Drop x JVC HA-FDX1 DD IEM: The second coming of ...

Discussion in 'IEM Measurements' started by purr1n, Aug 10, 2019.

  1. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

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    Still says "Requested". No option to buy.

    Edit: It's up.
     
  2. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    Sorry! Dev Team working on right now...
     
  3. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    AND we're UP!
     
  4. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    I just ordered. Thanks!
     
  5. insidious meme

    insidious meme Ambivalent Kumquat

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    Easy there. Let's not turn this into a head fi jizz thread.
     
  6. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    We have sold 400 of the 490 unit limit in only a few days.

    You have played a big part in this launch...thank you, SBAF!


    JVC has also been excited and watching our progress.

    We asked JVC and they checked with their internal teams and factory to see if we could increase the pre-sale limit to 665 units.

    JVC has just confirmed today that they can increase the limit to 665 units WITHOUT affecting the ship date before Christmas.

    The limit has been raised, I’m very glad that many of you can enjoy these soon!
     
  7. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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    :(
     
  8. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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  9. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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    Sorry for the noise, it's just that Drop suspended shipping to my country years ago and there's not much I can do.
     
  10. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    ^Oh darn. Thanks for explaining.
     
  11. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    @CEE TEE What are the current odds on future drops of the FDX1?
     
  12. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    how would CT know now? and why would he care?
     
  13. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    I guess what you're saying is that @CEE TEE must no longer be working for drop.com and I missed it which if correct is obviously the answer to your rhetorical questions.
     
  14. randytsuch

    randytsuch Friend

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    There is a thread here, think it was a poll, about CEE TEE becoming a staff member here after leaving massdrop. Was fairly recent. If you scroll up a bit to one of his posts, you see he's no longer MOT, now staff.
     
  15. CEE TEE

    CEE TEE MOT: NITSCH

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    Hey there @DigMe ...given the success of the first pre-sale, I think there will be <at least> another FD-X1 order after this batch arrives.

    You guys did a great job of welcoming JVC Audiophile back to the US and creating good buzz for some excellent IEMs. :bow:

    The question for JVC and Drop will be "what else should they bring over"? Maybe start a new thread if you have requests (not sure how that will be decided from here on out but we can give them a thread to watch).
     
  16. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    Thanks to a week long loaner via @zerodeefex a few weeks back, was very surprised to find these JVC HA-FDX1 super refined and great sounding, they'll probably end up being my everyday walk around IEM!
    never owner an IEM with DD before, only demoed the Campfire Audio Vega previously, the bass of those shook the jawbone.

    Overall when listening to the JVC HA-FDX1 via iFi iDSD or WA8 Eclipse, the overall sound was very balanced, with the slightest bit of bass punch when called upon. I didn't find the mids/vocals to be forward, which is a preference- hate it when singers are at nose level.
    Plenty of body bottom to top, with no shrill treble or sloppy loose bass.
    Comfortable as well, despite them feeling a bit heavier than looks anticipate.

    Now these don't have the atmosphere and openness of Campfire Andromeda, nor maybe that last bit of treble air and detail.
    and aren't the DD IEM for basshead monsters either.

    Glad I stayed in the Drop for these, at the price they are a steal. let's give @CEE TEE and the JVC Mod king @james444 here all due credit for bringing a superb all around AND affordable IEM to the planet.
    hope the December delivery date holds without any QC issues. (ahem, polarity)

    now if only eBay prices for Spiral Dot++ from Japan weren't so expensive!
     
  17. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    Which filters were you using?
     
  18. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    thanks, good question. um, - whatever the stock ones were? I didn't swap them out at all.

    also forgot to mention, for some reason I loved the ergonomics on the cable!
    supple, didn't twist or bind or feel uncomfortable.
    would easily buy a balanced cable of same material as these Drop JVCs.
    IMO - ergonomics of an IEM cable are critical to acceptable wearing whether inside, outside, while commuting, etc.
     
  19. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    You used the blue filters.
     
  20. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    I didn’t know what to expect when receiving the JVCs. I been hearing about the mod becoming popular on them, and the JVC x Drop collaboration. As of this review I already had the Obravo Cupid, CA Polaris II, CA Andro, and CA Solaris. I originally pre-ordered the HA-FDX1 from Drop, but then I was like I kind-of wanted to try them out before buying them. I feel by having the Andro and the Solaris it kind of makes having the HA-FDX1 semi-useless for me. I normally bring the Andro + ZX2 outside my apartment, and it is working quite well for me. But since I moved away from headphones to IEMs, I would never say no to listening to IEMs going forward.

    Hardware: Modi 3 > THX AAA 789, Sony ZX2, Sony WM1A

    IEM used with the loaner: CA Solaris, CA Andro, CA Polaris II, Obravo Cupid

    When I gotten the loaner, I put them on and I was like it sounded quite nice! Enough in the highs that it doesn’t overload my ears, the mids were great even if maybe it was moving a little slow for my liking, and great lows for the price who prefer more of a sub-bass response that go along with the meal of listening to music, not the main course like a V-Shaped IEM. I discovered that the nozzle I was using was the Green one. Speaking of the nozzles in a quick summary:

    White: Suck donkey nuts for me. Too bright for me, reminds me of the stereotype Japanese Audiophile, BRIGHTNESS IS AMAZING MAN! Can’t even listen to it for a minute before spitting them out.

