FULLY ADJUSTABLE BASS

CARBON FIBER

12 DRIVERS

REFERENCE MODEL

FREE US SHIPPING

Up for consideration is a relatively rare universal fit pair of JH Audio’s flagship IEM’s upgraded with carbon fiber shells and a Moon Audio cable modification.  JH Audio sadly no longer offers universal fit Layla’s. Even though I own a few custom molded IEM’s I intentionally picked these up in a universal fit for 2 main reasons.

1.    The obvious reason of being able to have someone else enjoy the jaw dropping sound quality of these which can’t be done effectively with a custom ear mold set.

2.    A less obvious reason that I painfully discovered over time.  My main use of a high end portable rig was for frequent air travel. The ability to replace the cabin noise and chatter of my fellow passengers with an engaging and enveloping musical experience made travel so much easier with a dedicated listening session that I could actually look forward to while otherwise pinned in a seat. Unfortunately I found that the pricey molded IEM’s I owned so perfectly sealed in my ears that aircraft pressurization changes often resulted in excruciating effects as my ears were not able to also change pressure since they were plugged up tight allowing no air to pass. I couldn’t claw those IEM’s out of my ears fast enough when that occurred. Finding reference level universal fit IEM’s solved this issue while still providing excellent sound isolation using higher end foam tips.  

Included with this package is an unopened package of COMPLY brand T-500 isolation tips as well as all the original foam and rubber tips, screwdriver, cleaning tool, manual, carbon fiber travel case etc.  All those items are in excellent condition.  All original packaging is in perfect shape with the exception of a little fraying on the outer box edges. 

The carbon fiber Layla IEM’s are in excellent unblemished condition.  Both the stereo and Astell&Kern tuned balanced cables are included . The stereo cable is terminated with an aftermarket Moon Audio quick detach end.  Other cable ends are available from them if you need to switch to a full size plug or an RSA style balanced end etc. if needed for home rigs or specialized portable amps.

MAIN FEATURES:

·      Custom-made Proprietary Balanced Armature Drivers (12BA per side)

·      Powered by soundrIVe technology : Quad low, Quad Mid and Quad High balanced armature drivers per side

·      Variable bass output, adjustable from cable

·      User controlled low frequency drivers with the adjustable bass (0 - +10dB)

·      Frequency ranges from flat bass response up to +10dB (10Hz to 100Hz)

·      Integrated 4th Order crossover

·      Triple Bore with Stainless Steel Tubing

·      Noise Isolation -26dB

Twelve proprietary balanced armature drivers are packed into each earpiece. Four drivers reproduce bass, four take care of mids and another quartet is here for high notes. All of the drivers are powered by Jerry’s own SounddrIVe technology.

Like most of JH Audio’s monitors, Layla’s bass can also be altered with the bass attenuator near the cable’s end. The bass pot gives low frequencies (at 60Hz) a boost of 13 decibels when fully turned up. When it’s completely turned down its bass is said to be totally flat. The internal crossover design is of fourth order and very sophisticated. She features three sound bores with Freqphase stainless steel tube waveguides.

Layla also uses the screw-able four pin connector like Roxanne or Lola. Personally I think this connector is really good. I would love to see more manufacturers include it with their monitors, as it simply is a lot more robust than MMCX or two-pin. The cable fits very securely when screwed on and it certainly looks like it could withstand being treated a bit rougher. I assume touring artists can vouch for that. Layla is one of the few monitors of JH Audio that is not offered in a universal form factor as part of their Performance Series.

Layla’s impedance is measured at 20 ohms, sensitivity is 117 decibels per Milliwatt and her frequency response goes from 10 Hertz all the way up to 23 Kilohertz.

Technology

The flagship Layla is a 12 balanced-armature driver custom monitor with an integrated 4th order crossover technology unique to JH Audio. The driver config is pretty balanced with quad driver arrays for low, mids and highs per side.

Adjustable Tone

There are a few things unique to the performance series which over the years a lot of customers have found useful and one of them is the variable bass output module on the cables used with the Layla. You can find them also on the Roxanne right down to the JH13V2 Pro series and always with their custom 4-pin connector technology. The general summary is that the module boosts or attenuates the low-end by up to 13dB to allow you a measure of customization on the go.

Integrated 4th Order Crossover

The other unique feature is the use of fourth crossover technology inside the Layla. Generally, most multi-BA driver designs will use a three-way active crossover to even a response curve on overlapping frequency ranges typical of a multi-BA driver design. The 4th order crossover takes a different approach by steep crossover slopes and less of an overlap to improve the IEMs phasing and generally produce a far more linear and cleaner response.

Freqphase

Something entirely unique and patented with JH Audio and the Layla, in particular, is their freqphase technology. At a basic level, JH Audio contend that typical multi-driver monitors with different time signatures, positioned in parallel at the front, need to account for timing using distance as a factor. If these designs use equal length tubes and they are not staggered in time you will get serious cancellation issues at the crossover point.

These issues cannot be fixed with equalization or simply moving the crossovers. With freq phase the low, mid and high BA drivers are positioned differently with different tube lengths to account for the speed of each driver, particularly the highs. Check out Jerry’s own demonstration video below for something a little more in-depth on freqphase.

Sound Impressions

Tonality & Presentation

The Layla is a full-bodied and smooth sounding monitor with a natural to slightly warm sounding tonality and a fairly spacious soundstage with a ton of depth. The bass module will have an impact on the response in a few different ways and it is not all focused on the low-end.

