JVC HAFXC51R New Micro HD in-Ear Headphones (Red)

Vonx

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: Surprisingly spacious soundstage, great instrument seperation for the price, highs are nicely detailed without sibilance, partially open, realistic
Cons: Bass anemic (atleast before EQ'ing), mids sound pretty recessed, some missing information in the midrange
I just put these in my ears and the verdict is......thin sounding ;(
 
atleast before EQ
 
I bought these by request from a Head-Fi'r, and regardless of that characteristic, im still not disappointed :) 
 
The bass reminds me of the AKG 701's, practically non present.
 
However, I couldn't get over how large the sound stage was and how well instruments are separated. 
 
Definately could see people paying $150+ for this and not being disappointed. 
 
They seem a bit more picky to audio file quality than other IEM's in this price range, i found my poorly mastered recordings sounding particularly thin through these.
 
I can definately hear potential with these, especially for how well they do with rock. They have a great soundstage and instruments can easily be determined in direction and the texture is very accurate and believable, however there one major set back is how thin they sound ;/
 
If they simply added more bass, I think these would be a really popular product. 
 
They dont distort at high volumes, which is rather unbelievable at this price range, and I found myself headbanging to some "woe of tyrants" with these, and I actually have very few headphones (or IEM's) that induce headbanging, and these do, even with the anemic bass.
 
The Head-Fi'r that lead me onto these mentioned that these NEEDED eq, which I have yet to have the chance to try until I get my Cowon J3 this christmas, but even un-EQ'd, these sounded really damn impressive for how much I payed. 
 
When I do get my Cowon J3, I am going to EQ in the low end a bit and maybe EQ out some of the sibilant area's that give it a bit of a "tinny" sound, and I think these will be my new favorite budget portable :D
 
I can definately hear potential in these babies and I KNOW for a fact that once I do some serious EQ'ing, these could sound absolutely fantastic.
 
Sadly enough, I prefer these over my IE8's with an aftermarket cable, and those together retail for about $400 together! Everybody talked about how great the soundstage with the IE8's were, and I found it heavily overhyped, and quite frankly, sub-standard. 
 
I didn't expect these to have a soundstage at all, and instead I found it to be incredibly large and spacious! 
 
I will definately be returning the IE8's though, not because they are bad, but the huge bass saturation and recessed highs made them sound rather Low-Fi to me, of course thats opinion but it just didnt sound anything near what I payed for it.
 
From now on. until I give some more time actually listening to IEM's before I buy, I'm not going to be taking like plunges like that with IEM's again (unless they are under $100, then it doesnt hurt so bad, like these :) )
 
This IEM just goes to show how silly some high end headphone purchases can be, since I would say I only think the IE8's are 10 percent better, and only because they are more full bodied and have plenty of bass.
 
When these get EQ'd, I'll be worried about how I think the IE8's sound :D. That is, if I havn't returned them or sold them to somebody who is more into that sound signature
 
I used to think I was a bass-head, then I became obsessed with soundstage after the FA-011's (love those), and now I find myself looking for a nice mix of all worlds (ie neutral)
 
I will taking these around with me everywhere I travel and I am really really happy with the purchase
 
The tips are a little uncomfortable and I can find them slipping out of my ears slowly over time when wearing them, which has me worried they might pop out at any moment, but if i jam them in far enough, its fine.
 
It does gather earwax like the other guy said, and since the drivers are so close to the tips, I think they may need to be cleaned more regularly than other IEM's.
 
I got spoiled by the comply tips on the IE8's, which were easier on the inner ear but muffled the sound stage and the mids and highs more than i liked
 
Regardless, this is a pick up you have to get, and at this price, how could you be disappointed?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vonx
Vonx
I've only tried the stick tips, but they fit my ear canal perfectly, if a little on the large side, so they expand in my ears and I get a fantastic seal, so i know thats not the issue.
It very well could be an issue of burn in, i dont think ive gotten above 100 hours yet, ill come back and chirp if i hear noticeable differences
JK1
JK1
Vonx, are you inserting these fully? I guess they are supposed to be inserted until the tab is against the ear, and they can't go in any further. Without full insertion you may not get enough bass. Notice that the tips it came with are very different than standard IEM tips.
Vonx
Vonx
Dude, I jam these in my ear, hard. haha that sounded wrong but yea im sure its not an issue. the bass seems less recessed now after all this time with burn in and these babies are practically perfect, for 40 bucks, WHAT?
And people said this was an expensive hobby...

staxxx

100+ Head-Fier
Pros: cheap, great detail for the price, great soundstage
Cons: recessed midrange, earwax gathers at the tip of the driver, not much isolation
I don't really have much experience with IEMs, because it's rare to find one that I truly like. There is always a problem which is either the sound or fit. That said, this satisfies me on both levels and my wallet is happy.

It's not as comfortable as the Marshmallows or the Air Cushions, but it is comfortable, and that's a good thing because 90% of IEMs don't agree with me. The best IEM I've heard is the EX600 and the FXC51 can give it a run for it's money in terms of detail. The EX600 has a near perfect sound in my book along with a great fit and variety of tips, however the problem is that it's worn around the ear. Yes I know I'm whiny. Given a choice, I'd pick the FXC51.

These don't isolate all that well, due to the vented back I believe, however that's not a problem for me as I like to be aware of my surroundings. Maybe it's my ears but I have cleaned the tip of the driver twice due to earwax gathering. The earwax can actually affect the sound by creating a veil-like effect.

Interestingly the Micro HD drivers respond to EQ very very well, it's a very flexible IEM for EQ lovers, even if the signature sound is flawed in your opinion you can tweak it to almost whatever you like. I know that EQ is a sin for some of us here but if you don't EQ and you prefer an accurate tone, avoid this at all costs.

As for me, sometimes I EQ sometimes I don't. This is what the FR graph looks like:

http://goldenears.net/board/files/attach/images/783980/442/984/01.FR_JVC_HA-FXC51.png
kiteki
kiteki
wait, that had a price.
staxxx
staxxx
Yup, I changed my mind and bought the ex600 though
amazing sound, which is why I haven't been using the FXC51 lately
JK1
JK1
Any idea where to get different tips that fit on the FXC51 and FXC80? Even the smallest supplied tips seem a bit large and uncomfortable. The amount of bass and midrange depends so much on the seal. Why don't iem manufacturers package their products with a variety of different types of tips? The extra manufacturing cost would be minimal, and it would greatly increase consumer satisfaction.
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