The Ember is the new limited edition flagship single planar magnetic IEM from Letshuoer. It is built around a brand new 14.8mm driver and uses a shell that strongly resembles the Letshuoer S15, but with a more exclusive appearance. It is limited to 999 units worldwide and priced at 499 USD.
MAIN TAKEAWAY
- Delightful dark-lush tuning
- Rich bass with impressive quality
- Excellent general resolution
LETSHUOER EMBER SPECIFICATIONS
- Driver: 14.8mm custom planar magnetic driver
- Impedance: 30 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 103dB
- Frequency response: 20Hz~40kHz
- Housing: titanium alloy shell + aluminum alloy faceplate
- Cable: 26AWG, 4 core, UP-OCC monocrystalline copper
- Cable connectors: 0.78mm universal dual pin connector
- Cable termination: 4.4mm balanced gold-plated jack
- Included: ear tips and puck shaped storage box
Current price and availability:
Disclaimer: The review unit was sent us in exchange for an unbiased review.
BUILD AND COMFORT
The shell is compact and sits nicely and comfortably in my ear. The main housing is black painted titanium alloy, and the decorative faceplate is also metal, with a silver and black three-dimensional pattern.
The cable connects to the earphones with standard 2-pin 0.78mm connectors and terminates in a 4.4mm balanced jack. It is coated in a dark grey matte material. There are 4 cores of 26AWG cable, made of Ultra-Pure Ohno Continuous Casting (UP-OCC) monocrystalline copper.
The Ember comes with a puck-sized metal storage box with a rubber lid and the usual selection of ear tips. As always, I will be using my own third-party ear tips. For me, the AZLA SednaEarFit Xelastec tips work very well with the Ember.
LISTENING IMPRESSIONS
Associated equipment:
- DAC/Amp: Ferrum Erco mk2
- Ear tips: AZLA SednaEarFit Xelastec
Largo by Vega Trails
The experimental string playing is presented in a dreamy and gentle way, such is the saxophone. The sound stage is quite open and wide
The double bass has a majestic presence, powerful but not overwhelming. It’s rich and textured at the same time.
Murmurations by Vega Trails
The drums in the intro are very nuanced, but the standing bass may be a bit overwhelming at entry, though this is a bass-heavy track. Personally, I find this bass quantity to be on the stronger side, but I am not a basshead. Still, the soundstage is open and wide, there is also good detail and imaging. The sound signature is on the darker side, but very smooth and pleasant.
Beat by Tingvall Trio
The percussion is snappy and textured, the piano crisp but not shrill. The bass is not overwhelming.
The Tunnel by Tord Gustavsen Trio
Excellent precision, snappy, textured, and nicely crisp without being bright. The bass is wonderfully detailed yet warm and rich. The piano is crisp but not bright or shrill.
Månesykkel by Maridalen
The bass is powerful but still feels balanced. The detail is excellent, and the saxophones are nicely rich in timbre.
Meslange de musique latine, françoise et italienne: Ariette dans le goût nouveau by Sophie de Bardonnèche
The string timbre is great, there is a soothing smoothness yet lots of texture and detail. It sounds excellent.
Cantatille “Le Cabriolet”: Tempête by Sophie de Bardonnèche
Even this very energetic and upfront piece has an elegant smoothness to it, while still revealing lots of detail and texture, with great instrument separation and layering.
Summer 3 Vivaldi Recomposed by Max Richter
This track can often sound a bit muffled with darker sounding earphones, but the Ember performs it excellently, with rich textures, great timbre, and excellent separation, all without sounding overly crisp or too bright. It is exemplary.
As Before by Olga Konkova
The cajon drum hits hard and unhesitatingly, sounding much better than with most earphones. The piano is clean and delicate, and so are the vocals. Very detailed but in a smooth and slightly laid-back way. There is excellent instrument separation.
It Could Be Sweet
Fabulous bass: rich, thick, punchy, and detailed. Vocals are delicate and smooth, avoiding sibilance, which is often an issue with many other earphones.
Escape Route by Boris Blank
Rich and warm with a fun, rumbling bass and smooth trumpets – the delivery is energetic and with a very organic vibe.
Spontaneous Compositorius by Thomas Agergard
The saxophone has a smooth and very nice timbre, the bright percussion is clean and clear without being sharp. The bass is certainly powerful but not overwhelming, it’s rich in texture and definition.
Never Enough by Loren Alred
This song, and especially the vocals, can sound artificial and metallical on many earphones, but the Ember handles it remarkably well, being forgiving in the right places while still sounding well defined and detailed. The crescendo isn’t painful to listen to at all either. Impressive.
Like Suicide by Soundgarden
The bass is very strong – for me it’s a bit much. Vocals are well defined and smooth.
Jambi by Tool
Warm and smoothly textured guitar riffs, vocals are well separated: dark but clear. The bass is quite powerful, I feel the need to EQ it down a bit here as well.
