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Audition Round 3: A "Not-So-Hidden" Gem Emerges
Today I continued my audio journey, spending an afternoon with three TOTL universals: the Sennheiser IE800, JVC FX850, and AKG K3003.
Sennheiser IE800 ($799)
The IE800 has a refined sound that I would just stop short of calling "smooth"- especially when compared with the K3003. It has great bass detail and quantity, but the low-end lacks just a little bit of punch. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the highs have good energy that never crossed over into sibilance. Treble accuracy was a little bit of an issue for me, though, with some high notes just not sounding right to my ears. Over in the middle, the mid-range is really nice. Detailed, lush and airy, yet somehow not forward- the mids are beautifully balanced against the rest of the sound.
The soundstage was not small- but it wasn't the largest I heard today. The IE800 was also relatively fast- but again, not the fastest among the three. Overall, the IE800 had a mainstream sound that was high on clarity.
IE800 Score: 9.4
AKG K3003 ($1099)
The AKG K3003 features, like the Shure SE846, a filter system. Unlike the Shure SE846, for which fun mods with the damping material is possible, the AKG K3003's filters have no changeable damping material and are just pieces of metal. I tested the two filters that interested me: "Reference" and "High-Boost".
Reference Filter: The K3003 has a very smooth and clean sound. It was the fastest of the 3 IEMs I heard, and also had the biggest soundstage to boot. The bass was punchier than that on the IE800, and had good detail as well. There is good treble energy without sibilance, and the mids are airy with good presence. Nice, balanced presentation.
High-Boost Filter: With this filter installed, the K3003 sacrifices some smoothness for even more treble energy. The mids also gain more air, and overall clarity is a touch better, and the soundstage a bit larger. Unfortunately the bass gets noticeably thinner. Worse still, sibilance creeps into the picture for treble. With this filter in- when it sounds good, it sounds really good, but I found it sometimes too edgy and unlistenable. This has been a real rarity with my Hugo Chord, which generally has a buttery smooth sound, for which even the brightest Shure filter is completely free of edginess.
K3003 Score: 9.4
JVC FX850 ($280)
And here it is. The hidden gem. By far the cheapest headphone of the day- in fact, of my entire series of auditions- also turns out to be one of the most stellar performers. First off, the bass. Oh, the bass. It's punchy with great detail and rhythm. This is a warm, enveloping bass that's both tight and textured. Simply wonderful. The IE800 and FX850 both have dynamic drivers, but their bass sounds completely different. This bass-heavy tuning, incidentally, also means that this IEM is also unequivocally warmer than both the K3003 and IE800. Despite the warmth, however, the FX850 remains an aggressive IEM with good rhythm. Timbre on both the mids and the treble is extremely good, and while the mids are a tad recessed, they do have good presence (this is a very interesting, and very well-done balance!), and never sound lacking. The treble could do with a bit more sparkle, but the details are there. Interestingly for an IEM that's less treble-focused, the soundstage remains extremely large- larger than the IE800, and just about on par with the K3003. If I were to nitpick, I'd say speed and clarity are not the FX850's strong suits.
Update: I've been struggling a bit with how to describe the FX850's treble, and I've now tweaked my description a bit. Initially I wrote they had less treble energy. I think a more accurate description would be that they could do with a bit more sparkle in the high-end- especially with all that warmth. Nonetheless, it's important to note that the treble is not lacking. The highs actually sound very detailed, and are not recessed at all. In fact, these are definitely V-shaped in their signature- there's just more of it in the bass.
Update 2: My score for the FX850 assumes that it can be improved with the mods, and/or with EQ. It is a technically proficient IEM, but its biggest weakness is its overly-warm frequency response. Nonetheless, if you're going to attempt neither of this, this is a big enough weakness that I would score it at 9.0.
FX850 Score (with mods/ EQ): 9.3
Summary
Overall, I liked the JVC a lot, although its signature was much too warm for me. I can understand why Head-Fiers have tried to EQ it and tried to mod it. There's a lot to work with here, and given its price... just wow. I also liked the K3003, although I preferred elements of the "Reference" filter and elements of the "High Boost" filter. Specifically, I thought High Boost needed to cut out the sibilance and retain a bit more of the smoothness of the Reference. Finally, the IE800 was a competent performer, but I found reason to be disappointed with both its bass and its treble.
