[LiteKirby]

Never really reviewed headphones before, but I guess we all gotta start somewhere.  I'm not going to pretend to be super knowledgeable or anything, really the only other IEMs I have had that I can compare these to are the UM3X, the Image X10s, and the Custom 3's, but I can do my best.
 
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Packaging: Mine didn't come with much, simply the Otterbox, a small baggy, the cleaning tool, and the IEMs.  Not that I really wanted a big bulky package of things, and personally I love the box, feels incredibly sturdy, and the personalization is quite nice.
 
Look/Feel: I opted for Black Trans with custom artwork, and while I think they're a bit lighter black than I wanted, I will say that I'm quite happy with the way they look.  The art looks great, albeit a bit small, but otherwise amazing.  The cable feels and looks the same as the UM3X cable, are they the same?  Regardless, I liked the Westone cable because it felt very well made and sturdy, and the JH5s cable feels the same way, no disappointment there.
 
Comfort:  At first it felt a bit weird getting them in/out of my ear, in fact it's only the second day, so I'm sure it'll take a while to get accustomed to.  That said, placing them in my ear is quite easy, removing them is a bit harder, but that may be simply because I think I'm being too forceful and may break them.  When wearing them, I forget they're in my ears, there's no real feel of anything being in there.  One minor thing is, and I'm not sure if this is how they're supposed to be or not, but when I open my mouth wide, they almost, not lose their seal but they sort of, I guess you can hear them move, but the seal isn't lost.  And when I take steps, I can hear it (microphonics?  I don't think it's the cable), but I'm not sure if that's normal or not.  Regardless, the seal is amazing, and I've almost fallen asleep with them on, but I'm too scared in case I somehow lay on them or something and damage them.  Paranoia!
 
Sound:  Probably the part most people were waiting for.  In comparison to the other three headphones I've heard, the easiest way I can describe them is...  Bass wise, they don't go AS low as the X10s, by a slight margin, but there's certain enough bass, and I dare say it sounds better, not as 'muddy', not that the X10 bass is muddy, but in comparison it somewhat feels like it is.  The details feel on par with the UM3X if not better, the mids feel smoother, and the soundstage seems larger than the other three entirely.  Note that this is without burn in, I'm not sure if the sound will improve.  Currently my setup is iPod Touch 3g --> JH5s, I do have a CMoY Amp that I intend to try these with to see if they improve with amping, but currently it sounds amazing to me.
 
All in all, I'm quite pleased with my purchase.  The sound is at least as good as I wanted, if not much better, emails were responded to promptly, any questions were answered easily.  Total time between shipping to them and receiving them at my home was around two weeks, so not too bad of a turn around.
 
I wish I had a camera to take pictures, currently the only image I have of them is the image they posted on their facebook.
 

 
The add image button doesn't seem to be working for me...

Anyway, I hope to be able to add to this once I burn them in for a week or two, see if the sound changes at all.

 

[pellegrino10]

Nice. Just got mine too, and they are great compared to other phones I have owned. Very happy as well. Mine were turned around in a single day, unreal. Maybe cause I got the stock clear with clear cable, not sure. But very happy owner  as well. Enjoy. I once owned the X10s and UM3X, and the JH5s are much better to my ears.

 

[revolink24]

These are the headphones that are most interesting to me right now. Hopefully they'll have a universal demo pair at the upcoming New York meet for me to try out. Thanks for the impressions.

 

[xXFallenAngelXx]

Im looking forward to the reviews, I've had my eyes on the jh5s for a while but they are often overlooked because people tend to go for the top when going to customs which is not a bad idea of any sort..we always seem to be looking for some upgrades.

 

[pizzafilms]

Jerry showed me the simplest way to get them out: Don't try to twist them out like the reverse of putting them in. Instead, just push on your ear at the lowest part where the earpiece meets your ear and that will unseat the earpiece and you can then just grab it. You'd have a real hard time damaging them...they're pretty tough. The weakest point in the link is the cable and that's replaceable. 
 
BTW, everything else you said is pretty normal. Hearing your footsteps is normal because your ears are effectively sealed. Chewing will make some low end noise as well. Opening your mouth very wide changes the shape of your ear canal quite a bit, so yeah, it should *almost* lose seal. As an experiment, put your pinky in your ear and then open your mouth wide and you can feel how much your canal changes.
 
Not to start a war, but the only burn-in here is really only in your brain. Your brain gets used to what it hears and your perception of normal adjusts. I've had my 5's for 6 months and they never disappoint.
 
Enjoy...

 

[rawrster]

One would think that's the first thing you try to do when you take them out wouldn't it? I had to learn how to put them on by watching a video but I didn't think twice about how to take them out.

 

[azndmp]

really nice review thanks alot .

 

[LiteKirby]

Been just a bit under a week since I've had them, but I figured I'd add a few more of my opinions on them.
 
Whether or not burn-in is truth or not, I do feel they're improving slightly.  Maybe it's me getting used to the sound signature, or maybe it really is burn-in, but they do feel to have improved a tiny bit.  The bass seems a tad more pronounced, and the highs seem to be... higher?  Not sure how to put it, almost like I can pick up even more detail, I guess, like everything is improving ever so slightly. 
 
As for improvement with amping, I've only got a small cmoy amp, but it seemed to improve with amping.  The bass seemed to go deeper, the soundstage seemed to widen, made it sound, at least to my ears, exactly like what I was looking for.
 
As for the seal almost breaking and stuff, I'm not sure if I just learned to put them in properly, or my ears are growing accustomed to having them there, but I don't seem to lose it as much when I speak/eat/whatever, or hear my foot steps when walking/running.
 
All in all, as I said before, I'm quite happy with my purchase, I can safely say they're better than my previous IEMs, the UM3X, the X10s, or the C3s.

 

[xXFallenAngelXx]

Quote:

Been just a bit under a week since I've had them, but I figured I'd add a few more of my opinions on them.
 
Whether or not burn-in is truth or not, I do feel they're improving slightly.  Maybe it's me getting used to the sound signature, or maybe it really is burn-in, but they do feel to have improved a tiny bit.  The bass seems a tad more pronounced, and the highs seem to be... higher?  Not sure how to put it, almost like I can pick up even more detail, I guess, like everything is improving ever so slightly. 
 
As for improvement with amping, I've only got a small cmoy amp, but it seemed to improve with amping.  The bass seemed to go deeper, the soundstage seemed to widen, made it sound, at least to my ears, exactly like what I was looking for.
 
As for the seal almost breaking and stuff, I'm not sure if I just learned to put them in properly, or my ears are growing accustomed to having them there, but I don't seem to lose it as much when I speak/eat/whatever, or hear my foot steps when walking/running.
 
All in all, as I said before, I'm quite happy with my purchase, I can safely say they're better than my previous IEMs, the UM3X, the X10s, or the C3s.

That seems very promising..looking forward  to further impressions on them when you have them for a longer period of time.Thanks 
 

 

[pomme de terre]

Quote:

 And when I take steps, I can hear it (microphonics?  I don't think it's the cable), but I'm not sure if that's normal or not. 

Bone conduction, normal