[MissChristie]

@dogears it's tough to compare directly because the JVC absolutely needs EQ of some sort. The LCD-2 is clearer and very nicely balanced, with excellent bass extension and a good amount of slam. But the SZ2000 absolutely has the best bass I've ever experienced, and it's got satisfying enough clarity for the price I paid (Amazon warehouse deal. Ended up shelling out $146 and all that was wrong was the sleeve the box was in was a little shredded in one corner). Overall they are tons of fun but I would absolutely recommend as a supplimentary headphone instead of being someone's next upgrade unless they are a major basshead and know what they're jumping into.

Edit: Also, can I say that these cans have amazingly opened up after about 30 hours of burn in? It still has a few more nights of pink noise planned for it, but I am actually really surprised at how much better it sounds with and without EQ now. It got a lot less veiled and less muddy in the mids and it's a lot smoother.

 

[dogears]

@dogears it's tough to compare directly because the JVC absolutely needs EQ of some sort. The LCD-2 is clearer and very nicely balanced, with excellent bass extension and a good amount of slam. But the SZ2000 absolutely has the best bass I've ever experienced, and it's got satisfying enough clarity for the price I paid (Amazon warehouse deal. Ended up shelling out $146 and all that was wrong was the sleeve the box was in was a little shredded in one corner). Overall they are tons of fun but I would absolutely recommend as a supplimentary headphone instead of being someone's next upgrade unless they are a major basshead and know what they're jumping into.

Edit: Also, can I say that these cans have amazingly opened up after about 30 hours of burn in? It still has a few more nights of pink noise planned for it, but I am actually really surprised at how much better it sounds with and without EQ now. It got a lot less veiled and less muddy in the mids and it's a lot smoother.

Thanks for the reply, very insightful

 

[BadReligionPunk]

I definitely agree with Christie about the bass. Best bass I have ever heard in a headphone period. I have been to 4 concerts in the past 2 weeks. 3 reggae shows and 1 hip-hop show. These headphones absolutely 100% nail the "live" concert sound. Not only is there insane amounts of low end rumble, but the mid bass punch is top-notch as well. I'm really amazed at how much win JVC has with these things in the bass dept.
 
Also Like Miss Christie said, the mids are clearing up a bit and are not sounding as veiled and strange as they did out of the box. This is with about 40-45 hours of heavy loud volume reggae and hip hop bumpin through them. Hopefully this will continue to settle in as more and more playtime goes by. Vapeman swears by it and I believe him. Regardless, these things take EQ really well. When I'm listening to Punk, Metal, Alternative ect, I just season to taste and they react accordingly.
 
I'm completely happy with these.
Super fun.
 
 
 
Using these with Cayin N5 paired with Cayin C5 LO, with HdB, Bass boost on for Reggae, Hip hop, EDM ect.
For guitar driven music, I roll HO, HdB, Bass boost off, N5 Eq to taste(lower the mid range hump, boost upper mids and treble a smidge)

 

[vapman]

I'll be damned. For ages I've been insisting burn in doesn't exist in headphones. Maybe it's true they do open up over time?
 
I've done so much listening on my new set there's not as much of a difference, or if there was, i'm not hearing it anymore. Psychological probably but unless someone wants to take the time to do tons of measurements in a controlled environment i'll just say these are the only headphones I'll admit burn in affects in a truly noticable way. There are a lot of ones that people may claim have very minute differences to each other, but in my experience they're never big enough differences to definitively say it isn't psychological or becoming used to a headphones' sound entirely, yet in the case of the SZ's they are quite different over time.
 
edit: there's some super deep kicks on girl's generation - gee. yeah I still rock that song all day. But if you have SZ's and a good amp, try it out with the bass boost on. It's too much to handle if you're not a SPL addict. There's an extra kick that only happens a couple times in the first 3/4 of the song and then goes a bunch at the 2 minute mark.

 

[BadReligionPunk]

You know what? I was totally in the brain burn in camp as opposed to the product burn in camp, but this week end change it for me. I had that "divine" claravoyant moment.
 
A long time ago I bought a pair of headphones. The detachable cable went out. It used a 2.5mm end on the headphone side and a 3.5mm end on the dap side. So I emailed the company and explained the situation and asked if I could purchase a cable from them, as you cant get an oem cable from anywhere else. They sent me a brand new pair of headphones for free instead.
 
WHAT?
 
 
So yea. I'm was/am able to compare the 2 sets and they both sound significantly different. The new set has a grainy midrange. The old set has a smooth midrange.
 
So I retired the old pair to the basement in the new box, and I will play around with the new pair for the meantime. My guess is the mids will smooth out.
 
 
Hoping for the same from the 2k's as it seems to be moving that direction. I thought about it and it is possible that the bass is just so much that the brain focuses on nothing but that bass that details in the mids and treble are unobtainable. only after a brain burni in do you start to hear things in the other spectrum as brain is used to the massive bass.
 
