My Thoughts on JHAudio’s JH13 Pro IEM

Jerry Harvey is a pioneer in custom-molded, in-ear monitors. In 1995, he founded Ultimate Ears and was responsible for engineering their line-up of custom products. After enjoying wild success, capturing 75%+ of the touring musician market, he left to start Jerry Harvey Audio 2-3 years ago. Since Jerry is a pilot, they initially specialized only in aviation headsets — a custom earpiece with an attached boom mic. At the (May) 2009 CanJam event in Los Angeles, though, he proved that he was about to make big waves in the custom IEM market once again.

Now that I have about 2 months of use on my JH13 Pro’s (and a refreshed blog featuring them top and center) I will hopefully be able to share some thoughts on these unique IEMs.

I feel I am in a unique position as I have also been a user of the UE11 Pro — the top-of-the-line earphone from Ultimate Ears. The UE11 offers a 4-driver, 3-way design (2 drivers for bass, 1 for mids, 1 for treble) and aims to slightly enhance the sound signature with a bit extra bass. I really wasn’t planning on purchasing another IEM, but when I heard just how much of an improvement the JH13’s offered, I simply had to bite.

The UE11 Pro is an amazing headphone. The fact that it is a tiny IEM makes it even more impressive. The extension is great, the bass punch is great, I could go on. When I A/B the stock power supply with the Astrodyne upgrade on my Ultra Micro DAC from headroom, I felt that the difference was too small to say anything I felt wasn’t placebo. When I run the UE11 from my big, wall-plugged RudiStor RPX-33 headphone amp, the increase in quality from my portables is pretty negligible. An iPod output or weak amp won’t quite cut it: the UE11 requires a certain type of juice to keep the bass tight and controlled (and not flabby or extenuated).

By contrast, the JH13 Pro is a 6-driver, 3-way design (2 bass drivers, 2 for mids, and 2 for treble). This is not simply another case of a marketing, “more is better” move like the ever-increasing number of blades in razors. Jerry tells us that by spreading out the load between all these drivers, he is able to essentially eliminate distortion at all but the most eardrum-puncturing levels. Not only this, but these balanced armatures used were custom made to Jerry’s specifications for the JH13 exclusively, and they are over twice as fast as any other, at least commonly found, balanced armature. (Most IEMs use off the shelf BA drivers.) This increased speed allows the drivers to react on an imperceptible dime, right along with that incoming waveform.

When I do the aforementioned power supply experiment with the JH13, I am much more certain that the upgraded PSU leads to a smoother, more tonally perfect sound. When I plug them into my RPX-33, they seem to put the extra juice to work and the sound is significantly more filled out.

When I put these customs in my ears, they fill my ear cavities perfectly. If I don’t flex any muscles, they don’t seem to exert any pressure on any point inside my ear. Of course my ears seem blocked up, but not uncomfortably so — especially once the music is flowing. Although they’re just tiny earphones stuffed in my ears, their sound holds no parallel. It is extremely smooth, detailed, and OPEN sounding. One wouldn’t normally associate this type of openness and soundstage to any closed headphone, let alone an IEM. I’m sure this is just an effect of the ruthless accuracy Jerry was able to squeeze from his design. I get an amazingly clear picture of the recording. Even the low notes of an electric bass. I can hear the strings just as they should sound. I can hear nuances in the recording environment. The vibrations are very precise.

While many headphones claim a frequency range that is misleading, I’m told that the JH13 actually lives up to its spec sheet. (Sure <insert headphone> outputs something at 20kHz, but it sure as heck isn’t at the proper level relative to the rest of the spectrum — you’d never hear it!) The JH13’s frequency response curve actually reaches all the way up to 20kHz — a tone that few of us can perceive. This never-fatiguing high end adds impressive sparkle to instruments when called for. The spec sheet says the JH13 reaches down to a whopping 10Hz. I understand that the JH13 has a tiny bass hump a bit lower down than the UE11. This gives the JH13 a slightly punchier sub bass which is a welcome improvement to the sound signature of many “reference” headphones that can often seem lacking in that last bit of bass excitement. Of course this never imposes on the other parts of the spectrum… and we can still pretty well say this is a very “neutral” headphone.

Let’s not forget that this pair of IEMs can be driven from any portable media player just fine. It doesn’t take much to get great sound out of these. One cannot say the same of many high end headphones; the new HD 800 from Sennheiser requires a beastly rig to reach nearly its potential. But at the same time, the JH13 scales with the equipment it’s attached to very well, too! It’s like a portable and high-end headphone in one… What a deal!

Of the folks who reported on their experiences in the big Head-Fi discussion, it seems just about everyone either feels the JH13 is the best headphone they’ve ever experienced, or would put it on a level with the greatest headphones (R10, K1000, L3000, Electrostatics…). That’s a darn impressive track record — even for Head-Fi where FOTM (Flavor of the Month) reviews can be rampant.

I am really, really enjoying my new ears from JHAudio. They remain very neutral, but with a dash of added sub-bass for impact. I never find myself EQing with them at all because they manage to make everything come alive with great balance and dynamics already. My other headphones don’t seem to get much head time anymore. In fact, I can truly say that I feel this is my best investment in audio yet. I intend to enjoy these for years to come. Thank You Jerry and the folks at Jerry Harvey Audio for making the JH13 a reality!

