JAYS q-JAYS v2.0 Quick Review

JAYS q-JAYS v2.0 Quick Review

Thanks to JAYS for the sample.

Brief:  Just like Mary Poppins.

Price:  400 Euro’s ( £290 ) or US$400 for no mic version.

Specification:  Driver Type: Custom dual balanced armatures, Sensitivity: 103 dB @ 1 kHz,     Impedance: 50 Ohm @ 1 kHz, Frequency response: 5 – 20 000 Hz (Full) 8 – 16 000 Hz (+/- 5 dB), Earphones Material: Stainless steel, Finish: PVD matte Isolation: -40dB @ 2kHz, Cord Type: Exchangeable Kevlar cable, Length: 120 cm (47in), Plug: Gold plated L-shaped 3.5mm (1/8 in) + Custom threaded SSMCX

Accessories:  Case, 5 pairs of eartips plus a pair of Comply’s.

Build Quality:  Flawless.

Isolation:  Good.  On the lower side for a BA drivered IEM but easily enough for most uses, shot of Tube commutes and long flights.  Even then most people would probably happy use them for both.

Comfort/Fit:  Excellent.  So tiny, so light you forget your wearing them.

Aesthetics:  Super minimalist, matte black everything.  I very much like it, the absolute antithesis of bling.

Sound:  Exquisite.  The old q-Jays were excellent and these have been polished, refined into being rather better.  They are a touch lifted in the lows, still so superbly naturalistic and carved.  There is a rock solid underbelly but it’s so sweeping and well behaved.  It’s not a big air mover so don’t expect that, it’s not really one for thundering bass lines either.  Its sculpted and elegantly flowing.  However if you want to they respond extremely well to a little bass boosting.  Its never going to be a big air mover but you can boost it and it retains all of the wonderful attributes it has without.  So sculpted and clean and articulate and just effortlessly capable with such a natural feel.  Mids too have this strange natural feeling to them, I know they are a touch dry, cool but they have something that I could never put my finger on the v1’s and I still can’t with these.  They seem so real, not like the hyper realer than real of the SE530 but really real.  It’s always frustrated me that I cannot describe it, it’s so clichéd but….. that je ne sais quoi.  I don’t like being unable to articulate something.  The highs in the old were a touch brittle and gritty but they have clearly worked on them, polished and refined them.  It’s very evenly balanced in quantity so I normally prefer a touch less, so for me it’s a little bright but the quality is exemplary.  We are talking CK10 levels are delicacy and refinement.  Oh and of course there is oodles of clarity.

Value:  Well these are not cheap, not in the least bit cheap.  I can’t really say these are good “value for money” I mean these are not three plus times “better” than the R-50’s.  Diminishing returns is a bitch.  However, you want the best, the best costs.

Pro’s:   Exquisitely beautiful sounding.  Fantastic construction.  Sound fantastic.

Con’s:  Wallet ouch.