JHAudio jh16fp ($1150) VS Future Sonics MG5pro ($750)
This one of the few times I’ve had a chance to write directly about my set of jh16fps. I ended up getting a set of jh16fps for a girlfriend and thought I’d get a set of jh CIEMs to match. After spending 3 days at home with the jh13fp, jh16fp and roxanne universal fit demos, I picked the jh16fp for the best sound for me. The jh13fp would have been good as well and in my opinion these two are still the flagships of the JH line for audiophiles.
I’ve had the jh16fp for several months now and I really enjoy the sound. There are two armatures for the treble, two for the midrange and four armatures for the bass in a three-way crossover design. Overall, the jh16fp has a large quantity of great bass, a thick, smooth lower midrange, clear vocals and a peak in the lower treble which adds a bit of clarity and edge but doesn’t go over into fatigue for my ears. It’s a darker tuning, as it is meant to be with the added bass (and the option of the jh13fp), but it keeps the upper midrange and lower treble clear.
The MG5pros are $400 less than the jh16fp and they definitely compete. The MG5pro is a studio monitor which can be used as a stage monitor, while the jh16fp was designed as a stage monitor so there’s a bit of a difference in tuning. The MG5pros are brighter and more balanced, with the less warm tuning giving added clarity. These earphones put the vocal and lead instrument range at the center with relatively less bass and lower midrange quantity. There’s no added peak in the lower treble but a bit better extension to my ears.
Bass: The MG5pro’s bass has just a bit more texture, clarity and control, with less quantity comparatively yet the real air-moving bass energy gives the MG5pro more bass power to grab your attention when the music calls on it. It’s an amazing effect that allows the MG5pro to sound tonally accurate for pianos and string quartets and then accurately powerfully rumble for timpani, hip-hop and dubstep. Make no mistake, the jh16fp has great bass for an armature design and the quantity is greater overall. Both have excellent deep subbass extension.
Midrange: The jh16fp has a smooth, thick sound in the lower midrange that many will enjoy. For a top-tier CIEM (and only by that measure), the richness can be a bit obscuring of ultimate clarity. The MG5pro’s studio monitor sound heads toward greater accuracy of tone, as well as better timbre and clarity here. In the vocal ranges, the MG5pro boosts these frequencies as first among equals, bringing the heart of the music forward just a bit, which adds life to the sound. The jh16fp doesn’t do this as much, but it avoids a sense of recessed vocals to my ears, which is important.
Treble: The MG5pro is brighter sounding, with a full bodied treble that is still non-fatiguing, well-extended and clear. The jh16fp has a bit of a peak to give it a bit more edge if you’re looking for that, but is still on the safe side of the fatigue line to my ears and with my gear. Did I mention that the Apex Glacier portable amp pairs very well with JH CIEMs? That’s what I’m using.
Soundstage: The soundstage on the MG5pro is organic and supremely cohesive, with less but more natural separation and a spaciousness that fits the cues gives in the recording. The jh16fp has a bit more instrument separation and more echo set as the default to its soundstage, so it doesn’t change as much with the recording. When it fits the music and recording, it’s great. The MG5pro has a bit more airiness to the soundstage, the jh16fp has more reverberation. I’ll have an additional comment below in the conclusion.
Other things to consider: Remember that the MG5pro are higher impedance, so I’ve matched volumes by ear. The isolation of the MG5pro is more than enough for international plane flights and commuting on a subway, but the jh16fp’s closed shell is a step better.
The MG5pro has a special reliability. Marty Garcia, the owner of Future Sonics, tunes his earphones without using the acoustic filters which almost every other earphone maker resorts to. These filters are very susceptible to moisture and they degrade slowly over time without the listener even being aware of it, unless they listen to a new set and compare. The MG5pro has a dynamic driver which is tuned by its enclosure and vent system, which keep good isolation and maintain a high resilience to shock and moisture. Take care with either one (why not?), but really take extra care with the jh16fp to avoid moisture in your ears or elsewhere.
Future Sonics has excellent customer service. Yes, they have a protocol to follow for things like fit issues, but if you work with them, they are with you every step of the way. Anyone looking at it fairly would have to admit that JHAudio has had a definitely spotty history. I had a painless experience with them, as have many, although many others have had difficulties and delays. So, it's a mixed bag.
Finally, you can’t sell your FS CIEMs, they cannot be remolded by a third party. JH CIEMs should be able to be remolded and tuned to the original sound by companies that offer this service. However, Future Sonics’ CIEMs can be upgraded when a new generation comes out for a fraction of the price of a new model, which is unique in the industry.
Conclusion: For me, the main difference is that the jh16fp really gives you what a well-designed bassy multi-armature set up can sound like. That means added decay in the bass and lower midrange (which is done right here and not easy to do with armatures) while the crossovers allow for good instrument separation while achieving a good coherence. The armatures have been positioned to try to mimic a sense of a larger soundstage’s echo and there is a smoothness and mellow thickness throughout the lower midrange and below, while the vocal range stays clear and the treble has a peak to give some balancing edge to the darker sound. Many people will love these earphones and, as I’ve mentioned, I really enjoy them. It’s a sound that works really well and if it’s what you are looking for, then the jh16fp is one of the very best.
In contrast, the MG5pro is a single dynamic driver tuned to a balanced, studio monitor quality by a master who really appreciates the advantages of this driver. That means the air-moving quality of a dynamic driver via the excellent vent system which really reproduces the living energy of sound. This is true of the real bass energy of a dynamic driver, but it’s not only bass. Pluck a guitar string strongly and you get a percussive thrum—that’s true all along the instrument’s range and it is reproduced much more realistically by the MG5pro. Music is more alive and you don’t need to turn up the volume as much in an effort to try and get that energy. Decay, tonality and timbre are more natural and realistic. The MG5pro’s bass outperforms the jh16fp not only with energy but edges ahead in quality and clarity as well, which isn’t at all easy to do. The lower midrange is clearer without as much warmth to get in the way, the vocal range is lifted which will sound more alive and the treble is less edgy, less fatiguing but brighter and a bit more extended sounding. The soundstage is more airy and organic, which some will like and others will prefer the separation and reverberation of the jh16fp’s soundstage. It’s a different sound than the jh16fp and each person has their own preferences. For those who want what it provides, the MG5pro more than competes with a top-tier earphone at $400 less. There’s a reason the MG5pro is my go-to earphone.
