[B9Scrambler]

Hello Head-fi,

 
Today, I bring you the J+- Stereo Headphone, yet another budget headphone from the Great Canadian Superstore's in-house brand, J+-.

 
This will just be a quick overview and first impression, with final impressions to be posted in about a weeks time, once I've had a chance to see if burn-in makes any difference.

 
Packaging:

 
Like the J+- Wooden Earbuds I covered earlier, these come in very basic packaging, with the product on display front and centre. They set your expectations high right off the bat, advertising "blow you away sound!" (read: sarcasm).


 


Despite the simplistic packaging, I like it. It's basic, effective, and shows off the product well. They even include an instruction manual, which the other J+- headphones were lacking (not that it's needed, or that most people will even read it, but its still nice to have).

 
Build Quality:

 
Not half bad actually. The plastic used feels solid, and has a similar texture to that on the UE 4000, which everyone seems to gush over. The padding on the headband is thin, but the faux-leather fabric is well ventilated and breathes nicely. The earpads are made from the same material and are well padded. They have a fabric cable, which is thick, flexible, and feels reasonably durable, but I feel that it will start to unravel in time (it feels better than the fabric cable on my Steelseries Sensei gaming mouse, and is almost as thick).

 
The mic casing looks and feel like the only honestly cheap aspect. The mold was poorly done, and the button is small and hard to press. It works fine for phone calls though (according to my girlfriend, the mic sounds the best out of all my other headphones with mics, which was kind of shocking), and is iPhone compatible. On the three Android phones I tested them on (Nexus S, Galaxy S2X, Moto G) it worked fine for stopping and starting music, but thats it.

 
Design:

 
They have a nice retro look, and the J+- logo actually looks quite nice on the earcup. Overall I think the design is simple and well executed.


 


Comfort:

 
Awesome for on-ear headphones. They are super-lite, and exceptionally comfortable. The pads do get warm after a while, but that's par for the course with faux-leather. The vent holes in the earpads help a lot. They grip firmly, but are not overly tight. I would easily put them on par with comfort of the UE 4000, with one exception. Out of the box, they sealed horribly, and it almost seemed as if the cups were on backwards; they fit perfectly reversed (cable on the right vs. left). A quick attempt to bend the metal adjustment bars improved the fit, but they are still more comfortable reversed.

 
Sound Quality:

 
They definitely subscribe to the 'bass is better' motive. The mids are certainly more forward than I was expecting, although highs are recessed significantly. They do not seem overly details. Given the time it took for the J+- Wooden Headphones to burn in, and the amount they changed in this time, I am hoping these follow the same path. Overall, I am pleased with the sound out-of-the box.


 



 
Overall:

 J+- products are leaving a good impression so far. Acceptable quality for the price. More impressions to come once I have spent some more time with them.

 
**Edit: I realize the subject heading might be a little misleading. My apologies if so.**

 

[tinyman392]

That cable jack reminds me of the V-Moda jack (upper end that connects to the headphone) LOL. 

 

[B9Scrambler]

  That cable jack reminds me of the V-Moda jack (upper end that connects to the headphone) LOL.

It kinda does actually. It even has a little v-shaped notch in the lines (didn't intend on catching that detail)
 
Also, I forgot to mention in my impressions that they have removable earpads, which surprised me. Too bad I don't have any other square on-ears to tried pad-swapping with

 

[B9Scrambler]

Update:
 
Apparently these fold like a boss.
 


My suspicions regarding the in-line mic being the cheapest aspect by far was correct. They apparently forgot to glue the housing, so while poking around at work it fell apart. Disappointing, and probably something the average citizen would have freaked out about, but four drops of Gorilla glue later and it was good to go.

 

[B9Scrambler]

Final Thoughts:
 
For anyone even remotely interested in these (and is in a location that offers them) here are my final thoughts after using them almost exclusively for the last five days.
 
Are they recommended?
 
I answer that with a hesitant yes.
 
Why?
 
From the perspective of sound quality, they fail and fail hard.....sometimes. I said I was pleased with them out-of-the-box in my initial impressions. While I am not going to take that back, I am disappointed that 'burn in' over the last 40+ hours has done next to nothing to change the sound. A lot of modern headphones have a heavily V-shaped sound signature. These live up to their name with a J-shaped signature.
 
The bass is deep and punchy in some instances, and bloated and overwhelming in others. For example, Gramatik's Bluestep sounds great, with its combination of drawn out sub-bass and sections which contain an awesome punchy kick that accompanies some quick guitar-work. On the same album you have Control Room, which also showcases these on-ears fairly well, although it does highlight their greatest flaw: treble, or a lack thereof.
 
Unfortunately the treble is excessively veiled. EQing it up and dialing out the bass doesn't really help, showing that it can be harsh and grainy, while still veiled. The mids while also veiled are not bad, but do nothing to stand out. They show up because they have to. I'm not going to go over instrument separation, detailing, soundstage, etc. as they bring nothing to the table with any of these attributes.
 
They have occasionally overwhelming bass, and overly veiled mids and highs, so why do I hesitantly recommend them? Comfort, durability, and they would make an awesome donor for some quality drivers.
 
These have to be the most comfortable on-ears I've ever worn. In fast, the most comfortable headphones I've even worn. I have been using them every day at work, about six hours at a time, only taking limited breaks to cool off my ears; the pleather pads do get warm, despite the abundant ventilation. These are exceptionally light, grip your ears gingerly, and put next to no pressure on the top of your head. None of my other on or over-ear headphones come close to providing the comfort these do. While they do not block out much external sound, adding some music fixes this. Despite being semi-open, they leak a lot less than I was expecting.
 
