[vrockz]

I am looking into buying a JH 13v2 and could not find a JH 13v2 thread, so decided to create one.

Impressions and discussions welcome.

 

[svk7]

could not find a JH 13v2 thread

Dang, that's kind of astonishing. haha. I'd have thought there would be plenty of threads and reviews out there by now.

Here are some recent first impressions I found user @AudiA713 posted: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/jh-audio-13v2-pro-universal-iem-first-impressions.833888/
And here are a picture of mine: https://imgur.com/gallery/yB47M

I've had my customs since 9/2016. My JH 13v2s, Roxannes, and (most of all) JH Audio's service have been nothing short of jaw-dropping. Honestly, even the 3X sound pretty amazing for their price point. I don't think I could be happier with any other pair of IEMs (I have owned the SE846, Vegas, and 64 Audio U12 for a combined 4 years [notice, "have" owned bc I didn't think them equal to one or more of the aforementioned CIEMs] & have also had the opportunity to audition Noble's Kaiser Encore and UE's 18+) and don't believe most other companies would have provided the same level of customer service that JH has provided me. The only IEMs I think would "beat" what I currently own are potentially the Layla/Lola (I have yet to hear either), Shure's KSE1500 (at the trade-off of portability with that extra amp and at the mercy of its battery life), the Tia Forte (at the trade-off of not having a custom option), the LCD-i4 (at the trade-off of minimal isolation and sound leakage), or maybe EE's Zeus XR ($2500; yet to hear but have heard good things).

I've been meaning to write and upload a formal review on both my JH IEMs (as well as JH's customer service) that is close to the likes of what reviews like subguy812 and PinkyPowers are able to produce (and I've already written a few pages over the course of the last year) but unfortunately always find myself too busy to finish and upload. That, and I don't feel like I have to spend hours on end writing to convince anyone else that I like what my brain hears because that would mean that much less time I'd be listening to my beloved JH CIEMs.

 

[Koolpep]

I had the pleasure of listening to a Layla and JH13Pro demo for a couple of days...

I like the 13 more....surprisingly. I find it more toe tap inducing. But again, these are the universal demos...

 

[svk7]

I had the pleasure of listening to a Layla and JH13Pro demo for a couple of days...

I like the 13 more....surprisingly. I find it more toe tap inducing. But again, these are the universal demos...

Interesting! Do you have any idea at what level each had its bass pot when you listened?

 

[Koolpep]

Yes, both between 80-100% but then, I am sure the Layla is technically better, I just found the 13 more fun for me. Which is a great thing for my wallet.
It’s just my humble opinion...

 

[goodvibes]

Dang, that's kind of astonishing. haha. I'd have thought there would be plenty of threads and reviews out there by now.

Here are some recent first impressions I found user @AudiA713 posted: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/jh-audio-13v2-pro-universal-iem-first-impressions.833888/
And here are a picture of mine: https://imgur.com/gallery/yB47M

I've had my customs since 9/2016. My JH 13v2s, Roxannes, and (most of all) JH Audio's service have been nothing short of jaw-dropping. Honestly, even the 3X sound pretty amazing for their price point. I don't think I could be happier with any other pair of IEMs (I have owned the SE846, Vegas, and 64 Audio U12 for a combined 4 years [notice, "have" owned bc I didn't think them equal to one or more of the aforementioned CIEMs] & have also had the opportunity to audition Noble's Kaiser Encore and UE's 18+) and don't believe most other companies would have provided the same level of customer service that JH has provided me. The only IEMs I think would "beat" what I currently own are potentially the Layla/Lola (I have yet to hear either), Shure's KSE1500 (at the trade-off of portability with that extra amp and at the mercy of its battery life), the Tia Forte (at the trade-off of not having a custom option), the LCD-i4 (at the trade-off of minimal isolation and sound leakage), or maybe EE's Zeus XR ($2500; yet to hear but have heard good things).

I've been meaning to write and upload a formal review on both my JH IEMs (as well as JH's customer service) that is close to the likes of what reviews like subguy812 and PinkyPowers are able to produce (and I've already written a few pages over the course of the last year) but unfortunately always find myself too busy to finish and upload. That, and I don't feel like I have to spend hours on end writing to convince anyone else that I like what my brain hears because that would mean that much less time I'd be listening to my beloved JH CIEMs.

