JH Audio JH-3A

[khaos974]

Quote:

as has been stated already though, everything inside the jh-3a amp is done digitally until it get sent to the amp. if you input analog the first thing that happens at the input is that it gets run through a ADC, thats why a external dac to use with it is a waste of time and money, and that one should always feed it with a digital signal if you can.

THat's why I wanted to make sure, if they sound that good with an added ipod-DAC + ADC stage, they should sound even better with a direct SP/DIF or USB input which I hope there will be.
 
Does it come with a battery? If so will it be replaceable because I would expect this product to last longer than the 3 years I'd expect from a more normal portable headamp.
 

 

[DTSyX]

 
I've got two questions concerning the JH-3A.
 
1. @the guys who were able to test the amp/phone combo: Did I understand the posts correctly? There was no possibility to compare the JH16 with the JH13 on the JH-3A, only the JH16 was available as "JH-3A-Version, did I get that right? (What a shame, if that was so.)
 
2. As Jerry was cited like "I need to know what you guys want", I would like to ask him/them, if it was possible to add a optical in as well. Has anyone already done that or does anyone advice me not to do that because the optical specs are inferior and it would be a waste of time to bother the JH team with such a request?

 

[sling5s]

Wow!  Questions:
1. Does this have a rechargeable battery?  Does it have AC adapter so you can run it off the AC (very much like the Pico amp)?  If not, at home use, it will use up a lot of battery.
2. Is the Dac in here better than the Dac in Pico? 
3. Can the dac be used just as a stand alone dac?  for other amp and headphone use?  (sorry if this sounds way off).
4. I have the 13pro.  In my listening, I prefer the soundstage and the detail of the HD800(the accentuated treble on HD800 gives it more noticeable detail. Can someone give comparisons?
 
thanks much appreciated.  really felt I was done until this...

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Yes it uses 2 lithium ion batteries that are rechargable, though i am not sure about whether if you plugged it in while using it if would still be powered from the battery probably though. It cannot be used as a separate dac, the dac is built into the DSP chip, it is all one unit.
 
Since the amp and the dac are inseperable there is no way to know whether or not the dac is better than the pico, though from what i can tell the dac is very good, matt, the designer likes it more than the sabre, though he did not tell me which specific sabre he tried.
 
I dont think my comparisons would be valid for you since i kind of hate the hd800's, sorry though :/ i feel that the jh-13's better the 800's at everything, and the 3a's better the 13's at everything, so theres my take on it.

 

[sling5s]

Thanks for your input.  This is all crazy. Here we go again.  Jerry is nuts.  We're all nuts. 

 

[qusp]

sounds like a home unit with DXD is in order. this thing with full multichannel hirez digital input could be killer. there is also the possibility matt likes this better than the sabre because CS are more responsive and he is more readily able to tweak to his hearts content. ESS arent always that responsive
 
still gonna wait till the dust clears a bit, the rate this is going, by the time I bought this there might be something else. I like the ability to use my gear with my speakers too, so till I can justify another dedicated setup and feel confident there isnt going to be something only just around the corner i'm gonna live vicariously through those who own it. comfortable in the fact that the rig I already have and one in the works send shivers down my spine regularly and can be shared with those around me.
 
the whole transport side of things is still a bit messy. and the lines dont look like getting any clearer in the next month or so before release
 
but happy for you guys who have jumped off the cliff
 
and yes, we'all'craaayyzee

 

[khaos974]

When Jerry said that a passive crossover in the cable would transform the JH1X into a 2 way IEM, I suspected that it was because the remolded JH1X has 2 inputs per units, which made one input per way.
That was logic enough to make the cable + passive crossover idea unfeasible.
 
I do wonder one thing though, the JH1X will remains 3 ways when paired with the JH3A, right, how does one make a 3-way IEM with only two inputs at the base of the IEM with no crossover inside the IEM.
Any idea how? I have a hypothesis, the amplified signal for the highs and the lows is added together into one input, but they "empty" band of frequencies in the middle make it so trivial to filter that the passive filter needed can be made perfect.
 
Or I could be totally wrong
 
EDIT: I was indeed totally wrong, I errneously supposed a distinvt ground for each input while could have a common ground for everything.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

When Jerry said that a passive crossover in the cable would transform the JH1X into a 2 way IEM, I suspected that it was because the remolded JH1X has 2 inputs per units, which made one input per way.
That was logic enough to make the cable + passive crossover idea unfeasible.
 
