Japan is a special country in everything, and their approach to creating audio equipment was no exception. Now I will not say the obvious things about big well-known companies like Sony or, for example, JVC. In Japan, there are many products that are well-known in a narrower circle of admirers of high-quality sound, the latter also include Ortofon e-Q5 headphones, which will be discussed.
Despite the fact that the company's roots go back to Denmark, where the parent company Ortofon, which traditionally produced cartridges for players, was founded, the headphones were made in Japan, which is what the proud inscription says on the packaging. Unlike the same Audio-Technica, trying to be universal, Ortofon chose a different path. The first thing that comes to mind at the sight of e-Q5 is the Japanese principle of sibumi, meaning inner beauty, without excessive external pretentiousness, aesthetics of restraint and functionality.
e-Q5 uses broadband reinforcing emitters, so the developers decided to stop using one receiver ear, which in turn made it possible to do without a crossover, phase matching problems and other difficulties associated with a multi-band design. It is worth noting that the Ortofon headset uses a slightly modified version of the reinforcing emitters manufactured by Yashima Electric, called Siren Armature. Their difference lies in the fact that the magnetic core, which moves inside the coil, through which current flows, acts as an anchor. This core sets the cone in motion, creating a sound. In some ways, the design resembles a dynamic emitter "vice versa". This principle of operation allows us to obtain a combination of the good dynamic range of a conventional radiator and the detail of traditional fixtures.
These headphones are not so frequent guests in our stores, so I had to order them from fortunately, they deliver shopping worldwide. They can buy Ortofon e-Q5 for about $ 200, which, taking into account the delivery, gives a price comparable to the “global” price for this model. If you live in Russia, this model .
Specifications
- Emitter: siren armature
- Frequency range: 10 Hz - 20 kHz, ± 3 dB
- Sensitivity: 118 dB @ 1000 Hz
- Impedance: 40Ω
- Maximum power: 5 mW
- Weight: 15.9 grams
- Cable: balanced, 1.2 m
- Plug: 3.5mm TRS
Package and Delivery
Theater begins with a hanger, and headphones - with packaging. And it is here that that Ortofon “magic” becomes visible. The e-Q5 box is very small, made from neat, thick cardboard. Inside is a cylindrical tin jar with a lid, decorated in black and red shades. In it you will find headphones in a foam clip, three pairs of silicone tips of different sizes, a pair of foam tips, two pairs of replacement fabric filters, fixing rings for them and a tool for replacing filters and cleaning headphones.
Ortofon's silicone earpieces are very good, they are thin, soft, but they are well insulated from external noise and have excellent acoustic properties, many other headphones play with these tips better than with native ones.
As you can see, the delivery kit is very, very happy, it has everything you can wish for, except that a tin jar is still not the most convenient case for storing headphones, but this is a nagging one.
Design and wearing comfort
Like the box, the design of the headphones is made according to the principle “as simple as possible, but nothing more.” e-Q5 are made in the form of round cylinders made of aluminum, and the cable comes exactly from the center of the "bottom". This design allows you to wear them and wire down, and ear method, and also provides a comfortable fit, if, of course, you have not quite small ear canals. e-Q5 come in three colors: black, silver and red, each one looks very cool, and the build quality is close to perfect. To distinguish between the left and right channels, colored rings are used at the cable outlet, at the right earpiece it is red.
The wire itself is quite reliable, in silicone insulation. Before the splitter, it is thick, after it - thinner, due to this, the headphones are more comfortable to wear. It hardens in the cold, but it is not critical, it does not get tangled much, the microphone effect is there, but again it is tolerable, and during the behind-the-ear landing it almost completely disappears. The plug and splitter are plastic, but due to their size they are very reliable.
Since the Ortofon’s tips are very good, and there are no projections on the case, the headphones are comfortable to wear and have good (if not perfect) sound insulation.
Sound
The following equipment was used for listening.
- Yulong DA8 as a DAC and Amplifier
- Resonessence Labs Concero HP as a DAC and Amplifier
- Apple MacBook Pro Retina 2013 as a source
- Fidelia as a player
- Fiio X5 and Shanling M3 as portable players
- VSonic Gr01 and HiFiMan Re600 as headphones for comparison
- High-resolution recordings in Lossless-formats (Dr. Chesky The Ultimate Headphone Demonstration Disc and others)
Before listening to the headphones were heated for 48 hours.
Using Siren Armature allowed to get a sound, in some way intermediate between normal drivers based on a balanced anchor and dynamic emitters. From the e-Q5 fittings, the detail and excellent micro and macro dynamics were achieved, and from the “dynas” - good bass and pleasant, not sharp HF. All together it gives a sound, comfortable and convenient, as favorite slippers. There are no artificial accents in their sound, no attempts to achieve any effect in the sound, no distortion of the scene.
The low frequency range is very cool. Sometimes it seems that the usual dynamic emitter plays, only very detailed. The bass has physicality and power, combined with texture and excellent study. LF is superbly controlled and play exactly as it should. Where necessary, they give out peals and beats, and when there is no need for this, they fade into the background without any problems, creating the basis for all music. I can also note the good depth of the bass, unusual for single-driver reinforcing emitters, and unlike dynamic headphones, e-Q5 do not break into a buzz, and play the lowest bass in the same detail as the rest of the range. On complex electronic music, for example, it rediscovers many songs.
Middle frequencies are slightly advanced, not as much as, for example, in Shure solutions, but more delicate and more modest. This step gives the headphones from Ortofon a musical "middle", emphasizing the emotions and nuances of the sound. The midrange is good in terms of speed, they are not smeared and this allows the headphones to build a very good in depth imaginary scene with excellent separation of instruments. The width of the e-Q5 scene is not breaking records, but also very, very good. This range for my taste is just such an “as it should be” - without accents in the direction of brightness or darkness, without the need to choose between musicality and monitorability. Complicated recordings with a variety of stereo effects will surprise the listener by opening to the full.
The high frequency range is also well established. The balance of the number of HF will be observed in a very correct proportion, on the one hand - the sound is energetic, airy, with the transfer of the slightest nuances, on the other - there is almost never a sharpness, excessive brightness and sibilants (unless, of course, they are not in the record). There is a small peak somewhere around 7 kHz, but it practically does not manifest itself. The well-developed HF range shows itself particularly well on chamber music, piano records, wherever the smallest nuances of the instrument need to be conveyed.
In general, e-Q5 is the rare case when the sound of headphones is good in its price range from almost all sides. Naturally, more expensive models can be somewhat better, but in the price range up to 300 dollars, finding a replacement for e-Q5 is very, very difficult.
Compatibility
Headphones are not capricious to the source, so they can be used with smartphones, tablets and regular players, unless, of course, you feel sorry for ruining their potential. I tried them with iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air and SanDisk Sansa Clip, with all of them this model sounds very good. By the way, great synergy is observed in these Ortofon with vintage player Rio Karma.
e-Q5 is genrely universal, although the quality of records for them should be chosen as best as possible.
conclusions
Pleasant on all sides headphones, with a mass of merit, ranging from excellent sound and ending with a comfortable design. Despite the fact that e-Q5 has been released for a long time, they are not going to yield to more modern competitors. Japanese sound engineers managed to combine the best of the world of armature and dynamic emitters, presenting headphones, both detailed and musical.
The article is based on materials .
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