Letshuoer S08's Review - Warmish and Thick Sounding Planar

 

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 S08, which is one of the 8th anniversary products which launch alongside their 8th anniversary campaign. The S08 is a new range which I believe is positioned somewhere between the S12 as well as the S15. 

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 copper cable in modular form, plugs provided are 4.4 and 3.5mm. The cable itself does seem quite premium and not cheap looking. 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, S08 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

• Letshuoer DT03

• Dita Navigator

• Aune S9c Pro

• Letshuoer S08 Stock cable and Eartip

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

The S08 is warm sounding to my ears, a departure from the S12 which is bright and energetic. The tonality of the S08 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! The overall note weight of the S08 is really good, thick sounding, but the treble might come off as slightly dark sounding to some who are used to a bright and energetic set. 

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

• It has got the thump and impact which is fun especially when I’m gaming with it or watching some TV shows

Mids

• Timbre sounds correct to me and the midrange is neither too forward nor recessed

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

• Female vocal however does lack a bit of energy due to the slightly subdued upper mids

• Bass does bleed into the mids slightly but not to the point where it upsets the overall experience

• In general,i find that the mids are smooth from the lower mids to upper mids

Treble

• The treble is smooth, it has enough energy but not to the point where it is harsh and sibilant, borderline dark-ish treble to my ears

• 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

• S08’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 and separation is good but can be better

Driveability

• S08 is very easy to drive and it does sound decently loud even from weaker source like Apple’s Lightning Dongle

• Switching over to Aune’s S9c Pro ,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

• Using it with Letshuoer’s latest dongle, the DT03, it has good synergy as well, very musical to my ears and the soundstage rendition especially, very 3D-ish 

Comparison (TinHifi Dudu)

• The Dudu is TinHifi’s latest budget planar which is priced around the same range as the S08

• In terms of sound profile, the DuDu does have slight V shaped profile borderline bright on the treble response

• Overall note weight is slightly thinner compared to S08 and also slight hint of planar timbre

• Soundstage performance is more or less similar with S08, wide and slightly lacking in terms of height

• Imaging both are on par

• Mids are slightly thinner sounding on the Dudu

Final Thoughts

Having tested several planars from different brands, it’s safe to say S08 is the one that i will pull out and listen to when I just want to listen to music and not analyse the tracks. Although it is 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! If you have yet to try planar, or you like a warmish sounding planar IEM, this is the one to get.

*The S08 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 99$:

Letshuoer S08 Official Store Link - Non Affiliated

Letshuoer S08 Linsoul - Non Affiliated