JH Audio stuffs

[postjack]

I kept getting the impression (from a while ago) that MH added color to the sound.  Not sure if that's the case, I definitely want uncolored, whatever that would be.

 

My attraction to the DA2 is its like the anti-hype dac.  I never hear anyone talk about it outside of gearslutz, which at this point is a good sign.  I'm more and more convinced that the pro stuff acts as a natural b.s. filter from the esoteric audiophile mumbojumbo.  

 

Definitely not quite as BS free as gear slutz, but I've been using AVS forum to cleanse the audiophile shit taste off my pallette a little bit.

 

The prevailing opinions over there are A) just buy the damn amp/receiver that will give your speakers the proper power pool to draw from 2)  speakers will make more of a difference to the sound then anything else and C) digital room correction is awesome.

 

I've recently discovered how outstanding a simple receiver with Audyssey can make my PSB and SVS sub combo sing. Of course I find myself listening to way more rock and hip-hop then "audiophile" type music.  I did put on some well recorded Ryan Adams to test out purity of male vocal midrange the other night. Switching between Audyssey and Direct modes offered different presentations, neither necessarily better or worse. Where Audyssey really was essential was in the bass presentation. I think Audyssey does a fantastic job of making a sub work with speakers, everything sounds much more seamless and much less boomy. Tight and impactful, its really remarkable.

 

But with rock music Audyssey really works better across the whole spectrum. Playing Nevermind and switching Audyssey on and off, audyssey on was clearly better. It smoothed out the highs and made the whole sound more coherent, so there was nothing to distract me from Novoselics bass line in "Breed" (which is some of my favorite bass playing of all time, I don't care how simple it is).

 

anyway thats my audyssey rant for the month. and i understand that on really kick ass speakers in a good room audyssey might do more harm than good, but for modest speakers in a nutty room its pretty outstanding.

Edited September 26, 2014 by postjack

[Dreadhead]

I kept getting the impression (from a while ago) that MH added color to the sound. Not sure if that's the case, I definitely want uncolored, whatever that would be.

My attraction to the DA2 is its like the anti-hype dac. I never hear anyone talk about it outside of gearslutz, which at this point is a good sign. I'm more and more convinced that the pro stuff acts as a natural b.s. filter from the esoteric audiophile mumbojumbo.

I thought that too but in the loop back test I believe that it was something down in the -50dB range of being bit perfect. That doesn't sound like any color to me. I am guessing though that it was set with none of their filters on etc.

The Dream will be a great DAC and as you say it's only goal is neutrality. I was really wanting one and look forward to hearing whatever you get.

[Dreadhead]

AB you got me looking around again and I found this: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/1819480-post59.html

Not sure where their new stuff sits but you may want to look at the Orpheus.

[aardvark baguette]

Hmm.  

 

Its tricky to do a spec comparison, prism seems to measure different things for different units.

Some of them do seem to be better on the orpheus.  Still, why dont they show aharmonics and stuff on the new one...

Curious.

 

I'm a bit nervous committing to a firewire interface.  Work computer only has usb3, but that wouldnt be a total deal breaker.

 

da2

 

orpheus

[Dreadhead]

Yup I would agree but that guy is the director at Prism so I figured it was from the horses mouth. The current king of loopback testing: Lynx Hilo

[Salt Peanuts]

Update, invoice arrived last night which is what I expected.  I thought that they would let me know the cost before they did the work but we did speak once they received them so she kind of new my parameters in terms of what I was willing to pay.  The cost is $218 to recase, new set of drivers on one side, clean everything which I thought is very fair.  Essentially, one new earpiece for less than half the cost of a new pair.

 

While I agree the cost of the repair is fair, I would be annoyed that they went ahead with the repair without telling you the cost of the said repair.  Unless, of course, you'd asked them to repair it regardless of the cost.

[tyrion]

While I agree the cost of the repair is fair, I would be annoyed that they went ahead with the repair without telling you the cost of the said repair. Unless, of course, you'd asked them to repair it regardless of the cost.

