theironhorse
Well-Known Member
Just got my JVC RX-900 2 days back and burn-in still going.. done with 30 hours or so... here i go with a short review. Folks dont mind if its in layman language and lesser "techno audio jargon" for i am still learning the vocab of the same. The review is completely based what i felt through my PMP's as no decent PC sound card available neither a DAC / headphone amp.
Got them through a friend travelling from U.S.
Model : JVC HA -RX900
(listed price 99.95 $) market price 50$-55$
let the pics do the talking first..few initial impressions then.
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
setup used : sansa clip - jvc (no amp)
iphone 4 - jvc (no amp)
itouch - jvc (no amp)
most of the songs played flac around 80% and review based on the same.
tried mp3 as well 128/192/320kbps as well but a smaller part to check how it responds.
The rating i will be giving is in cinsideration that these sell around 50$ and relative headphones for similar price or marginally higher price.
BUILD : 1st word was HUGE...!!! still tempting.. no way portable..but well built. the plastic is feels good and matt finish.i am a bit biased here i love matte finish it feels nice and neat. the complete set is has been put up together and nothing rattles. did not figured out anything flimpsy. the head band is a strong metal strip inside covered by the same platicky material as the rest of the headphone though you cna easily dent the top bend as there is a slight slack between the metal rod for the clamping force and the platic sheilding(nutin to worry) it still is very well build for a 50$ headphone maybe even for a 70$.
giving it a 7/10 for the build quality and not a 10 after that huge praise as i am afraid that the chrome pinstriping on the outshell will fade away with time and though the material feels good and real neat it can get scratched very easy. i already have 2 so far though kept it very carefully. Solution : if you keep your car/bike polishes.. use the dashboard/leather polish. foam based and its back to its velvety touch.
cable is around 3 metre and good quality and the insulation feel very nice rubbery no sticky and no static. its even better than the M50's. The 3.5 MM jack is clean and debris free and looks nice however not the same with the phono jack given as accesory. the finish isin't that good. would have been better if it was buffed before they gold plated it.
COMFORT : This is where itself the RX900 justified its price. Remember i mentioned they are huge. the earcups are soft and plush and gets the cushion effect around the ear though not leather but say synthetic leather. Feels good and can cover ever bigger ear size for my collegue tried them too he is 6.4. had a good fit. the upper end of the cups is like a pocket and the ear can slide in. Get cozy. overall very comfortable and can be used for hours at a stretch.
along with the head band we got a similar head strip that rest on the head giving 3D support as the clamping force is way too lesser than other HP's i have used and that makes it the happening stuff for longer audio sessions.
the earcups can swivel 20 degree left-right (pan) around 30 degree up- dpwn. i give them a 9/10 for comfort and not able to figure any other headphone that will this comfort though people who want to carry them for portable use tick it off the list but it will certainly attract people on your desk.
SOUND ISOLATION ( THESE ARE CLOSED ) : For the similar reason stated in the comfort section. Cups are huge and plush and maintain a very good seal and adapt the shape aorund the ear providing good isolation.No outside nosie whatsoever. this makes the bass more punchy (oops this needs to come in next section). good sound isolation though we got a vented grill on the outshell and hence bit sound leak(very minimal). giving it a 8/10 for the same and no cable noise. no rattling.
SOUND : this is important..!!! they are certainly warm sounding HP. no way close to neutral but its enjoyable. soundstage is great for a closed headphone even better than the HP around 100 $ or so and I mean it. Now the question : do they really prove what they were famous for ? THE BASS :
well mixed thoughts.. they are capable of going real low but after trying headphones thrice the price of these they haven't got the slam but they are not boomy its a enjoyable bass though sometimes extending to the low-mid range and hence a warmer tone. instrument seperation is good. imaging and resolution i will say decent.
