The ESW10JPN, with its rich, wood cups, is a beautiful headphone. It is very light and has a grip on the head that is just right. The supraaural design does fatigue the ears eventually, but it takes a lot longer than I thought it would before I purchased. This is in part due to swivel of the cups and how I can position them to put the pressure on different parts of the ears and head throughout a session. I also like how they are easy to put on and off, and are comfortable to wear around the neck.

When I first tried the pair of my friend’s, I was very struck with the “energy” in the mids and highs. It is a very detailed headphone with a presentation that is very pleasing for many genres. There is great, well-textured bass, but it is not the centerpiece of this sound signature. Acoustic instruments — like the shimmer of strings — sound very vivid and enjoyable. The isolation isn’t great, so I wouldn’t want to use them some place noisy. I’m glad I got a pair of these limited edition headphones before the 1500 were gobbled up. I still really enjoy them.

The JH13, by contrast, is an IEM. They have great isolation. (Though, interestingly, it’s not quite as good as foam tips on universal fit IEMs.) They have a perfectly formed, custom fit for your ear canals, so their uniform pressure throughout your ear easily lets them “disappear”. Compared to the ease of taking the ESW10JPN on and off, a custom IEM like the JH13 is a bit more work. Once you get the hang of it, inserting and removing the JH13 is pretty fast and easy, though (only a couple seconds) but it is a bit more abrasive. And I always wipe earwax and debris from the tips before inserting. With the right fit (JHA has a great track record) and well-adjusted ears (only a few days to a week or so for new wearers) I think the JH13′s are incredibly comfortable. I can wear them for many hours without issue.

The sound is simply incredible. The JH13 is still the best headphone I have and at least among the best I’ve ever heard. It must be those 6 custom spec drivers working side-by-side that give me such a detailed, immersive view into the recording with soundstage that is simply astonishing for an IEM. Historically, it seems that a full-size headphone is needed for this type soundstage, but the detail of the JH13 seems to compensate for their “shortcoming” that they bypass the outer ear and send the sound directly into your eardrums. The first thing a new JH13 owner seems to notice is how HUGE the sound seems to be. The JH13 has some of the best extension on the top and bottom ends of any headphone. The sound signature sides on ruthlessly neutral, but with a bit of a bump in the sub-bass for low end impact that I really enjoy. The bass is massive and detailed, but it never oversteps its bounds like it does when I switch to the UE11.

When I compare the sound of the two head-to-head, there is simply no doubt that the JH13 is the clear winner. Not only does this IEM have a very neutral response curve that doesn’t really favor any genre over another, but it maintains a euphonic sound with anything I throw at it! The isolation assures that you’re starting with a quiet background, and the music is just so clear and beautiful. At the end of the day, I’m apt to say that while the ESW10JPN excels at its strong points and can be a very enjoyable can for many things (particularly jazz and acoustic music) the JH13 just seems to perform perfectly in so many ways.

Both headphones sound great right from an MP3 player’s headphone output, but they also improve with a good amp. The JH13 scales extremely well with better equipment as it seems to sap up and really deliver on exactly what it is fed.

I love my ESW10 very much… I just love my JH13 more. :)

I also started a thread on Head-Fi with this review.

The Edition 9′s make no attempt to “disappear” due to their clamping force and weight. They have a long cable, terminated with a 1/4″ plug. They are obviously designed for stationary listening, though many have found use for them as a portable headphone. To me, I hear a bit of a bass exaggeration all through the low frequencies. I feel that the Edition 9′s are better suited to a rocker who wants their basslines slamming. Genres like pop, metal, or hip hop seem like they do well since bass is so important there, and detail is not the most important aspect. I always felt the Edition 9′s were really great headphones for me until I tried the JH13 and Edition 8.

The Edition 8‘s are quite a different animal. They are much lighter on my head and the enclosures almost don’t touch my ears at all. This time, it’s the bottoms of my ears that touch the insides of the cups a little. It’s far less annoying, though, and I seem to be able to wear these for much longer without issue. They are terminated with a 1/8″ plug after only 1.2 meters. This, and their weight, make them a much better choice for a portable rig. They also come with a 4 meter extension cable that I have found useful since all my headphones now have short cables.