Rambling Man by Laura Marling
Excellent vocals, smooth and clear. Generally everything sounds well balanced, nicely lush and very nuanced. When things get busier some earphones sound crowded, but not the Ember, it keeps its composure.
Sunrise by Norah Jones
The bass is on the powerful side, I would ideally EQ it down. The vocals are very good, smooth and natural, slightly dark.
Angel by Massive Attack
Dark and smooth, yet detailed with a rich, pulsating bass.
Limit to Your Love by James Blake
Beautiful dark-smooth vocals and a massive, ridiculously well controlled bass.
Bullet in Your Head by Rage Against the Machine
The Ember’s rich bass makes this track very enjoyable. Generally dark and smooth, yet with great instrument separation.
WRAPPING IT UP
Sound Signature
The sound signature is slightly dark, smooth, and quite bass heavy. How dominant the bass is depends very much on the track you listen to. Sometimes it is just right, and sometimes it is a bit too much for my personal taste.
Treble
The treble is very clean and highly resolved. It’s smooth and a tad dark.
Midrange
The midrange is also very clean and smooth. It is on the darker side, I would not call it recessed, but it is a bit laid back.
Bass
The bass is very high in quality, with great definition and excellent control. It is also rather powerful in terms of quantity. It is rich, warm and bold, but always with really great definition.
There are tracks where I feel the urge to bring the bass down with EQ, which works very well – It is always better to use EQ to bring things down rather than push them up.
Soundstage and Imaging
I find the soundstage to be large, it feels open and the stage is wide, tall, and deep. Imaging is excellent.
Detail, Dynamics, and Timbre
The detail level is excellent across the board. Things are snappy and dynamic, both in terms of macro and microdynamics.
The general timbre is on the darker side but rather natural and smooth. I personally really enjoy it.
COMPARISONS
Associated equipment:
- Amplifier: Topping A90
- DAC: RME ADI-2 DAC FS
LETSHUOER S12 ULTRA vs EMBER
The S12 Ultra is the fourth generation of the successful S12 series. Like the Ember, it is equipped with a 14.8mm planar magnetic driver, but a different type. It is priced at 169 USD. My S12 Ultra review can be found here.
Compared to the Ember, the S12 Ultra is more neutral and brighter. The Ember is smoother and darker, but also with better detail and imaging.
Read my full comparison here:
KIWI EARS ASTRAL vs EMBER
The Astral is a pretty neutrally tuned, slightly warm hybrid IEM, featuring a 10mm dynamic driver for the bass and balanced armatures for the rest of the frequency range. The Astral is typically priced at 299 USD.
Compared to the Ember, the Astral is more neutral and brighter, much like the S12 Ultra. The Ember is again smoother and darker, with better detail and imaging.
Read my full comparison here:
- Linsoul: Kiwi Astral
- Amazon: Kiwi Astral
KIWI EARS x HBB PUNCH vs EMBER
The Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch uses a dynamic driver, balanced armatures, and electrostats, but the end result is quite close to the Ember. The Punch is typically priced at 449 USD.
The Punch and the Ember are both bass-heavy IEMs that are somewhat dark, lush, and warm, though the Ember leans further in that direction than the Punch.
Their bass tuning differs though – the Ember has a traditional bass shelf, while the Punch gradually increases the bass boost the lower the frequency. In practical use this typically leads to the Ember sounding bassier. Both are excellent in technical performance, but I find the Ember offers even more refinement.
Read my full comparison here:
- Linsoul: Kiwi Ears xHBB Punch
- AliExpress: Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch
AMPLIFICATION
For the listening impressions and comparisons in this review, I mostly relied on my desktop rig for practical reasons — though since portable setups are arguably more relevant to potential Ember owners, I also tried it with several portable USB DAC/amps. Some of the amps only have a 3.5 mm output, with them I used an adapter.
Anyway, here’s what I found:
First, the Letshuoer DT01 Pro, a 18 USD, tiny USB dongle which generally sounds very impressive, also impresses with the Ember. The Kiwi Ears Allegro Pro sounds even better, the Alpha XI1 ONIX is on a similar level – a tad warmer. The Fosi DS3 also works very well, with a slightly more neutral tuning. The xDuoo Link2 Bal2 is great – a bit more refined sounding than the others so far.
The Dragonfly Cobalt is even better though, more detailed and still nicely smooth. Finally, the Chord Mojo is superb as always – smoother and more detailed than all the others.
The main takeaway is that all the DAC/amps tested get the job done. Differences are relatively minor. Some are more refined sounding than others, but every single one drove the Ember sufficiently. Chances are, whatever you already have will work just fine.
CONCLUSION
I really like the Letshuoer Ember. The smooth and lush tuning combined with excellent technical performance is a delight to listen to. The only issue I have with it is that the bass can be a bit on the heavy side on some tracks. EQ solves this easily, but it is something you should be aware of.
If you are after a great planar with this type of tuning, I can really recommend the Ember.
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