Design and Operation.

Both JVAC and VAC iem vacuum cleaners have a durable cast aluminum construction which has some resemblance to guitar effects pedals, especially when you look from a distance at the colorful (VAC is bright yellow, JVAC is bright blue) rectangular box shape and a metal power push button on the front. The bigger one, VAC is 153mm x 83.1mm x 50.4mm and weight 628g, while the smaller one, JVAC is 121.9mm x 66.5mm x 34.8mm and weight 360g. Both have a soft rubbery lining on the bottom with a cutout of the company logo which looks pretty cool. While this lining should absorb some vibration, it doesn’t provide the best “grip” with a smooth surface, and I did notice vacs were sliding a little across our kitchen granite countertop island while motor was running. Perhaps adding some rubber feet or a rubber mat when placed on a smooth flat surface is a good idea during operation.

JVAC.

JVAC and VAC in action.

 

Besides a different color and a brick size, another difference is that VAC has a detachable air hose, allowing an easy replacement, while JVAC has one permanently attached, though I have a feeling if you take the unit apart you can probably figure out how to replace it. Another noticeable difference is in the flow rate spec, where VAC is rated at 10 LPM (liters per minute), while JVAC is rated at 6 LPM. Based on me using both, I think either one is powerful enough when it comes to IEM cleaning. Obviously VAC has a more powerful motor and intended for heavy duty work. JVAC is more compact and will be great for at-home audiophile use.

VAC.

Operation of these IEM vacs is very simple, plug in 12V power adapter, make sure syringe is securely attached, make sure VAC hose is attached, select corresponding cleaning needle and turn the unit on by pushing the power button which lights up around the edges when on. As I mentioned before, if you are on a flat smooth surface, make sure you have something underneath so the vacs won’t slide, or just get one of those rubbery stick on feet you can get in hardware store for a few bucks. While operating, the motor makes a humming noise, not very loud, like a mini air pump. And after you done using it, check to see the condition of the filter to make sure it’s not clogged with a wax. If it is, cut the tip of the sponge filter to restore full power of the air flow.

JVAC.

VAC.

Cleaning CIEMs and IEMs.

 

 

Before I jump into conclusion, I’m sure many will have a question how these vacs compare to Jodi-vac hearing aid vacuum cleaners. If I understand correctly, until now those were the only available consumer choices to clean CIEMs due to similarities with a hearing aid ear pieces. I don’t have experience with Jodi-vac products and can’t say anything about its operation, can only judge based on the pictures of exterior which looks like a plastic box with a switch and a permanently attached coiled tubing. I noticed they offer different models, with the cheapest two being consumer vac and pro vac with a different pump spec. Also, don’t know if it comes with the same complete set of accessories or a similar large diameter nozzle for mesh cleaning. Their MSRP pricing is close to JVAC and VAC, but I noticed consumer vac unit is often on sale. In terms of operation, they are probably the same, but in terms of build quality, looks like JVAC/VAC has an upper hand.

Conclusion.

As I was ready to wrap up this review, I noticed that FIR Audio now offers a service for deep IEM cleaning, similar to some other companies. But in reality, three of these service requests will cover the price of Headphone VAC Junior. And if you are a musician on the road that requires more frequent cleaning of multiple pairs of C/IEMs, 6 services will cover the price of a bigger Headphone VAC.

While being a reviewer rather than consumer, I don’t get a chance to spend a long listening time with each pair of C/IEMs, and many of you are probably familiar that I use mostly universal IEMs. So, for my personal use VAC is an overkill, and JVAC would be a nice to have, but not an absolute necessity. I’m definitely more fascinated right now with cleaning of all my DAPs because their headphone ports have accumulated more dust than earwax in IEMs. Also, I recently received and will be reviewing more CIEMs, thus I’m sure I will get back to update this review after more CIEM cleaning.

For musicians, this is probably a must have tool. And I know of many casual audio enthusiasts who use their CIEMs on a daily basis for many hours, and they can definitely benefit from such vacuum with a deep cleaning power to remove earwax from sound tubes of their monitors. People spend thousands of dollars on C/IEMs and hundreds of dollars on cables for some marginal sound improvement. Here, in theory, you can get a more noticeable sound improvement by using this tool.