Happy to report that the TRN BT30 bluetooth IEM hooks are powerful enough to drive the S12's quite well.
LETSHUOER S12 - Next big planar? (Impressions & Discussion)
- Thread starter Skev
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The s12 might be the most efficient planar iems. My FiiO btr3k drove these pretty well.
Yes. The thing is KZ AZ09 hooks aren't powerful enough to drive the S12's...it is the only iem in my collection they just couldn't drive loud enough.
But now...with the BT30 ,my S12pros's have just become wireless for me. I just didn't want to spend another hundred for another FiiO UTWS5 which i love but i only have the mmcx version of ,pairing it with my FH7's.
Rextilleon
New Head-Fier
Try sonicfoam.com. Set of ten for 16 bucks--and they are just as good as the Complys which are much more expensive.
I've just ordered the S12 Pro, after reading a lot of reviews in the last few days.
There is something strange about them - some are complaining about too much treble and sibilance, some about tamed treble, some says it's perfect. Even the graph are somehow different.
Now, the ears are different, the gears are different, but I think there are also some production variations here.
I found some guy saying it has 2 sets of S12 Pro - one bought a year ago and one more recently. And he said that they sound different. One has too much treble and one not.
I guess I will find out soon how they really sound.
Like all planars, the S12s also need good amplification (otherwise they scream), preferably current (Questyle M15 for example) and a long burn-in (100 hours). In addition to this, the treble "problem" can be solved by choosing tips adequate for the purpose... the problem would have been if they hadn't had any. The ones that tame the highs the most are the E type, but this also fills the lows too much, the ones I would recommend are the Azla Crystal normal, they keep the highs at bay but don't distort the sound of the S12 too much. Have a little patience and you will love them in a while.
Which IEM will be significantly better than S12 Pro ?
Will it be IE600 or Variations ?
Will it be IE600 or Variations ?
Aroma Audio Jewel (I have it and it's excellent)
I was joking, I would suggest a Thieaudio MKIII
Instead, to stay around 500 dollars you can also get an excellent ISN EST50 with Penon Vocal cable... together they make a terrifying combo!!!
I was joking, I would suggest a Thieaudio MKIII
Instead, to stay around 500 dollars you can also get an excellent ISN EST50 with Penon Vocal cable... together they make a terrifying combo!!!
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That's the problem with S12pro(or the Timeless)... they are the most impressive IEMs for the money...in my opinion. If you love the sound of S12pro you might spend 5-7 times more on highly rated IEM and end up disappointed realising it's only marginally better... or better only in some areas ...or better only with certain music genres.
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GlenAppleton
1000+ Head-Fier
I don't know about better, but the Tangzu x HBB Wu Heyday has a different tuning for a planar IEM, and it's "smoother". It's typically ~$200 (US), but you can find it on sale a couple times a year. I have it with my S12 Pro and Timeless AE in regular rotation.
There is a sequel called the S15 due to release in the next few weeks.
Might want to keep your eyes out for first adopter impressions.
Got my S12 pro yesterday.
First impression - yes, they have a bit too much treble, but it's not very annoying as the FH5s from Fiio.
Very clear and clean sound. No sibilance. However there is some metallic sound on some notes and it feels like something is missing...
I've put them to burn-in now, and will do more test in the weekend. Until now I've used them only with a new Hidisz Ap80 Pro.
First impression - yes, they have a bit too much treble, but it's not very annoying as the FH5s from Fiio.
Very clear and clean sound. No sibilance. However there is some metallic sound on some notes and it feels like something is missing...
I've put them to burn-in now, and will do more test in the weekend. Until now I've used them only with a new Hidisz Ap80 Pro.
Ok, they reach about 50h of burn-in in this weekend so I did some more test on my DAP/.DAC's and there is something strange with them.
I've expected for the Hidisz AP80 Pro, FiiO BTR5 and M3Pro to have a similar sound as they share same ESS Dac and similar implementation ( they all use the integrated I/V stage and amplifier from the DAC chip ) and they have a similar sound with other earphones. But not with the S12Pro...
