pp312
Hoping to be taken seriously for once in his life
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2001
- Posts
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- 247
This was a lucky find in that I happened to spot it privately advertised for $80 AU ($42 US), against a retail of $270 here in OZ. Even then I was doubtful. After all, JVC headphones have no credibility, right? Just another mass marketer filling up the gaps in
his range, right? No hope of matching the Sennheisers and Grados of this world, right? Well, read on....
CONSTRUCTION: Quite amazing for the price. Anyone who's visited the JVC site will know that they're identical to the DX3 save for the plain grey shells (copper for the DX3) and rather sweaty "leatherette" pads (cloth for the DX3). The double hooped
headband is pure AKG, but everything else is original, partially resembles the Sydney Harbor Bridge and is unique in providing something I've never encountered before: variable inward pressure via two buttons which release the "arms" to swing in and out. Of course with my fat head I found the pressure still quite high even at the furthest out position, but no doubt they'll soften up (they always do), and the option of being able to increase the pressure if they even become loose is great. Full marks here.
COMFORT: Fair, I'd say. The pads are fully circumaural, but with the fairly high inward pressure and sweaty material you're not likely to forget you're wearing cans. Certainly no match for my Senn 580s, but better probably than most sealed cans. I can
live with them because of the.....
SOUND QUALITY: My first impression upon donning these was to take them off to make sure I hadn't left my speakers on---they're that spacious sounding. This was mentioned in the DX3 review, and it's spot on. I don't know how JVC have managed this, but it's only one of several miracles built into these cans. Another is the total lack of coloration for a closed back design with so little space behind the driver for padding (unlike the Sonys). But the greatest miracle is where JVC, a mass market producer, found this driver. It's just so good, so sweet and clean and coloration-free, that the JVCs have now replaced my Senns, being comprehensively better (with my modest equipment) in just about every area. The literature says that it's a 50mm unit with a 19 micro (micron?) polymer film diaphram and neodymium magnets, but as we all know that tells us nothing.
First off, the sound is so open and free of coloration. A little bright, yes, and despite these being used ('hardly used') they still greatly benefited from around 30 hours burn in. I definitely wouldn't recommend auditioning them raw: they'll sound bright and thin and totally bassless. And even after 30 hours they're still a little bright and bass reticent: that's the nature of this beast. However, the bass is highly accurate and quite deep; it just doesn't have that upper bass warmth and foundation of the Senns. So this isn't a set of cans to throw into any system. Harsh, bright amps and sources will prove unbearable. My Marantz 4000 is considered warm, but even with that I prefer the sound with the treble down a couple of db. The thing is, the bright balance is almost immaterial in light of the purity and sweetness and just plain accuracy of the mid/treble. Accuracy indeed is the operative word here. This is a class phone in every way. I don't know how it compares with the DX3, but I'd have a hard time believing the DX3 sounds significantly better. And with the DX1 available stateside for as little as $73 US, it may be time for a bargain alert.
PROBLEMS: There are always a few of course. First off, like most closed back cans these are highly microphonic. Touch any part of the structure and you get it amplified right into your lobes. I also noticed immediately a lot of mechanical noise getting through every time I moved my head---creaks and clunks etc. Experimentation led me to the radical step of plastering gaffer tape all across the back of the phones including the connecting arm. Not very elegant, but no more creaks. As well the tape had the effect of reducing the microphony. Two birds with one stone.
So....should Grado and Senn owners be throwing their cans in the dumpster and rushing out for these? Hardly, since the results with any can is dependent on the system. Some will find these too bright, thin sounding, bassless, distant. Some will find them uncomfortable (though they're certainly more comfortable than the Grado SR80s I once owned). What they are is a remarkable can for the price, and definitely one to throw into the under $200 ring. Anyone for team JVC?
his range, right? No hope of matching the Sennheisers and Grados of this world, right? Well, read on....
CONSTRUCTION: Quite amazing for the price. Anyone who's visited the JVC site will know that they're identical to the DX3 save for the plain grey shells (copper for the DX3) and rather sweaty "leatherette" pads (cloth for the DX3). The double hooped
headband is pure AKG, but everything else is original, partially resembles the Sydney Harbor Bridge and is unique in providing something I've never encountered before: variable inward pressure via two buttons which release the "arms" to swing in and out. Of course with my fat head I found the pressure still quite high even at the furthest out position, but no doubt they'll soften up (they always do), and the option of being able to increase the pressure if they even become loose is great. Full marks here.
COMFORT: Fair, I'd say. The pads are fully circumaural, but with the fairly high inward pressure and sweaty material you're not likely to forget you're wearing cans. Certainly no match for my Senn 580s, but better probably than most sealed cans. I can
live with them because of the.....
SOUND QUALITY: My first impression upon donning these was to take them off to make sure I hadn't left my speakers on---they're that spacious sounding. This was mentioned in the DX3 review, and it's spot on. I don't know how JVC have managed this, but it's only one of several miracles built into these cans. Another is the total lack of coloration for a closed back design with so little space behind the driver for padding (unlike the Sonys). But the greatest miracle is where JVC, a mass market producer, found this driver. It's just so good, so sweet and clean and coloration-free, that the JVCs have now replaced my Senns, being comprehensively better (with my modest equipment) in just about every area. The literature says that it's a 50mm unit with a 19 micro (micron?) polymer film diaphram and neodymium magnets, but as we all know that tells us nothing.
First off, the sound is so open and free of coloration. A little bright, yes, and despite these being used ('hardly used') they still greatly benefited from around 30 hours burn in. I definitely wouldn't recommend auditioning them raw: they'll sound bright and thin and totally bassless. And even after 30 hours they're still a little bright and bass reticent: that's the nature of this beast. However, the bass is highly accurate and quite deep; it just doesn't have that upper bass warmth and foundation of the Senns. So this isn't a set of cans to throw into any system. Harsh, bright amps and sources will prove unbearable. My Marantz 4000 is considered warm, but even with that I prefer the sound with the treble down a couple of db. The thing is, the bright balance is almost immaterial in light of the purity and sweetness and just plain accuracy of the mid/treble. Accuracy indeed is the operative word here. This is a class phone in every way. I don't know how it compares with the DX3, but I'd have a hard time believing the DX3 sounds significantly better. And with the DX1 available stateside for as little as $73 US, it may be time for a bargain alert.
PROBLEMS: There are always a few of course. First off, like most closed back cans these are highly microphonic. Touch any part of the structure and you get it amplified right into your lobes. I also noticed immediately a lot of mechanical noise getting through every time I moved my head---creaks and clunks etc. Experimentation led me to the radical step of plastering gaffer tape all across the back of the phones including the connecting arm. Not very elegant, but no more creaks. As well the tape had the effect of reducing the microphony. Two birds with one stone.
So....should Grado and Senn owners be throwing their cans in the dumpster and rushing out for these? Hardly, since the results with any can is dependent on the system. Some will find these too bright, thin sounding, bassless, distant. Some will find them uncomfortable (though they're certainly more comfortable than the Grado SR80s I once owned). What they are is a remarkable can for the price, and definitely one to throw into the under $200 ring. Anyone for team JVC?