Outside of the in-line mic breaking apart, which was easily fixed, these little guys are tanky. I gather from the way these bend, fold, and spring about, that the headband in a slim sheet of uber-flexible metal (aluminum...steel...I don't know). Since they were so cheap, I without hesitation stress-tested them once I got a good impression of the sound quality (or lack there-of) and they passed with flying colors (ie. did not break). I only see them being damaged if you really go out of your way to do so. Normal wear and tear will be shrugged off with ease. So far, I also have nothing but praise for the cable.
 
As a donor for quality drivers, these would be stellar. They can be easily and safely disassembled, and use a common 40mm sized driver. The pads can be a little tricky to re-install, but once you figure out the trick it's not an issue. I am really debating picking up a pair of Koss KSC75 to try a driver swap as the J+- are semi-open back and they should compliment each other nicely.
 
All-in-all these offer mediocre sound quality, but do a great job with pretty much everything else. Now....to find a local shop that sells the KSC75....
 
- Scrambler

 

[nick n]

Mine are still on the break-in station , a full sized integrated amp. Been running cd's on them all night and today.
 
I see they use 40mm drivers even! ( measured from the outside of baffle face )
 I find the clamp to be perfect, and those pads certainly add a nice airy aspect to them it is one thing I noticed right away.
 SO after breaking these things in with a solid pounding for a while I will check back in.
 
Incidentally I wonder what a small impedance adapter will do to the sound, because when I had both these and their small woodies ( yep they were bought too!!) plugged in to a splitter cable together, the sound cleaned up somewhat. Wait a minnit. If they are combined then the overall resistance should drop not increase, like older AKG 600 ohm studio cans used to do when daisy chained together. At least what the amp need to drive the load it sees.
 
 
I did try to measure the drivers an since I didn't get them desoldered to do so no idea if they are accurate readings, pretty sure it measured 60+ ohms. I'll comfirm that later on.
 
 
I am going to get more for transplant shells for various ortho drivers also.  Should be able to clean off the white writing with some citrus cleaner, then they will look even better.
This doesn't mean I won't keep one stock though.
 
Thanks for posting on these.
BTW the woodies there, they are not as much bass quantity as these on ears I found so far.

 
 
BTW I forget if it was mentioned but these are JPM brand, made in China, distributed or made for Loblaws, but there is also that JBM brand out there also.
 
Hey wait up there I see you have J+- METAL  ones    got pics??
 
Pretty sure i will be back for more even today so would like to find some of those to try also.
 
BTW BTW   you must be in Canada like myself...

 

[B9Scrambler]

  Mine are still on the break-in station , a full sized integrated amp. Been running cd's pon them all night and today.

 

 
 Been on overnight.  I see they use 40mm drivers even! ( measured from the outside of baffle face )
 I find the clamp to be perfect, and those pads certainly add a nice airy aspect to them it is one thing I noticed right away.
 SO after breaking these things in with a solid pounding for a while I will check back in.

 
Incidentally I wonder what a small impedance adapter will do to the sound, because when I had both these and their small woodies ( yep they were bought too!!) plugged in to a splitter cable together, the sound cleaned up somewhat. Wait a minnit. If they are combined then the overall resistance should drop not increase, like older AKG 600 ohm studio cans used to do when daisy chained together. At least what the amp need to drive the load it sees.

 

 
I did try to measure the drivers an since I didn't get them desoldered to do so no idea if they are accurate readings, pretty sure it measured 60+ ohms. I'll comfirm that later on.

 

 
I am going to get more for transplant shells for various ortho drivers also.  Should be able to clean off the white writing with some citrus cleaner, then they will look even better.
This doesn't mean I won't keep one stock though.

 
Thanks for posting on these.
BTW the woodies there, they are not as much bass quantity as these on ears I found so far.
 

 

 
BTW I forget if it was mentioned but these are JPM brand, made in China, distributed or made for Loblaws, but there is also that JBM brand out there also..

Hello Nick!
 
Thanks for giving some more info about the brand. I've been able to find jack all online.
 
I measured the driver size from the outside as well, although they come apart easily enough. I have to say I was not impressed with the sound quality of the 'Stereo Headphones' but the comfort is amazing, and build quality seems pretty good, minus the inline mic; make sure yours is glued together, lol. They are my go-to headphone for work now, given I can wear them all day. Sound quality is a non-issue there.
 
The woodies I love, and bought a second pair just in case my first pair died. They have a lot less bass than my originals, but with better mids and highs. I would almost call them balanced...They haven't gone through the same rigorous burn-in process, so I am interested in seeing where they end up given the first pair changed so drastically (They developed a very metallic sounding tinge with high pitched sounds at one point, which sounded kinda cool, in a weird way. It went away with additional play time.). Not sure if you saw the thread for them...nm...I see you just posted there.

 

[chandhill]

How much do they cost and where do u get them from

 

[B9Scrambler]

How much do they cost and where do u get them from

Lol...little late to this one eh? I picked mine up at the Great Canadian Superstore (grocery store) for around 10 bucks. Some stores still carry them (I'm in the London, ON) area, but I have no idea what the price is now as it's never posted. They're usually on clearance racks, so I'm guessing they still sell for around that 10 CAD mark.

I must also note that I've seen these under quite a few other brands on sale at Winners of all places. Those versions run about 20-30 bucks, so the J+- branding is by far the cheapest. They all sounded the same as far as I could tell.

 

[Trista S]

Hi, I'm REALLY late. But, I had a pair of these that my grandma bought me a few years ago. And my dad just broke em. They were amazing, but I can't find them anywhere else?! I live in BC. Have any ideas? (Besides Winners and Superstore.)