HAFX1X Headphone Xtreme-Xplosivs, Black, Red

After burning through three pairs of the standard headphones that come with Apple products in only a few months, I decided that I'd go ahead and try a pair of earbuds made by a different brand. I must say that I'm happy with my decision. As a professional producer and musician I can appreciate a great pair of headphones that put out some serious sounds. In fact, these JVC earbuds are the least expensive pair of headphones that I have in my collection but I needed a reliable pair that I could take on the road for casual listening without worrying about losing or damaging my $500 pair of studio headphones. Musicians and fans of music in general learn to appreciate the small things that make listening to music more enjoyable and personal. There are a couple of things about these earbuds that I have really become fond of: === THE GOOD === - Bass Response When I first read the advertised frequency response for these headphones was supposedly 5Hz - 23,000Hz I literally laughed out loud and began to doubt my decision to purchase them as I continued opened the package. I popped them in my iPhone, started up a track I was familiar with, and ended up very surprised with the amount of bass these things put out. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying these headphones accurately reproduce the advertised frequency response cause that wouldn't be accurate, but the quality of sound that these babies put out (especially for the price) is very impressive. The bass is deep and thick which really gives the extra punch to the kick drum and adds the right amount of 'special sauce' to the bass guitar which adds a very special touch to most tracks. The bass response alone more than justifies the price of the headphones. - Comfort These headphones fit perfectly in my ears and are comfortable enough to listen to continuously for hours without becoming uncomfortable or accidentally falling out of my ears every time I turn my head. If you get inside your music like I do then you know that the headphones falling out of your ears can literally ruin a song. These things have managed to stay snug in my ears and have never fallen out, even though they probably should when things have been crazy on the road in the past. I'm not 100% sure the earbuds will fit perfectly in every ear, but I know they fit perfectly in mine. I mean, how different can the holes in our ears really be? - Cord Length Once again, we're talking about little things here. The length of the cord is just around 4 feet which ends up being just right. Think of it like having 'custom tailored' headphones for your body. The cord is just long enough for you to listen to them while your phone or iPod is in your pocket but isn't absurdly long which would open up the possibility of it getting caught on something and pulling the earbuds out of your ears or phone. This may not be a problem for some people, but I know that I've had problems with this in the past while traveling or in the studio. === THE NOT SO GOOD === If there's something that I think you should know about, I'm going to tell you. That's just how I roll. There's only one thing about most pairs of in-ear headphones that is important to think about. This 'problem' isn't only with this specific pair of headphones but usually occurs across the board with any headphones that go inside your ears. The way the human body is made amplifies noises made by your mouth, teeth, vocal chords, etc while these headphones are in your ears. If you're a vocalist and like to hum or sing to your tracks or occasionally chew gum or eat food while you listen to music, you're going to hear it more than you normally do. BUT, the upside of having in-ear headphones means that external noises are much less obvious which is a bonus. This is just a trade-off you'll have to keep in mind before buying any headphones. If you're cool with the minor issue of hearing the noises your mouth makes while you eat or sing with your headphones in then these headphones are a great addition to any collection.

>>Summary<< Extremely satisfied. Overall performance is beyond my expectation. Bass is strong, not the strongest. Somewhat lack of clarity on Highs for classical or raw-music listeners. Great design. NOTE: numbers in the parenthesis are the ratings. ex: Price (4/5) means 4 stars out of 5 for Price. >>Pros<< -Price (5/5): Cheap, Cheap, and Cheap for the quality. Every penny I paid was worth. -Build-quality (4/5): Very good. The texture and color of the cable is very similar to Dr.Dre's earphones. The plug part could have been improved for better build-quality. -Thickness of cable (5/5): Perfect thickness. Slightly thicker than Bose's OEi2 headphones and much smaller (by volume per sq. inch) than Dr.Dre's earphones. -Comfort (5/5): Excellent. 8++ hours of wearing did not give me any of discomfort. My ears are very sensitive, and I have had much trouble with perfect earphones that fit my ear. This is one of the most comfortable earphones I've tried. Slightly tilted earphone heads prevents the earphones from falling off. -"Physical" Noise-cancelling (4.5/5): Though it does not have acoustic noise-cancelling feature, its earbuds fit my ears so perfectly that it provides me with great "physical" noise cancelling effects. -Design (5/5): Looks great! Though the case looks somewhat "cheapy," the earphones itself does not look "cheapy" at all! -Lows and Bass (4.5/5): Very moderate. Well-balanced and deep bass provides rich experience for Bass-lovers! >>Con(-ish)s<< -Sound clarity (3.5): Lack of detail (I mean, comparing to Bose or Dr. Dre's headphones...) with Highs. Not a deal-breaker though. -Plug quality (3/5): The 3.5mm connector part can be definitely improved. It doesn't look very sturdy. -Case (2.5/5): Am I expecting too much..? The case is cute, but nothing more. >>Music genre ratings: -Classical listeners (2/5): Not really recommended. Lack of clarity in High is endurable in low quality files, such as 128kbps or lower. However, anything above 128kbps, especially with raw-formatted lossless audio files(ATRAC or FLAC), you can tell this earphone can't handle. -Trance/progressive listeners (4.5/5): Recommended. Very moderate and well balanced Bass and Lows. -Acoustic guitar listeners (4/5): Great Mids and rich Bass are the perfect combination for ambient acoustic guitar sounds. -Rap/Reggae listeners (?/5): You are on your own! >>Headphones/earphone that I have owned (therefore I have formed my standards and expectation from these): (headphones)Bose's OE2i (headphones)Bose's AE (headphones)Dr.Dre's Monster Beats Studio (headphones)Sennheiser's HD 280 Pro (earphones) Dr.Dre's Monster Beats Tour by (earphones) Apple's the-one-that-comes-with-iPhone-or-iPod-purchase-that-no-one-seems-to-listen-to (earphones) MEElectronics's MEE-M9P-BK (earphones) Sony's cheap-earphones-that-I-wasn't-really-impressed-with >>My 10 most-played-songs with Xtreme Xplosives In Ear (before writing this review): Bliss by Alpha 9 Come Home by Alpha 9 Saona (Andy Duguid Remix) by Fred Baker, Saona Not exactly Deadmau5 For My Father by Andy McKee Rylynn by Andy McKee Your body is a wonderland by John Mayer Kumomi by Nujabes Bach's Partitia in E Mozart's Piano Sonata No.16 >>Disclaimer: I am not a professional musician, and I do not have any of technical knowledge behind sound engineering. I am merely an average music-lover. As my music tastes are leaning toward trance/progressive and classical, I have not listened to other genres enough times before writing this review. Lastly, I do not have any affiliation of any of brands/musicians mentioned below. My review above is purely informational and extremely subjective.

The JVC HAFX1X Headphone Xtreme-Xplosivs are decent quality headphones that don't hurt your wallet or your ears...yeah. As soon as I unwrapped the human-proof packaging, I instantly played Radiohead's "Reckoner" which is a perfect song to listen to because of it's duality of different sounds playing on each side of the ear, panning left and right, immersing the listener to true stereo sounds, giving you a complete eargasm of juicy vibrations. These headphones work great for songs that have multitrack recordings with hard L/R panning. The Beatles did that a lot almost in every song, "Happiness Is A Warm Gun". Every genera blasts through with clarity, from System of a Down's heavy guitar shreds or Hip-hops bassy beats. Atmosphere sounds amazing, "One of a Kind", or Eminem's "Rabbit Run" will make your head-bob with a big smirk on your face as you sing along. Well there's enough evidence here to safely assume this guy is a stoner, or just a lover of good music who gets quite the boner. ENOUGH ABOUT MY LAME MUSICAL TASTE, ONTO THE PRODUCT WITH GREAT HASTE: Keep in mind that I'm listening to them while writing this review. Includes: -Stupid Plastic Packaging! (Scissors not included...) -Instruction Manual (In four languages!) -One Year Warranty (Only In English, Printed In China) -Plastic Carrying Case -Two Extra Silicon Earbud Pieces (Large and Small) -And that's it! -Oh Yeah, The Awesome Headphones! (Medium Earbuds Already Attached) So I found it interesting I could keep turning up the volume and they wouldn't distort that much, crisp and clean sound throughout. The shape/design of them are odd but doesn't affect anything, they're light and fit snug. And for all those who wear saying the bass is overwhelming or powerful...well it's kinda true. I love bass a lot, but these aren't that bassy. Damn you! But no worries, everything is balanced to where you don't need any enhancing effects. I bought these for iPod use mainly, walking to work with them, bike rides or jogging. I don't jog. They stay in your ears very well unlike those s***ty pair that come with Apples products, worthless and painful! When you buy an iPod, just throw those headphones away or better yet, burn them so seagulls or sea creatures don't get tangled up in them making animal-lovers cry. It includes a neat plastic case that pops open easily which holds the manual, warranty, and extra earbud pieces. Don't try to pry it open with a knife like I did...yeah total moron. I've been buying headphones left and right every month now because apparently I haven't been taking good enough care of them, since every single one died on me! Because one side of the earbuds would go out and they'd be useless, after buying them at Staples one week prior. I could eventually get some audio out of them when I bent the cable a certain way near the gold Jack, but that's ridiculous and you should just buy a new pair. I used to own an $80 dollar pair of nice Sony earbuds and they lasted a long time then eventually did that thing I said a few sentences ago. Must be a curse. Do not buy those cheapo $9.99 pairs or even the $19.99 ones! Doesn't matter what the brand is, for some reason that price just means -- I WILL FALL APART ON YOU FOR NO REASON! So I hope these last, and I think they will because the red cord feels tough enough...I don't know what I'm talking about so just be careful with them. They won't split because of that little black thingy in the middle that has "JVC" and "HA-FX1X" printed on each side. ANYWAY! If you're looking for basic headphones that don't cover your ears, get these. They're cheep here on Amazon and they don't feel like they're in your ears at all. As if the music is floating along with you. FINAL THOUGHT's: I hope you enjoyed my biased review and I'm sure there are better headphones out there of course, it's just these aren't flimsy specious skullcandy's. The reviews on here convinced me to get them and I couldn't be happier...no wait I could be happier but it's irrelevant to headphones. The next headphones I'll be getting are those really nice Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones, for stay at home editing and whatna. They'll be perfect for mixing audio or just laying in bed toking and getting lost in the music. Same goes with these JVC earbuds, they're great just for relaxing and listening to your favorite album and be in a complete trance for hours. ----------------------- *Update* 11/24/16 My God this review was cheesy. I apologize.... Anyway, so after four years of use one of the ear buds went out. I loved these things and I'm not sure what I did that made left or right bud stop working but don't let this deter you from getting these amazing affordable earbuds that fit snug in your ears. Way better than the rocks Apple gives you which I'm relying on now till I either order these ones or get beats audio or something. I don't regret this purchase at all.

