JDS Labs Element IV

The Element IV is long awaited succesor of the incredibly popular Element III. At first glance, it looks
identical, but the longer you look, the bigger the differences are. Is that enough to consider it an upgrade?
Is it worth its asking price of $549? Let’s find out!

Introduction to the JDS Labs Element IV review

It’s not our first meeting with JDS Labs at Ear-Fidelity, but it’s been some time for me. Hence, this short reintroduction. JDS Labs is a USA-based manufacturer specialising in high-performance, objective, performance-focused DACs and headphone amps.

They started in 2007 when the founder, John Seaber, started tweaking the DIY CMOY amplifier in his college dorm. It was a simple opamp-based project, powered by a pair of 9V batteries. If you know, you know. It might have been the first DIY headamp project that was this popular. Later, John started working with NvAvGuy and pushed his Objective2 amplifier and later ODAC. As you can see, objective design principles are the foundation for JDS Labs. You won’t find any audiophile tweaks here. Only pure performance. Over the years, JDS Labs developed its own machine park and its own products: Element and Atom lines.

The rest is history: they are one of the most popular US-based brands in the headphone market. This smoothly transitions us to their latest product, the Element IV – desktop DAC/AMP. The newest release is much more than a refinement of the very successful predecessor. The biggest progress is the addition of the JDS Labs Core app, which gives you control over the device via USB and allows the usage of extensive DSP options.

There are a lot of things to tweak, but more about that later. Besides that, we have some improvements in mechanical assembly and in electronics. The question stands: Is it enough to stay competitive in a cutthroat market of DAC/AMPs?

Packaging & Build Quality

Simple and utilitarian. The Element IV is packaged in a sturdy cardboard box with foam inserts. The power supply is packaged separately. It arrived in one larger box. Intriguing, I know. Short story even shorter: it traveled 7 900km, which is 72 000 football stadiums, or 52,6 milion Elements IV in series. It arrived safely, so the packaging is good.

The first impression is very similar to the Element III, but the most important thing happened. The knob feels much better! In Element III, it felt a bit too loose and wobbly for me. The new Element IV solves that completely. They have completely redesigned this part and are now using a completely custom-built encoder of their own design. The knob has much better mechanical support, and you can clearly feel the difference. Big change in my eyes.

What about the rest? Well, the build quality is absolutely top-notch. The finish is fantastic, the fit is immaculate, and you can clearly see the precision of the assembly. Even details like the display Gorilla Glass protector are fitted perfectly. It is a beauty to look at and a pleasure to interact with.

Tech

What does the beautiful chassis hide inside? Plenty of the good stuff! Unusually, I’ll start with the new knob. The whole mechanical and electrical parts were completely redesigned. Instead of using an off-the- shelf rotary encoder like in the predecessor, the Element IV uses a custom optical encoder. It allowed for more resolution, making the volume control more responsive. The mechanical part is almost overengineered: it uses a custom bearing holding a solid shaft. Overkill? Maybe, but it makes the movement so smooth…

What about electronics? The USB input is handled by the XMOS XU316 microcontroller, as is the optical input. The USB input is not isolated, but JDS Labs offers the Synapse, a USB isolator for $69. It was kindly provided by them for the purpose of the review. The Element IV uses the same DAC chip as the Element III, the ESS Sabre ES9018K2M. JDS Labs tested different DAC chips for possible replacement, but even the newest ES9038Q2M wasn’t delivering more performance than what they were getting from a finely tuned ES9018K2M. The analogue stage was upgraded with the flagship OPA1656 opamp for even lower distortion.

An excellent DAC requires an excellent power supply. The Element IV uses an external power transformer and 13 regulators to distribute clean power to all of the circuits. The DAC section is powered by LT3045, one of the best linear regulators on the market. The power amplifier is no slouch either. They swapped the LME49600 buffers for 14 paralleled OPA1692 op-amps from Texas Instruments. It allows the Element IV to deliver over 10V RMS to any load.

At 32 Ohms, the power reaches 3,2 W, while at 600 Ohms we get 174 mW. Those numbers are for single-ended output. There is no balanced circuitry in this device. If your headphones utilise 4,4mm connections, you can order the Element IV with a 4,4mm output connector, but keep in mind the circuitry inside is still single-ended.

JDS Core

JDS Core The app is available on Android, iOS and as a web browser app for desktop platforms. It features all the controls of the Element IV. So, what can we do with it? First off: 12-band PEQ for sampling rates of 192kHz and below. If you want to use higher sampling rates, the available PEQ is limited to only two bands. Considering that 99,9% of music is below 192kHz, I wouldn’t be too worried, but it’s worth mentioning.

