I use my S12's with "KZ AZ09 Pro" BT5.2 earhooks, the QDC/C-pin of these earhooks easily modified for B-pin coupling. Use this configuration when streaming in AptX codec, with the earhooks in Power Mode (3 successive clicks to left earhook button). Battery life in Power Mode is about 6+ hours. Excellent sound quality, connectivity, fitment. Else, when streaming in LDAC I use my S12's with cable to a FiiO BTR5. Excellent sound quality. S12's were purchased at US$141 early in 2022 and have been my "end-game" IEM purchase. Today, they can go on sale for under US$125. Great technicals, easy to EQ if necessary (seldom), wonderful sound/freq. response across the range.
Totally agree. S12 was my 4th IEM and my only planar. They are amazing I find myself picking them up while working at my home office regularly. I have them paired with the iFi Gryphon and it is an awesome combination. Love your reviews keep up the excellent work
at 9:06 How much power do you recommend I put into these so they come alive? On which pieces of gear did you think they sounded the best on? I have a small ibasso DC03 pro, do you think a desktop amplifier will make them sound better?
Great review Gavin, from memory how do these compare to the Audeze I Sine 20? You need to try and review the Questyle M15 Dongle/Dac, you be impressed what that device can do. Will you be going to Canjam London? A Chinese dealer is coming for the first time so hopefully they might have them in their collection.
Thanks Anthony. Appreciate your feedback and suggestions. I hadn't planned on going to Canjam, mainly as London is quite far away from me, but now you've mentioned it, I will see if I can 😀
@@GavinsGadgets Gavin, Jomo Audio, Linsoul and Thieaudio will be coming, the last two for their first time as usual Hifiman will be there and I am looking forward to hearing their Susvara for the first time, my friend has the He 1000 SE that I thought sounded awesome.
Thanks for the excellent review mate. I understand that these are technically impressive for the price and faster than dynamics but I genuinely do not understand the hype around all these planar iems being released. Just trying to understand mate, are these as good as may be $300 iems like blessing 2? Do they punch way above their price point?
Thanks for your feedback. The hype is real. These are my first planar magnetic IEM and it's quite noticeable how they react to the music. I have more expensive IEMs than the blessing 2 (great IEM) and I prefer these S12. If you already have a decent IEM, obviously the audio difference will be smaller. But for anyone starting out, I would jump straight to these and not bother with much else. The.value is excellent.
@@GavinsGadgets Your list is probably longer...but for me the S12 beats out: Olina (modded), T3+, Lea, HZ Heart Mirror (modded), TKZK Wave, KZ Zex Pro/CRN, CCA CRA, CCA NRA, DQ6, KZ ZS10 Pro, KZ ZXT, BLON BL-03. You are spot on in recommending this planar. At similar price, three other planars can also be considered (IMO): Shuoer Z12, Tangzu Wu Zetian, Tin P1Max. I bought the S12 with ZERO regrets...no interest to buy another even if competition has opened up options even further. Would've saved some money if I had jumped straight to the S12...but as it only arrived this year, that spend was almost unavoidable.
first time see you reacting an iem that makes you speak out that much of surprise. mind to share after burn in experience or plugin any other cable to enhance the S12 ?
The cables are excellent as supplied. You don't need to change them IMO. I had a selection of other random cables and none were as good. I did burn these in, but there wasn't much of a change. These are excellent out of the box.
I have owned the 7Hz Timeless since last December and Planar IEM's are becoming my favourite type of IEM. I know at 7:13 you said they blow away every other IEM that we have heard but is that really true? I ask because I'm looking to buy the Thieaudio Monarch MK2 soon and if that statement is correct, should I even bother to look at buying them considering I own the 7Hz Timeless already? (The Timeless being a smidgen bit better than the S12)
If you own the 7hz Timeless buying these won't achieve a leap forward. My comment is really for someone without anything decent already. However, these IMO are far more enjoyable than many of my other IEMs. We both know how one can get carried away with Audio gear 😀 If I had bought these first, I don't think I would be looking elsewhere.
@@GavinsGadgets Yeah I don't plan on buying the S12 because I already have the Timeless. Its mad to think this type of tech has been around since the 1970's and only now is it really kicking off. 7Hz are bring out another planar IEM soon so lets hope they can catch lightning in a bottle twice. I really don't know if I should be looking at other IEMs to be honest because if an IEM that only costs £200 (the Timeless is around that price) then what's the point of £1000 or £2000 worth of IEM?
I agree on the price point. These £200 IEMs do enough IMO. I'd rather spend the difference on a music subscription instead and a decent amp/dac. However, there's a pricing point for everyone. Some people have no issue spending more, doesn't bother me if people do, so long as they are happy with their headphones.
