Drop + JVC HA-FWX1 Reviews-Impressions-Discussion

For more basic info, please visit the Drop site here.

The Drop + JVC HA-FWX1 isn’t an IEM that I recommend for the majority of IEM users. In matter of fact, the FWX1 is an IEM requires strategic planning when purchasing it. What the hell does this mean? If you have a collection of IEMs and you wanted an IEM that brings the benefits of wood timbre into the mix (slower decay, natural richness, warmer tone that isn’t overblown), then the FWX1 fits the bill. I avoided the FW1500 (JP)/FW1800 (US) models (which the FWX1 is based on) for the longest time. While I missed the wood timbre from my former heavy headphone usage, they were too warm and boomy for my taste. When Drop announced their take of the FW1500/FW1800 with toned down bass and giving the midrange more breathing room, I was like hell yeah. The graphs on the Drop site were still concerning to me, since I thought the FWX1 might still be too warm for my taste. I already got some great IEMs in my collection, but I miss the wood timbre more often than I care to admit. While I’m not too sure the $449 MSRP is the best price bracket for the FWX1, I proceeded in buying a pair from Drop. I was gambling on the fact that I’ll like the FWX1 sound even with my concerns with the sound signature. However, the end goal would be great for me if I can get that wood timbre with my stable of IEMs.


Sources: PI2AES Output Coax > Bifrost 2 > Vali 2+ or IEMagni – Shanling M3X

IEMs used: Campfire Audio Ara, Gaudio Nair, JVC x Drop HA-FDX1 (Green Filters), Moondrop Starfield


Packaging and Design:



Like the popular FDX1, the FWX1 comes in a cardboard box with Drop + JVC branding. At first glance, it appears to be the same box as the FDX1. But it has the product sticker advising this is the FWX1 and it is a Wood Dome Carbon Diaphragm IEM. I was first surprised to discovered that the FWX1 is actually made in Japan. I thought with its MSRP JVC would just have these build in China like the FDX1. Nope, these are Japanese made which caught me off guard. Opening the cardboard box you will see the IEMs, the common black pleather JVC carrying case with red velvet color on the side (which I like a lot), the IEM cable that is the same as the other JVC IEMs (which I also like a lot), paperwork, and a tray that holds the tips. The FWX1 doesn’t come with changeable filters like the FDX1 if you were curious.

The tips are the Spiral Dots +, which to me provides a better sealing experience in the ears than the regular Spiral Dots that I used on my other IEMs (the Spirl Dots + are also included with the FDX1). The IEMs themselves are bigger and more bulkier than the FDX1, but they don’t feel cooler to touch since the FWX1 mostly use wood on the shells. You can feel the wood texture when holding them. To me the build quality is slightly better on the FWX1 when comparing to the FDX1, but I do miss the rotational IEM shells on the FDX1 when adjusting the IEM cable. FWX1 were designed to wear them down-ear, but you can wear them also over ear if that is your preference (which is my preference). The FWX1 does have bass vents, which I believe helps not making the bass being too overwhelming like the FW1500/FW1800.

If you had issues with the fit in the past with the FDX1, then you might have problems with the FWX1. As previously stated, these are bigger and more bulkier than the FDX1. With that being said, they fit wonderfully in my ears with no ear sores and the Spiral Dot + provided a better seal to me than the regular Spiral Dots in my experience.


Sound:

Per the Drop sales page of the FWX1, there’s wood on the outer shells of the IEMs and on the DD drivers themselves. If buying the FWX1 new, these will require break-in since at first the sound will be like playing a speaker “underwater.” Things started to open up a bit at the five hour mark. The longer you play/burn-in the drivers, the more the drivers will continue to improve on its performance. Give them good enough burn-in time for the drivers. Isolation on the FWX1 is so-so.

I am very sensitive to very boomy and overblown bass in general. I think the amount of bass on the FWX1 is just the right amount where yes..these are a warm sounding IEMs, but it isn’t a head pounding bass bleeding mess. If you like how the bass sounded on a Moondrop Starfield, then you will like how the FWX1 handles bass here. Bass bias is focused on subbass and midbass, where there’s enough rumble and slam when called for. I really enjoy the bass bias on Boz Scaggs – Some Changes, Donald Fagen – The Nightfly: Live, The Future Sound of London – Accelerator, and Vangelis – Juno to Jupiter, since on those recordings the bass really make those albums pop on atmospheric tendencies plus the bass bias is a nice touch on certain tracks. Also, great bass texture that of course is on the meaty side.

