I know...I know...the JVC HA-RX700's have been done death in other threads, but I wanted to start this one with a fresh perspective of observations to unmodded-unaltered headphones. Also would like to find out specificly your listening observations through which equipment is being used; the music that is used as a reference and the headphones that are used as a reference for comparison and perceived attributes and nonattributes.
Equipment and Music Used as Reference
Equipment: Acoustic Research Model AP-075 Line Conditioner and Lightning Spike Protector->Toshiba SD-3960 DVD player (used as CD transport)->Acoustic Research Pro II Interconnects->Rega EAR Headphone Amplifier
Music: The Stranglers-"Dreamtime" CD Songs:"Dreamtime", "Mayan Skies", "Too Precious", and "Always the Sun" Kate Bush-"Hounds of Love" CD Songs: "Hounds of Love" and "The Big Sky" Peter Gabriel-"Hit" CD Songs: "Shock the Monkey", "Games Without Frontiers", "San Jacinto" and "The Rhythm of the Heat" This music is mainly chosen due to the knowledge and enjoyment factor, I have listened to these pieces of music 100's of times and I am intimately familiar with them all. Also they give a good indication of bass response, male and female voice, synthesizers of all kinds, cymbals, electric bass and guitar both acoustic and electric, wide and intimate soundstages and brass instruments such as trumpet.
Headphones: The headphones that I have that the JVC will be compared to are the Beyerdynamic vintage DT990 600 ohm (circa 1988), the Sennheiser HD 485 32 ohm and the Denon AH-D1001K 32 ohm. I do have other headphones but these are the models I have been listening to lately and compared to the JVC. The description of spec's for the JVC HA-RX700 model from JVC's on-line site: "JVC HA-RX700 full-size headphones with 50mm Neodymiun driver unit and ring port structue, Nominal Impedance 48 ohms, Frequency Response 8-25000Hz, Sensitivity 105db/mv, Maximum Input Capability 1500 mw, (IEC), Weight(w/o cord) 11.64 oz.
General Impressions of My Playback System
The source and amplification I have in my sytem to be very much on the sterile and clinical side of neutral-almost a typical early SS sound but smoother, so a very bright sounding headpohone is not a very good match. But a darker or closer to what you may deem a neutral headphone set of headphones work very well. As an example: my system actually seems to strip a veil or two off the infamous "Sennheiser Veil" as it does in my HD485. What I'm really trying to get at is that if there are any stringent or harsh tendencies in the CD source of headphone it weill show up very well in the system, I believe that you have to take a headphone reviews with "a grain of salt', because I believe it is all about synergy of all the pieces in a headphone system.
General Impressions before listening to the JVC HA-RX700's
Did I really need another set of headphones-the answer was "no", but after reading several "Threads" in "Head-Fi" over the last three months I was very curious about them to say the least. I had just purchased headphones in February which were th Denon AH-D1001's because I needed a closed set of cans so I would not disturb my wife with late night listening in bed and I do not in anyway regret that purchase. But I just couldn't pass up a deal from Newegg.com to purchase the JVC's for under $34 shipping included. The first impression I got when I received mine by UPS was the size of the headphones themselves, they are larger in some dimensions than my Beyer's and my Sennheiser's which are both fairly large cans. They are very comfortable on my head, this includes the headband and the earpads that go all around my ears. They seem to be well constructed with a certain level of quality that you would not expect in a $34 headphone. I plugged in the JVC's for a music "burn-in" and listened to them for about 10 minutes after 8 hours, just for taste of what was to come. All other critical listening on the JVC's were taken after approximately 60+ of "burn-in".
