I have let the phones play with about 4 hrs of pink noise last night and couldn't wait any longer. Firstly lets deal with the comfort issue. The pads are so thick and lush, it really does feel like your ears are pressing against a pillow. There is plenty of space inside the cups for your ears so getting it right will not be an issue. The clamping pressure at this time is a little firm for me. Please bear in mind that the headphone arch is new and subsequently rather stiff and needs time to mellow a bit. Also the sad fact of having a large head doesn't help either, YMMV. The arch itself is easy to readjust while being worn, despite having read the opposite here, thankfully this was not the case( having to take of the phones for realignment would be a nuisance). The JVC is very well made, handsome and very solid with a decent presentation in its cardboard box. Someone stated that the box provided does not lend itself to a phone of this caliber,- perhaps. Although, I'm sure the majority would prefer the money being spent on the phones, not the box. The cable appointed is very thick and luxurious, extending very nicely and falls flat with no twists. It has a nice weight to it, then terminates with the wooden gold plug at the end. BTW, the colour of the wood is quite dissimilar to all the photos I have seen on this forum. It is slightly lighter in tone and more directed towards brown than red and furnished with a good wood grain showing through.
Now the sound dept. Please remember I currently do not have a proper amp nor the mandatory or required audiophile experience and vernacular to chronicle and construe these with, so take my comments with the necessary due care. I listened initially with an old Cd player then watched a film on a DVD player. After the 4 hrs of pink noise, the bass has stated to blossom in a way which makes me appreciate that a week or two from now will end with my head coming apart. It is obvious to me that these things are capable of delivering some serious bass. At the moment it still feels awkward and slightly maladroit although through all that one can sense a power unleashing, coming to the fore with vengeance. It never spilled into the midrange and causing some abnormality there at all. The midrange to my ears felt about right, open in the middle with no forwardness nor recession and with plenty of lustiness or did I mean lushness.The so called honky or reverb-heavy midrange described by others as a signature attribute was not that evident on my set. I believe it to be very mild and much to my liking(Soundinista-You were right). The highs do feel a bit rolled off though, let me stress that this is very mild and nothing to worry about. If anything it is quite pleasant in its delivery or application. The level of detail this phone conveys is awfully good, although here too I could sense that the JVC wanted to give more and will so after more burning in.
The soundstage was one aspect I was looking forward to as I love being in a wide space and these do not disappoint. Quite deep but I am expecting much more though after I pair it to my Headroom Desktop Max+Max.
Thats all for now. Again remember this is a pre -burned set with no proper amp attached for this appraisal. I have a feeling that I may have not quenched peoples appetite for a proper and just review. Fear not, when my Max+Max arrives in a week or two I will do a follow up addition and with further burn-in should see a quantifiable improvement in the positive domain.
