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I've been lurking around, so I'm not exactly new to this forum. But I saw this topic on JH16s and ES5, and having just received my ES5 a few weeks back, I hope I'll be able to help by giving opinions on it compared to my JH16s.
Some history. I was at Can Jam in Chicago last year, and I tried the ES5, JH13, JH16 demos. I had a listen between the ES5 demos, and it left a very big impression on me with its forward mid range, meaning it was really good for female vocals which I listen to a lot. However, it was not yet released then, and the JH16s were the only ones with a promotion along with free ear impressions, so that was the path I went,
Fast forward to 6 months later: I was using my JH16s mostly from the output from my portable players and my laptop onboard sound, and I was kind of satisfied, but I always felt something was missing from the vocals. The thumping bass kind of overpowers the music. I was constantly thinking of the ES5 and its mid range, so I got it, and along with it, a uDAC-2, and a pair of ALO SXC cables.
The uDAC-2 came first, followed by the cables. My ES5s were still in the lab at that time, so I applied these upgrades to my JH16s one stage a time. The uDAC-2 brought my JH16s to a new level, which was not surprising having came from onboard sound. I listen to a lot of live orchestral music, and enjoy lots of instruments playing at the same time. The layering of the instruments really brought out the potential of the JH16s. And I would have been satisfied at this point, but..
The ALO SXC cables came next. I was planning to use them with my soon-to-arrive ES5s, but I wanted to see how it would go with the JH16s. I guess I wasn't prepared for the improvement. It was day and night over the stock cable. That was really a moment when I finally understood the satisfaction of bringing the equipment to the next level. The improved sound staging, bass control, and clarity.. it left a bigger impression on me than the uDAC-2 upgrade. At this point, I was totally satisfied with my set up. I started to realize that the flaws I saw in the JH16s have been fixed, and I started to wonder if I should have bought my ES5s.
The ES5s came half a week later. It sounded as I had remembered from 6 months back. Smooth, lush mid range. However, I lost all excitement for it, most of it having gone towards upgrading my JH16 setup. A point that was constantly brought up about ES5s was that the bass was not lacking. That I have to agree. However, the bass on the JH16, when it is well controlled, and layered from the rest of the music, it's really addictive. I'm really biased towards the JH16s now, but I can't dismiss the ES5s, as they're two totally different animals. It's a personal preference, and I just find myself grabbing my JH16s most of the time out of my uDAC2. I leave my ES5s for use with my portable players, as they're lighter, slightly smaller, and sound better unamped.
I could go into more details, but post is getting long. Main point here, is that if you're deciding between the JH16s and the ES5s, It's a personal preference thing. But for those who have one of the JHs, and are planning to get other IEMs, it would be a nice idea to try changing the source/cables, and be surprised at what those could do to the JHs. A much bigger satisfaction than hopping on another path, and it's probably the cheaper solution as well. Just my two cents.
Great 1st post. How do you like the ES5 with uDAC-2 and ALO cable?