JVC HA-FW01 - The New Top End Wood Driver IEM (2017)
Jun 27, 2017 at 4:02 PM Post #346 of 780
Hi guys,

I've owned my FW01 for around seven months now, and I'm continually pleased by it's sound. One thing, though, since I use this as my hiking IEM, my sweat has loosened the fabric ear wax protectors to the point I had to remove them. Just a shout out that if you exercise with the FW01, you may want to towel dry the stems afterwards; its a bit of a hassle since you'll have to remove the tips.
 
Jul 6, 2017 at 3:21 PM Post #347 of 780
I decided to give my FW01 to my son for his 16th birthday--he loves them! I also gave him my final F4100 as an alternative IEM with a very different tonal signature. It's great to see him embracing this hobby of ours.

I'm waiting for JVC to release the FW00. :ksc75smile:
 
Jul 17, 2017 at 5:54 PM Post #348 of 780
I decided to give my FW01 to my son for his 16th birthday--he loves them! I also gave him my final F4100 as an alternative IEM with a very different tonal signature. It's great to see him embracing this hobby of ours.

I'm waiting for JVC to release the FW00. :ksc75smile:
I tested some more iems just recently..i am surprised how few can match the pleasure of listening to fw01. Just a fantastic iem regardless of price. Btw is the fw00 you are referring to the super prototype jvc has been teasing at shows?

That high quality iem from dad is gonna a lasting memory for your son im sure.

Anyway a shout out to fw01 owners on any thoughts about matching it with ifi micro idsd BL.
 
Jul 17, 2017 at 7:44 PM Post #349 of 780
I tested some more iems just recently..i am surprised how few can match the pleasure of listening to fw01. Just a fantastic iem regardless of price. Btw is the fw00 you are referring to the super prototype jvc has been teasing at shows?

That high quality iem from dad is gonna a lasting memory for your son im sure.

Anyway a shout out to fw01 owners on any thoughts about matching it with ifi micro idsd BL.

I fully agree about the FW01 being a fantastic IEM, I miss not having them anymore. My son is super happy about owning them now, and it brings a smile to my face that I was able to bring him such happiness.

The FW00 is pure conjecture on my part based on what happened with the previous series. The FX650, FX750, and FX850 were all released at the same time. Maybe it was a year later that the FX1100/1200 was released. I'm hoping the same pattern repeats and I'll definitely be on board.

I had not heard about a "super prototype" since I don't go to shows, but maybe you're right ...
 
Jul 18, 2017 at 12:43 AM Post #350 of 780
I had not heard about a "super prototype" since I don't go to shows, but maybe you're right ...

AVWatch and Phileweb have covered the prototypes, but they don't provide much information. We could see a release later this year. The design is similar to the FW01, but it's a metal casing, and the sound tube is larger. The driver also isn't wood.
 
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Jul 18, 2017 at 1:25 AM Post #351 of 780
AVWatch and Phileweb have covered the prototypes, but they don't provide much information. We could see a release later this year. The design is similar to the FW01, but it's a metal casing, and the sound tube is larger. The driver also isn't wood.

Stainless steel enclosures, a big departure. I wonder if they're moving away from wood fiber drivers as well.
 
Jul 24, 2017 at 3:12 AM Post #352 of 780
It's been a long time since I've gotten a new pair of headphones (like 3 years) and had the time to sit down for some quiet listening due to two young babies at home. My go to pair of headphones these years have been the SE846 and they've served me well as a fantastic all rounder- comfortable, great sound, and amazing noise isolation for travelling. So recently spent some time checking out new earphones and came across these new JVC woodies. I bought a pair of FX500 when it first came out way back when, and besides the unique characteristics of the woodies, I didn't like the sound signature all that much. It was too bassy and bloated, severely v-shaped, and harsh fatiguing highs. After reading some reviews of the new woodies and it seems like JVC has resolved most of those problems, I decided to pull the trigger on the FW01s.

After about 40hrs of burn in, I am already quite blown away by the sound. Honestly, with my past experience with the FX500 and it being a sub $500 pair of earphones, I did not expect much competition to my Shures. I'm pairing the FW01s to Marantz HD-DAC1 and ZX1 as my sources, and I really love what I'm hearing so far. What first hit me is the timbre is so natural and organic, especially with string/acoustic instruments. The 01's are also quite reflective of the source/recording, with some of my classical/jazz/instrumental recordings the soundstage can be very wide and has very good depth, but on some modern recordings it can be narrow and congested. Highs are just right, smooth and extended, never sibilant or fatiguing. Vocals are well separated and never mushed into the instruments, I would say they are about on the same plane as each other, reducing the v-shaped 'problem'. I can't stand v-shaped sound and the 01s don't bother me in the slightest. The bass quality is just viceral- fast and detailed, hitting deep and hard. However to me it is a bit of a double edged sword as I find the bass quantity can be too much at times, again especially with modern recordings. I've been listening to some Joe Hisaishi's tracks with lots of string instruments. Cellos in particular give me the goosebumps, hearing the minute string vibrations and rich tonal expression, haven't had this feeling in a long, long time.

Then going back to SE846 I feel like I'm missing something. Very surprised. SE846 is extremely balanced to my ears, and technically superior, but it sounds... slightly unorganic and unnatural. Can almost use the analogy of digital vs analogue. The strings don't quite have the air vibration and emotions, and the vocals sound slightly too tamed. Also sudden bursts of volume and dynamic range is far better with the JVCs, quite evident with Beethoven's Fifth symphony, this performance reminds me of loudspeakers. The Shure's don't quite have that sudden response and dynamism. I think in the end I'm going to attribute the differences to the driver types, BA is just a bit more clinical and lack that emotional element for me.

What also really surprising is that the noise isolation is actually quite good, not Shure good obviously, but can filter out decent amount of ambient noise, way better than FX500s for sure.

Anyway didn't mean to write that much but I'm very impressed with the FW01s, and I can't wait to hear the evolution after some more burn in. I say it is perfect for classical and instrumental music in general. SE846 for me still is a better all rounder, I can throw anything at it and I can trust it to sound decent at least, basically no matter what genre or recording. The only down side to the 01s is bass is too much at times and can lead to congestion in lesser recordings. I am just so surprised and impressed that how close a $450 pair of earphones can be to a top tiered product from Shure. Loving the the 01s!!

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Jul 24, 2017 at 3:31 AM Post #353 of 780
Jul 24, 2017 at 12:32 PM Post #354 of 780
Jul 24, 2017 at 1:55 PM Post #355 of 780
Interested in the FW02, but torn between them and the isine 10. Which would be the more neutral sounding, isine 10 or FW02?
 
Jul 25, 2017 at 11:32 AM Post #358 of 780
Depends on whether you're talking about the iSine 10 with regular or lightning cable.
Regular ones, gonna be running them on my vibe x3
 
Jul 26, 2017 at 1:07 PM Post #360 of 780

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