a wee bit off topic but anyone using jh 16s with macbook air? no amps or dacs in the middle. just headphones straight into the laptop?

i am getting more hiss than i do with my thinkpad. i keep hearing claims of completely black backgrounds but i cant get it. not on an iphone or ipad even. actually the ipad is the closest ive gotten to a dark background.

the issue was brought up with mike when i went to his house to borrow a pico slim i think. he couldn't hear the noise i was hearing initially but following a seemingly random set of events he heard it.

1. plug in headphones into iphone while the phone is in sleep mode.

2. enter your password or swipe to get into the phone.

3. turn the headphone volume all the way up.

4. click on music but dont play any music.

5. if you don't hear the hiss already, keep the music app up for a few seconds and then click the home button to go back to the home screen.

6. wait for a few seconds before the audio link is cut out from the music app and you will hear a blimp and then complete silence.

7. if you were to go back into the music app, there would be a little blip and then the hiss will resume.

should take a minute at most to do this and i would appreciate some feedback on the matter.

the problem i have is that the hiss that mike heard at the highest volume (he didnt hear anything at the lowest volume) is what i hear the moment i plug in the headphones into anything - iphone, shuffle, ipad, ipod touch, thinkpad, and now mba regardless of the volume level. fwiw, i heard it on the pico slim with the iphone as well. ive gone to get hearing tests done a few times over the past few years because of tinnitus and ive always scored well above average even though the tests only go up to 8khz i think. the issue is not with high frequencies though which tinnitus might screw up the results for, but with a low hiss. almost like the constant hiss of a cassette in a walkman.

in the mba, the same thing happens when i open itunes. for instance it is still there in the background but with itunes the hiss gets much more annoying and noticeable.

if anyone has solutions on getting rid of this, please let me know. after hearing the crack + 650 on the mba i was reminded how pleasant a black background was and well what i had gotten used to over the past year has started bugging the shit out of me yet again. could i use some sort of adapter cable with a resistor inside or anything else to reduce the sensitivity of the phones? i tried emailing jaime about the issues a while back but she quoted jerry saying that he was using the jh16s with the macbook air with a completely black background. i dont claim to have golden ears - just that i might be able to hear part of the spectrum that they can't.

Edited December 23, 201114 yr by crappyjones123

people have different levels of hearing.

based on averages by age, at 500Hz mike's hearing would be about 6dB worse than yours -- which could easily be the difference between audible vs. not audible. At 8KHz, it could be a 30dB difference.

Edited December 23, 201114 yr by justin

Anyone here have both the JH-13 pro and UERM?

As if it's not enough that my car may cost me $3500+ to repair, now I have to buy new IEM's. Walking the dogs I take the left earpiece out to talk to a neighbor when one dog decides she wants run. To make a long story short, get back to house and the earpiece is gone and I was unable to find it. This is the same one I had to have repaired multiple times for the same problem. I think it is time to move on after one more email to JH Audio telling them how I feel about their product and customer service.

That sucks Mike. Are you going to try UE again?

Tough run of luck, Mike.

I think I will go UE but it won't be for a while. I also will consider Westone. I will use my Yuin PK somethings and yurbuds until then.

Tough run of luck, Mike.

^This. Hope your luck turns around for the better ASAP Mike.

As if it's not enough that my car may cost me $3500+ to repair, now I have to buy new IEM's. Walking the dogs I take the left earpiece out to talk to a neighbor when one dog decides she wants run. To make a long story short, get back to house and the earpiece is gone and I was unable to find it. This is the same one I had to have repaired multiple times for the same problem. I think it is time to move on after one more email to JH Audio telling them how I feel about their product and customer service.

Shit Mike that totally sucks! This IMO has everything to do with the cable interface as my 13s have had a similar issue I've just not had the misfortune of not finding the earpiece after it fell off the cable.

THe UE locking interface should be the industry standard, although I'm sure UE has some sort of patent protection on it

That really does suck, Mike. You might want to put up flyers offering a reward for the return of it. It's in your neighborhood and probably someone will find it.

I think I will go UE but it won't be for a while. I also will consider Westone. I will use my Yuin PK somethings and yurbuds until then.

Also consider keeping your eye on Amazon for the Image x10, which periodically goes on sale. iirc, you had them once before, right? You can sometimes get them for less than $100, which I think is a great deal.

I am

Considering the x10. I did have them and they are good. The truth is I wear them mostly walking the digs so not sure I need customs.

Suckage, Mike. Skip the JH if they don't replace the earpiece.

I'm done with them. Worst customer service I've experienced although Acura of Pembroke Pines is close.

I'm done with them. Worst customer service I've experienced although Acura of Pembroke Pines is close.

I share the same sentiment specially for some one overseas, nevermore.

Sorry to hear, Mike. That sucks.

**BRENT**

Sorry to hear about your loss. I've lost a monitor to the battle of crappy connectors too.

On a side note - the UE interface is defiantly better, but it is not a "locking" connection.

That really sucks Mike. Hope your luck improves.

^ This

What everyone else has said, Mike.

Yeezh, Mike.

The Westones that I have are the same as the JH. The left side of my ES3X falls out all the time, it's a few years old, and I only use it for testing purposes.

I've had good luck with Westone customer support, though it's been a quite a few years since I used my ES2. I think the ES2 was still up to date when I used it so that puts it quite some time back. I lost mine to my left foot and a stairway - not pleasant. Considering ES5 now since I quite like the UM3x.

I wanted to provide an update. A member of this forum with the same issue, out of the blue offered to send me his remaining earpiece to reshell for my use. Despite repeated efforts to offer him something in return, he refused. He prefers to remain nameless but I wanted to at least acknowledge it happened. Thank you again!