[ezekiel77]

If I could start by saying for me it was the tale of three headphones. The first time I listened to the Layla’s was at RMAF, I really didn’t like what I heard. They sounded rather flat and the highs were a little harsh in my opinion. After reading several reviews on the Layla being the best iem and others on blogs indicating otherwise. Also, with the Lola being voiced by Slash of Guns and Roses I decided to pay JH Audio a visit.

The people of JH are very hospitable letting me have access to their full line up of iems and giving me a lesson on how many of their iems are voiced, many with the assistance of musicians some local and not essentially by engineers and just measurement, that’s why I question these guys that refer to a JHA house sound. I heard distinct diffferences between the iems. Also I got to use my own portable setup.

So for vocals I used Andy Bey, Diana Krall, P. Barber and C. Wilson, for my instrument Sax, I use Branford Marsalis, A DSD track from Coletrane and some Maceo Parker. For sound stage width I use Macy Grays Annabelle for depth I use Ala Carte Brass & Percussion “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.” With that said the first thing I did was play some Pat Metheny, Jeff Beck and some classical guitar tracks on the Lola’s and right away you could hear Slash’s influence. The Lola is a very nice iem (being an iem nut I may buy a set next year) especially in the mid’s. They have a very relaxing sensitivity to them. I switched to the Layla’s and could hear the difference, these were made for mastering as everything seemed to snap into focus, they were much more aggressive attacking when necessary and very dynamic. With better fit from the tips I used I could hear bass lines were distinct, I could almost see the fingers brushing the strings on the upright bass, the splash of Zildjian Cymbals and vocals. I tried my Andromedas and after the Layla they seem to have a slight veil almost like a thin curtain in front of the musicians, Maceo’s tenor sax taking on a slight coloration. I still wasn’t quite satisfied with the Layla’s... it was then we discussed possibly going custom, I then whipped out my Jh 16 pro and discussed my dissatisfaction with the molds.

After a lengthy discussion they talked me into getting new molds, the tech said he would work with me to make sure they were perfect. As I stated earlier they completed my molds in eight days. I inserted them in my ears. And ugh terrible. So after nearly two hours of work, they finally got them to snap in under my antihelix and with a little more work the seal was perfect. Make no mistake these are very edge of your seat technical iems, they play the track as the engineer and musicians intended. The opening guitar on Annabelle was way out to they left, as I recall rivaling the LCD i4, with much better isolation, depth was excellent, I was happy. Credit that to their resolving power and ultimately low noise floor which allow it to transmit those beautiful spatial cues. Like speakers no, but up there with some of the best over ears (no not quite hd800 level).

After several days of continuous play, vocals have taken on more body and to me realism. To my ears the Layla’s are harmonically neutral, as harmonically neutral as any headphone I have ever heard. Female vocals take on an immediacy and realism that is bewitching because of the low noise floor or lack of distortion. Andy Bey, Cassandra Wilson and a Patricia Barbers voices sound the way I’ve heard them live. That is why this is a Reference iem Harvey intended it that way.

Ok, I know enough is enough, that’s it, so in closing... I don’t know I think some of the criticism received by the Layla is due to wrong tips, bad fit, equipment or taste technical versus euphoric. Can’t wait to get the Wagnus Cables...
Remember this is just one man’s opinion.

Layla's stage size rivalling LCDi4 would definitely get the attention of some stageheads I know.

 

[eugene2]

Layla's stage size rivalling LCDi4 would definitely get the attention of some stageheads I know.

Remember I was only referring to the width of the stage set by Annabelle and it was as I recalled and not a direct comparison, so take it with a grain of salt. I am getting excellent stage width with the Layla’s. I’m going to get my friends LCD i4’s back for a direct comparison. To me they are not iems more like a hybrid iem/ over ear headphone. I would only use them like regular over ears, just more portable, not for use in public. That’s why I haven’t purchased them in addition I had issues with their tonality also (pre equalization).

 

[ezekiel77]

Remember I was only referring to the width of the stage set by Annabelle and it was as I recalled and not a direct comparison, so take it with a grain of salt. I am getting excellent stage width with the Layla’s. I’m going to get my friends LCD i4’s back for a direct comparison. To me they are not iems more like a hybrid iem/ over ear headphone. I would only use them like regular over ears, just more portable, not for use in public. That’s why I haven’t purchased them in addition I had issues with their tonality also (pre equalization).

Definitely, your input is much appreciated.

 

[gearofwar]

I actually care more about the signature which is really helpful, the ranking however is not what i would expect, I can understand this is writer's opinions. To point out (I have physically tried these and some were in tour not just briefly), the Viento and UE18+ are not supposed to be in S class and Aether doesn't get its deserved rank and should be ranked on the same class as Andro. Andro has been my favorite and I have been listening to it too many times (friends around all own it), I know how it sounds and compared to Aether.

 

[crinacle]

I actually care more about the signature which is really helpful, the ranking however is not what i would expect, I can understand this is writer's opinions. To point out (I have physically tried these and some were in tour not just briefly), the Viento and UE18+ are not supposed to be in S class and Aether doesn't get its deserved rank and should be ranked on the same class as Andro. Andro has been my favorite and I have been listening to it too many times (friends around all own it), I know how it sounds and compared to Aether.

