[Alondite]

  Probably a bad pair as your account of a frequency range missing is the only one I have ever heard or read in the entire time the 334s have been out.
 
But you know what? If that is what your ears heard then it is what it is. What IEMs do you have now?

I don't think so. I've heard many accounts of people having similar issues, and seen measurements that support it. That and I told the owner how I felt about them and asked if maybe he had a bad pair, but he said he'd heard multiple pairs and they were all essentially identical. 

I have RE0s and GR07s that I use for mobile listening, and my primary cans are HE-400s. 

 

[Kiats]

 
I don't think so. I've heard many accounts of people having similar issues, and seen measurements that support it. That and I told the owner how I felt about them and asked if maybe he had a bad pair, but he said he'd heard multiple pairs and they were all essentially identical. 

I have RE0s and GR07s that I use for mobile listening, and my primary cans are HE-400s. 

 
Saraguie is right: you hear what you hear and it is what it is. It's a pity because the TG 334 is one of the most engaging universals I have come across with great organic mids. 

 

[SilverEars]

  So I got a chance to hear these and...I don't think I've ever been so underwhelmed by a headphone before. They were, for lack of a better word, very "hollow-sounding," as if there was a whole frequency range missing. The bass was over-emphasized and a bit muddy, and the treble was very metallic, too rolled-off and even harsh.  And these cost how much? 

I'm guessing you haven't been enlightened on how important tips and fit are.  Don't worry I didn't for a long time.  
 
Check the fit.  Go back a few pages and read our discussion on fit and tip rolling and insertion depth.  These are very sensitive to it.  I had the same problem with stock tips.  With good fit, it's night and day difference.

 

[DannyBai]

Even with a bad fit, these don't sound that bad.  The dude obviously doesn't like them and there's nothing wrong with that.  Saves him a big chunk of money sticking with the RE0 and GR07 or he's just trolling.  

 

[tranhieu]

 
I don't think so. I've heard many accounts of people having similar issues, and seen measurements that support it. That and I told the owner how I felt about them and asked if maybe he had a bad pair, but he said he'd heard multiple pairs and they were all essentially identical. 

I have RE0s and GR07s that I use for mobile listening, and my primary cans are HE-400s. 

I won't argue about how you perceive the sound signature, but speaking of measurements, the TG334 has fairly good response into the IEC 711 across the whole frequency range, even the treble roll-off isn't that obvious compared to the Parterre, which many people reported as much brighter. 

 

[SilverEars]

Originally Posted by Alondite /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
I have RE0s and GR07s that I use for mobile listening, and my primary cans are HE-400s. 

 
Also if these have sparkly treble relative to TG334, you need time to adjust.  Keep using 334 until your ears require less treble.  Don't worry, even without forward treble, 334 is very detailed.  It makes it not so fatiguing after long listen.
 
Reason why people don't like certain phone initially is because they go from treble monster to neutal or tamed.  Or the other way around for me, when I thought CK10 were overly bright after 334.  It's like being in a dark room then you open the shades.
 
For example, people think HD650 is veiled, and my theory is that most headphones have sparkly treble, and their ears were used to that.

 

[Alondite]

  I'm guessing you haven't been enlightened on how important tips and fit are.  Don't worry I didn't for a long time.  
 
Check the fit.  Go back a few pages and read our discussion on fit and tip rolling and insertion depth.  These are very sensitive to it.  I had the same problem with stock tips.  With good fit, it's night and day difference.

 
I've never had an issue with fit with any IEM I've ever used, and tried them with multiple tips. The only thing that tips/insertion depth seemed to affect was the location of the resonances.

  Even with a bad fit, these don't sound that bad.  The dude obviously doesn't like them and there's nothing wrong with that.  Saves him a big chunk of money sticking with the RE0 and GR07 or he's just trolling.  

When I first hear them I suspected that they were maybe, at most, $350. When the guy told me what they actually cost I was stunned. I see no reason why anyone would ever choose these over the JH13. The bass is slow and bleeds into the mids, the treble is hard and metallic, there is somehow, despite how rolled-off thee treble is, noticeable sibilance that actually makes them somewhat fatiguing, and there is some rather obvious recession in the midrange. I could never justify the cost for these.
 

  I won't argue about how you perceive the sound signature, but speaking of measurements, the TG334 has fairly good response into the IEC 711 across the whole frequency range, even the treble roll-off isn't that obvious compared to the Parterre, which many people reported as much brighter. 

 
It's not just about response. There are long duration resonances in the higher frequencies that are a clear indication that something is amiss, and perfectly explain the hard, mechanical treble. 
 

