Yeah, ears differ, but itâs good that way; would be pretty boring If we all heard things the same
Donât worry, I still own my Variations and I will never sell them in the foreseeable future. I love them way too much, they are my personal golden standard.
Yeah, even if I had heard the S12 before, I would still have gotten the Variations. They are even more resolving, female vocals are unmatched on any other set yet and the Bass texture is something else.
The S12 is definitely excellent. But the Variations is still a considerable step up in my opinion.
Treble is better managed on the Variations and has that sparkly OCD-detail character without being fatiguing
in that case I will pray for a chinese new year deal. thanks for your input!
Just took my S12 out of the box! Will post impressions during the weekend. Aiming to compare against the Oxygen, the Aladdin, and, just for fun, the Sundara (2021 revision).
Edit: So far, with 0 burn-in time lol:
- SE Qudelix, 2vrms. Plenty loud, but I will also listen on my ifi Zen DAC over the weekend
- Not too bassy
- Very resolving
- Fast note decay (planar characteristic)
- I hear a peak in the treble that comes across as glaring in some tracks (e.g., some trumpet overtones), but I have yet to tip roll. The stock white silicone tips are wide bore, so might try a narrower bore
Wonât give a yae or nae until Iâve spent enough time with them. Nice pics to follow
Vs timeless?
Donât have it, sorry
I received my S12 yesterday and got some early impressions.
Unboxing experience was nice. The box was way smaller than I expected and felt nice to hold. Everything was packed with care and easy to access. Very nice.
The accessories are nice too. A selection of two sets of silicone tips and a set of foam tips. I used my own tips however (Moondrop Spring Tips M).
The Cable the S12 comes with is one of the nicest stock cables Iâve come across (only something like ThieAudios EST Cable is even better). Sturdy, has a nice weight to it, no microphonics, flexible and does not really stay in any shape. Looks great as well in my Opinion.
Build quality is excellent. These are smaller than expected and feel really nice in my hands. The machined aluminum shell is lightweight and should be very good for day-to-day use.
Fit was excellent with my ears. Using Moondrop Spring Tips (Size M), these sink into my ears and disappear. I barely notice them while wearing and have yet to come across any discomfort. The Nozzle is very short though, so Tip rolling might be needed for some.
As for drivability , these get plenty of volume and dynamics out of my Apple Lightning to 3.5mm Dongle. I will try them later on my Hidizs S9 Pro and Atom Amp+ as well.
As for sound . Early impressions. Spend yesterday using them as much as I could. Immediately they stand out as being very resolving. Micro- and Macrodetails get presented beautifully. Especially the vibrations of vocals or bass strings shine here. Tonality is either a mild V-shape or energetic neutral reference to my ears. Treble is a bit elevated which makes the set sound more energetic, but can sometimes border on or cross sibilance. Bass has great texture and speed. Both the attack and decay of the sound are very pleasant. Bass is neither âpillowyâ in its attack like on the Timeless but does not hit hard like on a very good dynamic either; itâs fine for me. Vocals can sometimes sound a bit more in the Back than I would like to, but this is nitpicking on a high level.
Overall I am already happy with my purchase and can only recommend this set if someone is in search of a good planar. For the price the S12 goes for, itâs a steal in my opinion.
More in-depth sound review and comparisons once I have spent more time with the Set.
Cheers
This is in line with what I imagined (and also why I donât think it would be well suited to me). I look forward to hearing more.
When I my S12 got to the USPS it was assigned the tracking number in Compton, CA.
I suppose when arrive, I may be obliged to do a photo using this somehow.
do you have other competitors in thus price range to compare?
like Kato or Hana 2021
No sorry. Closest will be the Oxygen
Iâm looking forward to your comparison between the two
Ok I started burning in S12. First impression is pretty good, you can hear everything but midrange sounds kinda thin/veiled and in one song cymbals were a bit too loud. But they probably will get better. Source Asgard3 with low gain. GL2000 sounds better so far, with way bigger stage and more exciting sound.
Listening through my test tracks and tip rolling - just realised that the stock white silicone tips are very similar if not identical to Kbear07 tips! In case anybody cared (probably not haha)
I noticed the exact same thing with the 7hz timeless.
