I’d like to a extend a special thanks to the Jerry Harvey Audio team – Brittany, Nick, Jules and Jim – for their support, professionalism, artistry and enthusiasm. This review would not have been possible without you.
If there ever was a case of going back to the very beginning in this hobby, working with the good people at Jerry Harvey Audio must be it.
After all, if it wasn’t for Jerry and his pioneering improvisation of a custom in-ear monitor for Alex Van Halen in the early 1990s, who knows where the industry would be today, or if IEMs as we know them would even exist.
Over the years, I’d heard about, read about, and even flirted with the idea of trying out one of Jerry’s artisanal creations, but it seems our paths were never fated to cross. Until now.
I’ve always been smitten by the look, feel and sound of real wood headphones. Having owned several exotic wood headphones from the likes of Fostex, Audeze and ZMF along the way, never in my wildest dreams did I think it possible that an IEM – let alone a custom IEM – could be made from a solid block of wood.
When I discovered that Jerry Harvey Audio was one of the very few companies in the world that could make this happen, I had to give it a shot.
My Sharona
I flirted with the idea of opting for one of the company’s classics, like Layla or Roxanne, but speaking to my friend and The Headphone List guru Deezel, I quickly realised the company’s new $2,499 flagship, Sharona, was far better suited to my preferences.
Sharona ticked all my boxes: a dedicated quad woofer for a big, bold, bass-driven sound, with plenty of detail, space, and timbral accuracy with a smooth sonic profile throughout.
It was then just a matter of creating my Sharona. Of course, it was always going to be wood, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to spending literal hours perusing the gallery of creative custom designs the company regularly features on its Instagram feed, like the mind-blowing Copper Waves signature design below.
JH Audio customs can be as simple or as special as you like, from basic solid colour shells through to speciality and limited-edition designs made from rare and exotic materials. It’s easy to visualise what your own IEM will look like using JH Audio’s online custom IEM designer. Take your pick from any of the dozens of shell materials, and see what the currently-available signature designs look like with your own IEM.
In my case, I wanted a Sharona made of solid Bocote wood, but with the silver Sharona Signature cap plate that features in the special Sharona signature design. This wasn’t specifically available as an option with the Bocote shells, but a quick email to JH Audio’s CEO Brittany Harvey was all it took to make it happen.
It’s worth noting that these signature designs and premium material options attract a higher price, with the Bocote wood shells and silver faceplates adding $1,100 to the total cost of the IEMs.
I’m not privy to exactly how JH Audio makes their custom IEMs, with much of the process securely guarded (I couldn’t get photos of my own set being made for this reason).
What I can tell you is the company is one of a select few that has invested in its own dedicated CNC machines for carving out 3D-printed IEM shells from solid material blocks.
Polishing and assembly is then done by hand, with visual artist Jim Inziello responsible for crafting specialist pieces like Sharona’s silver plates. Incidentally, JH Audio did release a marketing video on how Sharona’s cobalt signature design is fabricated and assembled, and it’s well worth a look before we continue.
Continue to design and fit…
