JVC HA-FXT90 In-ear Headphones

oldgringo

Canadian / Brit - I Support Ukraine.
Got a couple of Amazon vouchers for my recent birthday / Embarked upon a two-week research project [I get-off on the research part!]; and decided on the above. Ordered them October 4th, they arrived today [Oct. 14th], which is not too bad via Japanese ['free-to-me'] post. They are now 'burning-in'! I read [from a few different 'knowledgable' guys] that this could take over 100 hours [!!!] - possibly due to the carbon content of the drivers/tubes. This model has been in production for at least three years; but, as I've done my research and am not shy about a bit of 'risk-taking', here we are! They cost me £47.00 [$75.00], including postage.

They currently sound 'awful'; but hopefully [and according to more than just a few] that will greatly improve. They are a great fit for my old 'Gringonian' ears - so that, at least, is a step in the right direction!

Hopefully, anyone doing a bit of IEM research would benefit from the 'wisdom' available from some of 'those-that-know' [not (from) me, babe] via the following links:

JVC HA-FXT90 - Head-Fi 1

JVC HA-FXT90 - The Headphone List

JVC HA-FXT90 - Head-Fi 2

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Cheers, og

PS: There is also this Head-fi appreciation thread! - post #36 being of particular interest.

PPS: SQ-level starting to climb a little.
 

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Around 50 hrs into the 'burn-in', Highs: 'Crystal' clear [zero sibilance!], Mids: Very 'present'/impressive, Lows: Have not been given the key to the door yet.

Cheers, og

PS: Just read* [duhh!] that base may get better if I shove 'em [my first IEMs!] 'further-in' - 'YES'! Base got much better [I've gone cross-eyed though :D]; but defo not 'there' yet.

*The Headphone List: Earphone Fit Guide
 
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Up to about 75 hrs [+/-] now. Highs: Almost [not quite] 'too' clear [for me], Mids: 'Practically perfect in every way', Lows: Still on the 'feeble' side.

Following a bit more listening/reading I'm moving into 'Noise' [white etc], having now used CDs, Rock and 'Classic' FM stations. I'm currently trying a New Speaker/Headphone Burn-in Track which I've converted from .mp4 to .mp3 audio.

The Audacity [multi-platform audio editor/recorder] website got a couple of hon. mentions from the above; and receives a critique from certain Audiokarma members here. But I'm not at that stage of need yet.

Cheers, og
 
This is getting more difficult to describe now, as I'm once more reminded of just how very subjective it is to convert sounds into words! Btw, I'm also trying to give myself up to having a foreign body shoved right inside each 'earhole'.

So, up to around 125 hrs now. Highs: 'Beautiful', yet very clear/detailed/revealing of much [if not 'every'] intricate detail - not too warm but definitely not cold either [to me!]. Mids: Virtually the same description as the highs; and clearly discernible from the above! Lows: Not 'there' yet ['timbre'/depth-wise] - but inching 'down' every day. Also very discernible from both of the above. I'm not very good with 'reading' soundstage; but even for those recordings that did not have the singer [or half the band] on one mike and the other half on another mike/'speaker', the instruments/voices do seem to emanate from different 'quarters'.

I'm now giving them a good listen when I can during the day, then putting them back onto 'White-noise' etc, overnight. I've noted that I'm getting 'into' these much sooner than with my [slightly more 'sterile' but 'startling'] Grado SR60s*, a decade ago - I very much like what these JVCs are starting to do with the sound!

* I must have put in hundreds of hours on the SR60s before my perceived listening fatigue [after listening for, say, an hour] dropped down to a 'comfortable' level.

Cheers, og

PS: Subjectivity was/is inevitable.
 
Well 'we' are over 150 hours now. They sound great currently listening to John McLaughlin et al on 1999's "Remember Shakti" - very clear, very 'mood-enhancing'/depth everywhere [interpret that, if you can! ;)]. With 'Rock' though, if they are going to be great 'there', I can see me wanting to go well over the 200 hour mark, before deciding if they will ever grow big enough 'balls'.

You see, most of my images/memories of my rock material come from decent amps and speakers - like, how am I gonna erase ["ROME"? :D] impressions of the base/mid/highs provided by [for example] the Sansui AU-719 via a pair of MA Silver RS6s???

So I've been trying to compare the FXT90s with other 'phones' lying around here too [Grado SR60s/Senn PX-100s/iPod Shuffle 'issue'/Iriver iFP-799 issue]. But that exercise thoroughly screwed me up! Each time I got back to the JVCs, they did not sound like the same phones.

Physical "Burn-in" absolutely does exist - I can hear it happening. But, along that path, the 'psychology' of blending my existing SQ images/benchmarks [what else have I heard and 'liked'?] and 'aspirations', also has to be factored into what I think I am hearing. Like, is this piece of equipment matching up to or falling short of my particular definition of 'perfection' [or 'Fun' or 'whatever'], at 'this' point in time?

I do like the JVC HA-FXT90s. They are probably gonna be ok. Quite a few people do say that they are a "Fun" item, rather than being of 'monitor' caliber. I can't agree with that, yet. Maybe I'll know in a week or month or so.

