So, first, Dsnuts, fzman, Dannybai and the rest of the fellas (not sure if I should include ladies yet) who owned the FXZ200 (before me) and FXZ100 are right. The 200 has quite a bit more boosted bass than the 100 (and there's plenty of bass in the 100). But it's not out of line with the rest of the sound signature. All instruments sound full and robust! Although I get it sometimes with the 100, the fullness of the snare drums that I so enjoy in the GR07 (and stated a few pages down that I find somewhat thin in the 100) are here in its full glory with the 200. So with about three hours of burn in on the 200, these IEMs sound quite wonderful to me. And if it's true that the FXZ200 only gets better from here (and I haven't a JVC that wasn't true for), my ears are in for a treat!
So here is the deal with me: the way james444 and that whole lot of head-fi members got so excited over the the Sony EX1000 and EX600 is the same way I feel about the FXZ200 and the FXZ100. These come close to being my dream universal "dynamic" earphones. Oh, the Sonys were (are) technically brilliant and astounding in its sound signatures, but two things kept me from fully loving those two monitors. One: the highs were just excruciating harsh to my ears, and two: the fit was never quite comfortable for me.
The highs in the 200s and 100s are just perfect for me; the mids are perfect, and of course the bass is unbelievable to my ears. Which leads me to another point. There are incredible amounts of bass in the 200s and 100s, but I don't feel it's fair to call them basshead earphones. The word basshead seems to have a general negative connotation, and it doesn't fit the moniker of these JVCs' sound signatures at all. Both are superb audiophile IEMs that happen to be tuned with massive superb tight bass. There's no messy bloatedness in the bass (that many bassheads seem to like) lurking in these IEMs. None whatsoever.
Shotgunshane stated earlier that the 200 reminded him of Aurisonics first ASG-1. I can kind of see why he would make that comparison, but to me the ASG-1 nor ASG-1.2 sound nothing like the 200 and 100. Oh, I think the 100's bass might have been on par with the first two ASGs, but the JVCs strike me as more refined than those two Aurisonics. To a lesser extent the 100, but the 200 is definitely more refined in sound than the Aurisonics. But, hold on! I think the 200 has a closer relationship with the ASG-2 demo I heard than with the ASG-1(.2). This too could be different now, since I know Aurisonics is using different dynamic drivers than what I heard in the ASG-2 demo. 200 and ASG-2 bass are almost on par, but tuned differently, so I'm speaking on quantity more so than quality (but the quality is there for both). I think the ASG-2's mids are a tad recessed compared to the 200, but the Aurisonics will win in the highs with great extension with those two super BA tweeters in the hybrid. So don't forget we're comparing three dynamics drivers to one dynamic and two BAs. But as good as the 200 sounds right now, after burn-in it may sound better to me than I remember the ASG-2 sounding (maybe not). The ASG-2 is also significantly higher in MSRP than the 200, so that's something to consider. With that in mine, the 200 performs way above its price level.
The FXZs' stock tips and I don't get along. Not surprising for me. I have yet to like any JVC stock tips on the earphones they were meant to be on except for the FXD series. So for me, the Senn double-flanges give me optimum performance. With the stock tips I wasn't getting any bass out of the 200, and when I did it didn't sound any better than the 100s. But the 200s do have more (and somewhat better) bass than the 100. So this made me think about how many who heard both stated that the EX600 was about 80 percent of the EX1000. Well I think the 100 is closer to the 200 than that in overall sound quality (I'm going to say 90 percent). But here's the difference: the 100 isn't really tuned like the 200, whereas the EX1000 and EX600 were tuned very similarly. The 100 is a more balanced and neutral phone (as balanced and as neutral as it can get with all of that glorious bass). I think the bass and mids are more forward in the 200 (but this doesn't overshadow the highs for me). And the 200 is clearly the more refined earphone. Unlike shotgunshane, I find the refinement in the 200 to have more to do with the EX1000 than the ASG-1.
And although the bass is clearly more in quantity in the 200 compared to the 100, I don't find the bass to be too much. Because the rest of the sound spectrum is fuller and thicker and richer too. So these are like dream universals for me. The only other universals that I feel can give the 200 serious competition are the ASG-2 (I need to hear the new version soon), and maybe the GR08 (aka: V7007). But I'm really more speculating ont he Vsonic. I know what the ASG-2 is capable of. In my universal world now, this 200, the W4 and surprisingly the TDK BA200 put me in audio nirvana! Those would be my three favorite top tier universals right now. I know you noticed I didn't put the FXZ100 there. Well, the FXZ100 is a great earphone and is right behind those three, but I'm ranking in what gives me pure joy right now. The FXZ100 may actually be too balanced for me compared to how much I'm enjoying the FXZ200 out of the box. But I can see how the FXZ100 would suit other who want FXZ experience with the highs a little bit more forward and not so much bass. The bass in my FXZ100 has beautifully blended in with the entire sound spectrum at this point. I won't be disappointed still owning them, but I am pretty open to selling the FXZ100s (maybe two weeks old?) if anyone think it may be more to your sound signature liking. You can't go by which performs better or is more expensive at this tier. Now you must consider what fits your preferred sound signature. So, these are my initial impressions of the FXZ200 and how it compares to its little brother.
One other thing: while both FXZs sound very good coming straight out of my iPod Classic, both of these IEMs love power and perform even better with the juice. I see it akin to having a fine lady. She will treat you well and do nice things for you because she's your lady and loves you. but if you buy that lady expensive gifts; dress her up in the finest clothes, and adorn her with diamonds, she more than likely will got the the extra mile in pleasing you and taking your level of satisfaction to the next plateau. So you should start viewing juice from a good solid amp as the diamonds you're adorning the 200 (and yes, even the 100) with. Both will perform even better for you with a nice amp.
Edited by ericp10 - 1/9/13 at 7:05pm
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shipping.