I have the impression that the sound from the Edition 8 is more polite and balanced. While there is no doubt the sub bass has a somewhat generous boost, everything else seems quite balanced. I find this low bass occasionally annoying, but I think that it is helped with a good amp; my RPX-33 seems to take better control of the bass than my RSA portables. They also have great transients. The speed increase of these drivers mean noticeably improved detail retrieval! Ultrasone’s “S-Logic Plus” on the Edition 8 does seem to increase upon the effect of the “S-Logic” in the Edition 9. The drivers are aimed at the listener’s pinna (the outer ear) so the sound must bounce around the ear before finding the eardrum. This leads to a more “3-D” sound that seems more like a projection. I think the Edition 8 would be better suited to instrumental music like classical or jazz, where neutrality and detail are more important.

It’s interesting to note, though, that I still greatly prefer my JH13 for just about everything. They have much better detail than even the Edition 8. They are more intimate and definite in their view into the recording. The bass, while not lacking at all, is very well integrated and doesn’t stick out as much as the Ultrasones. I’d even go as far as to say that they’re more comfortable. Why do I bother then? Well, I like different perspectives on my music. Sometimes I don’t want to stick my IEMs in my ears, but would prefer to have big, warm pads enclosing my ears and have big bass and a different soundstage.

Thankfully, given that I was already in the process of letting go of the Edition 9, I found that I overall prefer the Edition 8. I really appreciate the increased clarity and more neutral presentation. And the better comfort is icing on the cake.

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!

When Miro 1.2 came out, I decided to give it another try after some previously failed attempts due to annoying bugs. Well, I’ve been using this free and open source, next generation video platform on my Mac for a while now, and I must say it’s quite nice if you fancy yourself watching some of the great, free video content available on the internet.

Miro is RSS + Bittorrent. Find sites with cool videos that interest you, subscribe to their feeds, and when new content is published, you can have it downloaded and waiting for you by the time you realize it’s there. It’s just so smooth the way I can play the first video, and all the new content plays like my personal TV station. Cmd+F throws me into full-screen mode. It didn’t used to work nearly this well, and I’m just all so very pleased with today’s offering. (It will even search and play YouTube videos.)

Ok, so you want to try this. Click the “Miro” link above and grab the player. It comes with some default channels, but I’ve deleted all but the Onion News Network. The Miro Guide appears to be a nice index of most/all of the content available for the platform, but please allow me to recommend a few of my favorites.

• Revision3 is The TV Network of Kevin Rose (of TechTV and Digg fame) with great shows like Tekzilla, Systm, and of course Diggnation. I also have come to watch the goofy Internet Superstar… I haven’t even tasted many of the Rev3 shows yet!
• Mahalo Daily is a great 5-day/wk short form (3-5 mins) show with Veronica Belmont. (Although she’s about to leave…) They visit someone and show of something… usually very interesting stuff. I like the one about the dude who makes music with Gameboys.
• WebbAlert is another daily, short form show with Megan Webb. Just a quick overview of the tech news.
• GeekBrief.TV is yet another daily, short form show with the bouncy character that of Cali Lewis. Again, it’s an overview of the tech news. Maybe a product review or interview here and there.
• commandN is a longer form (15-20 mins), weekly show with Amber MacArthur, Will Pate, and others. They talk about the news and share cool website picks. Amber’s brother, Jeff, usually has a longer segment where he usually reviews a product.
• Hak5 Is a great, long standing show with a great crew. They hack stuff and talk about it on the show.
• Cranky Geeks is a talk show with John C. Dvorak.
• DL.TV is a tech show with some of the folks from TechTV.

Also, anything from Leo Laporte is fantastic. I’m a very regular listener of Security Now, TWiT, MacBreak Weekly, Net@Nite, and Windows Weekly on his TWiT.TV (audio) podcast network. While there aren’t any regular, internet-available video shows from him yet, he’s been talking recently about a new studio he’s setting up where he’ll start doing some video shows. He’s a great personality… One to watch.

I hope I’ve captured the interest of some new internet TV consumers. Watching this web-based, independent content has really never been this easy.

Make no mistake about it—I like IEMs. There’s something very nice about enjoying a good stereo speaker system or some nice over-the-ear headphones, but nothing can isolate your environment and inject the sound directly into your hearing organs like IEMs. By this fact, you typically lose some amount of soundstage (vivid separate of instruments on the horizontal plane) when coming from more serious, over-the-ear headphones and certainly speakers. So in this respect, IEMs are about compromise: all these fancy drivers and electronics must be crammed into very tiny earphones.

Nonetheless, I’ve always been impressed at how they can so clearly articulate details—there’s just very little air between the drivers and your ear drums.

