JH Audio JH-13 PRO appreciation thread - Page 197

To be honest I'm a bit envious of you guys. You guys get to know the good stuff at such a young age. I only got into these things earlier this year...

Then again I play music quite avidly only these few years to warrant such expensive gear for myself...

=) I think for hockey JH13s are probably his smartest buys for the longest time... They seem to make everything that much more alive and detailed.

F* it. I'm getting my 13 pros at christmas, then.

double post

gogogo! Go get them =), i'm fifteen. I don't have the Jh13, but i do have the ES3X and soon the 10X3 too. =) Fingers crossed that some magic happens so i never have to do a reshell

So that's three kids sixteen or under that are getting the 13 pros and one for the 10x3. Sweet. We could make a club. Off topic but this has to be the strangest club/secret society ever: The Sons of Lee Marvin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

EDIT: Sarcasm doesn't transfer well over the internet does it?

Oh noooooo.....

We've been overrun by teeny-boppers.

Just kidding.

I plan on enjoying the jonas brothers more than ever on these.

EDIT: Again, it's a joke people.

Addressing general concerns about JHA & JH13s

i just got off the phone with Jerry H. we chatted about a number of things and i asked him if it would be okay to mention parts of our conversation here to straighten out some of the speculative statements that have been made in this thread, as well as for general information.

for those who are impatiently awaiting your iems, please be aware that there are a numbers of factors that limit how quickly they are produced. first of all this is but one part of his business. JHA has been building for the aviation community for the last year and a half and they also have a pro audio business. both of these have to get juggled with the audiophile line of which the JH13 is the biggest product currently. as has been discussed here, this part of the business unexpectedly grew explosively overnight pretty much by word of mouth/internet and it can take some time to ramp up production of custom products. sometimes they are limited by their suppliers, who have to produce custom parts for them (and an order from JHA likely isn't the supplier's only priority). also keep in mind that Jerry tests them all out prior to shipping so as to ensure their quality. right now they can produce ~12-15/day. the current estimate is about 2-3 weeks after an order and impressions are received until they're ready to ship.

he also mentioned that they do seem to improve sonically over the course of several hours of use, ie. they do 'burn in', and he doesn't see why balanced armature drivers shouldn't require some burn in time to loosen up and perform at their peak (i know this goes against an oft repeated mantra here, for which i've never seen reasons delineated).

for those of you who are afraid that the JH13 may be eclipsed by something even better, Jerry doesn't foresee such advances being either soon or of great significance.

as far as more advanced art work goes, the photo engraver machine may be another 6 weeks or so before it's delivered, they're trained on it, and it's up and running. even now the art work is protected by a clear coat so it should be permanent.

regarding lifespan of iems, as long as they're not abused or dropped, per Jerry, they should be able to perform well for a good many years. he recently serviced one of the first ue7s (built ca. 1997) and shipped it back to the owner to whom it should provide many more years of faithful service.

we also discussed ancillary components and while he has found that good amplification is beneficial (he's enjoyed listening to ray's and justin's amps as well as the ibasso, but i don't think he's played with zillions of other portable amps that are out there), and that a good line out cable can make a difference, he hasn't heard significant differences with headphone cables.


Edit Shipping - since questions have come up about this topic i raised it with them:

the other day (Aug 20) i was speaking with Brittany about my 13s and in the course of our conversation i inquired about this topic. what she told me is that they (unlike many other companies) make absolutely no money on shipping. JHA charges the customer what they are charged by UPS or less, ie. on many of the overseas shipments they are subsidizing their actual costs. they are a small company and this is the deal they were able to get from UPS, who picks up from them and is the only shipping company that they found that was interested in working with them. apparently they weren't large enough for FedEx to want their business, and being small they don't have the clout to get a better deal. some folks here find that they have been charged less by others or that they have shipped items for less, but those circumstances aren't the ones that apply to JHA (for some of the reasons listed above).

hopefully this post clarifies things rather than getting folks all riled up, but that is sometimes a crap shoot here.

