mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
So, I've had the JH Jolene demo unit for a few days now, and I've been meaning to hold off on impressions until my actual unit arrives, but considering there's been a fair bit of interest I'll post a short set of thoughts, to be followed by a more complete Jolene post once I have the CIEM that isn't as fit dependent
- The first weird thing about the Jolene's bass is that if you go anywhere below 100%, it just kinda drops off a cliff. Like, at 100% it doesn't dominate the performance or sound overdone or anything, but at like 60-70% I can pretty much not hear any bass response at all. It might be that the CIEM will hit a lot harder once I have perfect seal, so there the bass knob could be useful, but in its current state, it's pretty much Prada or nada.
- I'd generally describe the Jolene as a more balanced, 2.0 Legend X. The bass texture and layering are straight up incredible, and the punch doesn't lag behind either. It doesn't have as much quantity as the Legend X, which I personally consider a good thing, since it allows the rest of the FR to have some more breathing space.
- The double DD lower midrange goes a long way to improve the coherency of the Jolene as a hybrid. Creating an IEM with a heavy DD bass response and maintaining coherency is something that I've generally found to be difficult. The Sultan and Thummim are two IEMs that I find succeed in that, since they both have a very thick midrange to match the heavy DD - the Jolene however is a step above in that respect, there's a certain effortless-ness that the DD accomplishes in its presentation of the lower midrange. Male vocals sound absolutely exceptional on the Jolene. The upper midrange feels more like a "connecting frequency," bridging the gap between that is an exceptional bass and lower midrange response, and the Jolene's treble.
The upper midrange is in no way a poor upper midrange, it just doesn't really feel like it is demanding your attention the way the majority of IEMs on the market do at the moment. Listening to female vocal heavy tracks I feel more drawn to the bass/treble and instruments surrounding them than I do to the vocals themselves (I personally enjoy that)
- The treble is really, really well extended and is also the source of the Jolene's resolution. The upper treble gives it a really good sense of air and sparkle (not quite as forward as something like the Noir, comparable but slightly behind the A18S I'd say). It also helps the staging, which is already quite wide and spacious. As all JH IEMs, I hear more width than I do depth which is a good deal for me.
Technical ability I'll refrain from discussing just yet, I want to hear the CIEM first - so far I'd rate it quite highly based on the demo, but I tend to hear a lot of changes in staging, dynamics etc when I go to CIEM from uni which is why I'm holding off
Overall though, at 17-1800$ this is an absolute steal. I feel like they could've comfortably priced it at 2500$ ++, and I still wouldn't hesitate to buy as CIEM based on what I'm hearing from the demo. It goes toe to toe with most 3-4000$ flagships that I can think of, and is in no way a compromise.
Based on the demo, highly recommended. To be updated based on the CIEM.
______________________________
Super exciting times ahead
- UM lineup review - Mest Mk2 and Mason FuSang on their way to me, should be here Friday optimistically, next week realistically. Really excited about the FS especially, been hearing incredible things about it
- MMR Balmung - Eric has been hyping me up about it, says he absolutely loved it when he heard it and is negotiating with Jo for a unit of his own. High hopes here, and that blue sword shell is just nerdgasm material
- Eletech's new TOTL woop woop new cable for my A18S? Apparently one of ET's dealers was able to try it with the 18S and said the pairing is incredible
- The first weird thing about the Jolene's bass is that if you go anywhere below 100%, it just kinda drops off a cliff. Like, at 100% it doesn't dominate the performance or sound overdone or anything, but at like 60-70% I can pretty much not hear any bass response at all. It might be that the CIEM will hit a lot harder once I have perfect seal, so there the bass knob could be useful, but in its current state, it's pretty much Prada or nada.
- I'd generally describe the Jolene as a more balanced, 2.0 Legend X. The bass texture and layering are straight up incredible, and the punch doesn't lag behind either. It doesn't have as much quantity as the Legend X, which I personally consider a good thing, since it allows the rest of the FR to have some more breathing space.
- The double DD lower midrange goes a long way to improve the coherency of the Jolene as a hybrid. Creating an IEM with a heavy DD bass response and maintaining coherency is something that I've generally found to be difficult. The Sultan and Thummim are two IEMs that I find succeed in that, since they both have a very thick midrange to match the heavy DD - the Jolene however is a step above in that respect, there's a certain effortless-ness that the DD accomplishes in its presentation of the lower midrange. Male vocals sound absolutely exceptional on the Jolene. The upper midrange feels more like a "connecting frequency," bridging the gap between that is an exceptional bass and lower midrange response, and the Jolene's treble.
The upper midrange is in no way a poor upper midrange, it just doesn't really feel like it is demanding your attention the way the majority of IEMs on the market do at the moment. Listening to female vocal heavy tracks I feel more drawn to the bass/treble and instruments surrounding them than I do to the vocals themselves (I personally enjoy that)
- The treble is really, really well extended and is also the source of the Jolene's resolution. The upper treble gives it a really good sense of air and sparkle (not quite as forward as something like the Noir, comparable but slightly behind the A18S I'd say). It also helps the staging, which is already quite wide and spacious. As all JH IEMs, I hear more width than I do depth which is a good deal for me.
Technical ability I'll refrain from discussing just yet, I want to hear the CIEM first - so far I'd rate it quite highly based on the demo, but I tend to hear a lot of changes in staging, dynamics etc when I go to CIEM from uni which is why I'm holding off
Overall though, at 17-1800$ this is an absolute steal. I feel like they could've comfortably priced it at 2500$ ++, and I still wouldn't hesitate to buy as CIEM based on what I'm hearing from the demo. It goes toe to toe with most 3-4000$ flagships that I can think of, and is in no way a compromise.
Based on the demo, highly recommended. To be updated based on the CIEM.
______________________________
Super exciting times ahead
- UM lineup review - Mest Mk2 and Mason FuSang on their way to me, should be here Friday optimistically, next week realistically. Really excited about the FS especially, been hearing incredible things about it
- MMR Balmung - Eric has been hyping me up about it, says he absolutely loved it when he heard it and is negotiating with Jo for a unit of his own. High hopes here, and that blue sword shell is just nerdgasm material
- Eletech's new TOTL woop woop new cable for my A18S? Apparently one of ET's dealers was able to try it with the 18S and said the pairing is incredible