[eclein]

Slater if I had to pick one...I'm picking the C12!!

 

[Slater]

Slater if I had to pick one...I'm picking the C12!!

Do you mind expanding a little bit? No wrong answers, I’m just curious. It could just be that you like how the C12 looks more than the V90.

 

[Nimweth]

Slater if I had to pick one...I'm picking the C12!!

Ah. So the C12 is better than the V90. Interesting. Do you have the ZSX to compare as well?

 

[PhonoPhi]

Slater if I had to pick one...I'm picking the C12!!

(Not interested in V90), but very curious of, and would be grateful for your opinion on C12 vs. A10 & C16.

 

[eclein]

Ok....keep in mind my left ear is wonky right now, the C12 has such a unique sound signature its never sibilant but overall brighter. The low end is so satisfying and smooth, goes low and lower with ease and a tightness that is hard to explain. Its like listening on the edge of your seat, the texture and tonality is perfect. I can put myself in the drummers shoes and see myself kicking the drum on recordings that offer that clarity. Its Sparkly, Zesty, and smooth top to bottom nothing is missing or almost there, its all there and you can sit amongst it anywhere on the stage. Wide and deep soundstage that by the way seems holographic, holodimensional!
I listen to mostly instrumental floating through space music and the C12s portray it perfectly.
I can go to “Smashing the Opponent” and feel all the power behind it!
Or land in the swampy spongey bog like part of “Close to the Edge” and feel like I’m where ever that is.
Toe tapping air guitar playing fake orchestra conducting fun that seems to get better and better.
You asked....lol!!



I don’t have NSX and no thoughts to buy it. A10 and C16 haven’t been put in the pool yet...too busy with C12 and V90. The V90 is excellent also.... I’m gonna keep a bunch (V90, C12, A10, C16, ****) and maybe sell everything else...T800s will be added....

 

[Slater]

...the C12 has such a unique sound signature its never sibilant but overall brighter...

I’m gonna keep a bunch (V90, C12, A10, C16, ****) and maybe sell everything else...T800s will be added....

Very helpful; thanks!

The T800 have been my daily drivers for months now, and so far they’ve been an end game IEM for me (at least with regards to universal IEMs, not CIEMs).

But I still have a special place in my heart for my KZ/CCA friends and their budget ChiFi champions

And for me, that has been the ZS10 Pro and ZS7. But the C12 sounds like an upgrade not a sidegrade, so I’m happy to add it to my stable.

 

[steviewonderbread]

C12 elegantly handles the epic, busy section around 3 min into "Madness" by Muse. The presentation becomes more spacious without feeling crowded and over-exerted. ZS10 Pro does a decent job and ZS7 just kind of rolls over and dies in this section of the song. My single-DD sets have trouble retrieving all of the echos and depth details here. Cool stuff

 

[MacAttack7]

C12 elegantly handles the epic, busy section around 3 min into "Madness" by Muse. The presentation becomes more spacious without feeling crowded and over-exerted. ZS10 Pro does a decent job and ZS7 just kind of rolls over and dies in this section of the song. My single-DD sets have trouble retrieving all of the echos and depth details here. Cool stuff

As far as size & comfort is the C12 basically a bigger, heavier version of the ZS10 Pro?

 

[Assimilator702]

Very helpful; thanks!

The T800 have been my daily drivers for months now, and so far they’ve been an end game IEM for me (at least with regards to universal IEMs, not CIEMs).

But I still have a special place in my heart for my KZ/CCA friends and their budget ChiFi champions

And for me, that has been the ZS10 Pro and ZS7. But the C12 sounds like an upgrade not a sidegrade, so I’m happy to add it to my stable.

C12 is a absolutely an upgrade over the ZS10 PRO. While the ZSX is a very engaging sound signature the C12 turns up several details that make the experience even more engaging. Mouth sounds in female vocals like any track on Lorde Melodrama. Stick sounds on drum heads on any track on Fear Inoculum from Tool have more attack. Upper range of thick distorted guitars have more bite and pull you in. And the best thing is I’ve never heard a track where some sound element was TOO MUCH. Its all tastefully done. I truely thought at first listen the ZSX and C12 were identical but man these little $30 buggers really bring it into the ring with solid punches and hard hitting round house kicks.

