Review: Cosmic Ears CE5P – The All-Rounder

The CE5P’s sound signature is fairly neutral but it (luckily) is going to the warmer side. It isn’t as smooth or warm as my CE6B though. The CE6P is more like the CE5P. Sound stage has good width and depth but it isn’t the widest or deepest monitor I’ve listened to. For A five driver though it is good, but you can just get that bit more with 6 or 8 drivers. When listening to the CE5P you sometimes get the sense it’s a more compact sound and I think that’s mostly related to how it does instrumental separation.

I very much like the overall balanced and linear presentation of the CE5P, if there’s anything I would change I’d maybe add some more depth and layering in the bass (and mids section. I can already tell the Aether excels at timbre). A part from that, I wouldn’t touch it at all, the CE5P delivers a balanced, precise and musical sound.

Bass in the CE5P is tight and has a good punch. It’s a precise bass that can go deep when needed. It’s no earth shaking bass though: think quality instead of quantity. The advantage of that is that bass is perfectly in line with the mids section. If you wanted, you could easily get bigger bass by using a different cable, or a more bass focused DAP like the X3SG in example. Cosmic Ears is known for having superb mids and the CE5P delivers just that. Mids are detailed, smooth, musical but most of all rich sounding. The CE6 in all honesty has even better mids though, with even more detail and better/more layering.

As said, treble falls perfectly in line with the bass and mids section. Treble is detailed and musical but presented with a softer touch. I don’t think anyone will find treble harsh or sibilant. That also means the treble lovers might find it a bit soft, it’s hard to please everyone. If you’re looking for treble focus and more than average extension you might want to check out the VE5. CE5P’s treble is good and it surely won’t miss anything, it just blends it with all the rest and that’s the beauty of it.

It’s very easy to love the CE5P and I have found myself using them in the office a lot. 4 hour listening sessions are no problem at all. The 5 presents your music so effortless and natural that listening fatigue in unexisting.

8. Comparisons

I will again keep this section rather short for the simple reason that I will be doing a 5 driver shootout in the very short future where I’ll be comparing five different five BA customs and it would make this review way too long. In the upcoming shootout I will compare the Rhines Stage 5, Vision Ears VE5, this Cosmic Ears CE5P, the brand new Lime Ears Aether and the Jomo5 which will be here in a few weeks’ time.

The Rhines Stage 5 has a focus on bass and the mids are more recessed. The CE5P has a more linear tuning and sounds a lot more balanced. The VE5’s focus is on the (high) mids and the treble and has a wider and deeper sound stage. The CE5P’s bass and mids however are a more present and musical.

Compared to the other models in Cosmic Ears’ product line, the CE5P really fits in between the 4 and 6 driver. Not only in number of drivers of course, that’s pretty obvious, but its sound signature is also right in between those two. The CE5P has more detail than the CE4P and has a wider and deeper sound stage. I do also find the 5 to have the better (linear) tuning. The 6-driver at his turn has more detail and a bigger and deeper sound stage than the 4. At the same time (I have the B version) the bass and mids have more body and sound smoother. Treble in the 6 is also livelier sounding, maybe because of the slightly smoother and thicker mids. The 6 in the end is still my favorite Cosmic Ears monitor but I do have to admit the 5 might just be tuned a tad better. I for an all-round monitor, just prefer the bigger (bass)body, wider sound stage and depth from the 6.

Look out for the next 5-driver reviews of the Jomo5 and the Lime Ears Aether for more comparisons. If you can’t wait, just ask your question in the comments section.

9. End Word

Am I happy with the CE5P? Yes, absolutely. I do think it is one of the best, most linear tuned monitors from Cosmic Ears. The CE5P sounds very good and I can listen to it for hours on end without any problem. All of Cosmic Ears’ monitors are great all-rounders and that’s exactly what the CE5P is as well. The CE5P delivers bass, mids and treble as a whole and that’s what makes it so beautiful. The CE5P flows.

It logically is a bit better than the CE4P and I’d even say it’s closer to the CE6P than it is to the 4-driver model. The 6-driver still is the TOTL monitor in the product line-up but the CE5P at only €600 is a monitor that’s hard to beat, by anyone.

If you’re looking for a great all-rounder custom and you don’t want to spend over €1K, I really suggest you check out Cosmic Ears. Depending on your budget you can choose between the 4, 5 and 6 driver and you won’t have to break your piggy bank. The monitors can be bought online and I even think they also have some universal demo sets available as well.

4.7/5 - (9 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

13 Comments

  • Reply August 18, 2015

    Alexander

    Amazing review! I wonder how they compare to the Jomo 5.

  • Reply August 29, 2015

    digitldlnkwnt

    I lost one of my BA4F’s on the bus coming home from work – fell right off my Plus Sound cable (grrrrr! pissed!), but as we say in the car tuner world, breaks are just chances for better fixes, so I am considering coming back to CE for a 5 driver model. Needless to say I will NOT be using a Plus Sound cable this time around.

    • Reply August 30, 2015

      Headfonia_L.

      Wow! Did you have recessed sockets? Scary story, did you tell plussound?

      • Reply August 30, 2015

        digitldlnkwnt

        here’s the thing, they gave me the wrong ends once, and the second time they gave me these long flush mount ones and said they were “better” and that they didn’t have the rec. sockets – i even sent a picture of the CE factory ends. Horse crap. Never again, i’ll go back to Effect. Don’t wanna be a thread jacker – great review – i think i’ll consider these or the Campfire Audio Lyra as my next purchase.

        • Reply December 26, 2015

          Headfonia_L.

          What did you and up with?

          • Reply December 26, 2015

            digitldlnkwnt

            I ended up with Lyra. I thought it would be nice to have set of good dynamic drivers in my quiver and the Lyra provide to be just the ticket. I almost like them better than all of my full size head phones mostly beause of the bass response. They’re so natural sounding, not overly articulate like my BA CIEMS

          • Reply December 27, 2015

            digitldlnkwnt

            I ended up with Lyra. I thought it would be nice to have set of good dynamic drivers in my quiver and the Lyra provide to be just the ticket. I almost like them better than all of my full size head phones mostly beause of the bass response. They’re so natural sounding, not overly articulate like my BA CIEMS

  • Reply December 26, 2015

    barbafet

    Saying the monitors start from £425 is misleading, they cost 25% more than that… With £89 VAT and £20 Delivery the cheapest you can get them is £534.

    • Reply December 26, 2015

      Headfonia_L.

      That’s not really correct as it depends on where you are. so prices do start at 425 seeing some don’t pay taxes…

      • Reply December 27, 2015

        barbafet

        So registered businesses picking up from the store can get it for £425… Does your readership mostly come from that background? Just think it’s bad practice to list some prices ex VAT (from sponsored brands no less) and draw comparisons on price to other manufacturers. They are not £400 monitors, they’re £500 monitors, which puts them in the arena of a lot more serious competition.

        • Reply December 27, 2015

          Headfonia_L.

          No, all non EU citizens don’t pay taxes. For them the price actually is 425. Not fair, I know, blame the EU government. Sucks being an EU citizen for these kind of things, but for a lot of people prices are 425. I have mentioned this so many times before, but it won’t change anything. Long story short: Price is 425 for most readers.

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