[riverground]

I was definitely surprised when JH themselves proclaimed Sharona as the new flagship as there was little to no fanfare. Also, $2299 for a flagship IEM is almost unheard of these days.

Exactly!

They were the first ones to release a multi-kilobuck IEM though

I still can’t believe the 24 year old me bought the Layla a month after release

 

[fabio19]

Are we still talking about IEMs? Sorry, you just set it up so perfectly.

I'm sorry but I did not understand....

 

[rantng]

I'm sorry but I did not understand....

Sorry, it was bad college humor. Layla, Jolene & Sharona are all ladies’ names (as well as song names) and you were saying something about how to position Sharona between Layla & Jolene.

 

[GodEmperor]

Price wise it’s definitely positioned at the top. Replacing the Layla as JH’s new flagship.

That’s why I’m very curious about it. Nothing has dethroned the Layla as JH’s sweetheart for a while. Not even the Lola and Jolene. So I’m eager to have a chance to listen to the Sharona.

I've thought of doing an upgrade for Layla with the Sharona, but I spend all my time with the Jolenes anyway so I'm probaby going to wait a long while (maybe if the little hints here point toward another "new" announcement from JH, I'll see what that is first). Laylas are still my first love, but Jolenes just hit everything right in my ears.

That being said, Sharona does seem to be a nice upgrade to the Layla, from the few reviews posted it seems the bass is more controlled and the high end is richer, which Laylas being what they are would be quite amazing.

We'll see, but I am looking forward to more "real-life" reviews from users.

 

[DenTee]

I've thought of doing an upgrade for Layla with the Sharona, but I spend all my time with the Jolenes anyway so I'm probaby going to wait a long while (maybe if the little hints here point toward another "new" announcement from JH, I'll see what that is first). Laylas are still my first love, but Jolenes just hit everything right in my ears.

That being said, Sharona does seem to be a nice upgrade to the Layla, from the few reviews posted it seems the bass is more controlled and the high end is richer, which Laylas being what they are would be quite amazing.

We'll see, but I am looking forward to more "real-life" reviews from users.

Just saw JH fb page, there is a new ambient iem called pearl.

I m expecting JH will launch something with tribrid.

 

[GodEmperor]

Just saw JH fb page, there is a new ambient iem called pearl.

I m expecting JH will launch something with tribrid.

that would be awesome and I'll start saving money now then
I just saw the post too, the "ambient IEM" looks interesting, but if Pearl is as you say, just take my money JH

 

[DenTee]

that would be awesome and I'll start saving money now then
I just saw the post too, the "ambient IEM" looks interesting, but if Pearl is as you say, just take my money JH

I think ambient iem is for stage performing

 

[fjlabs]

An ambient IEM would be cool for artists! Reminds me a bit of a similar idea from Sensaphonics (their 3DME system) to reduce the “closed off” feeling from normal full isolation IEMs.

 

[fabio19]

Sorry, it was bad college humor. Layla, Jolene & Sharona are all ladies’ names (as well as song names) and you were saying something about how to position Sharona between Layla & Jolene.

I understand ............. Let's say that in order not to make mistakes I could try all three and then decide which is the best. But I'm afraid I won't make it, since I'm 55 ...

 

[GodEmperor]

The Jolene was the “better” IEM for my taste though. Sub-bass focused (though I do wish I could turn it up just a tad bit more. Probably won’t be a problem on the custom version.) the mids are quite a bit more forward and quite pleasant. Still missing some edge and bite in the upper-mids though (I had to EQ them a bit there). Treble has quite a bit more presence as well which was an added bonus. It’s a great IEM for drumming.

I forgot to ask, please post your EQs for jolene/layla if you still have them? are they PEQ or graph EQ? thanks!

 

[riverground]

I forgot to ask, please post your EQs for jolene/layla if you still have them? are they PEQ or graph EQ? thanks!

PEQ, I’ll share them with you later tonight!

I could make a GEQ that’s comparable too if you want.

 

[GodEmperor]

PEQ, I’ll share them with you later tonight!

I could make a GEQ that’s comparable too if you want.

PEQ is fine, thanks!

 

[SteveK27]

Very excited to finally be able to chat about this flagship with you all. My demo session that was intended to be five minutes ended up being twenty. Over the past few months, I've been able to develop a bit of a relationship with JH audio, and luckily they trusted me enough to run away with their prototype.

