[amanieux]

My unit arrived yesterday and I barely took them out of my ears during my shift, it's the clearest, most detailed IEM i have used up until now. Currently I own: KZ ZSX, Blom BL03, Moondrop Quarks and a SSR. The S12 was a huge price leap for me but I am finding it well worth it.

I was following this thread for a long time looking for opinions on genres i am used to listening, and now having used it for a couple of hours i must say it is a pretty well rounded IEM. The only Sound-wise complaint i can make atm is that it tends to shout with electronic higher frequencies if that makes sense... heavier Venetian snares tracks (i.e. pressure torture), xanopticon's Liminal space and some elements on Igorrr's Spirituality and distortion did made me turn down my volume a little bit, something i never did before so i think it's worth mentioning. Haven't found issue on things like drum snares even on some busy metal bands like Nile, Dying fetus, Behemoth, Odious mortem... who feature fast tempo drumming and a lot of snare hits (especially Behemoth).

Confort-Wise, it didn't fit me well. While i do get near perfect isolation with the stock medium silicone tips, it sits very uncomfortably in my ear. I'm using it in a very weird position but since the cable is extremely well done and the thingy-behind-the-ear is thick and firm, i don't lose the isolation, even in the bus, which is where i am right now and where i do most of my listening. This is also the best isolating IEM i currently have. Not only i can barely hear the bus engines, but i can hear a fair amount of details without having to blast the volume to compensate for background noise.
So far I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

agree the only fault with s12 is that it is too bright, if you dont equ down upper trebble it can be unpleasant at times, i tried to add a filter on the nozzle but it did not solve the issue, has someone found something that can tame this excessive brightness ?

 

[dharmasteve]

agree the only fault with s12 is that it is too bright, if you dont equ down upper trebble it can be unpleasant at times, i tried to add a filter on the nozzle but it did not solve the issue, has someone found something that can tame this excessive brightness ?

The S12 is bright for some with acute hearing. It's not by nature bright. I'm sure many will not think it is excessively bright.
It may be that bright sources with ESS Sabre chips might exacerbate the brightness for you. I find that sources with AKM DAC chips are smoothed out. My Radsone ES100 and FiiO BTR3 DACs with AKM chips don't have brightness problems. My Xperia 5ii and HiBy R5 with Cirrus chips are definitely not bright and my hip-dac with Burr Brown chips is not bright at all.

 

[amanieux]

The S12 is bright for some with acute hearing. It's not by nature bright. I'm sure many will not think it is excessively bright.
It may be that bright sources with ESS Sabre chips might exacerbate the brightness for you. I find that sources with AKM DAC chips are smoothed out. My Radsone ES100 and FiiO BTR3 DACs with AKM chips don't have brightness problems. My Xperia 5ii and HiBy R5 with Cirrus chips are definitely not bright and my hip-dac with Burr Brown chips is not bright at all.

i have s12 on es100 and i hear silbillance on "s" and "f" with s12, nothing like that on olina eventhough olina is brighter on human voices (but this brightness is never bothering on olina as it can be at time bothering on s12)

 

[dharmasteve]

i have s12 on es100 and i hear silbillance on "s" and "f" with s12, nothing like that on olina eventhough olina is brighter on human voices (but this brightness is never bothering on olina as it can be at time bothering on s12)

I don't doubt you hear sibilance. I don't and many others don't. You may have sensitive hearing (which is OK) or even unit variance. I have the Olina too and although they don't bother me the highs are more apparent on the Olina than on the S12.

 

[crushmachine]

The S12 is bright for some with acute hearing. It's not by nature bright. I'm sure many will not think it is excessively bright.
It may be that bright sources with ESS Sabre chips might exacerbate the brightness for you. I find that sources with AKM DAC chips are smoothed out. My Radsone ES100 and FiiO BTR3 DACs with AKM chips don't have brightness problems. My Xperia 5ii and HiBy R5 with Cirrus chips are definitely not bright and my hip-dac with Burr Brown chips is not bright at all.