The Good
The first general impressions of the JVC's are that they a warm sounding headphone but very smooth and balanced throughout most of the frequency ranges but a little dark souding to the side of neutral-which is not really a bad thing in my sytem. Of all my headphones I believe they render male voices the best-they sound very natural and maybe a little upfront. They also render acoustic and electronic piano the best of my headphones especially the lower registers. They are also the best with bass and acoustic guitar, they really seem to flesh these out instruments very well. The sound stage is just about perfect-about on par with my Sennheiser's, I believe my Beyer's are a little bit too artificially expansive and my Denon's soundstage a a little bit to small. Also in the soudstage the localization of instruments is very good-you can pick individual instruments out in space very well. As in one of my songs from "The Stranglers" -"Too Precious" there is an istrumental piece about 3/4 the way through they song with several synthesizers and drum sets-there is on section where there is a kick-drum comes into the song at the far lefthand side of the stage about the 11 O'Clock position (strange place for a kick-drum) and the JVC's render this in the soundstage correctly and with great authority.
The Bad
I must say that the JVC's don't reproduce any frequency range badly it's just my Beyer's, Denon's and even the Sennheiser's do some some frquency very well. The bass on the JVC's seem to gradually roll-off from 40hz down and an overemphasis of the frequency range in the bass between 80hz-120hz, this reminds me of British and New England manufactures of certain small loudspeaker monitors from the 1960's and 1970's to give the illusion of deep bass but really wasn't. So the bass is both detractive and additive which contributes to its warm overall sound. The bass on the JVC's are not as distractive as my Sennheiser's which seem to have an equalizer turned up 1 or 2 db from 120hz down which can be annoying on some music. If someone is looking for an open style "basshead" headphone for under $100 I would not hesitate to recommend the Sennheiser HD485. Now we come to the worst aspects of the review; the JVC's seem to impart a certain chestiness to the female voice which make them seem unnatural. Also from the midrange all through the extreme highs there seems to be a fairly heavy veil that effects quite a few instruments including electric guitar, trumpet, cymbals, flute and the upper registers of electronic synthesizers just to name a few. The JVC's do not have the bite or sheen that my Beyer's and Denon's have from the midrange on up, and they do not shine as well as the Sennheiser's in the highs. So all-in-all the JVC's do not sound very neutral from I would say the upper midrange on up.
The Ugly
"A Notice to the Fashionista Police: Please Do Not Apply!!!" As mentioned in other threads you will look like a "Cyberman" from the "Dr. Who" television series. But if can get around the looks these cans are very comfortable. And the fit and finish are great for headphones costing around the $100 mark much less for $34.
More Impressions
If someone was just to read my "bad" impressions they may get the idea that I really do not care for the JVC's very much-but they would be incorrect. But as a matter of fact they are my third favorite haedphone that I am using right now. My Beyer's and Denon's are still ahead, mainly because they are closer the perceived neutrality of what I think headphones are suppose to sound like. But that being said the JVC's are "fun", they are never stringent or fatiguing. I never had to pull them off my head and say "boy I just can't listen to these any longer" as I have to do with some other headphones I own. They also have a warm forgiving tone which may be a "downer" for some people but not for me. I never got bored with the JVC's, they were always entertaining and on some songs my toes would just start tapping uncontrollably with the music and I would just enjoy the the music instead of trying to analyze what I was hearing.The next question would probably be is if you would recommend the JVC's to a friend and the answer is a definite "yes" and I have already. Are they the best closed (semi-open) headphones that a person can purchase in the U.S.A. at this time for under $50? FWIR and from what I know after my sessions I would have to say "yes". I hope to do some more critical listening again after about 100 hours "burn-in" time since FWIR the JVC's SQ may even be better.
