Hifiman R7DX JM Edition Mod

Hifiman R7 JM Stealth Edition + top Hifiman comfort headband

Background- Bought these on a whimsy after seeing his headphones being sold on AVE and right before Canjam too so I was already in hype-mode. I don't regret it!

I mostly listen to pop and indie with example artists as: Eden/The Eden Project, Mother Mother, The Karma Killers, The Gromble, and more. I tend to stick to the same genres, but I do test hp's occasionally with other genre's for fun (Classical, R&B, and House)

Previous headphones I still have are: HD 6XX, Dan Clark Audio Aeon Closed X.
Headphones I previously had and sold/given away include: Hifiman Sundara, Koss Porta Pros, Senn HD 598.
Headphones I've demoed for over a few days include: Focal Elegia, Hifiman Ananda, HE-4XX.
Before grabbing the R7, I used the 6xx with bottlehead crack and the DCA ACX paired with a Fulla E. Currently pairing the R7 with the Fulla.

Disclaimer 1: Listened for about 12 hours spread across a few days before writing this review
Disclaimer 2: I have not tried the regular R7 and as such I will not be attempting to compare the stock form and I will be treating these headphones as their own beast. That being said, I kept in mind that this is a stock $150 hp. However I paid $329 USD and I will be treating them as such. Oh yeah, not sponsored- wish I was though.

Headband + Comfort- I will start out with my head is smol. I usually go to the smallest setting and maybe click once up or so on most headphones. These guys are no different, lowest setting + 1 click. I do find it very comfortable, but not as comfortable as the ACX, which I will attribute to weight. The weight is well distributed on the headband itself, with little to no hotspots on my head. The clamp pressure, however, I think is lacking and I could do with a little more to keep the back and forth movement minimized. I cannot really fault JM for any of these issues, the headband itself was installed just fine with no issues.

Sub-bass- Extends much deeper than I expected, I usually don't pick up sub-bass during relaxed listening session but this guy had it!
Mid-bass- Thumpy and punchy and quite fun to listen to. I'm not exactly a bass-head though, so take my opinion here with a grain of salt. I enjoyed it, but I can also be kind of sensitive to bass

Mids- This is kind of hard to describe for me, I don't really know technical terms all that well for describing technicalities and the likes, but I did find the mids to be pleasant but definitely overshadowed by the lows and highs. The mids really took a backseat but there were definitely there and I definitely enjoy them in the more bass light songs I listen to.

Treble/Air- I am a touch sensitive to treble as well, but I do prefer more treble than most I think. These have really solid, really present treble, almost toeing the line of too much for me but I think it's tastefully done and just right. I definitely enjoy the articulation present in the instrument parts of my music.

Soundstage- This is what I was looking for in my next pair! I absolutely adore the soundstage in these cans- much bigger than my two current headphones and allows for a really good contrast in conjunction with its enjoyable and more fun sound signature. The soundstage isn't massive like some other headphones, but that is the nature of closed back. To me, it felt like it extended past my ears by about a foot or so which is much more than I can say about the 6XX.

Hype- I do want to address the hype issue- while anxiously waiting for this hp to arrive I wanted to justify the purchase and learn more, as one does.
I looked at the testimonials and reviews and heard lots of good things, but I think the hp is overhyped. I think my expectations were a little too tempered after reading all the review and all the positive wonderful great things, but I know I can't really stop myself from reading them. I would much rather be super wow'd by these cans than go into it thinking it's a $1k can in a $150 shell and be nervous about it's performance. I wish I didn't read the reviews, or at least only read the stock reviews.

Sound Stuff tl;dr: Very agreeable, The strong points of this headphone is the soundstage and bass for me.

Conclusion/Ending notes: By no means am I an audio expert, but I do love my headphones dearly. This pair has earned itself a spot in my rotation, right alongside the 6XX paired with the Bottlehead crack. Treating this headphone as its standalone I would say it definitely punches above its $329 price point, but I dont think I'd say that it's near the $1k area- just because I don't think it'd be healthy to go into these guys with that expectation. I am happy with the hp at the price I paid, but that value diminishes very quickly past it.
Huge Huge props to John for creating a very value headphone. I definitely recommend the headphones and I love them the more I use them, but I just wouldn't buy into any of the hype- I think it would have ruined it for me if I came into this headphone with the expectation that they would perform near the $800 mark. He did say this particular can was his best work out of the R7s so far and I believe it! I really apppreciate the time, effort, and love put into this headphone- I can definitely tell. John is also very attentive and I don't feel unsafe buying from him- which is a wonderful strong point because I buy used a lot and sometimes I feel like I could get screwed when I interact with some listings.

tl;dr Amazing headphones, performs and sounds beautiful. Don't listen to the hype and enjoy the cans

I've been using these headphones for about a week now alongside my HD 560S. I'm no audiophile but I'll do my best to describe my experience. I'll be honest, I wasn't blown away my first time listening to it, and the more I did, the worse it got. I eventually realized it was due to my head size/shape in relation to the stock headband. With that said, John did an excellent job bending the headband into a position of both sufficient force clamp, and ceiling height. I spent about an hour fiddling with it myself, but ultimately made it worse. John offered to repair/replace it, or sell me a R9/10 headband, to which I agreed. My god... was the difference shocking. I could hear details I hadn't before, and feel the bass. I wish I could compare to stock R7's, but they literally would not stay on my head, unlike the modified pair, prior to my attempt!

