[BenF]

Just got my red and black set in today, sooner than expected! Already have hm5 pads to try, and can compare directly to S500 soon.

My real question though is has anyone tried any mods yet? Foam, dynamat, corkboard, that kind of thing?

Haven't tried any mods, other than the pads and closing the bass ports. Stock pads have the best SQ and are the most comfortable on-ear ever. Closed bass ports improve isolation, reduce bass quality a little and soundstage a lot.

 

[BenF]

Since people started receiving the headphones already, I would like to ask them to follow this burn-in procedure before posting the impressions:
 
1) Use https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rnrj5g0mmbldj58/ZhYIByMYOE/White-Pink-Brown%20Noise%20%28For%20burn%20in%29.wav
2) Adjust the volume so that the middle noise is too loud for comfort
3) Take the headphones off, and add another 20-30% volume
4) Keep burning 24/7
5) Give it at least 48 hours
6) Once burn-in of the driver is done, please let your brain burn-in as well - it will take a few days for the brain to adjust to
    the sound. At first, the brain will refuse to process the soundstage and clarity that HA-S680 can produce, but it will give in
    eventually.

 

[Zoomer13]

Initial impressions: Bass is a tad boomy. Gonna try to burn it in a bit in a drawer for the next day or so. Sounds great if I dial the bass down a bit on my Note 3, but....not liking it as is. Maybe I'm just used to a more neutral presentation with my GR07 and T50RP. Will update after a while~

 

[BenF]

  Initial impressions: Bass is a tad boomy. Gonna try to burn it in a bit in a drawer for the next day or so. Sounds great if I dial the bass down a bit on my Note 3, but....not liking it as is. Maybe I'm just used to a more neutral presentation with my GR07 and T50RP. Will update after a while~

 
Please let it burn in first.
 
Using FIIO E10+E11 will produce better results than the Note 3.
S680 scales very well with good DACs/amps, sounds average out of smartphones.
Listened to it today for hours through the Hifimediy Sabre DAC - sounds almost as good as ODAC + FIIO E12.

 

[Zoomer13]

It MIGHT be a matter of synergy, though the soundchip in  the note 3 is actually quite nice with most things. I have to find an adapter to get it to run out of my EF2A on my desktop rig....should probably try that out. I'll also see about running that file posted when I'm not around, as well. 

 

[BenF]

  It MIGHT be a matter of synergy, though the soundchip in  the note 3 is actually quite nice with most things. I have to find an adapter to get it to run out of my EF2A on my desktop rig....should probably try that out. I'll also see about running that file posted when I'm not around, as well. 

This driver is made of carbon nanotubes - a material 25 times stronger than aluminum.
It must be pounded non-stop for at least 48 hours before it becomes flexible enough to deliver the exact sound it is tuned
for. Burning it for a few hours a day may require a much longer total period.
 
What I usually do, is connect an MP3 player to a USB charger, bury the headphones in a bunch of bubble wrap or clothes in a back of the closet and let them play the noise file non-stop.
 
EF2A may not be a good pairing, as it has a low S/N ratio of 95 and is limited to 16b/44Khz.
The largest problem may be the typical warmth of tube amplifiers and lack of clarity.
S680 really loves details, the more resolving the DAC/amp is, the better it will sound.
 
You will probably have better results with your FIIO pair.

 

[BenF]

There is a sudden exploding of S680 sellers on Amazon:
 

 
Unfortunately, the prices exploded as well.
The red and black ones go for 97$ with domestic shipping, and the white one for 128$!!!!
I hope this is not because people are actually buying them from Amazon.
On eBay all 3 models are 81$ including worldwide shipping...
Why Amazon sellers are so greedy?
 
BTW, the eBay listings will end tomorrow, and I don't know if the seller will re-list them at these prices or even at all.
Only 1 red one, 2 white ones and 3 black ones left.

 

[TheBoss]

There is a sudden exploding of S680 sellers on Amazon:




Unfortunately, the prices exploded as well.
The red and black ones go for 97$ with domestic shipping, and the white one for [COLOR=FF0000]128$[/COLOR]!!!!
I hope this is not because people are actually buying them from Amazon.
On eBay all 3 models are [COLOR=FF0000]81$[/COLOR] including worldwide shipping...
Why Amazon sellers are so greedy?