Neutral

In its most neutral position, which is the one I actually settled on in the long run, you get a fairly flat and linear response right up to 1k though by no means whatsoever is this a thin or sterile sound. It still retains a beautiful level of texture and detail and it never overpowers the vocal presence which is an area I am always cautious on if the low-end is naturally meaty. Not so with the Layla, both are clear and well separated though they do tend to favor vocal pitching closer to 1k than 2-3k where there is a slight dip.

12’Oclock

Throw the bass module up to 12 o’clock and the presentation becomes a little thicker with more sub-bass energy by up to 6dB. However, this not a pure bass boost. The 1k, 3k, and 7k elevations in the Layla response stay fairly well elevated and clear sounding.

2 o’clock

For the neutral lover, this is likely as far as you want to go, though for musicality fans I think most can stretch to around 2 o’clock on the module which is elevated by another 2-3dB in its sub-bass bias.

Curiously the 2pm position is perhaps the most relaxed-sounding in the mids and treble and you might the staging of the Layla to lose a little height and air. The low-end on the other hand is now more powerful, punchier with a perceptible increase in depth though a touch slower sounding.

4 o’clock

Full-on, or 4 o’clock is another 6-7dB additional on the low-end with a particular emphasis on the sub-bass elevation where you will find the entire 6dB increase up to 60Hz. The power is immense for a BA driver design and you will feel the full force of that quad BA design when you push up the bass to its maximum.

Things tighten up by 500Hz where surprisingly the bass module maybe adds about 1dB emphasis on the 1.5k, 3k and 7k bumps over and above the 2pm profile. A little bit of the loudness principle there because you really do not want the low-end to veils over the vocals and darken the experience too much. It is slower sounding than flat or neutral but, to my liking, the transient response was still clear and quick enough to prevent the mids sounding overly thick or smoothed over. The Layla retains impressive separation and clarity despite the heavy hitting sub-bass power.

Soundstage

The staging on the Layla has been shaped to convey depth and power. Even in the neutral setting, linear and flat as it is there is still impressive rumble and body right up to 1k. JH Audio has tuned the Layla to be a fairly open and spacious sound though the top-end does lack a bit of sparkle and air in comparison to other leading IEMs.

You do get a slightly darker sound in comparison to say an A18 but it does throw out huge depth and width so instrumental separation and clarity are actually excellent.  Instrumental positioning, especially lower mids pitched or lower is relatively neutral in positioning with a slightly forward vocal presence around 1k to ensure nothing gets veiled over or lost in the mix.

If you are pushing up the bass dial the thickness and relative forwardness of the instruments are enhanced but only marginally so. You will also find the highest bass position, 4 o’clock, to have the higher 3k and 7k peak than the 2pm position which provides for a nuanced level of contrast and sparkle. Neutral and 12 o’clock positioning, however, will pull back a bit in depth and provide the more emphasis on width and slightly more height on the Layla.

Bass

Really even and linear sounding without additional variable bass input but also without any of the usual post 250Hz dip into the lower mids. As a result, you get a very coherent low-end and a smooth transition from the mid-bass into the lower mids.

Without the lower mids dip (in fact, it rises from 800Hz-1.5k) you do get some additional warmth and body into lower-pitched instruments so the sound is relatively forward and full sounding rather than neutral and clean.

The most impressive aspect of the Layla bass is its level of control. Despite the abundance of texture and detail, it is not flabby or soft sounding at all, rather it is quite natural in tone though a mite slower than the likes of the VE8 and A18.

Actually, it is probably one of the few BA low-end tuning’s that come closest to that “dynamic driver” sound in terms of body, decay, and depth. Even when pumped full of 13dB, which targets more the sub-bass and the power side of the presentation than the mid or upper bass, it still sounds very much in control.

Mids

There is a significant elevation around 1k with the rise starting around 800Hz then a drop of about 3-4dB around 1.5k to 2k and another rise of 2-3dB in the upper mids around 3k.

This is a smooth sounding presentation with a slight even harmonic order to Layla’s timber. It is also a fantastic sounding monitor for my 80’s rock and modern AOR midrange rhythm guitar work.

The bumps also favor vocal and presence regions pushing them a little further forward in positioning over the rest of the stage. It is not significant enough for vocals to sound overly shouty or edgy and there isn’t a huge amount of treble forwardness to tip the harmonic balance into something sharp or edgy sounding.

As such vocals, particularly male vocals, are full-bodied and detailed sounding but still very natural and sibilant free.  Higher pitched vocals that fall beyond the 1-1.5kHz will fall back slightly and seem a touch more distant in the mix. I tended to find this positioning more relevant to the likes of Enya when she starts hitting her upper register around C4 and E5. However, for female vocalists that power through their belting range such as Beyonce, the Layla delivers a full and clean with a resonant sound.

Midrange percussion work does take a back step behind vocals though with fairly muted 4-6k range on the Layla. You get some nice weight in cymbal work but there isn’t quite enough 3rd order presence for bite and contrast.

Treble

The Layla is on a gentle but downward curve pretty much from 1.5kHz onwards. You get a nice bump at 3kHz and again at 7kHz and your final “hi-fi” nudge around 12k but each is less than the one that precedes it so it is not an overtly forward or bright top-end signature.

All elevations are designed to just gently lift the treble with some sparkle so it doesn’t sound overly dark or attenuated, especially when the bass boost is activated. However, at the same time, the Layla tuning injects some excellent body and a natural tone into its treble signature that gives everything a relatively realistic sound, especially when set to neutral. Sibilance is non-existent for me in pretty much every decently recorded track or even bright sources.

Treble freaks might find the sound overly rounded and even-harmonic biased despite the excellent level of detail. I get that but I do tend to personally prefer a natural treble sound to an overly peppy and forward signature these days so your YMMV.