It's quite impressive how airy and wide the soundstage is given the closed back nature of this headphone. At the same time, I still feel swaddled intimately. I find it easier to listen to for long periods of time as compared to my HD 560S. I certainly don't feel like I'm missing any detail the 560S have, but I don't feel forced to listen to them either. The imaging is phenomenal in "Take On Me", almost like a chill going down my spine resulting in goosebumps. Contrarily, I don't enjoy their sound profile in competitive shooters for positional tracking. I believe it is due to the closed back noise isolation (albeit slight) and increased bass presence. Ambient story driven games do feel more immersive with this pair of headphones though.

Unlike the HD560S that can become fatiguing at times, the R7DX was very calming and I don't worry about sound leakage as compared to the open-backed 560S. Personally, I feel the R7DX's vocals compete with that of my HD 560S and Moondrop Chu's. I don't know that I'll ever be a bass head, but these cans certainly do help me empathize with that demographic. It does not sound overbearing, or congested, but rather up to the task. I just listened to New Order - Blue Monday and was giddy with excitement from the liveliness of that track and more importantly, these headphones.

Although these cans are nowhere near as comfortable as my SHP9500's, I would gladly accept the added modification weight (and more) given it's performance. Surprisingly, the stock cable is both appreciated and underwhelming at the same time. I like that it is balanced, but it could be a bit longer. Regardless of the original sound quality improvements, it feels as though HiFiMan let John down. Though that might sound negative, it signifies an incredible feat to me. It showcases John's ability to overcome plenty of obstacles (including things out of his control), and elevate cheaper headphones into possible end-game territory.

Originally, I had ordered the Drop + Hifiman HE-R7DX while it was on sale for $99. I was excited to get them because of the reviews that kept mentioning its great soundstage and bass while maintaining a neutralish sound signature. However, when I received them, I immediately ran into the common clamp issue. The clamp force wasn’t enough to properly seal the ear cups around my ear. This kept leaking bass, even after I tried to bend and shape the headband. As I researched ways to fix this clamp issue, I stumbled on some reviews of the JM modded version of this headphone that looked pretty good. And so, I decided to contact JM and see what he had to offer.

Quick disclaimer: I don’t really consider myself an audiophile. I just dipped my toes into the world of good audio and I’m kind of satisfied just hanging out on the budget side of things. I daily drive a set of HD600’s through a $200 Schiit stack for most things when I’m on my PC. I have a few pairs of Koss’s famous on-ear headphones, and some KZX ZS10 Pros for outside the house. My point is, I like amazing sound for as cheap as I can get it. I’m going to try my best to convey my thoughts and opinions on the Drop + Hifiman HE-R7DX JM Stealth Edition Extreme Edition (Bass Edition). That said, take everything I say with a grain of salt. Comparisons to the stock edition were done on my Schiit Modi/Magni stack.

Headband- I can’t praise this headband enough. It beats out the stock headphone in every way. It looks awesome. The seal is supreme. The comfort strap feels great. Contrary to most, I liked the look of the stock headband and I really wish it did a better job at clamping force, but the new one just simply looks better and feels more premium. I even tried to bend the headband to increase clamp, but I still felt the need to press the earcups in to hear good audio. The clamp force with the JM headband is amazing and solves the major issue I had with the fit and seal of the stock model. I’ve tried a pair of $1200 LCD-X and this headband is better.

The only gripe I can have with this headband is the adjustment mechanism is smooth on one side but clicks on the other. The smooth side just kind of moves a little on its own when handling the headphones. But when I adjust them and put on them on, the headband doesn’t move and it’s comfortable.

Sub-bass- Extends much deeper than the stock edition and my HD600 and has amazing articulation.

Mid-bass- Sounds punchy, but not thumpy (if that makes sense). I don’t know if bass heads would like it, but it sounds great to me (a former “bass head” reformed with good old, neutral HD600). Either way, bass lines sound tight and defined while not covering up mid frequencies (unlike the stock model). The clamp force issue on the stock headphone made the mid-bass nearly non-existent for me. I had to press the cups into my ear quite forcefully to get the bass to come through.

Mids- The mid-range frequencies are very neutral and stand out quite well. Harmonies are intense and upper-mids are very well pronounced. Electronic music that utilizes a wide range of synth sounds benefit a lot from this. Clarity is where I was blown away between stock and JM edition. I mean, WOW! The stock edition had a very muted mid-range and while didn’t completely get muddied by the bass, just felt very lacking. John really turns this into a new headphone when it comes to this range.

Treble/Air- Not too bright or fatiguing, sounds as natural to me as I can imagine. Then again, I’m not too sensitive to this area. The reverb and decay is amazing with these. I can almost hear the individual reverb sounds from each instrument in busy electronic tracks and I can hear them fading out. The stock edition didn’t even come close to articulating the reverb as well as JM did.

Soundstage/imaging- This was the main attraction to the headphones even in stock form. The R7 just has a surprisingly wide soundstage even when compared to a few open backs. Even the imaging was already great stock. I don’t know how he did it, but John managed to improve both of these areas. Whatever technology he is using to tune these things is amazing. The imaging is now superb. I feel like I can throw a dart and hit one of the sounds floating around me. This is fun with house music tracks that play with different stereo fields on the recording.



Conclusion- Do yourself a favor and just buy these headphones. They’re open sounding, detailed, and just wow. You won’t be sorry. Especially if you already bought and returned the stock model (like me). It’s an entirely new headphone now and I’m completely satisfied and happy with it. Dropping my stock headphone return off tomorrow!