[jp11801]

the JH13s do beat (and make mincemeat) out of many decent full sized cans like the HD 600/650, AKG 701, Grado GS1000...

I found them superior in tone to the HD800 not a clear and total victory but enough to have me not get the HD800 and go JH13. Amps to make a difference, out of an ipod they are great but out of a top flight portable or crazy as it seems a great home amp they are spectacular.

I've owned Qualias, Leatherheads, PS1s, HP1000s, AKG 1000s and the 13s do not leave me wanting at all.

I find myself reaching for the 13s about as much as I reach for the O2s.

 

[KLS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunalraiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif IEMs could never beat decent open headphones.

Is this based on your experienced? By 'could never beat', in what aspects do you mean?

I have yet to try customs by the way.

 

[milesandcoltrane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bína /img/forum/go_quote.gif I prefered Jh13 directly from iphone to AKG K701 driven by rig around 1500$. It is quite different feeling, but Jh13 just wins in details, imagination and speed and that is what I'm looking for in music. Also, I feel that JH13 for me sounds more realistic.

I remember the first time I tried a K701 out of an MF X-Can years ago, when it was first released. I was stunned, coming from bassy consumer level cans, understandably so. At that time everyone was raving about the K701. And I recall wanting a pair badly, but thought to myself one day I'll just indulge myself and treat me ears to some good sounds. Now the JH13 is getting similar hype (though I'd concede that its coming from people with alot of experience, and almost little to no negative feedback). This hobby is endless in its pursuit for your precious moolah! Haha!

Thanks for your input Bina! I'm looking forward to the details of your upcoming home setup for the JH13

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunalraiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif IEMs could never beat decent open headphones.

That's what I thought initially. That and the 'fact' that you'd have to spend alot more on IEMs to get the SQ of a much cheaper full-sized open cans.

But somehow the JH13 and possibly the JH16 as well, seem to defy this previously closely-held belief.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif the JH13s do beat (and make mincemeat) out of many decent full sized cans like the HD 600/650, AKG 701, Grado GS1000... I found them superior in tone to the HD800 not a clear and total victory but enough to have me not get the HD800 and go JH13. Amps to make a difference, out of an ipod they are great but out of a top flight portable or crazy as it seems a great home amp they are spectacular. I've owned Qualias, Leatherheads, PS1s, HP1000s, AKG 1000s and the 13s do not leave me wanting at all. I find myself reaching for the 13s about as much as I reach for the O2s.

jp! you're one of the experienced people I'm talking about. I definitely want to give everything from the Qualias to the AKG 1000s a listen but if the JH13 can break into this highly-regarded circle of uber high end cans then I can see that the JH13 certainly offer a lot of bang for the buck.

At the end of the day though, I guess its all about the presentation. I reckon if one were to live with the JH13 and listen to them regularly, barring extraneous circumstances, he/she would come to prefer the presentation of the 13s.

Comfort is another factor that's got me thinking that the JH13 is alot more attractive than full-sized cans. Of all the can's I've tried none have been able to give me utmost comfort for long listening sessions. The DT880 was close, but it too gave me sweaty ears after 4-5 hours. My UM1 on the hand can be worn for hours on end. If the fit is perfect I suspect comfort would absolutely fantastic on the JH13.

 

[Bina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milesandcoltrane /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for your input Bina! I'm looking forward to the details of your upcoming home setup for the JH13

I decided on top Czech DIY balanced dac with build in balanced amp. Just after I finished my school leaving exams, I'm going to put it together.

 

[webbie64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I find myself reaching for the 13s about as much as I reach for the O2s.

JP, when you want to have some fun try this - pick a good source with multiple digital out feeding your best portable JH13 rig and your best home O2 rig (you choose which is fed optically and which by coax). Set the source to play mono with some of your favourite (test) tracks. Wear just one side of your JH13 (e.g. left ear) and place your O2s on (so, for example, you're hearing the right ear through them). Volume match the two amps/rigs being used and listen to an ear-by-ear comparison.

It's definitely not completely separate (even customs don't block out all external sound, let alone the other differences in the two rigs feeding you the sound) but I find it to be an interesting (fun) comparison (that makes me appreciate all that both my best portable and my best home rigs provide for me).

Let us know what you think.

Quote:

Originally Posted by milesandcoltrane /img/forum/go_quote.gif My UM1 on the hand can be worn for hours on end. If the fit is perfect I suspect comfort would absolutely fantastic on the JH13.

Yes. The comfort is fantastic with customs. I can't honestly remember the comfort of my UM2s from a few years ago (which I also found great at the time comfort-wise) but I'd gamble I'd find them less comfortable than I remember given so much time now with customs (I mean I definitely notice the difference when I occasionally use my ER4Ps).

 

[prone2phone]

are there people who prefer hd600 over jr13? didn't try these, but i personally enjoy big, out of the head sounstage of big cans and details are not so important

 

[Bina]

If soundstage is most important for you, even best customs cant satisfy you.

In other parts of sound, I just quete part of Headphoneaddict review:
Quote:

I once told someone that the JH13Pro don't really sound like an HD600 but if you like the HD600 you will like the JH13Pro. I said that if you take an HD600 and add better base extension and power, and make the soundstage deeper, and remove the slight veil over the details, and speed up the transient response, and tweak a few other things then you might get close to a JH13Pro.

 

[bada bing]

The JH13 is one of those rare, stunningly good products that clearly separates itself from it's competition. It deserves the praise it gets.

But when I sit down within reach of my HD800 rig and have time to dedicate to listening to music, I never choose the JH13 instead. If the HD800 is available, it gets used. That's no knock on the JH13, because for it's niche I think the JH13 more clearly separates itself from it's competition (the IEM world) than the HD800 does from it's direct competition.

If you asked the questions:
If you could only have one rig, would it be based on the JH13 ?
Could you be happy and satisfied with only the JH13 ?
My answer is yes.

But since you asked: Do JH13 really rival/surpass the best full-size reference headphones available? My answer is a pretty clear "no".

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp11801 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Amps to make a difference, out of an ipod they are great but out of a top flight portable or crazy as it seems a great home amp they are spectacular.

For anyone who's pursuing an "ultimate" JH13 system using desktop, line powered amps, I'd put in a caveat. The JH13 reveals far more hiss and hum from amps than any other driver I'm aware of. It's a brutal combination of extremely low impedance, extremely high efficiency and a very detailed presentation. Because of this, there are many good high end amps that are considered to have a totally "black" background that the JH13 will reveal noise on. It's not a defect in the JH13 or the amps, it's a mismatched application. If background noise really bothers you, don't necessarily expect a high zoot, highly touted line powered amp designed for full sized headphones to be absolutely noiseless. It may very well not be with the JH13.