Official JVC HA-FX300 // Victor HP-FX300 "Bi-Metal" Appreciation Thread

Somebody had to start this one up... So I did...

I'm quite glad I gave these intriguing "Bi-Metal" Film Dynamic Diaphragm In Ear Monitor Canalphones a chance. Mine are named "smooth operator". With an awesome Frequency Response range from 8 Hz - 25 kHz, these things really sing well. They are very smooothe, round, laidback, open, bass-ey, sub-woof-ey, and fun. Non-fatiguing. Great for all round listening.

Here's the skinny:

Your stock tips are going to seal badly. Treat yourself to a pair of Phonak Audeo Perfect Fit Earphone Silicone Tips in Small from AudéoWorld PFE Shopping Cart

and once you've unrolled the sleeves inside out,

so they look like this ---> D==

You can squeeze them at the halfway point and wedge them over the rather large treble nozzles of the HA-FX300. Once on, paint clear nail polish around the bottom of the sleeve and driver junction to form a seal so they won't come off in your ear (for safety's sake)... How do I know, hmm... funny you should ask.

Anyway, it's a good idea tm.

Then Unroll them to normal so they look like this ---> =D

and you're all set. Let the Clear Nail Polish dry and cure before playing with them.

Here's a link to my initial review...

LINK ---> http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/n...ml#post5657609

Enjoy!!

I'm curious about recabling them myself...

I don't want the cheap stuff though... I was thinking of asking Moon Audio to suggest a cable and do the recable... Because I want discriminating sound. I'll definitely post about that if I go that route. You could send an eMail yourself and see what they say...

I'm curious to know what the verdict would be.

Compared to SR60s... I'll compare them tonight...

I'll compare them with some select tracks and report back.

First off, they're generally smoooother to listen to. The Grado's can't match the JVC for smoothness. I've had the Grado SR60 for over 5 yrs and played the crap out of them, because I had them and my etymotic ER*4-S (which was broken and redone at etymotic to ER*4-P) for so long they were my "bass" headphone.

Then I started getting "into" IEMs as a "hobby".

Soundstage and Imaging Style hands down go to the JVC... but I stress that I WON'T use the included tips:

Best tips I've found: The vmoda bass freq Large Silicone BLISS Sleeve, next up is the Medium Phonak Audeo PFE Silicone Sleeve. So, do yourself a favour and just buy the bass freq for the tips, worth every penny plus you get a great back-up IEM with a high amount of copper (swear they melt like five pennies into each driver) and you're golden...

2 IEMs of high Caliber for the price of an IEM plus a pair of sleeves, and if if anybody knows where to just buy the vmoda sleeves, I'd be grateful if they'd share.

Moving on...

The SR60s are obviously 'burned IN'. So are the HA-FX300's I've got about 250 hours on them I'd venture a guess. Stopped logging at 200. They really really sound good by 200. By 100 they SOUND GOOD enough to consider Just Fine for daily use, but really mature to a smoothness at 200 I wasn't expecting.

I stress that by 200 I had done something silly while monkeying around with sleeves and torn the filter paper that covers the driver.

So now my HA-FX300's are modded, with the Fabric Diaphragm Mod I've devised to replace the filter paper... So they sound a bit more like little 2.0 head-speakers than headphones now. Which is NOT something I'm complaining about, mind you.

It's just that with the mod as compared to stock, resolving power (resolution) went up, detail went up, clarity went up, as did smoothness. As did bass "softpaw" rather than "punch" as you'd get with a good loudspeaker...

So with that in mind, I will do the listen this morning and report back...

Comparing SR60 & HA-FX300 (w/ FiiO E5 Headphone Amplifier)

I'll compare the Grado SR60 to the JVC HA-FX300 for you since I have these both, and since we both have the E5 amp, I'll compare with that.

Grados have lots of thump... especially with amped (iBasso T4) (with iBasso CB01 Silver Flat Cable Interconnect).

I have a FiiO E5 to compare with though, so I'll compare with that and the gold tipped cable that comes with that amp.

"Doctor" by Orbital off of 'The Altogether' disc one, a FLAC file, sounds very good:

On the Grado SR60:
intro is echoant, vibrant, bassy. treble is sharp and of moderate resolution. harsh in character. bass isn't as layered as I'd like after getting used to the JVC's. bloated. annoying. fatiguing. exaggerated. and I like bass. just not "this" bass.

On the JVC HA-FX500:
intro is much more tightly controlled, much more elastic in character than expected after listening with the Grado's. I'm SHOCKED at how much more relaxing the overall tonal signature is on these. It's much more open. There's better instrumentation. Better placement. Less IN YOUR FACE ish ness. All of which are big plusses. Bass much more layered, less boomey. Very present. Not dark or ugly. Deep but not dark. Very much the "smooth operator" as I've named this pair of Headphones, and aptly so.

Wow, I guess I have to say I hate my Grado SR60s. Gee that makes me sad. :-(

They used to be OK, but now I've hurt my wallet, and they don't anymore. LOL. No, seriously though, I guess I've just educated my Ear, and discovered my true preferences.

Would you like a comparison of these 2 unamped as well, or is this enough for you?