Impressions on headphones that come from impressions:
I had a chance tonight to compare my UE-10's to my JH-13's with a quick reference to HD800's (that don't come from impressions
)
First off, comments on the cables. The 13's cable measures
48" and the insulation is thinner (not sure about the internal wire), and the memory wire that goes around your ear is twice as long on the 10's. The 13's memory only goes around your ear stopping just shy of the top dead center, with can be irritating because it uses a "sleeve" over the wire which has an edge where it stops. It is not irritating to me, by there is definitely an edge. The 10's has what seems to be a coating on the wire which is twice as long and wraps all the way over the
whole top of the ear.
The 10's cable measures
65" and is thicker, prettier, and has a beefier 3.5mm (1/8") termination. Also the length affords the ability for your source to be put in a belly bag, or laptop bag. Also, when sitting on a chair, let's say in a park or at the beach, can be placed on the ground, or on a sheet. with the 13's having only 48" they can only be carried "in-hand" or in very close proximity and make my usual
drape-behind-me,
down-my-back-carrying, very limiting.
As far as sound quality and overall presentation is concerned, the 13's beat the 10's in every area that I would use for a review, and also my musical listening enjoyment, but only in small increments. It is better, but I wouldn't suffer if I could only take my UE-10's to the Desert Island for the rest of my life, thing.
When comparing the 13's to the HD800's (can't really do all three because there is too much memory loss in between swapping IEM/IEM/Circumaural and volume matching, the 13's need about 10 minutes more juice on the clock dial analogy), let's just say, I'm not running to put my 800's in the For Sale forums, just yet.
Yes, I feel the output from the 13's is superior to the 800's. The bass response, in measurability and clarity and speed, is better on the JHA's. When comparing the 2 soundstages (headstages...whatevah!), they are completely different. Completely. Did I remember to say, "completely". It's definitely a matter of taste. I dig them both. However, the most noticeable and discerning difference is that the 800's push the vocals
much more forward. And the presentation wrap further around your sides on the Senn's. Not unnaturally so, just more.
Overall, I feel that the 13's could be a headphone that, if someone could only choose or pay for one, would not disappoint even the most discerning listener (not that we have any of those, here on Head-Fi
). But, the 10's run a very close second, and the 800's is the best headphone to hit the full size market since the R-10's.
IMHO!
