JH Audio Sheena Review

It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to listen to anything from JH Audio. I haven’t been able to get my hands on a lot from their catalog, but what I have heard is exciting. The Jerry Harvey brand is known for its hard rock aesthetics, custom ear molds, and earthshaking tuning. The Sheena is their latest universal IEM, costing $1,799, and I’ve been able to spend a good amount of time with it.

What You Get

• Sheena Universal™ In-Ear Monitors
• Premium Litz Wire Cable
• JH Audio Aluminum Round Case
• Wax Tool
• Flygirl Sticker
• Owner’s Manual

Look & Feel

From the few JH Audio products I’ve tested, they seem to keep the same style of build. The Roxanne and Jimi AION both had very big shells, but the Sheena looked a bit smaller. It’s not quite the downsize it might need, but it’s still an improvement over past models. You can expect the same level of artistry and craftsmanship though. The shells still have a thick composition and the flygirl insignia gives the IEMs a flashy design that is unique to JH Audio. What really matters here is the fit, as I found this to be a major criticism of past models, Thankfully, the Sheena has a much better fit. Its nozzle is surprisingly thin, and it never feels like it stretches out your ear. The housing still feels cumbersome, but there’s no weight to it so your ears won’t feel a lot of pressure.

Design

Inside of the Sheena are 8 balanced armatures with a 4-way integrated crossover all within a 3D printed acoustic chamber. These balanced armatures relegate certain frequency regions, so you have dual lows, dual mids, dual highs, and dual super tweeters.

Soundstage

From what I’ve listened to from JH audio, their sound isn’t concerned with having the widest soundstage, or the most dimensional imaging. Their soundstage usually focuses on making sure the mix makes sense spatially and providing just enough room for the sound elements to feel big. The Sheena is a JH Audio soundstage to a tea. You’ll get some nice width, but not that much height. Everything feels pretty centered but still adheres closely to stereo patterns and specific placement.

It’s an inside-of-your-head presentation, but it works to emphasize the size of each performance. You can still make sense of the stereo environment where the Sheena has no issue sounding musical. It’s not the type of soundstage that IEMs normally go for in this price range, so at first it might not feel right. If you’re using the Shenna to primarily listen to hard rock, metal, or heavy electronic music, then the soundstage will fit in everything necessary to make that music appear immersive without feeling open.

Low End

The main highlight of the Sheena is going to be the bass. Without its massive tone, it wouldn’t be the go-to brand for hard rock enthusiasts. What the Sheena provides is a densely dark timbre that exaggerates the mid-bass to a point where it becomes incredibly resonant. Its drive makes the lows feel full, and the sub-bass provides an extra bit of thickness to make the bass rich and meatier.

It slams down with a ferocious impact, giving you a cinematic response. The Sheena makes it easy to get engrossed in its sound signature by making its bass effortlessly expressive. For metal, hard rock, and certain electronic tracks the bass feels right at home, performing at a level of consistency that other genres might not react the same with. Its only dynamic is between a constantly dark timbre and a massive impact, which won’t feel the same with jazz or orchestral tracks.

Mids

For a primarily dark IEM, the mids retain consistent detail that doesn’t get lost in the fog. With most tracks, the warm low-mids will stick out the most, but pockets of midrange frequencies have the opportunity to come alive. While the bass is massive, none of it bleeds into the midrange, keeping things tidier where a lot of instruments and vocals lie. There’s not as much force to these frequencies, but the clarity pronounces sound elements realistically. Some of the upper mids feel a little veiled, but never to a degree where it sounds damaging.

Highs

While the highs don’t feature a ton of gain, the Sheena supplies you with good detail to bite on. There’s a definitive texture to the treble, and never hides behind the darker tuning. At points there can be a glimmer in the highs, providing some height and coloration to the sound signature. You get a clear shine to some extended notes, and that brings out some significant flavor to certain tracks. It’s an impressive high-end response for such a dark sound signature.

Summary

JH Audio IEMs know exactly what they are, and the Sheena brings out its best qualities. The soundstage might not be the widest, and it might not feel the most open, but its goal is to provide you with the clearest, most theatrical response that you can get from IEMs. It limits what genres synergize the best with it, but if you looking to primarily listen to heavier music, then this is the kind of response you might be seeking out.

The JH Audio Sheena is available at Audio46.