JVC FD01: A new contender for best DD IEM?

Discussion in 'IEMs and Portable Gear' started by james444, Jun 20, 2018.

  1. poohlikehoney

    poohlikehoney Facebook Friend

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    Reference tuned detail oriented dynamic driver are a rarity and you sir has just piqued my interest. Excellent work as always looking forward to more impressions. Will be adding this to my collection soon.
     
  2. Mimouille

    Mimouille Facebook Friend

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  3. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    perhaps i tried the 5005 right after the legend X, i found it to be artifical sounding and uncomfortable ergonomically. without the mod, i preferred the ex1k over the fd01, the former i found a shade lean, but the latter bright... i am less sensitive to the 7khz peak than others tho.
     
  4. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Well, let me elaborate a bit on the "reference" filter, because I want people to get a clear understanding of what the term means to me in case of the FD01. As most of you know, there's no universally agreed upon definition of "reference" or "neutral" regarding headphones and IEMs. We have tuning targets like "free field flat", "diffuse field flat" and "Harman / Olive-Welti flat" that differ in frequency response from each other... in short, it's quite a mess and reason for many misunderstandings.

    I'm mentioning this particularly because I recently auditioned the MySphere 3, which surprisingly turned out to sound quite similar to the stock FD01 (minus a few dB in bass). Meaning, that even though I liked this futuristic thing a lot, it had a little too much upper mids presence for my taste. What followed was an interesting discussion with the developer, in which I mentioned that my personal idea of neutral was close to diffuse field flat. When he replied that their tuning target had been free field flat, the reason for the upper mids discrepancy became clear to me.

    Back to the FD01... and contrary to what you might assume, based on all the graphs I posted, I used critical listening and not measurements to determine the right amount of damping for my "reference" tuning. Since pretty much the only gripe I had with stock sound was upper mids, I used a test track that has a lot of energy in that range. Then I performed what I call "the cringe test", that is to say I played it really loud (around 85-90dB) to see whether the FD01 would make me cringe. And sure enough, the stock sound did that easily... so I went on to start with a 10mm swab filter and repeat the test with increasingly longer damping strips, until I found the upper mids tolerable... in my case, with a 13mm filter. Only afterwards did I take measurements, to visualize and confirm the change in frequency response I heard.

    Now, since everybody's tastes and sensitivities are slightly different, I'd encourage those interested in the FD01 to not just go with a 13mm filter for "reference", but perform your own tests to find the optimum filter length for your personal "reference". My particular test track for this procedure is linked below: I used the last 60 seconds of Brahms' Symphony No. 2, which is a blaze of brass instruments... but really, any track with lots of upper mids energy that you're familiar with should do the trick.

     
  5. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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    just gave that link a quick go with some of my iems, andro, paterre, ex1k, ety 3XR, bravado and xba-z5, i would say ety and ex1k had the most realistic bite but not cringey as there is body behind the bite, paterre is rounded, andro not bitey but more air surrounding the bite, but surprisingly the xba-z5 the brassy blats sounded disembodied and sharp, still not cringey but close. with need to give that a go at the shop with the jvcs.

    thanks James!
     
  6. Mimouille

    Mimouille Facebook Friend

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    I would be interested in knowing if the FD02 is similar to the FD01 but less thin sounding, which would avoid the need for the light mod.
     
  7. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Rumor has it that I'll be getting an FD02 soon...
     
  8. Mimouille

    Mimouille Facebook Friend

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    Let us hope the grapevine is right.
     
  9. deafdoorknob

    deafdoorknob Almost "Made"

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  10. Mimouille

    Mimouille Facebook Friend

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  11. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Looks like the FD02 has even a tad more upper mids emphasis than the FD01, whereas lower treble seems more toned down.
     
  12. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    The FD02 have arrived. Out-of-box listening impressions suggest that upper mids are similarly hot as on the stock FD01. But the FD02's overall sound signature is a bit warmer. Also, they seem to have a smidgen less air on top than the FD01.

    However, before I proceed, here's a little test I've come up with, which may (or may not :p) help to demonstrate how the FD01's three filters compare. I used the miniDSP EARS to actually record snippets of my "cringe test", so this is how the artificial ear and measuring microphone "hears" the FD01...

    Disclaimer: don't take this too seriously, because due to technical limitations, the result doesn't quite reflect the sound quality of the original track. But if you listen to these snippets with reasonably neutral / balanced headphones or IEMs (at rather high volume) and focus on upper mids, you might get a good idea of how the three filters compare:

    FD01 stock: https://instaud.io/2n9H
    FD01 13mm: https://instaud.io/2n9I
    FD01 15mm: https://instaud.io/2n9J

    (If this demonstration proves useful, I'll add the FD02 later on.)
     
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2018
  13. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    Sounds like we need an FWD01/02. Wood and stainless steel stripes?
     
  14. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Nah, the FD01 are excellent with a little more damping. A definite step up from the FW01 imo.

    I just wished JVC would put those three pairs of nozzles to good use, so people wouldn't have to DIY.
     
  15. james444

    james444 Mad IEM modding wizard level 99

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    Measurements: (red = FD02, blue = FD01 stock, bright green = FD01 reference, dark green = FD01 relaxed)

    [​IMG]

    FD02 and FD01 stock frequency responses are very close. FD02 are by a hair bassier. Upper mids are a tad less pronounced, but on the other hand, lower treble is a tad more. Overall, the amount of energy in the high range is very similar between the stock FD01 and FD02, just the distribution of energy is slightly different.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    FD01 with mods worthy of loaner program? Who wants? I am certainly interested myself.

    Great stuff as always @james444. Thanks for sharing this.
     
  17. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    Definitely interested in a loaner.
     
  18. roscoeiii

    roscoeiii Acquaintance

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    @james444 How easy/hard does it look to get the grill off the 02 to apply the mods you applied to the 01?
     
  19. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    I'm interested in a loaner of this
     
  20. Panohm

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    Are the FD01 comfortable while wearing cable up? Does this alleviate some of the weight problem?. An EX1k with a bit more subbass and better wearing comfort/isolation.....
     

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