Hi,
I live in Japan and just picked these up today and have been listening to them all afternoon/evening on the train, in a cafe, and at home now and I have some impressions.
First of all, I am pretty much a newbie in the audiophile sense so my review will be pretty basic.
Anyways, after doing quite a bit of research in the sub-$200 price range I had decided to get the Victor 500 HP-FX500's especially since they are a pretty great deal at Yodobashi camera right now.
Well I brought my Ipod with me to do some field testing and when I asked the staff at Yodobashi to sample them I chose a couple others for comparison, the new HP-FX700's, Monster Gold's, Kipsch S4 as well as the intriguing Radius HP-TWF11R.
Now in my research I hadn't seen much about these but they was a nice display (in Japanese) describing the "DDL" Dual-drivers and I also noticed they were a new model (like the FX700) so thought they would be good for comparison.
And well...after spending an hour doing comparison tests across some rock, electronic, and bass heavy music...
To my (relatively untrained ears) the Radius blew EVERYTHING ELSE out of the water (comparative to price of course). I was set to get the Victor's after reading lots of great reviews (and I loved the natural wood aesthetic and supposedly natural sound) but to me they sounded tiny and cheap in comparison, lacking both in bass and in overall "depth".
And that's what impressed me most, they sounded phenomenally good across a wide range of high's and lows.
Also, I loved the fact the construction looked very durable. The nylon cable seemed much stronger and less prone to tangle than the 500's and the others. Even compared to the more expensive Monster and 700s I was really impressed with the Radius quality.
HOWEVER, there was one HUGE negative that almost made me pass on these, and caused me to vacillate for a good 20 min at the shop.
They are not very comfortable.
The shape reminds me of the Bose in-ears or some of the Audio-technicas. They have a long shape that is meant to go directly in ear, NOT wrap around (this confused me and the staff) but I had a lot of trouble twisting them into shape, even trying different size sleeves in the shop. I found the fit of the 500's much more comfortable and almost got them for that reason (plus they were a bit cheaper!)...but every time I put the Radius back on I couldn't get over how great they sounded...and after wearing them a good 4-5 hours today I am getting used to them I guess.
Also the cord is LONG (120cm) which is a bit annoying if you like to wear your ipod in your breast pocket like I do. This also makes winding them up in the otherwise awesome case take longer than it needs to.
Anyways, to quickly summarize
PROS-
Sound good on all ranges.
Depth
Durable construction
Nylon cord
Nice case
Cons-
Uncomfortable (for my small ears)
Long cord (may be a pro to some)
Look is a bit too "bling"
Attachment 29191
Anyways let me know if you have and questions and I hope some serious audiophiles pick these up soon so I can hear what they think!
But so far highly recommended for the sound and quality...if you have big ears!
I live in Japan and just picked these up today and have been listening to them all afternoon/evening on the train, in a cafe, and at home now and I have some impressions.
First of all, I am pretty much a newbie in the audiophile sense so my review will be pretty basic.
Anyways, after doing quite a bit of research in the sub-$200 price range I had decided to get the Victor 500 HP-FX500's especially since they are a pretty great deal at Yodobashi camera right now.
Well I brought my Ipod with me to do some field testing and when I asked the staff at Yodobashi to sample them I chose a couple others for comparison, the new HP-FX700's, Monster Gold's, Kipsch S4 as well as the intriguing Radius HP-TWF11R.
Now in my research I hadn't seen much about these but they was a nice display (in Japanese) describing the "DDL" Dual-drivers and I also noticed they were a new model (like the FX700) so thought they would be good for comparison.
And well...after spending an hour doing comparison tests across some rock, electronic, and bass heavy music...
To my (relatively untrained ears) the Radius blew EVERYTHING ELSE out of the water (comparative to price of course). I was set to get the Victor's after reading lots of great reviews (and I loved the natural wood aesthetic and supposedly natural sound) but to me they sounded tiny and cheap in comparison, lacking both in bass and in overall "depth".
And that's what impressed me most, they sounded phenomenally good across a wide range of high's and lows.
Also, I loved the fact the construction looked very durable. The nylon cable seemed much stronger and less prone to tangle than the 500's and the others. Even compared to the more expensive Monster and 700s I was really impressed with the Radius quality.
HOWEVER, there was one HUGE negative that almost made me pass on these, and caused me to vacillate for a good 20 min at the shop.
They are not very comfortable.
The shape reminds me of the Bose in-ears or some of the Audio-technicas. They have a long shape that is meant to go directly in ear, NOT wrap around (this confused me and the staff) but I had a lot of trouble twisting them into shape, even trying different size sleeves in the shop. I found the fit of the 500's much more comfortable and almost got them for that reason (plus they were a bit cheaper!)...but every time I put the Radius back on I couldn't get over how great they sounded...and after wearing them a good 4-5 hours today I am getting used to them I guess.
Also the cord is LONG (120cm) which is a bit annoying if you like to wear your ipod in your breast pocket like I do. This also makes winding them up in the otherwise awesome case take longer than it needs to.
Anyways, to quickly summarize
PROS-
Sound good on all ranges.
Depth
Durable construction
Nylon cord
Nice case
Cons-
Uncomfortable (for my small ears)
Long cord (may be a pro to some)
Look is a bit too "bling"
Attachment 29191
Anyways let me know if you have and questions and I hope some serious audiophiles pick these up soon so I can hear what they think!
But so far highly recommended for the sound and quality...if you have big ears!
Though @shigzeo is going to make a review in them soon.
