[shigzeo]

well try it out and we'll talk! i would say, sorry, i wood say that the wood unit inside probably is what gives the lessened boom to the denon and yet the naturally less reaching highs.

it is slightly more relaxed than the denon yet still retains speed - very nice indeed. the bass is massive - massive. Massive.

 

[epithetless]

Since my problem with the Denons is the occasional touch of harshness and sibilance, can you comment on how these other contenders (the victor fx500 and kenwood c711) compare in that category, shigzeo?

 

[shigzeo]

these are smoother on the top end, not as much sparkle. this will be a plus for some and a negative for others. if you have the denon and like them, i would not recommend the upgrade as they do different things better and worse.

i feel that the biggest strengths of these like the atrio are that they do not need a proper portable internal amp to sound very good and detailed in the bass. from my nano and touch, they are extremely good. the mids too seem a little sweeter - that is up to opinion whether to it being good or bad.

personally, i have never heard a canalphone sound as good with faithless' music. for trance, i am sort of stuck. what is better? denon have a bigger soundstage and no matter the placement, it is good. but these have less sibilance in the highs which it hit very often with trance.

the kenwood i would suggest for the person who would like a more mature sounding denon. it has less bass boom - in face very controlled and better highs. the stage is not as big but it places things excellently. i would put the kenwood ahead of the victor for that.

it also does very well for amping like the denon.

i would recommend the victor for those who just want portable fi without an amp. it is perfect for that and makes me enjoy the size of the ipod nano even more. they are all good choices but the most mature of the bunch as for sound concerns i think is the kenwood.

but... im glad i have the victor. by the way, my gf has the kenwood (there seems to be some fakes out now or some others who have had the oem design licensed) they may be cheaper. in the states, they are more rare than the denon so they may be more expensive. here, they are virtually the same price.

if i were to liken them to headphones, perhaps the denon would be beyerdynammic dt990 - big soundstage, a sibilance for some people (does not bother me) and large boomy bass that can be controlled but needs amplification.

the kenwood are the dt880 - except that they don't have the soundstage to back that up. some people still find these sibilant but they are the most mature of the major beyer phones. sweet sweet mids.

the victor are the hd650 with a huge bass and probably curve there but not boomy. Still though, they respond quickly, are faster and great companion to even the demands of electronic. they have emotion and great mids. they are darker than either the kenwood or the denon and have less sparkle in the treble.

if i were to only consider sound and nothing else (cable design, microphonics, ergonomics etc) i would choose the kenwood as my favourite. heaps of people here too love the kenwood for sq alone - it is as far as i know on the top of the list for sq alone in ‰¿Ši.com - u”ƒ‚Á‚Ä‚æ‚©‚Á‚½v‚ð‚·‚×‚Ä‚Ì‚Ð‚Æ‚ÉB but it has many detractors that the denon nor the victor have. actually it looks as if the fx500 is taking over the charts now. it is still 1 on the list and as more reviewers are getting product, its sq ratings are even 4.5 and 4.5 on the charts. the kenwood is 5.0 for treble and 4.0 for base.

victor if you like hd650 over the dt990. i prefer it to the dt990 so i am with the victor - plus the nice aditions of the nice case, the low noise cable etc.

i will not say one is better as there will always be someone who likes the other, but i am glad i own now the kenwood and the victor - my heart lies there.

 

[kamatt22]

This is my first message, although I have been following this fantastic community for about a year.

The Victor FX500s look fantastic, do you know if there is any chance to import them from Japan, buying them online?
I am in the UK by the way

 

[shigzeo]

you could always buy it from a headfier in japan (like me). i can get them probably in about a week or two. if you are interested, please pm me.

as for the rest of the thread. i have used them fairly extensively with my lod qables and supermicro iv. now i am back with the headout on them and have to say that these work either way but for two reasons i find myself happier with them straight from the headphone out:

1. portability - lod just sacrifices it and ruines the whole ease of use
2. these don't really need better base. i do find the stage a little bigger with the micro but not enought to make me turn to the whole big man little setup.

these are a darker phones for sure. i would think that very very power users could remove some foam if there is any from the rear of the cabinet but i am not sure how soon that will render these dead or not.

