[ohcrapgorillas]

  I empathize with the sentiment of the OP, but a few questions come to mind. 
 

•  What type of music are you listening to?  When purchasing an IEM it's not necessarily a terrible idea to look into what genres it's supposed to complement.  If you're intent on purchasing blindly then it's best to have an open mind to the unexpected.
•  What source are you using to drive your IEMs?  Just a quick protip, try to have multiple sources on hand to see if it's a defect of the IEMs or the source itself.  Also try to search around to see if anyone else is also having the issues that are bothering you with regard to any particular piece or arrangement of gear.
•  Are the files you're listening to poorly mastered or are they quality recordings?   Some IEMs have the ability to smooth out artifacts and others don't - theoretically the more sensitive the IEM, the less forgiving.

 
Also I personally own the JVC HA-FX850, and my pair, while agreeably far from neutral, is an extremely pleasant listen.  Either your pair's defective or it veers outside your expectations for what constitutes a good sounding IEM.  But even if I wasn't immediately taken to the sound signature, I'd at least be able to understand its purpose and that others may find it enjoyable in spite of my own hypothetically disagreeable preferences.

 
1. I listen to a lot of different styles of music. Anything with the prefix "psych", "prog" or "post" is good with me. I love prog rock, big fan of Radiohead, godspeed you! black emperor, Earth, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Mogwai, early Pink Floyd... that sort of thing. I also like a lot of doom metal, black metal, death metal, classic/alternative country, americana, bluegrass, hip hop, trip hop, psych pop, even a little Shostakovitch or Dvorak. Basically everything except punk, EDM and reggae. I don't listen to that much jazz either, but I've been known to spin Bitches Brew or Bohren & der Club of Gore every now and then.
2. So far I've used gamma2 to O2, FiiO X1, Nexus 5 and AQ Dragonfly v1.1. My sources are not at fault here, trust me.
3. This isn't an artifact of poor recordings. I've listened to many recordings I know back and forth, and the JVC HA-FX850 are just not my cup of tea.
 
I don't think they're defective, I think the sound coloration is just offensive to my ears. Sure, everyone has different tastes, and while I understand intellectually that some people may find it enjoyable, having those IEMs in my ears is so abrasive to me that I find it difficult to even pretend someone enjoys them. But, to each their own.

 

[339305]

   
1. I listen to a lot of different styles of music. Anything with the prefix "psych", "prog" or "post" is good with me. I love prog rock, big fan of Radiohead, godspeed you! black emperor, Earth, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Mogwai, early Pink Floyd... that sort of thing. I also like a lot of doom metal, black metal, death metal, classic/alternative country, americana, bluegrass, hip hop, trip hop, psych pop, even a little Shostakovitch or Dvorak. Basically everything except punk, EDM and reggae. I don't listen to that much jazz either, but I've been known to spin Bitches Brew or Bohren & der Club of Gore every now and then.
2. So far I've used gamma2 to O2, FiiO X1, Nexus 5 and AQ Dragonfly v1.1. My sources are not at fault here, trust me.
3. This isn't an artifact of poor recordings. I've listened to many recordings I know back and forth, and the JVC HA-FX850 are just not my cup of tea.
 
I don't think they're defective, I think the sound coloration is just offensive to my ears. Sure, everyone has different tastes, and while I understand intellectually that some people may find it enjoyable, having those IEMs in my ears is so abrasive to me that I find it difficult to even pretend someone enjoys them. But, to each their own.

 
Subjective preferences are understandable.  The FX850 is definitely bass boosted by default and, as a result, is not for everyone.  Incidentally, there is a low-tech eartip mod in james444's post of the FX850 appreciation thread (found here) if you want to give it a try and it creates a small space in the eartip/shell juncture that alleviates the bass bloat, although it's recommended for a specific brand of eartips that most people probably don't have on hand.  Might be worth it if you want to get more of a return on investment.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

   
Subjective preferences are understandable.  The FX850 is definitely bass boosted by default and, as a result, is not for everyone.  Incidentally, there is a low-tech eartip mod in james444's post of the FX850 appreciation thread (found here) if you want to give it a try and it creates a small space in the eartip/shell juncture that alleviates the bass bloat, although it's recommended for a specific brand of eartips that most people probably don't have on hand.  Might be worth it if you want to get more of a return on investment.

I liked the bass, though. It's the only thing about them that I liked.
 
That said, like I mentioned in the OP ISIS's Oceanic sounded like a mess of muddy upper bass and lower mids. But everything below that is decent.

 

[339305]

  I liked the bass, though. It's the only thing about them that I liked.
 
That said, like I mentioned in the OP ISIS's Oceanic sounded like a mess of muddy upper bass and lower mids. But everything below that is decent.

 
Accentuated bass tends to have the side effect of overpowering the other frequencies (welcome for some types of music, not so much for others), which is something I've encountered in my listening sessions with the FX850 (relative to my perception of neutral).   I'll give that piece a listen later to judge whether or not I'm hearing what you're hearing, though I'm not at the level yet where I can describe what I hear with a precise degree of granularity.

 

[waynes world]

I think I read in the other post that you didn't get the spiral dot tips with them. What tips are you using?

 

[icyfire207]

Ckr9ltd with jvc spiral tips.. Very balance for me.

 

[wafflezz]

It's hard to get the sound that hd650 produces out of an IEM.
You want a balanced but warm sound. Otherwise the re-400 would have been perfect for you, but they weren't. It's not the easiest thing to do.
 
