[eke2k6]

Ha! Welcome back Dave.

 

[s0lar]

How do these compare to AKG K81DJ?

 

[Dsnuts]

Can't wait to test these bad boys on my Laptop for gaming. The great amount of detailed sound these have are going to be perfect for gaming.. Again more impressions to come. They be cooking on some Drum N Bass fire..
 
When you gonna be back in the states eke. You hear how Snoop Dogg is now Snoop Lion. Lol! He is Bob Marley Reincarnate. Lol!

 

[Dsnuts]

Quote:

How do these compare to AKG K81DJ?

Would be a solid upgrade to them. Much better more complete dynamics. Much better fuller mids, better detailed and lows that reach lower.

 

[eke2k6]

Quote:

When you gonna be back in the states eke.
 
You hear how Snoop Dogg is now Snoop Lion. Lol! He is Bob Marley Reincarnate. Lol!

 
Exactly one week from now.
 
That's what happens to people who abuse the herb of wisdom 

 

[kiteki]

I'll be picking up the "prince of detail" discontinued(?) Sony SA-3000 tomorrow, fun times ahead in detail-land.
 

---

 
For the price-minded, I found this new / overlooked DAC/Amp yesterday, it's called the Fire Phoenix - http://www.ebay.com/itm/FIRE-PHOENIX-DAC-02-CS4398-LM4562-MINI-USB-DAC-Headphone-Amplifier-/180738679826
 
 
Looking at it's components, the Cirrus Logic flagship DAC chip is known for having high detail and sounding delicate, it's used in the Colorfly C4 etc.
 
The LM4562 is detailed too, clear.  Here are some copy-pasted comments on the amp section chip...
 

Spoiler: JRC4556

 
[/] those clever folks at JRC had other ideas with the NJM4556 (also called the JRC4556 or NJR4556). They took a better than decent audio op amp and seriously upgraded the output stage. The result works way better than most would ever guess. The trick here was to parallel the two devices in each IC and use a dedicated IC for each channel. This has numerous benefits including twice the peak current capability, better channel isolation from the high currents involved, lower distortion, twice the thermal dissipation and more. More on the dissipation can be found a few paragraphs down but it turns out you really do need two ICs.You can just compare the O2 measurements to the Cmoy measurements and you’ll see the difference (although there’s more going on between those two).
 
[/] I don’t know this for a fact, but rumor has it the 4556 used here was originally an application-specific part designed for, ta da, driving headphones! It’s a unique op amp. Nobody else makes anything much like it.
 

 

[dnullify]

Quote:

DAMN IT!!! the dirt cheap 40s are a clever trap from JVC.  Its the gateway to audio hell. LoL
 

totally true...
 
 
 
So Dsnuts, any sibilance or just edgy sharp highs?
I wonder if the price will come down when they work their way to shelves... are they at/bellow msrp at $50?
 
ech it's more like $75 as best as i can find...
 
There's also the ha-s400 that's got carbon nanotube drivers as well according to pictures of the packaging.. any news on those?

 

[Dsnuts]

Nothing edgy about it. These are as extended as you want without it being sharp or the opposite dull in any way,  absolutely no sibilance... I know you are concerned about the tuning on these but rest assured there is nothing sharp pointy or abrasive in the highs at all. I will have to agree with Ericp on these having a similar tuning to the higher end FXD70s, FXD80s..I know shipping is like $17.. Worth it completely..I do find that these are closer to the sound that is on the FXD70 than the FXD80 as the mids are more thicker sounding on these headphones much like the closed FXD70. The bass end as well. These headphones I think have a much fuller sub bass end over the earphones however. Also for guys that are worried about too much bass. No worries. If your tunes don't have too much bass these wont show too much bass. On hiphop and EDM tracks however..They come out to play.
 
Vocals sound absolutely on point with these. Yes I am gushing over these headphones!

 

[dnullify]

Do you happen to know the difference between the ha-s400 and 500 then?
 
it's apparently only a $10 difference with shipping considered.
 
Are these coming to the states any time soon, i assume they're not japan-only products.
 
i am rather intrigued. I was just thinking about picking up a pair of full sized phones, and was looking at a pair of refurbished m50s since i like the ones i bought my brother. I don't know why my price threshold for full sized phones is so much lower than IEMs; i'm saving up for the ASG-2 upgrade which is likely much more.

 

[Dsnuts]

The HA-S400 use a smaller 30mm Carbon Nanotube driver. It wouldn't surprise me if those sound every bit as good as these HA-S500..I will guess a bit lesser bass response from them as they are smaller drivers. But otherwise those should sound very similar to the HA-S500.
 
Upon careful inspection. There is no reason why I can't throw on a bigger set of pads on these HA-S500 to make them fully circum aural. Will have to experiment with maybe the M50 pads..I have some Pioneer velour pads I can throw on here too will report back soon.

 

[rickdohc]

i dont understand JVC use of nomeclature on their headphones,  i just had my hands on a pair of HA-S600 and they got carbon diaphragm .

 

[jasonb]

Im very interested if you can fit bigger pads on them. Post your results asap!
Quote:

The HA-S400 use a smaller 30mm Carbon Nanotube driver. It wouldn't surprise me if those sound every bit as good as these HA-S500..I will guess a bit lesser bass response from them as they are smaller drivers. But otherwise those should sound very similar to the HA-S500.
 
Upon careful inspection. There is no reason why I can't throw on a bigger set of pads on these HA-S500 to make them fully circum aural. Will have to experiment with maybe the M50 pads..I have some Pioneer velour pads I can throw on here too will report back soon.

 

[Dsnuts]

These are the new and improved versions of the HA-S600 for certain. The mid bass hump on the HA-S600 prevents them from greatness. These however fix that issue and not only that but are overall much better tuned out of the box. I can only imagine just how much better these will sound with some solid burn in. I am thinking minimum 100- 150 hours. We will see. I will post more impressions as they burn in. Will try some other pads too. The pads on these are not uncomfy in any way because of the light clamp. But experimentation with other pads should prove some interesting results.

 

[jasonb]

Also, are these going to be good unamped straight from an iPhone? Or are they harder to drive?

 

[rickdohc]

Quote:

These are the new and improved versions of the HA-S600 for certain. The mid bass hump on the HA-S600 prevents them from greatness. These however fix that issue and not only that but are overall much better tuned out of the box. I can only imagine just how much better these will sound with some solid burn in. I am thinking minimum 100- 150 hours. We will see. I will post more impressions as they burn in. Will try some other pads too. The pads on these are not uncomfy in any way because of the light clamp. But experimentation with other pads should prove some interesting results.

 
 
yea....i didnt buy  them beacuse the mid bass hump was way obvious, the bass goes way to wild on those things, with some EQ you can tame the bass.
 
ill buy those HS500, problem is that it will take a LONG time to arrive down here in central america, i am expecting at least 3 to 4 weeks, or even more.