Customer Reviews

JVC HAFX33B Marshmallow In-Ear Stereo Headphones (Black)

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I have been on an ear-canal headphone buying spree lately. Not the big boys, just the ones in the $20-30 range since I'm skeptical of the return-on-investment of spending mega bucks for something driven by an iPod. For true critical listening one must go another route entirely....my opinion. Anyway, these headphones are about as good as anything in this price range and even, perhaps, a significantly higher range. The quality of construct is very high and the cables are not those tiny, flimsy things that constantly tangle. They even have a cinch that you can adjust under your chin. Better than the Sony MDR-EX51LP, the Koss Plug and the Creative EP-630 (build quality...not sonics). Of the aforementioned ear buds, had I known what I know now, my purchasing would have stopped here.

I just purchased these buds tonight on 11/6/06 for $20. As soon as i got into the car, I quickly plugged them into my iRiver H120 mp3 player. For reference, I currently own the JVC HA-FX55, HA-F120, Sennheiser CX300, and Audio Technica ATH-CK7. First, just a note, my HA-FX55 took at least 20 hrs to burn in and so this review may be premature. I'm going to leave them playing overnight and I'll ammend this review if anything changes.

First the cosmetic stuff: These headphones are super comfortable. The foamies are a good size and do a nice job making sure they sit tight in your ear. Also, the colors are very nice. The blue has a slightly sparkly hue and is in 2 tones. Finally, there is a single round wire (instead of the connected double wire) which feels like it is well made. There is a very small amount of microphonoics but it is much less than in some other phones I've tried. Last, the cord is a Y cable and not a J like the FX55. I prefer the J but it's not much of a problem here.

Onto the sound: To put it simply, I am not impressed. The phones are very bassy and that serves to drown out the pretty decent highs. The mids are there but once again overshadowed by the abundance of bass. (Similar to the Sony EX71) I think these headphones have potential but I can not recommend them over the HA-FX55 which can be had online for around $23. After using these, I quickly switched to the CX300 ($40) and then to the ATH-CK7 ($75). The price increases actually makes sense since the other headphones (especially the CK7) sounded far far better than these. I am not forgetting that these are 1/3 of the price, though.

I would recommend these to poeple who find other IEMs uncomfortable. JVC calls them "Marshmallows" for good reason. Also if you like your music very bass heavy, you may want to give these a shot. Third, if you are very active and need a pair of cheap buds that ban be jostled and jolted these seem like they'll fit the bill. Then again, I've only had 'em for about 3 hours. Hope this helps y'all.

PS, I also saw them in green and pink.

Edit: These canal phones have really come alive after about 20-30 hrs of use. Consider my review to be 4.5 stars!! They are certainly the best canal phone deal for the money, especially if you like bass.

These JVC 'phones represent an incredible value. Bass response goes all the way to the "bassment", mids are clear, and octave to octave balance is pretty good for an inexpensive 'phone (i've heard expensive ones that were much worse in this regard). Highs are slightly too bright for my taste (I always prefer audio gear to err on the mellow side of neutral). Still that's why God invented equalizers...a slight rolloff on the highs makes this dirt-cheap 'phone sound like a million bucks. I should know...I've been involved in radio, audio production, and studio ownership for more than 30 years. I own, and have used, some of the best headphones made.

I couldn't recommend them more highly!

I am very finicky about headphones, and by and large, most of the ones I have tried are uncomfortable, do not stay in my tiny ears, or the cord is either too long or too short.

These were good on all those counts. I wear foam earplugs to bed at night, so that feeling was comfortable to me, and they expand in such a way that they did not fall out. The cord is also the perfect length, and the slider to adjust where the y-split occurs was helpful.

What I didn't like was the sound quality. I had just bought the Philps SHE-9500 and quickly found out that the cord tangles easily, hangs on my clothing pulling the buds out of my ears, was the perfect length for the armband i have yet to purchase but too short for even clipping it to my waist, and with the extender, it was immensely too long for my pocket. plus the buds kindof hurt my ears after an hour or so. So I decided to try these instead.

Worlds apart in comfort! and no issues with the cord. I tried putting one of the foamy cushions on the Philips bud and sitting with one of each in my ears to compare. That helped, if only a little. But when I started switching which one was plugged into my mp3 player, I was shocked at how much clearer it was with the Philips. There's a distinct hiss in the background of clean songs with these. If you're just using them for working out at the gym, or jogging or something, that might not be a big deal, but personally, I am thinking of keeping both and using the foam pads on the Philips set.

Why's it got to be so doggone hard to find good quality, comfy earbuds?? :P

There are enough reviews already, but I thought I would provide one with more specifics.

