Now that I've had a couple of days to listen to my 16's, I wanted to pass on my impressions since I know that I desperately sought opinions while researching. I've tried not to repeat too much of what other members have posted in their reviews, focusing more on new insight I could bring to the discussion. With that said, here are my impressions:
Fit
With all the talk on these forums about members needing multiple refits to get a good seal or even one which was tolerable for more than a few minutes, I was worried that fit could be an issue with these monitors. I'm pleased to report that my pair is extremely comfortable. I've been able to wear them for over 2 hours at a time and never had a moment of discomfort.
For anyone wondering about the use of a bite block or not, Jerry recommends it, but my audiologist didn't believe in them. I had a pair of UM-56 tips made about 2 months before I decided to go for my JH16's and on the UM-56, I had my impressions made while just keeping my mouth open. The result was a pair of tips where the seal would break very easily, especially if I opened my mouth very wide (think like when you try to sing a high note with power) or a broad smile. With that in mind, for the JH impressions, I actually used my fist as a makeshift bite block, and tried to keep my mouth as wide open as possible and also contract the muscles used to smile at the same time. Whether my logic in doing this was valid or not, the end result is that I can now keep my JH's in and talk, sing, smile and even chew without breaking my seal.
From the moment I first put my earpieces in, there was no sense of pressure anywhere in my ear and certainly no pain. In fact, I was concerned that they might have been too loose at first. But after using the "seal test" file from Sensaphonics which alternates a 50 and 500 Hz tone, I am confident that I have a great seal. I know this because I can push the earpieces up while they're in my ears to intentionally break the seal, and it's amazing - with a broken seal, the bass frequencies completely disappear. When seated in my ear properly, the bass is just as strong as the higher 500 Hz tone with real presence and body.
Build Quality
The earpieces are really well made. I can't see a single seam on my monitors, and my artwork, simple JH audio logo and JH 16 PRO markings, are perfectly clear with no pixelation or excess paint anywhere.
Others have already gone in depth with the build quality of JH's products, so I won't repeat it, but I will say that the bores on my particular monitors are not the same length (1 is about 1.5mm shorter than the other 2 on both monitors) but they are nicely enclosed in the acrylic housing. Also, my cables were fully seated into the monitors and appear to have a nice tight fit, but I haven't tried to remove them. I can certainly hang the cords over my shoulders without the monitors falling off, though.
First sonic impressions
Cliff notes version: at first, I was worried about the sound, but with either a bit of burn in or by learning how to properly insert the IEM's the sound is AWESOME!
As soon as I tested the fit of my JH's, I plugged them into my Rx being fed by my iMod playing 320kbps MP3 files. I started with the Rx at minimum volume, and slowly increased it one step at a time. Whether or not it's necessary, I always like to slowly build up the volume when using a new monitor or speaker to give them time to "warm up" for fear of overworking them early and blowing out a speaker.
Over the course of the first few hours, I did feel like the bass was a little lacking, as though the drivers weren't working to full capacity. In addition, the soundstage felt fairly closed and instruments seemed to overlap one another. After about 8 hours or so, listening on-and-off as the monitors played continuously, this went away, and the bass showed itself with authority and clarity.
I think this effect was not so much burn in as it was me learning the best way to consistently insert the earpieces. I think I was initially trying to push them in too far (hoping for a tighter fit) but now I've found that the earpieces will almost find the correct positioning themselves if I insert them using light pressure and then talk or otherwise move my mouth. Correctly inserted, I maintain a seal almost no matter what I do and there is no pressure in my ear at all. If it weren't for the enchanting music pumping out of them, I could completely forget they were there :-D
Once I found the right fit, the bass entered the mix, the overall clarity of the music improved, and thankfully, the soundstage and imaging improved to the level you'd expect from a top-tier IEM. I haven't had enough time to really analyze the signature of the 16's with various amps, but I can say that my initial impression vs my W3's is that as others have said, the W3 has more midbass, but the 16's have WAY more power in very low bass, 75hz and below maybe. The W3's just can't produce the notes that low, but the 16's don't flinch. The timbre in the midrange, especially with vocals, sound fairly similar between the two yet the 16's present male vocals with a nice reverb. Female vocals on the 16's don't sound at all "husky," rather, they are incredibly pure and convincing. The 16's walk all over the W3's in the high registers. The W3's can be quite harsh, even though I used the large comply tips before my UM-56's. The 16's can go all the way up the scales, but never sound like they're having to force anything. There's no grain, no sibilance, no edginess, just clear, pure high notes that extend as far as the source demands.
Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase, and have barely had the IEM's out of my ears at all today.
