purk Posted March 18, 2015 Report Posted March 18, 2015 No easy way to put these, but i'm honestly not a fan of the JH sound and i noticed this to be case among most of us in south east asia. Maybe its a culture thing. I've tried the whole lineup including the layla and angie. I even owned a roxxane at one point (Great deal), but they honestly pale in comparison to the fitears, but none of their universals can match the togo334 whether in sound or build quality, and none of the customs seem to match the fitear counterparts in either as well. There was a meet recently, and even though the angie and layla were there, my tg334's got the most head time among all the guys, even though most of them came to try the laylas. Altought to be fair, for some reason, we really liked the angie compared to her bigger sisters. I would say that the jh roxx, angie and layla etc does the bass abit better, there seems to be more detail and texture, but there is no grip or control on them (compared to the tg334 and K10). The mids and highs are nothing to shout about, quite forgetful, not as clear as the fitears( there are alot more to this, but i cant describe shit to save my life). Their sound reminds me of a concert setup, replete with sub par speakers and amps. They do sound pretty good with big live and loud concert recordings, but for normal studio recordings, they lose out pretty badly to the fitears. I would say before you get the JH, try the fitears, it is quite the experience, the only reason i sold mine off (Tg334) was because the stax sr009 bested them, and i cant own both. Have not heard of the Fitears either but I am digging my JH13pro PF a great deal. I am originally from southeast asia.
Rotijon Posted March 19, 2015 Report Posted March 19, 2015 (edited) Wow, you have noticed that most of the 600+ million people in southeast asia are not fans of JH Audio sound? I have noticed that JH Audio is making a shitload of money selling to Asia -- including you (great deal) -- but maybe Fitears is really where its at. I thought you said you were going to go back to lurking, not trolling another product in a thread about JH Audio. Voltron, if i offer an opinion like the one above at any other part of this forum, DIY, Headphones, Amplifiers, Whiskey etc, i probably deserve to laughed out of the room. But in the area of “In Ear Monitors” (Universals in particular), i actually know my stuff and in this case, as im based in Malaysia / Singapore and have access to a much wider variety of IEM’S than you are, I think my opinion has some weight here. (I might be completely delusional though ) JH is a company with a good product and a better marketing team. Their wide customer base of rock stars, ability to start and win the market trends (12 drivers anybody?) and the fact that Jerry is the pioneer and founder of this industry,ensures that they will always have fans and customers in any part of the world. I can’t speak for the western markets. But in South East Asia and japan, they lose out massively at the market where Fitear competes (The 1.5k-2K level), even with the insane markup (40-50%) by dealers outside of japan. Of course, they are people who simply prefer the JH to the Fitears, but they are a minority in my part of the world. You seem to be judging the quality of the product based on its sales. Not exactly accurate, but it has its merits. I bought my Roxannes, not from JH, but from a seller in Malaysia. It was less than a month old and was selling for USD675, roughly half the retail price. The reason being a Fitear TG334 (a 2 year old one at that) that was bought shortly after. The 6 month old TG334 i had, i paid USD1,500 for them secondhand(with an aftermarket cable) and sold it for USD1,700 two weeks after. And the guy literally drove 6 hours to pick them up. http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/headphones-earphones-portable-media-devices-314/need-help-big-decision-fitear-vs-roxanne-4527460.html Here is a short thread from a singapore (An IEM heaven outside of japan) based forum, it’s a relatively good gauge of the sentiment of IEM users in Singapore. If you really want to judge an item’s quality based on commercial terms, base it on its availability and price in the second-hand market. The Headamp BHSE rarely goes up for sale and when it does, it never drops below 5.5k. Headamp stuff always sell close to retail. Mjollnir Audio, close to