I've been listening to my new JH5 Pros that arrived via UPS Next Day Air. Another tenant in my office building was nice enough to hand deliver my box that was delivered to their office by mistake.
This is my first set of custom IEMs and my primary concern was getting a proper fit. The left side is good but the right side may be a tad too snug. As I am inserting the right earpiece, it feels like the seal is too good and it is trapping the air in my ear canal and "compressing" it like a piston. I found that wiggling my outer ear while inserting the right side relieved the pressure a little bit. For people that wear eyeglasses, try taking them off when inserting your IEM then put your glasses back on.
Once I got the fit right, I plugged the JH5s into the headphone out of a Clip loaded with FLAC. About an hour later I switched to a rockboxed Ipod 5G with FLAC.
Most of my ear/headphone equipment is from the early to mid 90s. Amps are Headroom's Premium and Airhead 1G. Still have my Stax SR34 and original SR80s but gave my ER4S to my friend last year.
Listening with the Clip, the JH5 Pros bass was boomy and the top end was wiry with pronounced sibilance on newer recordings.
After 30 minutes of listening to the Clip, I switched to the 5G Ipod. The overall sound is smoothed out and laid back sound as compared to the Clip. I pick up more modulation/hiss on some of the older recordings than my other phones.
An hour later, I removed my JH5s and have them on the desk burning in with my Clip. My right ear canal was slightly itchy for about 15 minutes after removing the IEMS. Hopefully my right side will get acclimated so I can avoid sending them back for a refit.
JH Audio sent an email on August 28th that my impressions were received and placed in the queue and got the JH5 Pros in hand on September 9th. This is much faster than I expected; I think the elves at JH Audio may have been putting some OT over the Labor Day weekend.
I did not request any custom or stock artwork, no name on the case and had a preference for a black cable but would accept clear. I did get a black cable in the end. The color ended up being lighter than expected but that is not important to me. I think that being flexible and omitting the artwork may have reduced the lead time.
The JH5 Pros were neatly coiled and placed in a small black velvet drawstring pouch about 3"x4" similar to a Crown Royal bag. The case is a clear Otter 1000 with a small JH Audio placard on the case in a recessed area. This is where I suspect your name is custom printed but I elected to omit to reduce delivery time.
One thing I noticed is that the cord is not as microphonic as my old ER4S. The ambient noise isolation just a tad better on the ER4S than the JH5. I can barely hear my office phone ring with my JH5s on. Isolation is what I really enjoyed with the Etys. The ER4S was a much more forward and darker presentation as I remember, but with different sources. I did use the ER4S for a bit with a Nano and RSA Hornet and the JH5s have a more open sound.
The staff at JHA were great to deal with via email and phone. They picked up when I called during business hours. I have been on the other side of the coin and it is challenging to keep up with customer inquires, demands, change orders and actual production of product for the end user.
Thanks JH Audio.
This is just my first impression- more to follow.