Cables and hearing differences, unless they are terrible, can take some time. On amplification, well on that matter I do hear differences and normally right a way unless two amps are fairly close and then as with anything, the subtle difference takes time and may not matter. I can say without reservation though that good/excellent amplification trumps anything. Right now I am listening to something that exemplifies this.

I can understand why you would be skeptical, as those are some of the sacred cows of Head-Fi, for many years. I might not have believed my own statement, had I not actually heard the JH13 before.

But the bottom line is, as far as my experience goes, the JH13 can compete with the best headphones ever made. It is at least as detailed as any headphone I've ever heard (including all those on the list), and it is as close to neutral as any headphone I've ever heard. It has a very extended frequency response, without any harshness, grain, or otherwise unnatural or distracting elements.

The area in which some of those full-sized cans have an advantage is in soundstage size. The JH13 has a very precisely imaged soundstage a la the R10, but it doesn't extend too far past the head. The JH13 has a soundstage size comparable to the L3000, which is good but not remarkable as high-end cans go.

I'm not trying to say the JH13 is better than all the headphones I listed, let alone in every regard, for every person or taste. But I do think it is in the ballpark and competitive with those headphones, and the decision would ultimately come down to one's sonic preferences.

And I think it is logical that such great performance could be attained in an IEM. By removing the complexities of the outer ear, the designer can focus on a much simpler equation to deliver excellent full-spectrum sound. Also, the perception of the sound will likely be much more consistent from user to user, as the varying shapes off different outer ears do not impact the final perceived sound as they do with headphones (or speakers for that matter).

Quoted for the truth! Thanks for relaying the reality that custom IEM's don't magically disintegrate after 3-4 years.

Looks like I'm becoming more and more popular by the minute.

Just because you father always drove a Ferrari and even let you drive it yourself since you were 7, doesn't mean you should be able to get a Driving Licence when you're 12, buy a house at 14, marry & have kids at 16, become a shrink at 18.

Well, yes -- it would teach you, amongst other things, to appreciate certain things in life now AND at later stages of your life. Being spoilt at such a young age is (likely) a recipe for disaster in the future.

Joining head-fi a few days ago, 3 months ago or 5 years ago has nothing to do with it. There are new members who are more mature (behaviour-wise) and who already know quite a bit about hi-fi. There are members who may have joined 3/4/5/6 years ago who may be quite immature, even if they know a lot about hi-fi. And equally, members who are quite mature and know very little about hi-fi and come here seeking advice.

Although not ALL young people are irrational and immature, chances are the younger you are the less rational & less mature you are. Obviously there are people in their 30's/40's/50's/60's who may still be immature but it's less likely stistically.

Why do you think car insurance is more expensive for younger drivers or older drivers with fewer years of driving experience?

See above

I said "Many young, innocent and understandably immature new members" I don't think I quite belong to this 'league'

You don't know what MY ears hear nor do I know what YOUR ears hear. What is clear is to me is that the UM3X are not that far from the ES3X and I'm pretty sure the ES3X are not that far from the JH13's.

However, people describe things very differently even when their experiencing of something may be quite similar. You might say "God, I absolutely love The Beatles, they're awesome, just so totally out of this world". I might simply say "I like The Beatles a lot". Perhaps in the end I actually appreciate their music more than you do. Or perhaps we pretty much like them the same, yet your description gives the impression there is, there never has been & there never will be anything as good as The Beatles.

Some of the descriptions seen hear give the impression that the JH13's are like a solid brick house, and other pieces of gear are described almost as houses built of plain cardboard. So, that leads to some wanting to do all they can in order to get a brick house because all the rest are simply rubbish or nearly rubbish.

please do share!

hmmm, there may be some truth there
certainly it's hard to match their impact on popular music along with their impact on society at that time.

besides the fact that 10 more horse power is a lot for some and insignificant to others.