The JVC HA-S680 - S400's and S500's big brother is here!
Mar 31, 2014 at 1:39 AM Post #631 of 1,066
  Anyone from the US already have these S680s - did anyone have to pay duty/custom fees when purchasing from a re-seller on Amazon?

 
Hi.
 
When I got mine off of Amazon, I paid the asking price and they arrived at my door a short time later. I think it was from Ace Japan and cost something like $68. I didn't have to deal with any taxes, duties, etc. outside the price I paid at purchase.
 
Incidentally, my S680s have turned the corner. If you recall, they were sounding horribly congested and there was some speculation that they were damaged from too much/loud burn-in or from moisture.
 
Well two nights ago I inserted them into my bedroom system and the sound cleared right up. It had the same initial beguiling quality I heard at the very start, but they were now several steps further along in terms of clarity and refinement.
 
I think the worrisome muddiness was a middle stage in the burn-in process.
 
Maybe one reason for the muddy sound, too, was that I was listening right after hours long burn-in sessions. Maybe the drivers needed to relax or recover from those long stretches of action? Anyhow, I'm liking them much better now.
 
I went back to my S400 to compare. Whereas the S400s had pulled ahead before, the recovered S680s were now clearly a notch above. Both had their strong points, though, and each is different enough to recommend.
 
Still, I think the S680s have a little longer to go: while things are clearing up and sounding good, I don't feel like the bass quantity is quite there yet. It could be a little more plentiful and impactful.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 11:41 AM Post #632 of 1,066
Well, I listened to music as I was going to sleep last night. My S680s have REALLY turned the corner and are sounding spectacular right now. It's crazy how good they're sounding.
 
The most immediate thing is how detailed they are. When I first got them, I noticed this with voices: I was able to hear and understand voices and lyrics so clearly, that it seemed I was listening to them for the first time. Before, I could hear them, but they didn't stand out enough that I could really understand and feel them.
 
Whereas other cans would present the vocals as part of the canvas of the song, the S680 really put some space around the vocals and I could really focus on them and very easily hear and understand them.
 
After this tortuous burn-in process, it seems now that the S680 does this with everything in the mix, drums, guitars, all the instruments. It's blowing my mind, because I have some really good cans and none of them do this to the level of the S680.
 
I would hesitate to call this resolution, although it is that. Rather, it's almost like an effect of the S680's spacious soundscape. It gives enough room around each voice and instrument that the detail and nuances of each can breathe and exist. You can step into the in between spaces and really focus on the detail of each. Almost like looking at each instrument with a microsope, but not in a clinical way.
 
That's how hypnotic the sound was. I could focus on the ample detail of each instrument and voice and really understand what was going on with each. Really fantastic.
 
If there's a nit to pick at this point, it's that the timbre and tone of the instruments are somewhat colored. What I mean is that violins don't truly sound like they're made out of wood, and brass doesn't really sound like brass.
 
Rather, they sound like good musical reproductions from a diaphram that made out of a very stiff, synthetic material (a similar, but different, coloration can often heard on speakers with Poly material cones - in this case can have a slightly soft, plasticky sound). Regardless, it is very musical and engaging.
 
I wasn't sure that these phones were all that, but after sufficient burn-in, they are really something special. Very cool!
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 12:11 PM Post #634 of 1,066
  Well, I listened to music as I was going to sleep last night. My S680s have REALLY turned the corner and are sounding spectacular right now. It's crazy how good they're sounding.
 
The most immediate thing is how detailed they are. When I first got them, I noticed this with voices: I was able to hear and understand voices and lyrics so clearly, that it seemed I was listening to them for the first time. Before, I could hear them, but they didn't stand out enough that I could really understand and feel them.
 
Whereas other cans would present the vocals as part of the canvas of the song, the S680 really put some space around the vocals and I could really focus on them and very easily hear and understand them.
 
After this tortuous burn-in process, it seems now that the S680 does this with everything in the mix, drums, guitars, all the instruments. It's blowing my mind, because I have some really good cans and none of them do this to the level of the S680.
 
I would hesitate to call this resolution, although it is that. Rather, it's almost like an effect of the S680's spacious soundscape. It gives enough room around each voice and instrument that the detail and nuances of each can breathe and exist. You can step into the in between spaces and really focus on the detail of each. Almost like looking at each instrument with a microsope, but not in a clinical way.
 
