[6x9=42]

Jerry just let me know that the final build WILL ACCEPT 16/44 audio from the mini USB.

I'm not certain what his actual intentions are in this regard, but he also said that taking 24/192 from the USB input would add $250-300 to the cost of the device and take about 6 months to become available.

 
USB isn't build for hi-res (maybe this will change with 3.0?), but FireWire is. It also accepts a higher voltage, is a de facto standard in audio editing hardware and a ubiquitous port in laptops. If there'll be a choice . . . rather F than U.

 

[AppleheadMay]

So if I understand it right, the [size=medium][size=medium][size=medium]AlgoRhythm Solo extracts digital audio from an iPod and also has a dac on board, next to a digal output for the JH-3a.[/size][/size][/size]
Does it extract high-res also, and if so how does one get high-res audio into an iPod?

 

[BaboonGuy]

 
Quote:

Jerry just let me know that the final build WILL ACCEPT 16/44 audio from the mini USB.

I'm not certain what his actual intentions are in this regard, but he also said that taking 24/192 from the USB input would add $250-300 to the cost of the device and take about 6 months to become available.

 
USB isn't build for hi-res (maybe this will change with 3.0?), but FireWire is. It also accepts a higher voltage, is a de facto standard in audio editing hardware and a ubiquitous port in laptops. If there'll be a choice . . . rather F than U.

wat

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

So if I understand it right, the [size=medium][size=medium][size=medium]AlgoRhythm Solo extracts digital audio from an iPod and also has a dac on board, next to a digal output for the JH-3a.[/size][/size][/size]
Does it extract high-res also, and if so how does one get high-res audio into an iPod?

as far as i know idevices cant play hires media files. so nope, not really an option

 

[SHADYMILKMAN]

that sucks
 
so its about the cable makers, not eliminating one of the last minute bottlenecks? what happens when they design a custom connector and R&D is finished ... JH-6A? if hes trying to innovate, then put it out there, so far out that other companies cant adapt fast enough, to keep up with the 6-8-12 month cycle JHA has been churning. id go optical with an hbr AOC chip in the the connector.wire and that chip will convert the optical electrical signal into an electrical signal for the BAs in the IEM ... but thats just me. why leave it for the next amp, design it right the first time. squeeze it out! it simplifies the connection to the IEM that way you can clean up that 2x2 structure that they are using now.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

that sucks
 
so its about the cable makers, not eliminating one of the last minute bottlenecks? what happens when they design a custom connector and R&D is finished ... JH-6A? if hes trying to innovate, then put it out there, so far out that other companies cant adapt fast enough, to keep up with the 6-8-12 month cycle JHA has been churning. id go optical with an hbr AOC chip in the the connector.wire and that chip will convert the optical electrical signal into an electrical signal for the BAs in the IEM ... but thats just me. why leave it for the next amp, design it right the first time. squeeze it out! it simplifies the connection to the IEM that way you can clean up that 2x2 structure that they are using now.

i dont really like that idea at all, more conversions arent what we need, and how would you power the chip in the earpiece? anyways, i do think that using a 4 pin connector would be better though than the 2x2 system they are going to use.
 

 

[Sonic 748i]

Quote:

i dont really like that idea at all, more conversions arent what we need, and how would you power the chip in the earpiece? anyways, i do think that using a 4 pin connector would be better though than the 2x2 system they are going to use.
 

A 4 pin connector will be wider therefore causing a uncomfortable pressure point on the users ears.

 

[SHADYMILKMAN]

it isnt more conversions, no need to convert the signal to analog from the amp itself to the cable to begin with. the signal conversion (optical electrical to electrical) is taken care of in the connector (a special AOC chip is necessary, which is similar in size to an XLR connector) which is powered by the amp. no need for a chip in the earpiece (which is what precipitated the new amp in the first place). also the connector wouldnt take up more space than the 2x2 they have in place. your also not limited to 4 channels with one ground per ear ... you could have also send the signal balanced to each driver if you wanted with a high enough bandwidth. i would surmise that a digital file at 24/192 would benefit from that.
 
Quote:

i dont really like that idea at all, more conversions arent what we need, and how would you power the chip in the earpiece? anyways, i do think that using a 4 pin connector would be better though than the 2x2 system they are going to use.
 

ps: can the iphone4 play back 24.192 aac, flac, or alac (if apple even sells music with such a BR)?

 

[Sceptre]

Well it took me a while to read the whole thread.
 
I thought I had reached the end of the road with my JH13's driving them with an H140 optically linked to a Sonosax SX DA-2 DAC/Amp.  The next step was going to be a balanced out of the DAC to a Protector.  Balanced out to the Phonitor then JH13 already delivers a magnificent experience.
 
The existence of the JH3a has made me think twice. 
 
I bought my JH13's blind last June, however, I'll wait to hear the JH3a before I buy them.  Anyone in the UK jumped on these yet?
 
Many thanks for all the impressions and discussions regarding new inputs.  I too would appreciate an optical input for simple portable setup.
 
Very interesting times.  It's been three years since I first thought that IEMs could do it all.  I still believe that portable can and will achieve the same experience as desktop.  Jerry may have just proved that sooner than I thought!
 
Sceptre

 

[ethan961]

I've vowed to myself to never read this thread.
 
