JVC Exofield XP-EXT Headphones
As a massive home theatre fan and advocate of Dolby Atmos and DTS-X surround formats, I was somewhat sceptical when I got my hands on a pair of the JVC headphones for the first time.
They come packaged in a lovely outer carton emblazoned with the JVC Exofield Logo and you feel a good weight to the box implying the quality of the equipment. I wasn't really sure what to expect when I unboxed the transmitter unit but was very pleased to discover 3 HDMI in and one out along with Optical and Analogue inputs.
At the time I had the headphones I was just in the process of changing my AV system at home so had the opportunity to try sending the master HDMI out from the transmitter unit and into my AV amplifier and discovered that it gave me a second level of HDMI switching and would also pass full Dolby Atmos onto my AV amp.
Pairing the headphones for the first time was very easy once they had some charge in them and the headphones themselves were very nicely made, with comfy leather pads and a good feel to the build quality but also light enough that you could imagine wearing them for a good length of time without fatigue.
The next day my AV amplifier was all boxed up so the JVC's came into their own and boy was I pleasantly surprised! At the time I had them hooked up to to my Xbox One X playing a game called Battleships, and the Thunder of the shells as the impacted into other players ships was incredibly satisfying and beefy through the 40mm drive units. Hearing the shells come from high and behind you as someone targets you was also very effective and a real testament to the height plane capabilities of the JVC Exofield system.
Having switched to Netflix I opened up the stream on the Queens Gambit Mini Series which I had just finished watching for the first time and was encompassed by the wonderful soundtrack, Even though I was used to watching the series on my more than capable AV system I found myself happily re-watching an entire episode of the series, blissfully unaware of the fact I was wearing headphones and just enjoying being gripped by the drama.
Having said at the beginning of this article that I was a bit sceptical about the JVC XP-EXT1's, I find myself concluding that they are absolutely excellent. Great for Home Theatre and gaming alike, perfectly capable with music or soundtracks, very easy to set up, great to use, and a lovely build quality combined with comfort for long term wearing. The leather case for transportation is lovely and the app which I didn't even get round to playing with until right at the end was a nice touch for personalising the headphones' performance.
It took me a little while to get over the £999.00 price tag of these headphones but the more I thought about it the more I realised how much they could do. They're an ideal option for those who can't afford a big scale AV system, don't have space for one, or live in a flat where volume levels would be a problem. You get three HDMI inputs to work with and you could even plug your turntable in with a good phono stage to complete your system.
As a nice little upgrade, after a few days of playing with the headphones (needed to run them in fully) I was also playing around with some better HDMI cables and came to the conclusion that the difference in both Video and Audio from my Xbox One X with something like a Chord Clearway HDMI was well worth the extra investment to get the best out of the system.
We've seen a lot of interest in these headphones already, and you can see why. It's a genuinely innovative and high quality product with outstanding performance. We love them and we expect you would to!
