[Tooki]

I've been listening to my JH16s and ES5s interchangeably for the past month or so.

The ES5 have much smoother mids than my JH16s. They just sound perfect with female vocals that I listen most to. However, I tend to listen out more for instrumentation in my music nowadays, that's why I prefer my JH16s. It feels like listening in a concert hall. The ES5s, on the other hand, feels more like smooth, lush vocals getting played right into your face.

Similar to how others have mentioned, the ES5 sounds better straight out from my Sansa Clip than my JH16s. I listen to it on the go, and with my uDAC2. ES5/DACport is just too analytical, everything is so clean that it hurts. Now I understand why HeadphoneAddict finds the ES5/uDAC2 going well together. The warmth of the uDAC2 helps to tame the ES5.

In any way, my personal favorite at a desk is still my JH16/DACport setup, Smooth and clean trebles, tight bass. I'm not a bass head, but if it's good and well-controlled bass, you can never have enough of it. The ES5 and JH16 are clearly different, and it's a personal preference thing that you got to listen to find out for yourself. I could do with one or the other, and I'll probably grow to like the signature of either of them. As an additional point: My JH16s had a 6 months head start, and by human nature, I was expecting my attention to shift to my newer ES5s. More often than not, I reached out for my old trusty pair of JH16s.

 

[ReligionOfLove]

I Would Really Have to go with The Westone ES5

 

[Eric_C]

Quote:

I Would Really Have to go with The Westone ES5

You've heard them?
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Great set of impressions, thank you HPA.  It's interesting that you liken the ES3X to the HD800, I assume you mean they are similar only in the mids?  Just seeking clarification, because you said the ES3x seem to put you "onstage", and the HD800's presentation is typically described as more "back of the concert hall."
 
I can't wait to see if your observations about the JH13's bass presentation being slightly inferior to the ES5's also apply to the JH16.  For me, one of the JH16's most amazing characteristics is its tight, coherent, and deeply-extended bass (at least in balanced mode with the Protector/SR71b).  I have yet to notice the JH16's bass feeling either out of proportion or disconnected from the rest of the music; the presentation is just very musical and integrated.

I meant in timbre, tone and frequency response - sorry I didn't clarify.
 
Also, the demo JH16 had better bass than my full custom JH13pro, but I only listened to them with Protector and balanced TWag cable which also makes my JH13pro have no issues.
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

I'm honestly no good at describing sound so I don't like make make much comments about these customs as it will just confuse people including myself, all I have ever written about is the bass difference in these and everything I have said is what I am hearing but it might be different for others and I'm sure people don't want their new $1000 purchase lacking in anything, my ES5 were actually the most expensive costing $1500 as i had to buy them from a dealer here in the uk so I was very disappointed to say the least with the bass on these.
A little off topic here but I have read people praising a earphone one day and saying how perfect it was until they made a newer purchase and everything they said about the old earphone just went out the window and you would not believe it was the same earphone they are talking about and their new purchase was now gods gift, my point is to try to demo a pair yourself before making a decision or wait a little longer for the FOTM phase to pass.
Also from reading HPA's post I see he says that switching from the ES5 to the JH13 he feels the 13's have slightly too much bass quantity but from everything I have read before, everyone seems to say the bass quantity on the 13's is just right which I agree with, some have even said that it lacks bass quantity but I don't think I have yet heard anyone else say it has too much, so if according to what I have read and what I find also, that the bass quantity is just right on the 13's and the ES5 has less then that would surely mean that to all these people the ES5 would be lacking bass quantity if it goes from being just right to having less, this is what I have been trying to say when I say that I find the ES5 to lack bass, i also find the ES5 bass does not go as deep as the 13 neither, when the bass on the 13 hits you just wanna bop you're head to it if you get my meaning, the bass just goes real deep and hits you but you don't get this with the ES5's.
On the other hand, the JH16 is just a beast when it comes to the bass.

I have stressed several times that the JH13 bass issue is only with some amps, like Pico Slim.  If I switch to my balanced Protector or SR-71b, DACport or Woo WA6, then it's not an issue.
 
Maybe it's more of an issue of how well does the amp control the JH13 drivers.  In my big review I found that with many portable amps they would clip more easily with the JH13 than my other IEM, and I wasn't sure why.  They just seem a little harder to drive, and they do require turning up the volume more to get the same playback levels as my other customs.  With JH13 I wasn't able to get my Woo WA6 to clip for example, and later the balanced RSA amps took care of that as well.

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

With JH13 I wasn't able to get my Woo WA6 to clip for example, and later the balanced RSA amps took care of that as well.

wow, that'd be pretty scary if you got those amps clipping while listening to the jh13s! i'm not sure which would blow up first - your ears or the iems! 

 
 

 

[Eric_C]

Your mind. What would be blown first is your mind.

 

[goodvibes]

 
Quote:

wow, that'd be pretty scary if you got those amps clipping while listening to the jh13s! i'm not sure which would blow up first - your ears or the iems! 

 
 

Did you say something?

At 119 db efficiency and 28 ohm impedance, I don't see JH13 clipping as an issue. The Westone at 120db and 20 ohm is no easier and should actually pull slightly more current by measurement. Neither is an issue. Impedance can vary a lot by fequency so it could go either way here and easily explain why one is prefered over the other depending on what's driving them but it shouldn't be clipping.

 

[SolidVictory]

Hey guys,
 
After reading everyone's thoughts and opinions, I decided to order the JH16 PRO. One of the main reasons why I went for the JH16 is because I really needed a dependable bass impact and a natural bass response. I tried out the JH13 and JH16 universals today, and they were both exceptional. The JH16 however had a more "cohesive" sound to it, in my opinion, since the bass seemed to "carry" the music instead of following it. I don't know if that makes any sense, but that's what I experienced in my brief demo.
 