Mids are real real crisp however laid back and I like that for I dont like on the face presentation
Highs were sharp initially now settled after 30 hours. no longer shrill and handling high pitch female voice very well along with the CYMBAL of the percussion.
clean and not muffled ( again dont try listening to percussion using mp3.. dont even think.. every thing is monophonic you will go years back)
i guess bass needs another para for it follows a pattern guess i am feeling so or probably it will settle down after 30 more hours.
when tried flac through sansa few songs it really did well again few of them it missed the slam it should have had as i know what the song sounds like.
when tried mp3/aac over iphone 4 which were quite inferior compared to flac loassless the drums sounded awsome and very natural.. oh i can i miss this term. they sounded woody. i cudn't get through sansa but i mentioned it earlier in another post that sansa is not capable of driving these to full power. iphone was hence diffrence in bass. they go low and slam and will be fun to watch movies with action scenes but missed that hard and fast slam.. metallica fans.. these are not for you..
giving them a 7/10 as few people have even done mods to the same and added dynamat which considerably gave them the slam and made the soundstage a lot better without bothering the other aspects of sound quality . Manufacturers can also R&D the same add another 10$ and sell ver 2.0 i am ready for that rather than opening them up myself for atleast next 2 months.. they are new.
VFM : Got them around 2900 rs for these days dollar seems to trippin on somethin. It's high...
Are they worth 3k ?? HELL YEAH...!! every bit of them.
they sell in india for around 4000-4200 odd . Still worth ??? Not quite sure as Senn HD448 are on the way costed 4K cant comment if
these will surpass them. selected 448 over 428 as they are bass heavy. RX900 will make 428 cry for the bass. 448 4k .. wait for another week
till then we have a winner for a 3k headphone.
For those who are bored with all my BAKAR.If you listen to music over PC with a SC else a PMP with an decent HP Amp and looking forward to clear mids,deeper bass like laid back and warmer tone.3k nutin better than them and trust me at even 150$ ATH M50 cannot beat the soundstage of this.
if you a die hard fan of hard metal /electronic /industrial music these wont be justifying each slam you would need from the drum as they aren't punchy like M50 and neither on the face like GRADO's (they are good for rock music) these arent for you for u have a pocket around 7k-8k. If the pocket is around 3k-4k or so we have something that a no brainer.
Posting few songs that i tried as i heard them over n over to write whatever my ears felt.
Nadaan parinday(Rockstar)flac 995 Kbps SR : 44100 Hz. (sansa clip) stock firmware. got rockbox but havent tried JVC on rockbox yet.
the inital drums surrounds everywhere. sounds natural though feel bit supressed.
vocal sound natural.Bass extending upto low mid's but ultra smooth. Stereo seperation is really good.
O'Mama KK acoustic (slow) mp3 320kbps.
mids are crisp. it beats the M50's here in this particular song though again not overall quality.
being warmer the 5 string of the guitar sounds like 6th at some fred notes.. i know how the the 5string sounds so m sure for this one.
percussion is good but after listening to flac the soundstage is tighter on mp3 and sounds seems suppressed.
same song with clinton cerejo.. the background score is a bit muffled.. again culprint can be the underpowered Sansa. though muffled compared to flac
but for someone who havent heard heard flac side by side this is bliss..
DARUDE : why this song ?? the initial drums go around the head and can be good to check the sounstaging and seperation of the HP, speakers.
yeah i got slam in these.. bass is getting smoother every hour of usage.. no fatigue not overpowering..
papa kehte hain : 148Kbps :
due to the good sounstaging even this sounded balanced but the clear mids sometimes makes you realize that you need a better source. treble went a lil shrill and bass sounded .. dont wanna say but a bit muffled.
PHIR MOHABBAT murder 2 : 248Kbps.. this song is all about the depth and imaging and stereo seperation..it excelled so far doing justice at 3k. every penny spent well and background score of ultra low frequency gives a aura of its own.. it goes real low.... said it before...and not boomy.
