[rawrster]

Well the thing is that the cable makes it pretty heavy for me without a secure fit unless you want to let me borrow your Sleek Audio cable

" class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//smily_headphones1.gif" title="

" width="" /> Triple flanged tips usually provide the best sound, fit and isolation for me and it doesn't seem to be any different here.
 
I'm still experimenting however. I've only used the UE tips, triple flanged and the "balanced" M9 tips. I'll try some more over the week but I got a ViSang R02 today that I'm more interested in really. I've only gotten around an hour or so of listening time with the HJE900. I'll continue to burn them in however and start doing some listening around 150 hours.

 

[LiveAndLetDie]

Quote:

I'm pretty surprised the monster triflange worked well for you. I have no clue what they're like, but if they're anything like the Meelec triflanges, they'd kill too much treble for my liking.

I bought the MC5s at J&R today on a whim. It's kind of funny; similar to how these weren't as harsh or as bassy as you expected, the ety's aren't as aggressive in the highs or "un-bassy" as I expected.
 

And... what's the verdict? Does the MC5 beat the HJE900s SQ-wise? How do they compare? 

 

[rawrster]

I think I've settled with what I like in terms of tips for the HJE900. I like the HifiMan RE-Zero bi-flange tips. It's too bad they aren't available for sale.

 

[mr.khali]

Quote:

And... what's the verdict? Does the MC5 beat the HJE900s SQ-wise? How do they compare? 

 
I am curious about this as well.
 

 

[ericp10]

So fellas and ladies, I've finally received the the HJE900 after it was shipped more than eight days ago (some strange UPS/USPS combination J and R used took forever, so it seems, to get from NYC to Chicago).
 
With only about 15 minutes of initial listening, I must say right off the back I'm very impressed with the Panny. Bass is not as heavy as I was led to believe (maybe it will get heavier), but it's not light either. It's just right. Treble is really nice and not as bright and as sharp as I was anticipating (the FX700's highs are much sharper), but the highs are nice. The biggest surprise, however are the mids. I was expecting - and dreading - very recessed mids, The midrange doesn't sound that recessed to my ears at all. No, it's not as forward as the SM2/SM3, SE535 or DDM, but it's nowhere near as recessed at the TF10s were (which made them intolerable to my ears).
 
I would have to say the mids on HJE900 are somewhat similar to the the ones on the JVC FX700. The FX700 mids seem a tad recessed due to the overwhelming bass and soaring highs, but yet they seem to fit right in. Right now, I would have to say the HJE900's mids don't even sound as recessed to my ears as the FX700.
 
What the FX700 and HJE900 really seem to have in common is very good clarity for dynamic drivers (the FX700s are great, and the HJE900 is not too far behind even without burn-in). Vocals are sounding fantastic, and acoustic guitar strings really hum and reverberate through the Pannies. Haven't had a chance to listen to much electric guitar yet. Strings sound nice.
 
Now, the Pannies doesn't have that beautiful natural timbre that the JVC possesses, but it has a nice almost balanced sound at this point. It's not as warm as I was expecting it to be either. I think the FX700 may be warmer. I don't want anyone to think the FX700 and HJE900 have the same sound sig., because they don't. They do, however, share some similar traits as I have described above.
 
So far, for $78 I think I got a great deal. I'm curious how much these will change with burn-in and in which direction, but for right now I am quite satisfied. Rarely has something sounded so pleasing right off the back. I'll keep you posted as I get more listening time in. Happy listening.
 
P.S. - Forgot to add that I started off right away listening to the HJE900 with the transparent UE silicon tips. I haven't made it to any other tips as of yet.

 

[rawrster]

Quote:

And... what's the verdict? Does the MC5 beat the HJE900s SQ-wise? How do they compare? 

Does something like this really matter? They are both very different and obviously for a different set of preferences. They don't really have any similarities in sound except they are both dynamic drivers.

 

[rotter2142]

I finally took the plunge, with a lower exchange rate coupled with an excellent price I just couldn’t resist these beauties. I want to know what type of tips should I be using with these phones? I’m from India so getting tips locally will be an issue, so I need to order them from USA itself and I want to be sure they will give me a proper fit. Will be receiving them in December so wanted to order them together instead of waiting another 3 months for the tips.
 
The tips should be available in different sizes and comfortable, shouldn’t reduce quality of sound in any way, and yeah CHEAP!! No complies please.
 
Heard about hybrids but read they reduce the soundstage, I personally don’t have any extra tips which I could try on other than that of EP-630 or the hybrids so basically please suggest eartips that guarantee a proper fit.
 
Don’t need too much of an isolation.

 

[lucozade]

Glad you are enjoying them ericp buddy , they get better with the more hours you put on them and comply tips fill out the bass nicely .They scale up very well when amped and if you want more bass and any of your sources have true bass settings turn those up ,the pannys can take all the bass i throw at them without distorting or bleeding into the other frequencies .
 
Quote:

So fellas and ladies, I've finally received the the HJE900 after it was shipped more than eight days ago (some strange UPS/USPS combination J and R used took forever, so it seems, to get from NYC to Chicago).
 
With only about 15 minutes of initial listening, I must say right off the back I'm very impressed with the Panny. Bass is not as heavy as I was led to believe (maybe it will get heavier), but it's not light either. It's just right. Treble is really nice and not as bright and as sharp as I was anticipating (the FX700's highs are much sharper), but the highs are nice. The biggest surprise, however are the mids. I was expecting - and dreading - very recessed mids, The midrange doesn't sound that recessed to my ears at all. No, it's not as forward as the SM2/SM3, SE535 or DDM, but it's nowhere near as recessed at the TF10s were (which made them intolerable to my ears).
 
