[ajaxender]

Cheers! And thank you for listening to Royal Blood. They'll be well known in England (where they're from), and for whatever reason they got a ton of radio play here in NZ, but it seems they're complete unknowns elsewhere, and it makes me sad. They make one hell of an awesome racket for two guys. 
 
Quote:

   
Nice impressions. And I hadn't heard of Royal Blood before now, so thanks for that as well (listening to them now).

 

[B9Scrambler]

ajaxender So glad your pair arrived and that you are enjoying them. Fantastic description as well. Cheers mate!

 

[B9Scrambler]

FRD80 arrived today! I absolutely love the design and build of the housing. They make me wish JVC went all-metal with the FXH30. While these are just initial impressions based on only a few songs, the FXH30 are leaps and bounds more impressive sounding than the FRD80 which feel like a greatly refined FRD60. After the "burn-in" (brain, physical...whatever) process completes I'll update the comparison section of my review.

For those of you who have your FXH30 already and enjoy EDM, check out this solid multi-genre mix from Going Quantum:

https://soundcloud.com/goingquantum/ep137


Edit: some images for size comparison.

 

[ajaxender]

B9Scrambler is doing all the promotion work so I'll give a hand and bump this.
 
Wide bore tips are a must on these, I think. To my (inexperienced) ear, it seems to allow a little more space between the frequencies which makes imaging (even) better, and makes bass a little more textured which makes it more satisfying (my guess is it simply lets more air through - on that note I have no idea why they have very thin bore stock tips that blatantly cover up half the nozzle 

)
 
On that note, lunashop red core wide bore tips fit really nicely. And wow they are just really good tips in general. 
 
Listening to these things more, the attack on them still stands out to me. Its so exciting! But the decay still seems reasonably natural. They work best with fast songs (obviously) but also work really well with quite slow, layered songs. I also have noticed their brightness more, after listening to my Trinity Deltas - but they're never piercing or shrill. While some songs definitely sound better with more mid bass, the FXH30 has shown me that the Deltas can be a little slow in the bass with really fast songs (such as Muse's Hysteria) - and I really love the Deltas, so its saying something that I noticed it. 
 
The value basket price puts them at around $40 US, and I think they are comparable and complimentary to the Tenores - in fact, the packaging is an almost identical clear plastic box and the accessories are similarly spartan, just s/m/l tips and a clip, although the FXH30 doesn't even come with a pouch. The FXH30 has a noticeably tougher build than the Tenores and has much better strain reliefs, but I still wouldn't say its a particularly strong build (and I'm not willing to test it with some of what I get up to). 
Both are micro drivers, both have the nice sub-bass with less mid, but the FXH30s are very exciting while the Tenores are wonderfully smooth - hence why I say complimentary. Overall, both are punching a hell of a lot higher than their price and both are worth owning. 

 

[B9Scrambler]

Thanks for coming to the rescue and posting more impressions! 

 
I completely agree that wide bore tips are key. I initially figured it would make them too bright, but nope, they just serve to make everything better. 
 
As a brief update vs the FRD80, unless you want something uncomfortably bright, the FXH30 are a very welcome replacement.

 

[gimster]

Ordered the HA-FXH30 from Android Enjoyed for $49.73 AUD = 35.39 USD on 21 Aug. Received them in Sydney today (14 Sep). Loving them right out of the box. 

 

[B9Scrambler]

Ordered the HA-FXH30 from Android Enjoyed for $49.73 AUD = 35.39 USD on 21 Aug. Received them in Sydney today (14 Sep). Loving them right out of the box. 

Awesome! Congrats on the purchase. They only get smoother sounding the more you use them. Enjoy!

 

[minzeee]

Are these comparable to the Vsonic Vsd5 in terms of sound quality? and how so?

 

[B9Scrambler]

Are these comparable to the Vsonic Vsd5 in terms of sound quality? and how so?

Haven't tried the VSD5 yet unfortunately. They're certainly more detailed and dynamic than the VSD3 which is quite relaxed and bassy in comparison.

