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Jays Q-Jays - Impressions

post #1 of 34
10/3/08 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 
I traded with another Head Fi'er for some Q-Jays and have had a chance to listen to them a little bit. I also bought a Line Out Cable for a Zen Vision at the same time and tried out both the cable and Qs on my Zen Vision and it's quite a good sound I'm hearing. The Zen has WMA@192 on it and the sound through the Qs is nicely bright but not overly so. The soundstage isn't as good as the other high enders but is still pleasant. The tonality is a bit warm or dark. The mids are fine but not up to the level of the king, UM2, but probably bare a greater resemblance to the SA6 or X10s...maybe not as detailed, though. The highs aren't as clear or crisp as others but the bass is plentiful. I wouldn't call it extreme...unless I'm just accustomed to a high amount of bass output with the other phones I use...but it certainly sounds well controlled.

One thing I've already noticed about them is their sensitivity to particular quality or grades of music. I connected them to my new Nano 4G through the HP out and the sound was incredibly dull and murky sounding. The sound was much darker and a bit muddy. But through the LO of the Zen, all is great. The sound is as described above.

I'll have more when I given the Qs a thorough flogging.
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post #2 of 34
10/3/08 at 6:27pm
Thread Starter 
I switched out the filters and it made a big difference. The sound is much clearer all around. It sounds very balanced and detailed.
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post #3 of 34
10/3/08 at 7:04pm
The q-jays are great, imo, but the fact that you have to replace the filters so often is a pretty significant downside. Depending how much wax one has, they might need replacing pretty often. :/

That said, they sound great, and are very comfortable.
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post #4 of 34
10/3/08 at 8:03pm
Funny how different people can get totally different experience from the same earphones. I found the q-Jays extremely bright, and detailed, but not very warm. I found the bass lacking rather than plentiful.

My pair developed a fault after about 4-5 weeks. I changed the filters twice, but that didn't improve things at all. In fact the q-Jays degenerated rapidly within a few more days - the right ear bud was horribly distorted.

They've been sent back for a warranty repair, but PetCed from Jens of Sweden (who is fairly active in these forums) contacted me to say if there was a fault it wouldn't be possible to fix them. I hoped that would mean I'd get a new replacement pair, but he says that more often than not it's a problem with the filters, so not to get my hopes up too early.

As I've said, I only had the q-Jays a few weeks, I changed the replacable filters a couple of times, and I also keep my ears meticuouly clean so I'm hoping that the retailer will see sense and give me a replacement pair ... I'll have to wait a couple more weeks and see what happens. Hopefully I'l be able to report back on this forum and give a more positive review of the q-Jays ... from what I keep hearing they are a very good pair of earphones and the bass should be present - indeed plentiful - so I'm pretty certain I missed out on the true experience of enjoying them at their best.

Currently I'm using the Westone UM2, and while I've not tried either of the triple driver options available, I'm incredibly happy with what I currently think is the daddy of universal IEMs.
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post #5 of 34
10/3/08 at 8:21pm
Thread Starter 
For one thing, I don't understand the filters and when I run out of them I will either sideline the Qs or use them without the filters. Either that or make my own filters. I never have an issue with wax build up so I wouldn't have any trouble using the Qs without the little screens. That's what they are, actually, because the actual filter can be seen after removing the little screen and I would image the tools that remove filters from Etys would work with these filters. And it might be possible to use Ety filters.
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post #6 of 34
10/3/08 at 10:41pm
I just got my Q-Jays today and with only a few hours on them I am extremely happy. I find these to be nicely balanced and neutral. I prefer to listen to music without EQs, bass boosts, etc and these are perfect.

Incidentally as these are my first IEMs I had the pleasure of finding out that the opening in my left ear is quite a bit smaller than my right ear... go figure, but I'm using the smallest rubber for my left ear and one of the middle sizes for my right ear. When I was very young I had a bad ear infection in my left ear, perhaps that had something to do with it.

Many people post that the bass is heavy or the bass is nonexistant (opposing views), but I find it to be a good middle ground, it doesn't take over your listening experience, but it does its job. highs are slightly pressed, but that may open up with burn in. Mids are fantastic right out of the box.

So far I've listened to rock, pop, classical, and some jazz on these and I think these things are custom tailored to rock, pop leaves a bit to be desired (maybe too neutral for pop that emphasizes heavy bass). soundstage is not good enough for constant classical listening. these sound pretty good with jazz, but rock I've noticed right away the synergy with the music.

