james444
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 25, 2004
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UPDATE: I haver over 30 hours of burn in on the FW01. Now that I have more time with the 01 here are some notes:
- It requires amps/sources which aren't warm sounding. Pairing it with something like Calyx M/AK120 the bass can be overly lush and long term can be fatiguing.
- It certainly benefits certain genera of music genre over another. Modern music can be overly bass heavy and just sound congested at time. Trance and fast passed music can sometimes overwhelm the driver and it can't keep up.
I hope with more burn in sound becomes less midrange focused. I haven't yet paired it with my other sources/amp but pairing with HUGO was rather positive. I haven't listen enough to make up my mind paired with HUGO but in general HUGO likes warmer sounding gears.
You might want to try this simple and reversible mod that reduces bass and improves clarity and overall balance:
Step 1: Find some surplus tips made of thin silicone, e.g. Sony hybrid tips:
Step 2: Cut off a small stripe, about 1x7mm:
Step 3: This is the tricky part. Place the stripe alongside the nozzle, so that it protrudes about 1mm at the front end. Hold it carefully in place with your fingertip as you mount the silicone tip.
Step 4: Check the result - it should look like this from the outside.
Step 5: Check the result - it should look like this on the inside. Make sure that the stripe protrudes only a tiny bit at the edge of the nozzle, or else it will diffuse the sound.
Congrats, you've successfully completed the "j444 mod"!
(If you don't have any surplus tips at hand or are simply too lazy to cut stripes, you can always order a pair of genuine high-end "j444" modding stripes from my website for only $99!)
Edit #1: I thought it was obvious from the pics, but just for clarification: You need to cut the stripe off the cap, not the stem. The latter is too thick for this mod and will result in too much leakage.