JH Audio JH-13 PRO impressions thread
Aug 29, 2014 at 12:35 PM Post #10,336 of 10,743
To any JH13's owner who own a Silver Dragon V1 cable, do you think that it's worth upgrading from the stock cable to this one? I've recently acquired an SPC cable from Ted from HeadphoneLounge (incredible quote, btw) and IMO found out that while the cable seemed to expand the soundstage and smoothed out the treble a bit, it did so in the expenses of reduced PRaT and hazier imaging. Would any pure silver cable in general maintain the fortes of the JH13's while improving the soundstage of these? (I'm thinking of going with another one from Ted, but just want to expand my choices).
 
Thank you in advance. 
 
Aug 29, 2014 at 4:59 PM Post #10,337 of 10,743
To any JH13's owner who own a Silver Dragon V1 cable, do you think that it's worth upgrading from the stock cable to this one? I've recently acquired an SPC cable from Ted from HeadphoneLounge (incredible quote, btw) and IMO found out that while the cable seemed to expand the soundstage and smoothed out the treble a bit, it did so in the expenses of reduced PRaT and hazier imaging. Would any pure silver cable in general maintain the fortes of the JH13's while improving the soundstage of these? (I'm thinking of going with another one from Ted, but just want to expand my choices).

Thank you in advance. 

Not wishing to be controversial, this is a very controversial subject. Do yourself a favour and look in Sound Science regarding cables, if you have not already.
 
Aug 29, 2014 at 11:24 PM Post #10,338 of 10,743
Not wishing to be controversial, this is a very controversial subject. Do yourself a favour and look in Sound Science regarding cables, if you have not already.


Thank you for the suggestion and sorry if you are offended in any possible ways regarding my cable talk. And yes I have looked extensively into the topics in the Sound Sience forum and all I've found is posts labelling sonic improvements from cables as BS talk if that's what your're trying to say. Personally, I think that while different cables do bring about changes, these can be eitherpositive or negative so there's no definitive conclusion here. Perhaps I should also say that I have absolutely no reason to believe in cable changes when I bought my first aftermarket cable from Ted (I went with some of the cheapest options from him, fully expecting to hear no changes besides looks and durability but at the end I did). But ultimately up to this point, from a preference POV I think I still prefer the stock cable, so safe to say that I'm not succumbing to the "shelling out money = improvements" mentality.

The only reason I'm asking about the SD1 is that it seems to be a popular pairing with the 13's and even Jerry himself confirmed that the were possible changes to the FR (a +3db across the entire spectrum). All I'm trying to ask is whether these changes will benefit my sonic preferences. Mind you, the question has been asked a few times in the thread and even the more seasoned members here have said that they heard changes with the SD1, so IMHO I think there's hardly anything controversal going on here. It's entirely okay if you think that I'm an idiot, I won't get offended, so please do us both a favor and ignore my BS talk should it get on your nerves.
 
Aug 29, 2014 at 11:29 PM Post #10,339 of 10,743
For what it's worth, I hated silver cables (and those with gold) on the JH13.  Copper sounded best imo and the aftermarket copper cables I tried certainly looked better than stock but didn't improve on the sound.  I think if you do a search in this thread, you'll see several people tried other cables and came back to stock.
 
Aug 30, 2014 at 1:40 AM Post #10,340 of 10,743
Or do what I did and go for a copper/spc hybrid braided cable purely for aesthetics. I don't think I noticed a difference sonically, but it sure looks gorgeous.


 
Aug 30, 2014 at 5:05 AM Post #10,341 of 10,743
Thank you for the suggestion and sorry if you are offended in any possible ways regarding my cable talk.

