[Belimaxim]

It’s strange that after so solid success of fw01 which has excellent scene and overall sound quality while enough time have passed to become this fact widespread and obvious there are so few notes about new fw 1K line. I mean there have to be enough fans of previous series (including metal shaped fd serie) to try this new while the price is nearly the same

 

[james444]

Hi there. Did someone make any comparison between this and massdrop fwx 1800 ? As massdrop is known for that it takes a done model and making some cosmetic or small sound changes while the whole quality stays the same. So I suppose massdrop’s one could sound close to the original or may be more interesting.

It's the same, FW1800 ist the international version and FW1500 the domestic (Japanese) version. Drop (former Massdrop) did not make any changes to the FW1800.

 

[Dr Riddim]

I have both the fw01 and 1500 and I find the 1500 a big improvement. fw01 does neither have the same dynamics, nor the clarity of 1500, which is positioning itself between 01 and much more expensive flagship 10000 (which I have not been able to hear). Of course 1500 is not two times better than fw01, but I can hear a dramatic difference. If I have understood correctly, the Asian version 1800 is same as the Japanese 1500, so Massdrop's fwx 1800 could be very similar to 1500.

 

[Belimaxim]

It's the same, FW1800 ist the international version and FW1500 the domestic (Japanese) version. Drop (former Massdrop) did not make any changes to the FW1800.

Thanks for your attention and graphs
Seems they are really close to each other speaking of sound performance. However massdrop version slightly lays to more mediacore frequency with little more base and more soft highs. While fw1500 is more in audiophile way. But may be it’s only an example difference though it’s too large for that

 

[Belimaxim]

Hope that crinacle.com will measure them both soon as I was attempted to consider headphones‘ sound from his graphes. Due to my personal experience lays close to what I see from those

 

[Belimaxim]

I have both the fw01 and 1500 and I find the 1500 a big improvement. fw01 does neither have the same dynamics, nor the clarity of 1500, which is positioning itself between 01 and much more expensive flagship 10000 (which I have not been able to hear). Of course 1500 is not two times better than fw01, but I can hear a dramatic difference. If I have understood correctly, the Asian version 1800 is same as the Japanese 1500, so Massdrop's fwx 1800 could be very similar to 1500.

Thanks for require
How do you find their both base in comparison? As I recall about fw01 it has a little too much energy during 90-200 herz wich makes sound pumping impatient while speed wasn’t lost. I accept that tasty base was a side of their tunning but it needs more mids while that way.
Are the 1500-s less dynamic on base section?

 

[Dr Riddim]

Thanks for require
How do you find their both base in comparison? As I recall about fw01 it has a little too much energy during 90-200 herz wich makes sound pumping impatient while speed wasn’t lost. I accept that tasty base was a side of their tunning but it needs more mids while that way.
Are the 1500-s less dynamic on base section?

I cannot recall right away as I have not been listening to fw01 since I got the 1500 a couple of years ago. But I can remember that 1500 is less boomy and has less distortion, so the bass is more controlled as well.

 

[Belimaxim]

I cannot recall right away as I have not been listening to fw01 since I got the 1500 a couple of years ago. But I can remember that 1500 is less boomy and has less distortion, so the bass is more controlled as well.

Damn good. That exact what fw01 missed as I ment

 

[Nostoi]

Tempted to pick up some of these to go along with a pair of HA-SW01, which I recently got and am enjoying very much. Anyone still using these on a regular basis?

 

[jeffri]

I used it as my daily driver. Aside of slightly hot upper mid, I enjoyed it a lot.

 

[Nostoi]

I used it as my daily driver. Aside of slightly hot upper mid, I enjoyed it a lot.

Thank you. How do they compare to your TH900, which I see you have? I'm deciding between these and FW10000.

 

[jeffri]

Thank you. How do they compare to your TH900, which I see you have? I'm deciding between these and FW10000.

This is definitely a warmer and thicker sounding, not as V-shaped. I'll prefer the midrange on this than TH900, although the TH900 have better control over the entire spectrum, especially on the treble range. The thumping bass is also not something that can be replicated by the FW1500 here...

If my memory served correctly, the FW10000 would be more similar to the TH900, maybe with less bass.

 

[Ymzable]

I use my FW-1500 regularly with the AZLA Xelastec tips. With the original tips, the lower mids sound a bit recessed to my liking, and the lower treble is a bit hot. The AZLA tips correct those areas quite well, and bass quantity is lowered slightly but better controlled. I highly suggest this combination. The drivers used in the FW-1500 are very technically profound. I feel that this set is not as popular as it should be. That might be due to marketing issues.

 

[Nostoi]

Just ordered some of these, as I'm a lover of the JVC wood tuning. If these resemble the SW01 somewhat, it'll be a good result.

I plan on using them for general everyday daily driver usage. To this end, how's the isolation for public use?

 

[Nostoi]

Ok, just got these. Brief impressions:

1. They look and feel lovely. Excellent build, hefty than I anticipated. From an aesthetic perspective, they look absolutely smashing with my Brise cable.
2. The bad news: the fit is not good. I tried multiple tips, including the Xelastec tips mentioned above. They were the best, but alas I didn't like the sound profile at all. ML Spiral Dot + seems best. For some reason, Spiral Dot ++ didn't work so well.
3. The worse news: I was hoping these would be a JVC HA-SW01 in IEM form, since they're both part of the same family and released around the same time. But I'm not hearing that at all. I will give them some time - and maybe this is because I've been spoilt by the IE900 and then the FW1K before that - they sound rather flat and underwhelming to me right now. I compared with my Pinnacle P1, which by now are quite old and much cheaper, and the latter felt to me more resolving in every respect. It's hard to pinpoint what's going on with the FW1500 - they just lack dynamism and technically feel rather constricted.

A shame! I wanted to like these a great deal....maybe I just go directly to Final A8000 next.

They sure are pretty, though: