Last Updated: on January 17, 2024 by Jack
We had the chance to test and review one of JVC’s older earphone models that are now over a decade old and still kicking around – the HA-FX1X Xtreme Xplosives.
Known for its distinctive thick strawberry red cable and XX lettering on the side, the HA-FX1X is sold as a bassy-style budget set of wired earphones.
Most of the recent reviews you’ll find online for this model are people reordering them repeatedly, swearing by them for several years of use. So why do people keep returning to the JVC HA-FX1Xs after all this time, especially with plenty of other excellent newer models around?
Quick Verdict
A budget, straightforward set of headphones with an excellent cable design, perfect for on-the-go music lovers looking for a powerful-sounding bass.
If the bass isn’t that important to you, or you’re looking for headphones with great mids and highs, you would be better off going for something else.
The JVC HA-FX1X Xtreme Xplosives are still worth their retail price after all these years.
Pros
- Excellent sounding bass
- Strong cable design
- Reasonably good fit
- Comfortable for using for long periods
- Budget price
Cons
- Bit of an unbalanced sound overall
- Poor plastic connectors on the cable
- Lack of features such as a microphone or controller
- Watch out for fakes
Design and Build
Body
The black housing for the earphones does look quite an extreme build to match their Xtreme Xplovsives name. They almost look like a great outdoor style of earphones designed for all conditions. They aren’t flashy but certainly don’t have a cheap look about them either. They don’t look out of place next to higher-end music headphones kicking around today.
When handling them for the first time, it matched how they looked, feeling quite tough and robust. They definitely feel like they could take a bit of a knock and handle being thrown about, thanks to the thick plastic and rubber casing providing extra protection. Although they feel pretty chunky to hold, they certainly don’t feel too heavy.
They sport larger neodymium driver units – 10mm- meant to drive the powerful bass sound that these headphones are renowned for. The earbud design itself has a slight curve to it, which is meant to promote a better fit in the ear canal.
The body design overall fills you with confidence that it’s durable and built to take a bit of a knock.
Jack
One thing we don’t like that could be improved in terms of the design is the jack connector. The plastic connected to the jack at the end of the cable doesn’t feel very secure. You’ll need to be extra careful when pulling the jack out of a phone or any other device to ensure the plastic doesn’t come apart.
You’ll find the plastic connector for the jack is one of the only major complaints about the design online from users who have used the earphones over a more extended period, noting that it needs some extra care to protect it from coming apart. We found no issues with the gold-plated 3.5mm stereo jack itself.
Cabling
The 1.2m long red cable design is also part of the appeal and is what stands out the most when you look at them. But apart from being memorable, the cable itself is fairly thick for a wired set of earphones at 2.0mm thickness.
Although thick, it’s certainly not a negative as it feels flexible enough to move about without issues or creating too much sound rubbing off clothes and stuff.
We see the cable thickness as a positive, and it adds to the overall durability of the earphones, protecting the inside wires from damage and general wear and tear. In theory, the thicker cable should prolong the lifespan of the HA-FX1Xs, but like the jack issue above, we feel the plastic connectors on the cable should be stronger.
Another thing we noticed is that the cable running into the earphone shell itself doesn’t feel as secure as it should be. We would like to see the connection between the earphones and the cable strengthened to prevent any wire damage from a pull on the cord.
In terms of the dreaded tangling issue, they still tangle like nearly every other set of wired headphones, but the tangling definitely isn’t as bad as other standard cables.
Overall the thick red cable design feels and looks good.
Comfort and Fit
We wore the JVC HA-FX1Xs for a few hours and can honestly say they felt quite comfortable in the ears the whole time. Even though the housing of the buds is relatively large, they didn’t feel intrusive or too weighty in the ear.
We were a bit sceptical about the fit at first due to the speaker’s slightly curved design, but the fit was surprisingly snug and sat in the ear canal fine without coming out even on the move.
The buds they sport straight out of the box were a good fit, but there are 2 other different-sized rubber bud tips to try and help you find a better fit and improve the noise isolation. We found the buds comfortable enough in the ear, but they didn’t seem very good quality-wise. We would recommend replacing the rubber earbuds with better-quality ones for long-term use.
Sound Quality
Being part of the JVC Xtreme Xplosives range, they’re meant to provide a more bass-driven sound.
We thought the bass was decent for being a budget pair of earphones when listening to different music tracks. It was quite a deep, powerful bass sound overall, but we can see how it might be a little too overpowering for some listeners. It was a clear and pure-sounding bass noise, and if you’re a fan of bassy music, then we think you will appreciate the bass sound these earphones produce.
The mids and highs were reasonable, but they could be better, in all honesty. The mids and highs may suffer from the emphasis on a powerful bass sound, causing the clarity of vocals and such to take a bit of a dip.
The strong bass sound is what you’re paying for in terms of sound quality here. If you’re looking for a sharper sound with better mids and trebles for your music, we would probably recommend going for a different model.
Features
The JVC HA-FX1Xs does not have a microphone or volume/track controller, which in today’s age does matter for taking calls and adjusting music on the go. Although it’s in the budget price range, there are still plenty of other models these days in that range to have them.
It is worth bearing in mind, though, that the HA-FX1Xs have been around a long time unchanged (over 10 years) and probably have an older, more straightforward music-listening design to them.
It also features noise isolation as part of the sound design. When testing the earphones by playing music down them and having some background noises to contend with, we found the noise isolation did a decent job of blocking them out. The noise isolation level should suffice for the average music listener, provided you have a good fit in the ear canal.
What’s Included In The Box?
The plastic packaging they come in is one of the worst bits of packaging we’ve come across. It’s extremely difficult to get into them, and it encourages people to use scissors to cut their way in, which obviously risks cutting the cable.
Once you do eventually get in, here’s what’s included inside:
- JVC HA-FX1X Xtreme Xplosive earphones
- 3 Different-sized rubber earbuds
- Hard carry case
The hard carry case is a nice little addition for travelling about, even if it could be a little more robust.
Specifications
- Large 10mm diaphragm neodymium driver units
- Dynamic frequency response range: 5-23000 Hz
- Type: Wired, in-ear
- Sound isolation
- 2.0mm thick and 1.2m long pure copper cable (Y-type)
- Gold-plated 3.5mm straight stereo jack
- Dimensions: 63.5 x 1.27 x 1.78 cm (Approx)
- Weight: 5.2g (Approx)
- Colour: Black/Red
FAQs
Are There Fakes Going Around?
Yes, it’s common to see fake JVC HA-FX1X Xtreme Xplosives models being sold, so you need to double-check where you’re getting them from are selling originals. Ensure that wherever you buy them from has real user reviews for you to check and confirm they are genuine.
Who Should Buy Them?
If you’re a music head after some serious bass from your headphones, then these are a reasonable choice. They have an excellent bass sound, which not many headphones in this price range can compete with. The sturdy, red cable design also seems to be part of the appeal for some people.
Recommended For: The JVC HA-FX1X Xtreme Xplosives are for music lovers looking for a powerful bass sound on the go.
Not Recommended For: If you’re looking for something with a better-balanced sound overall for listening to different music and other stuff. The older design with a lack of microphone and controller might steer you towards a newer style model.
Overall: It’s worth remembering that this particular model has been around for over 10 years but still has people reordering them repeatedly, swearing by them. But, although they remain a fairly popular wired set of in-ear headphones, there are better alternatives around the same price and even cheaper in today’s market.