Ok just finished up, i guess the easiest way to do this is to just give a small comparison review and then just answer questions as they come.
Those of you who know me know that i always advocate a multi-iem setup. Just as you do not use a sledgehammer to put in a picture frame, you dont use a toffee hammer to put in a fence post. Just like in all things in life different tools do different although similar jobs better. It is no different in audio so for the purpose of this, im first comparing these phones with bass prominent music (although there are a couple of vocal and mid tracks in there to test range.)
Tested:
Audeo PFE 112 (with black, gray and green filters)
Panasonic hje900
Meelectronics m6
Vsonic GR06
TF10 (not pictured)
JVC fx1x
JVC fx101
Jvc fx40 (not pictured)
Tracks:
Awolnation - Sail
Glitch mob - Animus Vox
Infected mushroom - Artillery
Living legends - Never fallin
Joan Baez - Diamonds and Rust
Sia - Little Black Sandles
Results and why:
1. Panasonic Hje900 - The original underrated bad boy with unique timbre. where as i have put very pricey phones against the fx101 recently such as my tf10 and through gritted teeth admitted i preferred the JVC. In this case however, its not even close. for this genre of music the hje900 blows the holy hell out of the competition in all areas, and to boot it probably has one of the best constructions of any phone ever. Glitch mob and Infected mushroom shine but tracks like Diamond and rust and Little black sandles i dare say i have never heard better from and iem, the timbre is just simply incredible.
2. Audeo PFE - Usually shouldn't be in such a comparison but having procured some green (bass) filters i thought i would give them a shot. Heres where using different phones for different jobs comes in. with the green filters in the pfe as every other iem in this test is whole heartedly murdered by the hje900. This isnt to say they sound bad, the sound incredible, the incredible clarity of the PFE is still retained even considering the less refined filters, bass is fast and tight but definetley not hitting like the subwoofer feeling of the fx101. The Fx40 is more comparable i think and while the pfe bass does not extend to that of the fx40 is sheer rumble i find the pfe to be generally less fatiuging. Theres not much in it in reference to this sort of music but with the fact that i can change filters and have a phone that is one of the best in the buisiness and blows out all the jvc tested in other genres.
3. JVC FX101 - To me the wnd best bass and soundstage of the lot, after the 100 hours of burn in these just sound great for the price they are at, at times they did come across boomy but on a whole a very impressive sets of phones. And when price comes into it i would say they sit second for me overall. The pfe are a bit better because of there refinement but not so much as to justify a 8X increase in expenditure (if it comes down to revealing detail etc by all means the pfe become worth up to 10x more than the FX101). Now with comparrison to the hje900, its a no brainer for me the hje have it in every area apart from maybe that rumble bass, the hje bass still goes very low however and i feel is tighter and better quality than the 101.now i payed £150 when i got the hje900 and if you put it to me to purchase now against the 101 what would i do, in a heart beat id take the hje.
4. Vsonic GR06 - Incredible build quality, tons of tips and great design. i dont think I have enough burn on these at around 10 hours, the bass is nowhere near as deep as the 101's of the 40's the sound is very good for diamonds and rust and sandals, bass tracks dont sound quite as good as with the 101 but mids and highs are far more enjoyable.
5. JVC FX40 - I just find these very hard to listen to for long periods of time, yes the bass goes low, there is good detail, i actually like the design, however sometimes iust makes me cringe and rip them from my ears. this was especially prominent in diamonds and rust, i almost didnt want to get through the whole track. Handled bassier tracks better but still had the occasional wtf moment. 90 hours burn in already and i will give them another 50 before i give up.
6. JVC FX1X - good but really no point in comparing this anymore, the 101 are here now and are just an all around better phone at a lower price.
7. Meelec M6 - Sounds like someone throwing a plate of mashed potatoes off a wall in comparison to all the above, spend your cash elsewhere.