I would have to say the mids on HJE900 are somewhat similar to the the ones on the JVC FX700. The FX700 mids seem a tad recessed due to the overwhelming bass and soaring highs, but yet they seem to fit right in. Right now, I would have to say the HJE900's mids don't even sound as recessed to my ears as the FX700.
 
What the FX700 and HJE900 really seem to have in common is very good clarity for dynamic drivers (the FX700s are great, and the HJE900 is not too far behind even without burn-in). Vocals are sounding fantastic, and acoustic guitar strings really hum and reverberate through the Pannies. Haven't had a chance to listen to much electric guitar yet. Strings sound nice.
 
Now, the Pannies doesn't have that beautiful natural timbre that the JVC possesses, but it has a nice almost balanced sound at this point. It's not as warm as I was expecting it to be either. I think the FX700 may be warmer. I don't want anyone to think the FX700 and HJE900 have the same sound sig., because they don't. They do, however, share some similar traits as I have described above.
 
So far, for $78 I think I got a great deal. I'm curious how much these will change with burn-in and in which direction, but for right now I am quite satisfied. Rarely has something sounded so pleasing right off the back. I'll keep you posted as I get more listening time in. Happy listening.
 
P.S. - Forgot to add that I started off right away listening to the HJE900 with the transparent UE silicon tips. I haven't made it to any other tips as of yet.

 

[rawrster]

I think these respond to more power pretty well. Of course I had to add an impedance adapter or I'd go deaf pretty fast if I gave them more power on my dac/amp but I like the results so far. Isolation wise it really isn't terrible but not great. It's easily better than the DDM and with the Head Direct bi-flanges which don't isolate well it's about average. I imagine with some better isolating tips it would be better.
 
It doesn't seem to be as warm as it was when I first got them but I've put on probably 30 hours or so of burn in time and maybe 2-3 hours of listening time to add on the 20 or so hours that the previous owner had on these. I don't think I would be able to notice much of the recessed mids unless I compare them to another earphone so for those who only have these then it won't be as noticeable but if you have multiple ones then it would be easier to identify but it isn't too much. Outside of that these are fairly well balanced and definitely not bass monsters imo. My Eterna is pretty much a bass monster compared to this esp in the mid bass but the HJE900 seem well controlled but easily more bass than my RE-Zero. I'm not sure where these belong in my list of universals but I'd say it should be a nice change to the RE-Zero when desired but still providing similar technical ability. I haven't done A/B so can't say which would be better as well as the fact that I haven't listened to the RE-Zero in a while. At $80 I'm not disappointed but don't think I would pay too much more than that as I don't want to spend much on universals anyway.
 
@James444: if you see this then this goes to show you that recommendations can go so far...or that my listening preferences are slowly changing I like these better than the MC5 and we both know that an Etymotic suits my preferences better than the HJE900
 
@rotter2142: there is no guarantee. Our ears are so different that there is no one tip that will give the best sound for everyone. Some tips may be good for a lot of people but not so good for another. A lot of people like the UE tips for these but I do have them and they are not the tip I am using for this earphone.

 

[Anaxilus]

@ Rawrster, I agree I would get the pannies over the MC5's for overall sound and presentation.  I think the MC5 is the type of IEM that would measure better when you pick things apart.  Which is what happened in my comparison.  

  Its definitely a matter of taste though.
 
@Eric.  If the FX700 is warmer than the 900s I'll cross the JVC's off my list.  That is certainly not what I was expecting to hear.  

 

[Napilopez]

Glad to hear you're enjoying them Eric!

As for the whole versus the MC5 thing: what rawster said. They are so different it's very hard to compare. The most similar thing about them is that they are both very well built and can be had in some variation of blue. Technically, it might be that they are both very fast. Otherwise, that's really about it lol.

 

[rawrster]

The MC5 was strange. Although something like an Etymotic should suit my signature the MC5 just didn't do it. It offers what I should like but it crossed the limit of enjoyment for me so sounded boring. Picking things apart is something I do within the music as well but the MC5 were gone in less than a week I can say that will not happen with the HJE900. It's not quite the middle ground I wanted for something in between the RE-Zero and Eterna however as the bass on the Eterna is just ridiculous.
 
Good thing for me my J3 does not have a line out. If it had a good one I'd seriously consider an amp just to add an impedance adapter to these and use that on the go to give it some more power.

 

[Inks]

I wonder if the driver is actually 8.5 or 12.5 mm. I see conflicting specs...Nothing major/important just something i'm wondering...

 

[Napilopez]

ClieOS mentioned that 12.5 is the usual size for earbud drivers, so it's unlikely that's the actual driver size. The housings aren't that big. I expect its 8.5, and kind of think they have the same rivers as the HJE70 that were the flagships before these came around, given Clie's description of those.

 

[rawrster]

I think the more recent HJE900 has more accurate specs on their box. The one I got says 8.5mm and the cord length is 1.0m compared to it being 1.2m in the past based on memory from some reviews. I do wish it was 1.2m instead however as some extra cable length would be preferred. Also when I'm listening with my netbook I can't lean back on my chair since the cable is too short The memory on the cable is somewhat annoying as well as I got used to nice cables that have little memory such as my ES cable and when I had the CK10. I guess I got spoiled as outside of my ES cable as everything else has too much memory..Eterna, HJE900, R02 all have lots of memory