[mark88888]

I also thought that I would listen to mk2 and u12t in turn (possibly for different genres), but mk2 completely replaced u12t, as a result, u12t lie idle. I think that for mk2 you need to take something more fun, since you just don’t want to listen to u12t after mk2

Really nice photo.

You must have decent sized ears... I think I'd have trouble with those semi-fat foam eartips, given the width of the Mk2 nozzle. That said, I bet they offer good isolation.

What do you prefer about the mk2? When I've demoed them, I considered them close, but preferred some tracks on the U12t and some on the mk2. And really I preferred both to all the other iems I tried. This is in a few sessions playing around at the e-earphone store in Tokyo.

One thing I'll note is that the Shanling M6U player, which I recently picked up, has this big, warm, full sound that pairs really nicely with the U12t. Before that, I was mainly using the M3x, which to my ear is colder and more clinical. I felt like the mk2 perhaps had some advantages over the U12t when paired with the M3x that disappeared or at least weren't as apparent with the warmer and bassier (to my ear) M6U. ... I just read a review of the M6U in which the reviewer hears the combination the way I do, but likes it less: https://twister6.com/2023/04/14/shanling-m6-ultra/ I do love that warm and smooth sound, without upper treble peaks.

 

[JoshG1217]

Really nice photo.

You must have decent sized ears... I think I'd have trouble with those semi-fat foam eartips, given the width of the Mk2 nozzle. That said, I bet they offer good isolation.

What do you prefer about the mk2? When I've demoed them, I considered them close, but preferred some tracks on the U12t and some on the mk2. And really I preferred both to all the other iems I tried. This is in a few sessions playing around at the e-earphone store in Tokyo.

One thing I'll note is that the Shanling M6U player, which I recently picked up, has this big, warm, full sound that pairs really nicely with the U12t. Before that, I was mainly using the M3x, which to my ear is colder and more clinical. I felt like the mk2 perhaps had some advantages over the U12t when paired with the M3x that disappeared or at least weren't as apparent with the warmer and bassier (to my ear) M6U.

M6u is definitely warmer. I have 5 daps right now (selling 2 if anyone is interested). Hiby R8 is the warmest, m6u is next, m7 after that, followd by dx320, and then dx240.

 

[MJSable]

I miss my Monarch Mk2’s. By far the best sounding iems I’ve tried. But I just couldn’t make the size work with my ears- the nozzle was fine, but that shell. Dang..
I saw a comparison photo of an og Monarch, and it was a little smaller. I ordered it, and it fits perfectly. The sound is a little “less”. But I’m very happy with them.

 

[imacaverage]

Really nice photo.

You must have decent sized ears... I think I'd have trouble with those semi-fat foam eartips, given the width of the Mk2 nozzle. That said, I bet they offer good isolation.

What do you prefer about the mk2? When I've demoed them, I considered them close, but preferred some tracks on the U12t and some on the mk2. And really I preferred both to all the other iems I tried. This is in a few sessions playing around at the e-earphone store in Tokyo.

One thing I'll note is that the Shanling M6U player, which I recently picked up, has this big, warm, full sound that pairs really nicely with the U12t. Before that, I was mainly using the M3x, which to my ear is colder and more clinical. I felt like the mk2 perhaps had some advantages over the U12t when paired with the M3x that disappeared or at least weren't as apparent with the warmer and bassier (to my ear) M6U. ... I just read a review of the M6U in which the reviewer hears the combination the way I do, but likes it less: https://twister6.com/2023/04/14/shanling-m6-ultra/ I do love that warm and smooth sound, without upper treble peaks.

subbass is better on MK2, vocals are also much better, in general, the naturalness of the sound is higher on MK2, u12t with its rise in midbass may be preferable only on some source that cannot produce good bass, and even in this case, the advantage will only appear in certain genres
of course, L&P P6 is doing very well with bass, so u12t has no chance to compete with mk2 on it

 

[mark88888]

subbass is better on MK2, vocals are also much better, in general, the naturalness of the sound is higher on MK2, u12t with its rise in midbass may be preferable only on some source that cannot produce good bass, and even in this case, the advantage will only appear in certain genres
of course, L&P P6 is doing very well with bass, so u12t has no chance to compete with mk2 on it

Thanks for your thoughts. I haven't used a L&P P6 (and won't be buying at that cost, but I'm sure it's incredible) but in my experience I like the bass on the u12t more, seems fuller with more slam. Also I've seen the MK described as sometimes having a sharpness on treble, not sure if I felt that way but the sound in general seemed a little "thin" sometimes, in some parts... but incredible midrange and also at least on one song I tested with female vocals, yeah the MK was better. Anyway these were my impressions. Basically some songs better on one set, some on the other.