BTW, the eBay listings will end tomorrow, and I don't know if the seller will re-list them at these prices or even at all.
Only 1 red one, 2 white ones and 3 black ones left.

at such prices i guess im just better of buying classic neutral over ear monitors such as sony mdr 7506 and sennheiser hd 280.


i also wonder how the ha s680 performs compared to the headphones i mentioned above...

 

[BenF]

at such prices i guess im just better of buying classic neutral over ear monitors such as sony mdr 7506 and sennheiser hd 280.


i also wonder how the ha s680 performs compared to the headphones i mentioned above...

The sound S680 puts out is worthy of an even higher price tag, it's only an issue for me because of the discrepancy with eBay.
 
I don't own any of these cans, so you'll have to wait for others to receive the packages.
From what I've read, both of them have small soundstage - so that's one area S680 will have an advantage.
Thanks to the bass ports, it has soundstage more typical for a semi-open can, not a closed one.
 
The HD 280 will also lose in the bass department by a big margin.
 
Also, although both of them are "over-ear", I see too many complaints on comfort.

 

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by BenF /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
At first, the brain will refuse to process the soundstage and clarity that HA-S680 can produce, but it will give in eventually.

 
Ha! "The JVC HA-S680: Too good for your brain to handle."

 

[TheBoss]

  The sound S680 puts out is worthy of an even higher price tag, it's only an issue for me because of the discrepancy with eBay.
 
I don't own any of these cans, so you'll have to wait for others to receive the packages.
From what I've read, both of them have small soundstage - so that's one area S680 will have an advantage.
Thanks to the bass ports, it has soundstage more typical for a semi-open can, not a closed one.
 
The HD 280 will also lose in the bass department by a big margin.
 
Also, although both of them are "over-ear", I see too many complaints on comfort.

 
I have a fully "burned-in" S400 at the moment.
 
I believe the S400 is on the neutral side, but not flat compared to the Sony/Senn over-ears I mentioned above.
 
 
On the S680... i'm skeptical of this marketing bit i found (on Akihabara News).
" 'Dynamic Port' that enhances the reproducibility of bass sound."
 
Pretty much any words that hypes or highlights and make the word "bass" prominent in headphone marketing... it becomes a red-flag to me

 

[BenF]

   
Ha! "The JVC HA-S680: Too good for your brain to handle."

 
When I switch from ATH-AD900X to Hifiman HE-400, it takes my brain a few songs to fully adjust, because it's gotten used to the AD900x's sound.
I guess it's a similar effect, only takes longer because your brain isn't used to the S680 sound yet.

 

[BenF]

   
I have a fully "burned-in" S400 at the moment.
 
I believe the S400 is on the neutral side, but not flat compared to the Sony/Senn over-ears I mentioned above.
 
 
On the S680... i'm skeptical of this marketing bit i found (on Akihabara News).
" 'Dynamic Port' that enhances the reproducibility of bass sound."
 
Pretty much any words that hypes or highlights and make the word "bass" prominent in headphone marketing... it becomes a red-flag to me

 
S680 is balanced, but not neutral. It is on a "fun" side of neutral, with the "fun" coming from the bass and soundstage.
The "dynamic port" mostly affects the soundstage, has a small effect on the bass.

 

[BenF]

The red ones just sold out, the seller re-listed here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Victor-JVC-HA-S680-R-Red-color-Outdoor-type-Headphone-Carbon-Nanotube-F-S-/271332332176

 

[BenF]

Here is something I posted in the Discovery thread and forgot to put it here:
 
I have tried the JVC HA-S680 with my Rockboxed Sansa Clip+ (mostly 256KBps VBR MP3s).
Before this, I have never experienced "synergy". If the dac/amp/headphone was good, it was good in almost any combination.
 
ATH-ES700 sounds very muddy and veiled with Clip+, as both of them are warmish.
HA-S680 is very balanced, so it doesn't have this problem - sounds out of Sansa+ almost as good as out of ODAC+E12.
 
Ironically, the difference between ES700 and S680 is smaller when playing FLACs through NFB-11.32.
But with Clip+, one sounds like a free earbud you get with any MP3 player/cellphone,  and the other one keeps me from doing my job for the past 2 hours.
 
I was considering X3/DX50 purchase, but I think I'll skip them now.