[rantng]

I’ve always loved Angie (owned Angie I & FMJ Angie II, Rosie & Roxanne), but never could get a proper fit due to the large shells. I’d love a smaller Angie, but not at a significant price markup. I currently have a secondhand Angie CIEM I’m planning on getting reshelled.

 

[stacey]

Mm..... There's always Black Friday and Cyber Monday where many iem makers and their dealers worldwide sell for up to 20% off, including JHA. Takes the edge off price shock.

Whether the price increase is justified, I leave to the individual buyer.

Yeah, any high ticket electronic I'll rather pick up in November for that very reason. But Layla is at the point that I'd doubt one can make it sound better.

So will this configuration be applied to the custom builds?

 

[fiascogarcia]

So will this configuration be applied to the custom builds?

I would think it's like the Fourtes, where the acoustic chambers are a fixed shape, size and placement with the drivers, making it really difficult if not impossible to conform to custom shell shapes. IMO

Note: I take the above comment back, as it looks like drivers and chambers are all part of a self contained chassis which fits within the shell. The Fourte shell is actual part of the acoustic chamber, I believe. So maybe the Laylas chassis could, in fact, be fit within custom shells.

 

[pstickne]

I would think it's like the Fourtes, where the acoustic chambers are a fixed shape, size and placement with the drivers, making it really difficult if not impossible to conform to custom shell shapes. IMO

Note: I take the above comment back, as it looks like drivers and chambers are all part of a self contained chassis which fits within the shell. The Fourte shell is actual part of the acoustic chamber, I believe. So maybe the Laylas chassis could, in fact, be fit within custom shells.

Although I NEVER bought this argument, as a tip is still needed - so why not just sell custom silicon tips / custom full silicon encasements?

“Perfect fit” of the same core casing, using custom molds. If this was ‘the’ way the IEMs were used, the case could also be better refined to fit into such as it would be ‘covered’ - eg. as per update: thinner, pulled back (not rounded) when possible, attachment points.

One can always get aftermarket custom tips and some CIEMs are already silicon - why not just make it part of the $overpriced$ package, with better suitability? It could even come with universal fit adapter for standard tips, or a few ‘universal fit’ silicon molds.. those are pennies to produce.

(Reason: I’m not in charge.)

 

[mthaynes]

Couple of notes for this considering custom vs universal.

Custom - Very good fit -BUT -

1. it is important to tell JH how you are using them. primarily they design for performers. when your singing you have a lot of jaw movement which will impact your ear shape / face muscles etc which requires a tight fit so you maintain the acoustic seal. JH fits for performers. if you are not singing let them know when you order as they will not be fit as tightly. that being said it is not uncommon for you to have to send them back once or twice for trimming to get them where you want.

2. your ear changes over time. you may say I am in my 40's and nothing is changing, but you are wrong. to this end JH does re-shelling for a price, however they only do this for the original purchaser. They will not convert universals into customs or re-shell 2nd hand as I understand form working with them earlier this year.

3. if you plan on using them when you are flying. You dehydrate when you fly and stuff will swell. shoes don't fit right and you iem's will not sit right either. they may actually cause discomfort.

I own a set of custom Layla's but I also have a set of universal Roxy's. if I fly international I will pack the Roxy's with a couple of tip sizes. usually wind up watching movies for 6 or so hours. here the Roxy works, I dont think I could do this with the Laylas

hope this helps

 

[Zhanming057]

Couple of notes for this considering custom vs universal.

Custom - Very good fit -BUT -

1. it is important to tell JH how you are using them. primarily they design for performers. when your singing you have a lot of jaw movement which will impact your ear shape / face muscles etc which requires a tight fit so you maintain the acoustic seal. JH fits for performers. if you are not singing let them know when you order as they will not be fit as tightly. that being said it is not uncommon for you to have to send them back once or twice for trimming to get them where you want.

2. your ear changes over time. you may say I am in my 40's and nothing is changing, but you are wrong. to this end JH does re-shelling for a price, however they only do this for the original purchaser. They will not convert universals into customs or re-shell 2nd hand as I understand form working with them earlier this year.

3. if you plan on using them when you are flying. You dehydrate when you fly and stuff will swell. shoes don't fit right and you iem's will not sit right either. they may actually cause discomfort.

I own a set of custom Layla's but I also have a set of universal Roxy's. if I fly international I will pack the Roxy's with a couple of tip sizes. usually wind up watching movies for 6 or so hours. here the Roxy works, I dont think I could do this with the Laylas

hope this helps

That really sounds like you have a bad fit on your Layla's. I fly 6+ hours all the time, always have CIEMs in, and I always carry 2-3 pairs and use whichever one I feel like. All of mine are comfortable for up to 12 hours of flight time.

