So today morning, my Jerry Harvey JH5 customs arrived. The turn around time was outstanding, exactly 9 days since I went to the audiologist(Frances Miranda, rockstarears.com) and got my impressions done by her. She is a JHA representative, so she handled the order with them and shipped it out for me.
First, some background info on the head and founder of the Company, Jerry Harvey.
More Volume - Ultimate Ears - Jerry Harvey - Van Halen
From then on, in 2007, He sold Ultimate Ears to Logitech, and founded Jerry Harvey Audio.
Now, the pictures.
They were taken with my Vibrant, and I'm no photographer either.. my SX20IS is somewhere in my bag and I'm too lazy to pull it out and search for it.
Now for the fit and comfort.
I hoped that the fit would be perfect the first time, (thats the reason I specially went to that particular audiologist), and it was. Its as comfortable as it could ever be, it feels like a part of your ear and after some time you won't know its there.
Note : for first time custom users, you will feel irritation and awkwardness as your ears get used to the molds sitting in your ears. I've been wearing hearing aids ever since I remember, so for me it felt as comfy as wearing a t-shirt.
Main plus point is its isolation, which is the best you can get. Thanks to that, you don't need to crank up the volume when you're in a noisy environment, and you can easily listen at low levels, thus preserving your ears.
Oh, and just a notice, you can choose from a huge variety of colors, and can even request artwork. I wanted to put the tMg logo on the outside, but I forgot about it at the appointment, and when I remembered and emailed them, it was too late.
Maybe on another pair in the future.
Now onto the main part, the sound.
Where do I begin. Its top notch, easily meeting my expectations, and exceeding in some areas. It fell slightly short only in one place, which is the treble extension, but then I have been spoiled by the DT880 600 Ohm + Woo Audio 6 setup I had earlier.
The bass is brilliant, not too much, not too less. Just the right amount. If you're playing a bass heavy track, it has a very good amount of bass. Not perfect, but then for the price range, more than good enough. The upper bass, the drums are excellent, the sub bass is good. Not the best, but easily very good.
The midrange is where it exceeded my expectations. It has a brilliant midrange, not seductive as the HD650's, but very involving. Its not recessed at all, and its not forward either, just at the right place with the rest of the spectrum. The vocals are great, at the center of the music, not too forward like the AT's, not too subdued like the Denon's.
Like I said earlier, the treble extension is OK, the treble details are pretty good. If you have heard excellent amped DT880's or especially the top of the line cans, you realize that the sharpness and crispness they have , the JH5's don't have. I don't mind that it totally doesn't have, it is pretty sharp and crisp compared to most IEM's, the only IEM(around or below its price range) I can think off sometimes, just sometimes best it is the RE0's. But the RE0's are one of the kings of treble under $200-$300, and they don't do anything else as well..
But for the price, it has very good treble, and unless you have heard the top notch treble of higher end cans or customs, you won't miss anything at all in this department.
Now for another important part, the sound signature.
It isn't exactly completely neutral, but it isn't too tuned in one aspect either. The only thing I can really say, is that it sounds musical, but Jerry has done it in such a way that it sounds balanced as well. That has always been his forte, and thats why he has the reputation in the custom world that he has. No part of the spectrum supersedes other, and all parts are presented very beautifully.
Sound Stage.
Now, here, I will talk about two different types of soundstage. One is the separation and positioning of the instruments when listening to music, and the other is when watching movies and playing games, the directional audio in that.
The instrument separation is again, top notch for the price. This is extremely evident when listening to orchestras, it places everything very well, from left to right. Everything has its own place, in all genres of music.
The only times I've heard better instrument separation is through the DT880 powered by the WA6(slightly that too), HD800 balanced, the the Stax O2. The K701 also has a wider soundstage, not better though, just wider.. the depth of the JH5 is better, resulting in a better 3D soundstage.
Now for movies I just watched some action movies in general, and I played CSS as well, testing the directional and positional audio.