I must admit, over the past few months, I have bought several erabuds. I've been curious about these jvc's. I went on the jvc site to find out the frequency response was. BTW it's 5-23,000. Which is really good if it's true. I mean the response is better than klipsch image s4's, (which I have owned before), Sennheiser 300 11 which I now own. I got them yesterday. Let me say, these sounded good out of box. I could hear the potential. So I started the burn in process. So far I have burned them for 15 hrs so far. Took off, and tested them again. Wow! The sound is balancing out. The mids r coming in better, the highs r sounding crisper. I owned beats tour by Dre. Which sounded good, but waay overpriced. I love Dre, and what he's done for hip-hop, But not eough to pay $160, for $30 buds. The reason I haven't mentioned the low end, aka the bass, is because it goes without saying. That's there marketing. Also, I believe they had smarphones in mind when making these. Cuz I own a galaxy 2 phone, and now my phone sounds pretty good with these buds. And that's the stock player, not an android market amped player app. I have a couple of great players that r called audiophile players. I listen to primarily. So If u listen to hip-hop, rap, rock, r&b, I believe u'll be happy with this product. The reason for the 4stars is because I have a concern about the build. It seems pretty durable, but there r no stress relievers on the cord leading to the buds, it has a stress reliever on the plug. So I will update in a few months, and see where we're at. Also worth mentioning these buds come with a 1yr warranty. so that's kool, as long as they don't play games like Klipsch does. Don't trust Klipsch warranty it means nothing, cuz they don't honor it. I've had 2 sets of klipsch image s4's. with the first ones I thought is was just a bad set. But then the exact same thing happened to the second pair. The left ear went out for no reason. I take good care of my buds. To give an example. I use to buy 15 buds, Then I stepped up to a pair of $30 phillips buds, which lasted me 1 1/2 yrs, before I gave them to my electronics abusive son, in perfect working order. So base on that, I expect quality buds to last a while. Def. not 3 months like the Klipsch s4's. So I hope this was helpful to anyone interested in these buds, I don't think u can go wrong with them. Also I would like to add, that with the Klipsch amps they bass, so even though they don't have a great low end response, the bass that is does pick up is amped to give the illusion of heavy bass, Not a biggie, alot of manfactorers does that. Sennheiser did it with the 300 11, What jvc has done with these, even though they do a a great low end natural response, was to amp everything, yes everything, lows, mids, high r all amped. So they get really loud. U'll find urself listening at lower vol. which is always good. UPDATE: After more thatn 40 hrs of burn in time,(not including music playing time). I'm a lil disapointed. The mids, and highs haven't came in any more than they did at 15 hrs. I tested the phones on a samsung p3, and my galaxy s2 android phone. I tested it against 2 diff. pair of sony's, Sennheiser 300 11 b, Now on the Samsung p3. Which is considered to be on the same level of player as the top sony player, and the top cowon player. Basically it's an audiophile player. The sony buds are. the mdr ex310lp, mdr-xb41ex, sennheiser 300 11 B. The Jvc's couldn't come close to matching the clarity of any of these buds. Clarity I rank 1. mdr310's 2. xb41's 2. Sennheiser 300 11 B. Yeah I know I did 2 twice, reason being they were really close. Also both was close to the 310's. As far as bass. 1. xb41's 2. sennheiser 300 11 B 2B. 310's. Let me explain the 310's are designed to play music back accurately. So if u play a bass driven song. It will thump. if not, although music sounds great, u won't get any xtra bass. the other 2 has the bass slightly amped so u feel it more. Theses jvc's have decent bass. It bumps, and it's really amped. In fact I could only turn it up so loud on my samsung p3, before it gets distorted. However When I tested the buds out on my smartphone. Although all sounded good. These jvc's r the ones I liked the best for my droid phone. IDK about other smartphones, but samsung droid phones seem to amp the highs, and the lows really suck. Maybe I'm spoiled. But that's my opinion. Anyway, with the other buds, I just felt that the sound was a bit hollow. That's the best way I can explain it. I just think that both the Sony's and the SEnnheisers picked it up. I don't really hear it with the jvc's. And jvc's bass makes my smartphone kick. I'm talking stock player. Not power amp. Still though for the price. These are great buds. Iv'e had $30 buds. These win hands down. So, so far it keeps it's 4 star rating