The point of doing a custom mold with modern materials is that you can construct a perfect replica of the mold itself, no interpretations and certainly no need for trimming. If JH is using outdated techniques that result in unnecessary time and money on the part of the user, they should be called out for it. I've only ever had a fit issue with JH, had to get multiple refits, out of around 10 pairs of CIEMs that I've ordered in the past 6-7 years. That seems to me like JH being uniquely sloppy about the build process.

 

[stacey]

^ Either that, or a sign of putting you guys on the back burner vs some some major label artist ordering 10+ Laylas in one shot and demanding next day delivery.

Also each use case is completely different, so being fitted for performing with a lot of jaw movement is going to be a completely different fit for being on an airplane where such a tight fit won't work thanks to altitude expansions.

If that's an issue I do think that JH did offer a boom mic setup for pilots, so they could design around being in a airplane if that's the issue.

 

[eugene2]

Listen to this drum solo on you tube, nice dynamics even for youtube file. Rim shots and Zildjian cymbals really give a good sense of space, nice. Victor Jones is considered by many to be one of, if not the best jazz drummer on earth!

 

[Sound Eq]

how does layla compare in mids to jhaudio angie. I really adore the mids of angie, and if layla is a big step then this will be very interesting

Do all versions of layla sound the same ( aion, metal, regular versions )

I am surprised there is almost no talk about layla aion,

 

[Asspirin]

how does layla compare in mids to jhaudio angie. I really adore the mids of angie, and if layla is a big step then this will be very interesting

Do all versions of layla sound the same ( aion, metal, regular versions )

I am surprised there is almost no talk about layla aion,

Layla's sound signature is more v-shaped than Angie's, which means that mids are taking a backseat. I liked Angie's tuning much more.

 

[mthaynes]

just changed the cables on my Layla to Silver dragons with the AK2.5 jack. the results were so profound I actually questioned if my original cables were on the suspect side. The silver definitely woke up the mids and mid uppers. I actually had to turn the base up on the cable module.

 

[cpurdy]

Has anyone tried turning the bass all the way up? I find the Layla much harder to drive with the bass all the way up than at 1 o'clock. They say the bass is not supposed to affect the mids and trebles but I find it otherwise. The sound becomes quite different with the bass turned up, especially when driven from an iPhone 6+ and I had to turn the volume up for quite a bit. I suspect this is due to the incapability of the internal amp of the iPhone 6+ to drive the Layla at max bass. Even on my AK240, I have to turn up the volume for a bit (say, from around 40 at 1 o'clock bass to around 50 with Layla's bass maxed out) to make the volume of the mids relatively "normal". And even when the volume is matched, I find the mids are a little bit different, as if something was missing - I wouldn't go so far to say the sound is off, but to say that turning up the bass will not affect mids is not entirely the truth, as least to me.

When I first tried Laylas on a Pioneer XDP-30r (using the unbalanced cable), I thought that they were *super* muddy. Then I realized that the bass had been set to max (5 o'clock) at the factory, so I dialed it down all the way to 7 o'clock, and they sounded great. Later, on a balanced cable on the Woo WA5-LE, I tried playing with the bass settings on the cable, and it did not muddy the music -- at all! Different amp, different cable, different music, so drawing a conclusion from that is going to be silly. Nonetheless, since this is the Interwebs, I am compelled to offer an opinion: Don't boost the bass unless you have an amp that will do it justice.

Frankly, although I've played with the bass a bit, I really like it at 7 o'clock. (i.e. Down all the way.)

My favorite bit with these CIEMs is that I can run the volume so low (*way* lower even than my most efficient Planar Magnetic IEMs and cans) and I can still hear *most* of the detail in the music even below ~20dB. That's with the WA5-LE at IMPEDANCE=L, LEVEL=L, and HP POWER at maybe 7:05 or 7:10 or 7:15 (7:00 is the absolute bottom ... and with other cans, I can't get the same detail below about 9:00, which is still very quiet).

 

[Jon1323]

how does layla compare in mids to jhaudio angie. I really adore the mids of angie, and if layla is a big step then this will be very interesting

Do all versions of layla sound the same ( aion, metal, regular versions )

I am surprised there is almost no talk about layla aion,

All versions should sound the same, I can only speak for the original universals and customs but they were both the same. I think the goal with each iteration was to improve the fit since they were so huge.

 

[Sound Eq]

can i ask besides moon audio is there a good after market cable that have the bass boost adjustment for around 200-300 usd that is better than the stock cable

 

[cpurdy]

I got my Layla in the mail about 1 week ago. The level of detail that they produce is astounding. I was listening to some Bill Evans live recordings and I looked around several times to see who was talking. Only to find that it was the people talking in the recording. The bass is not as full as my K10 customs but its good enough to satisfy my bass needs.

I was listening to Lenny Breau / The Hallmark Sessions a few nights ago, in my office with my back to the stairs, and I heard heavy footsteps on the wood floor. It took me a few minutes (and a few on agains / off agains with the Laylas) to realize that it was on the original recording.

It's a recording I've listened to at least 100 times without hearing the footsteps.

I was spooked. It was weird. How did I miss that before?