Cheers, og
 
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I had the top end JVC HA FX200 and thought they were very good. They wanted a proper amp though and didn't really shine plugged into an IPhone etc.

Their portable on ears (HA s500 I think) are a tremendous bargain and also use carbon nanotube technology.
 
I had the top end JVC HA FX200 and thought they were very good. They wanted a proper amp though and didn't really shine plugged into an IPhone etc.

Their portable on ears (HA s500 I think) are a tremendous bargain and also use carbon nanotube technology.

Hi Vaughn! Are you referring to the 'FXZ200? If so they are five times the price of mine [!!! :D] - over 'ere! However:
  • Did yours require much of a 'burn-in'?
  • Is their low-end/base ok? [it better be at that kind of price, eh ***]
I don't have a [strictly] headphone amp; and the 'base' of the FXT90s via the 'headphone-out' of my AU-719 is as tight as a duck's a$$ ['water-tight'!]. I was considering getting an Aune T1 Mk2 at the beginning of the year; but that would knock 'portability' on the head. And I've just been going round in circles with Fiio product, to date.

I see that the HA-S500s are "Supra-aural" - interesting though. Maybe something for my 'tomorrow-file'.

Cheers, og

PS: *** I've now read that that's their speciality - do you agree?
 
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OK my JVC HA-FXT90s have now passed the 200 hours of 'burn-in', mark; and are mostly doing 'very' well. Here's what that means:

Macro.

'Very Good', accurate, fun, non-fatiguing, with:
  • Highs – Sparkling/forward/clean/clear
  • Mids – Lively/forward/attractive/articulate
  • Lows – Impressive/forward/'emotive'/rough around certain edges
  • Sub-base – Admirably low but lacking in presence

Micro [Remembering my 'Very Good' comment, above].

There is lots and lots of clear detail here – bad recordings [of which, I now seem to have many!] will shortly be tossed into the [mac] trash bin – or into a 'Low SQ/Good Music' folder!

But the FXT90s are very smooth with most voices, along with certain musical instruments, especially wind instruments, particularly saxes - of all persuasions! Acoustic/Classical guitars are 'heaven-sent', Electric guitars are very powerful, and, in turn, very delicate – exceedingly 'expressive'. The Double Base is also particularly well interpreted – very 'sexy'!

However, pianos, certain violin parts and snare/base-drums, would have to be 'sooo' perfect to pass the 'og' test! Nothing I have totally achieves what the concert hall can deliver – 'sorry'.

So, the 'Highs' can soar/be held at extremely high levels with very little or no distortion [to my, admittedly, 'older' ears] e.g. Miles Davis “Kind Of Blue”. That's a rarity amongst the [ok, 'limited'] sample of 'cans' that I've tried to date; and very cool! The 'Lows' have surprising depth – I'm going “Woo” - but sometimes this does not [yet!] come through with enough 'push' [for me] e.g Led Zep “In My Time of Dying”. The 'Mids' have no such reticence – they can 'carry-that-tune' all on their own; and are present to the extent that some listeners would not worry too much about the extent [or lack thereof] of the contribution paid by those ['wannabe'] louder, lower base notes. However, also at the 'lower end', if a voice or instrument 'grates', this roughness sometimes becomes magnified and distorted [more on that below].

I would say [at this two-hundred+ hour mark] that they are becoming [cliché alert!] 'very musical'! Rock, yes; but 'Tamla', reggae, 'New World' and anything with hand-drums present [including Tablas!] are especially attractive to me, as is all singing! I'm not too much into certain types of 'thumpety-thump' dance music; but when I landed on certain radio stations that happened to be playing that 'shtuff', they were going at it like 'a-frog-up-a-pump', just as they do with my floor-standers [though, obviously, with less 'oomph'!].

If there is a downside, at this time, it would be a slight 'distortion effect' that I'm getting with louder gravelly voices, the low-end of base-guitars; and the 'basier' edge of drum solos. Hopefully these areas will smooth out in the next hundred hours or so, just as virtually all aspects of these 'Inner Ear Headphones' have 'matured' over the first two-hundred.

The JVC HA-FXT90s are not perfect; but they sound great/very entertaining to me, and I'm very pleased to have them, particularly at the above price. To get 'proper' reviews don't forget the web-links in the O.P.

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Cheers, og

Question: Is burning-in always this 'arduous'?
 

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Yes, those are the ones. They took a few days to burn in and even out. The bass was pretty astounding. The least dynamically compressed sounding earphone I have heard. Huge soundstage as well.

Hi Vaughn! Are you referring to the 'FXZ200? If so they are five times the price of mine [!!! :D] - over 'ere! However:
  • Did yours require much of a 'burn-in'?
  • Is their low-end/base ok? [it better be at that kind of price, eh ***]
I don't have a [strictly] headphone amp; and the 'base' of the FXT90s via the 'headphone-out' of my AU-719 is as tight as a duck's a$$ ['water-tight'!]. I was considering getting an Aune T1 Mk2 at the beginning of the year; but that would knock 'portability' on the head. And I've just been going round in circles with Fiio product, to date.

I see that the HA-S500s are "Supra-aural" - interesting though. Maybe something for my 'tomorrow-file'.

Cheers, og

PS: *** I've now read that that's their speciality - do you agree?
 
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