Couldn't agree more regarding comparisons, it's a quick way to kill your new set of IEMs as you nearly always focus on what they do poorly compared to the other set rather than highlighting the positives and you come away disappointed.
Interested to find out how people are getting on with Jolene now you've had a chance to listen to them for a while?
I've left mine playing around the clock as I do believe burn in helps dynamic drivers but that's obviously just my opinion. I've been listening to a lot of different music on them trying to figure out what works well. So far I think my best experience with them has been with acoustic or folk type music. Guitars really steal the show and each instrument has a definite position on the stage. A good example here is Hurt by Johhny Cash. You have an acoustic guitar playing to your left and right, the piano in the background and it feels like you are sitting close to Johnny as he signs. There's an intimate feel to it all and everything sounds detailed and realistic. It sounds probably as good on Jolene as I've heard it on any iem.
For heavier music with a lot of electric guitar and drums I have found vocals to be pushed back and a little lost. Guitars and drums again sound great but vocals can be veiled. An example of this would be Fade to Black from Metallica. In the second half of the song when the electric guitars come in, they again sound great, but I feel like I'm listening to the vocals being played from the next room and it just sounds off. I'll give them more playtime to see how that develops.
Some other observations - I haven't found them to scale well with more power. Connected to the Cayin C9 the solid-state amp tended to make them sound a little bright or harsh at times while the tubes/ Class A combo which usually pairs well with dynamic driver iems sounded a little flat. By far the best source was the SP2000.
It's definitely been a case of finding music that works really well and some that doesn't so far. How has everyone else been finding them?
Armstrj2
I’ve had my Jolene’s for almost a year now, have run a number of cables types through them, used them with and without external amps, and can say they just continue to please and impress me.
Burn in makes a difference and continue to do so.
I’ve posted earlier in this thread my impressions after doing cable rolling how IMO the soundstage, timbre and vocals changed in most cases for the better, but in some cases for the worse.
I’ve exchanged thoughts with other Jolene enthusiasts and reviewers and we all seem to agree, that changing the cable will allow one to “tune” the sound of the Jolene’s.
While the stock SPC cable from JH Audio is good, I’ve read several feel the mids and vocals are not quite correct.
I can tell you moving from SPC to various cables definitely changed the mids, and really made the Jolene’s more natural sounding.
Because I wanted to be able to do tuning via cables right away, I had my CIEM Jolene’s made with the older 4pin connectors, and long and short of it I’ve settled on a cable from PlusSound that uses Palladium Platted Copper and Palladium Platted Silver, and feel it addressed many of the issues I’ve seen other mention on the stock cable.
I enjoy all genres of music, and with the cable changes feel the Jolene’s do not exhibit the issues or short comings some have citied. I feel they have the sound that works with Jazz, rock, electronic and even orchestral classical. Vocals both male and female are much more authoritative and pinpoint accurate, but at the same time smoother and more natural. If I can say it, much more intimate.
Reviewers like Deezel177 have mentioned the Jolene’s represent a value, and I fully agree. Even with the cable I choose, (which I’ve acknowledged many may not justify its cost for the improvement) I’m still less than other TOTL IEMs alone (which I have auditioned, and came back to the Jolene’s) and I’m seeing people adding $3-$4K cables to these TOTL IEM’s for a total price that is more than what I paid for my Jolene’s, PlusSound PPH Cable, my Lotoo PAW 6K, and my Cayin C9 combined.
Hang in there with your Jolene’s as the sound, staging and timbre all start changing with a min of 50 hours, change even more with a 100-150 hours, and even after just continue to evolve and impress.
Hope you find them as engaging and satisfying as many on this thread have.
