[FYJX]

Hello, My Name is Felix and I have written a review on the Q-Jays.

Thought some people might wanted to see it!

Sorry, some these pictures were taken with my phone one handed, so they might be a bit fuzzy. sorry. I apologize.

Intro:
These $180 little tiny tiny earphones housing Dual Micro Drivers, and seriously. i wonder how small each balanced armature is because i swear, these are so small that the armatures have to be like the size of agrain of rice to fit in it...absolute amazing. For the Price, at $180, and as a dual driver, it's going head to head with the Se420, Klipsch Custom 3, and Westone Um2. though the price is a big variant, dual driver vs dual Driver, very reasonable. These earphones are designed in Sweden, and Assembled in China (now to get it straight, There's nothing wrong with stuff made in China, it's just a cheaper way or manufacturing them, it doesn't mean lower quality or anything). now should we get on with the Review?

Packaging:
Here's the Packaging they Came in...Not cheap, they came in a hard paper material box. though not the best, still very nice.

First off, Most Important, Sound Quality

Highs:8/10
The Highs, well Very detailed, very very crisp and clear. The high's we're good to the point that it was good for well pretty much everything, though the high's are not in the Ultimate ears range or the westone and shure range, it's still at a point of "fantastic" They aren't rolled-off either. Though, these earphones frequency around 18000hz-20000hz do have a slight drop in detail and does get slightly annoying.

Mids:8/10
Detailed and Warm, and nice to listen to. Infact, the Mid's are the Sweet Spot of these earphones, i would say they even rival Shure on this one. Though they aren't as detailed as the Shure's, the Se310, 420 and 530 i'm talking about, they are still amazing for the price they are offered at.

Lows: 9/10
I'm PRETTY speechless, for the size of these, the Bass is Big, Powerful, tight, and accurate. No Disortion what so ever. The Lows are fantastic for Rock and Music on the Bass heavy Side. I would recommend these earphones if Bass is what you're looking for. i guess the Airbooest Jays put into thei q-Jays are working

Accessories:
JAM PACKED! Seven Pairs of Silicone sleeves and Two pairs of Foam. Two 90cm extension Cords, One stereo Splitter, One Airline adaptor, four Sets of Filters, a Leather Carry Case. All the Acceosseies are very very nice, and the size for the Silicone sleeves are the widest i've seen, ranging from XXS(extra extra small) to L (Large).

Fit:
The Fit is fantastic, they are very very small, so they fit in all earphones and don't stick out or jab the back of the ear oh anyones ears. They are a bit small to grasp to fit them in, but they are very easy to fit in to place and easy to get a good fit and seal.

Looks:
You have to admit, these are pretty good looking earphones, though simple. they are pretty and sexy. I mean JUST LOOK AT THEM!

And to show how small they are...

conclusion:
Variation: Black or White (q-Jays LE comes in Maroon red and Sea Blue)
Transducer: Dual Micro Balanced Armatures
Impedance: 39ohm (@1kHz)
Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz
Sensitivity (1mW): 95dB SPL/mW
Weight: 9 grams
Cord Style: Y-cord
Mini Jack Style: Gold plated Straight
Eartips Used: Single flange/Foam
Packaging: 9/10 Fantastic look packaging
Build Quality: 10/10 expect from Sweden
Accessories: 9/10 Jam Packed
Isolation: 8/10, fall short of Etymotic, Westone and Shure
Microphonics: 6/10 Straight down, 9/10 Over the Ear
Comfort: 8/10
Soundstage: 8/10
Sound Quality: 8/10
Value: 9/10

Overall, These are very very nice earphones. For the price of $180 US/CAD, they are very very cheap for a dual Driver Earphone. the sound quality is out of the world for the price, and They are fantastic for on the go as they are so compact and easy to carry around and light weight. So you earphones wil never get fatigued. I would give them a 9/10. i jsut complain that the case that came with it is very small, barely able to carry the earphones and a extension cord, and that the Mid's could be more detailed and richer like Shure's Se420. But none the less, very very good earphones.

Felix

 

[ClieOS]

Thanks for the review, mate.

 

[digivate]

Cheers for taking so much time to write this review. Those q-Jays sure are beautiful things to look at. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy listening to them though.