Test environment:

- Sandisk Sansa Express 1GB (never been an ipod owner/user/fan)

- using Black Sabbath Dio Years MP3 music & Utada Hikaru MP3

- direct comparison of 3 earbuds: Jvc HA-FX33-A, Philips SHE9500, and V-Moda Vibe.

- I also enjoyed the Koss The Plug earbuds a few years ago, but their foam disintegrated and I haven't home made new ones for it as so far.

I had the Sansa and V-moda first. Feeling that I could probably find a cheaper equivalent for the Vibe, I went and got the JVC and Philips after reading some amazon reviews.

To make a long story short, the vibe is the richest sounding, in terms of loudness, and bass.

Then the Philips is a whimpier and muted version of the vibe.

The JVC is dead last. Sounds very tinny, and weak. I don't know what those folks who say they like it mean. They must not have much experience with various earbuds. Also the JVC looks like it will suffer the same fate as the Koss, in that the foam is cone shaped, so it falls out of your ear, and probably will not last.

The vibe and Philips are rubber cups, so they will rip eventually, but they seal and stay in your ear good when new.

I am going to try the expensive $99 Shure ones next. Will let you know.

Good luck.

I am a musician and have tried a good number of the more basic earbuds. I have no interest in the more expensive earbuds and just want something to isolate noise for plane use, mowing the lawn, etc. Most of the sub-$50 earbuds I've tried have been disappointing. The Marshmallows are also a disappointment sonically, but for their cost they're not bad at all. They are much more comfortable for semi-prolonged use than most of the isolating buds I've tried out and are decently efficient. I also really like the "zip-up" that allows you to keep the buds tightly pinned together when not being worn, as opposed to getting tangled around each other sitting in your bag. The Marshmallows definitely have a seriously lopsided disco smile going on, frequency-wise; quite scooped out and distant in the mids, harsh and smeary in the treble, and crazily heavy handed in the bass. However, this can be mitigated somewhat with EQ, and for airplane use I would much rather have too-heavy bass than too-anemic (which is the problem with other isolating buds I've tried, like Sony's more expensive and absurdly uncomfortable offerings). I wouldn't even dream of trying to mix on these, but then again, I wouldn't mix on any headphones, particularly earbuds; I don't care if they are $200 Ultimate Ears. If you just need a basic set of isolating earbuds for casual use, which is all earbuds should be used for anyway, and don't mind a set that comes on a little strong in the bass department, the Marshmallows are one of the best budget choices out there at the moment.

I, too, did not buy these earphones from Amazon, but I had to add my thoughts because of the help other reviewers here gave me. I was looking for something in this price range originally, and then I started to get carried away, looking at Shure earphones. I realized for what I need, I don't need to spend $100 on earphones. These JVC earphones sound great, though. The key is the sound isolation. It makes everything sound clearer. From the heavy bass intro of "Come Together" to the highs of Robert Plant's voice, everything is crisp. I bought Sony's basic earphones (that come in that plastic wrap-a-round case) for $10, and they are the worst earphones I've used. For $5 more, give or take, these are the best earphones I have used. Highly recommended.

I was lucky to stumble upon these earbuds - after which i've now bought two pairs. I found these and not only is the cord of excellent quality (i workout at the gym 5 days a week so they need to be durable), but the SOUND was fantastic. the buds are 'marshmallows' - squishy and like earplugs, fit right into the earcanal - when they expand and the volume's on (not necessarily high volume either), they block most, if not all outside noise. Used these on the plane and fell right asleep to music too. I had a pair of $60 sony buds which i loved - but between the cord fraying within a few months and the fact that they were so expensive to replace (i had thrown out my receipt), i was looking for an inexpensive pair. Overall, I definitely recommend this product. Bought 3 pairs for the price of one sony pair.

As mentioned in the first review these phones do require break-in. The character changes dramatically over a few days, at first the bass is very heavy and flabby with a recessed midrange. As they begin to break in the bass tightens up considerably and the mid-range begins to come out. After 20-25 hours you will be hard pressed to find a more detailed phone without going near $50. Yes the bass is a bit elevated, but with the EQ settings on your MP3 player set flat it is not distracting. I tried these with a Little Dot II+ tube headphone amp using a Heart 5000 CD player as source and was quite surprised what these little guys will do with decent a source. At 15 to 20 bucks these are worth using while you save up $60-70 for a pair of ER-6's

Like many, I have bought just about every economical set of headphones on the market. These are by far the best for my money. The in-ear design is comfortable. The in-ear part is not rubber or plastic, it is a memory foam quite similar to foam ear plugs. It fills the ear and cuts-out a large amount of external noise. I am looking forward to using these as I cutting my lawn. I recommend these especially if you can purchase them between $10-$20.