The bass doesn’t really bleed into the mids that much at all, which is something I was hoping with the FWX1. With that being said, the bass can be slightly be too much on some recordings. Jaco Pastorius S/T shows off Jaco’s bass playing, and the FWX1 really shows off the tone from Jaco’s bass. However, Jaco’s bass player goes really deep, and even on tracks like Donna Lee and Continuum I found Jaco’s bass to be a little overpowering to the other instruments on those tracks. If you prefer a linear bass response, avoid all the woodie JVC IEMs. If you are ok with a bass bias that isn’t stupid, FWX1 should fit the bill.

The midrange is very solid and has similarities of the FDX1. On really loud volumes, you can get minor shouting that is similar on the FDX1 at around 4k-5k. But I am not getting any grain or harshness that could happen on the FDX1 even in loud volumes. I believe this is due to the design of the FWX1 (which are biggier)), since sound staging is a lot more on the FWX1 than the FDX1. There’s more room for instruments floating around, and I don’t feel that things are being compressed in the midrange at all (which to me is an issue on the FDX1).

I’m surprised on how good Drop/JVC did the balancing act of the bass and midrange, since the midrange have plenty of room in the stage with the bass bias of the FWX1. My biggest concern was the bass bias would just overpower the vocals. Thankfully this isn’t the case here. I found the bass bias to work with various vocal tracks without being overpowering, even if that vocal track has a heavy bass guitar playing. Perfect example is Grace Jones – Hurricane on Love You To Live: The bass guitar is heavy, which is amped up a bit with the FWX1. However, Grace’s voice still comes in clear with plenty of room in the staging even when dealing with a heavy bass guitar playing. Shit, even on Judas Priest albums with Rob Halford signing comes in nice and clear. With that being said, while the staging is more than the FDX1, you are sitting 1-2 more rows from the stage than the FDX1. While I can hear the midrange without no serious issues, it isn’t a true 1:1 aggressive experience that I enjoyed on the FDX1. I can still listen to rock on the FWX1 with no issues, but if you really love rock on the FDX1 then I would be careful when trying out the FWX1.

Treble is one area that I have a minor issue with the FWX1….yes sibilance is a minimum on the FWX1. Yes, this isn’t a bright IEM at all. I just wish the FWX1 had more air and sparkle on certain tracks, but at least it is smooth for the most part. There are times that it was hard to detect “air presence” on my recordings. Going back to Jaco Pastorius S/T on Donna Lee, the percussion was more lively on the FDX1 over the FWX1. Yes, the staging is more on the FWX1 where the percussion has more breathing room, and the FWX1 is pulling more details on the recording than the FDX1. But...the percussion felt too muted at times. I recommend playing the FWX1 on warm-neutral or neutral setups to bring out the treble from being dull to more lively...or do some EQ’ing to you liking at around 8K and up (which is what I did in Roon for about half the albums that I listen to). If you are very sensitive to treble (listening to a lot of 80s/90s digital recordings)., then you can leave the FWX1 as is.



YMO's not final adjustment for 8K plus in Roon.

Those who are thinking about getting the FWX1 are planning to get it due to the wood being used with the IEM. The wood brings out traits that I think it is nice with regards to timbre. The decay in on the slower side of things, but it brings out the richness on wood instruments and on live recordings. Pepe Romero Famenco! on Mercury Living Presence label was a haunting experience with the Spanish Guitar, which the coloration of the wood really made the instrument pop in the recording. Since that recording was also done with ambiance of the room, it was just icing on top of the cake of what the wood timbre brought to the table. I tried Buena Vista Social Club S/T on a recommendation from @Stuff Jones. I actually own the album in my collection, but I never really cared for it. There was something in the wood that make the recording pop with serious atmosphere.

Being a DD driver based IEM, things sounds more like a film with film grain intact. This is more to my preference than BA IEMs, which on average has that plastic like treble and having ISO settings on camera set too high. The catch is that BA IEMs can normally beat the DD IEM on resolution is detail retrieval. However, things at least to me sound more “real” on a DD driver IEM than a BA IEM. Like the FDX1, the FWX1 works great with desk amps since it isn’t a sensitive IEM power wise. Vali 2+ with the FWX1 is pretty damn sexy, with the tube magic making the FWX1 having 3D holographic sound moments at times.


Comparisons:

I already talked a lot about the FWX1 with the FDX1. I’ll attempt to do this shortly as possible. FDX1 is leaner, more aggressive, and more airy than FWX1….BUT it has a good bit less resolution and staging than the FWX1. FWX1 of course has the wood timbre that with certain recordings it will make them pop over the FDX1. However, FDX1 is an overall better value since not everyone will want wood timbre coloring their records, or they can get a sound they like on a cheaper cost with the benefits of DD drivers. I still have issues with the FWX1 being $449, but being made with wood and made in Japan makes it different enough to me in a sea of IEMs with variations of the same shit.

