JH Audio JH 13v2 PRO Impressions and Discussions Thread.

[mwhals]

Roxanne's cool. I would've ran with it, but was too expensive.

I agree. Lola and Roxanne were my favorites. I may go with Roxanne over Phantom. I think having Empire Ears, 64 Audio and JH Audio IEMS give me the most diversity and allow me to change to different house sounds depending on my mood, music and DAP I am using at the time. I might sell Angie II, but it still gives me a sound the others do not.

 

[Avenida]

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[mwhals]

You have too many headphones!

Is that possible?

 

[svk7]

It seems like I’ve stumbled upon this thread again after having just attended ZMFestivus II in Chicago yesterday after googling “JH 13v2 vs KSE1500” (and “KSE1200” when nothing substantive showed up for that). But more on that later.

I agree with a lot of what has been said here over the past few months – I know for a fact that this isn’t the first time someone has said something along these lines on head-fi, but it’s worth reiterating over and over that people tend to be enamored with the latest and (therefore, /s) ‘greatest’ offerings. For example, there seems to be a lot of hype over the Noble Khan as of late, although there are a lot of people who maintain that the electrostat Shure KSE1500s remain the best IEMs on the market.

I was lucky enough to spend over an hour with the KSE1200/1500s (KSEs), sourcing off my laptop plugged into both a Chord Mojo as well as a Chord Hugo2. After listening to the KSEs for about half an hour, I switched over to the Roxanne’s, the IEMs that I tend to reach for the most over anything else I have, and was immediately and extremely surprised by how dark and almost veiled they sounded in comparison. Now, after some more back-and-forth, I realized that when I’m doing casual or “fun” listening (99% of my listening), I actually prefer this sound signature, especially with the extremely deep and large soundstage that the Roxannes are able to convey.

I then went back to listening to the KSE1500s for a while and then decided to compare with the 13v2s for the heck of it. Now, if I was surprised when I switched over to my Roxannes just before that, that says nothing about my shock when I switched over to my 13v2s. I’m sure I need another 10 hours to do a reasonable A/B comparison between the two, but upon initial impression the 13v2s seem to have the same tonality/timber, similar transparency and speed, equal imaging – all with the added benefit of being able to neuter down or beef up the bass that the KSEs lack. On that note, one thing that I was most disappointed by was the lack of volume one could reach with the KSEs before they started to distort, whereas I could turn up the 13v2s an additional +20-30 dB past the same volume without their starting to distort.

So at the end of the day, although the KSEs were a real pleasure to listen to and I could definitely see myself picking them up for the right price in the future just due to the novelty of having that small of electrostats in my ears combined with the isolation that form factor can achieve that you cannot get with any other kind of over the ear electrostatic headphones such as the LCD4’s, STAX, etc. – I think I would be perfectly happy if I were to continue the Roxannes and 13v2s for a very long time to come.

 

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[kernel8888]

the jh13v2 on minimum bass is the closest iem equivelant to the hd800s ive found, actually incredibly similar in tonality, timbre, frequency. theyve got a similar very slight dip in the midrange and a bump around 5.5-6k, the biggest diff being the increased bass impact of the jh13v2 (which is a good thing)

 

[svk7]

From what I understand, the current JH range is similar - the higher you go up, the more soundstage / clarity you get within point of diminishing returns.

I guess, although I think that can be said for nearly anything as far as electronics goes. However, you’ll find posts around head-fi and other websites (I only know bc I’ve spend weeks’ worth over the last 3-4 years combing through every single comment/impression I could get my eyes on) claiming the 13v2s sound better to individuals than do the Layla’s. At the end of the day, sound is subjective so I recommend auditioning as many brands and offerings as possible, sticking with a decision, and making sure not to forget to enjoy the music in the process!

 

[Avenida]

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[svk7]

Layla’s sound smoother and more refined personally. 13v2s are just way cheaper.

There we go again.

Personally: https://crinacle.com/ranking-list/ and other’s feedback (both ways) – no issue with that.