RAIN OVER ME : PLANET PICT : flac : mark anthony sounded a lot better on this compared to my M2's they are over the face.. first 3 seconds of the song.. bliss.. flac being better source the bass goes punchy than the lousy bit muffled bass over the 320Kbps mp3... i am giving signs of not using mp3...lolz
adele: rolling in the deep : 320Kbps : oh its good.. the tone change from that husky tone to the elongated extension to high pitched voice.. did fairly well but messed up the drums.. they lost the natural beats. more the plasticky... instrument seperation is just okies for this particular song..
sadda haq : flac : soundstage was very important for this song for the way it was recorded...yeah...givin me a smile.. though it will nowehere stand close to the grado's soundtage for they being open cans.. guitar sound nice, drums are punchy while mids continues to be recessed but the background percussion could have been better..
Sak Noel : loca people : this song is real punchy and good to test. did fairly well but missing the hardest slam.. i am not getting it.. the M2's (dynamic driver) gives better slam but you can't hear that all day all night..
david guetta : akon :sexy b*** : this thing vibrates too.. yeah the cosy ear cub vibrates.. damn girl... smoother bass. stop.
SUNOH : lucky ali : lucky ali's mysterious voice sounds better with the warmer touch though the mp3 again messed with the rest besides the vocals..
zombie: the cranberries : flac : female voice is right beside my head drums are all over and the cymbal is heavier on the right ear. maybe the recording.
again they arent neutral so dont expect bliss in this but the soundstage and seperation covers up the rest.
few more on flac like tu hi re , joan osborne (what if god was one of us), choti si asha , chupse se (saathiya) , nahin samne too ( taal) and few more where vocals are more prominent than the music itself sounds great so overall this is a killer HP for mids and smoother bass as none of these had slamming bass but smoother low end all over and they sound just perfect.
the song that really made this HP worth everything. Rammstein- Engel..the female vocals are mesmerising.. i dont understand a word out of that russian stuff.. oh boy m sold.. yeah its are playing right now over my head while I type..
I got a long list to keep going but lets summing it up... its a lot more than VFM HP at 50$ it will beat many hp around 80$ - 90$. this is purely my personal opinion and i belive that the soundstage will be better with the headphone amp/good sound card and bit more punchy bass.
yet to receive the senn 448 they are around same price.. lets see how they fare against these...
Got them through a friend travelling from U.S.
Model : JVC HA -RX900
(listed price 99.95 $) market price 50$-55$
let the pics do the talking first..few initial impressions then.
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
By theironhorse at 2012-01-03
setup used : sansa clip - jvc (no amp)
iphone 4 - jvc (no amp)
itouch - jvc (no amp)
most of the songs played flac around 80% and review based on the same.
tried mp3 as well 128/192/320kbps as well but a smaller part to check how it responds.
The rating i will be giving is in cinsideration that these sell around 50$ and relative headphones for similar price or marginally higher price.
BUILD : 1st word was HUGE...!!! still tempting.. no way portable..but well built. the plastic is feels good and matt finish.i am a bit biased here i love matte finish it feels nice and neat. the complete set is has been put up together and nothing rattles. did not figured out anything flimpsy. the head band is a strong metal strip inside covered by the same platicky material as the rest of the headphone though you cna easily dent the top bend as there is a slight slack between the metal rod for the clamping force and the platic sheilding(nutin to worry) it still is very well build for a 50$ headphone maybe even for a 70$.
giving it a 7/10 for the build quality and not a 10 after that huge praise as i am afraid that the chrome pinstriping on the outshell will fade away with time and though the material feels good and real neat it can get scratched very easy. i already have 2 so far though kept it very carefully. Solution : if you keep your car/bike polishes.. use the dashboard/leather polish. foam based and its back to its velvety touch.
cable is around 3 metre and good quality and the insulation feel very nice rubbery no sticky and no static. its even better than the M50's. The 3.5 MM jack is clean and debris free and looks nice however not the same with the phono jack given as accesory. the finish isin't that good. would have been better if it was buffed before they gold plated it.