We discussed the various possible scenarios and the costs. I knew it was going to be a minimum of $150. They knew if the side which appeared undamaged was okay then they had the go ahead for the other side that was obviously damaged. I expected it to be more. They repaired them on Wednesday and shipped that night to get them to me the next day. I did expect to get an invoice sooner, it all worked out in the end and I'm happy with the result.

[nnotis]

I haven't heard any of Prism's other stuff, so I can't compare. The Lyra is supposedly the same as the Orpheus with fewer channels and a more stable USB connection. It connects perfectly well to my iPad too, which is great as an uncompromised, but still somewhat transportable rig. I read a lot of threads comparing it to the Apogee Symphony and Lynx Hilo. I found a post by an Apogee fan showing waveform displays of the original source, then through the Apogee, then through the Lyra. He was posting it to show how much more accurate the Apogee was, but the Lyra looked closer to the original to me. Perhaps looking at waveforms is a bit subjective too. I found a lot of comparisons between the Lyra and Hilo. Some said the Hilo was closer to source. Some said the Lyra was. In the end, I decided to gamble on the Lyra on the hope that the extra $500 would give me quality mic pres too (Hilo doesn't have them). Thankfully, they are. I'd still love to hear a Hilo though, as I'm guessing it's a lateral move with a slightly different sound signature. I love its front panel LCD too.

As far as the Lyra signature: Compared to the Lavry DA10, it makes a bigger, more dynamic, and more texturally detailed soundstage. It's easier to track imaging. Bass is more detailed, with more a sense of depth. Highs are more prominent on the DA10, but sound a little tizzy by comparison. The Lyra strangely manages to communicate when highs get too shrill or too loud while somehow not punishing my ears with sibilants. I always thought my Beta22 was a little bright. Maybe it was really the DA10. Now I wish I had my old K1000s back for a listen. Their frequency response might not be so ridiculously out of whack with this new source. I bet the Lyra would be a great HD800 and SR-009 source too. But who knows. Based on what I already said, it should be bad for rev 1 LCD-2s. But even they seem a little more open and clear now. It's like a magic wand for the Roxannes though. I hadn't previously realized how good these little CIEMs are. Before, I only had a hunch my sources were holding them back. And holy shit does the Lyra's amp have a low noise floor. I love not needing a portable amp sitting around for IEM use. I don't care much for how it drives LCD-2s, but that's compared to the Beta22 Dreadhead's friend made.

[Salt Peanuts]

We discussed the various possible scenarios and the costs. I knew it was going to be a minimum of $150. They knew if the side which appeared undamaged was okay then they had the go ahead for the other side that was obviously damaged. I expected it to be more. They repaired them on Wednesday and shipped that night to get them to me the next day. I did expect to get an invoice sooner, it all worked out in the end and I'm happy with the result.

Ah, never mind then. I am glad they came through for you after all that you went through with your pair.

[MexicanDragon]

http://www.audio360.org/iems_a0038_jerry_harvey_jh_audio_layla_angie_exclusive_info_early_impressions.php

New JH Audio IEMs. 999$ and 2495$

We people are crazy, no?

**BRENT**

[dimitris]

I think I am going to be sticking with my JH13 based on the Layla price. I checked some photos on HF and they seem pretty huge as well.

Edited December 21, 2014 by dimitris

[jp11801]

my JH13s Freqs sound awesome until I compare them to the Roxanne or Layla. Trying to decide if I want to be that version of crazy.

 

Very interested in the Prism and Lynx products as I have had the Metric Halo UNL-8 for years and have the itch to try new stuff. In the end I think it will be more of a side step than a step up but I'm going to demo each after the first of the year. 

[Leonardo Drummond]

I'm quite annoyed by this.

 

Even though I love my Roxannes, it's not that they're without their limitations – sometimes I want a more analytical presentation, something that I thought would happen with the bass knob down and precisely what the Layla seems to be offering.

