JVC HA-FD01 Class S Solidege
Sep 17, 2020 at 7:37 AM Post #406 of 428
Haven't tried any BA iems myself, and I'm looking around here and there. Moondrop appears to be a safe bet in that area. Their Blessing 2 looks like a beloved iem in the forums / internet.
Yeah, B2 have been compared to DUNU multiple times and overall seem to sound a little bit better. But I'm honestly concerned with them having a large fit. FD01 sit quite comfortably for me, but anything larger would already be too much. It's a shame I can't try B2 out before buying them.
 
Sep 17, 2020 at 9:47 AM Post #407 of 428
Haven't tried any BA iems myself, and I'm looking around here and there. Moondrop appears to be a safe bet in that area. Their Blessing 2 looks like a beloved iem in the forums / internet.
I am generally a DD fan but have learned to love the IER-M9 sound, even though it took weeks to get used to the different presentation. I now really enjoy the refinement and detail. But the M9 has very good timbre and sounds very coherent.

I will get the Blessing 2 on Monday, and will certainly compare it with my beloved modded FD02
 
Mar 27, 2021 at 5:40 PM Post #409 of 428
I'm curious about getting an FD01 as a backup to my FDX1. Is there any benefit to getting the FD02 over the FD01? It would be nice to have the extra nozzles that come with the FD01, but the FD02 may have a sturdier nozzle if it is permanently attached. I noticed a slightly loose nozzle attachment on one earpiece of the FDX1, so I want to avoid that if at all possible.
 
Mar 28, 2021 at 3:14 AM Post #410 of 428
I'm curious about getting an FD01 as a backup to my FDX1. Is there any benefit to getting the FD02 over the FD01? It would be nice to have the extra nozzles that come with the FD01, but the FD02 may have a sturdier nozzle if it is permanently attached. I noticed a slightly loose nozzle attachment on one earpiece of the FDX1, so I want to avoid that if at all possible.
The FD02 has been a long time favorite of mine.
I compared it to the FD01 when I bought it, and the FD01 was clearly brighter.
A downside of the FD02 is the bad stock cable. It's softer and more comfortable than the FD01 cable but really holds back the FD02 in terms of SQ. I wrote about my cable experiences in this thread.

Mechanically the FD02 is very robust, and if you want to play with the tuning the Micropore tape mod is a simple method with good results.

PS: I had the FDX1 for a short period but got unlucky and got a bad sample (seriously lacking bass)
The Nozzles were also a bit loose on the FDX1. If you don't plan to swap nozzles after finding the best tuning I think a fixed nozzle makes more sense.
 
Mar 30, 2021 at 8:30 PM Post #411 of 428
Has anyone else found them hard to drive. I got a FiiO UTWS3 and they (FD01) literally had no base but the mids and highs sounded fine and loud. But when I use the Shuoer Tape The base is as expected. Now I'm listening to them on Liquid Platinum desktop headphone amp and there is defiantly bass. The loudness is about the same. I guess this is a technical question. Why can the volume be found on both but one has base and one does not. I understand that the LFO probably requires more power to drive. Hence subwoofers are often self-driven... But why doesn't the whole spectrum sound quite on unpowerful amplifiers? Why does only the bass roll off? Sorry for the boring questions :wink:
 
Mar 30, 2021 at 9:15 PM Post #412 of 428
Has anyone else found them hard to drive. I got a FiiO UTWS3 and they (FD01) literally had no base but the mids and highs sounded fine and loud. But when I use the Shuoer Tape The base is as expected. Now I'm listening to them on Liquid Platinum desktop headphone amp and there is defiantly bass. The loudness is about the same. I guess this is a technical question. Why can the volume be found on both but one has base and one does not. I understand that the LFO probably requires more power to drive. Hence subwoofers are often self-driven... But why doesn't the whole spectrum sound quite on unpowerful amplifiers? Why does only the bass roll off? Sorry for the boring questions :wink:
There could be many reasons for the lack of bass. Something weird may be happening with Bluetooth, so check your settings on that, and make sure no EQ is accidentally applied. I'm not sure if the UTWS3 has enough power to drive the FD01, specs say only 38 milliwatts into 16 ohms, which is what the FD01 is. So it definitely could be underpowered, considering I need 90% volume on my LG V40 to power my FDX1 with medium-low volume music.
It could also be because the Liquid Platinum is a tube amp, and tube amps usually have some kind of bass boost.
 
