Bilavideo
Caution: Incomplete trades.
- Joined
- Feb 29, 2008
- Posts
- 3,101
- Likes
- 128
I'm not an owner of either the JH13 or the JH16 but curiosity has seized me. Right now, there are two JH13s up for sale, both of them hundreds of dollars below their original price, neither of which looks to be in any immediate danger of being grabbed up. Given the fact that remolding is only $80, I'm wondering if the hesitation isn't because of the release of the JH16, with its extra bass.
What I'm wondering, as someone who has owned neither IEM, is whether there's any downside to spending more for such extra bass. When Ultimate Ears introduced the UE11 as an upgrade to the UE10, there was this hype cloud that hovered over the horizon for quite a while. It initially devalued the UE10's status by making it the "former flagship," even though - as a flagship - the UE10 had been legendary. It was THE IEM to own back when it was the only custom in existence. It's like UE pulled a New Coke on its own flagship, only to eventually have the hype wagon roll back on the UE11 as perhaps "too bassy."
Unpredictable consequences flow from tweaks to flagship cans - from the RS1/GS1000 controversy to the HD600/HD650 scuffle. Manufacturers tend to fix the problem by introducing a next-generation product like the PS1000 and the HD800. Westone's upgrade of the UM2 - the expected UM3 - turned into the bassier Westone 3 and the more-neutral UM3X (with the latter being named to match its custom ES3X because both share identical drivers and crossovers).
UE has moved to up-end the JH16 with its UE18, but apart from using a higher number (cunning strategy), I don't see the UE18 as much of a threat to the JH16, at least where six drivers are supposed to beat eight. Then again, it's not the number of drivers; it's the sound those drivers make. If anything, the UE18 is a response to the JH13 (though the name may be a response to the JH16).
Both IEMs are a response to the JH13. This is the IEM both are trying to beat.
So, my question - for anyone who cares to chime in - is whether there's a risk to dethroning the JH13 with a "bassier" version in the JH18. If the JH18 is better in all ways, all power to it. But is it? Is the JH13 really lacking in bass? If not, what effect does it have to add bass to where the JH13 is already perfect? Is there any chance of coming off - at least in certain tracks - with a less-perfect presentation? I understand that there are tracks where you need all the bass you can get, but what about those tracks where you don't?
What I'm wondering, as someone who has owned neither IEM, is whether there's any downside to spending more for such extra bass. When Ultimate Ears introduced the UE11 as an upgrade to the UE10, there was this hype cloud that hovered over the horizon for quite a while. It initially devalued the UE10's status by making it the "former flagship," even though - as a flagship - the UE10 had been legendary. It was THE IEM to own back when it was the only custom in existence. It's like UE pulled a New Coke on its own flagship, only to eventually have the hype wagon roll back on the UE11 as perhaps "too bassy."
Unpredictable consequences flow from tweaks to flagship cans - from the RS1/GS1000 controversy to the HD600/HD650 scuffle. Manufacturers tend to fix the problem by introducing a next-generation product like the PS1000 and the HD800. Westone's upgrade of the UM2 - the expected UM3 - turned into the bassier Westone 3 and the more-neutral UM3X (with the latter being named to match its custom ES3X because both share identical drivers and crossovers).
UE has moved to up-end the JH16 with its UE18, but apart from using a higher number (cunning strategy), I don't see the UE18 as much of a threat to the JH16, at least where six drivers are supposed to beat eight. Then again, it's not the number of drivers; it's the sound those drivers make. If anything, the UE18 is a response to the JH13 (though the name may be a response to the JH16).
Both IEMs are a response to the JH13. This is the IEM both are trying to beat.
So, my question - for anyone who cares to chime in - is whether there's a risk to dethroning the JH13 with a "bassier" version in the JH18. If the JH18 is better in all ways, all power to it. But is it? Is the JH13 really lacking in bass? If not, what effect does it have to add bass to where the JH13 is already perfect? Is there any chance of coming off - at least in certain tracks - with a less-perfect presentation? I understand that there are tracks where you need all the bass you can get, but what about those tracks where you don't?
