Here they are, my HP-FXC50-R canalphones

I finally received these direct from Japan and have taken pictures of the unboxing:

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So far they sound quite good but my ears are a little skewed from the other canalphones I've been using so I'll need to give them plenty of time to capture their true essence. One thing they are, they're kind of funky fitting. They feel comfy, though. I'll have more to come.

Okay, for one thing, these are some outstanding canalphones. They do sound very much like the Air Cushions but have more detail, air and openness, have a little better soundstage. The bass is pretty darn good considering how small they are.

The size of these little buggers is a big plus. They don't fit all the way into the ear canal like the diagrams depicted they might. Rather, the driver is closer to the ear by being out front, on the very end of these phones.

These JVCs are better than a great number of lower end phones and better than quite a few higher end phones. However, they do tend to be rather bright in the higher end of the audio spectrum. I had to tone the 3Khz and 13Khz bands of the iAudio 7 down quite a bit to -3 and -7 respectively in order to listen to it. Afterwards, though, it was sweet music to my ears!. I've always held that JVC produces some very good earphones and these fall right in line with what they produce yet these are among the best they produced.

A person could be full content to use these and none other, that's the quality of their sound. They aren't flat and fatiguing in any way whatsoever. They are very clear, upfront and easy to listen to. I did have to replace the OEM silicones with some Comply T500s, which made them near invisible in the ear. Their comfort, once the proper fit is achieved, is excellent. They can be a little difficult to fit just right due to their shape and size.

Alas. JVC's sweet cord management. The cord is of a particular compound that allows it to go straight rather than have kinks and bends in it. And the cord is of the usual perfect length, not too long and not too short. I've always loved that about my Air Cushions. They do provide an extension cord for those who need the extra amount.

I have to warn iAudio 7 users, if you buy Kirk Whalum's Roundtrip album, you are likely going to experience significant distortion using these phones. I don't know why that is but it is. I can skip to any other music on the 7 and the distortion disappears. But it is a distortion like the sound is overwhelming the drivers, putting out too much signal. This distortion is likely there with any set of canalphones but, for some reasons, these JVCs pick it up better.

More to come

Actaully I would surmise they are smaller than most. The driver is about the size of a UE3, 5, 10 nozzle. The Comply T500s fit it rather well without stretching much at all.

Also, something i neglected to mention in the previous post, these can't be worn over the ear. A person can try to do it but the air chamber at the back prevents it. The only way the wear these over the ear is to mod the cable or listen to your music with the right channel in the left ear and left channel in the right ear.

Actually, I'm wrong about that statement these can't be worn over the ear. I've just now successfully accomplished it. The air chamber basically points almost straight down and the cable lines up with the notch at the front of the ear allowing th cable to wrap over the ear. i don't know how well the drivers are pointing at the ear canal but the phones actually feel as though this was a secondary way of wearing them.

I prefer them. The silicones are about like any other silicone but, like any other silicone, can be a little uncomfortable and have unsealing issues over time. They're are just a favorite of mine.


Here ya go:

JVC Victor Sealing up inner ear headphone HP-FXC50-R - eBay (item 160270511282 end time Sep-08-08 06:09:13 PDT)
JVC Victor Sealing up inner ear headphone HP-FXC50-S - eBay (item 160270511602 end time Sep-08-08 06:10:36 PDT)
JVC Victor Sealing up inner ear headphone HP-FXC50-B - eBay (item 150281200827 end time Sep-08-08 06:11:34 PDT)

Ones they sound better than

Sennheiser CX500
HD RE2
D-Jays
V-Moda Vibes
Crossroads Mylarone XBi
Creative Labs Zen Aurvana
JBL Reference 220
JVC HA-FX66
JVC HA-FX300
iFrogs D33


Ones I like better

UE Super fi-3
UE Super fi-4
UE Triple fi-10 Pro
Zune Premiums
Sennheiser CX300
V-Moda Bass Freqs
Altec Lansing iM-616
Altec Lansing iM-716
Klipsch Custom-1
Etymotic ER6i


They sound like themselves. they have a unique sound that the closest that comes to them are Sony MDR-EX85 but they sound more accurate.

I have to say, though, they are very bright sounding. I had been listening with them for quite a while and then put my Triples back in and the Triples sounded very dull for awhile.

I said the Sonys come closest. They sound better than the Sonys, more accurate, better soundstage, better and more accurate bass but the tonal quality of the Sonys is similar. These would be a good recommendation for anyone wanting what's in my "Ones they sound better than" list.