From what I heard, the positional audio is good, not the best though. The left to right movement was superb, but in the front or back, its tough to get the exact position. But hearing the person is extremely easy, the details are easily there, its just that if the person is in front of you or behind you, its hard to pinpoint exactly where, but if he is to the left or right, its very easy. Mind you, its not 2D, its very much 3D, in movies the surround effects were brilliant, you could easily make out the directions and the effects were superb thanks to the great bass reproduction.
Also, this is without the X-Fi or Xonar Dolby Headphone setup of any kind, plain USB to my DAC. My in game sound setting was set to headphones, I'll change it to 5.1 or other stuff and see whether it improves the positional audio.
Also, another note : I'm not a basshead. I don't like my bass too much, I prefer it on the lower side. So for some bassheads the bass reproduction might not be what they are looking for. Just a heads up.. although I'm pretty sure its good.
Extra Notes
The cable that is provided with the customs are very good, very resistant and no microphonics whatsoever. They are well built, will not tear or break due to strain, they can handle quite a bit of it. You have the option of 48" or 64"(will cost more) depending on your needs. And the customs have detachable cables, in case you want to replace them, like I had to, to use with my Protector.
In the end, I'm very happy with my purchase. They're very good value for money for how they sound, and their overall functionality, and how portable they are. Also, I forgot to mention, how easy they are to drive. My above conclusions were done out of my full setup which is in my sig, but I listened briefly out of my iPad as well, and they are very easy to drive, great SQ from the iPad. They don't need amplification to really shine, but they benefit well from amplification, just to push them to their best. Most improvement through amplification was increased clarity and separation, and better bass definition.
Even if I upgrade and get better customs(when I have money to spare), these are definitely staying with me for as long as I can keep them.
So thats my lengthy take on the customs! What do you'll think? Any questions in particular?
Oh and the damages : $410 inclusive of shipping and impressions.
Ratings with relation to price :
Highs = 9
Mids = 9.5
Lows = 8.5
Instrument Separation = 9
Soundstage in Music = 8.75
Soundstage = 8
Comfort = 9.9
Ratings without relation to price
Highs = 5.5
Mids = 7
Lows = 6
Instrument Separation = 5
Soundstage in Music = 5.5
Soundstage = 4.5
Comfort = 9.9
First, some background info on the head and founder of the Company, Jerry Harvey.
More Volume - Ultimate Ears - Jerry Harvey - Van Halen
From then on, in 2007, He sold Ultimate Ears to Logitech, and founded Jerry Harvey Audio.
Now, the pictures.
They were taken with my Vibrant, and I'm no photographer either.. my SX20IS is somewhere in my bag and I'm too lazy to pull it out and search for it.
Now for the fit and comfort.
I hoped that the fit would be perfect the first time, (thats the reason I specially went to that particular audiologist), and it was. Its as comfortable as it could ever be, it feels like a part of your ear and after some time you won't know its there.
Note : for first time custom users, you will feel irritation and awkwardness as your ears get used to the molds sitting in your ears. I've been wearing hearing aids ever since I remember, so for me it felt as comfy as wearing a t-shirt.
Main plus point is its isolation, which is the best you can get. Thanks to that, you don't need to crank up the volume when you're in a noisy environment, and you can easily listen at low levels, thus preserving your ears.
Oh, and just a notice, you can choose from a huge variety of colors, and can even request artwork. I wanted to put the tMg logo on the outside, but I forgot about it at the appointment, and when I remembered and emailed them, it was too late.
Maybe on another pair in the future.
Now onto the main part, the sound.
Where do I begin. Its top notch, easily meeting my expectations, and exceeding in some areas. It fell slightly short only in one place, which is the treble extension, but then I have been spoiled by the DT880 600 Ohm + Woo Audio 6 setup I had earlier.
The bass is brilliant, not too much, not too less. Just the right amount. If you're playing a bass heavy track, it has a very good amount of bass. Not perfect, but then for the price range, more than good enough. The upper bass, the drums are excellent, the sub bass is good. Not the best, but easily very good.