No way will I ever spend this much on audio equipment. I'm making sure I don't - what I don't know won't hurt me

 

[tigon_ridge]

I don't get it... what is all this talk about the need to have hi-res usb input (very difficult and expensive) or optical input? Just get a new sound card that has 24-bit-192 kHz-capable coax output; they're not expensive. And, please, don't give me any of that nonsense about how coax is inferior to optical. Also, if you're going for portability, just kiss hi-res input goodbye, because the chances of any portable device feeding a 192kHz or even 92kHz is nil. USB 3.0 still is designed with jitter deliberately implemented, which makes it still unfeasible for the ideal setup.
 
 

Shadymilkman, I'm thinking hard to understand what you're trying to say, here:

"no need to convert the signal to analog from the amp itself to the cable to begin with"

That's not the function of the amp. That's the function of a DAC, to convert a signal to analog.

"optical electrical to electrical"

What the heck is optical electrical? Never heard the term 'optical' to qualify electrons, before... except in electron microscopes.

"That sucks"

What sucks? This is why we have the quoting system, man.

"if hes trying to innovate, then put it out there, so far out that other companies cant adapt fast enough, to keep up with the 6-8-12 month cycle JHA has been churning"

JH seems like he's already going 300 mph with his IEM (and now, DAC/amp /w active DSP crossover) development. "Other companies" already "cant adapt fast enough." JH should focus on one step at a time, rather than try to tackle too many things at once.

"i would go for a single ended high bit rate (hbr) multichannel (up to 4 triad pair channels in some cases; 4x(3 pins; 2 channels - 1 ground)) connector that is small enough for the IEMs"

&

"fix the output connector to something optical, ive checked out some AOC cables and they are small enough to keep the signal digital all the way through to the BA's with clear channel separation on a SINGLE ended termination point on the IEMs themselves."

Okay. Now, you completely lost me. I would appreciate it if you would clarify for me. Last time I checked, there's no such thing as a "high bit rate" analog cable. O_o? If by "fixing" the output connector to optical you mean to substitute the JH3A > JH13/16 cable with an optical cable (thus substituting analog with digital), how would the BA's be driven? I'm sure I misunderstood some of your tech-talk somewhere, so please set me straight.
 

 

[Sonic 748i]

Quote:

I've vowed to myself to never read this thread.
 
No way will I ever spend this much on audio equipment. I'm making sure I don't - what I don't know won't hurt me

Leave, now, do it!

 

 

[digihead]

For anyone that is on the preorder list - how does JH Audio handle the charging your card?  Do they charge the full amount now, even though it won't ship until late summer?  I called them Friday but they were out due to Can Jam and didn't have a chance to call today to verify.

 

[yukari]

 
Quote:

am I missing something?? where does it even say its portable? or is that on facebook?
I think more likely than being a sabre dac is for it to be a class D multichannel amp with digital input
 
of course it probably is portable and there doesnt seem to be a power cable, but all the same
 
interested, but not at that price. maybe when I feel its time to upgrade my JH13 i'll get a package deal then, I dont feel the upgrade to JH16 is needed from 13, i'll be waiting for the next upgrade. I wonder if after all that processing it still manages to be musical rather than just detailed. I dont like the idea of not being able to use the IEMs with anything else because this industry is changing so rapidly its not funny
 
it also appears you cant use it with anything else, so cant use with speakers or fullsize headphones or even as a source for something else; except maybe if you DIY some multichannel 3 way speakers

Exactly....I am thinking some of your points when this thread came out.
I love the freedom of plugging it in different amps, or w/o amp directly in iphone etc.

 
Quote:

 

 

ha, I don't see the point of me getting the JH3-A when I can use the RSA Apache+DA11 combo to drive the customs in balanced mode....and at the same time be able to take the customs out for portable use!
 
The pricing is a little off for the existing customer base for JH Audio...
 
You mean I will be paying 1149+1099 for the 16 and amp combo as opposed to the new guy who gets a great deal at 1748? A whooping difference of 500 bucks?
 
This can't be right.... We as loyal customers should be getting the better end of the stick.I'd be interested to experiment with my 13s if JH was willing to consider revising the pricing.
​

 
​

Price is one important thing considering pros and cons....

 
Quote:

Pricing is a kick in the pants for existing owners, but for new dedicated sets the price doesn't seem that unreasonable.  After some reading it seems like there's a lot of real-world benefits that active crossovers should provide (at least in the speaker realm... though it would seem reasonable that everything other than power should be equally applicable).  I know my speakers can be bi-amped, so I may have to try and see if this makes any difference to my tin ears.
 
Since my JH16s are already on order, I plan on waiting a year or two for the reshrink/revision/whatever that they happened to have released at that point.  At the pace that JH seems to be going at releasing new hardware, keeping up will be as futile as trying to maintain 'bleeding edge' PC hardware.

I also..would rather saves a bit of cash and wait til later to get a new pair with the JH3A instead of sending my current one back to modifiy.
 

 

[Sonic 748i]

Quote:

For anyone that is on the preorder list - how does JH Audio handle the charging your card?  Do they charge the full amount now, even though it won't ship until late summer?  I called them Friday but they were out due to Can Jam and didn't have a chance to call today to verify.

Good question. They haven't charged my card yet even though I ordered it this morning.