I just got my impressions today. For the color, I am deciding between Black Eye Blue transparent, Blue Note Transparent, and Carolina Blue Transparent. I am getting custom artwork, so I E-Mailed JH to see what they think would blend best with the images.
 
I will update this thread accordingly!
 
Thank you to everyone for helping me make my decision 

.

 

[dragonfyra]

ES-5 user here.
 
Agree with everything everyone has said so far, sweet pretty mids, bright but not over the top treble, and good solid bass with great texture, strong enough that sometimes it feels like the customs are slightly shivering while sitting in my ears.
 
But I also agree with Parrot about the impact, I sometimes wish it had more "slam" on a lot of electronic songs, a bit more of the "wooomp!" much like my old Westone 3's (slight bass head here), but like HPA has stated, that's where it's crossing into "boosted bass" territory.  
 
Also, the bass quantity really depends on the source and song, normally with my iphone4, it gives accurate, solid bass, but when I plug it into the headstage arrow, turn up the bass settings... it begins to rumble!  Like woofers in the trunk kind of rumble.  So they're definitely capable of pounding out thunderous bass, but in most normal situations they will give you a more accurate depiction of what the bass in the song is supposed to be like...
 
Throughout my experiences with my ES5-0214, I really appreciate how Westone has taken great care in making sure none of the frequences overshadow each other, they've definitely achieved success with that.
 
 

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

ES-5 user here.
 
Agree with everything everyone has said so far, sweet pretty mids, bright but not over the top treble, and good solid bass with great texture, strong enough that sometimes it feels like the customs are slightly shivering while sitting in my ears.
 
But I also agree with Parrot about the impact, I sometimes wish it had more "slam" on a lot of electronic songs, a bit more of the "wooomp!" much like my old Westone 3's (slight bass head here), but like HPA has stated, that's where it's crossing into "boosted bass" territory.  
 
Also, the bass quantity really depends on the source and song, normally with my iphone4, it gives accurate, solid bass, but when I plug it into the headstage arrow, turn up the bass settings... it begins to rumble!  Like woofers in the trunk kind of rumble.  So they're definitely capable of pounding out thunderous bass, but in most normal situations they will give you a more accurate depiction of what the bass in the song is supposed to be like...
 
Throughout my experiences with my ES5-0214, I really appreciate how Westone has taken great care in making sure none of the frequences overshadow each other, they've definitely achieved success with that.
 
 

Glad you like them.  I agree that amping the iPhone 4 gives better bass, and even with a Pico Slim and no bass boost the bass is deeper and fuller and stronger.

 

[dragonfyra]

Just now I went out to meet a fellow headfier to buy his pair of hd600 cardas.. which... sounds amazing btw, but I digress..
 
Was listening to Deadmau5's Random Titled Album, was getting mercifully beaten to death with the quick and deep bass all the way on the train ride, this is just on the Iphone4, headphone out.  All the way, the melodic ding dings (synths) just floated by.  The Es-5's treble and mids have really good impact, they hit you in the face solidly.
 
Right about then I really wished I could take back what I said about wanting more "whoomp", anymore would just be murderous.... if you like that sort of thing..

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Just now I went out to meet a fellow headfier to buy his pair of hd600 cardas.. which... sounds amazing btw, but I digress..
 
Was listening to Deadmau5's Random Titled Album, was getting mercifully beaten to death with the quick and deep bass all the way on the train ride, this is just on the Iphone4, headphone out.  All the way, the melodic ding dings (synths) just floated by.  The Es-5's treble and mids have really good impact, they hit you in the face solidly.
 
Right about then I really wished I could take back what I said about wanting more "whoomp", anymore would just be murderous.... if you like that sort of thing..

I agree.  Sometimes it seems you think you might be missing something in the lowend.  Then another track comes along and kicks your butt.  There were times I was thinking anymore bass would be overkill by far.  JH16 having more bass than the ES5 all the time would be too much for me I think.  Btw, here are some pics.  I think everything turned out pretty well.  There is some grain but the art I provided was edited by a friend from a larger low rez 96dpi master to a smaller minimum 300dpi Westone required.  So I'm not sure my artwork maximized the potential of the printer Westone uses.




 
 

 

[Anouk]

Hello solidvictory, I am in the seem boat as you although my sound signature preferences are different and I also throw the em3pro and compact monitors cm4 in the mix of iems I might want (because I am located in europe). If you want a comparison of the jh13 and jh16 from someone who has heard both customs try searching for user warp08, he has a review up.
Also, in another thread I came across the below linked review that has the jh16 and es5 in it althoughI am not sure how accurate it is. I believe headphoneaddict has both the jh13 and es5, he also has a thread comparing his custom iems but not sure if he has added the es5 yet,
Here is the link to the comparative review (non-head-fi):
https://www.editorsguild.com/FromTheGuild.cfm?FromTheGuildid=176
Hope this helps,
Greetings, Anouk,

 

[moseboy]

Hello, I hate to wake up a sleeping thread, but I recently have really been looking hard at getting my first pair of customs. Ever since I read the raving reviews of it, the JH-13 had always been on my dream wish list, but now I'm not so sure. I'm coming from Shure's high-end universals where my favorite aspect about them is their amazing midrange. Based on what I've been reading, that immediately gives the advantage to the ES5. But at the same time, after using them for so long, I'm used to the amount of bass that I get with my Shures. Is the bass quantity (as I don't think I have to worry about quality, or at least I hope) significantly less with the ES5 compared to my Shures such that I have to worry about it distracting me? Does the ES5's bass distort if you turn up the volume? Would I be better going with the JH-13, or am I better off waiting for something else to come along in the future?