JH Audio JH-13 PRO appreciation thread - Page 215

hey I am in the same boat, I have the PS 1000s too and I can't wait to see how the JH13s stack up. I doubt the JH13s can stop a PS 1000s with the "right stuff" in front, but if they do, that would be amazing.

I look forward to reading it. Thanks.

that's great to hear that these top flight iems may make a hard to listen to disc listenable (yeah, i too love TCoL, as well as 'the power to believe'. finally a return to their roots instead of always trying to push the envelope. sometimes rather than being innovative they just sound like they're trying... hmmm, i gotta check out the Frippertronics release. i was probably at every nyc performance back then. was it one of those?)
i never got to see HC perform but i have seen Fred Frith perform. back in the 80s i took him to see a Grateful Dead show (a prog buddy of mine is friends with him). and VdG is once again doing limited touring - i saw them at Nearfest in june.). one of the things that's so intriguing about the reports of how the JH13s reproduce music is the repeated comments that all the detail is there, and that they are one of the most, if not the most, revealing transducer folks have listened through. yet instead of becoming unbearable on less than stellar recordings things always seem to sound good but don't sound glossed over or sugar coated. how the heck do they do that trick - truly pulling a rabbit out of the hat! you have to wonder if the perceptions about this will change as people live with them longer but the reports so far from experienced listeners who've spent a bunch of time with them give no indication of that happening. i'd like to hear more about this phenomena wrt the jh13s competitors and whether this generally seems to be true (music_4321, do you find this happens consistently with the esx3s or just on a few recordings) with these devices. is this part of the design features or do a few lucky ones manage this trick? can BAs be scaled up into larger headphones or loudspeakers (JH13 large and extra large )?

When walking through a forest, you can only walk half way in. You then start walking out again!

As you now, I am very happy with my JH13s but want to thank you in advance for what will be one of the most read reviews on the year. How much do I want to thank you? PM me your PayPal account email address and I'll pop $10 in there. You haven't asked for it. You haven't charged for the review. If you refuse to receive it then I'll pay it to head-fi.

You are one of the contributors that make this community special.

Regards

Sceptre

Yes, the Frippertronics download is from 5th August, 1981 at a place called Inroads in New York.

So, you went to see the Dead with Fred Frith? That IS weird! And you attended several Frippertronics shows? Now, that makes me really very jealous. Those were some seriously daring performances, judging by the 3 recordings I have. I was lucky, though, to see VdGG with David Jackson twice in London in 2005 (first of those gigs being their first in 28 years - stunning performance, BTW)

As for the ES3X, I've been very impressed at how well they reproduce (very) low frequencies and the treble extension (plus extraordinary mids, IMO) on 90-95% of the recordings I have. I find they really excel. Just like on the TCOL album, Brian Eno's On Land & perhaps more so on Nerve Net, the VERY low frequencies are heard clearly, allowing for different bass tonalities to be discerned and, on Nerve Net, also ridding me of the ear-fatigue I'd found with other IEM's & headphones.

However, I would not say ALL recordings sound great. Some not so good recordings, mostly some older classical music (or, for instance, early Genesis CD's before the 1994 remasters or recent CD/ SACD releases), and more specifically orchestral music, don't sound so that great at all, but these same recordings don't sound great either on my harman/kardom & JBL speakers home system. So, to me it's quite clear it's the recordings themselves causing the 'problem'.

Also, remember -- and I've been flamed already for stating this -- I listen to my ES3X's straight out of the HP out of my iPod Classic and, shock horror, 256 kbps files, having sold my RSA Mustang amp.

When are you planning on buying a new outboard DAC, or amp to replace the mustang? I think those media players such as CD/SACD/DVD-A players that incorporate a decent DAC, or spdif out, seem so incredibly expensive. Would probably be much more cost-effective to store files on hard drive, and get yourself a portable dac. OH, wait... standard DVD drives don't read DVD-A?

