I’ve been following this thread pretty much from the beginning. Pretardo made a comparison, which I appreciate, but I’m always interested in more opinions. Bass tuning (sub bass vs mid bass bias), micro details, prominence of mids, etc. Is the U12t more laid back compared to the V14? kdphan chose the U12t over the V14, but only briefly made a comment regarding the bass.
Sorry, I was away for a bit, but I'll try and give you a bit more info about the difference between the two. The following comments on the V14 are with the dip switches set to Switch1 = OFF and Switch 2 = ON
Sub-bass on the V14 has more bass and greater kinetic impact than the U12t. The V14 bass is clean and fast with great detail and separation between different types of bass (Anomie by Ochre). With the same track, the U12t bass also has good detail but lacks the quantity of sub-bass that you can feel. It's there, but it's not emphasised as it is on the V14. Doing this comparison reminded me of the first time my dad brought home a sub-woofer and added it to his system. We gave it a listen and there was a special kind of grin that was stuck to our faces. This comparison evokes that grin.
Mids: Here the U12t shines. It's thicker and is emphasised in the tuning as the sub-bass is in on the V14's. Vocals are beautiful, slightly warm and thick e.g.(Lost Without You by Freya Ridings). I listened to the whole song, got goosebumps on my arms and forgot to change IEMs. The V14's, by comparison, are thin and airy and a bit more sterile than I would like coming from the U12ts. I listened for about 1 second, stopped and knew I had heard enough. This only happens when you're directly comparing headphones and is not as noticeable when you are just listening to one IEM. But for vocals, I think the U12t spanks the V14. Limitations, I only used one dip switch setting. Other settings may yield different opinions. The piano on the U12ts also comes in much richer, warmer and stronger with more emphasis on attack than decay.
Micro details: To me, the V14's here really shine. They have so much separation and detail that it can be a bit fatiguing. You keep noticing the intricacies of how the highs decay that you lose the bigger picture of the whole song. The V14's are oddly open, airy and bright though there is this underlying sub-bass that anchors everything. As a result, the mids sound thin and are de-emphasised. This makes me think of the IER - Z1R. The U12ts, by comparison, reproduce good micro details in their own right, they don't go to the extremes that the V14 does.
Overall, V14's and U12ts are great IEMs. The V14's are outstanding for more modern music, e.g. EDM, hip hop, musically driven pop, symphonic music. By contrast, I think the U12t's are outstanding for more vocally driven music, blues or jazz.
One last thing, fit. Fit, isolation and comfort are just as important as sound quality. If you don't wear them or can't hear them, then what are you listening to?
Comfort: The U12ts are the most comfortable for the longest amount of time. I can wear them all day long. The V14's are comfortable but need to be inserted deeper and over time, they are a bit fatiguing for me.
With that said, I like the fit and isolation more on the V14's. They are great isolators and I don't have to raise the volume of my music when I am in environments I cannot control. The U12t is great when you're in a relatively quiet area and you want to wear it for long periods but it doesn't need to compete with other sources of noise. (I have the m20 APEX filters inserted).