Yeah, not going to claim that my list is gospel and I'm still fine-tuning the ranks here and there though I've been busy recently. Such is subjectivity; there's probably just as many people agreeing with you as there are agreeing with me, and vice versa.

Just to touch on that point, I would still firmly maintain that the Viento-R (at least, the unit that I listened to) and the UE18+ are definitely deserving of the S grade. Viento for clarity and detail, 18+ for timbre and tuning. I mirror @flinkenick's impressions on the Aether: great tuning, great tone, ultimately "let down" by technical ability mainly in microdynamics and staging. I find the Andromeda does bass texturing better, dominates in staging and has mighty impressive dynamics both in macro and micro. Enjoyment is a different subject altogether, but in that pseudo-objective analysis I find it hard to put the Aether any higher than a solid A.

 

[gearofwar]

Yeah, not going to claim that my list is gospel and I'm still fine-tuning the ranks here and there though I've been busy recently. Such is subjectivity; there's probably just as many people agreeing with you as there are agreeing with me, and vice versa.

Just to touch on that point, I would still firmly maintain that the Viento-R (at least, the unit that I listened to) and the UE18+ are definitely deserving of the S grade. Viento for clarity and detail, 18+ for timbre and tuning. I mirror @flinkenick's impressions on the Aether: great tuning, great tone, ultimately "let down" by technical ability mainly in microdynamics and staging. I find the Andromeda does bass texturing better, dominates in staging and has mighty impressive dynamics both in macro and micro. Enjoyment is a different subject altogether, but in that pseudo-objective analysis I find it hard to put the Aether any higher than a solid A.

Did you compare Aether and Andro both on their own stock cables?

 

[crinacle]

Did you compare Aether and Andro both on their own stock cables?

Never heard a difference in cables unless it significantly interacts with the overall impedance of the system. So... assume cables are a non-issue in my case.

 

[gearofwar]

Never heard a difference in cables unless it significantly interacts with the overall impedance of the system. So... assume cables are a non-issue in my case.

oh ok so you are non-believer in cable change. Just IMO , the stock cable on Aether doesn't do it any justices , its a standard plastic OCC cable (as mentioned by Nick), this cheap stock cable makes the sound really lack of resolution and muddy while the stock cable on Andro will make people jealous because it's a higher-grade one . The stock cable on andro is pretty much an upgrade cable not to mention ALO can tune the cable specifically for Andro. It's not a fair comparison tbh

 

[headwhacker]

some cables are deliberately made to have high impedance as high as 6 Ohms on some Noble cables. The cheap cable you are talking about usually have around 2Ohms. Someone post a measurements of different cables. No wonder some people hear differences. A normal cable regardless of the material at 1.2m length should have a very low impedance < 0.1 Ohms in my experience. This does not cause any audible difference. Unless the listener really wants or expect a difference.

 

[crinacle]

oh ok so you are non-believer in cable change. Just IMO , the stock cable on Aether doesn't do it any justices , its a standard plastic OCC cable (as mentioned by Nick), this cheap stock cable makes the sound really lack of resolution and muddy while the stock cable on Andro will make people jealous because it's a higher-grade one . The stock cable on andro is pretty much an upgrade cable not to mention ALO can tune the cable specifically for Andro. It's not a fair comparison tbh

I tried the Aether at Music Sanctuary so I believe it was attached to either the No5 or the Ares II. Those two cables seem to be defaults for the demos back there.

 

[Raketen]

The stock cable on andro is pretty much an upgrade cable not to mention ALO can tune the cable specifically for Andro. It's not a fair comparison tbh

They include the same basic ALO litz wire cable with all the Campfire IEMs don't they?
I wonder what that cable measures. I have the older Tinsel version which is around 2 ohms.
Some people seem to prefer andro from slightly higher impedance sources.

 

[tgx78]

They include the same basic ALO litz wire cable with all the Campfire IEMs don't they?
I wonder what that cable measures. I have the older Tinsel version which is around 2 ohms.
Some people seem to prefer andro from slightly higher impedance sources.

Stock litz is measured around 1.2 ohm.

 

[gearofwar]

They include the same basic ALO litz wire cable with all the Campfire IEMs don't they?
I wonder what that cable measures. I have the older Tinsel version which is around 2 ohms.
Some people seem to prefer andro from slightly higher impedance sources.

Not sure about other CA iems but the stock cable on Andro is very decent and high-quality, not many companies out there bundle this in the same package, to name a few, Dita Audio. 64audio also offers a high-quality (specifically tuned for tia drivers, mentioned on their website) stock cable. The stock cable on Foute and u18 is also decent but I don't think it's as good as Andro's

 

[castleofargh]

@crinacle decided to give his opinion on the IEMs as they are. he's not dealing with how EQ can help some IEMs for this ranking, which is perfectly understandable because else where is the limit? everything can become the best and the worst at the same time. so I don't see him going for cable extravaganza anytime soon as a reason to "up" an IEM in the list.

in any case, it usually doesn't make much sense to discuss cables without discussing the source too. be it impedance or possibly horrendous crosstalk(less wouldn't be audible), the amp/DAP and IEM will matter just as much as the cable, and usually more in all but ludicrously abnormal cases.

 

[Raketen]

I think Koss may have been sitting on an audiophile gold mine all these years with volume pot cables.