[Bret Halford]

Well, then let us simply agree to disagree and keep passive aggressive comments to ourselves?!

I could do without the AGGRESSIVE comments frankly. This is the 2nd time I've had to justify to you everything from my listening level to my infant's ear health. I encourage you to take advantage of the forum's ignore feature... I know I will.

 

[samandhi]

I encourage you to take advantage of the forum's ignore feature... I know I will.

Done! Have a good one, and sorry it came to this.

 

[captainhook88]

Sorry guys, didn‘t want to trigger a big discussion around sound leaking (or not). Interesting to hear that I may be dependent on volume levels, track selection and also hearing capacity of the people around me. Does anybody here by any chance also have the S12 next to the Hook? As they are told to be quite similar (according to some reviews), I am not so sure if they make sense if one already has the S12‘s.

 

[samandhi]

Sorry guys, didn‘t want to trigger a big discussion around sound leaking (or not). Interesting to hear that I may be dependent on volume levels, track selection and also hearing capacity of the people around me. Does anybody here by any chance also have the S12 next to the Hook? As they are told to be quite similar (according to some reviews), I am not so sure if they make sense if one already has the S12‘s.

It's all good.

I don't have the S12, but from what I have read (comparing the two) the S12 is a bit more aggressive in the treble region, where the Hook are more laid back (but have more air to them), and the staging is much bigger on the Hook. This is about all that I know between the two.

But, if the S12 are (like some have said) like the Timeless (which I DO own) with more treble, then I can say that the Hook-X are better (to my ears) in almost every way. YMMV though...

There is a pretty good YT video where several planars are compared (Hook and S12 being a couple on that list). You can find it here.

 

[Bret Halford]

Sorry guys, didn‘t want to trigger a big discussion around sound leaking (or not). Interesting to hear that I may be dependent on volume levels, track selection and also hearing capacity of the people around me. Does anybody here by any chance also have the S12 next to the Hook? As they are told to be quite similar (according to some reviews), I am not so sure if they make sense if one already has the S12‘s.

You've got nothing to apologize about. As with all things in this hobby, YMMV.

I don't have the S12, but I do have the almost identical Z12 alongside the Hook. It definitely leaks less lol They both have some timbre similarities in their upper mids, but the S12 is notably hotter in the treble, and the Z12 packs a little more sub bass than the Hook, not sure on the S12 as it's slightly lower.

Overall, I much prefer the Hook myself. Not sure if it's bone conduction or just the slightly more relaxed high end that draws a little less attention to the less flattering planar mag pitch up top, but I just find it a much more laid back and pleasing listening experience. There is the new S12 pro as well, that may or may not (lol) have tuning differences in addition to the fancy modular cable (which the Hook already has).

There are so many great options in this bracket right now and on the horizon, it's pretty amazing value but it sure can lead to choice paralysis - good luck in your search!

 

[samandhi]

Sorry guys, didn‘t want to trigger a big discussion around sound leaking (or not). Interesting to hear that I may be dependent on volume levels, track selection and also hearing capacity of the people around me. Does anybody here by any chance also have the S12 next to the Hook? As they are told to be quite similar (according to some reviews), I am not so sure if they make sense if one already has the S12‘s.

Also, some on this thread have said they think the S12 sound better than the Hook-X, so there IS that to contemplate as well.....

But I think that I have not seen anyone say that the Timeless sound better than the Hook-X (this one I agree with).

I think it really is going to come down to your preferences more than anything (sorry, I'm probably not making it any easier for you am I???).

If you already own the S12, I'm not too sure it would be worth it to you, unless you are big into staging, imaging, layering, etc... as the Hook-X has that is spades, and I would put up against some TOTL IEMs. On the other hand, if you are like me, then the Hook-X have become my second favorite IEM (altogether) regardless of price.

 

[captainhook88]

Thanks guys ! I guess I'll stick with my S12 and wait and see what new shiny things will get released in the next months. Maybe a Timeless mk2? S12 mk2? We'll see.
@samandhi : You said the Hook-X have become your second favorite IEM, which sounds great. May I ask what your favorite one is ?

 

[samandhi]

Thanks guys ! I guess I'll stick with my S12 and wait and see what new shiny things will get released in the next months. Maybe a Timeless mk2? S12 mk2? We'll see.
@samandhi : You said the Hook-X have become your second favorite IEM, which sounds great. May I ask what your favorite one is ?

I don't think you could have made a wrong choice either way you decided to go IMHO.

Of course you can. The iBasso IT-07 are my current favorite.

 

[Johnfg465vd]

@DutchKarma received my BTR7 today. Will share how it pairs with the Hook-X soon. It's a Pre-Owned unit so burn-in isn't needed.

 

[Hunterua]

Sorry guys, didn‘t want to trigger a big discussion around sound leaking (or not). Interesting to hear that I may be dependent on volume levels, track selection and also hearing capacity of the people around me. Does anybody here by any chance also have the S12 next to the Hook? As they are told to be quite similar (according to some reviews), I am not so sure if they make sense if one already has the S12‘s.

Hook-X vs S12 -

 

[samandhi]

I would be curious if anyone has heard/has the Supermoon and has the Hook-X.

 

[brazy001]

I have had these for about a month now and just make some comments on my experience:

Burn in:
I echo what had been said a few times in regards to burn in. I have never noticed burn in before but with the hook x out of the box it seemed to lack note weight in mids and highs. Maybe this can also be described as a lack of resonance or body and I found very noticeable. After a few weeks I noticed this characteristic is gone and not showing up when A/Bing.
Of course this could be brain burn but would be interested to know if this is common for planars.

Fit:
The shells are large. For me it's the depth of the shell that makes me self conscious wearing these things that stick out so far from my head. The Nozzle is also on a seemingly upward angle and the shells need to be twisted forward to get a comfortable insertion angle (downward facing triangle). This requires some fiddling to keep in this position as any tugs on the cord impact the seating of the iems.
The default dioko tips or moondrop spring tips seem to best for stability/comfort.
I wasn't doing a science experiment so the change from initial impressions may be coincidental with fit and tip changes, although that initial tip rolling was only in the first few days.

Sound:
The tuning is great and technically very impressive. The bass is tight but will rumble if the resonances are baked into the recording. In this way it is a very accurate bass response while also being fun and elevated. Upper mids and treble are present without being fatiguing. The initial thin/raspiness impression I had has completely disappeared.

Open back
This is unfortunate because the hook x has a less than average isolation but the open back does not add any open sensation different to any other iem. Your ears still feel like you are underwater and you wouldn't want to eat with them on. It would be nice if the tuning could be done without sacrificing isolation.
In terms of sound leakage, it was not noticeable for my use case scenario and I wouldn't be worried about using these at a home or work office environment.

 

[HifiBBQ]

Thanks for sharing

 

[samandhi]

Thanks for sharing

^^^

 

[Hunterua]

It's interesting to listen to a new pair out of the box when you already have one.
As for the open back, it's for the speakers, not for the ears, for me they feel closed, as they create a vacuum in the ears, and the open back does not create an affect of rumbling, making the bass technically cleaner.