That's how hypnotic the sound was. I could focus on the ample detail of each instrument and voice and really understand what was going on with each. Really fantastic.
 
If there's a nit to pick at this point, it's that the timbre and tone of the instruments are somewhat colored. What I mean is that violins don't truly sound like they're made out of wood, and brass doesn't really sound like brass.
 
Rather, they sound like good musical reproductions from a diaphram that made out of a very stiff, synthetic material (a similar, but different, coloration can often heard on speakers with Poly material cones - in this case can have a slightly soft, plasticky sound). Regardless, it is very musical and engaging.
 
I wasn't sure that these phones were all that, but after sufficient burn-in, they are really something special. Very cool!

 
Comments like this really make me want to get the S680s even more.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 12:16 PM Post #635 of 1,066
  How is this possible radical change in a little time??

 
I don't know how they turned so quickly. Now, they do have a total of more than 100 hours of burn-in on them, so have been on a path of breaking in. But I know nothing about the mechanics of this carbon nano-tube material.
 
All I know is they were sounding really muddy, indistinct, and confused. This was after many overnight sessions of bass heavy club mix music and white, brown, pink noise on repeat. The sound became so bad that we were discussing whether the drivers had somehow been damaged.
 
After that I put them away for 3 or 4 days. On a whim, I pulled them out and stuck them in my bedside system. For about 8 or 10 minutes, they sounded much more open, but slightly thin and really sizzlely in the treble. That leveled out, and over the course of the next hour or so, they fleshed out but remained clear, but bass seemed lower than I was wanting.
 
It was on the second night in my bedroom system that everything clicked, and they started sounding great.
 
I don't know if they'll continue to improve any further or not. We'll see. If anything, I hope the timbre and tone will improve somewhat.
 
The danger is that the sound will continue to change, and not for the better. These cans sure take a long time to settle, and I'm not even sure if they're done yet. Stay tuned.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 12:24 PM Post #636 of 1,066
   
Comments like this really make me want to get the S680s even more.

 
 
From my experience, you have to have faith and stick with it until they actually turn. Otherwise, you'll wonder if you've wasted your good money. I'm glad they turned out the way they were expected to so far.
 
Here's another analogy of the sound currently: not to implicate myself, but it's like when you're on certain mind altering drugs - you have this hyper focus on the details of things around you. You notice things that you glossed over before and gain some insight into them. You don't even have to work that hard. The details are right there in ample amounts and you can't ignore them. That's what the S680s were doing for me at this point of burn-in. It's quite an effect.
 
While they're not the best cans I have, they are quite unique and I'm happy I have them.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 12:28 PM Post #637 of 1,066
  Well, I listened to music as I was going to sleep last night. My S680s have REALLY turned the corner and are sounding spectacular right now. It's crazy how good they're sounding.
 
...

 
Quote:
  ...
After that I put them away for 3 or 4 days. On a whim, I pulled them out and stuck them in my bedside system. For about 8 or 10 minutes, they sounded much more open, but slightly thin and really sizzley in the treble. That leveled out, and over the course of the next hour or so, they fleshed out but remained clear, but bass seemed lower than I was wanting.  
It was on the second night in my bedroom system that everything clicked, and they started sounding great.
...

Glad my advice helped. Please post a full review here when you think you are done with burn-in: http://www.head-fi.org/products/jvc-ha-s680-over-ear-headphones
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 12:46 PM Post #638 of 1,066
I've had my 680s for a couple of weeks and I like these even more than my S500s. The highs and dimensional stage are just to addictive. I love the balance and dynamics of these. But compared to my S500s the sub bass on the 680s was further back. Not as prominent. So I experimented with making a bass lens for the cups. It seems to have strengthened the low end. Like going a couple inches bigger on a sub woofer. Now sub bass has better background presence. More in line to what I prefer.
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 12:59 PM Post #639 of 1,066
I've had my 680s for a couple of weeks and I like these even more than my S500s. The highs and dimensional stage are just to addictive. I love the balance and dynamics of these. But compared to my S500s the sub bass on the 680s was further back. Not as prominent. So I experimented with making a bass lens for the cups. It seems to have strengthened the low end. Like going a couple inches bigger on a sub woofer. Now sub bass has better background presence. More in line to what I prefer.


