Letshuoer S15's Review

 

General/Packaging/Build/Comfort

Letshuoer is a company that was founded in August 2016.They are specialised in making in ear monitors for stage use but they do have in ear monitors for audiophiles as well. They were called Shuoer previously and most of those who were in the community for a little while should be aware of it.

Today I have with me the S15, which is the upgrade and revision to the original S12. The S12 was very well received and they even have a S12 Pro iteration and also a collaboration with Z Reviews.

The packaging is minimal, but the overall design does look premium.

You will find two types of ear tips in the box, wide bore and narrow bore. The cable is silver plated monocrystalline copper cable in modular form, plugs provided are 4.4, 3.5 and 2.5mm. I am really surprised to see such high quality stock cable at this price point. The included 3D printed storage case looks premium as well. A very good unboxing experience overall.

The whole iem is smooth and there aren't any sharp edges. In terms of comfort,S15 fits very well in my ears and I have no discomfort even wearing them for long listening sessions,do take into consideration that everyone’s ear is different and if it fits well for me doesn’t mean it will fit well for you,but fortunately, Letshuoer does throw in plenty of ear tips choices,so i’m sure there will be one that fits eventually.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Colibri

• Earmen Tradutto -> Earmen CH-Amp

• Fosi Audio DS1

• Hiby R6 II

• Letshuoer S15 Stock Cable and Eartips

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound

S15 is slightly warm sounding to my ears, a departure from the S12 which is bright and energetic. The tonality of the S15 is quite good for a planar, the planar timbre is very minimal, in fact you have to try very hard in order to spot it. Well done!

Bass

• The bass rendition is nowhere near basshead level but it certainly provides enough "fun"

• Bass extension is good and the sub bass rumble can be felt, definitely no slouch when it comes to EDM

• Bass has good texture and note weight to it,it is also tight and clean

• Mid bass has got thump to it and the transition between the sub and mid bass is quite balanced without sounding incoherent

• I personally find the tuning of bass is done right to my preference,somewhere between fun and audiophile but not venturing into the basshead category

Mids

• Timbre sounds correct to me and the midrange is actually quite lush

• Vocal doesn’t sound recessed, both male and female vocal has good texture to them,doesn’t sound thin at all

• Bass doesn’t bleed into the mids

• In general,i find that the mids are smooth from the lower mids to upper mids,on certain track where i listened with some IEM,the upper mids can be a little hot,but this is not the case with S15

Treble

• The treble is smooth, it has enough energy but not to the point where it is harsh and sibilant

• Detail retrieval is average for the asking, can be better in my opinion, but due to the nature of the tuning, i can see why it is in such way

• But to put it as a whole, the bass, mids and treble all together, perhaps this is how and why it sounded quite natural overall

Soundstage/Imaging

• S15’s soundstage sounds slightly out of head and quite open,but a little lacking in depth to give the perception of big soundstage,but overall it is quite good

• Imaging is good,the instruments can be pinpointed easily in busy track like Slipknot’s Duality

Driveability

• S15 is very easy to drive and it does sound decently loud even from weaker source like Apple’s Lightning Dongle

• Switching over to Earmen’s stack ,with decent driving power,bass seems to tighten up a little and better control is exhibited, in a way, it is quite scalable with power as well as source

Comparison (7Hz Timeless x AE)

• Switching over to Timeless x AE for the purpose of comparison,i would say the tonality between Timeless AE and S15 is slightly similar

• Bass on the Timeless AE is faster and lesser in terms of quantity, sub bass does rumble but a little rolled off

• Soundstage is slightly smaller and more in your head for Timeless AE

• Imaging both are on par

• Mids are a little thinner on the Timeless AE

• Treble is slightly more energetic compared to S15

• The shell of Timeless AE might be a little big for some

Final Thoughts

Having tested several planars from different brands, it’s safe to say S15 is my favourite at the moment, the incorporated R-Sonic PFM seamlessly with the DD to offer a natural sounding tuning yet retaining the planar’s characteristics such as the speed and technicalities. Although not the best when it comes to the technicalities, it is certainly a pair of very enjoyable sets of IEM. I have tried gaming, watching some videos with it, and it handled all of it with ease, positional audio in gaming, explosions from the games and movies, easily handled. Do I recommend this? Yes certainly!

*The S15 is sent over by Letshuoer for the purpose of this review. I thank them for the support and opportunity as always

Head over to the official store if you are interested in getting one, it is currently being priced at 329$:

Letshuoer S15 - Non affiliated

If you would like to know more about how the R-Sonic PFM works, head over to the following thread in Head-Fi:

R-Sonic PFM (Passive Filtering Module)