LETSHUOER S12 - Next big planar? (Impressions & Discussion)
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rarewolf
100+ Head-Fier
“… easily driven to volume.”
Hmmmm(?) Not my experience, leastwise for the S12 OG set. I’d claim they can be adequately driven by a dongle, if it offered 250mW from balanced. But mine came alive when I provided them with the potential of a full Watt (SE) … but not claiming they actually need a full Watt, probably more like a half Watt to shine with their full potential. I find myself listening more now to my S12 set than my Sennheiser IE600 set…
… that said, my Senns are more comfortable, and can be powered to full potential with more portable dongle.
#jussayin
JAnonymous5150
Headphoneus Supremus
What amp or combo are you using that you say they came alive with? I'm genuinely curious because I have used my S12s with everything from low powered dongles, to what you might call mid powered dongles like the Cayin RU6 and Moondrop Dawn or even the BTR5/Qudelix5k, to higher powered portables like the ifi xDSD Gryphon and the ifi Diablo, and I have even had occasion to plug them into powerful desktop setups like my Burson Timekeeper 3i and, while I found that they seemed to scale well to the mid powered stuff like the RU6 and Dawn, I didn't find that they gained much if at all from power beyond that. So basically I'm wanting to know what you're using so I can either find a way to try them with that particular source or gind something that closely approximates it to see how big the difference is. I'm always down to experiment in order to get the best performance out of my gear.
I too have found that I use the S12s quite a bit versus other more expensive options. They are quite an impressive IEM. I was unimpressed by the Blessing 2 (Dusk and regular), the SA6, and other "direct upgrades" that people commonly recommend to people looking for the next step from the S12s which is less a knock on those IEMs and more a statement of just how good I think the S12s really are.
When it comes to sources though, I love how my S12s sound with the Dawn for example which just seems to have some nice synergy with them. When I want a more analytical listen, the Gryphon gives a more clinical sound. Being curious by nature, I'm interested to see if I can pull anl noticeably better performance from them so I look forward to your answer and I thank you in advance.
Oscarilbo
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How different do you think the tuning will be of the Pro? I mean, more towards what signature?
Bret Halford
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Pro comes with a new modular cable like the Z12 black/gold, the tuning is the same as OG S12.
zadillo
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Oscarilbo
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exactly. They say is because of the new filters.They claim an updated tuning here:
o0genesis0o
Headphoneus Supremus
Jezz, who even recommend you Blessing 2 and SA6 update for S12
Perhaps updating the tuning to be more balanced, but none of those options can outperform S12 (stock) in resolution. If you retune the S12 with shortbus’s prometheus mod or my micropore tape mod, you would need to go up pretty far to top that sound quality.
Bret Halford
500+ Head-Fier
I wouldn't hold my breath but suit yourself.They claim an updated tuning here:
rarewolf
100+ Head-Fier
My bedside setup is DLNA wifi access to a JRiver server sourcing bitperfect PCM to the USB input of a Topping DX3Pro+ DAC/amp. It’s pretty impressive considering it all came in under $400.
I would’ve thought more of the iFi Gryphon. The X-bass/X-space sounded like it would be fun, relatively portable, and providing the range of power I wanted for headcans. I wanted it, but iFi marks their stuff up in Canada, much more than the exchange rate, and I said no…
JAnonymous5150
Headphoneus Supremus
Jezz, who even recommend you Blessing 2 and SA6 update for S12
If you ask on the r/headphones or r/headphoneadvice subreddits or just search you'll see that the SA6 and the Blessing 2 (both versions) are considered to be the next step up by many there. I spent enough time there trying to add something other than the same repetitive nonsense over and over again that I didn't have to ask because I'd seen it a million times.
Personally, I agree with you and consider the S12s to be pretty much on the same level. I would say that any gains made by changing to either one of them are minimal at best and they definitely don't come off as true upgrades to me.
TBH, I find a lot of the IEMs in the space between the top planars, the SA6, the B2, etc and the ~$1k range to be disappointing/under served and I have tried a ton of the IEMs in that range that you see recommended most often. Until I found Letshuoer's EJ07M I had a big whole in my collection there.
shuto77
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I was looking to pick up the S12, but just saw today they released the Pro model. Can anyone confirm if the Pro is actually tuned differently? I've seen some conjecture here and elsewhere, but no hands-on comparisons.
"Updated tuning" is vague, and considering how much people like these iems, new is not necessarily better.
"Updated tuning" is vague, and considering how much people like these iems, new is not necessarily better.
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^From LETSHUOER to me. Take that for what you will, I am not really holding my breath for a substantial change from the original S12.
JAnonymous5150
Headphoneus Supremus
Wow. That's interesting. How is it that the treble is supposed to be smoother with the same FR and same driver?
Surf Monkey
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Different filters? But that would have some impact on the FR, wouldn’t it?
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