Alright, just picked up my RX700s, here are some impressions just out of the box:
First, structurally, theses headphones are amazing for 35$. They dont appear to be like anything you would pick up at a mass market electronics store. While the pleather earpads dont have the most luxurious look to them, they are comfortable, and fit well around my ears. Everything is sturdy, and they look like they could take a beating pretty well. The headband is comfortable, if not maybe a little more firm then I would have hoped, but it seems like it will break in nicely. They are a bit heavier then my HD650s, but weight distribution on the head is good enough that they never fell like their weighing down on you.
The seal is good, they leak very minimally and isolate decently. Obviously with a semi-open design, their first intention was not to isolate, but they can be thought of as more closed headphones then semi-open or open.
Sound:
I know these headphones have been compared to Grados, but between my SR225s and my HD650s, they remind me more of the Sennheisers. When I think of the Grados, I think of clean sound, small stage, and strong punchy attacks (I think of them as perfectly married with Jeff Buckley). These JVCs have a soundstage that is in my opinion larger then the HD650s (alot smaller then my K500's) and the sound has some of the blending that I equate alot more with the Senns then the Grados. Also, they dont have Grado golden mids, which I feel are a bit recessed on the 700s, or at least do not jump out at you. The bass is strong and punchy, the low end well controlled. My only complaint is treble extension could be a bit better, but I assume this may resolve itself after burn in.
What amazes me so much about theses headphones is that they cost about what is ran me to get my Sennheisers shipped, and they are
relatively in the same league. There are definite gaps in resolution and smoothness between the two, but having 35$ (list 60$) headphones and 300$ (list 600$) headphones even in the same sentence is an amazing accomplishment. The senns are in no way 10x better then then RX700 (well that is just the way high end audio works), and the RX700 get my full and enthusiastic endorsement to anyone interested in getting involved in high end sound (& you can listen to them out of an Ipod!).
Cant wait to burn these in.....
heres some pics on sizing, these are definitely not for portable use, it would be easier to take my HD650s out and about
