Drop + JVC HA-FDX1 Dual Carbon IEM...available in the US!

[lafeuill]

Well, two days of bliss ahead to recover my friend ^^

I'm using a Dunu Hulk with mine from day one, on my home system mainly : FB2K > Eitr > Audio-GD NFB20.2 > iFi Pro iCan XLR balanced output. The wonderfully implemented bass boost of the amp comes in very handy when I need bigger lows.

I've been enjoying them increasingly, with the green nozzles. The rotating mechanism is perfect to fine tune the angle of insertion for optimal comfort and stability. I just wish it came with a locking option, but a discreet bit of tape will suffice to safeguard the right position.

I'm very glad JVC made this collaboration possible, my thanks to them and all the parties involved, @james444 of course in particular.

I'll treasure them as much as my HA-FW01

Edit : forgot to mention that the FDX1 pair very well with the X7II + AM3D. Great combo.

 

[Nabillion_786]

@Dsnuts before I lock in £37 on a cable I would love to know 2 things that do the s16 cable improve on soundstage and also do they smooth out the sound? Because I generally prefer lively and energetic sound and additional smoothness makes the iem boring for me to listen.

 

[Dsnuts]

Just for you my friend. I just did a cable swap out from stock to my H-16 ISN cable. My H-16 is in 2.5mm balanced but I used an adapter to go single ended. Switched back n forth and the answer is yes. The stage naturally expands both depth of sound and width. The most noticeable in this aspect is when you hear the phones in balanced but even in single ended going back to stock cable I can hear the difference. It doesn't soften the tonality or degrade the timbre of the FDX1 but that slight sound expansion makes the phones even more engaging.

Now the cables aren't gonna magically transform the FDX1 to a different phone but It does enhance what it does well with that slight increase of stage and depth. The one negative of the H-16 is that they are bulky so I use them over the ears. Otherwise I have them permanently on the FDX1.

 

[Nabillion_786]

Just for you my friend. I just did a cable swap out from stock to my H-16 ISN cable. My H-16 is in 2.5mm balanced but I used an adapter to go single ended. Switched back n forth and the answer is yes. The stage naturally expands both depth of sound and width. The most noticeable in this aspect is when you hear the phones in balanced but even in single ended going back to stock cable I can hear the difference. It doesn't soften the tonality or degrade the timbre of the FDX1 but that slight sound expansion makes the phones even more engaging.

Now the cables aren't gonna magically transform the FDX1 to a different phone but It does enhance what it does well with that slight increase of stage and depth. The one negative of the H-16 is that they are bulky so I use them over the ears. Otherwise I have them permanently on the FDX1.

@Dsnuts Thanks alot very much appreciated! I am really interested in the s16 as you said they pay more attention to detail over warmth but can you confirm if they also get the additional stage boost? If so I will order one now as I am absolutely loving the elegant sound coming off of these already.

 

[AlexCBSN]

Changed from spiral dots++ ml and m to acoustune aet 07, maaaaaan what a difference, wide bore is needed, but shorter nozzle increases soundstage and bass response so much! I couldnt stand the spirals, fit wasn’t as good, I think it has to do with the nozzle from the headphones, I found I had to much em way more than I’m used to with any other headphone and felt a constant lack of seal. It’s so contradictory since I use the spirals in almost all my other iems and I’ve been using for the last year at least

So changed those and went with my bgvp dm7 3.5mm cable, this things are soooooooo impressive, I was in love with the stock cable but found it a bit heavy on my ears, besides the dm7 is pure copper and helps a bit taming the highs.

if anyone is up to, try a different tip for a bit, though! The lip in the jvc is a bit stubborn, be careful when removing

 

[Nabillion_786]

Changed from spiral dots++ ml and m to acoustune aet 07, maaaaaan what a difference, wide bore is needed, but shorter nozzle increases soundstage and bass response so much! I couldnt stand the spirals, fit wasn’t as good, I think it has to do with the nozzle from the headphones, I found I had to much em way more than I’m used to with any other headphone and felt a constant lack of seal. It’s so contradictory since I use the spirals in almost all my other iems and I’ve been using for the last year at least

So changed those and went with my bgvp dm7 3.5mm cable, this things are soooooooo impressive, I was in love with the stock cable but found it a bit heavy on my ears, besides the dm7 is pure copper and helps a bit taming the highs.

if anyone is up to, try a different tip for a bit, though! The lip in the jvc is a bit stubborn, be careful when removing

You have a lot of great iems soo I am curious how you would compare the fdx1 to your other DD iems and especially the currently hyped Tri i3?