What I'd like from burn in - cleaner crisper highs, just a touch more sustain in the bass, realistic expectations I think.
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post #7 of 34
10/3/08 at 10:54pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxvla View Post
I just got my Q-Jays today and with only a few hours on them I am extremely happy. I find these to be nicely balanced and neutral. I prefer to listen to music without EQs, bass boosts, etc and these are perfect.

Incidentally as these are my first IEMs I had the pleasure of finding out that the opening in my left ear is quite a bit smaller than my right ear... go figure, but I'm using the smallest rubber for my left ear and one of the middle sizes for my right ear. When I was very young I had a bad ear infection in my left ear, perhaps that had something to do with it.

Many people post that the bass is heavy or the bass is nonexistant (opposing views), but I find it to be a good middle ground, it doesn't take over your listening experience, but it does its job. highs are slightly pressed, but that may open up with burn in. Mids are fantastic right out of the box.

So far I've listened to rock, pop, classical, and some jazz on these and I think these things are custom tailored to rock, pop leaves a bit to be desired (maybe too neutral for pop that emphasizes heavy bass). soundstage is not good enough for constant classical listening. these sound pretty good with jazz, but rock I've noticed right away the synergy with the music.

What I'd like from burn in - cleaner crisper highs, just a touch more sustain in the bass, realistic expectations I think.
According to what I understand, BA drivers don't burn in. That's to do with the motion of dynamic drivers, freeing up the whateveryacallit that moves like a cylinder on a piston...lol. BA drivers don't have that.
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post #8 of 34
10/3/08 at 10:59pm
Ah! Well I can always hope
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post #9 of 34
10/3/08 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lewislink View Post
BA drivers don't have that.
If you look inside a BA transducer, they do have moving parts, just smaller.
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post #10 of 34
10/3/08 at 11:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxvla View Post
Ah! Well I can always hope
One thing I'm seeing the longer I listen to them, they are sounding more and more better. Right now I'm put them in the same league as the SE530 and Triple fi-10s. That's how well they sound to me. A very crisp, clean and up front sound with a similar soundstage as those others. I don't think they quite match the UM2 but they do sound wonderful.

Amazing what that little screen will do. ClieOS, if you get the chance, experiment with your Qs and see if the inner filter...the actual one behind the screen...will interchange with an Ety filter.
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post #11 of 34
10/3/08 at 11:31pm
So are you saying now they will open up? Also will different filters improve performance?

I risked going red with both my IEM and player and it turned out pretty well.


Click for larger version
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post #12 of 34
10/4/08 at 12:04am
Thread Starter 
Not really. What's happening is I'm adjusting to them. The hearing is strange that way. It will acclimate to something and make the best of it even when there's little good to be had. However, when it makes the best of something that has a lot of good in it, it will be very apparent and begin to sound awesome.

Some cheapo, very crappy canalphones or headphones can cause the hearing to run for cover, so to speak, and when the hearing gets good stuff, it slowly comes out of hiding...lol...as in the case of the Q-Jays. Not that I've been listyening to crappy phones, I haven't, it's just that the Q-Jays are a different beast for the hearing to discover and it will open up with these new phones.

However, I have had very bright sounding phones that, after the hearing getting used to them, caused my known outstanding UM2s to sound crappy. The UM2s required that my hearing readjust to them to hear their magnificence once again.

Nice set you have there, by the way. Mine is red also and I have a lot of red stuff.
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post #13 of 34
10/4/08 at 4:31am
Thread Starter 
I'm really liking the sound quality of these little wonders. It's a very satisfying sound quality that has great midrange and overall high quality tonality. The sound reminds me very much of the Triple fi-10s but I'm thinking they aren't as detailed as the 10s.

These Qs are incredibly comfortable and are as easy to wear as the Klipsch Image X10s. Another great acquisition, these Jays q-Jays are. I like them so much I'm making them my current primary phones.

Here's my little wonders in cool black

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post #14 of 34
10/4/08 at 7:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lewislink View Post
I like them so much I'm making them my current primary phones.
Wow, just a week ago the UM2 was all the rage with you ... now the q-Jays have taken pride of place in your affections.

Turncoat
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post #15 of 34
10/4/08 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Hehe...the UM2 are under RMA right now and awaiting their proper place as head of the pack.

These Qs are quite outstanding little canalphones that belong up there with the best ones. Give them a try and see what I mean.
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