Alright so thoughts.
Firstly, this is entirely in bypass mode, because just like with Hifimans, the i5 profiles in the X9 to my ears all sound off, to my ears the bypass mode sounds the most musical and neutral to the headphone's factory signatures, whereas the LCD-5 must be used with PEQ else they sound rubbish.
Size
Yeah they are pretty massive, thicker than the Hifimans, but feels fairly light on the head, although physics is still physics, so on the head moving my head around, conservation of momentum makes them want to flop about. The Hifimans do not want to flop about because of the combo between pad shape, size and thinner side profile keeping the weight closer to the ears.
And for the lols, size against the LCD-5, look how small they are
Hifiman pads taper to be thinner at the front, so you can see how thick the u5 pads are all round as the Hifimans above are showing the back of the back.
Materials/Construction
I'd compare the material quality to somewhere in-between the Aryas and Ananda Nano. The yolk/headband metal is thin and sharp cut around the edges, similar to the Ananda headband metal, the pivot/rotation system for the cups are damped in the middle by what appears to be a single washer, on rotation the metal from yolk arm and metal on the headband make contact creating a grinding noise which is more audible than the grinding on the Arya headband.
The headband height adjuster is odd on my sample, the right adjuster does not have as much friction as the left, I tightened the screw on it but that made no difference. Doesn't seem to move by itself on the head though, so I can ignore that I guess.
Here's a quick comparison vs the HE1000se headband, not a fair comparison directly as the HE headband rotates on teflon plates so will never grind, I don't have the Arya any more else I'd have done that, but this gives you an ambient sound reference point still:
The damped hinges and pivot also means the cups don't freely move about, some light-persuasion is needed.
The wood looks and feels nice though, the gloss coat isn't as high quality as that on the LCD-5, but then again there is a galaxy sized price difference between them.
The headband suspension strap is supposedly real suede, but it's way more bouncy in how pliable it is vs the suede strap on the HE1000se. It feels about half as thick though so maybe this is why.
Some interesting observations were made after taking off the pads to check out the drivers. Compared to reviews, the release version seems to have a bung plugging the rivet hole on the diaphragm (the white dot), review samples had an open hole and one reviewer who blocked his one up said the sound was worse by doing so, so it looks like Fosi made last minute design changes to the tuning and chose to bung the hole. seems you can pull the white bung out of course but I did not try this.
The bass ring is also easy to remove, it's not stuck down, just freely placed in a circle recess:
I listened with and without the rings and noted a loss of bass extension, it sounds more like a dynamic driver level of bass, HD800S levels I'd say, good but not planar punchy in depth/extension. The upper end does come out a bit more with the rings removed though, it's subtle but noticeable.
Cables
The single ended cable is generic in quality. Feels the same as what Hifiman updated its cable design to. Nothing special, good quality, not very pliable...
The 4.4mm upgrade cable however is awesome, I love the copper coloured ends and how lightweight it is, it's the same length as my Tripowin Granvia 4.4, but is half as thick and easier to manage on the desk:
The other thing I like about it is how tactile plugging it in is, listen to this clunk
The XLR adapter is the exact same as the FiiO one I bought off Amazon. Kind of wish it was also copper coloured though, would have looked cooler.
Pads
The spare pads in the box are not the same as the ones pre-installed. I knew my eyes weren't lying to me, the spare ones are not perforated:
Though having listened to music with the spare ones on, doesn't seem to sound any different, so I guess it's just for comfort/breathability.
Comfort
Been listening for hours now and whilst there is no discomfort, the headband strap does apply noticeable pressure in the middle of the head, it's more noticeable because it's a thin suspension strap unlike on the Hifimans.
Even though the earpad opening is smaller than the Hifiman pads, the inner sidewalls do not touch my ears, yay! There's a lot of comfort in the pads, memory foam so expected.I Don't like the material used on the face contact area though, it's the same material that Hifiman use on its pads, would have much preferred velour. Aftermarket pads may not be so easy on these as fitment is via velcro.
Otherwise, long sessions are no problem it seems, though not as comfortable as a Hifiman (Arya and above egg shapes). The HE1000se/Arya Stealth feel invisible on my head with the velour memory foam pads installed.
Sound
Way back I suspected that this would likely beat the Ananda Nano and perhaps match but not beat the Arya Stealth. I think that's a fair statement to make now in listening to them. The bass is there in extension but the impact of that extension isn't as alive if that makes sense, it feels more laid back rather than fast. The mid range is there but elevated slightly, the upper mids likewise, meanwhile, the top end is not as sparkly or as detailed as the Arya Stealth, it has treble detail, but it's not as high resolution as what the Arya seems to be capable of.
Soundstage and imaging feel about on par, though, but the overall sound signature feels slightly lighter than the Arya Stealth. I'm not going to compare to the HE1000se much as it would be unfair, the HE1000se is noticeably fully across the entire range and especially up top where there is detail that even the LCD-5 cannot produce to my ears, but as said before both offer a different flavour which may suit certain tracks over others so both have their place.
The i5 sounds like what I would expect a £300-£450 planar to sound like I would say. the Arya Stealth is around 3550 currently, I think it offers more comfort, a fuller sound and more detailed bass extension. This probably goes back to the STAX references in the i5's tuning, as the STAX model in particular talked about by reviews doesn't have deep extending bass either.
I think the Kickstarter price we paid (£340~) is very fair for what we have here with the extra pads and cables. If the final RRP ends up being over £500 then I would pick the Arya Stealth, but then you ideally need to replace the pads to memory foam velour, and buy a balanced cable which adds further cost, probably another £70 just there on top. If the i5 comes in at £600, then the Arya Stealth is a no brainer with those extra add-ons.
I will sell the i5 on, but I will be keeping that awesome upgrade cable
Will chuck the Tripowin cable in with the i5 instead.
