[Takeanidea]

Yep it's sure a bit of a beast to unpack etc but it'll be well worth it. My stack of gear is getting higher and higher but this gets regular playtime, always mellow and always comfy

 

[caenlenfromOCN]

I think my Modi 3 is holding the Jade 2 back, however I am amazed at how good the bass is for an estat... but I think prefer the Ananda to the Jade 2 (so far), only been one hour testing. They are about equal for me if I am honest, but the Ananda does something special to my ears. Can confirm this blows away the Koss E-Stat --- not only blows it away, destroys it... never heard high end STAX, so can't compare that.

Good news for next person on the loaner tour though, I can only get a few days with these, I am too busy to give it a full two week review. I will however right a mini-review and listen 3-4 hours for the next few days. So far Ananda is my favorite though of all Hifiman headphones regardless of price. Sundara is more comfortable than Ananda, if I could get the Ananda with Sundara comfort + $600 price tag... I would definitely buy. I am wondering if the Massdrop variant for $600 sounds similar to Ananda... hmm, headband looks different, so it might fit me better.

For some odd reason the Ananda and Jade 2 design headband does not fit my head. The distance from top of my ear to top of my head is shorter than most peoples, maybe I was dropped on my head as a baby... haha The Sundara on lowest headband setting though fits me 100% perfect... Hmm.

@TeamHiFiMAN If I can get a pre-paid label to send on to next person by next Friday, I would appreciate it. One full week is all I need with these. Lack of comfort is main reason I don't need two weeks, plus I am a bit busy with finishing up grad school.

 

[rhester]

The Jade II showed up for the trial run yesterday. First impression is that is a big box (the UPS youngster asked if I needed help getting it to the car, I guess at 50 I look old and helpless). Unboxing pics can come later, I am an engineer by education and functionality is my strong suit, not aesthetics. But the black matte finish on everything is nice and pleasing in my rig. The headphones are very light and feel like you are not wearing headphones (very similar to the Arya in that respect). PLugged it all in , PC with foobar - USB to Mimby - silver RCA's to Jade II amp. Initial impression was great cohesion, speed and sense of space. Bass is there but not dominating or pushed (Arya seems to be better here with more depth and quantity and just as much texture and speed). Soundstage is very nice with great width and height, good depth but a little shallower than width. Separation is nice with plenty of air around instruments. Didn't get to listen to much vocals last night - saving that for tonight - but the instrumental jazz was very nice. Seems a little south of neutral and more clinical than the Arya but very nice. Can't wait to listen to more of this tonight and give myself more time to really put it thru a test. So far so good .

 

[gordec]

Jade II absolute holds its own against the big boys.

 

[marcusd]

We sorted out our full Jade II review, thanks to the guys at Hifiman for the great support. Must say, the headphone is excellent.

https://headfonics.com/2019/06/hifiman-jade-ii-review/

 

[pedalhead]

After having the tour Jade II at home for a couple of weeks I thought I'd post some brief impressions. My source for this testing was a Soekris dac1471 fed mostly redbook from roon. For background, my sonic preference generally aligns with HFM's planar house sound (I own HEKv2, wish I could afford a Susvara, and I'd far rather listen with the Sundara than the HD600 or 650).

With that said, I'm not generally a fan of electrostats as I find they have a tendency to be too lean for my taste. I've not heard a 'stat that can produce the kind of dynamic sound of the HEK or the HE6, and the Jade II hasn't changed that opinion. Like the best 'stats though I can still admire what it does well.

-- The most obvious thing is the airy top end that actually isn't too much in-yer-face as I've heard from some. What I mean by that is, some 'stats have this hyper-detailed presentation that sounds pretty impressive for a while but I suspect would become grating over time. Jade II still sounds like a 'stat in this regard, but to me it manages to avoid sounding artificial.
-- I just can't deal with claustrophobic headphones these days so a wide soundstage is essential for me (a big reason I like HFM stuff). The Jade II definitely delivers on that front. In keeping with the Hifiman planars I like, it's more about width than depth, but I do feel good depth seems hard to achieve in a headphone anyway.
-- Jade II is ridiculously light and almost disappears on your head, a bonus for someone like me who works from home and can sometimes be wearing headphones for ~7 hours at a time.
-- I felt it was quite well balanced and didn't hear any particularly wonky frequency response issues other than what I feel is a typical (generalized) electrostat bass impact lightness.
-- My only criticism of the Sundara was the new gimbal design which I feel might not provide a good fit for everyone. The same (or very similar) design is used here so my thoughts are the same. I'd like to see Hifiman return to a rotating gimbal as on the HEK/HE560 etc as I think this provides a better fit for more people.
-- Unfortunately I wasn't able to test with a different amp (no other 'stat amps here), as that would have been an interesting exercise.

