[Dsnuts]

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Btw dsnuts, even players like sony's walkman z can't damage the carbons no matter how high the volume is? I am thinking of letting my library of songs burn-in near 90 percent.

 
It should be fine around 85%-90% sound. Try %80 then go to 85% and then 90% for the finish.. I just blasted my headphones from the start. That seems to work.
 
I cranked the volume on some AVB State of Trance @90% that is fine. Later on turn it up to 95%

 

[analogsurviver]

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I have about 20 hours on the GR07 and I swear they haven't changed much past the first couple hours.  They're impressive phones technically, but the S500 is definitely a more fun sound at this early stage.  I can't really put my finger on why that is though, but they're more bass-heavy and overall feel more energetic - again at this early stage, listening to them now with about 3 hours.  I do like them quite a bit, I certainly could see paying $200+ for this sound.

Thanks for the reply. I hope bass for the HA-S500 gets a bit thinner after complete break in - loosing boominess/fatness and gaining in extension and precision.

 

[DannyBai]

Received mine earlier today and have been listening to them since.  Build seems pretty good for plastic.  They are plenty comfortable except for the pleather pads.  Thankfully the velours are coming or I'd be selling these strictly because on ear and pleather don't mix very well for me.  Clamping is perfect, reminds me of TMA-1's but with little more clamping force which the TMA-1's were a little too loose for my liking.
 
They sound very good.  Crispy treble, lots of detail and no sibilance whatsoever.  Vocals are very good also.  For the bass, it's got lots of mid-bass and hits the sub-bass well on tracks when called for.  I can tell the bass needs to tighten up some with a little burn in.  Overall it has a potent and addicting sound.  For a closed phone, it does have decent stage that I'm liking quite a bit.  Very good recommendation on these.  Nanotubes technology by JVC this year are tough to beat.  

 

[Dsnuts]

Barring any type of rejected pair. I do believe based on 100% early open box impressions we have a winner!

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

Received mine earlier today and have been listening to them since.  Build seems pretty good for plastic.  They are plenty comfortable except for the pleather pads.  Thankfully the velours are coming or I'd be selling these strictly because on ear and pleather don't mix very well for me.  Clamping is perfect, reminds me of TMA-1's but with little more clamping force which the TMA-1's were a little too loose for my liking.
 
They sound very good.  Crispy treble, lots of detail and no sibilance whatsoever.  Vocals are very good also.  For the bass, it's got lots of mid-bass and hits the sub-bass well on tracks when called for.  I can tell the bass needs to tighten up some with a little burn in.  Overall it has a potent and addicting sound.  For a closed phone, it does have decent stage that I'm liking quite a bit.  Very good recommendation on these.  Nanotubes technology by JVC this year are tough to beat.  

You have or have had a lot of headphones. This may be a bit early to ask but would these JVC;s be your new go to portable headphone?
 
I was almost ready to drop a few hundred on Vmoda's but these may save me a few hundred that I can spend on some nice IEM's.

 

[tgx78]

I just received mine which ordered through the ebay last week. 
First impression is very positive indeed. Very clean mids and highs with good extension. 
Bass is good albeit slightly bloaty for my taste (hopefully burn-in might tighten it up).
Timbre is very good as well.
Just did quick a/b with superlux HD 668B and JVC totally destroyed it. Maybe my 668B is defective?
will report back with more in-depth impression in few days..

 

[DannyBai]

Quote:

You have or have had a lot of headphones. This may be a bit early to ask but would these JVC;s be your new go to portable headphone?
 
I was almost ready to drop a few hundred on Vmoda's but these may save me a few hundred that I can spend on some nice IEM's.

I actually purchased them out of curiosity of nanotubes in a headphone setup.  I am not fond of on ears at all.  But, I have had these on my head since 11am this morning on and off and they are very comfortable except for the sweat from pleather.  I liked the V-Moda's but the triangular design on the ear cups hurt my ears after a short time.  The build is no question better on the V-Moda's and the pads were of better quality also.  
 
Going from memory on the V-Moda's, the one aspect I can be confident about is that the JVC's have much better treble and detail to my ears.  Vocals were actually pretty good on the V-Moda's but the JVC's are just as good if not better.  For the bass, it's hard to tell right now but I don't remember the V-Moda's having as much mid-bass as the JVC's.  With that said, the JVC's still hit the sub-bass as well as the V-Moda's but seems to hit harder and cleaner.  I think the JVC's are livelier but very smooth at the same time so I don't get any fatigue as from overly aggressive headphones.  
 
For me it's a no brainer that I would get the JVC's and grab some IEM's/headphones for the similar price of the V-Moda's.  I am listening to Ravi Shankar with the S500 right now and I can hear every pluck of the sitar and it's glorious.  