Monday, September 7th, 2009 Audio, Reviews

7 Comments to My Thoughts on JHAudio’s JH13 Pro IEM

Very nice review, thanks! I also posted one at head-fi forums: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/review-three-flagship-custom-iem-westone-es3x-vs-jerry-harvey-jh13pro-vs-ultimate-ears-ue11pro-440051

HeadphoneAddict on September 7th, 2009

And a great review it is, Headphone Addict! Thanks for your excellent reviews on Head-Fi, and thanks for stopping by. :)

thread on September 7th, 2009

Very nice summation of the JH13pro and UE11. Indeed the JH13Pro are very good earphones and certainly, one of the best. I find that they are easy to drive in one sense, but also introduce a bit of distortion into the player that some other earphones do not.

They sound lovely, but are much much more properly driven from a dedicated amplifier.

shigzeo on September 8th, 2009

OK folks, there is a lot of “hype” in this “review.”

“…but these balanced armatures used were custom made to Jerry’s specifications for the JH13 exclusively, and they are over twice as fast as any other, at least commonly found, balanced armature…”

If any one was to take the time (I did) and closely scrutinize the BA drivers in the JH13 you will find that the JH13 has 2 sets of Knowles DTEC drivers and one set of TWFK drivers. One set of the DTEC drivers does not have proprietary “JH XXXX” serial/model numbers, while the remaining drivers (one set of DTEC and set of TWFK knowles drivers) have common Knowles model numbers imprinted on the drivers.

What this means is that the all drivers are not proprietary, so this concept of highly developed “speed of light” drivers is hog wash.

Further, the high frequency driver used in the JH13 is a common Knowles TWFK, and the freq range is reportedly 20K Hz. If one was to take the time, (I have) and researched the drivers that Knowles has to offer, one would discover that the WBFK, has the widest frequency range out of all the Knowles drivers, with a peak freq at about 7kHz. I seriously doubt the JH13pro has a realistic range of 20K Hz

While I do not doubt they sound good, lets remove the hype,

Signed,

Audiologist, AuD ccc-a

AudSmell on October 24th, 2009

Thanks for stopping by and keeping me in check, AudSmell.

Not being an expert on this stuff, I was careful not to label my post a “review.” Rather, it’s just meant to be my personal reflection on these earphones.

I am pretty sure that Jerry has stated before that his drivers were custom made, and are more than twice as fast as any of the competition. Perhaps not all of the drivers, but at least some must be as I do remember this coming up.

Anyway, I cannot really refute your points as I am not really an authority on this stuff.

The things I said in this post are based on … at least things people claim Jerry has said. :) Jude (Head-Fi founder) is a friend of mine, and he has also relayed many of these factiods to me also. (He has had direct contact with Jerry, and I trust him.)

And while my post may stink of hype, maybe you’d better try a pair of JH13’s yourself. Then you’d understand. ;)

thread on October 24th, 2009

“Twice as fast as any of the competition…”

OK lets think this trhough… the one set of DTECs used by JH that have JH SN#/serial numbers, very well could be this “super fast” driver, (I would guess used for the bass response) and then the commonly found DTEC driver would be used for the mids and then the TWFK would be used for the high frequencies.

The only reason I could think one would desire to have proprietary drivers created would be to increase bass, or get impedance levels correct so a certain combination of drivers can be used. Bass has always been a challenge for BA drivers, and getting impedances “just right” when combining BA drivers is a challenge. (There is another reason, & it is really not a matter of having custom BA drivers being built to spec. BA manufacturers, in order to protect their client’s/account holder’s interest’s will allocate special model numbers to their client’s products. But ultimately the product interiorly is the same as other products offered to all their account holders. This, in theory, will protect their cleint from any “reverse engineering.” done by potential competitors.)

Without really knowing (only JH and Knowles knows the truth) I would guess JH had one proprietary DTEC made, which would be cost effective rather than having all the BA drivers being built to his specs. If this is a correct assumption, it was a wise move on his part.

But it is just a guess.

I do not think your post “stinks of hype” my post was not intended to be an insult, I just wanted to add some clarity to the picture. I apologize if my post made you feel as though I was trying riducule you.

I do not need a pair of JH “to understand.” I have a pretty intimate knowledge of BA drivers, their abilities and their limitations…. it is part of my job to know this. I have already had a pair of JH13 under the microsope.

My only real worry about the product is the fact that the TWFK driver is mounted directly in UV material. (plastic) The problem with this is that BA drivers are acceptable to shock damage.

Most IEMs have their drivers in a “floating” position inside the IEM shell. The sound tube acts as a shock absorber, adding some dampening protection to the BA drivers.

With the JH13 the TWFK does not have this luxury, because of how it is mounted in the shell, any shock to the shell will be sent directly to the TWFK. Essentially there is no shock dampening/protection for the TWFK BA driver.

Will this decrease the life of the TWFK? One would expect so, and only time will tell. But it would be wise to treat them with “extra” care and try your best not to drop them. (Hard for me to do, I often drop my IEMs)

Enjoy your tunes;

Signed

Audiologist, AuD. ccc-a

AudSmell on October 24th, 2009

i had 4 pairs UE 10s….also a pair of shure E5s. Ultimate ears claim proprietary drivers also….I cracked one open and the 2 bass drivers had knowles logo…The single high had a logo, but I don’t know what it was…They sound good though…but I’m thinking now that westone 3 universal monitors with a custom ear canal is really the way to go…..I now don’t think that any of these people have propritary drivers….