Since you mentioned source, I'm using a BTR3K with LDAC, with a mixture of FLAC and MP3.
Just gave a listen to the mother of all sibilance on my library: Bjork's Hyper Ballad (Brodsky quartet version) from Telegram. There is a cello near the end of the track that's very ear piercing. While it did shout, is wasn't as near as unpleasant as with my other IEMs. On electronic travks with high-pitched whatevers, it tends to get unconfortable. I have a lot more listening to do though, this might change?
And even if it doesn't, the consensus is that it's an EQ friendly device, right? I can just delete the treble.

 

[redrol]

I don't doubt you hear sibilance. I don't and many others don't. You may have sensitive hearing (which is OK) or even unit variance. I have the Olina too and although they don't bother me the highs are more apparent on the Olina than on the S12.

I hear sibilance with S12 and my ES100. And yeah S12 has more treble overall. I think people are speaking of high mids on olina but regardless the mod fixes that.

 

[dharmasteve]

I hear sibilance with S12 and my ES100. And yeah S12 has more treble overall. I think people are speaking of high mids on olina but regardless the mod fixes that.

Which goes to prove that we are all the same yet very different. That's why I always try to say how I hear some IEM rather than 'this IEM is like this or that'. My being older means treble or upper mids don't bother me so much.....except the bloody Blon 05 which made my hair stand on end.

 

[redrol]

Im 47. No excuses!

 

[dharmasteve]

Im 47. No excuses!

Michael, I'm genuinely old, old enough to be your dad and more. On the downward part of the slippery slope. I do hear 12-13kh still, but I'm way more able to tolerate what others find glary. I do have a few IEMs that I struggle with their high-mid, low-treble peaks, but age can do different things. It can increase tolerance to the incessant dance of dissatisfaction, and it can help one focus on the meaningful factors in life. Of course, sadly, there are many cognitive declines for some. With the S12 many find it enthralling, including HBB, where it is high up his list, and it is very highly reviewed by credible people. Some find it way up on their IEM experiences. We all hear differently....but you know that. You've been lucky to have heard the Shuoer EJ07 series, which are maybe the best reviewed IEM I've seen, so everything will be in comparison to the EJ07. Sadly it's out of this old guy's pocket money.

 

[redrol]

Right on, im totally messing with ya anyhow. Remember, you only live once!

 

[rarewolf]

agree the only fault with s12 is that it is too bright, if you dont equ down upper trebble it can be unpleasant at times, i tried to add a filter on the nozzle but it did not solve the issue, has someone found something that can tame this excessive brightness ?

The Spinfit tips have a smaller bore which might tame the higher frequencies

 

[dharmasteve]

Right on, im totally messing with ya anyhow. Remember, you only live once!

Only live once? Have you not realized yet?

 

[cresny]

Like apparently many others, I bought the Tripowin Olina as well as the S12. I had the S12 first but was curious about the Olina, especially since I felt the S12 sometimes overpowered the mids. I liked the Olina but I always felt it was lacking a little something. I read that the S12 EQs well, and though I've never been a fan of using an EQ, I downloaded Wavelet and was amazed how I could dial in an ideal sound for me. Dialing down the lower treble region really clear things up for me. I think the Olina is fine, but if choosing between the two, I'd say the S12 is an easy choice if you're willing to play with an EQ.

Btw, I've been using them almost exclusively with the FIIO UTWS5.

 

[deformographist]

Yeah, I had to dial down the 16K range using my DAP's in built EQ after listening to Garden of Eden by Nicolas Jaar. As someone mentioned earlier, it's those high pitched electronic noises that can really pierce the ear. The EQ helped a fair bit, though.

That's about the only "flaw" I feel personally with the S12 and it seems pretty correctable. Aside from that, they are pure listening nirvana. I've fallen asleep with them in my ears like a dozen times at this point lol.