About a year ago, I became very interested in the newly announced Triple.fi 10 Pros from Ultimate Ears. UE was accepting preorders for them, but at $400, it was a bit expensive. The Shure E500 (SE530 is the new E500) was getting rave reviews (here’s mine) and the street price was nearer to $300 since they’d been out for a while. Needless to say, I lept on them and didn’t think too hard about the Triple.fi’s.

Well, when I recently had to send my E500’s back to Shure for replacement due to the infamous cracking cables (which it seems they have now addressed with newer batches of the SE530) I decided I would try the Triple.fi’s as I’d heard great things and they now have a more appealing street price.

I’m going to focus on two primary characteristics of these phones: sound quality and comfort.

The E500 has quite a deep bass that slams. This bass blends nicely into a warm, smooth midrange. I love these things about this earphone, but it does lack the ability to reproduce sounds in the highest range of our audible spectrum. These sounds aren’t required to enjoy the music by any stretch. In fact, many reviewers have not discounted these earphones much for this deficiency. They still sound great for pop and beat-driven music. But these high frequencies cause the shimmer and sparkle that really gives you a sense that the instrument is actually being played before you. The Etymotic ER4 is said to have this, but lack the bass.

Enter the Triple.fi 10 Pro.

These things seem to have it all. The tight, detailed bass doesn’t overstep it’s bounds quite like the E500, but remains very present, extended, and integrated! Their very clean, airy, non-fatiguing high end is the main contributer to the realism that the E500 lacks.

It seems that in this case, sound quality and comfort are mutually exclusive. The Triple.fi’s require a twisting motion to lodge their short and fat nozzle in the ears with the proper seal. They don’t really hurt much if I put them in properly and don’t touch them, but eventually I’ll reach up to reposition and realize that they’re causing a minor earache. It’s too darn easy to lose the seal, too. And this is all not making a fuss over how goofy they look, sticking out of your ears. The E500, by comparison, slips straight in quite smoothly and comfortably, keeps a low profile, and is quite ergonomic to use. To me, it wins hands down in comfort.

As good as the E500 is, I think Ultimate Ears can provide an even more accurate and balanced spectrum of sound with a clearer separation of instruments. But how do you get this amazing level of UE sound quality with comfort? Well, I’ll tell you. You get a custom earphone.

That’s right, I’m settling for neither and dropping the big bucks on their highly touted UE11. This way, I can avoid the whole decision and make off with not just a custom in-ear monitor (with all their benefits) but an insanely good one that should surpass my wildest expectations. More on this later.

If I had to choose between the E500 and the TF10 in direct comparison, it would be a very difficult choice. Both the E500’s comfort and the TF10’s sound quality are impressive and sought after. I’d ask myself which is more important (uncompromising sound quality or comfort) and let that be the deciding factor.

Aside: I can’t bring myself to call this a review because I don’t consider myself much of an genuine audiophile, and I don’t feel I’m really qualified to seriously critique this product. Also, this is the first headphone amp I’ve ever experienced, so I can’t really compare it to anything.

The Tomahawk is a very highly acclaimed headphone amplifier. I’ve read numerous reviews and comparisons – mostly on head-fi.org – about this amp, and everyone seems to think very highly of it. My experience has been just excellent. The amplifier adds smoothness/shininess to the sound that is just a joy to listen to through the E500. In the interest of preserving my hearing, when in a quiet room, I like listening at low volumes. This combo retains thick & juicy dynamics while emphasizing the fact that this little box eliminates ALL hiss/buzz produced by my mp3 player and presents nothing but pure music over a deep, black background.

As for size & build, there is absolutely nothing to complain about here. The Tomahawk is built like a tank… and a very, very tiny one at that. Ray’s amps are built with plenty of TLC, and he doesn’t just throw together these things with whatever chips happen to be cheapest. Each amp is built with the same, high-quality components.

What’s most amazing is the punch that this thing produces. One should not come under the impression that this amp will drive only IEMs. In fact, it will drive all but the most exotic and demanding of headphones with juice to spare. If that wasn’t amazing enough, it will actually perform its duty for over 400 hours solid, about 17 days, or as Ray says, 6 weeks at 10 hours per day. (Apparently, more demanding headphones will start to clip towards the end of the battery life.)

I must also comment on Ray’s customer service. Ray is a really great guy and a pleasure to do business with. He likes to talk to his customers on the phone, so if you’re interested in his products, call him up!

Pics over the jump!

So I am a crazy man.

