The Greeks say great minds think alike and with that quote in mind I’d like to believe that great looks sound alike when it comes to a particular brand of IEM’s. Don’t stress your mind, I’m talking about Magaosi. Try to check out their X3, K5, K5 Pro, K6 and MGS-401 IEMs and you’d be thinking that they are one model except the customization offers for the shells and faceplates.

One of Magaosi’s dead ringer IEMs came to my possession and finally allowed me to see if this is just really a mirror image for a set of IEMs designed to either confuse buyers or maybe a surprise ready to excite our ears. This supposed surprise comes in the form of the Magaosi K5 V2 (see? even its own model has an alter ego) which was provided by Linsoul to be reviewed. Priced at $179, you can grab a pair off Linsoul Amazon or Linsoul Direct. The Magaosi K5 V2 features 5 Balanced Armature drivers, one by Knowles and the other 4 custom-tuned by Magaosi. The K5 V2 is spec’d out with a 20Hz – 40 kHZ Frequency Response, 119dB Sensitivity and a 22 Ohm Impedance.

Entering the scene looking alike its competition in its own brand alone, will the K5 V2 even be remembered for its looks or for its sound? Let’s take a dig deeper.

Packaging and Build Quality

The guys behind Magaosi’s packaging design needs some callouts because honestly, it sucks, just check out Whizzer’s packaging for comparison at roughly around the same price point. Even BGVP’s DMG and DM6’s packaging which doesn’t scream premium looks neat when placed side by side with the Magaosi K5 V2’s packaging. Good thing though is the awful packaging ends right away when the sleeve is removed to show a glossy jagged box with a transparent plastic cutout to show the Magaosi K5 V2 and its black carbon fiber-like gold-plated 3.5mm L Plug.

Inside this box shows a foam cutout housing the K5 V2’s themselves as well as the stock cable. A cardboard flap covers the chunky black synthetic leather carrying case which kept the collection of silicon ear tips that came in clear silicon with wide black bores (S, M, L) and white silicon with narrow bores (S, M, L) along with a translucent set of double flange narrow ear tips (S, M, L). The Magaosi K5 V2 also came with an over-ear behind-the-neck bluetooth cable, no chip information was provided for the Bluetooth cable so we’d go with the usual assumption that it only supports aptx at most.

The Magaosi K5 V2 that was provided for review came in the clear shell with the implanted Magaosi gold font brand on the faceplate. The metal nozzle is also molded in the shell and the nozzle lips were aggressive that ear tip rolling was often times hard since it was at the middle of the nozzle rather than the usual position near the tip. The Shell is clear acrylic and has smooth finish with no noticeable cast imperfections, it has a yellowish tinge to it and compliments well with the gold MMCX connectors along with the internal metal BA drivers and its solders. There are dedicated sound bores for all the BA drivers and the nozzle has a white mesh unlike some IEMs with open bores.

The stock cable that came with the Magaosi K5 V2 was a 4-core OCC silver-plated round braided cable in black with plastic barrel-type Y-split and a bead-type chin slider which also came in black. A gold-plated 3.5mm L-plug is also used in a black metal housing with carbon fiber design. The black insulation over the total length of the cable is glossy and soft, there is almost no microphonic noise when used and storage was easy. The Bluetooth cable is also black with micro-usb port for charging and the usual 3-button setup. I found it hard to use as the curves were off and it didn’t give justice to the K5 V2’s comfort level.

Sound Quality

Tonality

A surprisingly well-balanced sound signature was the overall tonality exhibited by the Magaosi K5 V2, there must have been quite a backlash on the V1 for this IEM which should make for a positive user-friendly listening aspect for the Magaosi team. I tried to get the best out of the included ear tips and although they are good, the synergy the K5 V2 had with the Spinfits in terms of isolation and seal made me go with the Spinfits for the duration of the realview. The Magaosi K5 was driven by the Xduoo x3ii and the Xduoo X10Tii with the iFi xDSD. The Sony CAS-1 desktop setup was tried but it gave an annoying hiss, this aspect set the tone for the realview for me to forego using a desktop setup.

Lows

The Magaosi K5 V2 gives out just more than enough sub-bass which doesn’t resonate the best rumble and doesn’t dig deep to be really felt, still enjoyable yet easy to fall out of love. Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin Something” in 16/44 FLAC shows that the K5 V2 is able to play with the bass, texture is smooth and doesn’t bleed towards the next frequency. This isn’t the best bass-centric IEM so if you’re all about that bass, say bye.

Midrange

Hi! Guess you ain’t about that bass after all, the Magaosi K5 V2 tackles the midrange with excellence. There is distinct and stellar transparency across the frequency. The lower midrange defines clarity with ease, that non-existent bass bleed is paying off. The male vocals of Michael Jackson’s “The Girl is Mine” in 16/44 FLAC sounded full and hits the timber accuracy just right. The upper midrange is easy to the ears and compliments well with the lower midrange if not enhance clarity, makes it at least stable. The Magaosi K5 V2 won this frequency over with its clear cut honesty in the vocals.

Highs

It has already been a roller coaster ride with the Magaosi K5 V2, although with its not so utter fail at the lower frequency, it that was already a loss. I decided to stick it out with Michael Jackson and with him chugging out “Human Nature” in 16/44 FLAC rendered the treble hits with crisp and has great detail to it. There is no harsh peaks and sibilance is absent, I love my treble and the K5 V2 handles it well. Air and sparkle is easy to distinguish. The Magaosi K5 V2 rides the midrange and the upper frequency with great risk on its way to attracting users.

Soundstage and Imaging

The Magaosi K5 V2 has more focus on the depth and height of the soundstage than the width. There is no congestion of instrumental hits. Imaging is definite and specific, the positioning of the different harmonic tones are easy to identify. Left to right and right to left panning is present albeit not stellar.

Synergy

As you may guessed, the Magaosi K5 V2 is very responsive to power and coloration as well as ear tip rolling. It exhibited the best synergy with silicon tips with narrow bores with its ability to let the bass breathe and expand more as compared to when used with some Comply foam tips. The Magaosi K5 V2 scales well with more power yet very prone to hissing once excessive power is supplied. The filter changes on my Xduoo DAPs and the xDSD especially the 3D+ soundstage effect were also easily detected by the Magaosi K5 V2. Pairing it with a mobile phone was good yet sounded best with the neutral sounding Xduoo X3ii. The Zishan DSD when paired with the Magaosi K5 V2 was rendered like a mobile phone, not the best pairing.

Conclusion

The Magaosi K5 V2 tried its best to distance itself from its fellow Magaosi peers as well as the load of CIEM-like acrylic BA IEMs rounding the audiophile community and its efforts didn’t come in vain. There is questionable moves though like the addition of an awkward Bluetooth cable which wouldn’t please everyone except when you gift it to a friend or family. The accessory set is great and even though I opted to go with the Spinfits ear tips for the realview, the stock ear tips weren’t bad too (KZ ear tips bad). The carrying case was chunky and allowed the K5 V2 to be well protected, I was even able to add another IEM to carry it with or a portable DAC/AMP like the Zorloo ZuperDAC-S with me.

A long drawn out conclusion is tiring but the ending of an easy to love balanced sounding Magaosi K5 V2 with although a not so punchy bass recovers well with an excellent sounding midrange and upper frequency performance that ends it well with the absence of harsh peaks. If only the Bluetooth cable (sell it or gift it) was absent thus pushing the price lower, the Magaosi K5 V2 would be a really really great buy.