Whether they are any good, I can't say. Never tried them before.
pgrozev
32
Mar 21, 2018
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sangviroFrom what I read, these seem to be extremely sensitive IEMs. Some say they are an "unfinished" product because of the hiss. Some people tend to not notice it at all. If you listen to MP3 grade tracks on a streaming platform like Spotify or Deezer, you shouldn't have a problem with the hiss.
What is strange to me about the hiss is that I do not believe it is related to track quality. Logic would stand to tell that the more information/kbps a track has, the less sound imperfections/noise is there. So if you listen to quality FLACs, the experience should be substantially better.
What I do think is the case here is the voltage these monitors can take. I read this one comment on just-hifi: I think the IEM itself is hyper-sensitive and very susceptible to issues depending on the pairing. I found the smartphone or Cayin N3 to work best with it as the Fiio X5 and the Xduoo X10 both introduced an audible hiss regardless of cable used. I didn't notice any hiss with the BT module but only used it with the Cayin and the phone that didn't produce it with the wired cable so hard for me to say if it was a source issue since neither of the sources that produced hiss had BT to test it against. I remember something awhile back that showed that Cayin's line out setting (which matches the High Gain at volume 86 when using the headphone jack) is only 1 volt as opposed to the normal 2 volt output of most line out jack in other DAPs. If that is the case, that may be why the Cayin N3 pairs well with the K5 as it has a much lower output voltage than some of the other DAPs and amps that produced poor results. "
Soooo, it will vary depending on the device you are using. I personally use an X-DUOO XD-05 DAC/AMP with a Burson Audio V5i-D OP-AMP replacement in it for portable use and a HiFiMan EF-2A desk DAC/AMP. So I will test on the two. One is a solid state amp and the other is a tube AMP so that will help me test on both.
What is strange to me about the hiss is that I do not believe it is related to track quality. Logic would stand to tell that the more information/kbps a track has, the less sound imperfections/noise is there. So if you listen to quality FLACs, the experience should be substantially better.
What I do think is the case here is the voltage these monitors can take. I read this one comment on just-hifi: I think the IEM itself is hyper-sensitive and very susceptible to issues depending on the pairing. I found the smartphone or Cayin N3 to work best with it as the Fiio X5 and the Xduoo X10 both introduced an audible hiss regardless of cable used. I didn't notice any hiss with the BT module but only used it with the Cayin and the phone that didn't produce it with the wired cable so hard for me to say if it was a source issue since neither of the sources that produced hiss had BT to test it against. I remember something awhile back that showed that Cayin's line out setting (which matches the High Gain at volume 86 when using the headphone jack) is only 1 volt as opposed to the normal 2 volt output of most line out jack in other DAPs. If that is the case, that may be why the Cayin N3 pairs well with the K5 as it has a much lower output voltage than some of the other DAPs and amps that produced poor results. "
Soooo, it will vary depending on the device you are using. I personally use an X-DUOO XD-05 DAC/AMP with a Burson Audio V5i-D OP-AMP replacement in it for portable use and a HiFiMan EF-2A desk DAC/AMP. So I will test on the two. One is a solid state amp and the other is a tube AMP so that will help me test on both.
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https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/magaosi-k5.22812/reviews https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/magaosi-k5.22812/reviews
You will see from the photos that the cables are totally different. I think these are the 2.0.
You can double check that from the photos on the product here: https://penonaudio.com/magaosi-k5.html
To be honest, I will definitely opt for these. Mainly because of the price. Going by the reviews some would even place them in the same category as a SHURE SE535 which in my book is high praise for something that costs more than two times less than the SHUREs.
What the reviews do confirm though is that there is a drop in the sub-bass region. Something a lot of people would be thrown off by. So, this is something to keep in mind.
Another thing to take into account is that these IEMs seem to be a little more forward in the mid-range. Something that may make them too bright to certain listeners. That may or may not be something you could tune in your music apps but it is still a driver characteristic so I would assume they would be a little bright whatever you try.
In any case, these seem like a very good IEM for the price. The cables are an upgrade. I for one hope that I will not have to throw them away. For the standard one, I think I have seen it on AliExpress for around 30 bucks. Hope it is good enough. If not, I have a replacement I could use. Definitely something to keep in mind when buying these. You might find yourself searching for a cable if you don't have another one lying around.
They also do note that a huge plus is these are very comfortable to wear with a ton of tips to play with. For me, this is a huge plus because I often find it hard to get a comfortable fit with most IEMs.
Also, the sound stage, albeit a little undefined (as explained by some) will come as a huge improvement for most listeners. If you are not one of those that already have an SE535 or similar grade IEM, you will most certainly find these as a step up from your current ones.
I am opting in on this one. The bluetooth cable is something I regard as a huge plus so regardless of certain sound impurities compared to higher grade IEMs, these would be a nice addition to my list of cans/monitors. :)