Overall, I'm not surprised a lot of people are enjoying this headphone. I can totally see that some might prefer this to the Hifiman planars if the sonic signature is in your wheelhouse. I'm not in that camp, but horses for courses & all that. Thanks to @TeamHiFiMAN for the loaner tour. As an aside, it's good to see that just about every HFM model gets a tour like this. Whilst obviously it's done to promote the product, I've been involved in quite a few and have never felt any pressure to provide anything other than honest feedback. Cheers.

 

[phaeton70]

After some time spent with the Jade II combo I think I will share some intial impressions.

I have decided to use only the HiFiman amplifier for these initial impressions, DAC is an MSB Analog, all music is ripped from my CDs. For this first listening I have not done any comparison with other cans.

Herebelow some notes I have taken, in no particular order. As a general comment, I must say I have enjoyed a LOT the time spent till now with the Jade II, I was honestly not expecting this level of performance. In the next days I will use my other ES amps and compare the Jade II to 009 and also to the non-ES cans I have. Ah!, last note, these cans are really, and I mean REALLY, light and very comfy.

Dire Straits, Telegraph Road. great impact, good instrumental separation, very good details. somewhat small image, but it's in the record.
Mad Season. impressive transparency and details, powerful basses, very extended and no compression.
Nils Lofgren, Acoustic Live. again impressive transparency and details, can literally perceive all the strings vibrate one by one (e.g. in You and Sticks and Stones), good speed
Pink Floyd, DSotM. excellent bass extension and impact, the alarms in Time are incredibly realistic and reamains always very intellegible also during the climax.
R. Waters, AtD. again incredible transparncy and details, ths cans can reproduce the minimum detail, can appreciate every minimum nuance hidden by Waters. very good bass extension also here, with a very good control and impact (e.g. the beginning of What God Wants).
Loreena McKennitt, The Book of Secrets. bass extension and impact confirmed, very good for an ES can (e.g. Prologue). very natural voice reproduction
Garbage, Version 2.0. again bass extension and impact confirmed, very atypical for an ES. great details, great electrical guitars reproduction, scratchy when needed, but remaining always very well defined and detailed.
Evanescence, Fallen. confirmed excellent guitars reproduction. very good instrumental and voice separation during climax, everything remain perfectly intellegible. Amy's voice is reproduced very well.
F.Mercury and M.Caballe, Barcelona. again, excellent transaprency and definition, very good orchestra. excellent voices.
Guitar Trio, Friday Night in SF. great speed, good microdynamics, excellent definition and transparency.
2Cellos, 2Cellos. excellent cello reproduction, very realitisc in terms of timbre and extension, with a great impact (e.g. Fragile)
Miles Davis, AKoB. very detailed and musical, very realistic timbre of both sax and trumpet.

some pics of the setup used

 

[phaeton70]

a quick update, after some days spent with the Jade II driven by my good'ol friend Stax T1W (refurbished by Stax Japan, with new cap and NOS RCA clear top tubes)

the Jade II seems to lose that little bit of too much mid-highs, maintaining a not-so-bad speed and microdynamics, but it loses quite a bit bass extension and impact.

but what is mostly lost is that fantastic detail that can be heard with the HFM amplifier.just one example, in Acoustic Live when Nils plays a chord, with the Stax all the strings seem to play together, more organically if you will, while with the HFM the sensation to see each and every string vibrate was really strong.

max volume possible with the Stax is also quite a bit lower, beyond a certain volume the cans seem to just stop, but most probably this is a T1W fault... in full honesty the Stax amplifier is not meant for this, it's just more like a very elegant dandy than an Hulk.

if I had to mandatory choose one between the two amplifiers, I would pick the HFM. it is more "complete", can extract much better all the potential qualities of the cans, and it is undoubtedly more universal. only drawback, a sometime disturbing eccess in the mid-highs.

since yesterday, the Jade II is driven by the KG GG.

I still got my jaw dropped. to be sure to not be under some kind of allucination, I have done several direct comparison with my 009.

I will write something more on this later on, I can just say that I'm listening to Alanis in Jagged Little Pill and I feel like I'm listening to this cd for the very first time. and I know this cd bit by bit.
I'm so inside the music that it is also difficult to write this few words.
essentially hifi should mean exactly this.