There is a lot of tuning you can do. You can save your settings as presets, e.g., some for headphones, others for speakers. Or, you can choose different tuning curves for your headphones. There are 8000 of those presets available for you. You get the idea. You can store 10 presets on the Element IV for quick access. Need more? You also get unlimited storage in the cloud, which you can also share with other users. No clue where to start? Worry not, there is a community happy to help you. You can browse and choose between JDS Labs community-provided presets and presets by Roon’s OPRA. It’s incredible how much support it has.

I believe it’s an extremely smart move by JDS Labs to work with Roon, as it has a much larger community and will keep the selection bigger for their customer. Kudos! What else? A solid set of DSP options: user configurable loudness, channel balance, channel mixing/mono with adjustable soundstage width and user configurable crossfeed. Yeah, that’s a mouthful. The layout of the control app is intuitive and clean. I had no issues with stability.

There have been multiple firmware updates for the Element IV that not only fix bugs, but also add features, like some mentioned here. It seems like JDS Labs is providing excellent post-launch support for this product.

Sound of the reviewed JDS Labs Element IV

Well, how do you review a device that can sound however you want it to? Well, for starters, I turned off EVERYTHING and reverted to stock settings. This is how I feel Element IV is out of the box. All of the settings will be added on top of it. I guess that’s the reasonable way to go about it.

Element IV served as my main DAC/AMP, as a pure DAC for HiFiMan’s GA-10 and as a preamp for my Schiit Gjallarhorn.

So, how does it sound in short? What are the selling points of Element IV? The tuning is neutral; no range is dominating over the others. Response is flat. The sound is very clean and delivers the famous ESS Sabre dynamics very, very well. What I really like about JDS Labs in general is that they make some of my favourite ESS chip implementations, regardless of price.

They are able to consistently get the most pros like detail, huge soundstage, or the aforementioned dynamics. On the other hand, they also minimise the cons of those DACs: hardness, lacklustre tone, and harshness in the treble. Not many manufacturers are able to do that. Thanks to an excellent amplifier, the sound is also effortless and powerful.

It drives everything, including extremely sensitive IEMs like Campfire Audio Andromeda Emerald Sea, demanding IEMs like Craft Ears Omnium, headphones like ZMF Bokeh Open and planars like DCA Noir. Thanks to its versatile character, the Element IV played a supporting role, letting all of those headphones shine in their own way. And if you find them lacking in any way, well… There is always the PEQ, isn’t it?

Bass

Firm, extended and controlled are what it is. I listened to Davidian by Machine Head, from their album Live in the Studio 2019. It’s a fantastic recording that has a lot of chemistry between the musicians; it’s highly recommended. I feel it flew under the radar a bit. The drums on this track are aggressive, tight and menacing. The Element IV handled it like a charm. It allowed the original character through without adding or subtracting a thing. The punch, the natural reverb and a bit of dirt. It was all in there. Truly, it is a very neutral-sounding device. It’s not all brute force, though. How about textures and tone?

Let’s look at one of the most famous melodies in the original: Fryderyk Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 35, the famous funeral march. The bass notes of the piano are sad, gloomy and monumental, even though they are played with sadness. I’ve listened to a version played by Polish pianist Rafał Blechacz. The Element IV did its thing. It is a wire with gain. It kept the character and tone of the song without limiting them at all. The textures were on point as well.

Midrange

Lately, it’s hard to scroll through Instagram reels or YouTube shorts without hearing Tame Impala’s Dracula. Well, it’s better than AI slop or some other wannabe rapper. It is a catchy song, so why not use it here? So, how did it go? Kevin Parker’s vocals flowed with ease, extremely smooth. Pleasant, warm tone is the staple of this song and Element IV, again, hasn’t changed that in the slightest. It’s the epitome of neutral presentation. I feel neutral is still considered flat-sounding. I want to emphasise I mean neutral, as in not altered.

How about textures and female vocals? House by London Grammar gives a very good insight into Element IV’s performance in this regard. The presentation of Hanna Reid’s voice was spectacular. Every ounce of information was retrieved and amplified straight to my headphones. The dynamics of her voice were also solid. It is what I expect from high-performance, neutral-tuned equipment to do exactly.

Treble

For the torture test, I have chosen Lonesome Lover by Max Roach. My idea was to see if I could pick up the hardness I usually hear with ESS-based devices. There was nothing like that. Cymbals and trumpet presented by the Element IV were detailed, open and airy, without a hint of harshness. Each stroke was a completely separate sound, crystal clear. It’s exactly how I remembered the Element III, as a surprising performance, where I expected some clear downsides.

The second test track I used was The Guns of Brixton by The Clash. My experience remained unchanged; the treble remained smooth yet rich with information and textures. There is a nice amount of freedom and airiness, which I don’t think I noticed on this album before. It might be something that this device does. Or it’s just a benefit of having vanishingly low distortion and huge headroom.