I bought these for a decent protable headset that didn't break the budget,It sure doesn't ! Now for the headphones themselves they look really similar to some of the beats in ear model and they were quickly mistaken by others as beats.The cord is very thick throughout the whole of the head phones and the case is smaller than you think it approximently 2 inches by 3 inches and like 3/4 inches high which is pretty shallow, but the ear phone parts themselves (which are enormous ) aren't actually meant to be put in the case itself they have these little notches so that they can hang out, I still manage to fit them IN the case by a little strategy and focus.The ear pieces themselves are very large but they need to cause of all the might of the bass that's jam packed into these driver that we have which are just huge for earphones of this price range Now let's talk about sound quality, but just remember there 30 dollars! The highs- they there just not as rich and full as one might expect them to be now don't get me wrong they're still stunning for what you paid for just they seemed a little far from the rest of the music The Mids- this is where 90% of the music happens. They were really good for what you paid for everything was nicely tight and crisp. You could tell what was being played and where it was coming from but with some thinking of course. The the soundstage is better than most headphones in this price range but nothing spectacular I mean it's still there just you have to think a little for some of the instrument separation . The Bass/lows- the bass is by far the most I have seen in earphone at this price point ever period. The base you will definently hear it but dont expect these to vibrate like over ear headphones. It is very warm sounding, and the the sound is well leaning towards the low end which is great For bass heads but if you prefer less bass and a more balanced sound then ditch the wallet and pull out the plastic cause that's what it'll cost you. Random thoughts- there also is a lot of cable noise that you will pick so I recommend you use the behind the ear way of putting them in that will cut 90% of the cable noise . And also these headphones get VERY VERY loud I couldn't beat it at full volume and I listen to loud volumes regularly all I could take was 75% volume and that's it. Pros: Case Lots of bass Looks Durability Value Cons: Looks (may look too much like beats) Leaks sound (at high volumes ) Case is a little small Overall A great value. For some cheap earbuds they sure sound good.

Okay. I have consistently bought these Sony Sony Mdr-Ex55/Blk Ex Earbuds Headphones with Silicon Housing (Black) headphones since I've owned any type of MP3 player. These were the first set of "above-ipod" level headphones. They were $50 at Wal-mart, and I absolutely loved them. A year into them, the left ear started cutting out. I thought eh, they lasted a year. Time for new ones! Same thing happened about 7 months into those. These I've had about a year, and they're going on not only the left ear, but also the 3.5mm male end. But I keep coming back because I have yet to hear headphones that sound this amazing. Suddenly, I discover the highest rated headphones on Amazon, the JVC Xtreme Xplosives. The reviews aren't wishy-washy, they're all the same- this product excels beyond others. But does it? Comparing these to the now $15 Sony headphones, they aren't even slightly close. These headphones are simply another trendy thing that everyone buys. When you compare these to the stock iPod headphones, obviously these are not even in the same league. The same goes for the Skull-Candy ones. Everyone thinks they're so fantastic, cause they're loud as hell and vibrate like a mofo when listening to your favorite (untalented) rap song. That's not sound quality. That's not a sound experience. Those things give me a headache after 30 seconds. A wise electrical engineer once told me, "When sound quality is at its finest, you won't even realize that you're listening to it far louder than you should. You'll damage your ears and not even know it." So much truth. Those Sony headphones are spectacular. These aren't. They leave this EXTREMELY obnoxious hissing sound (granted, it is very quiet, but still there) when you plug them in. The same sound an ungrounded stereo makes. Here's an organized way of me comparing the two: -Sony- Pros: - superb sound quality - the ability to eliminate virtually any sound quieter than a train - light - sleek - comfortable for numerous (8+) hours - sound quality is undoubtedly a 10/10 Cons: - freaking annoying "behind the neck" cord design. Seriously, who even wants that? - they last around a year at best - that's it. -Xploads- Pros: - LOUD. about half volume on my laptop matched the volume of my old ones. - the cord seems virtually indestructible - JVC is a reputable brand - powerful bass Cons: - obnoxious hissing sound while they're at -infinite dB. almost like an old stereo static. - odd angle or earbuds entering ear - heavy(ish) - sound quality is a 6/10 - whoever is around you can head almost every single thing in the music, which would annoy others in a confined space. In conclusion, these headphones do sound good, and $30 is a decent price, hence the 3 stars. But they don't compare to the bass/treble/just overall sound richness of the Sony's. I'm sending these Xploads back in the mail shortly. Not disappointed per-say, just wish I could have found a remedy for my constantly breaking Sony headphones. I doubt it will ever happen under the $100 range. Cheers.