COMFORT : This is where itself the RX900 justified its price. Remember i mentioned they are huge. the earcups are soft and plush and gets the cushion effect around the ear though not leather but say synthetic leather. Feels good and can cover ever bigger ear size for my collegue tried them too he is 6.4. had a good fit. the upper end of the cups is like a pocket and the ear can slide in. Get cozy. overall very comfortable and can be used for hours at a stretch.
along with the head band we got a similar head strip that rest on the head giving 3D support as the clamping force is way too lesser than other HP's i have used and that makes it the happening stuff for longer audio sessions.
the earcups can swivel 20 degree left-right (pan) around 30 degree up- dpwn. i give them a 9/10 for comfort and not able to figure any other headphone that will this comfort though people who want to carry them for portable use tick it off the list but it will certainly attract people on your desk.
SOUND ISOLATION ( THESE ARE CLOSED ) : For the similar reason stated in the comfort section. Cups are huge and plush and maintain a very good seal and adapt the shape aorund the ear providing good isolation.No outside nosie whatsoever. this makes the bass more punchy (oops this needs to come in next section). good sound isolation though we got a vented grill on the outshell and hence bit sound leak(very minimal). giving it a 8/10 for the same and no cable noise. no rattling.
SOUND : this is important..!!! they are certainly warm sounding HP. no way close to neutral but its enjoyable. soundstage is great for a closed headphone even better than the HP around 100 $ or so and I mean it. Now the question : do they really prove what they were famous for ? THE BASS :
well mixed thoughts.. they are capable of going real low but after trying headphones thrice the price of these they haven't got the slam but they are not boomy its a enjoyable bass though sometimes extending to the low-mid range and hence a warmer tone. instrument seperation is good. imaging and resolution i will say decent.
Mids are real real crisp however laid back and I like that for I dont like on the face presentation
Highs were sharp initially now settled after 30 hours. no longer shrill and handling high pitch female voice very well along with the CYMBAL of the percussion.
clean and not muffled ( again dont try listening to percussion using mp3.. dont even think.. every thing is monophonic you will go years back)
i guess bass needs another para for it follows a pattern guess i am feeling so or probably it will settle down after 30 more hours.
when tried flac through sansa few songs it really did well again few of them it missed the slam it should have had as i know what the song sounds like.
when tried mp3/aac over iphone 4 which were quite inferior compared to flac loassless the drums sounded awsome and very natural.. oh i can i miss this term. they sounded woody. i cudn't get through sansa but i mentioned it earlier in another post that sansa is not capable of driving these to full power. iphone was hence diffrence in bass. they go low and slam and will be fun to watch movies with action scenes but missed that hard and fast slam.. metallica fans.. these are not for you..
giving them a 7/10 as few people have even done mods to the same and added dynamat which considerably gave them the slam and made the soundstage a lot better without bothering the other aspects of sound quality . Manufacturers can also R&D the same add another 10$ and sell ver 2.0 i am ready for that rather than opening them up myself for atleast next 2 months.. they are new.
VFM : Got them around 2900 rs for these days dollar seems to trippin on somethin. It's high...
Are they worth 3k ?? HELL YEAH...!! every bit of them.
they sell in india for around 4000-4200 odd . Still worth ??? Not quite sure as Senn HD448 are on the way costed 4K cant comment if
these will surpass them. selected 448 over 428 as they are bass heavy. RX900 will make 428 cry for the bass. 448 4k .. wait for another week
till then we have a winner for a 3k headphone.
For those who are bored with all my BAKAR.If you listen to music over PC with a SC else a PMP with an decent HP Amp and looking forward to clear mids,deeper bass like laid back and warmer tone.3k nutin better than them and trust me at even 150$ ATH M50 cannot beat the soundstage of this.
if you a die hard fan of hard metal /electronic /industrial music these wont be justifying each slam you would need from the drum as they aren't punchy like M50 and neither on the face like GRADO's (they are good for rock music) these arent for you for u have a pocket around 7k-8k. If the pocket is around 3k-4k or so we have something that a no brainer.
