ET5 coming in to replace ET3SE

[medward0]

Greetings joe_marsh,

In my system, the ET5 is head and shoulders above the ET3SE: soundstage much larger, more coherent & musical, treble is smooth, extended, and detailed (the ET3Se by comparison sounds "tizzy" and annoying...and the Sophias don't hide anything).

I had the ET3SE for many years and have loved it...but over time I found it more and more annoying, especially when I turn up the volume.

There is a smoothness and naturalness that the ET5 has that is seductive. Loads of detail and that detail is naturally presented in a solid, coherent, large soundstage. I can turn up the system higher than I could with the ET3SE, which always seemed unduly harsh at loud volumes with anything other than an all tube amp...and then the bass was kinda soft and lumpy.

Bass on the ET5 is great as well...tight, tuneful, detailed and in the proper tonal balance and in the right places on the soundstage.

I'm about 1/3 way through the 500 hours of break in...every day, I sit down and get pulled into the music to listen and enjoy. It's great to not be wincing at treble harshness.

And it's great to be able to crank up rock 'n' roll again. All types of music sound great, but I especially appreciate rock 'n' roll, jazz, and chamber music on the ET5 compared to the ET3SE. In chamber music, there is so much more detail and emotion in strings and a better sense of the bow and the wood. And with jazz, I get gobs of detail on the vocalist, but it sounds natural...in the ET3SE, I thought that decays were exaggerated and that there was missing information in the vocalist's inflections.

Oh, and finally, the soundstage is fully disconnected from the speakers now. With the Et3SE, that was not the case...yea, the soundstage was outside the speaker plane, but you could always localize each speaker. Not so with the ET5.

If you can get an ET5, get it! My wallet still smarts, but my ears are sooo happy. (even tho' I got a great deal...it was still a lot of money)

[bgiliberti]

Originally Posted by medwardo

Greetings joe_marsh,
In my system, the ET5 is head and shoulders above the ET3SE: soundstage much larger, more coherent & musical, treble is smooth, extended, and detailed (the ET3Se by comparison sounds "tizzy" and annoying...and the Sophias don't hide anything).
I had the ET3SE for many years and have loved it...but over time I found it more and more annoying, especially when I turn up the volume.
There is a smoothness and naturalness that the ET5 has that is seductive. Loads of detail and that detail is naturally presented in a solid, coherent, large soundstage. I can turn up the system higher than I could with the ET3SE, which always seemed unduly harsh at loud volumes with anything other than an all tube amp...and then the bass was kinda soft and lumpy.
Bass on the ET5 is great as well...tight, tuneful, detailed and in the proper tonal balance and in the right places on the soundstage.
I'm about 1/3 way through the 500 hours of break in...every day, I sit down and get pulled into the music to listen and enjoy. It's great to not be wincing at treble harshness.
And it's great to be able to crank up rock 'n' roll again. All types of music sound great, but I especially appreciate rock 'n' roll, jazz, and chamber music on the ET5 compared to the ET3SE. In chamber music, there is so much more detail and emotion in strings and a better sense of the bow and the wood. And with jazz, I get gobs of detail on the vocalist, but it sounds natural...in the ET3SE, I thought that decays were exaggerated and that there was missing information in the vocalist's inflections.
Oh, and finally, the soundstage is fully disconnected from the speakers now. With the Et3SE, that was not the case...yea, the soundstage was outside the speaker plane, but you could always localize each speaker. Not so with the ET5.
If you can get an ET5, get it! My wallet still smarts, but my ears are sooo happy. (even tho' I got a great deal...it was still a lot of money)

Much to unpack here...but I was wondering if the addition of the MF2550SE had a role your decision to go from the ET-3se to the ET5?

[jmw31]

Originally Posted by medwardo

Greetings joe_marsh,

In my system, the ET5 is head and shoulders above the ET3SE: soundstage much larger, more coherent & musical, treble is smooth, extended, and detailed (the ET3Se by comparison sounds "tizzy" and annoying...and the Sophias don't hide anything).