retail. Schiit, pretty close to retail. JH audio, close to 50-60% value. If you check the Japanese sites, they are already secondhand layla’s and angie’s up for sale, and at 20% less than retail prices, and this is only 1-2 months in. Now, try finding a Fitear TG334. In terms of build quality, I cant speak for JH's CIEM as I have not bought a JH CIEM before, but in terms of the universals(TG 334! to the Siren Series), the Fitears beat the JH handily. The Fitears built are essentially perfect, nothing you can complain about other than the sparse accesories. For the JH, they are very obvious gaps and bubbles in the acrylic, the stem does not seem to have any finishing whatsoever, the bores seem to be an engineering mistake (there is no way to remove wax from them), the brush I had in my set had half the plastic bristles melted and attached to each other (Not an issue in the US as you can just ask for a new one, a major issue in my end of the planet) I want to make a subjective comparison, but I am honestly not cut out to write subjective impressions. And I doubt this is a crowd I can convince with flowery mike mercer words. You need to hear it for yourself. I will say this of JH though, Jerry is a great guy and an innovator, he started this industry basically on his own. Before I heard the TG334, I really loved the Roxanne’s, they were the first earphones that made me dance on the train. In a market without the Fitears (Sounds like the USA), they would be one of the best, but in my end of the world, their value lie about the USD1,000 mark, above the SE846, but below the high end Fitears, and certainly below USD2499. I’m not saying the Layla is not good. Im just saying, before you(or at least this forum) call layla the best iem evarrrr and drop 2.5k on one, take a quick trip to japan (or a country with Jaben), eat sushi, visit e-earphone and try out the fitears, you wont regret it and from my experience, it is likely to change your mind. Edited March 19, 2015 by Rotijon
laxx Posted March 19, 2015 Report Posted March 19, 2015 So I had the luxury to try out a bunch of them just now. Here are my thoughts, I'm just a normal guy who likes music and a little quality sound. Very unrefined hearing, lol. And I'll probably describe half of this shit poorly/wrong. All of this was straight off my Samsung Galaxy S4 as that's what I'll mostly use it with. I sometimes listen with IEM's on my Stello DP-200, but that's more for my HF-2 and HD-650's. So Samsung Galaxy S4 with V0/320 kbps mp3's ranging from dubstep, deep house, rock, rap, chinese pop/ballad. JH 13 Pro (universal silicon) - Amazed me with how low it went. I felt it in my stomach. I loved it. But I felt it lacked a bit of clarity. These would be the ones if not for that. JH 16 Pro (universal foam) - Too bassy for me. Sounds like the 13's but with additional bass. But even with that said, I found these to be very fun to listen to. I think I spent the most time with these, even though I had issues with both ends of the spectrum. JH Angie (universal silicon) - I tried these with the bass level at 12 (right in the middle). Crisp and clear, great start! But then I felt the bass wasn't... controlled. So I turned the bass down to the lowest setting. Reminded me of the Ety sound where I wish there was some punch. Turning the bass levels felt like I had bass boost from an old 90's boom box. Not cool for $1,300 price tag. UE 18 Pro (universal foam) - A bit less clarity up top than the Angie, but better than the 13's. The lower end reminded me of my Triple-fi 10 Pro's, flabby bass. It's deeper, but still flabby. That's all the time I had and I didn't want to commit > $1,000 based off any of those impressions, even if it's not my own money. I'm going to be picking up the JH-13 Pro, JH Angie and UE 18 Pro's tomorrow to take home for the weekend to spend some more time with. As for now, I'm leaning towards the JH 13 Pro's. I am also curious how the universal fit of these affects them.
Voltron Posted March 19, 2015 Report Posted March 19, 2015 Fitears is the answer, Laxx. Go to Malaysia and get some.
laxx Posted March 19, 2015 Report Posted March 19, 2015 Fitears is the answer, Laxx. Go to Malaysia and get some. If I can convince my company to pay for my flight. =] 1
Dusty Chalk Posted March 19, 2015 Report Posted March 19, 2015 Fitears is the answer, Laxx. Go to Malaysia and get some. I thought we learned our lessons with Kool-aid.