 

[dharmasteve]

So I promised a comparison of the Letshoer S12 with the 7hz Timeless. I spent a lot of time listening side by side. With the S12 I've got a lot of hours in and it is burned in. The Timeless will take more time to fully burn in, so bear that in mind. Both have 4.4mm cables, stock cables, which are both good. Both are 2 core. I used large Azla Sedna Earfits on both and the HiBy R5 DAP. I decided to use a keyword comparison. What I have mostly written is purely a comparison and towards the end I will give my thoughts on how they sound up against the world of IEMs. Although both can be driven fairly easily I find that on some sources they don't sound so good and the bass on both responds to a good amount of juice from a balanced output especially the S12 which I have tested on a good few sources..

I've been giving a lot of Time to the Timeless (oh my what a terrible oxymoron) and S12. I decided to do a comparison from their relative sounds rather than a review style. To start with I just wrote keywords...so these are purely relative to each other

So their commonality is Planar, which is very noticeable and makes the comparison special. Planars have their own soundfield and many prefer them to other types of drivers when done well.


Letshuoer S12:
Airy
Energetic but life-like
Lots happening
Generous
Liberated and free sound
Lots of separation on violins
and strummed instruments
Makes it sound like there are more instruments than there are, and a sense of being surrounded.

Timeless:
Dark black background
Smooth
Analogue
Reserved
Focused
Condensed
Makes it sound like there are less instruments but quite holographic and voices and instruments suddenly pop out of the dark background.


Listening to Morton Gould Orchestra...1812 Overture, Tchaikovsky

S12:
Expansive
Orchestra all around
String section great separation
Awareness of individual strings
Big forwards experience as if being surrounded by the orchestra. Fairly round and wide soundstage, everything everywhere

Timeless:
Orchestral instruments much more focused with good richness
Orchestra more in front of me.
Good spacial location in a holographic stage but instruments much less airy yet condensed. Voices rich and thick.

The Timeless can get mildly congested in some pieces but vocals and pieces with less instruments are great because of the effortless background. Like a dark moonlight sky with the instruments as stars and planets. Nice holographic feel. Improving with listening time. Voices on the Timeless are substantial, rich, condensed, and smooth, and occasionally minor glare at higher volumes.

S12
Big sense of space. Much more daylight, clear, Strings all doing their thing as part of a collective...but breathing instrumental air. Amazing resonance and vibration on drums and bass strings that I have never heard before. Noticeable textures on wound strings and drums...amazing sub-bass reverb most of the time on most recordings. Voices on the S12 are broad airy and bigger than the Timeless. On some tracks, just a couple, the S12 may be a bit bright for those with younger acute hearing.

This list is true of most recordings. The Timeless darker, more condensed, but rich, holographic instruments suddenly appear out of the soundstage ether. The S12 spacious, full of width and air. The S12 is just a bigger sound, but the Timeless with voices like Michael Bublé or Chet Baker is rich and luscious. The S12 does drums and wound strings and airy pieces wonderfully.

S12 sounds like being in the band space, surrounded by music. The Timeless is a few rows back with a holographic, spontaneous field in front.

All this is in comparison as a pair. Both are great. Score draw 9/10 each, because I like Planars. Both are comparatively very different though. Planars make a family sound, but these two can comfortably live with each other in the same collection. They are actually complementary and not that alike...to me. They sound different.

The Timeless is more mid bass orientated and all vocals can sound rich and lush.....quite unique. The S12 has a sub-bass that gives a slight background rumble to lots of tracks and is uncanny in it's presentation of reverb and textures of drum skins and wound strings and the spacials of orchestras....quite unique.

Two of the best IEM's that suit my listening and the Timeless has not even broken in properly yet.

After heavy duty listening I am going to give my verdict. Both the S12 and the Timeless are excellent to me. Both will please many people. But if I had to choose one it would be the Letshuoer S12 for sure. With my library of Rock, Folk Rock such as New Model Army, Patti Smith, Classical, Pink Floyd, Shriekback, Indian Music, African Music and Blues, the S12 is a realistic and musical IEM with a big sound. Tips and source are important though. For some male jazz vocals, crooning vocals, the Timeless is excellent, but for most of my library the S12 kills it.