 

[RIGATIO]

I have had exactly same observations as @imacaverage .
The u12t have better bass with weaker sources, that's why it's a better allrounder. With the Pioneer xdp300r, i preferred the u12t. But with the Shanling M8, the MMk2 started performing better with bass, was fuller and warmer overall, where the u12t became strangely weaker and thinner in comparison.
So i think it depends on how much you would like to spend on the source. With dongles and cheaper daps, the u12t will be better. The MMk2 scale like crazy with better and more powerful sources, they definitely need juice. I've had great results with desktop amps. With powerful and very dynamic Dethonray Pegasus SG1 Gold, the MMk2 gives a full sized performance with deep and rambling bass and puts you in a middle of the live gig almost.
I love both but when you have an access to the power, the MMk2 will scale like a champ where the u12t will have it's BA limitations.

 

[mark88888]

I have had exactly same observations as @imacaverage .
The u12t have better bass with wicker sources, that's why it's a better allrounder. With the Pioneer xdp300r, i preferred the u12t. But with the Shanling M8, the MMk2 started performing better with bass, was fuller and warmer overall, where the u12t became strangely wicker and thinner in comparison.
So i think it depends on how much you would like to spend on the source. With dongles and cheaper daps, the u12t will be better. The MMk2 scale like crazy with better and more powerful sources, they definitely need juice. I've had great results with desktop amps. With powerful and very dynamic Dethonray Pegasus SG1 Gold, the MMk2 gives a full sized performance with deep and rambling bass and puts you in a live gig almost.
I love both but when you have an access to the power, the MMk2 will scale like a champ where the u12t will have it's BA limitations.

That makes sense to me, FWIW. With the M6U I'm hearing some songs sounding better with one or the other set. And it's kind of a mid level DAP. The M8 and L&P are both better and I presume more powerful, so maybe I'd hear it that way too with those units. So one IEM seems like it is perhaps optimized for one type of DAP, and the other for the other.

Has anyone compared the U4s to the MK2? If so I'd be interested to hear about it, I tried a search and didn't find anything.

 

[RIGATIO]

That makes sense to me, FWIW. With the M6U I'm hearing some songs sounding better with one or the other set. And it's kind of a mid level DAP. The M8 and L&P are both better and I presume more powerful.

The M8 has almost 840mW on Turbo Gain and i was reaching 50-60% of volume scale with the MMk2. And still in some cases the bass wasnt as powerfull as it should. The MMk2 really needs a lot of current to wake up its DD driver. Or a warmer and more bassy source, like Pegasus Gold or top of the line Sony players, of course in an uncapped japanese version. They have less power but the bass will be fuller.
Its also worth mentioning that the MMk2 has way less mid bass than the u12t and most rock music and overall classicaly recorded music is more mid bass focused. There isnt much subbass in Beatles, Rush, Led Zeppelin etc. So here, the u12t will probably perform slightly better.
The MMk2 has really deep and textured subbass but as i mentioned, most mid tier daps will not be able to extract this qualities. If you dont want to spend more money on your source, you could always go with a portable DAC/AMP. IFI Gryphon, Pegasus Gold, Shanling H7, Mojo 2, perform way better and have more power than a DAPs from this price bracket. Mid tier DAPs are smaller than TOTL ones, so imagine how much space was left for an audio hardware after all this Android stuff had been implemented. Bigger battery, screen, extra chip, sometimes extra PCB board. There will be always some sacrifice. IMHO, if you need power, portable DAC/AMPs are the way to go under 1200-1300 bucks. Honestly even my Shanling M8 was less powerfull and less punchy than the Pegasus Gold. And the price difference is quite striking.

Im also interested in u4s, waiting for more reviews.

 

[mark88888]

The M8 has almost 840mW on Turbo Gain and i was reaching 50-60% of volume scale with the MMk2. And still in some cases the bass wasnt as powerfull as it should. The MMk2 really needs a lot of current to wake up its DD driver. Or a warmer and more bassy source, like Pegasus Gold or top of the line Sony players, of course in an uncapped japanese version. They have less power but the bass will be fuller.
Its also worth mentioning that the MMk2 has way less mid bass than the u12t and most rock music and overall classicaly recorded music is more mid bass focused. There isnt much subbass in Beatles, Rush, Led Zeppelin etc. So here, the u12t will probably perform slightly better.
The MMk2 has really deep and textured subbass but as i mentioned, most mid tier daps will not be able to extract this qualities. If you dont want to spend more money on your source, you could always go with a portable DAC/AMP. IFI Gryphon, Pegasus Gold, Shanling H7, Mojo 2, perform way better and have more power than a DAPs from this price bracket. Mid tier DAPs are smaller than TOTL ones, so imagine how much space was left for an audio hardware after all this Android stuff had been implemented. Bigger battery, screen, extra chip, sometimes extra PCB board. There will be always some sacrifice. IMHO, if you need power, portable DAC/AMPs are the way to go under 1200-1300 bucks. Honestly even my Shanling M8 was less powerfull and less punchy than the Pegasus Gold. And the price difference is quite striking.

Im also interested in u4s, waiting for more reviews.

