Letshuoer Astralis's Review - Warm and Organic done right

 

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 Astralis, which is a new planar IEM from Letshuoer. The highlight of this IEM is, it is using Ring type planar diaphragm instead of the traditional design.

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

You will find two types of ear tips in the box, wide bore and narrow bore. The 216-Strand High-Purity Silver-Plated Copper Cable looks and feel quite good as well, plugs provided are 4.4 and 3,5. 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,Astralis 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

• xDuoo Link 3

• Nipo A100

• Tanchjim Space Pro AT Edition

• Letshuoer Astralis 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

Astralis is slightly warm sounding to my ears, with very good bass response while not affecting the mids and treble. The tonality of the Astralis is very good for a planar, the planar timbre is very minimal, in fact you have to try very hard in order to spot it, it is done really well. String instruments sounds correct and has good texture to my ears

Bass

• The bass rendition is nowhere near basshead level but it certainly provides enough "fun", the sub bass extension is very good, it’s deep and tight, when playing EDM tracks, the rumble can definitely be felt

• 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, it is also tight and doesn’t sound “loose”

• 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,it doesn’t sound thin at all

• Good thing that the bass doesn’t bleed into this range

• In general,i find that the mids are smooth from the lower mids to upper mids,on certain track where i listened with some other IEMs,the upper mids can be a little hot,but this is not the case with Astralis, but then again, this is depending on individual’s tolerance and sensitivity towards the pinna gain

Treble

• The treble is smooth,but it has enough energy and not to the point where it is harsh and sibilant, the amount of air is just right

• Detail retrieval is average, it 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

• Astralis’s soundstage sounds slightly out of head ,but a little lacking in depth to give the perception of big soundstage,but overall it is quite good, not portraying hall like stage but certainly not in your head kind of staging size as well

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

Driveability

• Astralis is not hard to drive and generally it will perform decently when paired with entry level or mid range dongle

• Due to the warm nature of Astralis, some might prefer to pair it with a cleaner source to avoid further colorisation on the sound

• Switching over to Nipo A100, with decent driving power, soundstage seems to be slightly wider and bigger sounding

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Comparison (7Hz x Crinacle Divine)

• Switching over to Divine for the purpose of comparison,i would say the tonality between Divine and Astralis is quite similar, leaning towards the warmer end of spectrum

• Divine is more focused on Sub Bass whereas Astralis is going for a more balanced sub bass and mid bass,and lesser in terms of quantity

• Mid bass is slightly less thumpy compared to Astralis

• Mids slightly recessed, male vocal has good texture but female vocal sounds a little less lacking in terms of energy

• Treble performance is more or less similar to Astralis

• Imaging both are on par

Final Thoughts

Having tested several planars from different brands, it’s safe to say Astralis is my new favourite at the moment, the ring type planar diaphragm is something different and certainly does wonder to the bass, in fact if i were to blind test it, i might even say it is a dynamic driver if i didn’t know. Astralis is natural sounding yet it retains 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. While there are some who prefers more energy and treble and not so much bass, then Astralis is not for them. Do I recommend this? Yes certainly!

*The Astralis 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 189$ slated for release on the 20th March

LETSHUOER Astralis HiFi In-Ear Earphones 15.5mm 5th-Generation proprie – letshuoer