Q ‘n A Saturday: JH Audio

HFN: What are the benefits of FreqPhase™ and how does it work?
JH: Every BA, or speaker, has an impulse response time. We measure the impulse time of each driver and put them in perfect time using tube length in a passive circuit, or DSP delay in an active circuit. FreqPhase™ creates perfect phase at the crossover points by making sure the sound from each driver arrives within .01ms of each other. This technology results in a flatter phase curve and no phase cancellation at the crossover point.

HFN: Lola is your first dip into hybrid designs, how did you come up with it?
JH: I created the first Hybrid design in 2005 at UE, the UE5EB. I used a diapragm for the Low and a Single BA for the High. We stopped making the UE5EB because it was a phase nightmare.
Last year, I was working on a multi-diaphragm IEM and after many hours I realized the midrange of the speakers is where the magic lies.

HFN: Why take a different road and use the dynamic driver for mids?
JH: I feel diaphragm speakers reproduce a better midrange tonality than they do for rest of the audio range. With a more musical sound than Balanced Armatures, they make the earpiece have a very Analog sound in this Digital age.

HFN: How does D.O.M.E. work and what does it do for the listener?
JH: D.O.M.E. technology makes the Lola have a very musical and natural sound when compared to any other IEM. We put two 4.9mm diaphragms face-to-face in a 3D printed capsule, which gives the IEM 9.8mm of speaker. Through this capsule we can put the mid drivers in time for FreqPhase™.

Guns 'n Roses' guitarist Slash's set!

Guns ‘n Roses guitarist Slash’s set!

HFN: What other IEM manufacturer keeps surprising you?
JH: These days there are a 1000+ IEM companies. Now, you can Google ’How to make an IEM’ and you can create a company without having any audio knowledge at all. I have not really seen any new innovation… Just a bunch of me-too companies.

HFN: What is your favourite part of pro-audio and the audiophile market?
JH: I love our Artists and Sound Engineers in the Pro Audio market. They understand good audio and they know the difference between a good product and a marginal one. The Sound Engineers’ career depends on using the best possible tool for his Artist and his job is on the line if the product is not up to par. We have built a lot of good faith and trust in the Professional touring market, and i’m proud to say that JH Audio has approximately 90% of the A-level Touring Artists.

HFN: What was the most challenging product for you to realize?
JH: The JH3A Inverse Active Crossover a few years back was a huge challenge. It took a year longer than anticipated because of issues with manufacturing.

HFN: The biggest audio myth in your opinion is?
JH:The biggest audio myth is that multi-driver IEMs cannot be phase correct. FreqPhase™ disproves that myth.

HFN: Is there any other field in audio you’d like to explore? If so, which?
JH: Right now we are concentrating on IEMs but we are looking to move into other markets in the future.

HFN: Who would you like to collaborate with and why? (Musician, company, etc)
JH: We just worked with Slash from Guns and Roses on the development of the Lola Hybrid. He loved the way the Lola reproduced his guitar compared to other IEMs. We also worked with Lenny Kravitz on the Lola. He likes the analog sound of the Lola. If you listen to his recordings you can tell he loves vintage sounds.

HFN: What was the weirdest request a customer came to you with?
JH: Rapper T-Pain requested a set of IEMs built out of a pair of used shotgun shells. We went to a local shooting range a sourced some great shells. They were one of a kind and turned out very cool.

T-Pain's set

T-Pain’s set, made out of used shotgun shells

HFN: What is your favourite DAP and headphone?
JH: The AK380 with amp is the one I like of all my players. The Focal Utopia headphone is currently my favorite.

HFN: What is your favourite IEM of another company and what makes it so special?
JH: Not too sound too full of myself, but the Triple.fi from UE. It was my most popular of the mass market products I have designed.

HFN: Is there a future product you can already tell us about?
JH: We are working on something very innovative, but I can’t give you details yet!

HFN: A song you will always connect JH Audio with?
JH: I connect with many Van Halen songs. Van Halen is the reason I am where I am today with JH Audio. Those guys are family.

Jerry Harvey’s personal gear. A Sony WM-1Z, an Astell&Kern AK380+Amp and his custom Lola

Thank you very much Jerry for being part of our series, it was a very enlightening interview! We are looking forward to featuring Lola very soon on Headfonia, so keep an eye out for JH’s newest jewel.

And now for something really cool:

Jerry Harvey is offering a loyalty program, called JH Crew. Customers who come back to JH Audio for a new set of iems receive a discount of 10 to 20%, depending what model they pick. This usually is only for returning customers, BUT JH Audio was generous enough to offer this for all our readers, even if they haven’t purchased a single JH Audio IEM in the past!
This offer is only valid for 30 days though, so act fast!

Here’s what you have to do:

Create an account on jhaudio.com and login.

Now navigate to this site: jhaudio.com/jh-crew#jh-crew

Once you are there you have to submit a form to join, now you have to mention Headfonia, afterwards you will be notified that you are now part of the JH Crew program and the discount will be applied to your purchase!

4.6/5 - (42 votes)
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A daytime code monkey with a passion for audio and his kids, Linus tends to look at gear with a technical approach, trying to understand why certain things sound the way they do. When there is no music around, Linus goes the extra mile and annoys the hell out of his colleagues with low level beatboxing.

4 Comments

  • Reply September 5, 2017

    Jay

    What are your thoughts on his IEMs? I’ve heard mixed reviews online…

    • Reply September 5, 2017

      Linus

      I never really got a good fit with their universals, but since a few days ago I have a custom fit Lola with me. It definitely has good strengths, the dynamic mid-driver does a great job producing a engaging and full sound. More will follow in upcoming review 😉

  • Reply September 7, 2017

    Jay

    Can’t wait to read the review – thanks for the update!

  • Reply September 7, 2017

    Jay

    In fact, I think I may postpone my purchase until I hear your thoughts – thanks.

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