muxenle
100+ Head-Fier
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Well, I was one of those lucky 10 to get a free review sample of the J3 IEMs, new from Jlab Audio.
Packaging- Well, it ships in Amazon's Frustration Free Packing, so, its really pretty bland and nothing really to comment on. Its straight forward, simple, and easy to get to.
Included is a carrying pouch, with a mesh pocket, 4 different size of ear tips(extra small, small, medium, large), a little color full booklet advertising their other products and a 20% off coupon for your next purchase from their web site, and a sheet explaining their warranty and it also has your products serial number on it(which I've covered up in my pictures).
Build Quality:
it has a straight plug, and a pretty stiff strain-relief. The cable feels kind of plasticy(because it has plastic) and is pretty smooth, its rather springy which makes it a bit unwieldy when you try to put them away. It has a y-split(think that's what it is) about ¾ of the way up the cable, with a little slider on top of it(one the body of the IEM side)
The body of the IEM itself is very small, and very light weight. It looks like the body is made out of some kind of metal, but is mostly covered with what I think is some kind of plastic(not the same kind on the outside of the cable). Also on the back of body is a small hole, which I have no idea what its for. The sleeves are made silicon(I think, it seems to be a standard for tips) and are the same color as the cord and body. They seem to be pretty solid, though are a bit of a pain to get on and off. I'm also really wondering why Jlab would make a tip as small as the extra-small one, I mean I think it might be smaller then the nail on my pinky(I don't have it within arms reach, so its going off memory).
Well I'm on the body of these IEMs I do have on major compliant, which is they only marking the have for left and right is a small L on the left one, which is very hard to see, though it is raised up so if you have really small fingers you might be able to fell it...
cable noise seems to be about average, maybe a little bit below average, and wearing them over ears pretty much get rids of it(haven't really tested them out much on this area)
Comfort so far is pretty good, they are very light weight.
final review:
Okay, well my excuses for not writing this review are now zip, since school is out and I really have no other commitments… I’ll be removing my initial impressions in this post to clear things up, however I do have most of it saved in word document so if for whatever reason you interested in reading it shoot my off a PM.
Most of the music used for this review is streamed/downloaded from Rhapsody music service, which I believe is around 320 kb mp3, though it may be a bit lower in quality. At the tail end I’ll add some comments to how they handle the couple of songs I have in FLAC format, and compare that to the same song in mp3 320 kb and a much lower quality format, which will be listed later since I currently have no idea what it is going to be. This part will be clearly marked, at the end of the review.
Also my source is my Acer Aspire 5720Z laptop. I should note that I think my sound may slowly being out, since every once in a while the sound will go wacko, through the speakers any ways , so it may be the speakers though I’m pretty sure I’ve had it happen on ear buds too. But when it happens it is very obvious, so they will not be included in the comments, also I can’t tell from casual listening on my laptop and zen mosaic play so I don’t believe that it effects the SQ any. Because of this I’d be happy to do a small re-review on using my zen mosaic player as a source instead of this laptop, if requested.
I’ll be using the X-large stock tips.
Okay, my plan of attack is do individual songs, and a general sum at the end of review, after the flac songs. I once again hope that I don’t end just giving a review of the song…
Dez Moines by The Wears Prada—well, for the majority of the song the only clear thing, besides the vocals, where the drums. For the most part the guitar and bass where muddled in the background, and kind of hard to pull out. I could hear cymbals in this song, just barely, they where muted/muffled and over whelmed by the rest of the song. This is also a more in your face, massive head banging quality song, and these phones managed to pull that out and just present it, not letting it resound.
The Finisher by Oh, Sleeper—another brutal in your face song, really (“I’ll burn of your lips… you’ll bow at my feet or I’ll rip of your knees, and I’ll make of your face all the carnage you crave… and the angles will sing as I cut off your horns”). And once again these ‘phones just don’t give the song the quality that it needs to really shine. Though the J3 handles some guitar solos/detailed guitar in this song very nicely, and is able to keep pace. Though a lot of the time it seems that most of the music is kind of muddled, though it has an overall clear presentation.