What exactly did you do?
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 1:45 PM Post #640 of 1,066
The bass and sub-bass on the JVC ha-s500 is fantastic, tum-tum-tum vibrating the cups
gs1000.gif

On the 680????
 
Mar 31, 2014 at 2:20 PM Post #641 of 1,066
Here's another analogy of the sound currently: not to implicate myself, but it's like when you're on certain mind altering drugs - you have this hyper focus on the details of things around you. You notice things that you glossed over before and gain some insight into them. You don't even have to work that hard. The details are right there in ample amounts and you can't ignore them. That's what the S680s were doing for me at this point of burn-in. It's quite an effect.


Welcome to the club!  Your way worth words perfectly describes how I felt about these cans -- it's like an awakening of sorts.
 
One other thing I'd like to mention about the possibilities of why the turnaround is brain burn-in.  There are times when I have to listen to them for about a minute or so before my brain re-adjusts to soundstage and I guess the way in which the CNT delivers sound.  In fact I didn't listen to them all weekend and this morning it took a full 4-5 minutes before my ears and brain re-adjusted.
 
@BenF, I know you've been hounding me to write a review.. all I can say is that I've got some things going on in my life right now.  When I get a chance to sit down and write something, I will.
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 2:20 AM Post #642 of 1,066
Yep, definitely know all about brain burn in. I have something in the vicinity of 15 or so different pairs of cans - so very familiar with changing from one to another and needing time to get settled with a different sound signature before being able to enjoy them. Sometimes the sound of the different headphones is radically different than the other, but both have some great but different traits that you have to acclimate to for a short while when you swap cans.

What I experienced through S680 burn in process, though, was not brain burn in. There was some real and dramatic changes to the sound coming from the cans over the 100+ hours of the burn in process. The sound went from "promising, but new and still shut in sounding" to "so bad that maybe something got damaged" to "much more open but way out of balance and super sizzlely in the treble" to "all the pieces falling together and sounding amazingly good." The most dramatic changes did take place over the last few days, however.

Even the hot treble I heard for a short while was not not brain burn in (I'm very sensitive to treble, and I had never heard these phones output a sound so tilted up in the treble at any previous time I listened to the phones. The sizzlely treble lasted for about an hour). The tilted up treble showed up well into the burn in process and evened out very quickly as the rest of the sound made a sudden and dramatic turn for the better. And there's no way my treble sensitive ears would have acclimated to that level of treble to the point that it sounded normal to me. So something more than brain burn in happening in this case.

But happily, things have hit a very good point as far as sound goes. Hopefully any more changes will get even better and not represent a step backward. I'm really liking these phones!
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 2:57 AM Post #643 of 1,066
What exactly did you do?

This may sound strange but it works. It doesn't require any permanent modifications and is totally reversible.
You will need two half sheet paper towels
And scissors to cut the towels.
Begin by rolling each paper towel along the length-wise side. Try to roll it nice and tight to about the diameter of a swisher sweet cigar. Stuff rolled towel in the cups under the pads all the way around the cups. As if you were making a paper ring. Cut the extra length off. Leave the center portion open. That's all. My guess is it works like corner loading a sub woofer. It gives the bass frequencies more reverb. It seems to reduce the stage a smidg but the low end picks up.
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 3:12 AM Post #644 of 1,066
This is what I'm doing with M-Audio Q40 too but I used only 1/3 of towel sheet per cup since I found too thick layer would make the mids too much recessed for my liking (the timbre became brighter, more highs, less mids the thicker it was). The Q40 by default was tiny bit more forward in the midrange compared to the highs to my ears and that 1/3 sheet made it perfectly in balance. For midrange focused headphones like Fostex TR50p this would be the first kind of mod I'd try. :) Probably these JVC S680 and S400 also works great with it. 
 
Apr 1, 2014 at 8:48 AM Post #645 of 1,066
The bass and sub-bass on the JVC ha-s500 is fantastic, tum-tum-tum vibrating the cups
gs1000.gif

On the 680????
And what is the differences between the JVC 660 and 680???
 
Today I listened again to the 660 and I would like to understand what are the differences with the 680 ...
 

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