 
Also if these have sparkly treble relative to TG334, you need time to adjust.  Keep using 334 until your ears require less treble.  Don't worry, even without forward treble, 334 is very detailed.  It makes it not so fatiguing after long listen.
 
Reason why people don't like certain phone initially is because they go from treble monster to neutal or tamed.  Or the other way around for me, when I thought CK10 were overly bright after 334.  It's like being in a dark room then you open the shades.
 
For example, people think HD650 is veiled, and my theory is that most headphones have sparkly treble, and their ears were used to that.

I spent several hours with them to be sure that it wasn't just me being accustomed to other signatures. Going from the GR07 (which is what I was listening to prior) to the 334 doesn't require much of an adjustment, anyway, because the sound signatures are not significantly different. The lows bled into the mindrange and even masked some of the recessed upper frequencies. 

As for the HD650, they are definitely somewhat veiled. The mid-bass is boosted and the treble is rolled off, and they sound somewhat sluggish and overly smooth/lacking detail as a result. The HD600, on the other hand, is not at all veiled. 

 

[nakedtoes]

If the TG334 Is so bad I dun they dare to sell so ex..Btw the TG334 is the only 4 drivers I willing to spent my hard earn money on. And also getting the 000 cable for it.

Yes with that money I can get the 10 drivers mentor with free dx90 n maybe a decent aftermarket cable.

 

[castleofargh]

Alondite, if I was looking at it with a very pessimistic eye, I could get what you're talking about. there is a little bumpy harshness in the 9 or 10khz that I could live without. then the trebles don't extend that high into frequencies, and the mids not being over emphasized, you could see the "slow" bass bleeding etc.
I find it's a hard way to see it, but mostly legit from someone looking for real perfection (but then the 334 isn't a monitor nor a neutral IEM, so wrong choice from the start). next I see you talking about the gr07 as if it was an ok IEM, and my faith in you just collapses. don't get me wrong, for the price asked the gr07 is cool. but if we're doing the harsh treatment, we should only look at sound.
my own experience with the gr07 was bad isolation, and a need for super swallow insertion to reduce a nasty sibilance. and I also had the 9-10khz slight bump on cymbals but here it sounded like lost in the middle of noting else. overall they sounded not great to me, and if you start checking at details, I can say with confidence the the 334 obliterates the gr07 in pretty much any frequency, slow bass or not, bleeding or not. the only good thing for me was the bass of the gr07 as I tend to favor the bass sound of a dynamic driver(personal taste).
 
jh13 is like the opposite idea, fastest bass ever, monitor like presentation, and a big high-medium boost to bring that part in focus(too much for me and I find voices to be better on the 334). I happened to have both and I must say I would love to ear the child of those 2 IEMs ^_^. like the bass of the jh and the mids of the 334 \o/.
 
now thank you for your feedback, it's actually somehow nice to read something else than "omg best stuff ever" on headfi. but to me you were a little unfair with the poor yet expensive 334.
maybe the pair you used was damaged after all. or you just can't stomach something so expensive not to be perfect? that's also understandable.

 

[Aero Dynamik]

 

 
I don't think so. I've heard many accounts of people having similar issues, and seen measurements that support it. That and I told the owner how I felt about them and asked if maybe he had a bad pair, but he said he'd heard multiple pairs and they were all essentially identical. 

I have RE0s and GR07s that I use for mobile listening, and my primary cans are HE-400s. 

 
Saraguie is right: you hear what you hear and it is what it is. It's a pity because the TG 334 is one of the most engaging universals I have come across with great organic mids. 

x2! I get goose bumps just thinking about it.

 

[Aero Dynamik]

 

  So I got a chance to hear these and...I don't think I've ever been so underwhelmed by a headphone before. They were, for lack of a better word, very "hollow-sounding," as if there was a whole frequency range missing. The bass was over-emphasized and a bit muddy, and the treble was very metallic, too rolled-off and even harsh.  And these cost how much? 

I'm guessing you haven't been enlightened on how important tips and fit are.  Don't worry I didn't for a long time.  
 
Check the fit.  Go back a few pages and read our discussion on fit and tip rolling and insertion depth.  These are very sensitive to it.  I had the same problem with stock tips.  With good fit, it's night and day difference.

I'll second that indeed and want go even further by calling it a sound revolution. Had the 334 for 10 months before I realized what a gem I had in my possession. As SilverEars says, do go back a few pages where we had a very rewarding discussion about this.

 

[Aero Dynamik]

A couple of days ago I received my OBJECTIVE2 amplifier from JDS Labs. It is too early to have any definitive opinions about it (I probably still suffer from some “new toy syndrome”) but from what I have seen, heard, and felt so far I am very, very pleased.
 