I had the ET3SE for many years and have loved it...but over time I found it more and more annoying, especially when I turn up the volume.

There is a smoothness and naturalness that the ET5 has that is seductive. Loads of detail and that detail is naturally presented in a solid, coherent, large soundstage. I can turn up the system higher than I could with the ET3SE, which always seemed unduly harsh at loud volumes with anything other than an all tube amp...and then the bass was kinda soft and lumpy.

Bass on the ET5 is great as well...tight, tuneful, detailed and in the proper tonal balance and in the right places on the soundstage.

I'm about 1/3 way through the 500 hours of break in...every day, I sit down and get pulled into the music to listen and enjoy. It's great to not be wincing at treble harshness.

And it's great to be able to crank up rock 'n' roll again. All types of music sound great, but I especially appreciate rock 'n' roll, jazz, and chamber music on the ET5 compared to the ET3SE. In chamber music, there is so much more detail and emotion in strings and a better sense of the bow and the wood. And with jazz, I get gobs of detail on the vocalist, but it sounds natural...in the ET3SE, I thought that decays were exaggerated and that there was missing information in the vocalist's inflections.

Oh, and finally, the soundstage is fully disconnected from the speakers now. With the Et3SE, that was not the case...yea, the soundstage was outside the speaker plane, but you could always localize each speaker. Not so with the ET5.

If you can get an ET5, get it! My wallet still smarts, but my ears are sooo happy. (even tho' I got a great deal...it was still a lot of money)

I have to agree with Medwardo. The ET5 is a significant step up from the ET3 across the board. It is also match with solid state amps especially the Bryston 14SST2 I matched it with. I need to downsize my system so I sadly have my ET5 up for sale but I can say it is the one piece of audio equipment I have owned that is sonic magic.

[joe_marsh]

Medwardo, just couldn't swing the ET 5 so I got the ET 3SE instead. After 250 hours of burn-in, I put it in the system. From the first song, I was impressed. As compared to my PV 14, better texture, imaging, depth,....just plain more real and engaging. My wife even said it sounded better from the other room!

Took the opportunity to take my MFA phono amp out for some freshening up so, I'm solely digital right now. Can't wait to get my turntable hooked back up to see what unfolds...

[Forte 4A]

Originally Posted by jmw31

I have to agree with Medwardo. The ET5 is a significant step up from the ET3 across the board. It is also match with solid state amps especially the Bryston 14SST2 I matched it with. I need to downsize my system so I sadly have my ET5 up for sale but I can say it is the one piece of audio equipment I have owned that is sonic magic.

I use a Bryston 2.5 SST2 w/my CJ ET3 SE and it makes a great match.

[medward0]

Originally Posted by bgiliberti

Much to unpack here...but I was wondering if the addition of the MF2550SE had a role your decision to go from the ET-3se to the ET5?

Hi bgiliberti,

I had the MF for a few months before the ET5. The MF and the ET3SE were a good combination, but I found that no matter what amp I used (I had 3 other amps that I tried with it), I still wanted the ET5.

I had heard an ET5 with a friend's SS amp (Bryston, I think) about a year or so ago and loved it. I was really intrigued by the imaging, tone, and detail. So, I was waiting for the right price and jumped on it.

I still have my ET3SE, still love the sound, and am using it in my office system and trying to decide which amp works best with my Focal monitors.

[medward0]

Originally Posted by joe_marsh

Medwardo, just couldn't swing the ET 5 so I got the ET 3SE instead. After 250 hours of burn-in, I put it in the system. From the first song, I was impressed. As compared to my PV 14, better texture, imaging, depth,....just plain more real and engaging. My wife even said it sounded better from the other room!

Took the opportunity to take my MFA phono amp out for some freshening up so, I'm solely digital right now. Can't wait to get my turntable hooked back up to see what unfolds...

Congrats! I had many, many wonderful listening sessions with the ET3SE and am keeping it for another system...ain't gonna sell it.

You know you're not imagining improvements when SWMBO says it sounds better, especially from another room.