Drop + JVC HA-FDX1 DUAL CARBON IEM Reviews | Drop

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Drop + JVC HA-FDX1 DUAL CARBON IEM

Aug 18, 2019

What is the FDX1 and how is it different from (or the same as) the FD01? The Drop FDX1 is essential the same as the FD01 with minor changes and community tuned filters.

Same dual carbon 11mm driver (DLC diamond like carbon inner dome and black carbon outer ring)
Same great pleather JVC magnetic case
Same great robust OFC cable; On the slightly thicker, heavier side, yet very soft and pliable; virtually memory free with excellent tangle resistance
Same CNC machined Stainless Steel housing minus the knurled ridges; housing is a two piece design that swivels to accommodate wearing up or down and any shaped canal
FDX1 ditches the Titanium and Brass nozzles and comes with 3 Stainless nozzles
1 nozzle is empty for stock FD01 tuning and/or modding, and 2 nozzles contain community tuned filters
Spiral Dot + tips (the best wide bore tips on the market IME)

Pre-Sale starts 9/5/19 for $250. FDX1 will be $280 thereafter. Frankly, the FDX1 is a no-brainer at this pricing. Backstory Most of us find the stock tuning of the FD01 to be too strident. In mid 2018, super friend community mod-wizard James444 presented us with detailed instructions (with measurements) on how to mod the removable nozzles of the original FD01. The results were a smoother, more even response that competed with in-ears double in price and more. The modded FD01 has natural timbre and tonality with great dynamics. It’s got the boogie without loosing the realism. The mod was a hit. Many community members purchased their own sets and began performing the mods to great satisfaction. A few even sold off their more expensive rigs. Once I was able to perform the mods on a community loaner set myself, I was so excited with the results, I instantly started blowing up CeeTee’s phone with texts. He needed to hear this and he had to figure out a way to bring this to the masses. There was this one poor guy that loaned his set out to Drop; little did he know how long that loan would last but thank-god he did. I’m not sure how CeeTee and his team pulled this off, but somehow they were able to get JVC to the table and bring this thing to life. The first set of prototypes weren’t really close but did show some promise. I was able to compare them with that poor guy’s well modded set. I think he’s been without it for close to a year now. His modded set was then sent to Japan, so the JVC engineers could hear what we were so in love with. The second set of prototypes nailed it. Again, I was able to compare to this poor guy’s set. They were extremely close to his DIY modded set! Was this poor guy going to get his set back now? Nah, a final comparison to pre-production models was going to be the required! In early August, I sent James444 an email: IT IS HAPPENING. The pre-production model had arrived. While this time I don’t have that unnamed poor soul’s modded FD01 to compare, I knew the FDX1 was better. Somehow, someway, JVC had figured out a way to tighten the bass up. The slightly hazy bass of the modded FD01 was its biggest criticism. The FDX1 betters the modded FD01 with tighter, cleaner bass (this has been confirmed by a notorious purring cat friend, who compared the FDX1 to that same poor guy’s modded FD01). What was once a criticism is now a strength. Sound The two community tuned filters are more similar than different. Basically one sounds a hair smoother, darker (blue) and the other is more lively, energetic (green). The empty filter is ripe for the modding! In general, my preference is for the green set but I do enjoy the blue set as well, particularly on the go in noisy environs. The FDX1’s dynamic driver excels in its more life-like timbre when compared to pricier all armature sets. It’s more even tuning also makes it more realistic sounding than the typically more colored and bassier dynamic driver offerings form the competition. Strings and percussion are the FDX1’s forte, highlighting low level nuances easily glazed over. While distortion rock guitars have solid crunch and bite, it’s the drums that I love to get lost in with the FDX1. Vocals are forward and intimate- male vocals are rich with heft, and female vocals are clear and energetic. Staging is better than average. While not as expansive left to right as Andromeda, it sounds open and effortless with a deeper reach front to back. While not as tall as something like Solaris, it’s sounds taller than the typical in-head, in-ear presentation. While single dynamic drivers usually don’t have the separation and layering of multi-armature or hybrid sets, they produce a more organic and natural sound. The FDX1 has plenty of space to breathe around individual instruments and singers, and it does it all while simply sounding effortless. Comparisons via SDAC>Liquid Carbon X (less than 1 ohm OI) FDX1 with green filter and Spiral Dot tips Massdrop Plus (with Mee Audio dual flange tips)

Plus has a more diffuse field neutral target tuning
Plus has thinner overall note weight
Plus middle treble is more present for more brightness and sparkle overall
Plus bass tilted to deep bass; FDX1 sounds more balanced in bass with less emphasis in any specific area (deep, mid, upper) in direct comparison; however FDX1 bass feel more elevated overall and is more solid, palpable
Plus has quicker bass decay
Plus cleaner but less natural sounding
Plus vocal placement is similarly forward; male vocals sound thinner but female vocals have more energy than FDX1
Plus doesn’t have the same perception of depth; less space around instruments and performers; shorter stage in height
Plus transients are faster; distortion rock guitars have more bite and attack; FDX1 is smoother overall

Andromeda (with Mee Audio dual flange tips)

Andromeda has noticeably faster transients; better attack; FDX1 sounds smoother, warmer
Andromeda sounds a good bit more natural than the Plus but still less so than FDX1
FDX1 bass is slightly thicker, denser with better texture overall; similar extension
Andromeda treble is overall brighter with better presence, better sparkle
Andromeda female vocals sound a little more blunted, huskier, less energetic
Andromeda is wider sounding, more upfront; similar height but slightly less depth and sense of space front to back
Andromeda distortion rock guitars sound bigger, bolder
Andromeda is more resolving of background details and treble resolution, whereas FDX1 sounds more nuanced and micro-dynamically resolving in decay of percussion and plucked/strummed strings
FDX1 sounds more dynamic and effortless from quiet to loud transitions; whereas Andromeda sounds more enveloping, more surrounding my head with a wall of music

Parting Thoughts The modded FD01 has consistently been a recommendation from me, if a buyer is willing to perform the mods. I’ve long thought the modded FD01 was a bargain at $330-$380 imported from Japan at the time, but the FDX1, with it’s changes and factory mod applied filters, pretty much make it the biggest no-brainer I’ve seen in a long time. For anything less than a used/B-stock Andromeda, it will be my go to recommendation.

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