Posting few songs that i tried as i heard them over n over to write whatever my ears felt.
Nadaan parinday(Rockstar)flac 995 Kbps SR : 44100 Hz. (sansa clip) stock firmware. got rockbox but havent tried JVC on rockbox yet.
the inital drums surrounds everywhere. sounds natural though feel bit supressed.
vocal sound natural.Bass extending upto low mid's but ultra smooth. Stereo seperation is really good.
O'Mama KK acoustic (slow) mp3 320kbps.
mids are crisp. it beats the M50's here in this particular song though again not overall quality.
being warmer the 5 string of the guitar sounds like 6th at some fred notes.. i know how the the 5string sounds so m sure for this one.
percussion is good but after listening to flac the soundstage is tighter on mp3 and sounds seems suppressed.
same song with clinton cerejo.. the background score is a bit muffled.. again culprint can be the underpowered Sansa. though muffled compared to flac
but for someone who havent heard heard flac side by side this is bliss..
DARUDE : why this song ?? the initial drums go around the head and can be good to check the sounstaging and seperation of the HP, speakers.
yeah i got slam in these.. bass is getting smoother every hour of usage.. no fatigue not overpowering..
papa kehte hain : 148Kbps :
due to the good sounstaging even this sounded balanced but the clear mids sometimes makes you realize that you need a better source. treble went a lil shrill and bass sounded .. dont wanna say but a bit muffled.
PHIR MOHABBAT murder 2 : 248Kbps.. this song is all about the depth and imaging and stereo seperation..it excelled so far doing justice at 3k. every penny spent well and background score of ultra low frequency gives a aura of its own.. it goes real low.... said it before...and not boomy.
RAIN OVER ME : PLANET PICT : flac : mark anthony sounded a lot better on this compared to my M2's they are over the face.. first 3 seconds of the song.. bliss.. flac being better source the bass goes punchy than the lousy bit muffled bass over the 320Kbps mp3... i am giving signs of not using mp3...lolz
adele: rolling in the deep : 320Kbps : oh its good.. the tone change from that husky tone to the elongated extension to high pitched voice.. did fairly well but messed up the drums.. they lost the natural beats. more the plasticky... instrument seperation is just okies for this particular song..
sadda haq : flac : soundstage was very important for this song for the way it was recorded...yeah...givin me a smile.. though it will nowehere stand close to the grado's soundtage for they being open cans.. guitar sound nice, drums are punchy while mids continues to be recessed but the background percussion could have been better..
Sak Noel : loca people : this song is real punchy and good to test. did fairly well but missing the hardest slam.. i am not getting it.. the M2's (dynamic driver) gives better slam but you can't hear that all day all night..
david guetta : akon :sexy b*** : this thing vibrates too.. yeah the cosy ear cub vibrates.. damn girl... smoother bass. stop.
SUNOH : lucky ali : lucky ali's mysterious voice sounds better with the warmer touch though the mp3 again messed with the rest besides the vocals..
zombie: the cranberries : flac : female voice is right beside my head drums are all over and the cymbal is heavier on the right ear. maybe the recording.
again they arent neutral so dont expect bliss in this but the soundstage and seperation covers up the rest.
few more on flac like tu hi re , joan osborne (what if god was one of us), choti si asha , chupse se (saathiya) , nahin samne too ( taal) and few more where vocals are more prominent than the music itself sounds great so overall this is a killer HP for mids and smoother bass as none of these had slamming bass but smoother low end all over and they sound just perfect.
the song that really made this HP worth everything. Rammstein- Engel..the female vocals are mesmerising.. i dont understand a word out of that russian stuff.. oh boy m sold.. yeah its are playing right now over my head while I type..
I got a long list to keep going but lets summing it up... its a lot more than VFM HP at 50$ it will beat many hp around 80$ - 90$. this is purely my personal opinion and i belive that the soundstage will be better with the headphone amp/good sound card and bit more punchy bass.
yet to receive the senn 448 they are around same price.. lets see how they fare against these...
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