Okay, now let’s steer away from the in your face grunge vocal songs and take a quick jaunt into the land of power/prog metal…
Through The Fire and Flames by DragonForce—FUN!!!!! The J3 keep up with the fast pace of this song very well, and present it in a fun/way engaging way. Unlike with the Im-590 none of it sounds tired or slow, and the guys vocals sound fast paced, energetic, and fun. The guitars are crisp and detailed, and the drums are almost impactful, but the song is just to fast paced for that, though they are nice and clear. However I’m still left to wonder if this song has any bass, or if the band even has a bass player…
The Human Stain by Kamelot—the start of this song falls short of epic, but rather falls under expansive and… rumbly. Wow… all emotion seems to be stripped from this song, which is one of the major things this band has going for them. Everything is falling flat, the cymbals in particular sound bad/wrong. The J3 doesn’t do anything horrible to this song strictly musically, though it does seem to tear the soul from it, it also doesn’t do anything good for it.
Love You To Death by Kamelot—now I’m curious to see how the J3 handle some raw emotion in power metal… Everything is pretty smooth, everything is sounds nice, smooth, and rounded off with nothing falling short. Though some of the emotion in this song is still intact, it still seems to be missing so much…
And now for some other musical genres, though I’m not all that familiar with most/all of this songs so I can’t say all that much on them besides what I’m currently hearing.
Resistance by Muse—the piano in this song is beautiful, but is more of a side note. With the drums driving the song in the begging of the song, and then joining in with guitars later in the song. Everything seems to be pretty nicely presented here, and… is that some bass I hear?!?! The drums are nice and snappy and guitars sound nice and clear. The vocals fall a bit flat, though they are most certainly still a part of the song.
When The Saints Go Marching in by Sidney Bechet, from a best of album—hhmm…very high and almost a bit sharp, though it has a very engaging sound to it. The piano is nice clear, and has a excellent sound to it, and the… other instrument (that shows how familiar with jazz I am…) is very fun sound and highly engaging. It should also be noted that throughout the song I heard static/rustling, which I believe to part of the track, since it sounds like it is coming from the track and not my sound card going wacko on me. Not sure exactly what to make of it, but it should be mentioned I think.
Okay, one more Rhaspody song and then its time to break out the FLAC…
Jupiter, The Bringer of Jolity by Gustave Holt—eh, I’m actually kind left without word here due my lack of classical experience. It sounds fairly bright, and is very catchy. Though it sounds like it should have/is meant to have more impact than what I’m hearing. But everything is very neatly presented, with no sound being out of place.
*digs around for his FLAC files and downloads a audio converter*
To Bright To See, To Loud to Hear by Underoath—FLAC—everything is nice and clear, with nothing lacking at all. No sound it out of place, and nothing seems to be over-emphasised, and even the bass has it place. Though nothing is quite as clear or crisp as it was on my Im-590, the J3 are still doing a very nice job. Though later in the song the drums seem to fall a little flat, in the louder/slightly screaming part, but still pretty good.
To Bright to See, To Loud to Hear by Underoath—320kbs mp3=- okay, well, its sounds basically the same as the FLAC version, maybe slightly different some spots but I’m not sure if I would call it lower quality, just a slight difference in the sound.
To Bright to See, To Loud to Hear by Underoath—70kbs mp3-- Same as before, I don’t really hear any big sound quality difference, and what I can here is rather minor. This seems to have lost some detail from the 320 kb version, which also lost from the FLAC. This version also seems to be a bit harsher than the others.
Note: both mp3 files where converted from the original FLAC, which was ripped from the CD. I forgot the ripping program, but it was one of the more audiophile ones, and was ripped with the highest quality settings/slowest rip speed/double checked several times by the program.
So, overall I’d have to disagree with the claims that the J3 are treble biased, but I would have to say that an overall focus is put on the high end. However the rest of the sound spectrum doesn’t seem to really suffer, with both the mids and the bass being present though at times maybe a bit muddy and in the background. The J3 also have a very alouf and cold sound to them, which is not a bad thing depending on your musical tastes and what you are looking for.
Price—at the list price of 80 USD, which I don’t think they’ve ever been sold at, these phones would be at the bottom of my list, in fact if I had 80 USD to spend on a pair of phone’s I wouldn’t even consider these. But at their actual selling price of around 30 USD, I’d have to say these would be a much better buy, though I’m fairly certain you could find some overall better ‘phones in that price range. But then again, the J3 don’t fit my musical taste at all.