The Three Amigos (V90, C12, ZSX) are making me seriously consider getting rid of my Moondrop KXXS. I’d rather replace those with something like the AudioSense T800 as the KXXS is not 5X to 6X the performance than any of these new comers. The build quality on the V90 being a metal housing is just as good. A bit smaller and less impressive.....but just as good.

 

[baskingshark]

C12 is a absolutely an upgrade over the ZS10 PRO. While the ZSX is a very engaging sound signature the C12 turns up several details that make the experience even more engaging. Mouth sounds in female vocals like any track on Lorde Melodrama. Stick sounds on drum heads on any track on Fear Inocuulum from Tool have more attack. Upper range of thick distorted guitars have more bite and pull you in. And the best thing is I’ve never heard a track where some sound element was TOO MUCH. Its all tastefully done. I truely thought at first listen the ZSX and C12 were identical but man these little $30 buggers really bring it into the ring with solid punches and hard hitting round house kicks.

The Three Amigos (V90, C12, ZSX) are making me seriously consider getting rid of my Moondrop KXXS. I’d rather replace those with something like the AudioSense T800 as the KXXS is not 5X to 6X the performance than any of these new comers. The build quality on the V90 being a metal housing is just as good. A bit smaller and less impressive.....but just as good.

Among those 3, which has best bass (in quality and quantity)? The quantity of bass looks the most in V90 based on FR, but not sure if it translates to real life.

I think KXXS (single DD) being compared to these multi BA/hybrids is like comparing apples and oranges though? I would assume the KXXS loses to these guys in details and instrument separation?

 

[eclein]

The Three Amigos (V90, C12, ZSX) are making me seriously consider getting rid of my Moondrop KXXS. I’d rather replace those with something like the AudioSense T800 as the KXXS is not 5X to 6X the performance than any of these new comers. The build quality on the V90 being a metal housing is just as good. A bit smaller and less impressive.....but just as good.

Exactly where I am with C12 & V90, I’m gonna get T800s and then pick the ones I’ll actually listen to and sell a lot of chifi iems. Somebody just starting in this direction can buy a bunch for a fraction of original costs and then I’m working on source hardware and buying a ton of the new music I’m into now.... I’m really curious as to where CCA goes tuning wise after the C12s!
The first TRN I bought was the V80 and immediately decided to follow them closely. V80, IM1, V90 are my favs and again it’ll be fun to see what TRN does next tuning wise....I live on fixed income so this extra cash for T800s is a unique one off for me. I’m gonna try not to go any higher than T800 price on any future gear. I enjoy grabbing these $50-$70 or so IEMS and hearing all the different sound sigs!

 

[MacAttack7]

Exactly where I am with C12 & V90, I’m gonna get T800s and then pick the ones I’ll actually listen to and sell a lot of chifi iems. Somebody just starting in this direction can buy a bunch for a fraction of original costs and then I’m working on source hardware and buying a ton of the new music I’m into now.... I’m really curious as to where CCA goes tuning wise after the C12s!
The first TRN I bought was the V80 and immediately decided to follow them closely. V80, IM1, V90 are my favs and again it’ll be fun to see what TRN does next tuning wise....I live on fixed income so this extra cash for T800s is a unique one off for me. I’m gonna try not to go any higher than T800 price on any future gear. I enjoy grabbing these $50-$70 or so IEMS and hearing all the different sound sigs!

Can you describe the differences between the C12 & V90?
What are the differences in Fit/Comfort & Sound?

 

[Assimilator702]

Among those 3, which has best bass (in quality and quantity)? The quantity of bass looks the most in V90 based on FR, but not sure if it translates to real life.

I think KXXS (single DD) being compared to these multi BA/hybrids is like comparing apples and oranges though? I would assume the KXXS loses to these guys in details and instrument separation?