Hopstretch Posted March 19, 2015 Report Posted March 19, 2015 I thought we learned our lessons with Kool-aid. That was red vodka. 1
laxx Posted March 21, 2015 Report Posted March 21, 2015 Going with the JH 13 Pro's. Plugged them into my Stello DP200 and now they are really singing. Tight controlled bass with the clarity I was hoping for. Glad I took them home to demo. 3
laxx Posted March 24, 2015 Report Posted March 24, 2015 Hot damn, 30-40 business days... That's a pretty ridiculous wait.
jp11801 Posted March 24, 2015 Report Posted March 24, 2015 just order them semi enjoy the sweet sweet music and before you know it you'll have them PS I hate to wait as well
laxx Posted March 24, 2015 Report Posted March 24, 2015 Yea I paid for them yesterday and didn't really know what to expect until I actually read the site. It's just much longer than I expected. ACS is a few avenues from my office and I thought about going there to try out their line since it only takes a few days to make but I'm kind of lazy and don't feel like going there.
nnotis Posted April 23, 2015 Report Posted April 23, 2015 Laxx, how did you find the JH13s compared to the Angies during your home audition? Obviously, you liked the 13s more. Was it purely a matter of signature preference, or did you find the 13s technically more proficient?
K3cT Posted May 1, 2015 Report Posted May 1, 2015 I've heard the higher-tier FitEar customs specifically the MH334, MH335 and Aya and I'd agree that they are better than similar offerings from JH but they are so much more expensive anyway. One thing I like about the FitEar is how small the shells are, especially when compared to the likes of Roxanne, Angie and Layla which suits my petite azn ears better. Anyway, I really REALLY like the Angie. I've always thought that the JH13 w/ Freqphase is the best JH has to offer even with the arrival of Roxanne which is a tad dark and boomy with uncontrolled bass to me but the Angie pretty much dethrones it. One thing I dislike about the JH13FP is that it has a tendency to sound strident and shouty in the upper mid/lower area which can cause fatigue fast. The Angie has none of that and it generally sounds flatter throughout the entire spectrum, the JH13FP in comparison is a bit V-shaped. The transition from bass to mid to treble is very smooth in the Angie, which makes it sound more coherent than the JH13FP. The bass dial is also pretty nifty, even when I dialed it to 2/3 the bass remains quite taut with no boomy characteristics that the Roxanne has. The only con is the shell is just so freaking huge, at least for the universal version.
Rotijon Posted May 1, 2015 Report Posted May 1, 2015 I've heard the higher-tier FitEar customs specifically the MH334, MH335 and Aya and I'd agree that they are better than similar offerings from JH but they are so much more expensive anyway. One thing I like about the FitEar is how small the shells are, especially when compared to the likes of Roxanne, Angie and Layla which suits my petite azn ears better. Anyway, I really REALLY like the Angie. I've always thought that the JH13 w/ Freqphase is the best JH has to offer even with the arrival of Roxanne which is a tad dark and boomy with uncontrolled bass to me but the Angie pretty much dethrones it. One thing I dislike about the JH13FP is that it has a tendency to sound strident and shouty in the upper mid/lower area which can cause fatigue fast. The Angie has none of that and it generally sounds flatter throughout the entire spectrum, the JH13FP in comparison is a bit V-shaped. The transition from bass to mid to treble is very smooth in the Angie, which makes it sound more coherent than the JH13FP. The bass dial is also pretty nifty, even when I dialed it to 2/3 the bass remains quite taut with no boomy characteristics that the Roxanne has. The only con is the shell is just so freaking huge, at least for the universal version. Try the private 333 =) Still better than the angie.
robm321 Posted May 1, 2015 Report Posted May 1, 2015 (edited) Rotijon, because of you, I hate FitEar, and I will never buy any of their stuff. Is that what you were looking to accomplish here? Edited May 1, 2015 by robm321
Rotijon Posted May 1, 2015 Report Posted May 1, 2015 Rotijon, because of you, I hate FitEar, and I will never buy any of their stuff. Is that what you were looking to accomplish here? You're an easy one to influence aren't you. Can we get rid of this fucking shill already? Says the guy who has never criticized JH and only recommends JH despite all its issues.
Audiojunkie Posted May 1, 2015 Report Posted May 1, 2015 You're an easy one to influence aren't you. Says the guy who has never criticized JH and only recommends JH despite all its issues. So how long have you worked for FitEar?
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