But I’m sure that a group of people would thoroughly enjoy these
Packaging- Well, it ships in Amazon's Frustration Free Packing, so, its really pretty bland and nothing really to comment on. Its straight forward, simple, and easy to get to.
Included is a carrying pouch, with a mesh pocket, 4 different size of ear tips(extra small, small, medium, large), a little color full booklet advertising their other products and a 20% off coupon for your next purchase from their web site, and a sheet explaining their warranty and it also has your products serial number on it(which I've covered up in my pictures).
Build Quality:
it has a straight plug, and a pretty stiff strain-relief. The cable feels kind of plasticy(because it has plastic) and is pretty smooth, its rather springy which makes it a bit unwieldy when you try to put them away. It has a y-split(think that's what it is) about ¾ of the way up the cable, with a little slider on top of it(one the body of the IEM side)
The body of the IEM itself is very small, and very light weight. It looks like the body is made out of some kind of metal, but is mostly covered with what I think is some kind of plastic(not the same kind on the outside of the cable). Also on the back of body is a small hole, which I have no idea what its for. The sleeves are made silicon(I think, it seems to be a standard for tips) and are the same color as the cord and body. They seem to be pretty solid, though are a bit of a pain to get on and off. I'm also really wondering why Jlab would make a tip as small as the extra-small one, I mean I think it might be smaller then the nail on my pinky(I don't have it within arms reach, so its going off memory).
Well I'm on the body of these IEMs I do have on major compliant, which is they only marking the have for left and right is a small L on the left one, which is very hard to see, though it is raised up so if you have really small fingers you might be able to fell it...
cable noise seems to be about average, maybe a little bit below average, and wearing them over ears pretty much get rids of it(haven't really tested them out much on this area)
Comfort so far is pretty good, they are very light weight.
final review:
Okay, well my excuses for not writing this review are now zip, since school is out and I really have no other commitments… I’ll be removing my initial impressions in this post to clear things up, however I do have most of it saved in word document so if for whatever reason you interested in reading it shoot my off a PM.
Most of the music used for this review is streamed/downloaded from Rhapsody music service, which I believe is around 320 kb mp3, though it may be a bit lower in quality. At the tail end I’ll add some comments to how they handle the couple of songs I have in FLAC format, and compare that to the same song in mp3 320 kb and a much lower quality format, which will be listed later since I currently have no idea what it is going to be. This part will be clearly marked, at the end of the review.
Also my source is my Acer Aspire 5720Z laptop. I should note that I think my sound may slowly being out, since every once in a while the sound will go wacko, through the speakers any ways , so it may be the speakers though I’m pretty sure I’ve had it happen on ear buds too. But when it happens it is very obvious, so they will not be included in the comments, also I can’t tell from casual listening on my laptop and zen mosaic play so I don’t believe that it effects the SQ any. Because of this I’d be happy to do a small re-review on using my zen mosaic player as a source instead of this laptop, if requested.
I’ll be using the X-large stock tips.
Okay, my plan of attack is do individual songs, and a general sum at the end of review, after the flac songs. I once again hope that I don’t end just giving a review of the song…
Dez Moines by The Wears Prada—well, for the majority of the song the only clear thing, besides the vocals, where the drums. For the most part the guitar and bass where muddled in the background, and kind of hard to pull out. I could hear cymbals in this song, just barely, they where muted/muffled and over whelmed by the rest of the song. This is also a more in your face, massive head banging quality song, and these phones managed to pull that out and just present it, not letting it resound.
The Finisher by Oh, Sleeper—another brutal in your face song, really (“I’ll burn of your lips… you’ll bow at my feet or I’ll rip of your knees, and I’ll make of your face all the carnage you crave… and the angles will sing as I cut off your horns”). And once again these ‘phones just don’t give the song the quality that it needs to really shine. Though the J3 handles some guitar solos/detailed guitar in this song very nicely, and is able to keep pace. Though a lot of the time it seems that most of the music is kind of muddled, though it has an overall clear presentation.
