HFI (High Fi International) Appreciation and Rooth Impressions Thread - New online company in Japan - Page 4

7.8.10 – Rooth’s LS8 and the reshelled JH13s have arrived. I want to preface a few things before jumping into initial impressions/reviews.

1. This is an initial first impression based upon one hour of late evening listening. I normally spend the bulk of my music listening on the Tokyo commute.
2. I have never really reviewed any hi-fi components so please excuse me in advance if I do not use hi-fi jargon. Also much of what I have gleaned when it comes to portable hi-fi has come from this site. So a big thanks to all who have contributed.
3. The first impressions/comparisons are based upon the (4) same rock and punk rock songs.
   1. Band of Horses – “Ghost in the House”
   2. Rolling Stones – “Shattered”
   3. Green Day – “21^st Century Breakdown”
   4. The Raconteurs – “Consolers of the Lonely”

Well enough of the rigamarole … First off, the LS8s come in a nicely designed box along with a descent sized semi-hard carrying case useful for briefcases or backpacks, along with a cleaning tool, users manual and a silver business card sized 2-year warranty (yes two years).

The craftsmanship of the LS8s are flawless - beautiful work by the engineers at Rooth. The reshelled 13s have a few very minor bubbles, but nothing to complain about.

One of my biggest worries was fit, specifically the seal. And I am happy to report that the fit is absolutely perfect for both units. (Thanks to Suyama/Fitear for the top notch impressions)

I first listened to the reshelled JH13s and right off the bat I found that they had a large or wide soundstage. The music and instruments felt spread out but not too separate, which felt like they did not pick up as much detail. Not that it was muddy just not detailed. While the LS8s seemed to have a tighter soundstage feel, there was a noticeable difference in the instrument separation and detail. I could pick up some amazing sounds that I had never heard before when listening specifically to Shattered. Bass seems to be more prominent with the LS8s, although not a big difference.

I listened to the LS8s this afternoon on my commute home for about an hour. There is some serious bass going on in these units. It does not take much to get them pounding. I had to change the levels on my Rockboxed IMOD to compensate. Although I did find out that I had them set high in the first place. After playing around with the levels I found a nice balance that allows for a more neutral sound. Of course I need to continue to give them a listen. But my overall first impression is that I am very very pleased with the LS8s by Rooth.

And just as impressed with Hi Fi International and Tomo who represents Rooth here in Japan. From start to finish he kept me in the loop on delivery dates and with his timely e-mail responses to my many questions (there were many as his company is new and not many people outside of China have ordered Rooth customs) made the customer service experience top-notch.

I will be spending the day with the reshelled 13s tomorrow and both over the weekend. I will post a more in-depth review in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, if anyone has questions feel free to PM or post here.

Skoog

Enjoy the pics with taken from my Iphone (not too clear) The red customs are LS8s and the blue are the reshelled 13s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by koonhua90 

Hey Skoog5600, would you say that the LS8 is a balanced sounding earphone, without EQ?

Yes it is safe to say it is balanced w/o EQ

A quick update - I spent the better part of the day today with the LS8s listening to live music - CSNY (Crosby Stills Nash & Young - 4-Way Street Live, FLAC) with my rig (see pic above). And I was absolutely blown away by the sound quality. For a live recording I felt I was propelled back to 1971 sitting in the front row of the concert. The smoothness, details and quality - it is the closest thing I have gotten to perfection on this aural journey.

I think I still have it ... will have to look. If I do I will take a pic and post it here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinclad 

So Skoog what do think would be the best route on purchasing a set of LS8's...I'm in the UK...cheers m8

Kinclad - Unless you speak and read Chinese your best option if you want to purchase a pair of Rooth LS8's is to go through the same route I did - High Fi International - http://www.hfi.jp/

This is the only company I know that represents Rooth products. The contact person is Tomo - great guy! And he speaks perfect English. Actually I conducted everything via e-mail. If you want more information such as his e-mail address PM me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by koonhua90 

Any more comparison between the remolded JH13 and the LS8?

I will get up some more information and a frequency chart over the weekend.