I decided I wanted to amp my phones, but my UE Super.fi 5 Pros have been said not to change much with an amp. Plus, from all the discussion on head-fi.org (WARNING: stay clear of that site if you are susceptible to upgradeitus!) I found that it was common opinion that the Super.fi’s, while they are a fine earphone, suffer from some amount of “veil” or lack of balance. Now, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing even, depending on your objective, but I wanted something that was well balanced and “audiophile grade” that I could enjoy wherever I am (such as work for 8 hrs/day).

I wanted something that would fit snugly in my ear and not stick out like the 5 Pros. That ruled out the Triple.fi 10 Pros as they have a similar form factor. And since the best IEM amp that I could find, Ray Samuels Audio’s “Tomahawk,” was designed with the Shure E500’s in mind (along with a few other earphones), I knew I would not be making a bad decision in going with these earphones.

Fidelity

This is the category where the Shure E500’s shine their best. Having not two, but three drivers in each bud (two for the low end, and one for the high end), there are few earphones that can match or beat the E500’s in terms of sonic range and quality. The Super.fi’s had heavy bass and reasonable highs, but they lacked in the mid ranges. The E500’s, though, are able to produce a rich and accurate low end and a very smooth (and highly praised!) midrange that is the envy of many audio fans. The only place of any concern here is at the high end. It is sometimes pointed out that these phones have a minor fall-off at the high end of the spectrum, but this can be corrected with the use of an amp or EQ.

Basically, though, they produce very warm, accurate, and balanced sound across the entire frequency range that really makes me feel that I’m hearing all the details in my music. The Shure guys describe the sound as being akin to a ten thousand dollar stereo system.

Comfort & Fit

These are significantly more comfortable that the Super.fi’s! They go a bit deeper into my canal so the seal doesn’t break as easily. Also, as I mentioned, they don’t stick out like the 5 Pros which sport the “Frankenstein” look. This also means that I can even enjoy them in bed as they are barely uncomfortable when I lie directly ear-to-pillow! I find I can quite easily and comfortably just jam these babies right into my ears and get a great seal the first time.

Downsides: I miss the memory wire that the Super.fi’s had: a paperclip-like piece of metal inside the first couple inches of wire out of the buds kept the curve over the ear in the same place. That feature really kept the wire right where I wanted so it never fell over the front of the ear. It’s not a huge issue with the E500’s, but I do sort of miss the memory wire.

Also, the wire situation is a bit cumbersome. The length from the earphones to the minijack they are connected to is about a foot and a half. From there, you will want to use one of the supplied extensions. There’s a long one that makes the wire length comparable to that of most IEMs, a super short one (of a few inches) that is of questionable usefulness, and finally the PTH module. One thing to note is that when you dangle the wire down your back, the connection made at the end of the earphones could make for an uncomfortable lump in your back depending on how you sit.

The Push-To-Hear Module

This thing proves to be quite useful – especially for me at work. What you do is plug the short earphone cable into it and let it dangle in front of you. (The PTH doesn’t work so well if you want the wire to hang down your back.) There is a mic in the piece that hangs in front of you which leads to a handheld piece with a switch. When you flip the switch, you are able to hear the sounds around you through the mic.

What this means is that I can have short conversations with my coworkers when the need arises without even removing the earphones. And I must say that it works quite well – as long as you’re not brushing against the mic.

Conclusion

All in all, I am significantly more pleased with these earphones than I was with the Super.fi’s. Their sound is more balanced and rich in details than the Super.fi’s. The richness and accuracy of the bass and midrange is very impressive, and the slight rolloff in the high end is corrected easily enough. While the in-ear fit is just about perfect, my only beef with these phones is the complexity of the wires. But that’s the price you pay for the nifty PTH feature.

The new SE530 that Shure announced at CES this year as their high end offering in the new SE line is actually the exact same product as the E500’s. The only difference is the accessory package which now includes the newly released foam tips. They’re conical shaped like the current rubber ones, but they are made of foam which increases isolation and are also washable! I’ll be sure to get some of these when they become available in March.

So, if Shure can’t outdo the E500, then damnit I’m in.

Next up, the Ray Samuels Audio Tomahawk Amp. Holy crap I’m a bit too excited for this little device. It should show up on my front porch any ol’ day now…

I got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro earphones Wednesday (3 days ago). I had been thinking of upgrading from my Shure E2’s for a while. I just knew there was more to the sound, and I wanted to really be able to rock out properly and independently (when there are others around who might not appreciate teh thumpz). And oh man was I right. I’ll explain how I feel about these phones in various areas.