Best to Worst Headphones in My System
1. Beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm vintage (circa 1988), Denon AH-D1001k 32
ohm, tie (I just can't choose between the two, one sounds better one
day and then the other sounds better)
2. JVC HA-RX700 64ohm
3. Sennheiser HD485 32ohm
4. Audio-Technica ATH-AD400 (I can only listen to these about an hour at
time)
5. Audio-Technica ATH-FC7 (as above)
6. Grado Labs SR-125 (vintage) (can only listen to these for about 30
minutes at a time)
7. Beyerdynamic DTX-900 (yuck!!! Worst price vs. performance headphones I
own, almost unlistenable)
Equipment and Music Used as Reference
Equipment: Acoustic Research Model AP-075 Line Conditioner and Lightning Spike Protector->Toshiba SD-3960 DVD player (used as CD transport)->Acoustic Research Pro II Interconnects->Rega EAR Headphone Amplifier
Music: The Stranglers-"Dreamtime" CD Songs:"Dreamtime", "Mayan Skies", "Too Precious", and "Always the Sun" Kate Bush-"Hounds of Love" CD Songs: "Hounds of Love" and "The Big Sky" Peter Gabriel-"Hit" CD Songs: "Shock the Monkey", "Games Without Frontiers", "San Jacinto" and "The Rhythm of the Heat" This music is mainly chosen due to the knowledge and enjoyment factor, I have listened to these pieces of music 100's of times and I am intimately familiar with them all. Also they give a good indication of bass response, male and female voice, synthesizers of all kinds, cymbals, electric bass and guitar both acoustic and electric, wide and intimate soundstages and brass instruments such as trumpet.
Headphones: The headphones that I have that the JVC will be compared to are the Beyerdynamic vintage DT990 600 ohm (circa 1988), the Sennheiser HD 485 32 ohm and the Denon AH-D1001K 32 ohm. I do have other headphones but these are the models I have been listening to lately and compared to the JVC. The description of spec's for the JVC HA-RX700 model from JVC's on-line site: "JVC HA-RX700 full-size headphones with 50mm Neodymiun driver unit and ring port structue, Nominal Impedance 48 ohms, Frequency Response 8-25000Hz, Sensitivity 105db/mv, Maximum Input Capability 1500 mw, (IEC), Weight(w/o cord) 11.64 oz.
General Impressions of My Playback System
The source and amplification I have in my sytem to be very much on the sterile and clinical side of neutral-almost a typical early SS sound but smoother, so a very bright sounding headpohone is not a very good match. But a darker or closer to what you may deem a neutral headphone set of headphones work very well. As an example: my system actually seems to strip a veil or two off the infamous "Sennheiser Veil" as it does in my HD485. What I'm really trying to get at is that if there are any stringent or harsh tendencies in the CD source of headphone it weill show up very well in the system, I believe that you have to take a headphone reviews with "a grain of salt', because I believe it is all about synergy of all the pieces in a headphone system.
General Impressions before listening to the JVC HA-RX700's
Did I really need another set of headphones-the answer was "no", but after reading several "Threads" in "Head-Fi" over the last three months I was very curious about them to say the least. I had just purchased headphones in February which were th Denon AH-D1001's because I needed a closed set of cans so I would not disturb my wife with late night listening in bed and I do not in anyway regret that purchase. But I just couldn't pass up a deal from Newegg.com to purchase the JVC's for under $34 shipping included. The first impression I got when I received mine by UPS was the size of the headphones themselves, they are larger in some dimensions than my Beyer's and my Sennheiser's which are both fairly large cans. They are very comfortable on my head, this includes the headband and the earpads that go all around my ears. They seem to be well constructed with a certain level of quality that you would not expect in a $34 headphone. I plugged in the JVC's for a music "burn-in" and listened to them for about 10 minutes after 8 hours, just for taste of what was to come. All other critical listening on the JVC's were taken after approximately 60+ of "burn-in".
The Good
The first general impressions of the JVC's are that they a warm sounding headphone but very smooth and balanced throughout most of the frequency ranges but a little dark souding to the side of neutral-which is not really a bad thing in my sytem. Of all my headphones I believe they render male voices the best-they sound very natural and maybe a little upfront. They also render acoustic and electronic piano the best of my headphones especially the lower registers. They are also the best with bass and acoustic guitar, they really seem to flesh these out instruments very well. The sound stage is just about perfect-about on par with my Sennheiser's, I believe my Beyer's are a little bit too artificially expansive and my Denon's soundstage a a little bit to small. Also in the soudstage the localization of instruments is very good-you can pick individual instruments out in space very well. As in one of my songs from "The Stranglers" -"Too Precious" there is an istrumental piece about 3/4 the way through they song with several synthesizers and drum sets-there is on section where there is a kick-drum comes into the song at the far lefthand side of the stage about the 11 O'Clock position (strange place for a kick-drum) and the JVC's render this in the soundstage correctly and with great authority.