​

 

 
I have bought several other amplifiers in the past but the OBJECTIVE2 is my first and so far only amplifier that truly works superbly well with my “FitEar ToGo! 334” and that is tremendously satisfying. Really, answer to my prayers. Here are some of the OBJECTIVE2 pros in my opinion.
 
1.    Silent and I mean dead silent with all of my IEMs including the “FitEar ToGo! 334”. All of my other dedicated amplifiers make the 334 hiss to at least some extent and some – such as the ALO Rx-Mk3-B - annoyingly much so. This is the first time I’ve heard music coming out of the 334 from an absolutely black background while being connected to a dedicated headphone amplifier. Wow, didn’t even know it was possible!
 
2.    Channel imbalance ceases just below my lowest listening level (and I do sometimes listen at very low volumes), and the volume knob is exquisite. It feels very exact, has just the right size and feel of resistance when adjusted. Sure, it crackles a little but not really audibly while playing music, so it doesn’t bother me at all and maybe it will disappear after some use.
 
3.    The OBJECTIVE2 has a very satisfying sound to me. At this stage I don’t think any of my other amplifiers (“ALO Rx-Mk3-B”, “TTVJ Slim”, “Portaphile 627X”, “CEntrance DACport”) rival it. Indeed, it is neutral and sounds very authentic. Whatever slightly altered FR I may on occasion have felt or experienced from my other amplifiers giving me a sense of distortion or being tainted by some artefacts (don’t know what word or phrase to use) - say for example from an aggressively played tenor saxophone - is gone. Not just with the 334 but also with my other two TOTL IEMs (Etymotic ER-4PT and AKG K3003i). I sense improved, wider dynamics, more natural transients, better balance between instruments; nothing sticks out where it shouldn’t, and more defined width and depth projection. Very smooth and balanced overall. Well, what I’m reviewing here sound-wise of course isn’t really the OBJECTIVE2 but my “CLAS –dB” DAC connected to it. All the OBJECTIVE2 seem to do is giving me the ability to amplify the sound that I get straight out of my DAC. Just what I wanted!
 
4.    The build quality seems to be impeccable; far and beyond my expectations and all the more so considering its price of $129. Although small, it has a very nice weighty feel to it. It just feels “expensive”. The on/off and gain push buttons feel solid and have just the right kind of resistance and click when pushed. The 3.5mm input ports sit solidly in the chassis and have no inner or outer gaps. Overall it has a very solid feel to it and I just love this simple straight forward design. Ok, it would have been nice to have the VAC port on the back panel but I can live with it on the front panel. No big deal. Again, wow, just $129, almost too good to be true, but it indeed seems to be true. Please, don’t wake me up.
 
5.    It is battery powered. So, that means I can bring it along to wherever I go. It is way more than just transportable, I would say almost but not quite portable.
 
Asked JDSLabs to modify the gain switch to 1x/2.5x. They did so free of charge and I do recommend this modification for use with sensitive IEMs such as the 334. Great service BTW!
 
So what about cons? Can’t think of any right now… I’m sure there is one or two but I’ll have to come back about that.
 
So, there you have it; my first impressions of JDS Labs’ take on NwAvGuy’s OBJECTIVE2 Headphone amp which I first read about in this thread. Thanks!
 
I must say I’m really in awe of this NwAvGuy giving us such a fine headphone amplifier for free. Too bad he’s met the same fate as so many (too many) other interesting, experienced and knowledgeable Head-Fi members. At the end of the day I guess it’s…
 

​

 

[castleofargh]

glad we didn't push you in a wrong direction. for the money it wasn't a big risk TBH.
the crackling of the volume knob might go away just with a few max-min-max (may I suggest doing it with power OFF ^_^). it's usually just some small dust particles and they will be moved away with a few turns.

 

[sathyam]

Just ordered DHC Symbiote SP cable with balanced AK240 connector and a couple of Ultrashort adapters. Now comes the 6 week wait.

Has anybody tried this setup? How does it sound?

 

[SilverEars]

 
2.    Channel imbalance ceases just below my lowest listening level (and I do sometimes listen at very low volumes), and the volume knob is exquisite. It feels very exact, has just the right size and feel of resistance when adjusted. Sure, it crackles a little but not really audibly while playing music, so it doesn’t bother me at all and maybe it will disappear after some use.
 

I guess either your DAC puts out lower voltage than my ODAC(I think this puts out high line-out voltage that's why I get high volume and noticeable channel imbalance), or you got a better pot than mine.  I have to turn my left channel volume down on my DAC from my computer volume control so that I can balance the volume on the amp.