First of all i would like to state that these headphones are in fact BASS approved. I have never and I mean never felt the middle of my head vibrate from swedish house mafia's "One" the way I did when i listened to it for the first time on these headphones after a good and accurate 20 hour burn. im making a comparsion between other earbuds, over ears, on ears and full blown sound systems to show how good these really are. JVC is underrated to say the least. EDIT: i originally felt that i had to settle with the lack of highs and mids I WAS TERRIBLY WRONG. I recently put my XX through software test, testing them through different Apps and Sound Software with the highest grade in music files. THE CHANGE IN SOUND WHEN THE HEADPHONES ARE PROPERLY REPRODUCING SOUND IS AMAZING. On the average mp3 file sounds may sound like they lack alot of "something" THAT SOMETHING IS A GOOD SOUND FILE. LISTEN TO THESE ON THE BEST POSSIBLE SOUND FILE PREFERABLY A CD OR BETTER AND THEY WILL BE THE BESTHEADPHONES EVER. my current review stands unchanged because i feel they are incredible i just wanted to change the fact that incredible is an understatement they are way better than that. To make my expierence clear i am a proud owner of Klipsch, Sennheiser, Bose, Sony, Logitech UE, MEE and lastly Beats and Monsters. Everywhere from S4 to Turbines. These are perhaps the best sounding Headphones (earbuds) i have ever owned for under $30. They are infact marketed for Bass lovers and if you are not one do not buy them why simply becuase it requires to much of a burn to recieve the real quality of mids highs and lows most people expect out the box. I have given them a proper burn of about 15-20 hours and have noticed a significant shift from overwhelming "noise" and bass drowning out any signs of vocals. Out of the box- i listened to the on a Sansa Clip Plus vs an Ipad and Ipod personally i prefer my Sansa. My sansa is infact paired with a Fiio Headphone amp which really gives these XX a kick. However i felt mids lacking to say the least almost struggling to hear them highs pinching my eardrum almost painfully and lows dying out to easily at high volumes which should never be done its pratically that make a break test for me. At a low level volume the mids were fine highs were enjoyable and lows duable and the bass really did kick at low which is impressive. 5 hours burn- i gave it my personal test. Rock classics from Bon Jovi, Deff Leppard, Raps best from 2-pac "Calfornia Love", Techno's best and all around songs that i consider really challenge the quality of sound replication songs that you love and would hate to hear lose your interest. The XX barely passed to be quite frank putting bass at a terrific output but lacking in the strums and yells and words i so much loved that would just get drowned in bass which is disappointing. they did open up within the next few hours and did significantly better and made me optimistic. 10 hours- all i can say is i gave up something happened maybe i fried them and they just are terrible the bass was gone all i liked about the them was gone the bass. all i could hear was "noise". i sat down and said to myself those few 1 star rating were right what did i just buy. i thought about it and realized the same happened to my Beats solo HD (terrible headphones for the price i recommend ATH-M50s) solo have some troubles where they just die for some reason i have a little blow and suction technique i use to make the drivers bounce alot in hopes to correct the loss of sound. THE VERDICT- the blowing and suction of the driver made them sound beautiful no i dont recommend the technique you can just break them but the 5 star reatings are not at all wrong when i made the drivers bounce i woke up the beast hidden in my XX i was absolutely amazed all those complaining of a them being weak no bass and muffle and sizzle and whatever are wrong and i almost belived it myself. THESE EARBUDS GAVE ME GOOSEBUMPS. as i said in the start of this i have never felt the Bass to any song in the middle of my forehead sure there is not the crispness you look for when you buy top grade clarity purposed earbuds. these replicate all sounds well more than well they give all earbuds a run for their money when it comes to clarity. In terms of Bass holy everything good about most my forehead shook my forehead the middle of my head felt the movement of the music if that doesnt say bass head approve i dont know what will. THESE HEADPHONES BUMP BASS THE RIGHT WAY THEY SHAKE YOUR SOUL AND EARS BUT WILL NOT HURT IT.. BTW THEY ALSO ARE WAY TOO LOUD WHICH IS ALWAYS A PLUS.

