[milesandcoltrane]

I might have flogged this topic to death on various threads by others and some of my own. But I've decided to start a separate thread for 2 reasons:

1) The JH13 on the portable forums has become massive going 500+pages deep being a tad unwieldy to navigate.

2) I've posted it here in the full-sized forums because, as the title of this thread suggests, it is more probably more appropriate here than over at the portable forums.

In addition to this, I'm sure some of us out there are looking to take a plunge with the JH13 as a full-sized-home-use-audio-device as well as a portable solution.

FWIR, i know Boomama and I'm not sure if it was Jude or edwood or someone else sold their HD800 with the JH13 taking its place. Maybe the lady and the rest of you guys can chime in here =)

I've been on a perpetual ding-dong between getting the JH13 as the be-all-end-all solution for all my sonic nirvana needs or going with a full-sized pair of open cans with a decent amp/DAC to drive them out of my Macbook Pro.

I've been experimenting with my UM1, using them at home for the past few days and the results have been quite surprising. I find them to be more comfy than my Sony MDR-7506 which can get hot,stuffy and uncomfortable at times (past the 1 hour mark usually). Granted Westone arguably makes the most comfy universals in the business.

Soundstage wise I'm getting used to the more intimate in-your-head-IEM sound at home. Granted the JH13 feature oodles of soundstage however on the universal demo version at least, I found them to be very far away from the sound of full-sized open cans.

And this is the niggling point that keeps me from pulling the trigger. When I A/B them with full sized cans I always end up preferring the somewhat bigger sound, despite the the full-sized can's (HD600) being less superior to the JH13 - at least on a technical level.

The other issue that keeps me from pulling the trigger is the price of the JH13 and my concern about diminishing margins of return. When I first auditioned the demo version of the JH13 I was absolutely floored and blown away. After that session I was dead-set. Then I kept worrying about the price and whether it's worth the capital outlay. I went back for a 2nd audition and this time they just didn't wow me like they did the first time. Maybe my ears weren't 'in form' or I was having a bad day, or maybe the price kept bothering me, I'm not too sure. I'm probably going to have to give them another (or a few more listens) before I put the cash on the table and get my impressions.

Ok I'll cut my drivel for now. Meanwhile, head-fi'ers with JH13s please chime in on this topic!

P.S. - thanks to all for replying to my countless posts and threads about my conundrum =) really appreciate it!

 

[jc9394]

When I received my JH13, I did not use any of my full size headphones for probably 3 months and love every minutes of it. It still have more ear time than my HD800 and W5000 combine but when I listen to classical or live recording I usually grab HD800 or W5000 for the bigger sound stage.

If I can only have one pair of headphone, JH13 will be it.

 

[webbie64]

ATM JH13 occupy 70%+ of my listening, but primarilly because I spend so much of my potential listening time in transit.

At home I cherish my electrostatic setups and use them.

If I was to use JH13 at home I'd find it more than acceptable SQ wise but I don't believe it'd be as comfortable over multiple hour listens as my full size phones.

Fot what its worth.

 

[dmcom]

I use my JH13 only for (semi)portable music sessions. As this is only about 10% of my total music listening time, also the JH13 do not get more "air time".
The reason, why I don't use them more often is: Stax O2 MkI and Stax SR-404 Ltd.

 

[Bina]

I use JH13 at home full time, my AKG K701 get maybe two hours of play since January when I got my Jh13. Soundstage for me have less value than other aspects of music.

I often borrow HD800 from friend, some music suits them better, but I will firstly improve my rig for Jh13 and maybe some time later thing about full sizes can.

 

[MrGreen]

I do this with an ER4P. I've not come across a headphone near its price that performs anywhere near as well.

Soundstage is totally overrated with headphones. If you want soundstage, use speakers or a K1000 or something

 

[Junliang]

Gosh, plugging an iem into a desktop rig is epic..
too much power !!!
>.<

Got to monitor every single thing closely.. especially when my desktop rig is a laptop > dac > amp..

but my sa6 in my desktop rig sure sounded nice..

but maybe thats cause its been something since i have listened to some thing "closed", as my speakers and k701 are "open"...

Just a question from me..
Are there any in ear monitor(IEM), that are specifically created to be use with home rig ?
or should I just pair my iem to my desktop rig using an impedance adaptor ?

 

[yossi126]

Me uses them exclusively home and portable, though not of choice but constraints of budget.
The only set up I'll get in the future is O2+amp so gotta save some funds for that.

 

[boomana]

I have both a great home rig headphone rig and speaker rig, but I'll admit I use my JH13s as much or more than either when at home.

 

[Ypoknons]

I don't think anyone is going to mind you beating to death a $1300 decision. But should you be thinking about the JH16 now?

 

[3X0]

Sounds much better than any full-size I've heard out of any home setup.


Plus, you can listen for longer. My ears never ache from having them in, and they don't put a strain on the neck like the HF2s do.

 

[nycdoi]

i dont listen to my jh13 like a full sized can
but they DID take over the job of full sized cans in my case

 

[sizwej]

My JH-13 is now the only headphone i listen to (home rig & portable).At some point this year, i might get the HD800 to fill the need for a competent alternative, but right now i'm more than satisfied.

 

[The Monkey]

I listen to my O2, HF-2, and JH13 at home in roughly equal proportions. The O2 is the best, followed closely by the JH13. The HF-2 lags, but remains a very fun can.

 

[GuyDebord]

After receiving the EM3-pro's from EarSonics my JH13's are getting almost no listening time, still my use of customs is about 20-30% of my listening time, only when traveling or occasions when I need isolation.
For the other 80-70% my 007A's and 4070's get the preference...