 

[AlexCBSN]

You have a lot of great iems soo I am curious how you would compare the fdx1 to your other DD iems and especially the currently hyped Tri i3?

Though the tri i3 is a hybrid, the tri has the huge advantage of the planar driver, its actually a little gem, however the tunning in the fdx1 has this amazing magic that the upper mids are a bit more “clear” and better presented, it’s something I kinda attribute to the driver vs the mix of sounds when mixed in a multi driver headphone, the only ones that excel at this are fiio fh7, cayin yb04, imr rah and of course the ier m9. It might sound funny but I feel the fdx1 a bit more clear and with a decay speed comparable to any ba, though soundstage, depth and bass quantity the tri i3 has the hand up, besides the mids are lush and more detailed; I favor the tunning in the jvc in the way that the notes are less thick and more delicate, though I need to play more with it, I was listening to linkin park last night with em and felt the perfect balance across the tunning, bass was enough, distortion in the mids were enough, loved how the snare drum had it own space in the mix, truly well excecuted.

I would compare this to the cayin yb04, though both of em with its pros and cons, besides the cayin is a ba based headphone but the quality of the jvc resembles it. Comparing it with other dd is difficult, for example the tanchjim oxygen is way more full bodied and has more depth in its soundstage but the clarity is not on par with this pair, the acoustune is in another league being more a totl tuning and experience along with the dunu 17th anniversary since this last one carries the dunu tunning (massive depth and bass quantities with impressive detail and treble extension) all in all its a Dd on its own range, Im actually growing fond of it. I’m truly impressed with it. The kxxs has a similar driver, though it doesn’t share the level of clarity and layering on this

 

[MarkF786]

After a couple weeks listening to the FDX1 with the most dampened nozzles, I was curious to try the stock, undampened nozzles. Uggh, it was unpleasantly bright and ultimately unlistenable to me. Reading some other reviews of the FD01, I don’t seem to be the only person of this opinion.

It got me thinking of something I sometimes wonder about various IEMs (or headphones): did the manufacturer intentionally set out to make an IEM that sounded that way, or did they just design them based on the stated product features (or gimmicks), and accept whatever they sounded like? I can’t imagine a company would intentionally make an IEM that sounds like the FD01, while on the other hand it’s hard to respect a company that would then release and market an IEM that doesn’t sound like they intended.

If it weren’t for James444 modding the FD01, sharing his results, and then Drop bringing the modded product to market, these would be turds that JVC should never have released.

 

[AlexCBSN]

After a couple weeks listening to the FDX1 with the most dampened nozzles, I was curious to try the stock, undampened nozzles. Uggh, it was unpleasantly bright and ultimately unlistenable to me. Reading some other reviews of the FD01, I don’t seem to be the only person of this opinion.

It got me thinking of something I sometimes wonder about various IEMs (or headphones): did the manufacturer intentionally set out to make an IEM that sounded that way, or did they just design them based on the stated product features (or gimmicks), and accept whatever they sounded like? I can’t imagine a company would intentionally make an IEM that sounds like the FD01, while on the other hand it’s hard to respect a company that would then release and market an IEM that doesn’t sound like they intended.

If it weren’t for James444 modding the FD01, sharing his results, and then Drop bringing the modded product to market, these would be turds that JVC should never have released.

I own a couple of headphones that I either change tips, do dampening, and etc. And wonder the same thing.

 

[Nabillion_786]

After a couple weeks listening to the FDX1 with the most dampened nozzles, I was curious to try the stock, undampened nozzles. Uggh, it was unpleasantly bright and ultimately unlistenable to me. Reading some other reviews of the FD01, I don’t seem to be the only person of this opinion.

It got me thinking of something I sometimes wonder about various IEMs (or headphones): did the manufacturer intentionally set out to make an IEM that sounded that way, or did they just design them based on the stated product features (or gimmicks), and accept whatever they sounded like? I can’t imagine a company would intentionally make an IEM that sounds like the FD01, while on the other hand it’s hard to respect a company that would then release and market an IEM that doesn’t sound like they intended.

If it weren’t for James444 modding the FD01, sharing his results, and then Drop bringing the modded product to market, these would be turds that JVC should never have released.

I'd say each to there own because maybe most people would dislike the bright stock sound but for me it is really engaging and i prefer it over the other filters since they darken the sound a little. But I'm probably a rare case here.

