Presentation: JVC’s HP-FX77 in-ear-monitors
Another entry in the category of cheap in-ear-monitors, a market dominated by Sony’s MDR EX-71SL (white: $30—silver: $40), this time from JVC. What stands out when reading the press release (in Japanese) [via] about the HP-FX77 is the frequency range they’re claiming for it; an amazing -but let’s-get-real- 5Hz-25kHz. (The EX-71SL falls into the same hyperbole trap claiming a range of 6Hz-23kHz. For more realistic specs, you’ll have to refer to something like the ER6i -Etymotics’ lowest budget IEMs costing 3x the HP-FX77’s- with a frequency response ranging from 50Hz to 16kHz.)
Anyway, back to the HP-FX77: featuring neodymium units, the phones’ sensitivity is rated at 95dB/1mW—couldn’t find any word on the impedance though. Available in three colours (white/black/silver), comes with three sizes of eartip sleeves (small/medium/large) to ensure fitting proper fitting to your ears. The ear piece’s diameter is 8.5mm. The 80cm long cord ends with a gold-plated 3.5mm jack (there’s a detachable 70cm extension cord in case you want to further distance yourself from the source). The phones, minus the extension cords, weigh 4 grams.
Our Japanese friends should start enjoying the HP-FX77 come February 1st. Price should something in the $35 area. We’ll be keeping an eye on them for when they show up on AudioCubes, and if any reviews pop up, we’ll post here—interested to see what these cheap in-ear-monitors can do, and how well they compare against to the aforementioned MDR-EX71SL’s from Sony.
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They are crap.
Oh, the units are stylish, the extension cord is a neat idea and the packaging is slick.
And they give you three sizes of ear pieces, so that’s nice, exceppt that one must have to have mutant ears to wear these.
My ears are boringly normal and, even trying all three sizes, the damned things kept falling out of my ears. Not always entirely but just enough for the sound to be rubbish. If I press and hold the pones n my ears, the sound is great – full bass and crisp top – but that’s not how you’re supposed to wear ear phones, is it?
Utterly disappointed.
...added by James Collettfor the sound to be /// June 21st, 2010 at 20:14 PM