Btw, I'm afraid Boomana is going to delete your post. He made it very clear about posting about other headphones or iems without making them relevant (in his view, at least) to the JH13s. (A shame, but the rules regarding off-topic posts are overly strict around here - and in some other areas, not strict enough. Praise the ES3X exclusively and you'll get dinged, not just by the admin but by the sensitive JH13 fans; but talking about how you could've flirted with the audiologist but was too chicken to, will get them to laugh with you and play along.) Maybe you should post your reply to daveDerek in the ES3X thread, and then post a link here... or PM the link to him.

All the suspense and teasing are giving me the feeling that this is going to be a really good one. I'm with Sceptre... except only $5 from me.

I spent good amount of time with JH13 over the weekend. I used JH13 mostly with iMod/SR71A/ALO super cotton LOD and now this is my favorite.



I also used iHP140/D10(AD8397)/sys-concept setup. With this setup, I see why many people referring JH13 to HD800.
Besides the expansive soundstage, the music reproduction by the JH13 is fairly accurate. I can't find any loose from this clean sound. Also JH13 sounded crystal clear, highly defined and coherent over the entire frequency, this is breath taking. Music instrument sound reproduction is fairly precise and realistic. In this regard, I'd say JH13 would be the best among the three.

When JH13 came out, I asked Jerry about the advantage of twin drivers for each freq band. He replied lightning fast and here is his answer.
"The balanced armatures when coupled lower distortion. They also are working much more efficiently because of 2 drivers doing the work. Each driver does half the work which increases headroom. A concert PA system like a L Acoustics line array will have roughly 64 15" speakers,128 8" speakers and 32 2" high drivers hanging in the air. Also 64 18" sub bass speakers. In order to create headroom which is gain before distortion you need the work load distributed across multiple components. Yes you can distort all of the components but the sheer gain to do so would be at the threshold of pain. Headroom equals clean audio when operated at a normal spl. Jerry"
I think his comment help to understand the accurate sound reproduction of the JH13.

JH13 can be a bit hard for pop/rock with this iHP/D10 setup. But this is not a nature of JH13. The record engineering is hard. JH13s don't lie, it just reproduce music as it is recorded.
With SR71A, JH13 is more forgiving to my ears. Now pops and rocks sounded pleasant and highly detailed at the same time. As for Jazz/Classical, instruments timber is sweet and silky smooth. I very much like piano tones that JH13/SR71A deliver.
Adding some bass by SR71A is a nice touch as the bass quantity of JH13 is just right. Just right is a good thing but sometimes I want somewhat exaggerated.


Before I get JH13, I thought ES3x is more realistic and more neutral&flat comparing to UE11. UE11 is more warmer and musical in short.
But by adding JH13 to the mix, now I am thinking I have to change my view and I must re-arrange the position of the three.

HPA, Have you thought about posting it on the High-end Audio thread?

From the statements many have made these are being used with non-luggable home equipment. Portability is too limiting a restriction for the 13's. I among many are waiting to see how these stack up against the K1000, HD800 and Omegas--that's the real ballpark these seem to play in.

Thanks for your enormous efforts here,

George

This might be a little extreme but has anyone tried their 13 with the Fiio E5 amp?

Any commends?

Thanks.

Wouldn't that be a little silly to use an $1100 pair of IEMs with a $20 amp? You can get a quality portable amp for a few hundred.

Also, I just made my appointment with Frances Miranda for impressions in one week. Thanks to davederek for posting her name. The impressions are free since she's a JH Audio dealer.

I'm hoping this is not all hype because there's no resale with customs.

Great coverage. =D

May I ask if your D10 is using stock opamp?

I am hoping this is the case. If I get to unload my amplifier and other phones I think I will actually save money with this purchase. What I'm hoping for is a neutral headphone with a bit more bass than the HD800 which seems to be a reasonable expectation given Iron Dreamer's sale of his L3000 after hearing the JH13's.

BTW, the new Porcupine Tree single is available here, the sound is very reminicent of the Lightbulb Sun era.