The JVC HA-S500.. Appreciation, fan thread. - Page 336

For getting the most out of the s500..
This is what I think are the best usb/dac in there class..
Ele dac ($15) <<< HiFimeDIY Sabre DAC ($50) <<< Meridian Explorer ($300) ..
Everything else falls in between with diminished value for the money.
Correct me if I wrong.

Edited by Maxx134 - 2/27/13 at 9:56pm

Ok, but I usually use ELE Dac on laptop and control volume with windows volume, granted a physical volume is better.

Does reducing volume in windows actually degrade the sound?

Wow, Just wow, I just got my S500s in the mail and I got to say, Dsnuts was completely right. These are absolutely amazing! I have only burned them in for about 3 hours and yet I find them to already sound so muuuuuuch better than my Shure 440s. The bass in particular is fantastic. I'm almost dancing on my seat right now! This IS the basshead portable to get. I would have very happily paid a 150$ for these headphones, but the fact that these only cost 35$ makes them a complete steal!

I'll be sure to try out some of the mods within the coming days, but for now, I find the comfort to be adequate (My 440s have rather terrible comfort so take my impressions with a grain of salt!)

 

Thank you so much for helping me discover countless numbers of amazing headphones ds!

PS: What EQ do you guys use on the S500?

 

Edit: I stand corrected. The headphones sound a little muddy, but I am confident this will get fixed with burn in. BTW, if your computer has dolby home theater v4, I highly recommend that you switch on surround sound. It definitely improves the soundstage on these. 

Edited by hapasam - 2/28/13 at 12:16am

I don't think it will. But adding an amp to the chain is always good.

Dude, where'd you find 'em for 35 bucks???

I actually bought them for even cheaper than 35 bucks. I found a pair of S500 barely used for 1500 yen on rakuten auction so I naturally bought them and it ended up to 2200 yen (24$) including shipping and the auction site's fee. Then I asked my family in Japan to send it via SAL (similar to ems shipping but a little cheaper and slower). So in the end It ended up costing 3100 yen.

^Yaaaaay fresh meat!!!

 

Enjoy them lovely S500s hapasama!

Haha we have a freshman on the campus!!

Time to welcome him in a true CNT style lol
Edited by Lifted Andreas - 3/1/13 at 4:23pm

So I picked up a pair of JVC HA-SR500's at the local source about a week ago.  I rushed home longing to hear for myself if they sounded as wonderful as many on this thread have said.  Once I opened the package, they were mine forever since the source is the only shop that doesn't allow returns where I am.  

 

Then after listening to them and being less than impressed, I realized they looked different than the Victor S500's in the pictures show at the beginning of the thread, and also that the package did not mention Carbon Nanotubes!  Crap, they weren't the same model.  

 

They were a repackaged older model that JVC brought out in north america.  Disappointed, even if they were cheap, I gave them to my sister who instantly loved them with her android phone.

 

Today I went shopping for a new pair of headphones for myself.  Had a listen to the Shure 440's, then a good long listen to the much talked about Audio Technica ATH-M50's.  The M50's sounded pretty damn good, but were just to big for portable use in my opinion, so I passed on them.

 

Then I decided to stop by the local Futureshop, just in case they had something new that might interest me.  I got to the headphone section and browsed...boring, boring, too much, Dr. Dre's fart cannons...nope!  Then I spotted something, some dual driver JVC HA-FXT90's with...drumroll...Carbon Nanotubes!  For $69!  I had to buy and try.  

 

So far, the sound amazes me.  Packed my Shure SE215's away and walked all the way home with them in my ears.  They might have something special with this Carbon Nanotube technology.  These HA-FXT90's sound really good to me?  Truly amazing considering the price I payed.

 

I know, this thread is about the S500's but just had to share my experience.  I may even go back and buy a second pair because I like their sound signature so much.

 

Listening to a flac rip of 'The Renaissance' by Q-tip as I type...sweet!  

 

Cheers,

TBB 

Edited by Theblackbeard - 3/1/13 at 4:18pm

That's all well and good mate but I'm left wondering why you didn't just go on ebay and buy some real S500s there.

 

Well, truth is I'm no fan of ordering online.  I prefer to be able to return them right away if I don't like what I hear.  Besides, I'm happy enough with my Koss Pro DJ100's and Porta Pro's if I want to listen with on ear heaphones.  

 

Now if the ones I picked up at the Source had been the same S500's, well that would have been sweet.

 

Edit.  Browsed ebay, thinking about ordering a pair of S500's now 

Can anyone recommend who I should buy from?  If they have anything like the sound I'm hearing from these FXT90's I may just have to...gulp...order from ebay.

 

Peace,

TBB

Edited by Theblackbeard - 3/1/13 at 5:37pm

Be a man and buy them.

 

You are not a true head-fier unless you suffer through the pain and misery of ordering S500 headphone online. You must be initiated. You must feel the pain of counting down the days until your awesome S500 headphones finally arrive. And when you realize the awesome potential of the phones, you then must try to resist the urge to buy other pads to try to get the absolute most out of them audio-wise and comfort-wise. And once you lose that fight, you get to again order online and wait day by day for those damned pads to arrive.

 

As the great man is akin to say...

 

 

This is a good seller - http://www.ebay.com/itm/Victor-JVC-HA-S500-Z-Gun-Metallic-Carbon-Nanotube-Stereo-Headphones-/130859728176?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item1e77d8fd30

Edited by Jakkal - 3/1/13 at 6:36pm