 

But then I remember having spent 1.600 bucks and waiting several months for something that was guaranteed to be the top of the line in the upcoming Roxanne family only to be presented, not many months later, with a new TOTL. If I knew that, maybe I would have waited and gone for it. Like someone said at the other place, I feel kinda cheated.

 

On the other hand, $900 more for a universal? For what, exactly? I feel that the prices are starting to get a bit ridiculous.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Leonardo Drummond

[grawk]

as long as people keep paying more, someone will keep charging more.

[Iron_Dreamer]

Prices are only ridiculous if nobody will pay them, and based on JH's popularity in China, I suspect they will have no trouble selling tons of them there. Beyond that, it may not even matter, but of course there are always customers who equate most expensive with must have.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Indeed... to clarify, it's not that I'm not happy with my Roxannes, but I guess with customs the whole thing is a bit more complicated. As reselling is difficult, I'd much rather save for longer and go for the the best according to my tastes (as long as the cost is reasonable to me) than to start small and build my way up. This is what I did with the Roxannes anyway, in part precisely because it was guaranteed to be the best sounding of the bunch for a long time. But well... maybe not.

[grawk]

So you want them to not sell better iems if they make them, just so you can deal with it psychologically?  Why not just stop looking when you find something you're happy with?

[Dusty Chalk]

Wait, the Roxannes are better than the 13s and the 16s?  Just convince yourself that the new ones aren't better, and you're done.  That's what I'm doing with the Roxannes.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Well, no, I just expect honesty from a serious company. Don't say that something is going to be the top of the line in a new series if the very next announcement in this series is going to contradict that.

And as I said, as much as I'm happy with the Roxannes, there are one or two things I don't like about them and these are precisely the things that this new model seems to fix.

Edit: forgot to quote, that was for Grawk, Peter

Edited December 21, 2014 by Leonardo Drummond

[grawk]

Right, they announced they were top of the line, then came up with something better.  So they should hold off on selling it?  After all, you agree there are things that they could improve on, and they improved on them.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Good point, but the thing is that now I just doubt that Jerry was being sincere when he made that comment on the Roxannes - plus, it gets worse when I consider that the Laylas cost a lot more, so it's not like the freqphase technology on the JH13 and JH16. This is what looks like a fix.

[recstar24]

Ultimate ears.

[Dusty Chalk]

...I just doubt that Jerry was being sincere when he made that comment on the Roxannes...

Why would you think that?  Most engineers that I know are proud of their latest accomplishment, and they're not afraid to tell people that.  "Hey, this is the best I've come up with yet."  And then add to that the inability to sit still.  "Now how can I improve upon it yet still some more?"  And you get exactly what you got.

 

Also, where was the comment made?  There's a difference between "this is the best I've come up with" and "this is the best I will ever come up with". 

[purk]

Right, they announced they were top of the line, then came up with something better.  So they should hold off on selling it?  After all, you agree there are things that they could improve on, and they improved on them.

 

I think Jerry got a few pointers from Astell & Kern.

[Leonardo Drummond]

Peter, I don't think I'll be able to find it as the Roxannes' topic now has about a million posts, but when presenting the Roxys in a few shows he stated clearly, more than once, that the Roxannes were going to be the top of the line earphones in this new upcoming Siren Series, so it's a very specific comment. I think it's actually on video, I'll try and look it up for you.

It's not like he can't make anything better ever, but as a designer who studied a little bit about branding, I think that what most brands try to achieve nowadays (and it's also the thing that's the most difficult to achieve) is trust. And this sort of thing is precisely what destroys trust. I highly doubt that you can come up with some new earphone like that quickly, so it must have been in the works for a while.

In any case, if he made that remark, then he should concentrate on lesser models for a while until the line is mature before he starts working on a new TOTL, not make a new one right away. If you're a company like JH Audio, IMO you can't just change your mind like that. Your word is (should be) valuable, and is what makes or breaks trust... Really important, difficult to achieve but very easy to lose, I think!

Edited December 22, 2014 by Leonardo Drummond