 

[bowei006]

Quote:

I actually purchased them out of curiosity of nanotubes in a headphone setup.  I am not fond of on ears at all.  But, I have had these on my head since 11am this morning on and off and they are very comfortable except for the sweat from pleather.  I liked the V-Moda's but the triangular design on the ear cups hurt my ears after a short time.  The build is no question better on the V-Moda's and the pads were of better quality also.  
 
Going from memory on the V-Moda's, the one aspect I can be confident about is that the JVC's have much better treble and detail to my ears.  Vocals were actually pretty good on the V-Moda's but the JVC's are just as good if not better.  For the bass, it's hard to tell right now but I don't remember the V-Moda's having as much mid-bass as the JVC's.  With that said, the JVC's still hit the sub-bass as well as the V-Moda's but seems to hit harder and cleaner.  I think the JVC's are livelier but very smooth at the same time so I don't get any fatigue as from overly aggressive headphones.  
 
For me it's a no brainer that I would get the JVC's and grab some IEM's/headphones for the similar price of the V-Moda's.  I am listening to Ravi Shankar with the S500 right now and I can hear every pluck of the sitar and it's glorious.  

Thanks for the options, that was exactly as I expected. I heard some qualms about vocals on the M80's so these sound great.
 
I'm thinking of saving up a lot for some CIEM's after my summit fi lasting buy.

 

[vlenbo]

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I remember the bass end being a bit loose on open box on mine too..Work them drivers out. It is all about the fitness level. Your used to your sound stage on the A900 which is fairly wide so understandable on the stage perception. I think the M50 and the AKG 518 LE has a smaller stage actually.

I will definately do that, i just want to enjoy it for a bit longer! speaking of fitness, my ears are now damaged because I wore the headphones in reverse, lol. However, it is definately very comfortable. YUP, but at least it isn't far off the stage of the a900x, okay it is moderately off, but I like the stage. Taking your word from it then, and I'll start up music from 80 percent then increase it as time passes.

 

[Dsnuts]

To be honest. My volume I burn my HA-S500 is actually much louder than 100% volume of the Z1060. So 90% should be just fine.  My 85% in my burn station is around 115% or so of the max volume of the Z1060.
 
@DannyB. Wait till you get your velours on there. In the mean while burn them headphones in like they have never been burned before!! Burn with your best fire! Glad everyone is enjoying your new HA-S500.
 
In honor of hearing what you guys will be hearing here in some 120 hours of burn in.. I don't know what I like better the vocal clarity. the awesome imagery, or the detailed full sound.

Awesome find ericp10..I dump all the credits to you my friend. Thanks for enlightening these on us headfi guys.

 

[ericp10]

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To be honest. My volume I burn my HA-S500 is actually much louder than 100% volume of the Z1060. So 90% should be just fine.  My 85% in my burn station is around 115% or so of the max volume of the Z1060.
 
@DannyB. Wait till you get your velours on there. In the mean while burn them headphones in like they have never been burned before!! Burn with your best fire! Glad everyone is enjoying your new HA-S500.
 
In honor of hearing what you guys will be hearing here in some 120 hours of burn in.. I don't know what I like better the vocal clarity. the awesome imagery, or the detailed full sound.

Awesome find ericp10..I dump all the credits to you my friend. Thanks for enlightening these on us headfi guys.

 
 
Thanks my friend. Happy to return the favor as you've certainly emptied my wallet one time too many. lol

 

[cyloh]

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Did you separate the driver from the glued back?  I was thinking of using a heated exacto knife to do this!  Any more comments on the process?

I used the smallest slotted screwdriver I can find(from a mobile phone repair kit). That and a lot of brute force. Stab between the driver and driver plate and pry it outwards.
 
A heated exacto knife sounds a lot easier although the plastic is quite thin on S500 driver, you might end up melting the sides of the driver.
 
I have 2 S600 on the way, one to house the S500 driver and the other for CAL! driver.
 
In the future I might pick up another S500 + HD25 velours.

 

[Achmedisdead]

What a tease.....my Amazon tells me the S500's have shipped, but there is no tracking info...lol.

 

[sfwalcer]

haha that's what we get for going the cheap standard shipping route, I feel your pain bro. Gotta pay to play.  

 

[cute]

Quote:

I used the smallest slotted screwdriver I can find(from a mobile phone repair kit). That and a lot of brute force. Stab between the driver and driver plate and pry it outwards.
 
A heated exacto knife sounds a lot easier although the plastic is quite thin on S500 driver, you might end up melting the sides of the driver.
 
I have 2 S600 on the way, one to house the S500 driver and the other for CAL! driver.
 
In the future I might pick up another S500 + HD25 velours.

 
The S500 driver has plastic instead of metal like other drivers?