Don't be concerned at all. Talk about what interests you as much as you like. It is strange how things like cables raise strong emotions on here. I was just checking that you were aware what you were getting into. I used to believe cables made a difference but now I don't. Or at least any difference they do make is tiny and not worth worrying about. Especially with CIEM's as good as the 13's.
BTW. Jerry Harvey is as susceptible to expectation bias etc etc as anyone. Sincerely though. Enjoy being on the forum with all it's different views and opinions as much as I do. (Not that you need my permission!) :)
 
Aug 30, 2014 at 10:39 AM Post #10,342 of 10,743
with custom cables you should be concerned about comfort(flexible, lightweight...) and "microphonics", maybe about how pretty one cable is? but you shouldn't concern yourself about how a cable sounds IMO.
 
a basic cable is already real good at what it's supposed to do. because it will usually have the right gauge and an ok insulation for the current/voltage an IEM will need, and because copper is far from being crap as a conductor. now the better something is, the harder it is to improve it significantly, that's very obvious logic for everything in the world. so every time you notice important audible differences, they are unlikely to be improvements at all. you can decide them to be improvements if you put your mind into it, but the truth is usually pretty simple.
 
Aug 30, 2014 at 12:33 PM Post #10,344 of 10,743
  For what it's worth, I hated silver cables (and those with gold) on the JH13.  Copper sounded best imo and the aftermarket copper cables I tried certainly looked better than stock but didn't improve on the sound.  I think if you do a search in this thread, you'll see several people tried other cables and came back to stock.


Same hear(sic) but I do like a hybrid I got and did like the TWAG V3. Regular silver, the Moon, SPCs and 1% gold/silvers didn't do much for me either.
 
Sep 3, 2014 at 8:44 PM Post #10,345 of 10,743
 
Same hear(sic) but I do like a hybrid I got and did like the TWAG V3. Regular silver, the Moon, SPCs and 1% gold/silvers didn't do much for me either.

Have you ever tried the Litz cable from Ted? I'm currently using one and I can tell you that the sound has been improved more than before.
 
Sep 9, 2014 at 5:14 AM Post #10,346 of 10,743
I recently bought a JH13 PRO FP second hand and re-shelled it. Have I got a dud/fake because it sounds bassy as hell. I have a silver cable and it's still way bassier than any IEM I've ever had. I would never call it neutral. I haven't burnt in very long (a few days straight then intermittent usage for 2 weeks) but how long does it need?!! 
 
Sep 9, 2014 at 7:07 AM Post #10,348 of 10,743
I recently bought a JH13 PRO FP second hand and re-shelled it. Have I got a dud/fake because it sounds bassy as hell. I have a silver cable and it's still way bassier than any IEM I've ever had. I would never call it neutral. I haven't burnt in very long (a few days straight then intermittent usage for 2 weeks) but how long does it need?!! 


I see you have or had an RE400 and ER4PT. The JH13fp is definitely bassier than those two. It's about as bassy as you can be and still be in the outskirts of the neighborhood of neutral.
 
Sep 9, 2014 at 10:03 AM Post #10,349 of 10,743
They do have extra low bass but not to where you're describing. Break in should be a non issue for a used set. Perhaps it has to do with the 2nd party rebuild. If a bore isn't positioned correctly it can seem down in amplitude and relatively increase other ranges. If the FP portion wasn't followed precisely, that could also cause some cancellation at certain frequencies. Jerry did say he had to change the crossover points and slopes to compensate for the drivers being in better phase at the transitions.
 
Sep 9, 2014 at 10:21 AM Post #10,350 of 10,743
Well that's what I am thinking. It might not be done correctly perhaps. I have a set of customs similar to Merlins. 5 driver, TWFK dual BA drivers for mids and highs, the TPeos dynamic driver for low frequencies (smaller than the UM Merlins bass driver). The resulting sound is very neutral and not bassy as expected. 
 
When I switch to my JH13 PRO FP. It's like OMG, the bass presence is unbelievable. The bass sounds good but the high frequencies seem very recessed. Not neutral like it's been described (one of the reasons I chose it). I initially thought it was because the included cable wasn't good. I got a Toxic Scorpion which is a copper cable known for its bass and imaging. It sounded good but way too bassy so I thought it was the wrong cable. Got myself a Toxic Silver Widow and it's still far bassier than my copper cabled 5 driver custom that has a dynamic bass driver.  
 

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