JH Audio JH-13 PRO appreciation thread - Page 180

hahaha!! Using our tax dollars to fund your JH13's, eh? Let me guess: when you're not studying you're going to listen through the 13s, right? Oh, well... to be honest, I was planning on doing the same thing while I was going to college. Guilty...

All clear cables turn green, sooner or latter. I don't mind mine becoming green as long as it works properly.

This seems to happen with a lot of clear cables, especially the Super.Fi 5 Pro ones. I talked to UE customer support about it, and they said it shouldn't affect SQ, but then again, they can say anything they want

Do you know how long the longer black cable is? 64"?

Jeez, man... here I was worrying that it could affect the performance...

Yesterday I had an unbelievable session with my JH13 with Imod/Vcap/ Lisa III set up. First I listened to the whole Spiritualized Live at The Royal Albert Hall. I was really transported there, the realism the JH13 brings is amazing. Then I had an experience i would not recomend to anyone: I listened to the remastered Can's Tago Mago, the Aumng song. That is a truly neurotic song, 17 minutes of pure paranoia, noise, insane tribal drumming, dogs barking, etc. However it does sounds similar to the Ultrasone binaural tracks, with sounds popping from everywhere and the screams and voices overshadowing my mind. Man I didn't know what the JH13 were truly capable until yesterdayr. I had never been able to listen to the entire song but yesterday I managed to get through all of it with my jaw dropped in a mix of awe and fear.

Thinking for tonight in Suicide's Franky Teardrop. Maybe I won't be able to sleep.

A few thoughts:

I seriously dislike the slogan "We call it the JH13 Pro. You'll call it aural sex". Also, I'm personally not overly impressed by the 'cool' looking JH Audio website - I prefer the less flashy type of website. Also I'm not very impressed by the artwork I've seen here but ,for me that's is a non-issue really as I wouldn't want any artwork even if it was free and professionally done.

Yes, an old fart through and through - no wonder I enjoyed so much that TV series on BBC 2 a few years back in the UK called Grumpy Old Men. Basically, I'm put off by what many regard as 'cool', even though I think I'm quite cool myself, but just seem to have a very different definition of the term.

I can't help thinking that the fact that HeadphoneAddict is such a prominent member of head-fi, ie what he reports/ reviews has an impact on many readers here, therefore affecting sales both for Westone and now JH (and possibly other companies) has to do with the fact he has received such perfect Westone and JH sets. So, much as I (will) appreciate HPA's (soon-to-be) great reviews and Jude's, boomana's, Edwood's and other old-timers' posts -- Larry, this is not directed at you personally -- I note the following:

The fact very few people have reported re-fit issues (in fact HPA was one of them, though he later got the most impressive artwork) or other sound/ build/ cosmetic related issues makes the JH customs the CLEAR winner for me when thinking of JH Audio vs Westone & UE.

Much as I like my ES3X's, and I DO like them a lot as many here will know, if I was to chose a new set for me these days, I'd clearly go for JH customs over the Westones (& UE).

Reports on the JH13 from both prominent AND not so prominent head-fiers appear to coincide -- this IS a very good sign in my book. On the ES3X thread, on the other hand, it seems that basically the only people who have not had issues (or have not reported them) are precisely some of what we might call 'the big boys'. I think there are very few exceptions where, at least on Head-fi, average/ unknown members have not had any sound, build or cosmetic issues (or a combination of these) resulting in a re-fit/ shell or two or, in my case, 3 where only my 4th set ended up being the way it was meant to be in the first place - there's a new post of someone who's having a 4th re-fit (a 5th set!).

That's how I see the situation AT PRESENT. JH Harvey is currently breaking into the IEM customs market and he surely knows these early reviews are key to his future success. People say he's personally checking every single set being produced which, if true, is remarkable. Customer service sounds excellent too, and reports of contact with the man himself are quite impressive.

Will JH keep such high standards and that personal touch? Hopefully, specially for us, the consumers. Even if in the future he doesn't do all he's personally doing now, I hope he can at least have very competent staff to take good care of the different aspects of the business. Far too often when businesses grow some things are lost - I'm sure most of us have seen that happen.

So, hats off to JH despite the slogan, the 'cool' website and the artwork. I think Westone and not just Ultimate Ears should take note -- I'm sure they already are.

I agree, Sounds to me that JHAudio has the best customer service so far. Westone does to, but I think JH has gone the extra mile to satisfy their customers. Add to that a great IEM and he has a winner. Sounds to me that often when companies get bigger, their customer service goes off the window....

x2, if I had to choose only one pair of headphones between the HF-2 and the JH13s, I would take the JH13s without any hesitation.

Well, the truth is I got all my earlier gear by my own means. I just moved into my apartment two months ago and my summer aid which pays for rent and food still hasn't come in yet. So, was put in a situation in which I had to sell my beloved gear to have a roof over my head and to eat. My aid should be coming next week so those tax dollars are technically just resetting my situation

Now, I just have to decide whether or not the JH13s suit my sonic preferences. For reference, my favorite headphones that I've owned have been the normal bias Lambda, HD580, K500, and K140. I like all of these for different reasons which I will explain along with my preferences for sound reproduction.

One of the two most important elements to me of sound reproduction is mid range tonality. Without a natural or enjoyable mid range tonality, I can't enjoy a headphone. The type of sound I most prefer is a grounded, weighty, and natural sounding tone. The headphone that got that most right for me was the K140 with its amazing midrange. I also felt the HD580 did this relatively well while the K500 and normal bias Lambda provide a different sounding tone which complemented the other headphones. However, this doesn't mean I like a bloomy or overly colored midrange. I would still prefer a natural sounding midrange above all else.