 

[james444]

After a couple weeks listening to the FDX1 with the most dampened nozzles, I was curious to try the stock, undampened nozzles. Uggh, it was unpleasantly bright and ultimately unlistenable to me. Reading some other reviews of the FD01, I don’t seem to be the only person of this opinion.

It got me thinking of something I sometimes wonder about various IEMs (or headphones): did the manufacturer intentionally set out to make an IEM that sounded that way, or did they just design them based on the stated product features (or gimmicks), and accept whatever they sounded like? I can’t imagine a company would intentionally make an IEM that sounds like the FD01, while on the other hand it’s hard to respect a company that would then release and market an IEM that doesn’t sound like they intended.

If it weren’t for James444 modding the FD01, sharing his results, and then Drop bringing the modded product to market, these would be turds that JVC should never have released.

From what I've been gathering, these upper mids / lower treble emphasized sound signatures have quite a lot of fans in Asia, and I've heard some people call it "Asian tuning". I'd also agree on "each to their own", plus I think it depends on the music you listen to. To my ears, certain tracks are perfectly listenable with undamped stock filters, whereas others seem to border on torture.

Speaking of which, here's one of my favorite tests for upper mids / lower treble emphasis, the last minute of Brahms' Symphony No. 2 (starting at 46:20). Which is a blaze of brass instruments with lots of energy in that frequency range and virtually unlistenable for me on the FDX1 with undamped nozzles:

 

[Nabillion_786]

From what I've been gathering, these upper mids / lower treble emphasized sound signatures have quite a lot of fans in Asia, and I've heard some people call it "Asian tuning". I'd also agree on "each to their own", plus I think it depends on the music you listen to. To my ears, certain tracks are perfectly listenable with undamped stock filters, whereas others seem to border on torture.

Speaking of which, here's one of my favorite tests for upper mids / lower treble emphasis, the last minute of Brahms' Symphony No. 2 (starting at 46:20). Which is a blaze of brass instruments with lots of energy in that frequency range and virtually unlistenable for me on the FDX1 with undamped nozzles:

This is me being a bit nit picky but I can hear very slightly more bass on one of the sides is this normal? I can only tell this if I focus about it but generally it is not a problem

 

[james444]

This is me being a bit nit picky but I can hear very slightly more bass on one of the sides is this normal? I can only tell this if I focus about it but generally it is not a problem

Bass with IEMs is highly dependent on seal, so 9 out of 10 times I'd assume that someone who hears slightly more bass on one side has an imperfect seal on the other side.

Best way to test is with a mono tone generator like this:
https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

Slide down to 200Hz, 100Hz and 50Hz and check whether the tone remains centered. If one side appears to be louder, double check your seal on the other side. Maybe try larger tips on that side, if you're not sure about seal.

Then swap left / right earpieces and repeat, to make sure it's not your ears that hear bass differently.

Only if you've checked everything and still hear out-of-center bass, then contact Drop about the issue.

 

[jsmiller58]

This is me being a bit nit picky but I can hear very slightly more bass on one of the sides is this normal? I can only tell this if I focus about it but generally it is not a problem

You may also have partial hearing loss in some frequencies in one ear. I know I do. I usually partly compensate by adjusting balance on my player. But you'd notice on more than just one iem. So, yeah check seal.

 

[Nabillion_786]

Bass with IEMs is highly dependent on seal, so 9 out of 10 times I'd assume that someone who hears slightly more bass on one side has an imperfect seal on the other side.

Best way to test is with a mono tone generator like this:
https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

Slide down to 200Hz, 100Hz and 50Hz and check whether the tone remains centered. If one side appears to be louder, double check your seal on the other side. Maybe try larger tips on that side, if you're not sure about seal.

Then swap left / right earpieces and repeat, to make sure it's not your ears that hear bass differently.

Only if you've checked everything and still hear out-of-center bass, then contact Drop about the issue.

Thanks for this, this really helped! It's probably just me being fussy.

You may also have partial hearing loss in some frequencies in one ear. I know I do. I usually partly compensate by adjusting balance on my player. But you'd notice on more than just one iem. So, yeah check seal.

You are right I think turning the volume up really high all these days has damaged my right ear a bit as I generally hear tad more power coming from the left on most iems. However, when I switch the earphones the other way around on my fdx1 I do not notice a similar sound as the sound becomes slightly warmer and bassy on the left side aswell. Do most iems have slight differences on each side? I have never asked this question. My fdx1 isn't bad to the point where the sound isn't centred but if I try to notice it I can tell a difference of bass and my seal is good. I am generally a fussy person when I make big purchases but I am not sure if this is a general problem though.