Thanks for all your thoughts here. You know, I was thinking about the Shanling H7, but my understanding was that it doesnt really have the functionality of a DAP on its own (playlists etc), so not wanting to carry around 2 devices I went with the M6u. Which I am really happy with so no issue there. But yeah, on some tracks the MK2 is a bit thin with it. And on others, perfect. And I do love how the u12t pairs with it. So I feel like perhaps the u12t and the MK2 with the M6u are a nice combo.

By the way, I just found this, havent watched yet? But it seems that the reviewer compares the U4s with the MK2, so it may be interesting.

 

[RIGATIO]

Thanx, yeah i watched everything what is available at the moment but not much found. There is also a review from Headphones.com with Precogvision.
I think the u4s will be great for the price, especially if they overcome some Nio's weaknesses. But honestly, i wouldn't bet they will beat the MMk2. I think we need to wait bit longer to get iems below 2k that play on a level of the MMk2, especially in midrange (and in the midrange there is most of the music happening).
But the bass could be a very nice addition on the u4s.
I was thinking about the u6t also as amore fun set.
With the u12t, even tho they are my favs nr.2, I'm bit afraid of being capped by their all BA construction, especially in bass. Still thinking of purchasing them because i really loved the time I've spent with them.

 

[mark88888]

Thanx, yeah i watched everything what is available at the moment but not much found. There is also a review from Headphones.com with Precogvision.
I think the u4s will be great for the price, especially if they overcome some Nio's weaknesses. But honestly, i wouldn't bet they will beat the MMk2. I think we need to wait bit longer to get iems below 2k that play on a level of the MMk2, especially in midrange (and in the midrange there is most of the music happening).
But the bass could be a very nice addition on the u4s.
I was thinking about the u6t also as amore fun set.
With the u12t, even tho they are my favs nr.2, I'm bit afraid of being capped by their all BA construction, especially in bass. Still thinking of purchasing them because i really loved the time I've spent with them.

Exactly what I was thinking. Maybe the bass will be lots of fun and sound great on the u4s, like huge and rumbling........ but the midrange, for me too, is where most of the music is. It's why I really don't like the z1r, with them some tracks just sound awful, like so off (to me). So... if the u4s have fantastic bass but are only eh on the midrange and overall details (and it sounds like some are saying that), I likely won't be interested.

For whatever it's worth I've been very happy with the bass on the u12t, with my Shanlings. And I also love the time I spend with them. They just sound and feel great.

For me the MK2.. there were a few tracks I demoed with them with which I could really understand why people rave about their tuning, specifically. Like, everything about the music, every instrument and voice and their respective volume level, just falls into place in the way that it just sounds like it should. I was wowed by that.

 

[RIGATIO]

There is a reason why Crinacle has ranked them as nr.1 on his list. This guy was trying almost every iem on the market for a couple years now. His experience and knowledge really impessed me when i started following his ranking list. Thb, i was ranking everything ive tried exactly according to his list. I couldnt believe how my personal taste and observations were matching his.
It all started when i saw his review of the Timeless. He put them in A rank, where all of my kilobucks iems were ranked at max B+ tier on his list. I thought to myself- well, i can try the Timeless, they are affordable and i can eventually return them on Amazon.
When they came, all my kilobucks (or close to kilobuck territory), like Xelento, IBasso It07, Kinera Nanna and some more, were almost unused. Only the Xelento were still great but the Timeless beat them in tuning slightly. Everything just sounded more direct, open, true to life and more interesting.
Then i decided- ok, his list means something, lets go for the nr.1
And here i am for already a year now and nothing has changed

 

[Sharppain]

Yep, it is not by chance that they named it Timeless!

 

[mark88888]

There is a reason why Crinacle has ranked them as nr.1 on his list. This guy was trying almost every iem on the market for a couple years now. His experience and knowledge really impessed me when i started following his ranking list. Thb, i was ranking everything ive tried exactly according to his list. I couldnt believe how my personal taste and observations were matching his.

I've found the same. One much cheaper, like around $100, IEM that he was very impressed with was (is) the Etymotic ER2XR. And sure enough, I love it, sounds great and really fun pair. Good DD bass, nice and warm sound, kinda dark (to my ear). He summarizes with this: "But in terms of the metrics that my ranking list focuses on, the ER2 is just so far ahead of the pack and makes some more expensive choices downright obsolete. What a banger by the folks from Etymotic."
https://crinacle.com/2019/12/03/cliffnotes-etymotic-er2-market-disruptor/

 

[RIGATIO]

There are some controversial positions on his list, like for example the Samsungs Buds 2 Pro being positioned higher than the Xelento or Senns ie900. But honestly, even tho the Buds 2 arent as microdetailed as the Xelentos (but still quite close), i find their overall presentation more realistic and cleaner than the Xelentos. They are just better tuned. I can hear the vocalists in front of me literally, in a natural distance where on the Xelentos they are closer to my face. And all this with every 3D boost and Atmos off on my s20.