I do wonder one thing though, the JH1X will remains 3 ways when paired with the JH3A, right, how does one make a 3-way IEM with only two inputs at the base of the IEM with no crossover inside the IEM.
Any idea how? I have a hypothesis, the amplified signal for the highs and the lows is added together into one input, but they "empty" band of frequencies in the middle make it so trivial to filter that the passive filter needed can be made perfect.
 
Or I could be totally wrong

haha no offense but yeah you're totally wrong 

 you dont need 3 sets of pins for 3 drivers, you just need 4 connectors. One for each of the high, mid, and low drivers and for ground, so two connectors is 4 pins which is the perfect amount.
 
and on the subject of the dac. I talked with matt, the designer, rather extensively on the subject of dac choice. he tried almost every dac when he was designing the GR9 ipod digital output thing, and he said that even though the sabre was the one of the best measuring chips he had seen, and he had the utmost respect for the engineers, having talked with them for quite a while he said, that it just didnt sound as good with actual music as the other dacs he tried. He is using a high end wolfson dac in the GR9 instead of the sabre because he said it was better, and he said that the integrated dacs in the cirrus chip of the 3a sounded better than the wolfson in the gr9. this is all jsut what matt said though, but he seemed to be an extremely knowledgeable fellow
 

 

[sling5s]

The modification plus JH-3A is $1099 on line.  Any discounts to headfiers or canjam attenders? 

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

The modification plus JH-3A is $1099 on line.  Any discounts to headfiers or canjam attenders? 

nope, and i wouldnt expect one, that price is probably too low as it is. sending in your current 13/16, doesnt really save them anything, it actually most likely gives them extra work to do, since they have to take apart your current phone, while trying not to break the shell, which they probably will break anyways, and while trying to salvage the the mid and high end drivers, the lows are a completely lost cause i guess. not to mention that you are getting the whole amp with 6 channels of amplification and the dsp and the case, not to mention the time and effort that goes into doing all of that. jerry admitted that they were not going to be making much money even on the full priced versions, let alone the trade ups, but he wanted to do the trade up program as a service to our community.

 

[qusp]

hehe, I cant really say anything more on that subject or i'll break my NDA I respectfully disagree, but hey thats audio. wolfston dont make a higher end chip than the one in the pico and D10 the WM874X and we all know what that sounds like. there are some interesting and unusual tricks to get the most out of the sabre which are not all that easy to do portable. hmmm
I dont doubt the mans knowledge; that is beyond question, just not sure if his tastes and mine are the same. why the hell dont we ever get demos out here?? that would make this eventual cave a lot easier.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

hehe, I cant really say anything more on that subject or i'll break my NDA I respectfully disagree, but hey thats audio. wolfston dont make a higher end chip than the one in the pico and D10 the WM874X and we all know what that sounds like. there are some interesting and unusual tricks to get the most out of the sabre which are not all that easy to do portable. hmmm
I dont doubt the mans knowledge; that is beyond question, just not sure if his tastes and mine are the same. why the hell dont we ever get demos out here?? that would make this eventual cave a lot easier.

haha, well as i said i havent heard them all myself but you both seem to be pretty smart on the subject, but have differing opinions, which is ok, because regardless, whether or not the jh3a could sound better, they alreadt sound better than everything else
 

 

[Bolardito]

Is there any solution to have a digital source as portable.. I mean for home the macbook, on the go the Imod. But since using an analog input would decrease SQ what can I do to have a portable source solution?

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Is there any solution to have a digital source as portable.. I mean for home the macbook, on the go the Imod. But since using an analog input would decrease SQ what can I do to have a portable source solution?

well around the same time that the jh-3a comes out, the GR9 device is coming out, which is called the algorithm solo, from cypher labs, its uses USB to get the digital data from the ipod, in asynch converts it to SPDIF with low jitter. thats my plan

 

[Bolardito]

Quote:

well around the same time that the jh-3a comes out, the GR9 device is coming out, which is called the algorithm solo, from cypher labs, its uses USB to get the digital data from the ipod, in asynch converts it to SPDIF with low jitter. thats my plan

Where can I find info on this? I just pulled the trigger for the JH3A so I might start to research source options..also is there an estimate release date for the JH3A..it says "late summer" on the JH Audio site..