I know this is insane but I absolutely love the sound of my JH 13/16s powered by either my Fetastic or Zana but both are obviously noisy in this application. They both (noise aside) sound way better than the portable amps I have tried but wonder if there is a desktop option out there that is under $2k that would be silent with these but also sound fantastic. 

 

If the Fetastic was quiet it would be the best option as it sounds great with them and is balanced to boot but there is a hiss present at all volumes. Not a knock on the amp as I am using outside it's intended purpose. 

Why is it noisy with the JH's -- is it their sensitivity?

 

Also, are you sure it's the amp, and not the source?

IEMs have high sensitivity so they are more susceptible to amp hiss than standard full sized HPs

 

yes it is the amp

 

In thinking this through they ety resistor might work for me, while not customized to the JH it might knock down the hiss with only a small SQ hit. Now to find an adapter for a 4 pin balanced? 

No to the Ettymotic style resistor. Multi-driver IEMs seem to work best with low output impedance, the resistor messes that up. 

 

Output transformers might work. 

I guess you couldn't go wrong with something like a GS-1 or even GS-Lite maybe. There were quite a few Lites at the other place not very long ago!

The QRV08 is a very silent amp due to the four shunt regulated PSU's. Not too expensive to build either.

 

I find it to sound better than the Dynalo I built and a Violectric V200 I've borrowed.

The QRV08 is a very silent amp due to the four shunt regulated PSU's. Not too expensive to build either.

I find it to sound better than the Dynalo I built and a Violectric V200 I've borrowed.

Looks awesome but I'm all thumbs in the DIY arena

Well, you could always find someone crazy enough to do it for you... It isn't actually that hard, took about 6 hours for me.

Although I own the JH16s, not the JH13s, I also love how they sound out of a good desktop setup. (Portable amps generally don't cut it). There are two amps I would recommend. The first is the ECP Audio L-2, which Doug might be willing to sell you for $2K or you could try to find used. It is completely quiet with the JH16s and has a low enough gain that you can actually make pretty good use of the volume knob. It is a very clean/fast sounding amp, but is very easy to listen to - highly recommended with the JH13/16.

I also like the Eddie Current Super 7, which has a low output impedance and was designed to work with IEMs. It is not quite as quiet as the L-2, but the noise level is still low. With the right tubes (RCAs) it is a little warmer sounding than the L-2 with somewhat deeper bass. If you already own the Zana Deux, the Super 7 might be redundant, though, so the L-2 may be the best bet. And ECP offers a 30-day return privilege, which is pretty unique and nice.

Also, I have owned a few other amps (Woo 22, DNA Sonnet, Luxman P1-u) and did not like them with the JH-16s, so avoid those if they were on your radar.

Interestingly, my ZDT is dead silent with IEM, and sounds magnificent. My Woo WA6 is also dead silent with IEM and sounds wonderful with them. Neither amp has any channel imbalance at very low volumes as a bonus. These are by far my favorite desktop amps for IEM.

My DACmini has a very tiny bit of hiss, but it's mostly noticeable with my ES3X and not my JH13/16, and it sounds like a WA6 clone with IEM and full size phones, but with much more power than the WA6.

Yeah, I've found that low output impedance is a must with IEM's, especially multi-drivers. Tubes usually have a pretty high noise floor but as some have pointed out - sometimes it doesn't prove problematic.

I really like the Pico Slim and Pico Power with JH16/13, respectively. I know they're not desktop amps, but...

I can also second the DSHA-1 recommendation, although I like it more with the JH16FP than the vanilla JH13s.

I should listen to my Fetastic amp with the awesome mini-4-pin connector that Marc made for me because I don't recall it being a big noise issue with JH13s.  Do JH16s have the same two-pin connector into the IEM or is it something different?

I should listen to my Fetastic amp with the awesome mini-4-pin connector that Marc made for me because I don't recall it being a big noise issue with JH13s.  Do JH16s have the same two-pin connector into the IEM or is it something different?

My JH13 and JH16 both use the same 2-pin cable. I wonder if they will change them soon to have them all use the new connector that was on the Roxanne demo.

If it is inconvenient, you can count on it.