The H5's for Audio

The H5 In Action

Given that this is my first official written “review” of a sound product, I need to think about my control set. The default of just trying a bunch of different songs, videos, games and movies over weeks and months won’t work on the compressed timescale I have to write a review in. Also, just picking my favorite stuff isn’t going to do the review much justice either. In the end, I’ve settled on the following samples:

First up is Tchaikovsky’s Symphony #6, Allegro Molto Vivace (opening few minutes of the third movement) as recreated by Herbert Von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in 1964. This very quick, delicate and precise instrumental section I’ve found over the years has had the ability to show the muddiness and lack of precision of quite a few sets of expensive, high end headphones.

The slightly bass heavy headphones which I tend to prefer are often shown up when listening to this piece because they tend to lack the precision needed to give a decent rendition of the sound, but considering the gamer orientation of the H5 I’m pleasantly surprised that the sound comes through quite well, if not pin prick sharp, it is certainly listenable. More so than on a lot of pseudo or actual multi-channel headphones I’ve used.

Next on the sample list is Eddie Van Halen’s Eruption. This ode to the electric guitar is also quite a precise piece, but requires a very different poise from headphones than the first selection. The minimalist drum intro followed by Eddie letting rip on the Frankenstrat culminates in about one and three quarter minutes of pure rock guitar nirvana.

Here the H5 really starts to shine. The 50mm drivers deliver a decent oomph which is needed for the song and although and aren’t overly bass heavy on the drum/bass guitar intro letting Eddie and the Frankenstrat take center stage as they rightly should. The sound pummels into my brain in a good way and I’m left feeling happy if slightly breathless as Eruption always leaves me. It’s a solid turn from the H5.

Now an absolute personal favorite. Pink Floyd’s Echoes from their Meddle album is an amazing piece. At just over 23 and a half minutes, it’s also one of the longer songs I regularly listen to, plus it has the added bonus of being one of the few songs where the winamp visualizer really makes sense. I’ve added it to the list since it’s a great song for testing audio equipment through several different kinds of music. On top of this, it gives me an excuse to put on the headphones and tune out the wife and kids for a while (shhh, don’t tell!)

Again here, the H5 is a good, solid all round performer. This is the longest I’ve used the headphones so far and in addition to them sounding good, they’re also comfortable with none of the headset fatigue I’ve had from some others.

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