I'm pretty surprised that you thought that the q-Jay's bass was their strongest asset, especially seeing as your other phones appear to be se530s and some rebranded Super.Fis - I would have thought that the q-Jay's bass would have seemed a bit weak compared to those other two. My experince of the q-Jays was that it handled highs and mids well but for me the bass was REALLY lacking.

That said, after just 5 weeks one of the drivers in the right ear bud appears to have blown (they've currently gone back for a warranty repair - I've been told 4-6 weeks which is way too long in my opinion) so maybe there was something wrong with them right from the start, which would explain why I found them so week.

If I'd found the bass on the q-Jays as punchy as you did they would have been my ideal IEM - good price, great sounding, great looking, discreet and comfortable - but as it was I just couldn't stick with them, and have moved on in my search for the ideal IEM.

Just goes to show how different people get a totally different experience from the same gear. For the record, my rating for them would be ...

Packaging: 8/10
Build Quality: 6/10 (one of my drivers appears to have blown, otherwise I probably would have given it a 9)
Accessories: 8/10 (very good but should come with more filters)
Isolation: 8/10
Microphonics: 9/10
Comfort: 8/10
Soundstage: 7/10
Sound Quality: 7/10
Value: 8/10

 

[ClieOS]

For bass volume and depth, I think SE530 has the upper hand. What q-Jays is better at, is the speed of the bass note. It is snappier than SE530 and give a stronger sense of attack. After I did my OJ mod, it actually gets more usage than SE530 and TF10 as my regular pick-up-and-go 'phone.

 

[ThreadStarter]

I'm waiting for the O-Jays

 

[andychen]

Felix, I agree with most things you wrote. I have heard modded im716, denon c700, triple fi 10. q-jays blow away im716 and denon c700 easily. I never heard E530 before, but I can say the bass of q-jays are really really powerful and tight. They are real bass without an amp, unlike the fake bass produced by many IEMs, q-jays offer more analytical sound than triple fi 10 while still being warm and fun. I actually think q-jays have sweeter mids than triple fi 10.

I had a hard time deciding which one to keep. overall, triple fi 10 may be 10% better than q-jays. but q-jays are much smaller, easier to carry and insert, so like ClieOS, q-jays gets more usage than triple fi 10. If money was a concern, I would not have kept triple fi 10.

The only downside I see about q-jays is the length of the cord, original cord too short, extension cord too long. So I found a short extension cord elsewhere to be used with q-jays.

 

[digivate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by andychen /img/forum/go_quote.gif q-jays blow away im716 and denon c700 easily.

I'd take the sound signature of the C700 over the q-Jays any day (and in the UK they cost less than half as much). Yes, the q-Jays are more analytical and the bass is possibly snappier, but with the C700 the bass is much more present and is so much warmer and smoother. I can listen to the C700s and relax, whereas the q-Jays seemed to demand my attention.

It's all a matter of taste, but I'd rather have a fun and enjoyable earphone even if it's at the expense of a bit of detail. I think I prefer earphones that are a bit on the darker side, but if someone else prefers a sound signature that's on the more analytical and bright side then I guess the q-Jays would be an excellent option.

I really wish I could like them more ... apart from not really liking the sound from them, everything else about them was about as close to being a perfect IEM as I could want.

Quote:

Originally Posted by andychen /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only downside I see about q-jays is the length of the cord, original cord too short, extension cord too long

This I do agree with, though it's not something unique just to q-Jays. I really wish IEM manufacturers didn't bother with these short cables and extensions. Most people are going to want to use a normal length cable (about 1.25 metres) and using an extension cable just introduces an extra lump of weight into the middle of the cable and more often than not ends up being way too long.

 

[pseudohippy]

Just wanted to say thanks for the great read and nice review. If I was looking to buy these I would appreciate all the pics and the thoughts.

Cheers

 

[Chickenman]

great review! I don't get why some say the bass is weak on these earphones.. I thought they were powerful, like you thought. Cheers!

 

[andychen]

x2

I thought I am pretty picky on the bass and have a HSU VTF-2 sub in my speaker system. the bass of q-jays never disappoints me,

though I still need more experience with other earphones to know better where q-jays stand.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Chickenman /img/forum/go_quote.gif great review! I don't get why some say the bass is weak on these earphones.. I thought they were powerful, like you thought. Cheers!