 

[phaeton70]

..so here it is my final final feedback on these cans.

since some days I'm using the KG Grounded Grid amplifier with JJ 6CA7 tubes (best match for my taste wrt KG GG, have also tried Mullard XF2 and SED =C= ). source the usual MSB Analog. music used same as before, and some more since I was not able to stop listening....

excellent, really excellent match with the KG GG, better in any way wrt the HFM Jade II amplifier (expected, since the 4x difference in price).
these cans scale really in an impressive way. impact, bass extension, musicality, macro- and micro-dynamics, speed, definition and separation of instruments, extreme control also with very complex situations and high volume, with a complete absence of distorsions and compressions (these last 2 points are really amazing in a cans at this price...)
everything is just excellent, a real bliss for my ears. it's just incredible that HFM managed to give these performances at this pricepoint.
tbh, with few records, very rarely a just-a-bit-too-much of mids/highs come out (but much less versus the HFM ampli), and in a couple of cases I seem to have heard also some sibiliances, but could very well be due to the extreme concentration I was having in order to catch some defect.....
a special note regarding the stage, much better than with both the HFM and the Stax amplis, to the same level of the best cans I have heard, and the microdetail, even better than with the HFM ampli (which is by no means lacking....)

some final considerations on the Jade II combo (HFM cans + HFM ampli)
generally speaking the only small problem I seem to see is a bit too much mids/highs tha could be somewhat annoying with some records, but IMHO this is due to the ampli more than the cans (have found this also using the Jade II with an old KGSS and a Stax 232). I have read that this combo lack in volume... well, I don't know what volume the average audiophile here is using, but to my ears this combo has volume in spades, I have never gone beyond half pot, and the volume was really very high for me.... maybe could be the source output level?
so I would say this is a very nice combo at its pricepoint, possibly a best buy as an entry-point to the ES world, but also in general wrt the entry top-level headphones

...and some final considerations on the Jade II cans alone
these cans seem to like a lot tubes, but the amplifier must be at BHSE or KGGG level, otherwise the magic in the bass and the impact is lost. better then a very good ss, taking in good consideration also the HFM amplifier, that I would say is much more than an honest amplifier at its pricepoint.
Jade II is more than excellent at its pricepoint and much more, with a musicality, transparency, detail, speed, separation of instruments also in very complex situations, total absence of distorsions and compression all over the frequencies, very good extension and control in the bass region, very good impact, that are really impressive at 1.4k.
these are one of those rare cans that can be naughty when needed, but always maintaining control and elegance. excellent for rock as for jazz, it's just like having merged the best of planars with the best of ES. specifically a definition, microdetail and total absence of distorsions and compression that push to increase volume beyond the normal.....
in full honesty, I don't know what to ask more at this pricepoint. personally after many cans listened and owned that were somewhat disappointing, I really enjoed a lot the time spent with these Jade II, these cans have really moved me... and this is just enugh for me to say that I love these cans.
in my personal ranking I would say these Jade II is better than Utopia, and same league with 009 - even if with a different character.
don't consider the low listprice of these cans, do Jade II and yourself a favour and listen these cans with a top-level ampli

...and now the heresy: versus 009?
well, as far as tonal accuracy, natural voices and musicality, the Stax seem to me still a little bit better, but not miles away. actually I was able to get the difference only with a very careful comparison. but these little HFM are better in impact, speed and detail (with the correct ampli), going also lower in the bass. I would say an impressive result given the difference in price.

PS I really, really, really, really hope that HFM didn't do as Focal with Utopia for Tyll, with a cans that were actually not really representative of the "standard" one. I will soon discover, since I have already bought these cans and should be at my place in a couple of days.

 

[jamato8]

..so here it is my final final feedback on these cans.

since some days I'm using the KG Grounded Grid amplifier with JJ 6CA7 tubes (best match for my taste wrt KG GG, have also tried Mullard XF2 and SED =C= ). source the usual MSB Analog. music used same as before, and some more since I was not able to stop listening....

excellent, really excellent match with the KG GG, better in any way wrt the HFM Jade II amplifier (expected, since the 4x difference in price).
these cans scale really in an impressive way. impact, bass extension, musicality, macro- and micro-dynamics, speed, definition and separation of instruments, extreme control also with very complex situations and high volume, with a complete absence of distorsions and compressions (these last 2 points are really amazing in a cans at this price...)
everything is just excellent, a real bliss for my ears. it's just incredible that HFM managed to give these performances at this pricepoint.
tbh, with few records, very rarely a just-a-bit-too-much of mids/highs come out (but much less versus the HFM ampli), and in a couple of cases I seem to have heard also some sibiliances, but could very well be due to the extreme concentration I was having in order to catch some defect.....
a special note regarding the stage, much better than with both the HFM and the Stax amplis, to the same level of the best cans I have heard, and the microdetail, even better than with the HFM ampli (which is by no means lacking....)