I received these JVC HAFX1X earbuds yesterday and am listening to them as I type. I will start by saying that they are exactly what I was looking for (an inexpensive set of earbuds that had good bass response and overall decent sound for everyday, bang-around use). I listen to all kinds of music, but really enjoy listening to a song with a great bass line and feeling the kick drum. I should start by saying that the first set of quality earbuds I bought were the Klipsch Image s4's. The Klipsch are the best that I can afford at around $65.00. (I am open to other suggestions on price and sound quality). The Klipsch have absolutely fabulous sound and are my first choice for listening to all music... but they lacked the punch of the bass on some songs. Thus began my quest to find a set of buds for less than $40.00 (my wife's limit, LOL) that had good bass as well as midrange and treble. I picked up a set of Skullcandy FMJs from Radio Shack that had been returned without any of the original packaging for around $40.00 and they are great...good bass response and the high end is very clear but they lack (just a hair) in the mid range. I then got a great deal on a pair of the Skullcandy 50/50s for $30.00 and they are presently still my favorite as far as overall sound (great bass, mid, and high end) and were my first choice when walking out the door for the work day. Don't laugh at Skullcandy owners without having listened to them. However, the Klipsch are too expensive for everyday use and the 50/50s and FMJs have very thin wires. I was concerned that they may not withstand the wear of everyday use (although months later they still have not failed me). So I bought a set of JVC HAFX20B's with Nanotube divers which, according to the advertising on the package, were supposed to have great bass. They were the worst ear buds I have ever heard. No Bass, No Midrange, and the Treble was shrill and intolerable. Don'y try to "burn them in". It doesn't work. Headache City. I returned these very quickly. I read the reviews on Amazon about the Xtreme Xplosives but was reluctant to purchase them after my bad luck with the previous JVC product that I bought. But, with hundreds of other people saying they sounded good, I decided to give them a try. I must truthfully say that I have not been disappointed with my purchase. For $19.00 they are a great set of buds. They have all the bass you could ever want. They have plenty of midrange but lack a tiny bit in the high end (cymbals, tambourines, triangles, etc.). But the 2006 vintage i-pod classic that I have has preset EQ (equalizer) settings plus a Bass, Vocal and Treble boost (not much more than that). I use the "ROCK" preset on the i-pod when listening to these earbuds because it enhances the bass and the treble at the same time. It's a great combination. Remember that the sound you hear is only as good as the original recording. A poor recording is going to sound like crap regardless of the earbuds. I listen to alot of '60s and '70s music. The quality of the recordings made then are nothing compared to the quality of today's recordings. So I keep that in mind when listening to any music. With a good, clean original recording the FAX1X's have killer sound. The bass is full and booming, but not overwhelming. The mid-range is very full, and if you have an EQ on your listening device, you can easily compensate for the small lack in treble response. They have the heaviest wires I have ever seen on any set of earbuds, and the earbuds seem to be well built. I don't know how long they will last but, if I lose these or they are damaged, I'll get another set for $19.00. I will probably get another set soon and just put them away in the "sock drawer" for when and if these fail. CONS: These are, however, very large earbuds. DO NOT try to force these buds deep into the ear canal. Just gently "nestle" them in the the outer opening of the ear. Find the ear bud tip that fits the outer part of the ear snuggly and just let them "sit" in your ear. These buds need the room from the outer ear opening to the ear drum to move the air properly to get that clear, deep thumping bass. The medium tip works best for me. It gives me a good fit without falling out while shaking my head. Persons with small ears or small ear canals may not like the way they fit their ears. Other than finding the proper fit, I would recommend these buds to anyone for everyday use. For the price, you can't beat these earbuds.