Closest I've gotten to the sound of an hd650 out of my cheap and semi-cheap earphones were the ek5. Upper treble was relaxed and they were definitely mid focused. At the same time they were too light on the bass like the hf5 you described. Which gave up this kind of more "engaging" and "intimate" sound that the hd650 has.
 
>I thought I'd identified the perfect pair of headphones, thanks to Head-fi reviews: the JFC HA-FX850.
 
lol.
I'm sorry but ya, JVC doesn't really...do neutral.
 
I'm sorry to say but honestly it seems like you're just gonna need to EQ. The vast majority of IEMs are V-shaped and the ones that aren't can't really capture the warmness of the hd650 without still being balanced.

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

  It's hard to get the sound that hd650 produces out of an IEM.
You want a balanced but warm sound. Otherwise the re-400 would have been perfect for you, but they weren't. It's not the easiest thing to do.
 
Closest I've gotten to the sound of an hd650 out of my cheap and semi-cheap earphones were the ek5. Upper treble was relaxed and they were definitely mid focused. At the same time they were too light on the bass like the hf5 you described. Which gave up this kind of more "engaging" and "intimate" sound that the hd650 has.
 
>I thought I'd identified the perfect pair of headphones, thanks to Head-fi reviews: the JFC HA-FX850.
 
lol.
I'm sorry but ya, JVC doesn't really...do neutral.
 
I'm sorry to say but honestly it seems like you're just gonna need to EQ. The vast majority of IEMs are V-shaped and the ones that aren't can't really capture the warmness of the hd650 without still being balanced.

 
I'm not looking for HD650 sound. I mentioned at the beginning of the post that I'm actually planning on trading my HD650 for the HD600 in the near future because I'm not a fan of bassy, warm and dark. It's not as offensive as V-shaped sounds to me, but it's not natural and that's really what I'm after.
 
On the note of the RE400, My biggest complaint with the RE400 is build quality, the left ear is cutting out after a few months of buying them (used, so warranty is not an option) and I feel burned so I don't want to buy another pair. In terms of sound quality, I had no real complaints. I guess they weren't as engaging as I'd like, but that's a subjective term and I'm not entirely sure how to describe what was lacking otherwise.
 

  I think I read in the other post that you didn't get the spiral dot tips with them. What tips are you using?

 
Whatever normal-looking tips that came with them. I sent a message to the guy on ebay asking about the tips, haven't heard back yet (but it's only been a few hours).

 

[waynes world]

 
Whatever normal-looking tips that came with them. I sent a message to the guy on ebay asking about the tips, haven't heard back yet (but it's only been a few hours).

 
They could be crap tips. Or tips that are crap with the 850's. Haven't you tried any other tips at all?

 

[ohcrapgorillas]

   
They could be crap tips. Or tips that are crap with the 850's. Haven't you tried any other tips at all?

 
I'll try my RE-400 tips when I get home. I think I also might have a pair of Comply isolation tips that might fit. Those are the only ones I have that will fit.

 

[waynes world]

   
I'll try my RE-400 tips when I get home. I think I also might have a pair of Comply isolation tips that might fit. Those are the only ones I have that will fit.

 
Cool - you never know. I am continually amazed at how different tips can change the sound of an iem. Coincidentally, I just received some spiral dot tips. I don't have the jvc's, but I've heard a lot of good things about the tips. They have a medium to wide sized bore, are fairly short, and somewhat soft material, and they are making a positive difference to the sound of quite a few of my iems. For instance, I was finding my Kef M200's bass to sound pretty much like you are describing, but I had the wrong tips on them, and with the spiral dot tips they are sounding very good (btw, I'm not advocating the m200's for you - something like the zero audio douza might work though).

 

[rickdohc]

From your list i got only 3 iems,  3580/90,  MH1 and TTpods.
 
MH1.  The cable ... kills it.  But i like sound and the treble is not harsh/peaky.
 
3580/90.  Fun,  but to much bass and the overall SQ is ok for the price.
 
TTpods.  Love the cable, built like a tank,  I hear less and better bass than the 3580, maybe its because i am using wide bore tips.
 
Overall, i find the TTpod better.  IMHO.

 

[339305]

Based on my own experience, trying out different ear tips can make a world of difference.  I can safely say that they're the single most inexpensive and underrated component that has the greatest influence (per dollar) on the sound signature, not only in terms of seal quality, but also bore diameter and material rigidity (and not necessarily for good reason, except perhaps that the manufacturers want to maintain that CIEMs are the next logical step up).  I happened to miss that OP didn't have the original tips for the FX850.  Now that I do know, I'm wondering if that might explain the poor reception towards the mids and highs, especially if the bores are small.  I currently use my pair with Ortofon Tips (L) and found best results that way for my purposes within the bunch of random ear tips I've accumulated over the years.  However, the stock tips work quite admirably between the two, oftentimes even better than the former for some of the various IEMs I own. 

 

[jay567]

All FX850 needs is good bit of EQ and FLAC files since they are the only pair of IEMs in your list that actually have the potential to reveal extra quality from lossless files. I just can't help but think a (well) EQed FX850 should satisfy you because of the timbre/transparent sound it manages to create.

 

[jelt2359]

   
Funny that, after all the venting and ranting about v-shaped phones, your favorite "truly balanced" IEMs measure like....
 
... a v-shaped phone. 

 

 
 
Source: M.R.O.

Interesting.