Jul 24, 2021 at 4:28 PM Post #413 of 428
After a couple years, I'm still loving my modded FD01s, and I'm now looking to find the equivalent sound, in a pair of open-back headphones.

Open backs tend to suffer from severe sub-bass roll off, but I do remember listening to a set of Grado PS2000e's (at a pre-pandemic head-fi event) that reminded me a lot of my FD01s. I.e., a fairly neutral presentation, with excellent (but polite) sub-bass extension, highly resolving mids, and excellent (but not fatiguing) highs.
Anyone know, first hand, of a set of headphones that might fit my needs?
Oh, and I don't want to spend thousands of dollars.
 
Jul 24, 2021 at 5:28 PM Post #414 of 428
iBasso SR2 might fit the bill. They are excellent value HPs.
 
Jul 24, 2021 at 5:35 PM Post #415 of 428
iBasso SR2
Interesting. I didn't even consider smaller manufacturers. Have you tried the SR2s yourself? Or are you going by reviews and frequency graphs? (It's ok if you haven't heard them; I'm just curious, just so I can know how much research to do, before pulling out the wallet.)
 
Jul 24, 2021 at 5:51 PM Post #416 of 428
Jul 24, 2021 at 9:24 PM Post #417 of 428
After a couple years, I'm still loving my modded FD01s, and I'm now looking to find the equivalent sound, in a pair of open-back headphones.

Open backs tend to suffer from severe sub-bass roll off, but I do remember listening to a set of Grado PS2000e's (at a pre-pandemic head-fi event) that reminded me a lot of my FD01s. I.e., a fairly neutral presentation, with excellent (but polite) sub-bass extension, highly resolving mids, and excellent (but not fatiguing) highs.
Anyone know, first hand, of a set of headphones that might fit my needs?
Oh, and I don't want to spend thousands of dollars.
I had the Elex for a while, I think that comes pretty close to the overall sound of the FDX1/FD01. It has similar bass extension and a nice dynamic punchy sound that’s not fatiguing. Tonality is a bit warmer in the mids than the FDX1, but still nice and present. I have the Clear MG Pro now, it sounds even better, but the Elex is $700 (used $500) while the Clear is $1,400.
 
Jul 25, 2021 at 12:29 AM Post #418 of 428
I had the Elex for a while, I think that comes pretty close to the overall sound of the FDX1/FD01. It has similar bass extension and a nice dynamic punchy sound that’s not fatiguing. Tonality is a bit warmer in the mids than the FDX1, but still nice and present. I have the Clear MG Pro now, it sounds even better, but the Elex is $700 (used $500) while the Clear is $1,400.
Thanks for the tip. I see the Elex is $599 new on Drop. Thanks for the suggestion. [Edit: I just bought the Elex on Drop. The cable looks crappy, but that's easily remedied. Looking forward to hearing how these compare to the JVCs.]
 
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Aug 4, 2021 at 2:19 AM Post #419 of 428
Thanks for the tip. I see the Elex is $599 new on Drop. Thanks for the suggestion. [Edit: I just bought the Elex on Drop. The cable looks crappy, but that's easily remedied. Looking forward to hearing how these compare to the JVCs.]
Ok, just a quick update about my search to find an open-back equivalent to the JVCs:

I've been listening to the Focal Elex for a couple days, and comparing it to my modded FD01's. The Focals sound great, but I think I still prefer the FD01's.

When listening to the Focals, on tracks I'm very familiar with, I find myself wishing there was more energy in the upper mids (maybe 2 dBs), and less energy in the sub-bass (maybe 2 dBs). Likely, my ears are just more used to the FD01's elevated upper mids and tamer bass.

Micro details also lag ever-so-slightly behind when compared to the FD01's, probably due to their (comparatively) recessed upper mids.

I applied some light EQ and was able to get the Elex to sound a bit more like the JVCs, though I still prefer the JVCs.

Overall, the Focals are similar enough to the JVCs (especially with some light EQ) that I think I'll keep them.
 
Mar 11, 2022 at 7:28 PM Post #420 of 428
Hey, a quick question on good tips. With my SpiralDots worn down I'm now looking for a good replacement, and I've always had issues with the fit and seal on my FD01. So does anyone know of a good pair of large silicone tips with deep insertion that would work well with FD01? I tried large SpinFits and Comply's T400, but they still don't cut it for me.
And while I'm at it, can anyone recommend a good Bluetooth cable that would be able to drive these? Preferably with LDAC support.
 

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