Ian update about Lafitear LF1:
Me:about lafitear...is is VERY impressive? do you think its necessary i order them?
Him: No, it does not impress me. especially the treble which im not a fan. bass is good though.
(so, ill say its a pass...and lets wait for Vannak to confirm driver material)
Here is my honest review and impressions of the Lafitear LF1 :
Introduction :
Hello Everyone My Name Is Ian And Welcome To My Review Of The Lafitear Lf1. I Would Like To Thank Erik Lab From Chifi Love For Recommending Me To Buy This Iem To Try Out And Review. The Lafitear Lf1 Is A Single Dynamic Driver Iem And It Is Retailing At Just 13usd For The Whole Package And I Am Excited To Share With You Guys My Thoughts And Opinions About This Iem.
Box, Packaging, Fit And Comfort :
The Lf1 Comes Packed With A Set Of Silicon Ear Tips With 3 Different Sizes S/M/L. And A 4 Core Braided Cable. To Be Honest I Am Not Really A Fan Of The Ear Tips, The Quality Of The Tips Is Pretty Poor And Doesn't Give A Very Good Seal So I Would Suggest To Change Out The Tips. The Cable On The Other Hand Is Not Bad. The Silicone Is Not Those Grippy Type And It Doesn't Tangle Up Easily. The 3.5mm Straight Type Headphone Jack Looks Solid With It's Metal Sleave And Feels Durable. The Y Splitter Is Also Made Out Of Metal And Looks Quite Sturdy. The Ear Hooks Are Pretty Stiff And Works Well And The Connector Is A Qdc Type 2 Pin Connector. Overall I Find That The Accessories Are Standard And Nothing To Shout Out About. The Iem Fits Pretty Nicely On My Ears And Doesnt Hurt My Ears But The Seal Isn't Too Good And I Had Issues Getting A Good Seal With The Stock Tips.
Specifications :
What Attracted Me To This Iem Is The Driver Inside Which They Claim Is Made Of Dlc Diamond And Berilium Plated Composite Diaphram. There Is No Way I Am Able To Find Out Unless I Open This Up And I Guess I'll Save This Part For Another Video But For Now Lets Talk About The Rest Of The Stuff. The Frequency Response Rate Is 20-20khz, Impedance Is 20 Ohms And Sensitivity Is 115db.
Build Quality :
The Shell Of The Lf1 Is Huge In Fact Larger Than Most Iems And Too Large In My Opinion, It Is Made Of Plastic And Looks Pretty Cheap. The Colour I Choose Is Black And There Are 3 Other Colours To Choose From : Green, Purple And Pink. The Nozzle Is Made Of Metal And It's A Pretty Narrow Bore. Overall The Iem Doesn't Feel Premium Or Special And It Looks Pretty Cheap Rightly So At The Price Of 13usd.
Sound Signature :
The Lf1 Has A U Shaped Tuning That Generally Is Quite A Safe Way To Tune An Iem But Looking Closely At The Graph The Treble Is The Area That I Am Concerned About. Let Me Show You The Graph Which I Measured So That I Can Explain Better. As You Can See The Shape Of The Graph Levitates Close To U Shaped Tuning But If You Look At The Treble As Compared To The Harman Target, There Are A Few Peaks And Dips That Bothers Me. Let's Just Start With The Sub Bass And We Will Move Up To The Treble As We Go Along.
Sub-Bass :
As You Can See The Sub Bass Presence Is Strong And Quite Close To The Harman Curve With A Good Amount Of Rumble But The Resonance Is A Bit Short And Leaves Me Yearning For A Longer Rumble. The Note Weight Of The Rumble Is Warmish With A Naturual Tone To The Bass And Does Not Feel Unatural. Overall The Sub Bass Is Pretty Loose And Might Transit Into The Mids Which Sometimes Makes The Sub Bass Sound Boomy.
Mid-Bass :
The Mid Bass Slams Pretty Hard And Quite Impactful To A Point Where It's A Bit Overwhelming On Certain Tracks But Thanks To The Driver This Iem Produces A Pretty Fast Bass And The Impact Fast And Short. The Tone And Timbre Of The Mid Bass Is Well Balanced And Warm And Has A Good Heave Note Weight. Transition Into The Mids Is Pretty Smooth And Blends Well With The Rest Of The Mix.
Mids :
The Mids Are Neutral. Instruments Present Well In The Mix And Sometimes Are Vailed By The Sub Bass On Certain Tracks. Overall I Would Say The Instruments Are Just That Little Recessed In The Mix And Fighting For Space With The Percussions And Bass. Violins, Pianos, Clarinets And Trumpets Do Sound Warm And Natural And Does Have A Good Note Weight To It's Tone.
Vocals :
Male Vocals Sound Really Good On The Lf1, Good Tone And Timbre With Warm And Heave Note Weight And Commands Authority In The Mix And Has A Very Strong Presence In The Mix. Female Vocals Are Bright And Allmost Sparkle And Presents A Nice And Smooth Listen Though I Might Add That Sometimes They May Sound Harsh And Shouty On Certain Tracks Due To The 8k Peak Which I Will Talk About Later.
Treble :
Ok, So Treble Is The Region Which I Am Most Concerned About And Looking At The Graph There Are 3 Prominent Peaks And A Huge Dip That Corresponds With That I Am Hearing. The First Peak At 2k - 4k Region Is A Good Peak That Gives Me A Sense Of Excitement And Engagement To The Track Thru A Strong Pinna Gain Which Is Good, I Like A Good Build Up Of Emotion To A Track. Then There Is A Big Dip At 5k Which Most Of The Instruments Especially Cymbal Strikes And High Hat Sound Vailed And Hidden. And Now To The Peak Which Bothers Me The Most Which Is The Peak At The 8k, Some Tracks Which Has Strong Female Vocal And Electric Guitar Presence Will Sound Peaky, Shouty And Fatiguing To Listen To. Overall The Treble Is On The Bright Side And The Roll Of It Is Quite Ok And Resonates Well And Smooth.
Technicalities :
Sound Stage Is Standard To Me With Width To The Sides And Front. The Layer Of The Depth Of The Sound Stage Is Pretty Flat, Instruments, Percussions And Vocals Tend To Live On A Single Plane. Imaging, Position And Sound Seperation Is Less Than Average I Am Afraid. Vocals, Instruments Bass And Percussions Tend To Blend Together Like A Mixing Pot And Not Being Able To Tell Them Apart At Times. Detail Retrieval And Resolution Is Also A Bit On The Low Side I Feel, Cymbal Strikes And Percussion Sound Blunt And Vocals Sounds Muted. I Rarely Get To Pick Up The Neuances Of Details While Listening To My Regular Test Songs. Overall I Find The Technicalities On The Lf1 Underwhelming And Rightfully So At This Price Point.
Conclusion :
In Conclusion I Would Recommend The Lf1 To Those Who Likes Forward Mid Bass And Bright Treble Bearing In Mind That It May Be Harsh And Shouty On Certain Tracks. If You Like Listening To Edc, Techno, Heavy Metal Type Of Genre Of Music This 13usd Iem Is A Good Budget Set To Start Out With. But If You Are A Critical Listener Who Likes To Listen To Classical, Jazz, Instrumentals Then I Would Suggest For You To Skip This Iem. On The Whole I Am Not A Big Fan Of This Iem And Honestly It Is Not A Keeper For Me And This Concludes My Thoughts And Impressions Of This Lafitear Lf1.
Thank you so much for reading to the end!
Please watch my youtube video review here thanks :