[RPGWiZaRD]

They aren't available in Finland yet and very scarsely available in europe so far on select online sites so haven't been able to try them myself but would still be curious to hear more about them. They are quite widely available in the US though. It seems there's no expensier options that would be a good replacement of the XB500 with similar sound signature but better so started looking around for cheaper options in case I might find something that may be even a very tiny bit better for me at similar cost.
 
Since JVC is known for extending/emphasizing the bass response on their headphones and it's a pretty large manufacturer I thought there might at least be some kind of chance that this could rival Sony XB series which IMO are great sounding basshead headphones at a very reasonable price point. The M5X retail price is only $50 which makes it a direct competitor against XB500.
 
They seem to have put extra efforts into advertising this new series which seems to be marketed towards the same crowd as Sony does with XB series, "portable bass headphones" with easily driven specs and short cord etc. Can't say I like the design though, it's rather ugly but I only care about the sound as they would be used at home anyway.
 
Any1 knows anything about the JVC HA-M5X in particular ?
 
http://xtreme.jvc.com/contents.html
http://www.jvc.co.uk/product.php?id=HA-M5X-E&catid=8
 

 
Specs:
 

Driver Unit​	50mm​
Magnet type​	Neodymium​
Frequency Response​	7-23,000Hz​
Nominal Impedance​	32ohms​
Sensitivity​	105dB/1mW​
Max. Input Capability​	1000mW(IEC)​
Cord Length​	1.2m​
Weight (without cord)​	280g​
Plug​	Gold plated​

 
Also the HA-S600 looks somewhat interesting too and has a better looking design, any1 have any info on those if they could rival XB500 at least? http://av.jvc.com/product.jsp?modelId=MODL028732&pathId=112&page=1
 

 
Specs:
 
 

Driver Unit	1.57
Magnet type	Neodymium
Frequency Response	8-25,000Hz
Nominal Impedance	36ohms
Sensitivity	102dB/1mW
Max. Input Capability	1000mW(IEC)
Cord Length	3.94ft (1.2m)
Weight (without cord)	5.36oz (152g)
Plug	iPhone compatible, Gold Plated

 

 

[maverickronin]

Wow, those are awful looking.  Even the XB series would almost be sleek except for the giant earpads.  I'll forgive them though since the they actually help the sound and are pretty comfy.  Those JVCs look like a poor man's skullcandy.  I'm not to interested in risking $40 on them.  if they turn out to suck they wouldn't even make good fosterphones since their so damn ugly.  I think I'll take a pass as well and let someone else find out if they're any good..

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

Wow, those are awful looking.  Even the XB series would almost be sleek except for the giant earpads.  I'll forgive them though since the they actually help the sound and are pretty comfy.  Those JVCs look like a poor man's skullcandy.  I'm not to interested in risking $40 on them.  if they turn out to suck they wouldn't even make good fosterphones since their so damn ugly.  I think I'll take a pass as well and let someone else find out if they're any good..

Yea the M5X aren't any good looking at all and seems like something marketed towards kids but the 2nd headphone HA-S600 looks quite sweet actually. I can get the HA-S600 from amazon.co.uk for like £39 shipped but will probably wait until I can order both of them at the same time.
 

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Any1?

 

[Katun]

I wouldn't mind trying either one of those. JVC has consistently impressing me with their very low price, yet high performing products. I feel like supporting them some more in trying one of their full sized. The M5X doesn't look that bad at all, in fact, I would much rather see people walking with those around than stuff by Monster and Skullcandy. Besides, who knows about the bass? Maybe it's the best in the price bracket? The S600 looks quite sleek, and I'm liking the looks of it a lot. Reminds me of CAL!. Knowing JVC, I'll bet these both sound pretty good for the money, maybe even great. Who knows, I may go on a JVC shopping spree...

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

Quote:

I wouldn't mind trying either one of those. JVC has consistently impressing me with their very low price, yet high performing products. I feel like supporting them some more in trying one of their full sized. The M5X doesn't look that bad at all, in fact, I would much rather see people walking with those around than stuff by Monster and Skullcandy. Besides, who knows about the bass? Maybe it's the best in the price bracket? The S600 looks quite sleek, and I'm liking the looks of it a lot. Reminds me of CAL!. Knowing JVC, I'll bet these both sound pretty good for the money, maybe even great. Who knows, I may go on a JVC shopping spree...

 
That would be awesome if you could try it out, especially M5X I'm curious about, there's already a quite lengthy review of S600B on head-fi but reading it I didn't quite get a clear picture of what to expect of it, the M5X has one thread as well but it's quite light on details (it's described as very bassy, good soundstage and slightly recessed highs). At least the HA-M5X seems to be the bassier of the two and knowing what kind of bass emphasize XB500 has I think M5X is probably more suitable for me and I also think it's got quite huge opening at the back (the ring beneath the XX rubber-stripe which in itself is quite a good and simple/cheap protective design measure IMO) which is a good thing, not only for bass to sound fullier but the soundstage always starts sounding larger/airier etc too but will ofc lead to sound leaking as well.
 

