[Notes] Auditioning the Philips A5 Pro at JiaWei

As someone who owns both the Philips S2 and the Philips X1,
it would be a lie to say I had no expectations for the A5 Pro that Philips released in collaboration with Armin Van Buuren, XD

So the moment I learned there was an audition in Taipei last weekend (5/24–5/25) at JiaWei,
I went there early Sunday morning, a little after 10, to give the A5 Pro a listen.

I should tell everyone up front that this A5 Pro was offered for audition without having been run in,
so the impressions may change after run-in. But my guess is the change won’t be large;
usually the tonal change after run-in is less noticeable on easy-to-drive headphones—there’ll be improvement, but no dramatic change.

Let me give the conclusion first, then explain the details and the comparison with the Philips X1.

Conclusion:
The A5 Pro is a very easy-to-drive headphone. Basically the three frequency ranges are balanced: the highs are clear and bright but not harsh,
the mids are middle-of-the-road without particular emphasis, and vocals aren’t pushed forward—
they’re the kind that blend in with the backing music.
The bass isn’t the big, sweeping kind like SONY’s (maybe that’s my bias @@, apologies),
but more like DENON’s—a punchy, hits-the-flesh feeling.

Overall it sounds like: rhythm, rhythm, beats, beats, high resolution, transparency, for DJ monitoring work.

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T h e D e t a i l s
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First, a note: when we tested, we told JiaWei’s owner we wanted to use the Firestone CUTE HD set (Beyond HD + Spitfire HD + Supplier HD) for the test.
The owner was a bit puzzled and said he could understand it if we just wanted more drive power,
but basically this headphone is great straight out of a source, and our test results bore that out—
with or without an amp, there was basically no difference.
The X1, on the other hand, I feel is still designed more for home use, so the difference with an amp/DAC is noticeably larger.
(PS: we used the Firestone set only because I’m most familiar with it.)

1. The highs
   Basically the high-frequency direction is a lot like the X1 before its cable swap: clear and bright, but not harsh at all.
   Even the “cymbal” strikes that should theoretically be harsh aren’t harsh… which personally I find a bit odd.
   After I fitted my X1 with the Oyaide HPC-35 upgrade cable, I personally feel it became more normal—what should extend upward
   really does, a bit harsh but overall very clear and bright.
   It’s just that the A5 Pro’s cable connector has a latch to prevent it from slipping out,
   and I’m not sure whether that’ll affect things later if you want to swap cables…
   Then, probably because the overall direction differs, I feel the X1’s highs (before cable swap) are more muddy,
   while the A5 Pro’s are very clean and transparent.

2. The mids
   During testing we used the Firestone CUTE HD set, and in my environment this set
   pushes vocals more forward and drives them better. But during the test
   I didn’t find the A5 Pro to have that trait; basically I feel the midrange vocals
   are the blend-with-the-backing kind—but not an indistinct mush; you can clearly pick out each instrument,
   its performance and its beats. The resolution is very good; at the very least, if I were driving the X1 straight, I’d not be able to separate it all.

3. The bass
   Basically I think the A5 Pro’s low-end doesn’t dig as deep as the X1’s, but for ordinary use it’s already plenty.
   Personally I’d say it reaches the DT880’s level, and the beats are very accurate—even on very fast tracks,
   every beat can still be heard clearly. It’s just a shame there’s less of that X1 feeling where even the headphones vibrate.

4. The soundstage
   In my listening, the X1 clearly has a bigger soundstage than the A5 Pro; even the DT880 is bigger than the A5 Pro.
   But for DJ monitoring, I don’t think soundstage is that important—what matters is the beats,
   and whether each instrument’s character can be clearly resolved. A smaller soundstage can actually make these details clearer.

5. Overall
   As with my conclusion at the start:
   rhythm, rhythm, beats, beats, high resolution, transparency, for DJ monitoring work.
   For DJ monitoring work and users who like resolution and transparency, it really is a fine headphone,
   but clearly it’s much less musical than the X1, and it lacks that lazy, laid-back continental European air.
   If the X1 is more like the HD650, then I’d say the A5 Pro is like the DT880.
   Personally, for home use I still prefer what the X1 gives me,
   and if I really had to head out, the A5 Pro could be a consideration—but I personally lean toward a vocal-oriented sound,
   so I’d probably still choose something like the SHURE SRH840 or SRH940!

6. Conclusion
   For the A5 Pro, I think it’s a bit harder-edged and more analytical, and correspondingly less of an all-rounder,
   but for listening to pop, rock, heavy metal, EDM, and the like, it’s still quite suitable.
   It’s also easy to drive and easy to store, making it great for going out or wandering around;
   whereas the X1 should stay obediently at home, used with better gear—then brew a cup of tea/coffee and sit or lie back lazily,
   using it to watch movies or listen to something mellow, and not just mellow songs.

In the end, it just comes down to what you like and how you want to use your headphones, XD
If you’ve got money, just splurge on both (oops).

The impressions above contain a lot of personal subjectivity, but I still hope everyone can join the discussion together, ^^