Aug 9, 2019•6084 views

Back in the U.S.A.

Some collaborations start with a community request for a specific product type. Some start with a beloved community product. Some start with a partner we really want to work with. Some collaborations have proven, replicated modifications that the community have discovered and implemented. Some products aren't readily available, they're pretty hard to get... This project has all of the above. COMMUNITY MANDATE Some people have been asking us behind the scenes for 2-3 years to work on a "high-end Dynamic Driver IEM that is balanced and natural with an effortless bass kick". They have given a lot of reasons why we should do this: "Dynamic drivers have a more natural sound (timbre)"
"Single driver IEMs don't have phase/timing issues that multi-drivers can have"
"We like <XX dynamic driver IEM>'s effortless bass but the treble is just fatiguing"
"We like the <XX dynamic driver IEM>'s mids & treble but the bass is just overpowering"
"I'm willing to pay up to $500 for a TOTL [top of the line] DD IEM"
"I don't want to be required to buy a specific DAP [digital audio player] to get maximum benefit from these."
And our favorite... "Singaporeans chatting on Discord really like them"
COMMUNITY BELOVED PRODUCT JVC HA-FD01 Class S Solidege Inner Ear Headphones

"Excuse me, LOL, whut?" Stay tuned for more details, decoding, & wordy explanations. DESIRABLE PARTNER JVC Kenwood is able to make proprietary drivers and great-sounding IEMs with the resources of a $4B a year company. Audiophile Did You Know? -In 1927, JVC was established as the Japanese subsidiary of the Victor Talking Machine Company. (Japanese Victor Company!) -In 1930, JVC made the first Japanese phonograph "victorola", the first extended play record, and later the first stereo record player. -JVC made breakthrough developments in the 45/45 stereo record system and in four-channel audio systems. -In the 1980’s, your parents owned a JVC VCR. -In 2014, JVC merged with Kenwood USA. -In 2019, Will Bright keeps a special pair of JVC woody headphones on his desk at Drop. They have a warm, addictive sound like nothing else. JVC makes some of the favorite woody and bassy IEMs that audiophiles used to seek out, like the HP-FX700 in 2009:

With the recent boom in personal audio, we could only guess that JVC decided to concentrate on their home market because we haven’t seen their latest releases in the US. We're extremely pleased that they were willing to work with Drop, the audiophile community, and bring JVC back to the US! COMMUNITY MODDED SPOILER ALERT: JVC worked with the community to replicate the community's best mods. TRUE FACT: We actually sent one poor guy's modded pair to Japan and he really misses them. We promise to get them back to him soon. (What should we do for him?) The community will be posting impressions to talk about sound. We're getting some samples out in August, ahead of the September 5th pre-sale. As these things go, I'm sure we'll also have some impressions after the pre-sale goes live too- so please keep checking back. james444’s thread that chronicles the community mod journey:
JVC FD01: A new contender for best DD IEM? AVAILABILITY As of today, you have to read Japanese and buy from Amazon.jp OR buy from a Japanese re-seller if you live in the US. On September 5th, we're going to open up the Pre-sale. To really get things started, the pre-sale price is $250. After the first shipment lands, the in-stock price will be $280.

(Please press the REQUEST button so you are reminded about Pre-sale day for the intro pricing!)

CEE_TEE

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Christian Tanimoto III.

CEE_TEE

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Collaborations

Second Update Post!: https://drop.com/talk/25227/more-details-graphs-the-first-reviews

Berserkcrows

Ship to Thailand?

CEE_TEE

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Berserkcrows

Yes, I believe so!

audionewbi

I’ve gotten the original FD01, how is this particular model changed ?

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jaydunndiddit

2546

Just a heads up, the link to SBAF doesn't work. You'll need to remove some of the characters from your query string, otherwise it triggers a redirect. Same thing happens when sharing links from ASR here as well.

CEE_TEE

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jaydunndiddit

Thank you, I just replaced the link...hopefully this one works properly for everyone!

CactusPete

I envy all the folks that get an Early Sample for test listening. And look forward to seeing some reviews. Would like to compare them to the Moondrop Kanas Pro's, and the TFZ No.3 Ti's.

keyboardman64

(What should we do for him?) Get him a lifetime's supply of balut.

CEE_TEE

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keyboardman64

My friend's Mom used to eat that in the closet so she couldn't see it... Had my first hundred year old egg in Taipei this year (looked crazy, was pretty mild):

ippodrop

CEE_TEE

This stuff is delicious staple food. There is nothing bad about preserved eggs. Just pour some soy sauce, add some scallions, and it’s an easy complement to your rice.

jafnvaegi

Great write-up, excited to see such a collaboration is happening. The FD01 is truly a special IEM when modified, so having that out-the-box and at this price point is great news. Looking forward to details on how the filters will be designed/implemented and to get a pair to try out!

CEE_TEE

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jafnvaegi

Thanks for the encouragement, jafnvegi. We're very excited too, JVC has been fantastic to work with. Some people have just gotten some samples. We've been slowly burning them in at a moderate volume with 48 hours of pink noise and letting a couple people come to the office to listen before we send them out. (We're also checking to make sure people are in town, available, addresses haven't changed, etc.) Trying things a bit differently so impressions are out there over this month as well as next!