The Bad
I must say that the JVC's don't reproduce any frequency range badly it's just my Beyer's, Denon's and even the Sennheiser's do some some frquency very well. The bass on the JVC's seem to gradually roll-off from 40hz down and an overemphasis of the frequency range in the bass between 80hz-120hz, this reminds me of British and New England manufactures of certain small loudspeaker monitors from the 1960's and 1970's to give the illusion of deep bass but really wasn't. So the bass is both detractive and additive which contributes to its warm overall sound. The bass on the JVC's are not as distractive as my Sennheiser's which seem to have an equalizer turned up 1 or 2 db from 120hz down which can be annoying on some music. If someone is looking for an open style "basshead" headphone for under $100 I would not hesitate to recommend the Sennheiser HD485. Now we come to the worst aspects of the review; the JVC's seem to impart a certain chestiness to the female voice which make them seem unnatural. Also from the midrange all through the extreme highs there seems to be a fairly heavy veil that effects quite a few instruments including electric guitar, trumpet, cymbals, flute and the upper registers of electronic synthesizers just to name a few. The JVC's do not have the bite or sheen that my Beyer's and Denon's have from the midrange on up, and they do not shine as well as the Sennheiser's in the highs. So all-in-all the JVC's do not sound very neutral from I would say the upper midrange on up.
The Ugly
"A Notice to the Fashionista Police: Please Do Not Apply!!!" As mentioned in other threads you will look like a "Cyberman" from the "Dr. Who" television series. But if can get around the looks these cans are very comfortable. And the fit and finish are great for headphones costing around the $100 mark much less for $34.
More Impressions
If someone was just to read my "bad" impressions they may get the idea that I really do not care for the JVC's very much-but they would be incorrect. But as a matter of fact they are my third favorite haedphone that I am using right now. My Beyer's and Denon's are still ahead, mainly because they are closer the perceived neutrality of what I think headphones are suppose to sound like. But that being said the JVC's are "fun", they are never stringent or fatiguing. I never had to pull them off my head and say "boy I just can't listen to these any longer" as I have to do with some other headphones I own. They also have a warm forgiving tone which may be a "downer" for some people but not for me. I never got bored with the JVC's, they were always entertaining and on some songs my toes would just start tapping uncontrollably with the music and I would just enjoy the the music instead of trying to analyze what I was hearing.The next question would probably be is if you would recommend the JVC's to a friend and the answer is a definite "yes" and I have already. Are they the best closed (semi-open) headphones that a person can purchase in the U.S.A. at this time for under $50? FWIR and from what I know after my sessions I would have to say "yes". I hope to do some more critical listening again after about 100 hours "burn-in" time since FWIR the JVC's SQ may even be better.
Best to Worst Headphones in My System
1. Beyerdynamic DT990 600ohm vintage (circa 1988), Denon AH-D1001k 32
ohm, tie (I just can't choose between the two, one sounds better one
day and then the other sounds better)
2. JVC HA-RX700 64ohm
3. Sennheiser HD485 32ohm
4. Audio-Technica ATH-AD400 (I can only listen to these about an hour at
time)
5. Audio-Technica ATH-FC7 (as above)
6. Grado Labs SR-125 (vintage) (can only listen to these for about 30
minutes at a time)
7. Beyerdynamic DTX-900 (yuck!!! Worst price vs. performance headphones I
own, almost unlistenable)
).
. Considering selling my 700s to partially fund the purchase.