Fidelity

This is the real reason for my upgrade. Most earphones (my E2’s included) tend to deliver some amount of muddiness in their output, particularly in the higher ranges when the bass is overpowering. True audiophile gear should still show you the bright and crispy high end even when the bass is rolling all up in your face. This is done with the use of not one, but two speakers in each bud—one for the high end, and one for the low. In this way, they really are capable of some pretty amazing sound. I can notice a pretty remarkable all around improvement in sound quality: highs can be quite sharp and clean, while the bass has a roundness and warmth to it as I’ve never experienced in an in-ear monitor before.

Comfort & Fit

While most of what I read lead me to believe that there was little concern in this area, I must say that my experience has, so far, fallen a bit short of expectations. Where my Shure E2’s slid into my ears and made that seal nice and smoothly, the Super.fi’s seem to require a bit more wiggling around before the seal is made. Also, while many phones fit nicely right inside of the ear, these Super.fi’s stick out from the ear a bit as you can see from the picture. In terms of fit, though, I think I’m starting to get the hang of these phones, and my ears used to them. Once you get that seal, they can be even comfortable enough so you might forget they’re in your ears.

The wire (apart from being replaceable) features a flexible ear loop. That is, the first two inches or so of wire out of the earphones is pliable. This allows you form it the way you like, and expect that it will stay.

Finally, because of the way these phones seem to fit, I would not recommend them for people with smaller ears, anyone trying to work out or move around a lot, or anyone who likes to wear a winter hat over their earphones in class. (Good thing I’m about to graduate!)

Accessories

They bundle a universal fit kit that includes 3 pairs of regular rubber tips (small, medium, and large; I’ve taken a liking to the default medium size ones), 1 pair of double flange tips, and 1 pair of foam tips. Also in the package is a 1/4” adaptor, level attenuator (for noisy sources like airplane radio), an ear wax cleaning tool, a handy metal case, and an attractive manual. I should mention that they ditched the case insert that was in the past included because it would damage the cord. The case works great without it, though. Just coil them around 3 fingers before setting them in the case.

Conclusion

These are some mighty wicked earphones, I must say. The Ultimate Ears slogan is “how music is meant to be heard” and I can see why. With two drivers per bud, these phones can reproduce the entire spectrum with quite convincing reality. My entire music collection has been given a refreshed sound, and is once again interesting.

UE has just recently released the Triple.fi 10 Pro, a triple driver earphone, and it was this announcement that got me interested in UE’s products. They are selling some limited edition ones right now, but they’re not even officially on sale yet. At $400, the price difference just isn’t worth the fidelity right now. My Super.fi 5 Pro’s “retail” for $250, but can be had from Amazon.com for a mere $170, free shipping. It is a considerable amount to spend on earphones alone, but if you hunger for rich, full-spectrum fidelity, you might consider these.

A really great review of these earphones can be found at iLounge.

My gear: UE Super.fi 5 Pro’s with iAudio X5L

It seems TextMate has become quite a popular editor as of late. Some even say it is the best editor on any platform which is quite a bold statement, indeed. Cheat sheets such as this one might give you some idea of the breadth of features available at the tap of a key, but allow me to attempt a bulleted list of my favorites:

• Yes! There are hotkeys for everything! I almost don’t even miss vim at all! Hotkeys to navigate around and manipulate your text are essential, and TextMate doesn’t let you down.
• Moving around couldn’t be easier. Cmd+T brings up a dialog that intelligently figures out what file you’re looking for in your project from what you type. This lets you open up a file with the quickness. Cmd+Shift+T is similar, but you’re jumping to a symbol (class, function, etc) in the current file instead. Bookmarks let you cycle through important lines of code.
• Snippits are amazing. Type a snippit keyword and hit tab. It will be expanded to the full snippit with the first modifiable area selected. Type to replace it with something new, and hit tab to move to the next “hot” spot. With “smart typing” automatically closing my quotes and brackets, the code practically writes itself!
• You can execute a line of code as ruby and insert its result. You can commit code to versioning systems. You can …
• Extensibility. You can add third party bundles such as the that include new commands, macros, snippits, etc.
• It is a native cocoa application with predictable keybindings (Cmd+w closes, etc) and snazzy-clean mac-friendly interface.

People use this editor to maintain their todo lists and weblogs.

My biggest and nearly lonesome gripe with TextMate is how it freezes for a couple seconds when it comes to focus when you’re working on remote files (nfs, samba, etc). The upcoming version 2.0 will fix this issue as well as bring numerous exciting improvements.

Serious respect goes out to the mighty Allan Odgaard of Denmark for this incredible editor.