EarSonics ES5 Review – An Expansive Audio Experience
Earsonics ES5
USD1099
Pros
- Precise engineering, excellent fit and build style
- Impressive staging and imaging with precise dynamic clarity. Very immersive
- Versatile for many musical genres
Cons
- Pricing may be beyond some peoples budgets
- Stock cable and storage case could be improved
- Decay a little fast a times
Sound Signature:
As always the most important part of any earphone review is the sound signature. The tips selection is okay but for my ear shape and signature preferences I used SpinFit tips, these helped with tighter precision of detail. It was relatively easy to get a snug secure fit and good seal with these also.
Bass tuning is tight and weighted sufficiently to be inline with the rest of the sound signature. You still get a nice rounded slam at times but the size of the bass is in no way dominant but well textured and with a controlled natural style. For me this keeps the coherence extremely well balanced, so there is no masking or veiling over the musicality.
Mids are smooth but not warm in nature, navigating the presentation to cover the ranges beautifully and adding to the musicality. In conjunction with the excellent imaging and staging this results in a very enjoyable experience, ensuring the emotion and passion is always present. The ES5 in ear mointor earphones portray a sense of intensity and space due to the dynamic nature of the signature.
As EarSonics have made some specific tuning refinements in the upper regions, treble detail is tight and articulate, resolving quickly with instruments sounding realistic and clean. Care has been taking in this area as we know this area of the frequency spectrum is very sensitive to most. I am pleased to say EarSonics know how far to push this area to squeeze the most of out of these compact 5 driver universals. Resulting in no spiking or harshness, even for longer listening sessions these are very comfortable.
Where this signature really has something special is in the sound staging area. With the right track and good fit you get a sense of the the staging projecting outward and creating realistic well positioned imaging. The scale is pretty grand and expansive when you are fully immersed in the music. The spacial positioning of the images have a sense of 3 dimensions really adding to the experience and certainly for me resulting in getting lost in the music for much longer than planned. EarSonics have impressed the earphonia.com team in this area of tuning.
The layering of the sound signature is technically well balanced, you can clearly identify the separation distinctly, the ES5 expertly weaves the layers creating a rich tapestry of sound, with all the instruments positioning clear and true to the original recordings. There is a breath of airiness amongst the layers resulting in a perceived wider sense of range, positively adding to the listening experience.
Detail is precise and the slightly fast decay gives a real level of energy and clean edges to the sounds. This feels a little too fast at times for me and at certain times I think slowing the decay a little would add to the smoothness and musicality however for the most part this aspect gives the ES5 earphones a very enjoyable versatile character .
The musicality gives a range of accessibility across many musical genres, however I wouldn’t call the signature simply a fun one as that seems to take away from the impressive technical ability of the tuning. Finding the balance for the mainstream and the audiophiles is always difficult but I think the ES5 does an admiral job to satisfy both opposing audiences.
As expected the French wizards have conjured up another expertly tuned earphone to add to their already vast catalogue of refined sound signatures.
The team at earphonia.com look forward to experiencing more of your excellent earphones in future.