Its possible, maybe even probable. I just know I had my first experience this weekend with the new pair of headphones.

 

[Phoniac]

There is no 'experience'. You compare a years old version of a phone with a brand new one, which obviously means it might sound different because the manufacturer of the drivers, or the way they are manufactured might have changed. Not to mention the pads that behave totally different after long-time usage.
 
I just got a new 2000, so I can compare a burned-in (6 months old) with a super-fresh one. And there is zero difference. Imagination all the way...

 

[BadReligionPunk]

I have 2 pairs of headphones that sound different. One old, One new out of the box. Because you bought a second pair of JVC's and they "sound the same" as your old pair is of no relevance to my "experience".
 
Your strawman argument aside. The sheepskin leather earpads are interchangeable between each pair and make zero difference in sound. Could be different drivers but that's highly unlikely. As far as I know nobody changes drivers midway through factory runs.
 
Guess we will find out in due time as if there is no such thing as burn-in for headphones then these headphones will continue to sound grainy in the midrange and never smooth out.
 
No bigs to me either way. I'm not taking a hard stance either way. I just stated that I had a rare opportunity to compare two of the same headphones and noted that there was a clear difference in sound between the two. That opens up my mind.
 
Regardless, there is one thing that we can all agree on. JVC SZ2000's kick mucho ass. I virtually have not taken them off since june 3 when I got them. Some of the most fun I have ever had listening to music.   

 

[MissChristie]

Your strawman argument aside. The sheepskin leather earpads are interchangeable between each pair and make zero difference in sound. Could be different drivers but that's highly unlikely. As far as I know nobody changes drivers midway through factory runs.

Whoa! Sheepskin leather earpads are pretty swanky! If you feel like indulging my curiosity, what specific headphone is the one you mention in your burn in observation?

 

[MissChristie]

I wrote a review of my experiences with the SZ2K. I'll admit that it is mostly written from the perspective of a generic audio enthusiast who is a part time basshead, so there is alot of "The bass is great but how would it fare if it was my only headphone on a desert island" type observations. But it takes all types and all that jazz.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/jvc-kenwood-victer-stereo-headphones-ha-sz2000-japan-import/reviews/16289

 

[BadReligionPunk]

I wrote a review of my experiences with the SZ2K. I'll admit that it is mostly written from the perspective of a generic audio enthusiast who is a part time basshead, so there is alot of "The bass is great but how would it fare if it was my only headphone on a desert island" type observations. But it takes all types and all that jazz.

http://www.head-fi.org/products/jvc-kenwood-victer-stereo-headphones-ha-sz2000-japan-import/reviews/16289

Your first review? Good job! It's a tough headphone to review. It one of the worst sounding headphones out of the box(subjective). Amped and eq'd it's a great sounding headphone and a bassheads dream come true. I love mine to death but hard to put a rating on it IMO.
Anyway good job.

 

[fickennein]

Im thinking to get the sz1000 for movie. I've tried sony xb950bt, good bass, just lack detail, mid and high. Is sz1000 better than xb950?
And im kinda confused bout getting the sz1000, ath ws770, or jvc ha-mr77x for movie.

What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

 

[vapman]

Im thinking to get the sz1000 for movie. I've tried sony xb950bt, good bass, just lack detail, mid and high. Is sz1000 better than xb950?
And im kinda confused bout getting the sz1000, ath ws770, or jvc ha-mr77x for movie.

What do you guys think? Thanks in advance!

the 1000 is a definite step up...
 
no need to go from 1000 to 2000 unless you get super amp power or absolutely must rattle your brains out!

 

[BadReligionPunk]

 
 
Cayin N5 into Cayin C5 EQ settings that I have been using the past couple of days. I find that it works well with quite a few different genres of music. C5 Bass boost on for hip hop and reggae. Off for guitar oriented music. Gets rid of almost all of the blanket and really brings out the crunchiness of distorted guitars.
 
Anyway I thought id post it. Might help someone. Also interested in others eq settings for various tunes.

 

[fickennein]

 
the 1000 is a definite step up...
 
no need to go from 1000 to 2000 unless you get super amp power or absolutely must rattle your brains out!

haha i dont have the budget to rattle my brains for sz2000. thanks for your response!

 

[MilTech]

I'm worried about the dip in sub-bass. I wish the sub-bass goes bit higher than the mid-bass on FR graphs (@goldenears). So if I'm gonna buy this I have to have a sub-bass booster.

So, any of you tried this JVC with the iFi micro iDSD and FiiO E12 with the bass boosts turned on? How is it?

The 2000+iDSD combo is just unreal. No limit SPL and extension wise. Some smart EQing brings them in line SQ wise nicely.