I decided to drop green on these cans after high praise reports mainly by the bass beast that is Hawaiibadboy on the former BassHeads Club thread, which for reasons unknown to me was recently closed but continues in new Audiophile Bass Lounge thread here, though I think Hawaiibadboy is now banned, also reasons unknown to me, but is a shame, as this first impressions review of mine is with that HBB in mind.
So, these cans come in a rather unassuming box, which is severely lacking in advertising that these cans are bass orientated. If a prospective bass head buyer for new cans was in a store, he/she could easily walk past these cans completely unaware of their bass capabilities.
Inner box has cans nicely presented in dark blue silky fabric, suggesting the cans have pedigree and purpose that other cans may not befit such splendour.
Picking the SZ2000's up for the first time, you realise just how heavy they are, apparently a heavyweight 485g, considerably heavier than SONY MDR-XB1000, a cruiserweight at 375g.
Pads look plush and well padded, but are deceiving when worn as drivers are closer than you'd think and I found top of my left ear uncomfortably rests on the driver, so it takes me a bit of adjusting to find a sweet spot of comfort. I've not big or protruding ears and this is the first headcan I've experienced this kind of initial fit with, and I must have a small head, as I rarely have to extend headbands on cans, these being no exception.
Build quality is very good and the whole thing is put together very nicely and feels robust.
Main track I used to get a first feel of these cans, is a Hawaiibadboy recommendation, namely Wiz Khalifa's on my level track, noted for its serious bass.
First play was cans plugged directly into iPad, with EQ set to flat (same as EQ off), and these cans played no problem whatsoever, so are easily driven. Sound was nice and crisp, with tight punchy bass - very pleasant indeedy.
Second play had cans hooked up to Fiio E17, only with bass EQ set to max out level 10, again using iPad as source. Now this set up is to feel just how hard the bass slam is going to hit, and how the cans perform under such EQ extremities.
Boom! - the moment the track starts and the deep bass drops, these cans come to life as a fully fledged bass canon, it's pretty cool, the cans literally vibrate on your head. The bass, though pummelling your head in waves of profound bass, manages to keep it together and not bloat out - it's just no problem to the SZ2000's, these cans were expecting this and were well prepared for this EQ.
Comparing to the SONY XB1000's, the SZ2000's have more prominent mids and highs even when heavily bass EQ'd, the mids particularly retain their presence and clarity, where the XB1000's mids and highs seem a little recessed in comparison with bass leading and everything else following behind.
The XB1000 does have a harder bass slam than the JVC's, but I'd guess that's down to their 70mm Goliath sized drivers.
All in all, the JVC SZ2000's are serious bass canons that deliver a mighty slam that will put a smile on any bassheads face for sure.
Gripes include the earpads, the cable is fixed undetachable and only 1.2 metres long and the provided carry bag is the cheapest quality one I've ever seen and seems like a last minute afterthought, but is not befitting of these cans at all - JVC could have done a lot better carry bag for sure.
So, big thanks to Hawaiibadboy for making these mighty cans known to me, as they are a lot of fun with a quality sound signature for the win.
My SZ2000's were first cans to sit proudly on my just received klutz design stand you see in photos, which has absolutely zero relevance to this first impression review, but headphone stand is in vibrant red, which I like enough to point out...