[matt.]

so, i replaced the JVC Flats with the Coby's. wow. pretty amazing for only 10 bux. it looks like amazon has raised the priced to around 12.00 bux by now.  after looking at amazon's return policy, i sort of felt like trying to return the Flats would be more hassle than they are worth, despite my enjoying them for the time i had them.
 
i can't tell if i'm easily impressed or what but these Coby's really are pretty amazing for the price.  this actually has me excited about spending some money on some more expensive headphones, just to see what i'm really missing out on.

 

[threi]

Quote:

so, i replaced the JVC Flats with the Coby's. wow. pretty amazing for only 10 bux. it looks like amazon has raised the priced to around 12.00 bux by now.  after looking at amazon's return policy, i sort of felt like trying to return the Flats would be more hassle than they are worth, despite my enjoying them for the time i had them.
 
i can't tell if i'm easily impressed or what but these Coby's really are pretty amazing for the price.  this actually has me excited about spending some money on some more expensive headphones, just to see what i'm really missing out on.

I have to agree...I didn't think I would like the sound as much as I do (albeit with the stock pads, I don't like the sound with the other pads at all really). It's pretty much replaced my old modded sennheiser as my default headphones. Still not as good as the KSC75 though.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

so, i replaced the JVC Flats with the Coby's. wow. pretty amazing for only 10 bux. it looks like amazon has raised the priced to around 12.00 bux by now.  after looking at amazon's return policy, i sort of felt like trying to return the Flats would be more hassle than they are worth, despite my enjoying them for the time i had them.
 
i can't tell if i'm easily impressed or what but these Coby's really are pretty amazing for the price.  this actually has me excited about spending some money on some more expensive headphones, just to see what i'm really missing out on.

 
The Cobys are actually impressive for the price. However, spending lots of time listening critically with them or comparing them to more capable headphones will illuminate their flaws. I still think the Flats might be the technically superior headphone but the Cobys are fun and very easy-going. Enjoy your $10 cans while you can 

 

 

[moraleslos]

 
Quote:

so, i replaced the JVC Flats with the Coby's. wow. pretty amazing for only 10 bux. it looks like amazon has raised the priced to around 12.00 bux by now.  after looking at amazon's return policy, i sort of felt like trying to return the Flats would be more hassle than they are worth, despite my enjoying them for the time i had them.
 
i can't tell if i'm easily impressed or what but these Coby's really are pretty amazing for the price.  this actually has me excited about spending some money on some more expensive headphones, just to see what i'm really missing out on.

 
That's exactly what I was saying when I first tried on the Coby's (after a couple of days of burn in).  I would have never had the guts to buy these if it wasn't for someone on this forum raving that this sounded better than the Flats (which I already had and liked).  I mean it's a Coby!  If you bought the CV-215 that came packaged with the earbuds (called the Jammerz extra), you can give those buds to someone else.  I've burned them in and listened to them for quite a while now and they're not good at all.  However, these earbuds are actually decent with noise-isolation.  Put them on while mowing my lawn and it blocked out a lot of the machine's noise.  May try these when I'm on a plane sometime to see if they can really block out normal external noise.

 
Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl 
 
The Cobys are actually impressive for the price. However, spending lots of time listening critically with them or comparing them to more capable headphones will illuminate their flaws. I still think the Flats might be the technically superior headphone but the Cobys are fun and very easy-going. Enjoy your $10 cans while you can 

 

I totally agree with this too.  I've been listening to my Cobys, the Bose Triports, and the Sony MDR-V6 at work (the latter two from my colleagues), using the same set of music.  Although the Cobys can stand up to the other two, I can tell they're not as "clean" sounding.  For certain types of music (Jazz), I really like the Bose.  The Sonys are good across the board while the Cobys will set you back a few rows.  However, can't complain on these $10 cans!

 

[Pott]

Well... after a week spent with the AKG518s, a colleague bought some HD25-1 IIs, which I tried for two hours yesterday. And I bought today.
 
They are a little less comfy than the 518s, but I think I'll get used to them. The sound is much superior, quite simply.

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

However, can't complain on these $10 cans!

Yep, that's them in a nutshell. Glad you like them!
Quote:

Well... after a week spent with the AKG518s, a colleague bought some HD25-1 IIs, which I tried for two hours yesterday. And I bought today.
 
They are a little less comfy than the 518s, but I think I'll get used to them. The sound is much superior, quite simply

Congrats on your upgrade - that's quite a step up 

. As for comfort, are you using the velours or the pleather pads? The HD25s can't really be reshaped over a stack of books the way the K81s can but they don't clamp much harder and the velour pads are really nice after a break-in period.

 

[mcnoiserdc]

Well I have ordered the portapros, but there is a guy selling a grado sr60i for a good price (arround 50 dollars), would it be a good improvement over portapros. I have read your article but I mean would it justify for someone that is new to this stuff and doesn't quantify differences yet but happens to feel like music is a new thing after listening to hd600?