The midrange is where it exceeded my expectations. It has a brilliant midrange, not seductive as the HD650's, but very involving. Its not recessed at all, and its not forward either, just at the right place with the rest of the spectrum. The vocals are great, at the center of the music, not too forward like the AT's, not too subdued like the Denon's.
Like I said earlier, the treble extension is OK, the treble details are pretty good. If you have heard excellent amped DT880's or especially the top of the line cans, you realize that the sharpness and crispness they have , the JH5's don't have. I don't mind that it totally doesn't have, it is pretty sharp and crisp compared to most IEM's, the only IEM(around or below its price range) I can think off sometimes, just sometimes best it is the RE0's. But the RE0's are one of the kings of treble under $200-$300, and they don't do anything else as well..
But for the price, it has very good treble, and unless you have heard the top notch treble of higher end cans or customs, you won't miss anything at all in this department.
Now for another important part, the sound signature.
It isn't exactly completely neutral, but it isn't too tuned in one aspect either. The only thing I can really say, is that it sounds musical, but Jerry has done it in such a way that it sounds balanced as well. That has always been his forte, and thats why he has the reputation in the custom world that he has. No part of the spectrum supersedes other, and all parts are presented very beautifully.
Sound Stage.
Now, here, I will talk about two different types of soundstage. One is the separation and positioning of the instruments when listening to music, and the other is when watching movies and playing games, the directional audio in that.
The instrument separation is again, top notch for the price. This is extremely evident when listening to orchestras, it places everything very well, from left to right. Everything has its own place, in all genres of music.
The only times I've heard better instrument separation is through the DT880 powered by the WA6(slightly that too), HD800 balanced, the the Stax O2. The K701 also has a wider soundstage, not better though, just wider.. the depth of the JH5 is better, resulting in a better 3D soundstage.
Now for movies I just watched some action movies in general, and I played CSS as well, testing the directional and positional audio.
From what I heard, the positional audio is good, not the best though. The left to right movement was superb, but in the front or back, its tough to get the exact position. But hearing the person is extremely easy, the details are easily there, its just that if the person is in front of you or behind you, its hard to pinpoint exactly where, but if he is to the left or right, its very easy. Mind you, its not 2D, its very much 3D, in movies the surround effects were brilliant, you could easily make out the directions and the effects were superb thanks to the great bass reproduction.
Also, this is without the X-Fi or Xonar Dolby Headphone setup of any kind, plain USB to my DAC. My in game sound setting was set to headphones, I'll change it to 5.1 or other stuff and see whether it improves the positional audio.
Also, another note : I'm not a basshead. I don't like my bass too much, I prefer it on the lower side. So for some bassheads the bass reproduction might not be what they are looking for. Just a heads up.. although I'm pretty sure its good.
Extra Notes
The cable that is provided with the customs are very good, very resistant and no microphonics whatsoever. They are well built, will not tear or break due to strain, they can handle quite a bit of it. You have the option of 48" or 64"(will cost more) depending on your needs. And the customs have detachable cables, in case you want to replace them, like I had to, to use with my Protector.
In the end, I'm very happy with my purchase. They're very good value for money for how they sound, and their overall functionality, and how portable they are. Also, I forgot to mention, how easy they are to drive. My above conclusions were done out of my full setup which is in my sig, but I listened briefly out of my iPad as well, and they are very easy to drive, great SQ from the iPad. They don't need amplification to really shine, but they benefit well from amplification, just to push them to their best. Most improvement through amplification was increased clarity and separation, and better bass definition.
Even if I upgrade and get better customs(when I have money to spare), these are definitely staying with me for as long as I can keep them.
So thats my lengthy take on the customs! What do you'll think? Any questions in particular?
Oh and the damages : $410 inclusive of shipping and impressions.
Ratings with relation to price :
Highs = 9
Mids = 9.5
Lows = 8.5
Instrument Separation = 9
Soundstage in Music = 8.75
Soundstage = 8
Comfort = 9.9
Ratings without relation to price
Highs = 5.5
Mids = 7
Lows = 6
Instrument Separation = 5
Soundstage in Music = 5.5
Soundstage = 4.5
Comfort = 9.9