 

[FYJX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digivate /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cheers for taking so much time to write this review. Those q-Jays sure are beautiful things to look at. Unfortunately I didn't enjoy listening to them though. I'm pretty surprised that you thought that the q-Jay's bass was their strongest asset, especially seeing as your other phones appear to be se530s and some rebranded Super.Fis - I would have thought that the q-Jay's bass would have seemed a bit weak compared to those other two. My experince of the q-Jays was that it handled highs and mids well but for me the bass was REALLY lacking. That said, after just 5 weeks one of the drivers in the right ear bud appears to have blown (they've currently gone back for a warranty repair - I've been told 4-6 weeks which is way too long in my opinion) so maybe there was something wrong with them right from the start, which would explain why I found them so week. If I'd found the bass on the q-Jays as punchy as you did they would have been my ideal IEM - good price, great sounding, great looking, discreet and comfortable - but as it was I just couldn't stick with them, and have moved on in my search for the ideal IEM. Just goes to show how different people get a totally different experience from the same gear. For the record, my rating for them would be ... Packaging: 8/10 Build Quality: 6/10 (one of my drivers appears to have blown, otherwise I probably would have given it a 9) Accessories: 8/10 (very good but should come with more filters) Isolation: 8/10 Microphonics: 9/10 Comfort: 8/10 Soundstage: 7/10 Sound Quality: 7/10 Value: 8/10

really? for the price and size, i really thought that the q-jays handled the bass quite well. though they are no where near the 530's, but i thought it was quite well.

 

[digivate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaoDi /img/forum/go_quote.gif really? for the price and size, i really thought that the q-jays handled the bass quite well. though they are no where near the 530's, but i thought it was quite well.

As I've said, I do wonder if maybe my pair had faulty bass driver from the start, as a driver blew in the right bud after 4-5 weeks ... but yes, the bass on my q-Jays really seemed lacking. Maybe the impact and snap is there, but it's just too quick - it doesn't hang around to provide any atmoshere.

It might be the type of music that I listen to - mainly classical and opera (but occasional rock, soul, pop) - that doesn't suit the q-Jays. Maybe the q-Jays bass does have quite a lot of impact and is very snappy, but it's just too quick and fleeting for classical. It doesn't provide a sense of warmth or atmosphere as if the sound is hanging in the air of a concert hall.

Classical is obviously not bass-driven - you don't tend to hear a lot of rhythms that need a great bass thump - but symphonic stuff does require a sense of atmosphere.

Maybe the q-Jays bass is just to tight and analytical, but it just didn't seem to ever register while at the same time the treble does overly dominated the sound - I could hear a little triangle being tapped as if it was right next to my ear, but other stuff like a tuba would sound like it was in an entirely different room. I could never just switch off and relax with the music I listen to ... it felt like it was shouting for my attention all the time - just too forward and bright, not enough balance.

The q-Jays sounded more like a studio environment rather than a concert hall, and seeing as a lot of the stuff I listen to was recorded in concert halls, the q-Jays weren't giving an accurate or (to my ears) very enjoyable reproduction.

One thing I will say for them, is that when I listened to a Prince album they did seem to come together and work. I still wouldn't have said the bass was exceptionally present, but it was adequate and VERY tight - which is the right way to be with Prince music.

 

[andychen]

digivate, you started a thread asking how many people have the same bad impression about q-jays as you. Now tell us how many agree with you and how many disagree?

Also when you judge the SQ of q-jays, did you compare them with other IEMs? If you want hear the music like it is coming from a concert hall, you may want to look for more expensive IEMs or full-size cans.

 

[lordofbahamut]

can any1 compare q-jays and sleeks. Have been unable to decide between 2 of them

 

[chunghow3]

i have a pair of q-jays and they were my first venture into high-end IEMs.. love 'em to death.. did the O.J. Mod too..

agreed on the highs and the mids.. altho' i do find the bass a lil lacking (maybe by focusing on the response i'd agree with the bass).. i would like a lil more soundstage too..

but nice review!!