Monday, December 7, 2009

JH13 Pro... "Maximum Audio, Minimum Size"


Ok.. long overdue post here. Had these babies with me for quiet a while. So what's all the hype about them? In case anyone is not sure what these are, they are called JH13 Pro, custom monitors from JH Audio. 3 way crossover, ie 2 Highs, 2 Mids and 2 Lows drivers. Its a wonder how they squeeze everything in there.

If I had to describe them in one sentence, it would be "So true to music". What you expect to listen is what the JH13 Pro produces. The clinical presentation of music is extremely precise. Does not add too much colour to music like most earphones. This is the basic reason why I decided on this. On genres like Classical and Jazz, it makes vocals and instruments so so true! With the perfect fit of these customs, bass is basically just right and never overwhelming.

Overall if you are looking for 'good really clean' fun, this is the custom monitor to go for.
If you are looking for colourful audio output.. oh well.. use the EQ on your player.. haha. I'd suggest Cowon players for really nice and comprehensive EQ tweak.

I would say though that this might not be for the bassheads.. or I might be wrong. (Scratch that.. After many hours of burn-in, it seems that the bass is really picking up. Good thing is, its never overpowering. Mids and Highs are still as separated and precise.)

Remember, audio is subjective. This is just my opinion. You got to try it out for yourself.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Jawbone 'Quick-Snap' Detachable Lanyard

This is kind of a follow up on my previous recent toy I got (Jawbone PRIME). In my quest to obtain the best bluetooth earpiece, a carrier was one of my consideration.

How many times am I placed in a situation where I'm fumbling for my earpiece placed in my pants pocket when calls are in. Not to mention accidentally hitting the wrong button, canceling off the calls. Or in a situation where my pockets are all full and I'm not putting my earpiece with my bunch of keys for sure.

There is however an option (though not as common) where I can find a small little pouch and hook it up to my belt (like those found with Plantronics earpiece). Then again, if you are like me who already have a pouch hooked up for the mobile phone, this is one option I try not consider. With all those pouches hooked up, I'll look like Batman with his utility belt...haha


So now, as expected, the last two previous models didn't provide any carrier. I didn't expect any for Jawbone PRIME too. So I decided to make one myself. Sorry boys and girls if I pictures are sparse. I didn't take most of the pictures because I didn't expect myself to post this.

To the works. Whats required? The display thingy in the box that holds the Jawbone device in place. A little saw and preferably a small file. What I used is a Leatherman multi-purpose tool.

As I've mentioned I didn't take any before pictures. So the picture I is just an example of how it looks like. Its kind of the same for the Jawbone 2 and Prime. Only difference is, less the little 'tail' like thing on the right. Also the display holder for the Jawbone 2 and PRIME is a tight fit, which is exactly what we are looking for.

Either way you can do it. Cut it out (as show with horizontal line), then proceed to saw off the left portion which is not needed. You will then need to file off those edges to make it smooth as possible.


What you are left now is what you should see as above. Now one more good thing about this is there is also a little 'U' shaped rubber which holds its place pretty well without the Jawbone device. And it is also what will be holding the Jawbone device in place securely. Now carefully drill a small hole though so you can thread a string or small metal ring though.

Now we are done! Thread through any necklace or, what I did, used a leather string.

Below is how it would look like wearing it. Now when calls come in, all I have to do is just pull and the Jawbone should detach for use. To place it back, just push the Jawbone back in. What more could we ask for? The excellent design of the Jawbone PRIME is put to good use also as a pendant.



Jawbone PRIME.. best of all time..


I was recently out on my quest to look for the best bluetooth earpiece again.. yes.. again. I have had more than 10 bluetooth earpieces. Some are good, some decent, some was terrible (M10). As with few recent ones with excellent noise canceling technology, they lack design (Z9i, i.VoicePRO). I wasn't really satisfied with what I got. Usually they last few months before finding their way to buy/sell threads.



Last week I decided to head down to a blog site (Managed by Jonathan) who brings in Jawbone earpieces locally. To my surprise, I saw a new model by Aliph. Somewhere last year, I had decided to get the Jawbone 2 from Jonathan. I was pretty pleased with the device. It was good and pretty but it does has its limitations. For one, the earpiece design is not for use without the earhook. For people who wear specs or sunglasses, this can be quite irritating. Then, it was also lacking multi-pair capabilities. I had 2 phones then.


Ok back to the Jawbone PRIME. I decided contact Jonathan and got it on the same evening. Packing is kinda similar to their other 2 previous models. I'm not going to go into details here. First when I took out the earpiece, I found a distinct difference in the dimpled face. It gives a smoother dimpled look instead of Jawbone 2's sharp ones. LED status light is still there but it’s a bit smaller and therefore more discreet. It looks like they made the slid smaller therefore less light would penetrate out.

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Now for the more functional improvements. The rubber earpiece design is the main reason why there isn't a need for the earhook. I've seen similar earpiece design on some other brands.

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Audio quality on the user's end is great. For some reason, sometimes I have problems listening to the other party on my previous Jawbone 2. On this Jawbone PRIME, I have set it to last second notch from the loudest and it’s really audible. Best thing is I do not hear any distortion.


Multi-pair capabilities works, as with other similar multi-pair capable earpiece. At such time and age, this should be a default on all bluetooth earpiece. It’s pretty common to hear of people with 2 mobile lines coupled with PCs and laptops, be it work or for home. For me, I work with multiple laptops at work and home. At certain times, I carry around 2 mobile phones. With multi-pair capability, now I get to pair up all my devices and forget about re-paring them again.


Till now, I have not had a caller asking me to repeat what I've just said. Not one have highlighted not being able to hear me clearly. Maybe I have not subjected the Jawbone PRIME through extreme tests. The noisiest place I've used the Jawbone PRIME is in the MRT underground.


With roughly a week of use, that’s probably all for now. Oh yah, did I mention they come in pretty colours too?


For more official info: http://us.jawbone.com/


For the place I got mine locally: http://jawbone.jonathanho.net/