The one I’m more concerned over:

Cheaper: always careful not to consider price in my subjective rating of things bc http://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/ENGL1311/fallacies.htm

1. Cost Bias: A fallacy of ethos (that of a product), the fact that something expensive (either in terms of money, or something that is "hard fought" or "hard won" or for which one "paid dearly") is generally valued more highly than something obtained free or cheaply, regardless of the item's real quality, utility or true value to the purchaser. E. g., "Hey, I worked hard to get this car! It may be nothing but a clunker that can't make it up a steep hill, but it's mine, and to me it's better than some millionaire's limo." Also applies to judging the quality of a consumer item (or even of its owner!) primarily by the item's brand, price, label or source, e.g., "Hey, you there in the Jay-Mart suit! Har-har!" or, "Ooh, she's driving a Mercedes!"

 

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[svk7]

It’s cool. I was stating my opinion. A potential buyer should go try what they’re comfortable with.

For sure. At the end of the day, I hope my subjective opinion is the same as yours. I’ve been hoping to get my hands on a demo unit of the Layla and potentially splurge $3K on it, but with three other IEMs I can’t currently justify it, along with the fact that it’s been out for nearly 4 or 5 years now, and I’m waiting for JH to come up with something that rivals it and Noble’s Khan and overtakes the Layla as flagship.

 

[Koolpep]

I went with the Roxanne II eventually as I got a great deal on them BUT when I had the whole line up from JH as universals to try - the ones I liked the most were:

Layla
13v2

and then the others like 16v2 etc. I really thought - if my money is on the line I would go for the 13v2 instead of the Layla as the difference for me was rather small sonically but large financially....

 

[Skeary83]

Thought i might chime in even though this thread is pretty dead.

Bought these on a whim, wanted to get into some JH audio action but was a bit frustrated with all the revisions to the siren series and the mixed impressions so I decided to let my ears be the judge.

My main IEM is a Noble K10UA that I am very happy with, also have a pair of IE 800's that have been relegated to movie and gaming.

First of all the housing is bloody massive! And I thought the K10 was big! After fiddling for a while I got a secure fit and excellent isolation. They do look a bit ridiculous due to the size but in the end was impressed by the fit and build quality.

The adjustable bass is a cool feature but in the end I like to set and forget so they remain at 2 o'clock which is more than enough bass for me, without throwing any of the other frequencies out of whack.

Long story short I am very impressed with the signature. Pretty well balanced with great mids and a nice bit of sparkle. Bass is textured with good impact and is of course adjustable so can hit harder. Layla was also very nice but major case of diminishing returns at more than double the price and don't even get me started on the Aion!

Didn't get to hear the Roxanne but I think these deserve way more coverage, especially considering the quality of the Moon audio cable and the overall presentation and sound quality.

Happy that I dipped my toes into the JH ocean and would heartily recommend them to anyone looking at the 1grand price point. Will update impressions as I spend some more time with them, but once again let your ears be the judge if you can, and be aware these things are huge for an 8BA design!

 

[mwhals]

Thought i might chime in even though this thread is pretty dead.

Bought these on a whim, wanted to get into some JH audio action but was a bit frustrated with all the revisions to the siren series and the mixed impressions so I decided to let my ears be the judge.

My main IEM is a Noble K10UA that I am very happy with, also have a pair of IE 800's that have been relegated to movie and gaming.

First of all the housing is bloody massive! And I thought the K10 was big! After fiddling for a while I got a secure fit and excellent isolation. They do look a bit ridiculous due to the size but in the end was impressed by the fit and build quality.

The adjustable bass is a cool feature but in the end I like to set and forget so they remain at 2 o'clock which is more than enough bass for me, without throwing any of the other frequencies out of whack.

Long story short I am very impressed with the signature. Pretty well balanced with great mids and a nice bit of sparkle. Bass is textured with good impact and is of course adjustable so can hit harder. Layla was also very nice but major case of diminishing returns at more than double the price and don't even get me started on the Aion!

Didn't get to hear the Roxanne but I think these deserve way more coverage, especially considering the quality of the Moon audio cable and the overall presentation and sound quality.

Happy that I dipped my toes into the JH ocean and would heartily recommend them to anyone looking at the 1grand price point. Will update impressions as I spend some more time with them, but once again let your ears be the judge if you can, and be aware these things are huge for an 8BA design!

If yours came with the new silver cable that is now standard, it is not made by Moon Audio. JH Audio is using someone else to make their cables.

 

[Skeary83]

If yours came with the new silver cable that is now standard, it is not made by Moon Audio. JH Audio is using someone else to make their cables.

Really? Is that the 4 pin screw black cable or did I get an older model?