The other element of sound reproduction most important to me is clarity. I'm fairly nitpicky about the clarity of my headphones since becoming accustomed to the Lambdas. Even on a few very nice dynamic setups I've listened to, I can hear some grain which I know will annoy me if I spend extended time with them. So, if I dropped over a grand on a headphone, I would like it to be exceptionally clear. From the impressions I've read, this seems to be a strong point of the JH13s so I'm not very concerned here.

Behind clarity and mid range tonality in importance is dynamics. I love headphones that possesses strong dynamic impact and proficiency at portraying dynamic nuances. The HD580 portray the dynamics of a large orchestra better than the other headphones I've owned and is one major reason why I like them so much. The K500 was a headphone that I felt was good at portraying dynamic nuances; that along with its midrange tonality is why I enjoy it so much.

Along with the previous aspects, I find a smooth treble to be critical to my musical enjoyment. The one thing that made me get rid of my RS1 was that its treble was harsh enough to cause ringing in my ears after any thirty minute listening session even though I have pretty low listening levels. However, I do like treble sparkle so it's a bit difficult to find a headphone that gets treble perfectly for me. The only headphone I've had with great highs was my normal bias Lambda.

The final critical aspect of sound reproduction for me is precise imaging. I like a headphone that can image well over one that has a large, but diffuse headstage.

Other sonic aspects like bass slam, large headstage, detail, and speed are secondary to me. Bass slam is something that is nice, but not as important to me as the aspects of sound reproduction I've discussed in detail earlier. I can easily live without a large headstage since I prefer a headphone with razor sharp imaging over one with a large, diffuse headstage. Detail is fine as long as it is sufficient; any more is appreciated, but not necessary. Speed is important, but I can live with a slower sounding headphone that got the other things right.

So, from my sonic preferences do you guys think the JH13 would be a good fit? I'm sorry this ended up being a bit longer than I expected, but if I was going to spend this much money on a custom IEM I want to be as informed as possible before I make the jump.

I had the exact same thing happen to me only after 2 weeks with my ES3X's clear cable. I was told by Westone this does not affect the sound. Yes, I was quite disappointed for it to start happening only after 2 weeks and specially considering I've never taken my ES3X out of the house.

You just basically have the described the JH13..

got pictures?

I am debating what (if any) artwork to get for my JH-13's. I haven't seen (m)any pictures in this thread (except for HPA's, which look awesome), and I can't find a JH 13 pics thread.

Would people mind directing me to a thread, or providing links to their pics, or just posting some pictures here? Or, if you've just got a good idea for artwork, please share it! If I can think of something interesting, I'll make use of Adam's skills. Otherwise, it'll just be clear. Can you see all the drivers if you get them clear??

So, you're basically looking for perfect sound?

I agree with you about the importance of natural mid-range tonality and weight. I've noticed a couple of posters comment on the sennheiser mid-range as one of it's strengths in this thread. AKG? Grado? Sure, maybe I just lack experience with Senn's, but mid-range strength isn't something I usually associate with them.

You mentioned the relative importance of imaging over headstage, but I'm not sure whether they're mutually exclusive. For example, with the W5000, I would probably argue that their soundstage width/depth, as well as their relatively weak bass, contribute to their imaging precision. Imaging is essentially created by the perception of separation and space between sounds. I imagine that the HD800's are considered excellent imaging headphones largely because of their ability to create space/separation.

I'm not trying to be critical here, but rather am trying to help you to further define your preferences, so you can better determine if the JH13 matches your criteria.

As awesome as the JH13 seem to be, and I don't comment directly on phones I haven't personally heard, but if soundstage/headstage is high on one's priority list, I would have to believe there are better options.

In fact, it's the ability of the JH13's to present soundstage depth and air that I am still most unclear about, even with all of the reviews. I should say that I think there can be exceptions to some of these rules-of-thumb, which only serves to complicate matters further.

Detail and speed should be definite strengths of the JH13.

For me, bass is really important. It bothers me in a way, because I hate the idea of being a bass-head, but sadly, I can't deny it's importance, mostly because of my preferred genre's.

An L3000 user said that the JH13 actually matches the bass of the AT, which probably floored me more than anything else that has been said about these phones to this point. That user also put their money where there mouth is by selling their L3000. That's a very very cruel tease for me. The L3000 has the best bass I've ever heard in a headphone.

Not necessarily perfect, but at least pretty damn good.

Well, the HD580 mids are different in focus from the Grado mids and some AKG mids. The Grado and AKG mids tend to be slightly to very forward and very euphonic. The HD580 mids have a very natural tone with good weight that make them at least good. I feel that the midrange of the K500 while very nice sounding is a bit unnatural which I don't feel about the HD580 for the most part. However, the K140 is better than those two in tone in my opinion, but it's weak in most other areas.

Regarding imaging and headstage, I feel that sometimes they can be mutally exclusive. One example I can think of is the K500. It has a extremely wide headstage with diffuse sound and great separation. However, the diffuseness sometimes lead to poor imaging. I also think that the size of the headstage is unnatural for some recordings, but that's another topic entirely.

Headstage honestly isn't that high on my list. At the very least, I rate it lower than the qualities I discussed in detail. I would prefer a headphone with a relatively small headstage with good imaging to one with a much larger headstage and noticeably poorer imaging.