I've been listening to these using a variety of sources and agree that they do scale up considerably with a good headphone amp (although I only have one). This doesn't mean they sound bad with other sources. With
all sources, no other cans or IEM compares IMO (although I haven't heard all).
When listening through low-end equipment, the
balance the JH13 provides supersedes the equipment's shortcomings. I would think for most listeners, the difference isn't valued too much until going up the chain. And even when going back down the chain, the difference isn't objectionable, even though a direct comparison is more pronounced.
Even though there are many traits that make up the differences, the most noticeable between my equipment tends to be frequency response, noise level, and output capability, in that order. There are others, but those are the main ones.
When, for example, comparing the headphone output of the Lavry DA11 to
all other lower end sources, the bass is more prominent and much more focused, tight, and powerful. The midrange is fuller and the highs are not strident. There isn't one particular broad area in the frequency range that grabs negative attention, unlike when listening through the lower end equipment (slight). Again, there are other differences, but those are the most noticeable.
Specific relative observations:
LG Dare: Surprisingly good but has a hard time driving the JH13 to somewhat loud levels (not overly loud). Noise isn't a problem when the music is playing, but the phone's software produces random noise when music is not playing. I don't notice this as much with lower quality devices like the CX300 (totally different league there), even though the CX300 provides much higher output with this particular phone.
1820M: Good output capability but bass is relatively thin and highs are somewhat strident/overly pronounced. Noise level very low.
Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop: Comparable to the LG Dare but much, much more noisy. Frequency balance isn't quite up to the LG Dare suprisingly, but the output capability is much greater. Highs a little strident, and bass is a little thin.
Denon AVR-1802: The worst (least best?) of the bunch. Surprisingly very edgy, ear-piercing highs in comparison to all others (I'm talking relative here), but still listenable. Noise is not a problem.
Lavry DA11: Powerful, focused, tight, and more pronounced bass. Fuller midrange. Highs not overly pronounced with no hint of edginess. Wider dynamics, non-existent noise. Drives easily to loud levels (not recommended
).
Again, these are relative impressions. Listening through any of these devices is an enjoyable experience with the JH13s. If you don't have an amp now, it's nice to know that you can't go anywhere but up if you decide to get one (or more) in the future.
