The JVC HA-S500.. Appreciation, fan thread. - Page 103

Lol i have 3 windows of that bassdrive thing all playing at once XD Should work well for burning in though.

I am not sure they are better than the Beyers DT1350 for the asking price they surley are better and more refined, but the s500 is way better than yor KSC75. Mines are gathering dust. They sound tiny, lifeless.

Hi Cel. I am comparing stock pads on the s500. Its lacking clarity on the m50 compared to the S500. The bass is strong on both.

Dont get me wrong. Its a very good HP but IMHO and for me, i like the S500 over the m50. Maybe i am getting used to the jvc sound signature, but i am not missing my m50.

After reading this thread, buying the headphone and listening to the headphone, I can definitely say that we have a winner here! JVC really has made something incredible that is quite affordable given what it does.

Yeah. See I haven't noticed any clarity difference, although I haven't done much head to head comparison. But certainly the mids are much forward in the S500, although the bass seems a little more defined on the M50. But because of the heavier mid presence, I can definitely see why some people would like them better 

Whe completly agree, some will find the M50 better , some the 500 for those reasons.


I just did a ABCD tets, . Xb500,700,htf600 and S500 and iam gettig consufed here, out of nowhere the s500 is competing in bass impact and quantity with better quality, BUT this things are not bass monsters!! Or they are??? The HTF600 bass is weak, the sony series is more muddy and way less refined, but the bass impact on the s500 is almost or even harder on the s500

Its like some type of hybrid of bass monster but with quality bass and the mids foward, jezzz strange HP
Edited by rickdohc - 9/23/12 at 5:04pm

 

One reason might be because of their sensitivity. Are the other headphones that sensitive? The tendency could be to end up with 'em louder when you switch them over, which would give them an advantage. Supposedly very small db changes in SPL can bias outcomes in speaker AB testing. I always have to turn them down a lot when I compare them to something else. LOL

Yea maybe, i have to crank the volumen on those, but it doesnt thelp them that much on mids and highs, Yea these are not bass monsters but bass is not lacking for sure.

EDIT. Triple checked, yes. The s500 is more sensitive than the others, if i am listening at 70% on the s500 i need to cranck the xb's at least 85%. Thanks CEl for that observation.

Edited by rickdohc - 9/23/12 at 5:36pm

Level matching is mandatory if meaningful results are to be obtained. Rather hard to do with headphones in practice . I use 1 kHz sine wave  for reference and try to get as equally loud signal from both phones under test as possible - but that does not always give the loudness phones have with music. Some kind of artificial head would be better - objective measurements are more reliable than subjective impressions, but performance of transducers, imperfect as they still are, can not be assesed by objective measurements alone. 

 

JVC HA-SA 500 change both spectral signature as well as "appearent sensitivity" with different earpads. These differences exceed 1 dB and can lead to false results if not corrected for. They also have above average sensitivity - when merely swapping another lower sensitivity and HA-S50o without re-adjusting the volume setting , HA-S500 will be "better" simply because they are louder.

 

For instant A/Bing, preferably two amps of the same type, each driving a single pair of phones with preadjusted volume setting(s) should be used, driven from the same source using Y cables/splitter. 

Ok, i tried with the volumen way more lower on the S500, still its no contest, s500 wins hands down, the bass impact is hard and with better quality. Not a bass monster, could be a good thing, but with enough bass. So if i sell them i will not miss them.
Edited by rickdohc - 9/23/12 at 6:54pm

Make no mistake, I consider HA-S500 superiour to most headphones - it was meant in general terms, not with HA-S500 particularly in mind. Usually level matching is more important once HA-S500 are compared to >>> $ (and hopefully quality... ) phones - here the differences should be getting ever smaller and level matching does gain in importance by the appropriate amount.

 

Consaidering selling already? Comfort issue IIRC ? Care to elaborate ?

Hi analogdude.

You are completly right, i just made another test with s500 volumen much lower, i used Erick Clapton Change the world, in second 13 Erick hits an armonic with hes finger, all the others headphones even the ksc75, the armonics sounds dull and not detailed, with s500 you can hear the texture of the note and it is reproduced very good, sounds more real.

No, i am not selling my s500. I was refering to the other phones. No way i am selling my s500

Unless that new apple earbud is that good as people are reviewing them, would like tomhear DS comments on them.

JVC needs to hurry up and make super-comfy big 50mm versions of these carbon nanotube drivers already!! 

I just listened to this with my s500's. SO EPIC 

Finished my re-cable. And i said I would post the results but I got to thinking. From the last time I listened to the time i finished I don't think it is a fair test to go saying it sounds better because I don't believe anyone has that good of hearing memory over a few hours time with a subtle change like a recable. Anyway I feel like there is improvement but why wouldn't I after I went through all the trouble. All I CAN say is the cable I posted yesterday made of the same materials which I CAN do an A/B test is certainly noticable.

That being said. Instead I thought I would share some of the pics from the recable process:

Braided 4 strands of 24awg silver plated OFC. Then used a drilled die as a Y. Twisted the 2 conductors to each cup. Used braided jackets.



Driver removed.


Shows how thin the stock wire is to the replacement.


Had to melt the hole to make it a bit bigger to fit the jacket with the 2 conductors.


Buttoned up.

Pads back on.


Done deal.



Was really a lot of fun. Coulda been nicer I think but good for a first go. I recommend to anyone who has any interest and is a cabling noob (like myself) to do it as a project because they are easy to take apart and the soldering pads on the drivers are real easy to access and nice and big. And if you mess it up...... at least they are 70 dollars and not 350 dollar or more cans.