    Green: Great middle ground. The highs took a cut from the white nozzle, but there’s enough to make the music engaging. Lows are great but just can’t compete with the higher end IEMs that I listened to. It does have good texture, good enough sub-bass impact, and doesn’t feel bloated. Like, these are $280 IEMs right? I do believe the Green nozzle will make a lot of people happy. Mids are kind of forward to me, and it really feels like I’m losing resolution when going from Andro to HA-FDX1

    Blue: Similar to the Greens, but with the highs even going lower on the feq chart. I thought the lost of the highs from the Green was a little too much for my liking. I thought having some treble keep the music engaging enough for me. I can see why prefer the Blue, but it wasn’t for me.

    Think about this: Each Nozzle is like having a different IEM in your collection.

    Fit/Built/Packaging: The built of the IEMs are nice. Doesn’t feel like cheap plastic at all. Looks like there’s chrome on the outer edge with some metal on the body? The one thing I must say is interesting is you can rotate each IEM on the cable side around a full 360. This is for the cable adjustments. It took a while to figure out how to get the best feeling in my ears, but after a while I figured it out on how to fit them nicely (the nozzle is slanted so it fits better in your ear). The included cable is great for a stock one and I would pay money for something similar. However, I felt that the default cable was designed where the cable is hanging downward from the IEM. I prefer the cable to loop from the top of the ear to the back. While you can do this with the stock cable, it moved around too much when I was doing the ear loop method with the cable. It was bugging me after a while.

    If you want to get the best fit, please try different Spinal Dots tip that come with the IEMs. I was using one that was slightly small in my ear, and it started to become loose. Once you get the right size pair for your ear it stays in quite nicely. I do feel that the depending on the fit of the IEM in your ears, it can change the sound slightly.Spend some time with this one.

    The nozzle exchange concept is weird at first. I had to figure out how to replace them. On the IEM there’s a minor switch. You have to pull it down then pull out the nozzle. When putting a nozzle in the IEM body, you need to look for the mark on the body and on the nozzle so it fits correctly on the body. If this is your first JVC, take your time in learning it first before doing it. However, I feel people won’t be swapping out the nozzles too much.

    The Packaging is basic. It’s in a brown cardboard box and comes with a plastic tray of the nozzles and the Spinal Dot tips. It also comes with a really nice soft leather (maybe it is leather, most likely not) carrying case with JVC on it. It has a minor magnet in the carrying case so closing it is a snap. I like it.

    Note: These impressions were done with the Green nozzle, my preference.

    Highs: Not the most detailed, but was surprised and how fast enough this area was with a full DD IEM. Nothing stick out odd, and with the Green nozzle it is engaging enough for me to keep my interest in the music when using my DAPs. I’m happy that Donald Fagen – Kamakiriad didn’t have the infamous digital brightness in the highs when using the HA-FDX1. Of course the digital brightness came come out if using the white nozzle. However, if I was using the blue nozzle then the music would make me fall asleep. While I don’t always like the highs when there’s tons of it, I do believe you need a fine balance of the highs being really too detailed or too relaxed. I do prefer however the high range on the CA Andro, but the Andro costs at least twice more if buying used over the HA-FDX1. I believe if you really want speed in the highs, these aren’t for you. If you want want good enough detail with good enough speed (shit, just good enough) for $280. I don’t think you can do any better than these.

    Mids: Great. With the Green nozzle it is more upfrontish than the Obravo Cupid, but not to the point it will get in your way. It was able to do more than enough on pulling details in various details from my Steely Dan albums. It also gave Grace Jones’s voice enough heft that it came out in a wonderful fashion. Best way to explain is the HA-FDX1 is like 80% of the mids of an Andro. The Andro just have more in detail information than the HA-FDX1 in the mids. With that being said, there’s no fuckery in the mids on the JVC. I’m not able to detect anything weird with them. I can listen to them for hours without having the urge to take them off. However, if you think the Andro was a little too upfront with the mids, then the HA-FDX1 might be a better fit for you. These sound smoother….

    Bass: Good, but I feel it has the biggest weakest here. I felt that it was slow sounding and depending on the recording, just enough sub-bass. I like how more tighter the bass were on the Andro than the JVCs, but the JVCs were similar enough to the Andros that I think most people won’t care. These have slightly thicker bass but not a basshead IEM. Personally I think I prefer BA handling of bass, but that’s just me. With that being said, it gets the job done for someone who is looking for an all-rounder.

    Soundstage: Smaller than an Andro, but still some room. It’s more inward than anything else for me, but once again I don’t think people would care. It’s just an IEM.

    Misc stuff: These will require more juice from a ZX2 than an Andro, and due to this I feel it would do a better job with desk amps. Of course just be careful with the volume knob as always. Now if you were curious about the HA-FDX1 to the Obravo Cupid, the Obravo is laid back with relaxed highs than the HA-FDX1 when using the Green nozzle. The Obravo has more sub-bass if that’s your thing than the HA-FDX1. It’s like this: HA-FDX1 is more of a good all rounder, the Obravo is more for cozy moments than anything else with some minor flaws. Both really good IEMs, but they have different end goals for me than anything else.

    Conclusion: Will I buy a pair? I dunno. I’m still rocking the Andro + ZX2 for outside use. And with the price difference, the Andros is better than the JVCs since I have the Andros in my bag right now. It might be cool to get one to mess around with it, but with my current setup it doesn’t make sense. I’ll say this: If you want one IEM pair without breaking the bank + can work as a good all rounder, this should be on your list. It does many things well for a $280 pair of IEMs. Possible good enough for the majority of IEM users who don’t want to blow money on Andros and blah blah blah.

    Sorry for the short/lack of detail impressions, work/life balance is a pain in my hairy ass during this time of the year.
     

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