[MaxwellDot]

Placing Lola between Roxanne and Layla sounds like you like it enough to put it as the number two JH Audio IEM. I am struggling between selecting Roxanne or Lola right now as they are in front of me as loaners from JH Audio. Either are an upgrade from my JH Angie IIs that I still love and will keep.

Could I ask which specific differences in sound/tonality/attributes etc are making it difficult for you to choose.. or indeed what similarities do you see as well.

They are both top notch IEMs, so its not about one being sub-standard in any attributes compared to the other (they are even priced exactly the same by JH Audio!). However, much as we like to think (or dream) that there is a one IEM-that-fits-all-genres, I believe there is no such thing. In other words, the decider for you could be dictated by which genres you mostly listen to:

- The Roxanne excels in the lows and low-mids like no other IEM, and hence they are IMHO suited if you listen to Dance/EDM, POP, Deep House, etc or if you like thick and intimate male vocals.

- The Lola excels across the mids range and across the highs like no other, and is designed/tuned to produce that organic, analogue, natural sounding timber/tone of instruments and human voice. Hence Lolas are more suited (IMHO) to Vocal (especially female vocals, think "Wailing Jennys" or "Norah Jones" or "Alison Kraus"), Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Classical Music, etc where there is an abundance of natural (rather than synthetic) instruments being played. This also suits some pop bands which play natural rather than electric/synthetic instruments.

My listening preferences have evolved a lot over the past few years: from EDM, to Country Music, to Deep House, to Vocal/Acoustic. Hence the Roxanne was always going to me my first choice when I listened more to EDM and Deep House few years ago, but nowadays I gravitated more to guitar, vocal/acoustic, solo piano, etc etc.

Again I would emphasize there is no right or wrong here, the Lola and Roxanne are suited to some genres better than others. If you listen to all genres, then crazy (and expensive) as this may sound, I would be probably own both.

I must admit that I made the mistake of selling by Roxannes few days after I got the Lola, and I do regret that now. I don't regret that because I think I might dislike the Lola's and want to go back to the Roxannes, but I regret it because if I ever go back to listening more and more to mostly EDM/Deep House music (which I still listen to occasionally), then I will miss the Roxannes.

Edit: I also note that you like the sound of the Angie, and would look for upgrade/enhanced version of that. If thats the case, then I would say the Lola (or even the Layla) would be closer to the mark. The Angie as I understand it has a neutral Bass, while the Roxanne takes you in a slightly different direction (Deeper bass/Sub-bass, and as a result is thicker and warmer sounding, and a little less harsh at the highs). The Lyala or Lola might be more of a natural extension and refinement to the Angie IMHO.

 

[mwhals]

How does their loaner program work? The closest dealer is an over 6 hour drive from me but really would like to hear them before buying

JH Audio does loaners. You pay shipping both ways and that is your only cost if you send them back without damage. Contact Alex Stewart at Alex@JHAudio.com and he can set you up. He sent me four loaners. They will put a pending charge on your card of the total value, which never gets charged if they receive them back damage free.

 

[mwhals]

Could I ask which specific differences in sound/tonality/attributes etc are making it difficult for you to choose.. or indeed what similarities do you see as well.

They are both top notch IEMs, so its not about one being sub-standard in any attributes compared to the other (they are even priced exactly the same by JH Audio!). However, much as we like to think (or dream) that there is a one IEM-that-fits-all-genres, I believe there is no such thing. In other words, the decider for you could be dictated by which genres you mostly listen to:

- The Roxanne excels in the lows and low-mids like no other IEM, and hence they are IMHO suited if you listen to Dance/EDM, POP, Deep House, etc or if you like thick and intimate male vocals.

- The Lola excels across the mids range and across the highs like no other, and is designed/tuned to produce that organic, analogue, natural sounding timber/tone of instruments and human voice. Hence Lolas are more suited (IMHO) to Vocal (especially female vocals, think "Wailing Jennys" or "Norah Jones" or "Alison Kraus"), Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Classical Music, etc where there is an abundance of natural (rather than synthetic) instruments being played. This also suits some pop bands which play natural rather than electric/synthetic instruments.

My listening preferences have evolved a lot over the past few years: from EDM, to Country Music, to Deep House, to Vocal/Acoustic. Hence the Roxanne was always going to me my first choice when I listened more to EDM and Deep House few years ago, but nowadays I gravitated more to guitar, vocal/acoustic, solo piano, etc etc.

Again I would emphasize there is no right or wrong here, the Lola and Roxanne are suited to some genres better than others. If you listen to all genres, then crazy (and expensive) as this may sound, I would be probably own both.

I must admit that I made the mistake of selling by Roxannes few days after I got the Lola, and I do regret that now. I don't regret that because I think I might dislike the Lola's and want to go back to the Roxannes, but I regret it because if I ever go back to listening more and more to mostly EDM/Deep House music (which I still listen to occasionally), then I will miss the Roxannes.

Edit: I also note that you like the sound of the Angie, and would look for upgrade/enhanced version of that. If thats the case, then I would say the Lola (or even the Layla) would be closer to the mark. The Angie as I understand it has a neutral Bass, while the Roxanne takes you in a slightly different direction (Deeper bass/Sub-bass, and as a result is thicker and warmer sounding, and a little less harsh at the highs). The Lyala or Lola might be more of a natural extension and refinement to the Angie IMHO.