Shortly:
Hidisz AP80 Pro - still same impression as before. Bass is well layered but a bit recessed, Mids also recessed a bit and the voices are kind of "thin" ( my impression that something is misssing... ) and the treble is a bit too much. On short, some neutral-bright sound. Probably can be fixed from EQ or MSEB, but not very easy. On balanced outpud all I get it's some extra clarity and that's all.
Fiio M3Pro - I had a shock... Bass it's very present and strong, I feel like I'm on the stage in front of the drums. Very life like. Mids also recessed, but the voices have more body. Treble... What treble ? Well, it's there, but not so much. Sound is more like bass+neutral.
FiiO BTR5 - About the same with M3Pro, but just a bit more controlled bass and just a bit of more sparkle. Same on balanced output, but here the voices sound a bit better, they don't feel recessed.
Fiio M5 - Always disliked this, as it have goods mids, but not so good bass or treble. Well, this seems to be almost perfect with the S12Pro - everything sound well.
Burson Conductor Air - also similar with the M5, but with more life in it. Almost perfect sound for my ears. I've expected more bass, but no, it's right how it should be.
Had something similar issue with some cheap no name - Famate Famedy - they have only bass on the M3Pro, but sound very well on a cheap Mechen player. Also a decent performance on the AP80 Pro.
So, I think, this can explains why some complained about too much treble or tamed treble. It seems they sound very different depending on the source.
And I guess the S12Pro works well with a warm source.
I've expected for the Hidisz AP80 Pro, FiiO BTR5 and M3Pro to have a similar sound as they share same ESS Dac and similar implementation ( they all use the integrated I/V stage and amplifier from the DAC chip ) and they have a similar sound with other earphones. But not with the S12Pro...
Shortly:
Hidisz AP80 Pro - still same impression as before. Bass is well layered but a bit recessed, Mids also recessed a bit and the voices are kind of "thin" ( my impression that something is misssing... ) and the treble is a bit too much. On short, some neutral-bright sound. Probably can be fixed from EQ or MSEB, but not very easy. On balanced outpud all I get it's some extra clarity and that's all.
Fiio M3Pro - I had a shock... Bass it's very present and strong, I feel like I'm on the stage in front of the drums. Very life like. Mids also recessed, but the voices have more body. Treble... What treble ? Well, it's there, but not so much. Sound is more like bass+neutral.
FiiO BTR5 - About the same with M3Pro, but just a bit more controlled bass and just a bit of more sparkle. Same on balanced output, but here the voices sound a bit better, they don't feel recessed.
Fiio M5 - Always disliked this, as it have goods mids, but not so good bass or treble. Well, this seems to be almost perfect with the S12Pro - everything sound well.
Burson Conductor Air - also similar with the M5, but with more life in it. Almost perfect sound for my ears. I've expected more bass, but no, it's right how it should be.
Had something similar issue with some cheap no name - Famate Famedy - they have only bass on the M3Pro, but sound very well on a cheap Mechen player. Also a decent performance on the AP80 Pro.
So, I think, this can explains why some complained about too much treble or tamed treble. It seems they sound very different depending on the source.
And I guess the S12Pro works well with a warm source.
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GlenAppleton
1000+ Head-Fier
I've had similar experience with using iFi ZEN stack vs. Shanling UA3 / UP5. The iFi sound is thinner with the S12 Pro, but still sounds good, but the warmer signature of the Shanling dongles really seems to work well with this pairing.
To get the maximum sound out of the LetShuoer S12 Pro, you MUST do the following: using a regular needle, remove the metal self-adhesive mesh from the sound tubes; we remove long foam rubber from the sound tubes, proudly called dampers; We cut these dampers in half using scissors, and then carefully and evenly insert them back into the sound tubes. We don’t put the mesh back in place because, firstly, the sound with them is worse than with dampers cut in half, and secondly, they very greedily collect condensation as soon as it gets a little colder. Already at the beginning of autumn, drops of condensation began to form on these meshes, which does not have the best effect on the sound 
This is not to mention the fact that there is a possibility of this condensation getting on the drivers and causing them to further fail. And this is in a relatively warm room! I’m afraid to imagine what the meshes will turn into if you go for a walk with the S12 Pro in the fall or winter 🌨 
I don’t know what prevented the Chinese from making these meshes plastic, as the Germans from Sennheiser did for their IE 600 and IE 900 in-ears, but the fact remains a fact. Moreover, the Germans, for their 600th model, made not only meshes from plastic, but even sound tubes! Making completely metal shells with metal meshes is crazy 
If you like the S12 Pro, then I highly recommend doing the steps described above. You will be very surprised by the noticeable improvement in sound 
If you don’t do this, then the S12s sound so simple and mediocre that I can hardly imagine how anyone could even like them right out of the box 
Maybe it’s because they came before I had Sennheiser IE 300... 