Okay, now let’s steer away from the in your face grunge vocal songs and take a quick jaunt into the land of power/prog metal…
Through The Fire and Flames by DragonForce—FUN!!!!! The J3 keep up with the fast pace of this song very well, and present it in a fun/way engaging way. Unlike with the Im-590 none of it sounds tired or slow, and the guys vocals sound fast paced, energetic, and fun. The guitars are crisp and detailed, and the drums are almost impactful, but the song is just to fast paced for that, though they are nice and clear. However I’m still left to wonder if this song has any bass, or if the band even has a bass player…
The Human Stain by Kamelot—the start of this song falls short of epic, but rather falls under expansive and… rumbly. Wow… all emotion seems to be stripped from this song, which is one of the major things this band has going for them. Everything is falling flat, the cymbals in particular sound bad/wrong. The J3 doesn’t do anything horrible to this song strictly musically, though it does seem to tear the soul from it, it also doesn’t do anything good for it.
Love You To Death by Kamelot—now I’m curious to see how the J3 handle some raw emotion in power metal… Everything is pretty smooth, everything is sounds nice, smooth, and rounded off with nothing falling short. Though some of the emotion in this song is still intact, it still seems to be missing so much…
And now for some other musical genres, though I’m not all that familiar with most/all of this songs so I can’t say all that much on them besides what I’m currently hearing.
Resistance by Muse—the piano in this song is beautiful, but is more of a side note. With the drums driving the song in the begging of the song, and then joining in with guitars later in the song. Everything seems to be pretty nicely presented here, and… is that some bass I hear?!?! The drums are nice and snappy and guitars sound nice and clear. The vocals fall a bit flat, though they are most certainly still a part of the song.
When The Saints Go Marching in by Sidney Bechet, from a best of album—hhmm…very high and almost a bit sharp, though it has a very engaging sound to it. The piano is nice clear, and has a excellent sound to it, and the… other instrument (that shows how familiar with jazz I am…) is very fun sound and highly engaging. It should also be noted that throughout the song I heard static/rustling, which I believe to part of the track, since it sounds like it is coming from the track and not my sound card going wacko on me. Not sure exactly what to make of it, but it should be mentioned I think.
Okay, one more Rhaspody song and then its time to break out the FLAC…
Jupiter, The Bringer of Jolity by Gustave Holt—eh, I’m actually kind left without word here due my lack of classical experience. It sounds fairly bright, and is very catchy. Though it sounds like it should have/is meant to have more impact than what I’m hearing. But everything is very neatly presented, with no sound being out of place.
*digs around for his FLAC files and downloads a audio converter*
To Bright To See, To Loud to Hear by Underoath—FLAC—everything is nice and clear, with nothing lacking at all. No sound it out of place, and nothing seems to be over-emphasised, and even the bass has it place. Though nothing is quite as clear or crisp as it was on my Im-590, the J3 are still doing a very nice job. Though later in the song the drums seem to fall a little flat, in the louder/slightly screaming part, but still pretty good.
To Bright to See, To Loud to Hear by Underoath—320kbs mp3=- okay, well, its sounds basically the same as the FLAC version, maybe slightly different some spots but I’m not sure if I would call it lower quality, just a slight difference in the sound.
To Bright to See, To Loud to Hear by Underoath—70kbs mp3-- Same as before, I don’t really hear any big sound quality difference, and what I can here is rather minor. This seems to have lost some detail from the 320 kb version, which also lost from the FLAC. This version also seems to be a bit harsher than the others.
Note: both mp3 files where converted from the original FLAC, which was ripped from the CD. I forgot the ripping program, but it was one of the more audiophile ones, and was ripped with the highest quality settings/slowest rip speed/double checked several times by the program.
So, overall I’d have to disagree with the claims that the J3 are treble biased, but I would have to say that an overall focus is put on the high end. However the rest of the sound spectrum doesn’t seem to really suffer, with both the mids and the bass being present though at times maybe a bit muddy and in the background. The J3 also have a very alouf and cold sound to them, which is not a bad thing depending on your musical tastes and what you are looking for.
Price—at the list price of 80 USD, which I don’t think they’ve ever been sold at, these phones would be at the bottom of my list, in fact if I had 80 USD to spend on a pair of phone’s I wouldn’t even consider these. But at their actual selling price of around 30 USD, I’d have to say these would be a much better buy, though I’m fairly certain you could find some overall better ‘phones in that price range. But then again, the J3 don’t fit my musical taste at all.
But I’m sure that a group of people would thoroughly enjoy these
(don't worry, I jest)