Moondrop Starfield is about ¼ the price of the FWX1, and has slightly less aggressive bass than the FWX1. Tonality it isn’t as rich as the FWX1. Starfield is like sitting on a fluffy pillow, while FWX1 is like working out with minor body fat.

Campfire Audio Ara, and Gaudio Nair is hell a lot more neutral than the FWX1, and the Ara beats the FWX1 on resolution. The Nair slightly beats the FWX1 on resolution, but the Nair is great for cleaning out your ears if you listen to the FWX1 for awhile. The more you listen to both the Ara and Nair, the more you wish that BA IEMs can do a better job with bass rumble and impact in general. FWX1 pretty damn sinful on being completely colored over the Ara and Nair. Thankfully it is good to have all the IEMs together since what keep making me listen to the Ara is how neural it with three BA drivers for better bass (not more bass).


Price and Competition:

Being $449, the FWX1 isn’t going to be something people will be running to buy. In matter of fact, the price itself in an extreme competitive IEM market is going to turn off a lot of people except for the uniqueness it brings with regards to timbre via wood. Stuff like the Moondrop Starfield + Kato, the FDX1, the Moondrop Blessing 2, and others bring a serious SQ for the price value. Pay more and you get the Dunu SA6, which is a serious value for the price. I bet that people will enjoy listening to the Blessing 2 more than the FWX1 since the hybrid design brings a serious amount of sound quality for a cheaper price. Also, the Blessing 2 doesn’t have a muted treble that I believe the IEM market prefers a lot more. The unique wood design and being made in Japan isn’t going to mean much for the IEM market. I believe the FWX1 will be something that people will say “cool,” but on average people are going to pass on it.

Then you have people like YMO who saw a lower bass tuning with wood timbre as a hard-on. FWX1 won’t win on the other cheaper BA IEM heavy hitters, but almost no IEMs in the market uses wood drivers and wood shell for the positive effects of timbre. I have better IEMs in my stable, but damn the FWX1 is useful to have when you need its uniqueness for that "Unplugged" album.


Conclusion:

You need to be a special person or have strategic planning if thinking about getting the FWX1. If you need one or two IEMs, I do not recommend the FWX1. If you have a stable of IEMs and you need to pull out the wood for those special live recordings, then the FWX1 fits the bill. I’m grateful that the bass is toned down when comparing to the FW1500/FW1800. I just really wished that Drop/JVC did further adjustments to make 8k+ a little more lively. EQ’ing will make the FWX1 close to “perfect” as it can get. While it has unique traits in the world of IEMs, the FWX1 will not turn that many heads. However, it will catch interest to those who are in the IEM market and are picky on what they are looking for. The wood design of the FWX1 is special in my opinion and damn when you get the right recording….the FWX1 just pops/fits. A recommendation within limits.


Footnotes:

• @rhythmdevils if no luck with a Drop loaner, I can provide my toasted FDX1 starting in January as a limited loaner.
  • I don't foresee too many people interested in hearing these.
• For the burn-in period of time of review, it was around 50 hours. I didn't notice too much improvements on burn-in after 40 hours. However, others heard even marginal improvements up to 100 hours. If this is a thing, I'll edit this post.

 

Here’s hoping Drop ends up sale pricing these at $249 at some point because they sound like they’d be up my alley.

 

That will happen if the FWX1 aren't selling (which is the case ATM). But also I haven't seen no push from Drop, which I'm not surprised since I haven't seen any ads for them!

 

Can we get this man's woody thread a sticky?

 

And get sticky fingers from a woodie? Dunno about that....

 

I am just get back into headphones/iems after about a 6 month break.



Headphones: THX00(Mahogany), H5XX and Moondrop Variations

Amps: Liquid Spark

Source/Dongle: Questyle M12

Quick note on the Variation, it sounds like a mix between the B2 and Dusk but with a smoother upper mid and a much better bass driver. The bass is not as wimpy as with the B2 or Dusk. In terms of quantity, the bass falls between the B2 and the Dusk. I cannot say much about the EST because it is my first time hearing it. I like the treble better than the B2 or the Dusk. The fit is also about the same, large housing. Overall I would say the Variation is an upgrade from the B2 and Dusk, but I am not sure they are worth the price difference new. I found mine used for new B2 prices.