You can read my impressions versus the Titan 1 in the op. Since the Titans and VSD5 play in the same league, I suspect these wouldn't be far off concerning sound quality. Guess we will have to wait for impressions from someone who has both to find out for sure.

 

[minzeee]

Haha sounds interesting, seems to be very good for the price but can't find much on them which is why i'm questioning how does the soundstage compare to those of the titans?

 

[B9Scrambler]

Haha sounds interesting, seems to be very good for the price but can't find much on them which is why i'm questioning how does the soundstage compare to those of the titans?

Completely fair. I think I'm the only one with a review in English, lol. There are lots of impressions but they're all in other languages. You probably know how well Google translate works so good luck with interpreting that, haha.

The Titans hands down have a larger soundstage, not as deep though. While I'm a sucker for a large soundstage, the FXH30 does such an excellent job with depth, layering, and positioning over the Titan it really doesn't matter that they have a smaller soundstage. I much prefer the FXH30s soundstage presentation over the Titans as a result.

 

[gimster]

   
These are not more balanced than the FXT90, with greater extension on either end. They lack that harshness/edginess to the upper registers that I found previous gen JVCs had, like the FXT90, 3X, 1X, FR201, FX101, etc.
 
They are quite bright, but are MUCH smoother and more refined than the FXT90. Despite being bright, there is a warmness to their signature that counters that treble emphasis quite nicely. I would say these are more of a u-shaped than v-shaped since mids aren't really pulled back much if at all. In direct comparison to the FXT90, the FXH30 sound much more lively and dynamic. The FXT90 have pretty boosted mid-bass to my ears. The FXH30 dial that back and boost subbass making their bass presentation more even throughout. The T90s have a wider soundstage, but depth would go to the FXH30. The 30s also do a much better job of accurate instrument placement, separation, etc. which is why they work so well with metal. You miss absolutely nothing, even on tracks like Razor's "Sucker For Punishment" (there are better examples but that was the only thing I could think of at the time). 

I have the FXT90 too. It's all true.
 
 

  Jeez, I tell you what, these things are EXCELLENT with cymbals and crashes. Realistic and resolving, it actually sounds like someone is whacking a big metal plate with a stick, not tapping a chip packet or something. So many IEMs just can't do this well. 
 
In fact drums in general are brilliant. Impact is not high, but the echo of the kick is very audible, it makes this Royal Blood album sound freaking epic even when they're not going hard. In general they are crushing the rock tracks.
 
For the most part the signature seems reasonably balanced and quite dependant on the track. Perhaps more on the bright side but not overly so. In fact I'm impressed at how good cymbals and higher vocals are, without being fatiguing or noticeably sibilant. Bass is not lacking overall, and I think the smooth decrease and lack of mid bass hump keeps the mids from seeming recessed. Definitely noticing some meat to guitars. 

Yes, the guitar strumming sounds very good. Hi-speed Titanium for the win.

 

[B9Scrambler]

I have the FXT90 too. It's all true.


Yes, the guitar strumming sounds very good. Hi-speed Titanium for the win.

Glad you agree Have you been wearing them cable up or down? I personally wear them almost exclusively cable up since the extra insertion depth this allows brings out the bass a bit more.

In addition to the FRD80 comparo, I'm thinking of adding one for the VSD3 as well. The FXH30 compliment them well Is that something any of you would be interested in?

 

[gimster]

Glad you agree Have you been wearing them cable up or down? I personally wear them almost exclusively cable up since the extra insertion depth this allows brings out the bass a bit more.

I have to wear them cable up just so that they sit properly. Also cuts down on the cable noise/microphonics.

 

[Lifted Andreas]

Hey guys, so I got mine delivered today from valuebasket. They actually should have been with me on Friday but I missed the delivery.

Haven't listened to them yet but will do some out of the box auditioning a bit later, stay tuned.

PS. Saw these on eBay earlier, they look of a very similar build to the FXH30s- http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=201243842323&alt=web