the are similarly dark to the atrio's but have a much more accurate sounding non-plasticy (muddy) mid-high bass and lower mids.

i will try them with some american hip hop now just to see how they work outside of trance. sorry that my pics are not up. i ended having too many drinking parties over the weekend.

my king in utopia is also ragging on me as i am the now... biggest problem in the kd. cheers

 

[shigzeo]

i know i am slow to put up photos, but you have to realise i am tired and lazy. i get home after 11-12 hours of work and just want to watch tv.

i love these things. they do not make as natural a presentation as do the atrio but... i will put it this way - i am selling the atrio which is something i thought i would never do. if they do not sell, that is fine, i will have an excellent airplane headfone but the victor for many reasons have fast become my favourite portable fone of all time.

it only lacks versus the atrio in the (shyte short cable) and the fact that atrio have a better layered bass that you can feel every ripple to, however these are close, certainly in the bass region smacking down the denon and kenwood if sacrificing sparkle in the highs or just ultra smoothness: kenwood.

A+ for these badboys

 

[fureshi]

i tried to look these yesterday in Tokyo and unfortunately they're out of stock almost everywhere that i looked. i had no idea that they were so popular.

 

[shigzeo]

they are. on kakaku.com as well you can see they still retain 1 position for selling. the kenwood which have now identical sq ratings have dropped to like 55 but with cable issues i would understand that. these will probably retain their position of worth for a long time. they are well worth the effort.

again, the atrio bests them in bass resolution while get a bigger impact without boom unlike the denon which i felt were too much boom for me. cheers

 

[shigzeo]

just a small update, they indeed have wonderful soundstage but the soundstage has to be coaxed out. i was at sasaki's recommendation listening to kokia, a song about the ugly voice of a duck - okay?

the stage was nearly the size of the denon but, it was not as forced to the sides or back of the head. these are a little more constrained but i would put them definately ahead of the denon in almost every category.

wonderful purchase.

 

[shigzeo]

i've added some pic's i hope to get some good quality shots later as these are somewhat underwhelming.

 

[shigzeo]

it seems that i was not mistake selling my atrio - something i thought would never happen indeed. these have better stage with the right pieces and equally as good bass with the right pieces but with less innear ear impact rumble.

i am overwhelmed completely but, the biggest hugest bass can only be had with the foamies that are included and they are rather stage-limiting and make these overly dark.

these are not dark at all with other pieces but not discordantly piercing like the denon could at times be and even atrio if i listened for too long.

 

[epithetless]

shigzeo: I know you're an over-the-ear wearer, but would you mind posting your thoughts on how feasibly these can be worn straight down given the angle of their sound tubes? Do they still seal and stay put with general motion (e.g. walking)? Some more of your fabulous in-ear pics would be great, too.

 

[shigzeo]

they still seal. i have for investigation purposes tried them this way. however, i must admit that it feels strange. they are similar in size to the denon but have an angle to them that makes them stick out if you wear them down. the entry to the ear however is better than if you wear it over the ear, but i just could not get used to it.

they are definately more microphonic like that. you see, the cable is virtually the same as the calbe in the atrio but a little softer - so that one while being very good for microphonics, if worn down, was microphonic but much less than most iems and certainly better than every canalphone.

if you are used to sony, denon, other victor, ety or even shure, these will be better for microphonics but still make noise.

i will get some better photos, those were rubbish sorry! i am slow with photos as basically it is impossible to get good photos here in my house which is dark and i feel embarassed to ask people to take pictures of my ears. ... sheepish

i am using the small ear inserts now as the medium don't fit as well but the small ones with a good angle, go in much further and well, they maintain bass and a great soundstage.

still, king of bass and senheiser 650 sound is the foam, the beyer soundstage comes with audio technica pieces and the stock are in between. i am a beyer dt880 owner so at are perfect for me!

 

[NajoBB]

Great review! If these have better base (for me almost perfect in comparison to other that I've tried, only a little bit too boomy sometimes) then denons to my ears too, ill be the happiest person in the world, because I'm a big fan of trance too and never liked the sound of armatures. Can't wait to get them.

PS: even if they don't sound better then my denons, I'll still keep them just for the looks.

 

[neoufo51]

I hope these get distributed in the US soon.