I have both Roxanne and Lola now as loaners. I listen to many genres. Country is one of them and the country I like works with Lola best. I like pop too and Roxanne favors that. I like some bluegrass and Lola favors that. That is my issue. I may sell Angie and get both, but prefer to keep Angie for when I am more in the mood for not as much bass and more analytical.

 

[mwhals]

I have decided on the Lola! Now to compare it to the Empire Legend X and Phantom for the ultimate winner for my sound preference. I do think the Lola will end up winning, but I still need to do the comparisons. May need to listen to the Empire Ears offerings after sending back the JH Audio IEMs. I have to send them back June 6th and Empire Ears has not shipped theirs yet due them being in transport back to them from another borrower.

 

[mwhals]

I may sell my Angie and get Lola and Roxanne. I like them both more and have enough different music to justify both. For now the Lola. I will need to save more for Roxanne later.

 

[dpwolfordMD]

Really fascinating read comparing the various TOTL iem's from both mwhals and Maxwell. I ended up getting the Roxanne universals back in February (2019) after returning my 64audio U12's for being too bright and causing tinnitus after just 3 days. Audio46 in Manhattan only had the Roxanne's in stock, auditioned them, and after about 1 minute was immediately sold. Would have been nice to audition other JH models as well (especially the Lolas!). That being said, I have been 100% happy with the Roxanne's running them off my iphone using the dongle, which works perfectly due to their high sensitivity. I've had other dacs/amps before but for absolute portability the dongle takes it. Something about the 12 BA drivers handling the metal I blast through them is rewarding not only sonically but psychologically as well. So yes you get the separation, speed, soundstage. But the other thing that really impressed me with the JH audios is the absolute clarity you get from them. I had campfires (atlas, solaris), 64 audio and auditioned a few others like the u12's, final audio, Empire ears but the absolute clarity of the JH audio is what set them apart from the competition. I'd still like to hear the Lolas to get to experience his DOME driver and the more natural timbre but for now am 100% satisfied w the Roxanne's. I think one day I would like to own both!

 

[mwhals]

I have now listened to JH13v2, JH16v2, Lola, Roxanne, EE Legend X and EE Phantom. My favorites are Lola, Roxanne and Legend X.

It will be a hard decision to make, but I will wait until JHA announces their new smaller shells.

I do not need customs with the Empire Ears as their universals fit perfect. I am hoping that the new unannounced JHA universals do too.

 

[dpwolfordMD]

Will be interesting to see what JH audio announces then. Saw some new information about them a couple months ago from some obscure overseas pics on here.

 

[Edric Li]

It will be a hard decision to make, but I will wait until JHA announces their new smaller shells.

FYI there is a Japan-only smaller shell version of the Roxanne. 40% smaller.
https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1044121.html#jh3_s.jpg

 

[bvng3540]

I have now listened to JH13v2, JH16v2, Lola, Roxanne, EE Legend X and EE Phantom. My favorites are Lola, Roxanne and Legend X.

It will be a hard decision to make, but I will wait until JHA announces their new smaller shells.

I do not need customs with the Empire Ears as their universals fit perfect. I am hoping that the new unannounced JHA universals do too.

I had Jh Roxanne performance series and lx, both are perfect fit, Jh nozzle is a little longer than lx, but both isolated sound even, you can buy their performance series from their website

 

[MaxwellDot]

I have now listened to JH13v2, JH16v2, Lola, Roxanne, EE Legend X and EE Phantom. My favorites are Lola, Roxanne and Legend X.

It will be a hard decision to make, but I will wait until JHA announces their new smaller shells.

I do not need customs with the Empire Ears as their universals fit perfect. I am hoping that the new unannounced JHA universals do too.

This is interesting ..I wasn't aware that new smaller shells will be announced ? is this info recent from a JH Audio insider? I thought the current generation of the performance series (currently on sale on their website) is already "the 40% smaller" IEMS.

If they are coming out with newer smaller shells, any idea when this will happen?

 

[MaxwellDot]

I may sell my Angie and get Lola and Roxanne. I like them both more and have enough different music to justify both. For now the Lola. I will need to save more for Roxanne later.

Glad you were able to reach a decision .. but (as you spent quite a bit of time listening to both side by side) I would be very interested to know what specifically tilted your first preference in the end to the Lola?

 

[mwhals]

This is interesting ..I wasn't aware that new smaller shells will be announced ? is this info recent from a JH Audio insider? I thought the current generation of the performance series (currently on sale on their website) is already "the 40% smaller" IEMS.

If they are coming out with newer smaller shells, any idea when this will happen?

It came from someone at JH Audio with which I was communicating.

 

[mwhals]

Glad you were able to reach a decision .. but (as you spent quite a bit of time listening to both side by side) I would be very interested to know what specifically tilted your first preference in the end to the Lola?

The mids and musical nature of Lola vs the others.

 

[MaxwellDot]

It came from someone at JH Audio with which I was communicating.

Nice one... did they say when the new universals would be out?