The JVC is smoother and warmer. The bass is nice and big, but really does not bleed much into the mids and treble is smooth. I am little sensitive to spikes in the 5-6k range and the JVCs seem ok. There does seem to be a little more upper treble than the Variation. As mentioned previously, like the JVC FDX1, they can get a little shouty when pushed a little in treble or with a treble happy track. (Maybe an IEM version of a Fostex biocellulose?)

Some other observations (compared to Variation) the details are little smoothed over and do not pop out like with a BA driver. They do not seem to layer as well, but the JVC plants the instruments better in space. I can tell where they are and they seem firm or planted. The Variation layers better and reveals details easier, but also has a little bit of weightless to the sound. The instruments seem to float and appear a little ethereal on the Variation.

The JVC has better decay on things like cymbals and snares. The initial hit on snares seems less incisive and a tad slower, but with a better resonance. The “thwack” sound is less articulate but richer. The Variation has a much cleaner initial hit and is quicker with snares, but the sound just fades and they seem hollow. Cymbals have a longer decay and more body, whereas the Variation is faster, cleaner, but with less shimmer. The Variation has more “tsk” on the initial hit but less shimmer on the decay.

Lastly, @YMO mentioned they have special sauce with live music. I would agree there. I listened to several live worship sets and could see the appeal with live music.

I appreciate the opportunity and would consider these as part of stable. I could not listen to them all the time, cause the warmth and bass can be a little much, kind of like really good fudge.

 

Let me get my complaints out first…I hate long product numbers. Too confusing. On to the review…

I have always been interested in these since the modding threads started. JVC’s have been the least offensive cheap earbuds for sometime, so when they ventured into hi-fi IEM, it seemed like it would be nice.

;TLDR - Bad fit, boomy and mediocre sound.

Sources:
Portable: Helm Bolt
Desktop: Vali 2+ and Eddie Current Black Widow

My other bigger complaint - These are huge. A lot bigger than I imagined. I like to wear my IEMs with the cord draped over my outer ear, and while these will allow for that, they are big, cumbersome, and I had to fight way too much to have them fit in there comfortably. And then the cable won’t really drape over my ear at that point, and if I mess with it, the IEM’s move and sometimes even fall out. And with the nozzles angled, it is actually even more difficult to get them in with the cord draped down. This was the most annoying thing out of everything else.

The ear tips are fine. Super soft and supple rubber. Those familiar with Spiral Dots know what I am talking about. The cord is also nice. Reminds me of the cord with my old Vsonic GR-07, although that one proved to be too brittle and fragile. I do like the color ring for R (red) and L (blue). It makes sight impared people like me choose the correct end of the cable or IEM everytime, especially in low light.

The sound of these at first were boomy and super explosive and dynamic. This was just out of a Helm Bolt. The low end was kind of flabby, but it was super punchy, although the high end seemed to be a bit rolled off on the top end. I was told that I need to try with a desktop amp, at least a Vali 2+. My response was that an IEM should not require desktop power to shine. Then I remembered what I said about the 7hz Timeless, and will say, with the Timeless the whole personality does not change with different amps, but it seems this is the case with the HA-FWX1.

So I switched it up to my Eddie Current Black Widow amp, and yes, it did bring them back down more neutral levels and now matched more the FR graphs that I have been seeing. But still, there is a major push at 200hz, and then this crazy dip at 10k,staring around 8k. However, those are not as offensive as the dip between 6k and 7k. There seems to be a nasal type quality to them and something sounds off kilter. Like a weird comb filter. Bass is still punchy, just not quite as loose and flabby.

And then the timbre is very plasticky and things that should be natural, don’t sound so natural. Real instruments just did not sound real.

Soundstage is very narrow, and with rolled off top end, I can see why. Not muchj real air to speak of really.

Most things about this IEM I do not like and I don’t think they are at all for me. Bad fit, boomy and mediocre sound. They reminded me about how boomy my iBasso IT00’s are with its graphene driver and resonator. The JVC’s might have had some good mid resolution and clarity, but the other stuff just made them not very enjoyable.

 

Gear chain:
Portable: RU6 from iPhone 12 Pro Max with JRiver Remote
Desktop: Jriver UPNP->Pi2AES SPDIF out->Airist RDAC (on loan)->Vali 2+

These look very nice and feel good in the hand. I'm a sucker for wood anything really and these are no exception. I had no fit issues, thankfully, just using the stock tips that were already on the IEM when it arrived.