some final considerations on the Jade II combo (HFM cans + HFM ampli)
generally speaking the only small problem I seem to see is a bit too much mids/highs tha could be somewhat annoying with some records, but IMHO this is due to the ampli more than the cans (have found this also using the Jade II with an old KGSS and a Stax 232). I have read that this combo lack in volume... well, I don't know what volume the average audiophile here is using, but to my ears this combo has volume in spades, I have never gone beyond half pot, and the volume was really very high for me.... maybe could be the source output level?
so I would say this is a very nice combo at its pricepoint, possibly a best buy as an entry-point to the ES world, but also in general wrt the entry top-level headphones

...and some final considerations on the Jade II cans alone
these cans seem to like a lot tubes, but the amplifier must be at BHSE or KGGG level, otherwise the magic in the bass and the impact is lost. better then a very good ss, taking in good consideration also the HFM amplifier, that I would say is much more than an honest amplifier at its pricepoint.
Jade II is more than excellent at its pricepoint and much more, with a musicality, transparency, detail, speed, separation of instruments also in very complex situations, total absence of distorsions and compression all over the frequencies, very good extension and control in the bass region, very good impact, that are really impressive at 1.4k.
these are one of those rare cans that can be naughty when needed, but always maintaining control and elegance. excellent for rock as for jazz, it's just like having merged the best of planars with the best of ES. specifically a definition, microdetail and total absence of distorsions and compression that push to increase volume beyond the normal.....
in full honesty, I don't know what to ask more at this pricepoint. personally after many cans listened and owned that were somewhat disappointing, I really enjoed a lot the time spent with these Jade II, these cans have really moved me... and this is just enugh for me to say that I love these cans.
in my personal ranking I would say these Jade II is better than Utopia, and same league with 009 - even if with a different character.
don't consider the low listprice of these cans, do Jade II and yourself a favour and listen these cans with a top-level ampli

...and now the heresy: versus 009?
well, as far as tonal accuracy, natural voices and musicality, the Stax seem to me still a little bit better, but not miles away. actually I was able to get the difference only with a very careful comparison. but these little HFM are better in impact, speed and detail (with the correct ampli), going also lower in the bass. I would say an impressive result given the difference in price.

PS I really, really, really, really hope that HFM didn't do as Focal with Utopia for Tyll, with a cans that were actually not really representative of the "standard" one. I will soon discover, since I have already bought these cans and should be at my place in a couple of days.

I have been using the Jade II with the LTA Z10e and the Jade II do extremely well in this setup. Very natural, good impact while maintaining space and layering. The Voce sound different but the Jade II hold up and price should not be considered a determining factor. While not agreeing with you on the Focal Utopia, not that the Utopia are totally better but again, are different in presentation and with the Utopia and the Jade II, the amplification is a factor. I use the Absolute, the Z10e and the LTA MZ3, to get excellent results with planar and dynamic driver phones. But all of these, IMO, the Utopia, Jade II and Voce are top players in the reproduction of music.

 

[Makiah S]

I'll be honest I fired up my Jade II demo tonight for a listen after a week of Pink Noise, and I'm just as impressed in my home as I was when I first heard it at AXPONA this year,

 

[DelsFan]

I'll be honest,

I am kicking myself because @Mshenay had these at the headphone meet we each attended this weekend - and although (on more than one occasion) he suggested I listen to them I got sidetracked and it didn't happen. I know it doesn't happen to other people, but sometimes I'm not too smart. Maybe if I'd stayed longer...

 

[frankraindog]

Just a quick listening on these cans, they sound so wounderful Open to me. But the one I tried the headband was making it‘s own „Sounds“. What about your modells?

 

[Sound Eq]

how can i tighten the screws on the yokes of jade 2, is there special tool for it

@TeamHiFiMAN

 

[magnium]

Received the US loaner yesterday. Here are my initial impressions:

The headphone is physically very light and fits my head comfortably. The amp is bigger than it looks from the pics.

Soundwise, it's different from my Utopias and I need more time to adjust to its sound signature. It could also be that the amp needs some warmup time but the mids seemed a bit distant. I'll have more time this weekend for an extended listen and critique.