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Author Topic: JH Audio Angie (Universal)  (Read 19835 times)

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music_4321

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JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« on: April 11, 2015, 12:43:27 AM »

First things first: NEVER been a fan of JH Audio (and even less so of Heir and/or Noble Audio). Also was never a fan of the drivers wars—I love the ER-4S (single BA), FitEar F111 (single BA), LAB I (dual BA), UERM (triple BA), the hybrid (single DD + dual BA) K3003, EX800 (single DD), Piano Forte IX (single DD) the cheapo Zero Audio Tenore (single DD), Rockets (single DD) and, of course, the HD800 & HD600. Of those, my favourites, FWIW, are the LAB I, UERM, PF IX, EX800, K3003 & HD800.

Seeing that both the Angie & Layla were being described as dead flat/neutral, reference grade phones, and after loving the UERMs so much, I was naturally interested in the Angie & Layla, but regardless of price (though price did indeed play a part) I was more drawn to the Angie.

Got the Angie (universal) today. After a cursory listen (an hour or so), I have to say that I am impressed, and very pleasantly surprised.

The Angie, to these ears, edges out the UERM, particularly in the treble department, where the latter sounds a bit more peaky/less refined, the former being more linear in the upper registers, and more natural sounding; in fact, the Angie's treble is simply superb — don't think I've ever heard treble done so well in any of the phones I've heard.

There appears to be a bit more mid-bass on the UERM (though wonderfully and very tastefully done, I have to say), but my ears tell me the Angie is more linear, with excellent extension in the low end so when the bass dial is turned up the midrange is virtually unaffected. Basically the tonal balance of the Angie is EXCELLENT.

The midrange is stunning.

When the Angie's bass dial is turned all the way up, these never sound bass-heavy at all but, actually, they are (surprisingly) very satisfying (bassheads definitely should look elsewhere), but I personally would not want any more bass. On the lowest setting, though, the Angie is decidedly rather bass-light, at least compared to the UERM.

Speed is excellent, as is dynamics on this phone; detail retrieval is impressive without them being treble happy/enhanced to appear detailed.

After 20 min or so, I started using the Angies on balanced mode (doubt there's much difference between balanced and SE—takes too long to swap cables and do not trust my ears to tell me whether there's indeed a noticeable sonic difference or not…but will still A/B both at a later stage), always with the AK240 (a DAP I paid "top dollar" for [hate that expression!] mostly for the absolutely brilliant volume knob [genius, actually], superb UI & onboard memory).
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shotgunshane

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2015, 01:02:13 AM »

How is the fit? Easy to get a comfortable seal? What about weight; are they heavy?
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Anaxilus

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #2 on: April 11, 2015, 01:13:56 AM »

That was one of a few demos that got away from  me at Canjam. Next time then.
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SomeSpace

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #3 on: April 11, 2015, 11:35:02 AM »

In my short demo of the two at a show i found myself actually preferring the Angie. It seems to have the epic larger than life soundstage of my Roxannes yet a much more balanced sound signature, as i find the Roxanne too dark and bassy. That being said i think the universal fit versions are just silly due to size, i think it would be too easy to lose the seal, especially if any movement was involved. This was due to the fact the body of the earphone didn't actually sit in my ear, it was just suspended out of my ear.
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music_4321

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #4 on: April 11, 2015, 01:26:50 PM »

How is the fit? Easy to get a comfortable seal? What about weight; are they heavy?

Fit, in my case, is fine and somewhat reminiscent of the TG 334, but the Angies are a little more ergonomic, the ear-guides, unlike those of the FitEars, actually do help to allow the earpieces to sit properly. The shells do stick out, but nothing that worries this very good-looking sparrow.