I tried it with the RU6 first. The bass was overwhelming. RU6 already has some emphasis in the mid bass and this combined with the mid bass emphasis of the FWX1 was way too much. The bass didn't just bleed into the mids, it seemed to create a veil that made the whole FR murky. The only music I was able to enjoy with this combo was unaccompanied acoustic guitar, which brought out the really lovely wood timbre and allowed the details to shine through.

Speaking to @YMO after this, he recommended using the Vali 2+ and focusing on live music. First I tried Gratitude by Earth, Wind, and Fire. While not as bad as with the RU6, even this combo felt like there was a veil and the bass sounded like it was nearly underwater.

Switching to live jazz, Coltrane at the Village Vanguard, and finally things clicked. The acoustic bass was just right that it allowed me to hear the low end without the low end taking over the rest of the spectrum. Again, timbre here was just lovely, really bringing the recording to life and giving a powerful "in the room" quality. Coltrane's saxophone effortlessly floats above the rest of the group, with the FWX1 bringing out all the expressiveness in his playing.

Hopping over to perennial audiophile favorite Kind of Blue, recorded live in studio, I got similar results as with the Coltrane. These IEMs really excel with acoustic bass and live performances. The wood gives the sound a bit of roundness that helps smooth over sharp edges without taking the edge all the way off, resulting in a really easy and engaging listening experience.

Earlier in the thread I said if these were $250 instead of $450 I might buy them. Now that I've heard them, I'd probably say if they were on sale for $150 I'd grab them. They're far too specialized to be anyone's sole IEM and with the wrong chain or piece of music they are not even a fun listen. With the right gear and music, they are special, but no way in hell are they $450 worth of special. The FDX1 is a far far far better buy for an all rounder. The Timeless, which also has a bass emphasis, does far better with amplified bass and synthetic bass and the bass on that IEM doesn't overwhelm the rest of the sound and it's $200. The UM 3DT has tighter bass, with more texture and definition, and is still cheaper at around $320, and the resin casing of that gives a similar nice long decay to transients, although the total effect isn't quite the same, and the treble issues may be enough to count that one out for most people. These are just far too niche to command such a high price when cheap IEMs are really coming up in sound quality.

The FWX1 is only worth it if you listen to a lot of music with acoustic bass, have a bass neutral or light chain, love IEMs, and can find a pair used for a more reasonable price. Otherwise it's just not a good deal, despite it sounding very good when the stars align.

All that being said I am grateful to @YMO for letting me hear these!

 

I suspect that too, those were pretty heftily v-shaped bass and upper mids/lower treble monsters, lol.

IMO, the FW1800 (on which the FWX1 are based on) have the best potential of all woodie JVC IEMs so far. But their tuning is still too v-shaped, given that the DLC/wood driver tends to render music rich and reverberant (as you mentioned).

FW1800 stock tuning = red (DF-compensated):


To me, the stock FW1800 have too much lower midrange warmth and mid/upper bass. Plus, the upper mids/lower treble range sounds too obtrusive. I modded my pair to the blue target-FR, which is very similar to the FDX1 (green).

The result sounds really nice with acoustic, jazz and classical to my ears, although still noticeably richer than the FDX1, even though their FR looks very similar in the graph. I sent this tuning suggestion to Drop back then, but apparently they didn't pick up on it and decided to tune the FWX1 differently and less neutral. Unfortunately, I haven't heard the FWX1 nor seen a FR-comparison to the FW1800 on which it's based, so I can't comment in detail on what Drop did change vs. the stock tuning.

 

Just got these in from the Drop sale.

First impressions - they are rather bombastic in the mid-upper bass with very romantic bleed into the mids. The upper-mids need a boot and a cut in the lower treble with a boost at the top end. Basically bring the grey into a more clear focus.

Stock, if the price were the same, I'd pick the IE 900 over these for their technical prowess, sharper transients.

The JVC's are a much more warm and thick sounding. It can be very pleasing on some tracks where the mid-bass isn't a dominant factor and its strings, womens' voice, most of the stuff in the middle. They come off as 'natural' - the timbre is pleasing and I've been tricked more than once into thinking the thunder on my rain and thunder relax 24/7 type youtube videos. The soundstage isn't huge, but they image in a 3-D box that sits around ears and forward. Below chin and above head IMO.

Would I buy them at their current price. Yeah, I think so, but they can't be your one and only IMO - unless you like your technical ability to be on the soft side, but still well resolving.

With my Bottlehead Smack WOT, they scale up and the EQ situation becomes a little less needed. They are a lower volume listening experience, they can sound really good turned up, but somethings things get a little bit messy, but that is where the big amps comes in and saves the day. Reigns in some of the slop and polishes up the murk - fresh cleaned windows with some tint on them.