Soundstaging

Excellent! I was surprised to hear how incredible the soundstaging of the new Element is. I started with the title track from Duke Ellington’s Afro-Bossa. The tested DAC/AMP delighted me with a circular- shaped soundstage that excelled at separation and precision. As with all the other ranges, the Elemen IV doesn’t add or subtract from what was recorded. It shines at differentiating recordings.

If you’re looking for something spectacular, listen to Rebecca Pidgeon’s Spanish Harlem. Together with ZMF Bokeh Open, the Element IV created a huge sense of spaciousness and air. The effortlessness was what I found the most surprising about this performance. This device delivers what I usually expect from more expensive competitors.

Comparisons

HiFiMan Serenade Gold (upgraded)

Well, just a thought of comparing the Element IV to a device twice the price may feel odd. It is a testament to how good the tested DAC/AMP is. In general, Element IV wins in terms of macro dynamics. I feel that it’s better at delivering a punch. The soundstaging of the Serenade is more intimate, but no less precise or layered. The Element IV is more reserved and has a presentation that is further away from the head. I wouldn’t consider it better or worse. It’s different. The Serenade wins in terms of tonality, smoothness (even better than Element IV’s), textures and natural feel.

Element IV is like a studio session, while Serenade feels more like listening to music live. Please keep in mind that I have the upgraded Serenade with the top spec R2R modules. The regular Serenade sounds warmer, so it will be a different experience. Feature-wise, HiFiMan trades DSP for a built-in simple streamer.

That’s why it will be working in my stereo system together with Roon, while JDS is my go-to desktop DAC/AMP. Also, the Element IV is like 3 times smaller than the Serenade. To summarise it, I consider the Serenade to be a better sounding device, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people would choose the Element IV depending on their taste and the headphones they use.

JDS Labs Element III

Well, does newer mean better? Feature-wise, there is a huge gap between them. That’s not even a question. The PEQ will be a selling point and a reason to upgrade for many. Build quality is very similar, with the main difference being the new, updated knob. I love it. The feel is immaculate.

This is exactly how I felt four years ago, the knob should be like. A custom-built encoder was the right move. Sound- wise, the differences aren’t that big, but noticeable. It’s an evolution, rather than a revolution. The Element IV took the performance of its predecessor and refined it. The tonal balance and main characteristics are the same.

The Element IV adds a bit of maturity and even more effortlessness to the mix. On top of that, the new amplifier seems to handle planar headphones better, having more control and drive. Not counting the new features, I would say the change is noticeable, but maybe not a must-have, if you’re rocking the Element III. With those features – a total game changer.

Pairings

ZMF Bokeh Open

My primary PC setup for now. This is an excellent pairing. I think that for the combined price of both, you get a lot of high-quality in your High-Fidelity. A fully USA-made set at that. As mentioned before, the Element IV is transparent, so the character is coming straight from Bokeh Open. It’s an incredible set of headphones, which, for me, is both relaxing and engaging.

It has a beautiful tone, solid soundstaging and a surprising bass for an open back set. This combo will play anything, and it will play it well. Even though I have a set of Susvaras and Shangri-La Mini’s for the Hi-End experience, I still adore this set. Can’t stop coming back to it. It’s pure fun and a pleasure to use.

Craft Ears Omnium

This leans more into the high-performance side of the Element IV. The Omnium is, in my opinion, a spectacular yet very demanding IEM. JDS Labs handles them perfectly thanks to its excellent low-level resolution, low noise and perfect channel matching.

This set will pull any last bit of information from your favourite records. Together they create this holographic spectacle that delivers tons of textures, resolution and dynamics. That’s a ride in a sports car. If you like to hear everything in music, this is for you. I would assume it would work very well in a studio setting as well. It’s not a coincidence that Craft Ears is selected by so many musicians and recording engineers all over the world.

JDS Labs Element IV review – Summary

Compared to Element III received almost 4 years ago, the current model costs $100 more. Even by itself, it’s a pretty normal price increase between models over time. When you factor in the improved build quality (knob) and an extensive list of new features controlled by the new app… That’s a steal. Compared to a wider market, you might think that it’s quite expensive compared to many Chinese brands, which offer full balanced circuitry, top DAC chips, etc.

What makes the Element IV worth it is a much more mature implementation, excellent sound and a fantastic set of features that is still considered new on the market. If you’re after a neutral, powerful and functional device that works with basically any headphones, or IEMs, can integrate into your desktop setup, looks sexy and doesn’t take much space, then you’re in luck! The Element IV is all of that and more.

Highly recommended and a permanent spot on my desk.

Big thanks to JDS Labs for providing us with the Element IV for this review. I wasn’t paid or asked to say anything good or bad about this product, all of the above is just my personal, unbiased opinion. 

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