[songmic]

For those of you who have compared more than one portable headphone amp, which portable amp do you recommend with the JH13 Pro? While many portable amps these days seem to focus a lot on being able to drive full-size headphones (such as LCD-3, HE-6), I think with a high-sensitivity IEM like the JH13 Pro, the actual quality of amplification matters a lot more than sheer power. I use a RWAK100 and compared it with a few other DAP's, but I want to know if others found a markedly improved performance with the JH13 Pro when it was used with a dedicated portable amp for IEM's.
 
For the record, my Zana Deux SE was stunning with the JH13 Pro, but no way I'll listen to the JH13 with such a huge high-end desktop amp for daily portable use.

 

[lee730]

So KKCC are the JH13s fitting your ears more comfortably now? Did you give the ear lube a try like I suggested? I'm at the point now where I don't need to use it anymore and fit is quite comfortable on the left side as well. Just took time to adjust to them.

 

[fkrieger]

First post: 
I have been following this thread for a while and recently (beginning of Sept) ordered a pair of JH13 Pro IEMs. When I recently read about the Roxanne there was hesitation to perhaps change my order, but from everything I read it sounds like the JH13 should suit me just fine. Thanks to all who post on here re: the JH13. Really very helpful information and adds to the anticipation of finally getting a pair! I'll post a pic when they arrive (hopefully soon!). Thanks again.
 
Re: the post by songmic... I'd be interested in the board's thoughts on this as well. I plan to drive the JH13's with my iphone or an iPod Classic 5. I will be in Japan in November, so am wondering if I can pick up a Sony PHA-2 perhaps. Not sure if it will be available at that point. 
 
This "hobby" is addictive isn't it? More like "obsession" now that the JH13's are pending...  

 

[mattwardfh]

My JH13s are on their way back to me after round 2 of refits/tweaks/repairs, due to arrive on Thursday. Fingers crossed, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much in case they need round 3. 

 

[kkcc]

  My JH13s are on their way back to me after round 2 of refits/tweaks/repairs, due to arrive on Thursday. Fingers crossed, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much in case they need round 3. 

 
Ouch... if this round still didn't do it you should really considering getting another ear mold from an audiologist more familiar with getting molds for IEMs.   

 

[goodvibes]

I agree.

 

[mattwardfh]

Ouch... if this round still didn't do it you should really considering getting another ear mold from an audiologist more familiar with getting molds for IEMs.   

I actually went to a dealer that exclusively sells and does impressions for IEMs, mostly for musicians. I'm reasonably confident the ear impressions we're competently done. She did mention that my canals were fairly straight, which can make them hard to fit, so maybe that's the issue. The fit on the first attempt was quite a bit better than some custom tips I reviewed a few years back, which also makes me think the impressions were better this time.

I'll see how much progress is made this time and, if there's still an issue, go from there.

I've been more frustrated with other issues—faceplate was opaque rather than transparent and my initials were wrong when I first got them. They fixed that on the first refit, but messed up the art and scratched up the interior of the shells, and the seam where the shell and faceplate join looked sloppy.

Theoretically this has all been fixed this time around. We'll find out for sure in a few hours. I ordered the first week of July, so I'm starting to run a little short on patience. But I love the sound, so it will be worth it... Eventually.


But thanks for the advice.

 

[goodvibes]

Straight canals are an issue. without a bend, there's nothing to secure them in place so your impressions are likely deeper than some. Also makes comfort harder to achieve

 

[Friskyseal]

I've been more frustrated with other issues—faceplate was opaque rather than transparent and my initials were wrong when I first got them. They fixed that on the first refit, but messed up the art and scratched up the interior of the shells, and the seam where the shell and faceplate join looked sloppy.

 
Please post pictures of your monitors when you get them back if you can. I'm very interested in buying the JH13 but one of my concerns is the build quality of JH monitors. I have a 1964-V3 that was only $400 but the shells are beautiful, and I'd have a hard time buying a product that's more than twice as much yet with an inferior build quality.