While I get what you’re saying comparing the Moondrop to a slew of Hybrids I’m solely going off the amount of enjoyment I get from each set. However in the defense of the single DD KXXS it doesn’t suffer from any of the ailments that plague Hybrid designs particularly the transition of the DD to the BA driver making them sound more coherent than a Hybrid design. In this case am I getting 5X to 6X the performance from the KXXS compared to the V90, C12 or ZSX? No. In some cases I like the presentation of the Hybrids vs the single DD. I often thought that the KXXS presents most recordings in a way I’ve only experienced with the Focal Elear, with its incredible instrument separation and it’s ability to pull you INTO the recording and excellent tonality.

But these new guys are not bested across the board by the KXXS and that’s where I started to think of letting them go. I’m sure Moondrop will release something better in a few months and I’ll probably try it. My one gripe is the nozzles could be a bit longer as I often have the sensation of them falling out. It’s something I don’t want to worry about in a $200 iem.

Bass wise I would say on many tracks the V90 sounds like it has more bass overall than the ZSX or C12. But the bass is different. V90 has a broad bass boost while the ZSX has more sub bass emphasis making it sound closer to neutral. Kick drums don’t stick out as much on ZSX vs V90. C12 bass is similar to ZSX but due to the upper mids being more engaging the bass doesn’t stick out as much. They’re all good just a bit different. For example I prefer the Lorde Melodrama album on the ZSX. But Pure Heroine sounds better on the V90. Tool Opiate sounds better on the V90 while Fear Inoculum sounds better on the ZSX. So I guess more modern recording = ZSX, older recording = V90. I don’t think I could pick one as my favorite since they all bring their own magic to any given track/album.

 

[otteros]

While I get what you’re saying comparing the Moondrop to a slew of Hybrids I’m solely going off the amount of enjoyment I get from each set. However in the defense of the single DD KXXS it doesn’t suffer from any of the ailments that plague Hybrid designs particularly the transition of the DD to the BA driver making them sound more coherent than a Hybrid design. In this case am I getting 5X to 6X the performance from the KXXS compared to the V90, C12 or ZSX? No. In some cases I like the presentation of the Hybrids vs the single DD. I often thought that the KXXS presents most recordings in a way I’ve only experienced with the Focal Elear, with its incredible instrument separation and it’s ability to pull you INTO the recording and excellent tonality.

But these new guys are not bested across the board by the KXXS and that’s where I started to think of letting them go. I’m sure Moondrop will release something better in a few months and I’ll probably try it. My one gripe is the nozzles could be a bit longer as I often have the sensation of them falling out. It’s something I don’t want to worry about in a $200 iem.

Bass wise I would say on many tracks the V90 sounds like it has more bass overall than the ZSX or C12. But the bass is different. V90 has a broad bass boost while the ZSX has more sub bass emphasis making it sound closer to neutral. Kick drums don’t stick out as much on ZSX vs V90. C12 bass is similar to ZSX but due to the upper mids being more engaging the bass doesn’t stick out as much. They’re all good just a bit different. For example I prefer the Lorde Melodrama album on the ZSX. But Pure Heroine sounds better on the V90. Tool Opiate sounds better on the V90 while Fear Inoculum sounds better on the ZSX. So I guess more modern recording = ZSX, older recording = V90. I don’t think I could pick one as my favorite since they all bring their own magic to any given track/album.

How is the passive isolation on these 3? Is the V90 noticeably worse huge/small margin compared to C12/ZSX since the V90 has vents on the faceplate?
Which is best interms of forwarded mids/louder mids for imaging?(hearing games footsteps/gunsound directions)

 

[Assimilator702]

How is the passive isolation on these 3? Is the V90 noticeably worse huge/small margin compared to C12/ZSX since the V90 has vents on the faceplate?
Which is best interms of forwarded mids/louder mids for imaging?(hearing games footsteps/gunsound directions)

I would say C12 has a slight advantage since the upper mids are emphasized and foot steps would fit in that sound space. ZSX has the best passive isolation due to the perfect fit in my ears. They fill my outer ear real well and keep outside noises out. ZSX won’t have any problems playing games at all. C12 is only $30 so it’s less of a gamble.