For me, the kse1500 is in a league of it's own but expensive and has the added driver amp which isn't for everyone. My personal sweetspot in the JHA line is the jh16v2 and I think it offers VG value. Sounds the most right to me with the bass turned down to where I feel it's balanced. I'm a fan of EE in general but not so much Noble, the LCD or 64 audio. All good products to be sure but I prefer the Shure and some of the EE offerings. The jh16v2 competes well here. Empire Ears seem to know their voicing while staying coherent. They have a few neutral models but you can can also pick a flavor. I do think the variable bass is a nice feature on JHA. Helps on planes or in louder environs to maintain a perceived balance.

 

[goodvibes]

Yes, both between 80-100% but then, I am sure the Layla is technically better, I just found the 13 more fun for me. Which is a great thing for my wallet.
It’s just my humble opinion...

When I bought the jh13fp a few years back, I clearly preferred them to anything else at the time, especially with the TWAG v3 cable and that included the jh16fp. Cable had great synergy. In the current lineup, I personally like the 16v2 with the bass somewhere around 9 or 10 o'clock (if I remember correctly but it was clearly below 1/2 way).

 

[jgosroc]

Just bought the 16v2 today. A bit early to have a balanced view I guess. Man i love the warmth and range of bass though - it’s crazy.

After a pretty depressing W80 experience in terms of manufacturing quality - everything about this feels premium. I feel like I stepped out of a 20 year old Toyota Corolla and into a Mercedes E Class.

Though the latter says a lot more about the flimsy plastic Westone flagship, than the awesomeness of JH Audio’s fit and finish. But man it IS classy.

Not sure when my partner will forgive me for the wallet burn for a bit...

 

[vrockz]

Congrats Jgosroc,

Did you get the customs or universals?

 

[jgosroc]

Universals / always. I’d love have enough patience for CIEMs... but I keep proving to myself that I don’t!

 

[vrockz]

Cool. Placed my order for Customs a couple of weeks back. Wait and anxiety on the fit is killing me. Hopefully everything turns out well.

 

[jgosroc]

I’m based in Sydney, and often purchased from headfiers in the States. Even waiting 5 or 7 days just eats me up. Well done! I’m sure yours will be amazing. Hopefully they get that first fit right, so it’s a done deal. Gorgeous listening experience. I never remember even K10s I’ve had, bring as much in the bass as these when I first put them on. I think the bass was pushed all the way, and I did dial it back. But it’s nice to know it’s there on command.

 

[willryu]

I recently listened to them and many other similarly priced IEMs extensively at E-earphone (Tokyo). I liked them very much and thought they were a great value for an IEM with a "reference" core sound but with a very subtle tweaked tuning for a little more "fun". Bass tuning was neutral. If you are in the market for this type of IEM, I would certainly be very happy to own these. I have UERR CIEMs for reference.

 

[jgosroc]

I recently listened to them and many other similarly priced IEMs extensively at E-earphone (Tokyo). I liked them very much and thought they were a great value for an IEM with a "reference" core sound but with a very subtle tweaked tuning for a little more "fun". Bass tuning was neutral. If you are in the market for this type of IEM, I would certainly be very happy to own these. I have UERR CIEMs for reference.

My read is these are more “musical”, more rock n’ roll than “balanced” - the latter I tend to think of as linear, with basically the bass side of things dialled down and relatively more emphasis on the mid to highs. So everything sounds “clear and fast”. The ultimate reference is probably Shure KSE1500.

But we all bring very different notions of “reference versus coloured”. On this forum there are threads dedicated to the semantic challenge of describing what we mean by our impressions of hi-fi.

I’ve also had a pretty decent testing of high end iems, not everything obviously. The u18 is probably the most impressive iem I’ve ever heard, but if I pay $4k on a pair of iems I’m going to get divorced... (actually we live in sin, but you get the idea).

Similarly a heavy listening session of some high end iems, made me super impressed with this line of iems. Historically I’ve mainly bought Nobles, Shures Westones but needed to get out of that rut. The above are all good, but sometimes you need a change... Happy listening all! I hope this thread grows, maybe the recent downward price adjustment will drive sales, and hence more feedback on this forum thread.

 

[BartSimpson1976]

after having let go my JH13v2 Universals due to comfort issues and having replaced them with Etmotics ER4XR I am contemplating
about getting the JH13v2 again as custom version. Send some questions about design possibilities to JH and got fast and good feedback.