Hmm I have the blue timeless silicone tips, and those are not the same as Kbear07. Blue Timeless tips are narrower bore and have thinner stems
Edit: ahh looks like the Timeless has 3 sets of tips included in the box. The clear silicones are indeed Kbear07; unsure about the blue ones.
are you talking about these?
p.sure these are what came with the 7hz timeless but never actually bothered to check with the tips i already owned, looks identical and theyâre using other parts from other manufacturers ie the filter so pretty likely itâs these
LETSHUOER S12 impressions (and comparisons with Tanchjim Oxygen)
Context
I initially wanted to compare the S12 with the Oxygen (O2), the Aladdin, and the Sundara, but I ran out of time this weekend (plus my Aladdin is on a loan). So this will be my impressions of the S12, plus comparisons with the O2. I aim to expand this post with some comparisons against the Aladdin and the Sundara in the near future.
Preamble
- Driver configuration: S12 (1 planar); O2 (1 DD)
- Source: Qudelix 5k (no EQ), Spotify
- Cables: Stock SE cable for S12; balanced for the O2
- Eartips: Stock on S12; CP145 on the O2
- Test playlist: Mix of jazz, classical, film scores, female & male vocals
- Photos credit to me. If you like what you see, please consider following my Instagram
Fit, isolation
- S12 has a short nozzle, but I have no problems with the fit when using the stock tips (white silicone). These appear to be identical to kbear07 silicone eartips; they are wide bore, thick stems.
- I find them comfortable. The shells are light and ergonomic. Build quality is superb (see photos for proof!)
Impressions
- Overall: The S12 has the classic planar timbre, with fast note decay, somewhat light note-weight (mainly in the bass); notes feel crisper on the S12 vs the O2. In other words, S12 offers good clarity and is somewhat analytical, whereas the O2 sounds more lush and musical
- Note: I initially thought there was a treble peak, but after brain / physical burn-in, it doesnât really bother me.
- What I like about the S12:
- It has excellent detail retrieval and separation. E.g., Mountains [Interstellar OST], the clock ticks at 2:33 are more pronounced than O2. Another e.g. on Tank! [Cowboy Bebop OST], the double bass, guitar, and bongos during the first 30 second sound fantastic - you can hear the bass string pulls, the reverb of the guitar strings, the drumming of the fingers on the bongos.
- E.g., Mombasa [Inception OST] sounds amazingly clear. Diaphragm âfeelsâ fast compared to the O2. This works well for busy tracks like the Mombasa (the downside is that there is less note-weight and overall lushness to the notes)
- Never feels muddled or congested. E.g., S12 never gets lost in busy sections of songs like Bubbles [Yoshi Horikawa], Tank!, The Drum Thunder Suite [A Tribute to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers by Tony Allen]
- Nice piano and brass timbre
- Female vocals sound clear, airy
- What I find the O2 does better:
- Has much thicker sounding notes, and more sub-bass rumble. E.g. In Mountains, there is a great build-up to 2:03, when the organs, synth, choir, and orchestra just explode in sound. This feels more visceral with the O2 than the S12
- Cellos and lower register instruments sound more natural than S12. E.g., The Curse [by Agnes Obel] features a cello, viola, and a violin, and both the cello and the viola sound a bit thin. However, vocals sound great, and the col legno battuto (bow hitting the strings) sounds crisp and natural.
Conclusion
Currently, I am unsure which genres would best suit the S12. I enjoy busy jazz tracks with the S12, but not tracks that need sub-bass rumble. Since thereâs nothing offensive about the FR (again, treble can be a bit peaky but I donât mind it), and given its excellent stock accessories, I think it could be a generalist. Unfortunately, I have both the O2 and the Aladdin as generalists, so hopefully I can find a niche for the S12. If you want me to try out some songs/genres, please leave a comment or send a DM!
Thanks for reading and happy listening!
P.S. Thanks @shuoer for the best customer service experience to date! I got my S12 in 6 days from clicking buy to delivery (UK) - thatâs faster than DHL express lol. Amazing!
Hmmm yes, the blue ones match AET08, but I thought the clear ones were kbear07. Maybe kbear07 = AET07 lol. Youâll get some in the mail soon-ish so maybe you can double check