Today I continued my audio journey, spending an afternoon with three TOTL universals: the Sennheiser IE800, JVC FX850, and AKG K3003.
Sennheiser IE800 ($799)
The IE800 has a refined sound that I would just stop short of calling "smooth"- especially when compared with the K3003. It has great bass detail and quantity, but the low-end lacks just a little bit of punch. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the highs have good energy that never crossed over into sibilance. Treble accuracy was a little bit of an issue for me, though, with some high notes just not sounding right to my ears. Over in the middle, the mid-range is really nice. Detailed, lush and airy, yet somehow not forward- the mids are beautifully balanced against the rest of the sound.
The soundstage was not small- but it wasn't the largest I heard today. The IE800 was also relatively fast- but again, not the fastest among the three. Overall, the IE800 had a mainstream sound that was high on clarity.
IE800 Score: 9.4
AKG K3003 ($1099)
The AKG K3003 features, like the Shure SE846, a filter system. Unlike the Shure SE846, for which fun mods with the damping material is possible, the AKG K3003's filters have no changeable damping material and are just pieces of metal. I tested the two filters that interested me: "Reference" and "High-Boost".
Reference Filter: The K3003 has a very smooth and clean sound. It was the fastest of the 3 IEMs I heard, and also had the biggest soundstage to boot. The bass was punchier than that on the IE800, and had good detail as well. There is good treble energy without sibilance, and the mids are airy with good presence. Nice, balanced presentation.
High-Boost Filter: With this filter installed, the K3003 sacrifices some smoothness for even more treble energy. The mids also gain more air, and overall clarity is a touch better, and the soundstage a bit larger. Unfortunately the bass gets noticeably thinner. Worse still, sibilance creeps into the picture for treble. With this filter in- when it sounds good, it sounds really good, but I found it sometimes too edgy and unlistenable. This has been a real rarity with my Hugo Chord, which generally has a buttery smooth sound, for which even the brightest Shure filter is completely free of edginess.
K3003 Score: 9.4
JVC FX850 ($280)
And here it is. The hidden gem. By far the cheapest headphone of the day- in fact, of my entire series of auditions- also turns out to be one of the most stellar performers. First off, the bass. Oh, the bass. It's punchy with great detail and rhythm. This is a warm, enveloping bass that's both tight and textured. Simply wonderful. The IE800 and FX850 both have dynamic drivers, but their bass sounds completely different. This bass-heavy tuning, incidentally, also means that this IEM is also unequivocally warmer than both the K3003 and IE800. Despite the warmth, however, the FX850 remains an aggressive IEM with good rhythm. Timbre on both the mids and the treble is extremely good, and while the mids are a tad recessed, they do have good presence (this is a very interesting, and very well-done balance!), and never sound lacking. The treble could do with a bit more sparkle, but the details are there. Interestingly for an IEM that's less treble-focused, the soundstage remains extremely large- larger than the IE800, and just about on par with the K3003. If I were to nitpick, I'd say speed and clarity are not the FX850's strong suits.
Update: I've been struggling a bit with how to describe the FX850's treble, and I've now tweaked my description a bit. Initially I wrote they had less treble energy. I think a more accurate description would be that they could do with a bit more sparkle in the high-end- especially with all that warmth. Nonetheless, it's important to note that the treble is not lacking. The highs actually sound very detailed, and are not recessed at all. In fact, these are definitely V-shaped in their signature- there's just more of it in the bass.
Update 2: My score for the FX850 assumes that it can be improved with the mods, and/or with EQ. It is a technically proficient IEM, but its biggest weakness is its overly-warm frequency response. Nonetheless, if you're going to attempt neither of this, this is a big enough weakness that I would score it at 9.0.
FX850 Score (with mods/ EQ): 9.3
Summary
Overall, I liked the JVC a lot, although its signature was much too warm for me. I can understand why Head-Fiers have tried to EQ it and tried to mod it. There's a lot to work with here, and given its price... just wow. I also liked the K3003, although I preferred elements of the "Reference" filter and elements of the "High Boost" filter. Specifically, I thought High Boost needed to cut out the sibilance and retain a bit more of the smoothness of the Reference. Finally, the IE800 was a competent performer, but I found reason to be disappointed with both its bass and its treble.