I had the chance to try out the Sharona at Axpona a few weeks before it was announced and I was very impressed. Having been "unimpressed" with most JH IEMs outside of the Jolene, I went into the Sharona with an open mind hoping that these two years of development time would give them a winner. Speaking with their rep AJ allowed me a little insight - how hard COVID hit them, but the blessing it was to take the time and put it into R&D.

Personally, I'd define Sharona as a "safe" tuning with a killer asset, the one thing it does very well - providing a sense of space, unlike something I've heard before. it can be very holographic, but also very intimate - it ebbs and flows no matter the genre of music you throw at at it. It doesn't need the bass knob - JH gave just the right amount of quantity, and I very much enjoyed it's sub-bass presence to the point of where I forgot I was listening to BAs (yes, I do have an inherent bias against them). Highs have good extension, and nothing is sharp or piercing, perfect for long listening sessions to get you lost in the music.

This presentation is going to be a winner with their pro audio community - but will it be enough for them to get back into the good graces of audiophile? That's up to you all to decide when you get your hands on it!

Could you compare the Sharona to the Odin by any chance? This new flagship is greatly holding my interest atm

 

[riverground]

PEQ is fine, thanks!

Here they are!

When I did the adjustments I found it better to just have the bass pot set on Max as adding more bass usually creates distortion or clipping first.

As you can see most of my "huge" adjustments are right around the upper mids to treble. I'm unsure if stage/monitor/sound engineers EQ them for the artists on stage as they perform but these IEMs respond well to EQ.

Everyone is welcome to try my presets!

If I ever create my own IEMs in the future, these are pretty much the tunings I'd go for. Layla preset is my All BA or BA/EST hybrid tuning and the Jolene preset is my DD, DD/BA, DD/EST, DD/BA/EST or any other DD configuration haha


Layla:

Preamp: -9.4 dB​

Type: Peaking​

Bass Pot: Max​

Frequency (Hz)​	Gain (dB)​	Q​
23​	-1.4​	1.4​
60​	-3.1​	0.5​
84​	0.9​	0.6​
290​	-2.1​	0.7​
2300​	8.5​	1.5​
2800​	0.4​	0.5​
3200​	-3.7​	2​
4300​	8.9​	2​
9000​	-9.1​	2​
12000​	11.4​	1.5​

Jolene:

Preamp: -12.6 dB​

Type: Peaking​

Bass Pot: Max​

Frequency (Hz)​	Gain (dB)​	Q​
1000​	-4.4​	1.6​
2200​	4.1​	2​
3000​	-11.1​	2​
3700​	9.8​	0.7​
3900​	7.6​	2​
8100​	-6.7​	2​
11000​	5.8​	2​

 

[GodEmperor]

Here they are!

When I did the adjustments I found it better to just have the bass pot set on Max as adding more bass usually creates distortion or clipping first.

As you can see most of my "huge" adjustments are right around the upper mids to treble. I'm unsure if stage/monitor/sound engineers EQ them for the artists on stage as they perform but these IEMs respond well to EQ.

Everyone is welcome to try my presets!

If I ever create my own IEMs in the future, these are pretty much the tunings I'd go for. Layla preset is my All BA or BA/EST hybrid tuning and the Jolene preset is my DD, DD/BA, DD/EST, DD/BA/EST or any other DD configuration haha


Layla:

Preamp: -9.4 dB​

Type: Peaking​

Bass Pot: Max​

Frequency (Hz)​	Gain (dB)​	Q​
23​	-1.4​	1.4​
60​	-3.1​	0.5​
84​	0.9​	0.6​
290​	-2.1​	0.7​
2300​	8.5​	1.5​
2800​	0.4​	0.5​
3200​	-3.7​	2​
4300​	8.9​	2​
9000​	-9.1​	2​
12000​	11.4​	1.5​

Jolene:

Preamp: -12.6 dB​

Type: Peaking​

Bass Pot: Max​

Frequency (Hz)​	Gain (dB)​	Q​
1000​	-4.4​	1.6​
2200​	4.1​	2​
3000​	-11.1​	2​
3700​	9.8​	0.7​
3900​	7.6​	2​
8100​	-6.7​	2​
11000​	5.8​	2​

Thanks a lot! I'll be trying these later today.