 

[ljokerl]

Quote:

Well I have ordered the portapros, but there is a guy selling a grado sr60i for a good price (arround 50 dollars), would it be a good improvement over portapros. I have read your article but I mean would it justify for someone that is new to this stuff and doesn't quantify differences yet but happens to feel like music is a new thing after listening to hd600?

 
Well, I am sure you would hear a difference between the SR60 and a PortaPro - they are very different in signature. The Portas probably sound a bit closer to your HD600s than the Grados, though neither is a particularly great match. I would almost recommend getting the Grados as a contrast, just to try the sound. Your rock will sound... unique with the SR60s. Your hip-hop may be less satisfying. Both are great value for money but IMO $50 for SR60s is a better deal than the ~$35 you'd pay for new PortaPros. But clearly I might be biased since one of my main headphones is a Grado 

 

[mcnoiserdc]

Quote:

Quote:

Well I have ordered the portapros, but there is a guy selling a grado sr60i for a good price (arround 50 dollars), would it be a good improvement over portapros. I have read your article but I mean would it justify for someone that is new to this stuff and doesn't quantify differences yet but happens to feel like music is a new thing after listening to hd600?

 
Well, I am sure you would hear a difference between the SR60 and a PortaPro - they are very different in signature. The Portas probably sound a bit closer to your HD600s than the Grados, though neither is a particularly great match. I would almost recommend getting the Grados as a contrast, just to try the sound. Your rock will sound... unique with the SR60s. Your hip-hop may be less satisfying. Both are great value for money but IMO $50 for SR60s is a better deal than the ~$35 you'd pay for new PortaPros. But clearly I might be biased since one of my main headphones is a Grado 

Thanks for answer
 
I've decided to get the head direct re0 (when isolation needed) for now, to go with my hd600 (home) and portapro for portability without isolation, along with my bluetooth se hdh-ds980 for wireless.
 
For now I'll have things pretty covered up, in the future will see about the rest.

 

[kostalex]

Common, ljokerl, bring MDR-Q68LW to the race. I already changed the foams on mine and this thing plays better, bassier and less bright.

 

[ljokerl]

I've got a few updates lined up but I'm waiting for thread titles to be changeable again. Hopefully the next forum update will bring that functionality. I also need to re-format all of my reviews in html instead of BBCode. What a pain

.
 
As for the Q68, I am really liking the design and comfort. Sound-wise they are not what I expected from a Sony. Not warm at all - very detailed and precise actually. A bit teeny/metallic-sounding and definitely bright when stock. It's an interesting alternative to the KSC75 sound - sort of like the Head-Direct RE2 in clip-on form with better bass extension. Hoping to get the full review done pretty soon - I've only started listening to them seriously.

 

[nonsupremous]

Quote:

Common, ljokerl, bring MDR-Q68LW to the race. I already changed the foams on mine and this thing plays better, bassier and less bright.

Which foams did you use when you changed yours out?

 
Quote:

 
As for the Q68, I am really liking the design and comfort. Sound-wise they are not what I expected from a Sony. Not warm at all - very detailed and precise actually. A bit teeny/metallic-sounding and definitely bright when stock. It's an interesting alternative to the KSC75 sound - sort of like the Head-Direct RE2 in clip-on form with better bass extension. Hoping to get the full review done pretty soon - I've only started listening to them seriously.

I found the same thing with mine.  Detailed and precise, just lacking in bass.  But really pretty impressive.  Hopefully the retractable system holds up.  That is one handy feature.
 
What else are you going to be adding to your reviews when  you're able to add to the post?  Always enjoy reading your reviews.  One of your recent posts on the HD25 1-II has finally made me take the leap.  I hope to be receiving them tomorrow.  Did they require any burn in or are they solid right out of the box?
 

 

[Raguvian]

Thanks for the reviews, I just had one question.
 
How well do the JVC Flats isolate? I don't want them to be too isolating because then I can't hear my surroundings. I'm thinking of getting a <$10 on ear headphone that doesn't isolate very well instead of using my Etymotics.
 
Also, if I just stuck them in my backpack, how do you think they would hold up?
 
Thanks

 

[kostalex]

I took the foams from some $1,50 headphones available at PartsExpress. They fit perfectly. Original foams (under the fabric) sealed the front of the driver with some non-breathing material, leaving only the center hole for sound firing. This is what Sony probably calls "bass lens" and this works for bassier sound indeed. So I had to recreate the same sealing under the foams, I used a ring cut of a sticky paper.
 
Quote:

Which foams did you use when you changed yours out?

I found the same thing with mine.  Detailed and precise, just lacking in bass.  But really pretty impressive.  Hopefully the retractable system holds up.  That is one handy feature.

 

[nonsupremous]

Ahh.  Very nice.  I am going to have to give that a try.  I really like these little guys with the exception of the anemic bass.