[Stoplok]

Got mine 3 days ago . being a huge fan of the s500 this is a significant improvement Sq wise and comfort wise. It is everything Benf said it would be!

 

[dakanao]

Is the Creative Aurvana Live REALLY an upgrade to this headphone, even with treble boosted? They sound insanely clear and realistic if you boost the treble a few dB's up.
 
The only thing that's bothering me right now is that the upperbass is quite boomy. If the CAL offers a similar sound signature, but with less bass and more refined, that would definitely be a giant killer.

 

[daveyostrow]

  Is the Creative Aurvana Live REALLY an upgrade to this headphone, even with treble boosted? They sound insanely clear and realistic if you boost the treble a few dB's up.
 
The only thing that's bothering me right now is that the upperbass is quite boomy. If the CAL offers a similar sound signature, but with less bass and more refined, that would definitely be a giant killer.

The Cal have much less bass boom, and smoother highs. The mids come out better, but if you EQ the 680 you can get a decent sound that is more engaging, but still not as overall clear like the CALs.
Come down to preference.

 

[Miflett]

Hey guys, first post and long time JVC lurker here, so forgive me for my potential ignorance.
 
I've been looking to buy some good portable headphones for Christmas here and currently have the S680's on order, but this new sale on amazon with the Momentum On-Ears has peaked my interest. They are currently $99 with free shipping, and I've been wondering what type of sound I could expect from them coming from my preference to a more v-shaped JVC sound.
 
So far I've heard good things, especially about build quality, just wondering what tightness of bass and mids I could expect from the momentum OEs. Just been wondering if the sale is of perfect timing, or a symptom of some new flashy marketing towards the more style oriented crowd.
 
Really, any insights into the comparison at all would be very helpful and greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks!

 

[LaPierre]

Get the Momentums, the S680 isn't as good as the S500. The Momentum should be a tier above it, at least.

 

[daveyostrow]

I 2nd that motion... though you may be able to find prices as low as $70 if you are lucky. But consider that on ear is different from over the ear, and the sound signature will be very different.

 

[dakanao]

  Get the Momentums, the S680 isn't as good as the S500. The Momentum should be a tier above it, at least.

Well I think the HA-S680 sound better than the Momentum over-ears. More clarity, more realistic sounding, only boomier in the bass.

 

[LaPierre]

Is that so? I find the S680 to sound inferior to the S500, it's got wonky flabby bass and a lot of resonance in the mids. Treble isn't exactly clear either. The S500 has better bass and though it's mids are severely recessed and there's a treble spike at around 8khz it portrays the sound in a fairly good way. I've tried replacing the pads on the S680 and doing dampening mods and a few other things, it's just an inferior headphone. Unless of course mine are defective, which would be unusual with both drivers. I might try modding them some more, however. They sound leagues under my A900x and FX850.

 

[dakanao]

  Is that so? I find the S680 to sound inferior to the S500, it's got wonky flabby bass and a lot of resonance in the mids. Treble isn't exactly clear either. The S500 has better bass and though it's mids are severely recessed and there's a treble spike at around 8khz it portrays the sound in a fairly good way. I've tried replacing the pads on the S680 and doing dampening mods and a few other things, it's just an inferior headphone. Unless of course mine are defective, which would be unusual with both drivers. I might try modding them some more, however. They sound leagues under my A900x and FX850.

Well, that's weird. Sometimes they can sound too boomy on the bass and a little too dark, but that's only on recordings with less treble than neutral.
 
I found their treble and their timbre to be their strong point. VERY realistic and clear sound (especially if you boost the treble slightly up).

 

[LaPierre]

  Well, that's weird. Sometimes they can sound too boomy on the bass and a little too dark, but that's only on recordings with less treble than neutral.
 
I found their treble and their timbre to be their strong point. VERY realistic and clear sound (especially if you boost the treble slightly up).

I've modded them to a point where they're a good amount better than the S500, but I've also cut a hole in the earcups to increase the volume. Timbre isn't their strong suit IMHO, they've got a hollow quality that can only be remedied with a good amount of dampening material (fiberglass and cotton). Stock earcups are too small to achieve this, but I've managed with my modding. The drivers are capable, but their earcups are not. If you want to get a headphone that's significantly better than the S500, which is an extraordinary budget headphone I recommend spending more than 100$. There's tons of good options, over-ear having the best choices. Then again, that's purely my thoughts on the matter. I'm keeping my S680 because modding them was fun, but if I could go back I'd probably get an M-Audio Q40 instead because it's fairly good.

 

[dakanao]

  I've modded them to a point where they're a good amount better than the S500, but I've also cut a hole in the earcups to increase the volume. Timbre isn't their strong suit IMHO, they've got a hollow quality that can only be remedied with a good amount of dampening material (fiberglass and cotton). Stock earcups are too small to achieve this, but I've managed with my modding. The drivers are capable, but their earcups are not. If you want to get a headphone that's significantly better than the S500, which is an extraordinary budget headphone I recommend spending more than 100$. There's tons of good options, over-ear having the best choices. Then again, that's purely my thoughts on the matter. I'm keeping my S680 because modding them was fun, but if I could go back I'd probably get an M-Audio Q40 instead because it's fairly good.

Well my thoughts are almost the exact opposite. Without burn-in, I do agree that they sound hollow, but after a certain amount of hours, they're everything but hollow, especially if you boost the treble up.
 
But upperbass stays a bit boomy unfortanetly, and the imaging is off on the left driver. But those are my only 2 complaints about them.
 
They're clearly better than my JVC HA-S400.

 

[LaPierre]

  Well my thoughts are almost the exact opposite. Without burn-in, I do agree that they sound hollow, but after a certain amount of hours, they're everything but hollow, especially if you boost the treble up.
 
But upperbass stays a bit boomy unfortanetly, and the imaging is off on the left driver. But those are my only 2 complaints about them.
 
They're clearly better than my JVC HA-S400.

I'm not sure how much burn-in you think it takes to change them, but I've had mine for a few months and use them quite a bit. I can't speak for the S400, but the S500 is better than the stock S680. 

 

[nick77]

I have a pair of S680's coming for Christmas and looking forward to them. Had a pair of 400's but gave them away and missed them ever since. 
 
Bought them from Bear84 with EMS shipping, hopefully by weeks end.  

 

[daveyostrow]

They're clearly better than my JVC HA-S400.

The s400 were the clearest of the bunch, the 680 are much more aggressive, but I don't if they were better. They are more like a bigger set of s500, I think the s400 had way better mids and cleaner bass.

 

[dakanao]

The s400 were the clearest of the bunch, the 680 are much more aggressive, but I don't if they were better. They are more like a bigger set of s500, I think the s400 had way better mids and cleaner bass.

I just A/B'ed my HA-S680 and my modded JVC HA-S400. On treble shy songs, the S400 wins with clarity, but the JVC still sounds bigger and more detailed. But with treble heavy songs, the S680 sounds better.
 
But do you know any mods I can do to bring the highs on the S680 more forward?