 
When I see the cups I immediatly think of:
 

 

 
Notice the similarity?
 

 

[courtoreillejm]

I just bought these today and noticed this post here a few days ago. I was doing some research to try to find out if these headphones are good or not. I live in Canada and these headphones cost me $69 as opposed to $40 :S but I figured I would create an account on here to give everybody a review.
 
These headphones feel much tighter than my previous set of headphones (Sony MDR-XD200) and they block out a fair amount of outside noise. The earpads are stiffer and not as soft as the ones on my Sony headphones. But on the bright side, JVC wasn't lying when they said the frequency range goes down to 8Hz. Most consumer-grade headphones claim to go as low as 20Hz but most of them never go that low. You run a 20Hz frequency through them and you don't hear any bass, not even a small amount. But you can hear the bass in these ones, albeit quietly.
 
When it comes to the sound quality, these aren't anything worth writing home to Mom about. In fact, these would probably sound terrible to audiophiles and people who are accustomed to professional grade headphones that have a nice balance of highs, mids and lows. The lows are average in these headphones and don't really have much more bass than my Sony headphones. They vibrate when you turn them up loud, however. The mids sound a bit high and overpower the highs and lows a bit. As for the highs, they don't sound as "crispy" as I guess professional headphones would sound. In other words, these headphones really don't sound crystal-clear.
 
It could just be me but I get a nasty headache from wearing these for more than half an hour (usually these kind of headphones do that to me which is why I opt for earbuds). But like I said, they are tighter than my Sony headphones so that could account for the headache I get from wearing these.
 
I was surprised to not find a 3.5mm to 1/4 inch headphone adapter in the packaging, as you usually find with these types of headphones (an adapter came included with my Sony headphones). The only other thing inside the package was a sheet of paper explaining the warranty (which isn't useful to me since it only applies to people who live in the United States, Puerto Rico and some other place I can't remember).
 
Compared to the JVC Marshmallow Buds, these headphones have less treble but the same amount of bass. The cups only swivel at a 45 degree angle rather than 180 degrees, and the wires come out of both cups (many headphones have the wire coming from only the left side).
 
Anyway, in conclusion, these headphones are decent but I really don't think they're worth the $69 that I paid due to the sound quality they have. I believe the Sony headphones I bought previously were a better bang for the buck, even at full price ($50). But for casual music listeners and people who use these kinds of headphones to listen to their iPods and portable media players, these are decent. Although I'd recommend the JVC Marshmallow Buds. They sound better and are much more comfortable and portable.
 
As for the JVC XX earbuds, I imagine they will sound just as good as the Marshmallow Buds. I believe "XX" is just a method JVC is using to sell headphones. They really don't perform any better than any other headphones they manufacture, so you're pretty much paying extra for the design and two letter X's, so to speak.

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

You should have read the lengthiest review you'll ever see on these http://www.head-fi.org/t/557002/jvc-ha-m5x-another-budget-basshead-s-review 
 
Yea they aren't great, needs heavy EQing to sound decent. The highs are way too veiled. Very unbalanced, audiophiles need not apply. I can't get how you find the bass to not be that strong on these, makes me wonder what kind of bass XD200 outputs. O_o It easily also passed my extension test more than easily as it was giving me earcup & ear vibration sensation from Late Nite Tip by Three 6 Mafia. (15 ~ 30Hz bass)

 

[courtoreillejm]

The XD200s have about the same amount of bass, maybe a little less. But I guess I'm just too used to using the parametric EQ on my sound card to make the bass so loud it overpowers the music I don't really remember what a massive amount of bass is because I'm used to an insane amount. But either way, the XX headphones do sound wicked with the EQ on. I'm happy with them either way
 
Btw, about that long review you mentioned... o_O talk about loooooooooooooooooooooong lol highly detailed too. I think that review is much more useful than mine is haha

 

[Sage Owl]

I got these a month or so ago and have been using them quite often. The first thing I noticed about them is that the sound quality was very... muffled. I'm sure this is already more professionally explained by another user, but that is just what stood out to me. From face value however, they looked to be made to take a bit of a beating, which drew me since 90% of the headphones I have had break due to one thing or another. This, however, was not the case with these headphones, and actually, quite the contrary. I have primarily been using them for audio on my PC (music, game sound, etc) and they have been doing their job to muffle outside noises as to not disturb me. A few days ago I got a little angry and every so slightly hit the right side of the headphone with my open palm which just happened to jumble the sound . Just as a test, since I figured these things were going right back to Frys where I got them, I hit the left side a lot lighter then I hit the left side, and vwala, the sound is ****ed on that side as well. What happens is that the sound either becomes very muffled, very loud, no bass, no highs/mids, etc. It is like wires are just every so poorly taped inside of the headphones and the enormous area on both sides of the headphones is just empty space. Well, so much for them sticking rubber on each side of their headphones because apparently that did absolutely nothing to prevent force from ruining the sound quality. Glad I wasted 60 dollars on these.
The wire is too damn short and they look like korean knock offs of Dr. Dre's headphones. That's my review.