 

[mattwardfh]

Well, good news is that I'm much happier this time around. 
 
All the visual flaws introduced in the first repair/refit are fixed. There are a few minor imperfections that were present in the first go. They don't really bother me. If I'd been concerned I probably wouldn't have gone with clear shells. Art is clean. I would have liked the FreqPhase logo on my right earpiece a little smaller but it's not a big enough deal to have it redone again. The "black eye blue" transparent I got for the face plate isn't as dark as I was hoping for, but it still looks good. 
 
They also did a few extra things I requested free of charge. 
 
Fit seems to be pretty good. Bass and ambient noise blocking seem fine. I can tell some slight differences between the two sides in terms of feel, and, and the seal changes a bit with jaw movement, but much less than it did. I may return them again down the line for one more slight adjustment, but I feel like I finally got the headphones a few months back. 
 
Quote:

  Straight canals are an issue. without a bend, there's nothing to secure them in place so your impressions are likely deeper than some. Also makes comfort harder to achieve

 
I think that was a large source of my issue. I was also being pretty picky about fit. I got a pretty good seal on the first go, but thought it could be better. It was more a matter of the amount of ambient noise than of bass response. Anyway, they're very close now. 
 

   
Please post pictures of your monitors when you get them back if you can. I'm very interested in buying the JH13 but one of my concerns is the build quality of JH monitors. I have a 1964-V3 that was only $400 but the shells are beautiful, and I'd have a hard time buying a product that's more than twice as much yet with an inferior build quality.

 
I'll take some pictures for you. I'm just working with an iPhone so it may be hard to get detail but I'll see what I can do. 
 
Build quality in terms of feeling solid and durable is great. In terms of appearance, when I first received them, they looked good (not great) but they didn't get the faceplate color and my initials right. That was corrected with the first repair/refit but some scratches were introduced and art was smudged. Now on round three that's fixed, and they look about as good as they did the first time around. 
 
Ideally I'd like them to be gorgeous, yes, but I went with JH to get top-notch audio quality. They'll be in my ears much more than I'll be looking at them, and the appearance is good enough they won't annoy me when I am looking at them. 

 

[lookingforIEMs]

Well guys....... I heard the JH13Pros today and........ AWWWWWWWW MANNNNNNNNN these are awesome! They just sound so realistic that I was actually thinking about running away with the demo ( relax I didn't haha ) One thing that bothered me though was that me and another friend both felt that the JH5Pro was just as good, if not slightly lacking behind. Detail retrieval is less on the JH5 than the JH13 and try have a very different presentation, though on a whole, they have very VERY similar sound sigs. Really makes me wonder if it's worth it to spend an extra thousand bucks for just about the same sound sig ( the JH5s are $868 and the JH13s are $1888 from jaben ). Keep in mind I'm looking for an end game iem

 

[goodvibes]

Depends on use and need but the JH5 is one of the best values in the market. One I was aware of when I ordered the jh13.

 

[akhyar]

The demo JH13Pro is so good isn't it?
Welcome to the law of diminishing returns. A one grand price increase only gives you maybe 5-10% of improvement.
But it you decide to go for the JH5, you'll keep on asking yourself everytime you listen to the music what the hell are you missing compared to the 13

 

[lookingforIEMs]

Depends on use and need but the JH5 is one of the best values in the market. One I was aware of when I ordered the jh13.

The demo JH13Pro is so good isn't it?
Welcome to the law of diminishing returns. A one grand price increase only gives you maybe 5-10% of improvement.
But it you decide to go for the JH5, you'll keep on asking yourself everytime you listen to the music what the hell are you missing compared to the 13

Well now that I think of it, it'll cost just over a thousand dollars in my country if I buy directly from JH. I guess a 200 dollar difference wouldn't matter haha. Now the only problem is I don't have a credit card and I can't transfer money from my bank. How oh how can I ever buy the jh13s this way

 

[stvc]

Debit card will do, No need to credit card. I order from JH web as well, Jaben price are way higher.