Victor HP-FX500 Review: World's first Wood Canalphones - Page 4

apparently they're still difficult to find. neither yodobashi or bic had them in stock when i was in tokyo two weeks ago. the waiting continues...

shigzeo, since you've had the denon c700 before, do they basically have the same size? the c700 become uncomfortable for me after a while since the housing presses against my ears.

in Japan, the actual retail price is around 120USD, but unfortunately most of the sellers are running out of their inventry as well as amazon.co.jp who could ship internationally.

wait and see if amazon.co.jp have their new stock

Got mine :-)

Hi all,

I am the proud owner of one of these :-) Shigzeo was kind enough to get me a pair last week.

First, I'd like to say that these phones are simply gorgeous and the most comfortable of my collection. I've been listening to them for a week now and can't point out any fatigue physically or sound-wise. I am wearing them with CX300 rubber tips which I find are the ones that better fit my ears. The phones fit perfectly inside the ears (as eg. the Shures and unlike the Denons).

Sound-wise, I find them extremely well balanced. Bass is beautiful, strong but tight. Definitely cleaner and controlled than the Shure SE530, beautiful! Highs don't seem to be rolled off by any means, is everything there but couldn't detect any sibilance at all. Their balance implies that mids are not as prominent as the SE530 (to which I've been insistently comparing against) neither as mellow. While this usually favors the shures for voice centered music (eg. Cat Power, Kirstin Hersh, Fiona Apple, Anthony are some I tend to listen a lot) and make shure's mids punch awesome, for long listening periods the victor's balance tends to mean less fatigue.

I've been comparing the fx500 against several iem/earbuds (eg. im716, E3, CX300, Ref 220, fx-300, C551) and they definitely stand-out in all aspects. Wrt. the SE530 they are pretty different. If I had to chose among them it would be very difficult.

Cheers,
Rui

PS: In most of the aspects I totally agree with Shigzeo's review.

I saw these headphones on ebay for almost $200, when according to kakaku.com they should cost around $120

Can you recommend an online shop that ships HP-FX500 to Europe, but at the same time prices them more appropriately

thanks in advance

Hi, Shigzeo, I've been reading your comments on the FX500 with interest. I was in Tokyo recently and say them in a shop there. But they were not on demo and I had no idea they sounded so good. Maybe I will pick them up the next time Im there..
Have you heard the B&O A8? They sound great when worn angled into the ears. Would be good if you or someone else could compare the two..
By the way, where have you posted the pics of the FX500's, I could not find them...
Regards

Thanks for your reply. I normally use the Stax SR-001 MkII indoors - they are superb. But when Im travelling on bus or train, need something more convenient. I own the ER-4P (nice but rather clinical, weak bass), the V-Moda vibes (dont like the recessed midrange, bass is very heavy but does not go that deep) and the B&O A8 (I like them best of the three.. provided you wear them the way shown on the A8 thread.. they sound very immediate and powerful, but not very transparent). So my search for a travel headphone goes on.. The way you describe the FX500 sounds very promising.. but so also do the reviews of the Atrios.. I cant decide which one of the two to buy... Any helpful suggestions from anyone?

Thanks for your useful insights on the characterises of the various headphones.. One more thing, how do you find the isolation of the FX500? Does it isolate well enough for use on bus or train?

On the last trip to Tokyo, I finally got my hands on a pair of these. For the past 6month, which encompasses 3 or 4 trips to Tokyo, I had an extremely difficult time finding them and with my tight travel schedule and long meeting with my Japanese suppliers, it was nearly impossible to visit stores other than Yodobashi. Yodobashi tends to stay open later and is easy to get to. On this trip however, they finally had them in stock!

I've been using them non-stop on trains throughout Tokyo and planes within Asia. While they do not have that many hours on them yet, I've gotten quite attached to them. Isolation is great for general use and around urban areas where you need to hear a bit of the environment around you. I've stopped using my ER4P walking around Tokyo or Taipei because of the microphonics and total isolation. These seem to isolate well enough to allow enjoyment while blocking intrusive sounds such as buses.

I'm sure that their sound signature will continue to evolve. Straight out of the box they sound great but I've since found that the highs could be a bit cleaner and lows tighter. Nothing that a bit of eqing can't solve (I know that many of you don't like eq'ing but it allows me to enjoy my music more so why not?) I can easily say that they're the best canalphones that I've tried to date which includes sound signature and fit.

congrats, fureshi. i would love to get my hands on a pair of these. i sure hope jvc drops them stateside, esp. since dynamism no longer carries them.

X2

Thanks guys. I'm sitting at a Starbucks in Taipei right now listening to Horace Silver and the isolation is good enough that I'm not bothered by the chit chat of my surrounding coffee drinkers. The good isolation is probably helped by the fact that they actually fit my ears well and the tips create a good seal with my ear canals.

This thread belongs in the "Portable Headphones" section, but I suppose the Admins are still working at sorting everything out.