Checking for condensation is quite simple – just sit/stand/walk around in your IEM for about half an hour in your room. A prerequisite is that the housings/shells and meshes on the sound tubes of your in-ear headphones must be made of metal. After this, we take them out of the ears and carefully inspect the metal mesh. They will all be covered in drops of condensation You can remove the ear tips for better visibility. It is clear that if your room is quite hot (say, due to a working heater), then the occurrence of condensation is minimized. This is ordinary physics that cannot be fooled. On the Internet this problem is known as the “condensation issue”.
Not only do these dampers hide a bunch of small details and nuances, but they also choke the high frequencies. This is understandable, because this is an extra obstacle in the path of the sound wave, which steals details and only spoils the sound. Let me remind you that in the original S12s there were no dampers inside the sound tubes, and in the Pro version they decided to slightly tune the sound with their help, but in the end it turned out to be rare crap
S12 Pro owners have no idea what such a large planar driver can actually sound like. I also noticed that because of these rags inside the sound tubes, you have to increase the volume (by about 3-6 %), and as the volume increases, the sound gets worse, because these are not headphones for 500-1000 bucks that can withstand high volume without noticeable sound degradation. If you are afraid to cut the dampers in half, you can simply take them out and put back the metal mesh, which is self-adhesive (if you are not afraid of the condensation that forms on them). This also makes the sound NOTICEABLY BETTER ! ! ! 
The operations are reversible, because, as I wrote above, the meshes are self-adhesive and easily return to their place without any consequences.
This is not to mention the fact that there is a possibility of this condensation getting on the drivers and causing them to further fail. And this is in a relatively warm room! I’m afraid to imagine what the meshes will turn into if you go for a walk with the S12 Pro in the fall or winter 🌨 I don’t know what prevented the Chinese from making these meshes plastic, as the Germans from Sennheiser did for their IE 600 and IE 900 in-ears, but the fact remains a fact. Moreover, the Germans, for their 600th model, made not only meshes from plastic, but even sound tubes! Making completely metal shells with metal meshes is crazy If you like the S12 Pro, then I highly recommend doing the steps described above. You will be very surprised by the noticeable improvement in sound If you don’t do this, then the S12s sound so simple and mediocre that I can hardly imagine how anyone could even like them right out of the box Maybe it’s because they came before I had Sennheiser IE 300... Checking for condensation is quite simple – just sit/stand/walk around in your IEM for about half an hour in your room. A prerequisite is that the housings/shells and meshes on the sound tubes of your in-ear headphones must be made of metal. After this, we take them out of the ears and carefully inspect the metal mesh. They will all be covered in drops of condensation
You can remove the ear tips for better visibility. It is clear that if your room is quite hot (say, due to a working heater), then the occurrence of condensation is minimized. This is ordinary physics that cannot be fooled. On the Internet this problem is known as the “condensation issue”.Not only do these dampers hide a bunch of small details and nuances, but they also choke the high frequencies. This is understandable, because this is an extra obstacle in the path of the sound wave, which steals details and only spoils the sound. Let me remind you that in the original S12s there were no dampers inside the sound tubes, and in the Pro version they decided to slightly tune the sound with their help, but in the end it turned out to be rare crap
S12 Pro owners have no idea what such a large planar driver can actually sound like. I also noticed that because of these rags inside the sound tubes, you have to increase the volume (by about 3-6 %), and as the volume increases, the sound gets worse, because these are not headphones for 500-1000 bucks that can withstand high volume without noticeable sound degradation. If you are afraid to cut the dampers in half, you can simply take them out and put back the metal mesh, which is self-adhesive (if you are not afraid of the condensation that forms on them). This also makes the sound NOTICEABLY BETTER ! ! ! The operations are reversible, because, as I wrote above, the meshes are self-adhesive and easily return to their place without any consequences.
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