Seal is pretty good (tried Spinfit tips but ended up settling for stock medium tips). And no, the earpieces aren't heavy at all.
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Lojay

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #5 on: April 11, 2015, 02:19:16 PM »

On this note, I must say I love my Laylas. They are as tonally correct as my modded HD800s. I know this is ridiculous but they are comparable to the HD800. Imagine a UIEM version of the HD800 with about the same level of detail extraction, with an expansive in ear soundstage (about 20% less than the HD800 but nonetheless extremely impressive for an IEM). It is a touch warmer than the HD800 and hence noticeably airier. I've been driving it out of my EC 445 and oh boy are they enjoyable.
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music_4321

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2015, 02:49:12 PM »

Haven't heard the Laylas myself, and my HD800s are stock, but I do easily find the Angie's tonal balance more correct; the treble really is exquisite — I can turn the volume up quite a bit and the Angies never sound harsh, piercing or strident. One does not need to crank it up to get first class detail retrieval, either. I already preferred the tonal balance of the UERMs over my Senns, but the Angies take that a step further in preference.

One thing with regards to the UERM vs the Angie is that the latter sounds more refined/polished/cleaner—the 8 drivers sound remarkably closer to the sound of a single driver, where the transitions between low, mid & high freqs are pretty seamless. Remarkable.

Having said that, I don't think that those who have the UERM 'need' the Angie, though for some obviously the sonic differences may be greater depending of how much they value these improvements in SQ. And then, of course, some, I guess, will still find the UERM the better phone.
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Anaxilus

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #7 on: April 12, 2015, 01:08:59 AM »

Sounds good. Only two concerns about what I'm hearing that maybe can set me straight. While the UERM treble does have its issues, is the Angie treble too forgiving? Some brass instruments and vocal recordings are sibilant, aggressive and jarring. If everything sounds pleasant then accuracy is off somewhere. Also, is the 'refinement' overly so? Is it able to still resolve all those inner harmonics and ambient details, reverbs and trailing decays? That was one reason I never got the JH13 due to that over polished plastic timbre from its freqphase thingy.

BTW, Roxannae sux, don't bother...
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music_4321

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #8 on: April 12, 2015, 01:31:34 AM »

"…is the Angie treble too forgiving?" —— No, it is not. It is, however, the most accurate/correct and resolving treble I've heard myself. Is there a phone that has better treble performance? Possibly, but of the phones I've heard myself, I haven't heard one that has treble of this calibre.

Obviously some things sound more pleasant than others, depending on recording/mastering and or performance by the artist. The Angie's treble has as close to accurate treble rendition as I've heard. The refinement I speak of refers to how clean and non-metallic it sounds, with a lack of artificiality that is remarkable.

"Is it able to still resolve all those inner harmonics and ambient details, reverbs and trailing decays?" —— In that regard, again, better than anything else I've heard.

As for the Roxannes, I was never really drawn to those right from the beginning; even less so after reading several impressions here and there. The only JH Audio product that has ever caught my eye, apart from the Angie, but never actually made me curious enough to pull the trigger, was the JH13.
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Lojay

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Re: JH Audio Angie (Universal)
« Reply #9 on: April 12, 2015, 03:42:50 AM »

Sounds good. Only two concerns about what I'm hearing that maybe can set me straight. While the UERM treble does have its issues, is the Angie treble too forgiving? Some brass instruments and vocal recordings are sibilant, aggressive and jarring. If everything sounds pleasant then accuracy is off somewhere. Also, is the 'refinement' overly so? Is it able to still resolve all those inner harmonics and ambient details, reverbs and trailing decays? That was one reason I never got the JH13 due to that over polished plastic timbre from its freqphase thingy.

BTW, Roxannae sux, don't bother...

Can't speak for the Angie but the Layla is certainly not forgiving. When underdriven or fed with a sub-par source it can sound sibilant on poor recordings, that indeed is a common complaint by many folk, but it sounds spectacular on the EC 445. I compared the Roxanne head to head with the Layla and found the Layla to be more natural sounding, to have better extension both ends and a wide soundstage with HD800esque imaging.
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