Review: Lark Studio LSX – Undisputed

Sound

Here we are with the most important part. I would describe the sound of the LSX as warm, rich, organic and full. It’s certainly one of the best universal monitors that I’ve experienced. When I first hooked it up to my DAP I instantly liked its signature and my opinion hasn’t changed ever since.

The Lark Studio LSX is generally a relaxed, smooth IEM with a very organic and analog approach to the sound. While doing that, it also preserves the technical abilities which are obviously required from this type of a flagship IEM. It has a distinct flavor, a special tuning and a musical character. Let me explain in more detail.

Bass

The LSX has a very complete bass performance with great punch, kick and decay all at once. The mid bass part is emphasized but in a very smooth way. Although being the focal point of this area, the mid bass is under control and there’s no noticeable mid bass hump that can bother you with certain genres or recordings.

This is a really high quality bass to be honest, top to bottom. This focused and nicely decayed bass presence gives the IEM a very good body and warmth. So the foundation of the music is taken care of beautifully. Some IEMs give this kind of a presence but most of them exaggerate it and this forms a “dirty” sound which affects lower mids especially. Yet, the LSX plays those bass notes at the finest level.

So, I should say Lark Studio achieved a wonderful success with the bass of this IEM. There’s no weakness in the LSX’s bass. It just layers the notes beautifully, in a perfectly controlled way. It doesn’t get any better, this is the pinnacle. If you like a sterile and flat type of sound this is not your best bet, but believe me, even you can praise this IEM for what it does in the bass department.

Lark Studio LSX

Mid

After the foundation of the music, this is the part where the LSX really shines. The LSX’s mids are enjoyable from start to finish. They are lush, warm and very rich with great harmonics. You have great timbre and note size, especially with something like the Lotoo Paw Gold. There’s immense musicality with the LSX – Paw Gold combo and I enjoyed my time with these two. The tonal accuracy is mostly spot on and I didn’t hear any unrealistic instrumental reproduction in my listening sessions.

The lower mids and upper mids are nicely balanced out as well. So it’s not an “overdoing” type of mid presentation. It’s very well refined and effortless. Sometimes because of the mid bass focus and this lush character, you can feel the mids are a little behind or congested, but I think that’s because the IEM doesn’t stretch the sound on a very wide scale. The elements are not far away and they don’t have a big space between them. They play close to each other and this creates a rounded and intense presentation.

Since the background performance is very good, you wouldn’t have problems regarding instrumental separation. This mid performance from the LSX is wonderful to listen to. The vocals and instruments are realistic, life-like and they have a great transparency with nice dynamics. While I found the LSX’s bass nearly flawless, I think its mid performance is also phenomenal.

Treble

The LSX has a soft treble with good extension and resolution. Like the rest of the spectrum, the treble is on the thicker side a little bit. Despite the overall tuning of the IEM, you get a great articulation and micro detail performance. You can easily hear those sparkles on the background.

Highs shimmer nicely and accompany the rest of the elements in a refined and smooth way. They don’t try to move to the front and take over the sound. They have their place in the stage. There’s no excess in the LSX’s sound in any way. It’s so refined and beautiful.

Lark Studio LSX

This is not the most transparent treble performance I’ve heard, but that would’ve made the LSX’s presentation too v shaped or unbalanced. This however is a perfectly balanced approach. The highs complete the overall sound splendidly.

Technical Performance

The overall resolution is very good and the separation is also very nice. The sound stage magnitude is not the biggest I’ve heard, it instead is a little close to you but there’s still a good sense of space. The width is the impressive part while the depth is quite good too.

The control and speed is great with the LSX as well as the balance. The background is very dark hence you get a very realistic and successful imaging. Tonality is another standing out feature. All in all the IEM has no obvious weakness in its sound from a technical standpoint.

The LSX has a low impedance value, which is around 20 ohms. The sensitivity is almost 120 dB, therefore it’s very easy to drive. It’s very efficient and any kind of source should give the required power.

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