I use my S12's with "KZ AZ09 Pro" BT5.2 earhooks, the QDC/C-pin of these earhooks easily modified for B-pin coupling. Use this configuration when streaming in AptX codec, with the earhooks in Power Mode (3 successive clicks to left earhook button). Battery life in Power Mode is about 6+ hours. Excellent sound quality, connectivity, fitment.
Else, when streaming in LDAC I use my S12's with cable to a FiiO BTR5. Excellent sound quality.
S12's were purchased at US$141 early in 2022 and have been my "end-game" IEM purchase. Today, they can go on sale for under US$125. Great technicals, easy to EQ if necessary (seldom), wonderful sound/freq. response across the range.
Thanks for your feedback detailing your cool setup 👍
Always Good reviews. I bought today Z12. Now waiting for...
Thanks 👍
Great review 😋
I run mine in balanced mode on my IFI Go Blue with Final Audio E Tips ..almost endgame.
Take care ☕️
Thanks Carmine 👍 you've got a fab setup too 😀
@@GavinsGadgets take care 😋
Totally agree. S12 was my 4th IEM and my only planar. They are amazing I find myself picking them up while working at my home office regularly. I have them paired with the iFi Gryphon and it is an awesome combination. Love your reviews keep up the excellent work
Hi Christi, good to hear you like them as much as I do. Great combo with the Gryphon too. 👍
@@GavinsGadgets Also bought after your review of it! You are one of my main stops for good kit suggestions and reviews
Thanks for your feedback. Really appreciated 🙏
Thanks!
You're welcome 👍 👍
at 9:06 How much power do you recommend I put into these so they come alive? On which pieces of gear did you think they sounded the best on? I have a small ibasso DC03 pro, do you think a desktop amplifier will make them sound better?
this is a great review if you're looking for a reason to buy them :)
Thanks :)
Great review Gavin, from memory how do these compare to the Audeze I Sine 20? You need to try and review the Questyle M15 Dongle/Dac, you be impressed what that device can do.
Will you be going to Canjam London? A Chinese dealer is coming for the first time so hopefully they might have them in their collection.
Thanks Anthony. Appreciate your feedback and suggestions. I hadn't planned on going to Canjam, mainly as London is quite far away from me, but now you've mentioned it, I will see if I can 😀
@@GavinsGadgets
Gavin,
Jomo Audio, Linsoul and Thieaudio will be coming, the last two for their first time as usual Hifiman will be there and I am looking forward to hearing their Susvara for the first time, my friend has the He 1000 SE that I thought sounded awesome.
That's pretty awesome that they are attending. I wouldn't mind hearing those HiFiMan headphones as well.
Thanks for the excellent review mate. I understand that these are technically impressive for the price and faster than dynamics but I genuinely do not understand the hype around all these planar iems being released. Just trying to understand mate, are these as good as may be $300 iems like blessing 2? Do they punch way above their price point?
Thanks for your feedback. The hype is real. These are my first planar magnetic IEM and it's quite noticeable how they react to the music. I have more expensive IEMs than the blessing 2 (great IEM) and I prefer these S12. If you already have a decent IEM, obviously the audio difference will be smaller. But for anyone starting out, I would jump straight to these and not bother with much else. The.value is excellent.
@@GavinsGadgets Thanks man. Just as you as a reference can you state the iems that you prefer this to.
The list is too long mate.
@@GavinsGadgets Your list is probably longer...but for me the S12 beats out: Olina (modded), T3+, Lea, HZ Heart Mirror (modded), TKZK Wave, KZ Zex Pro/CRN, CCA CRA, CCA NRA, DQ6, KZ ZS10 Pro, KZ ZXT, BLON BL-03.
You are spot on in recommending this planar. At similar price, three other planars can also be considered (IMO): Shuoer Z12, Tangzu Wu Zetian, Tin P1Max.
I bought the S12 with ZERO regrets...no interest to buy another even if competition has opened up options even further.
Would've saved some money if I had jumped straight to the S12...but as it only arrived this year, that spend was almost unavoidable.
Thanks for your view 👍
are they worth it even without buying a dac? Or is it necessary to not waste your already spent 130 euros on those IEM's?
They can work without a dac
first time see you reacting an iem that makes you speak out that much of surprise.
mind to share after burn in experience or plugin any other cable to enhance the S12 ?
The cables are excellent as supplied. You don't need to change them IMO. I had a selection of other random cables and none were as good. I did burn these in, but there wasn't much of a change. These are excellent out of the box.
@@GavinsGadgets
wow thanks for the reply so fast, since the S12 sound so good on portable dac amp. i believe it will shine more on desktop setup.
Absolutely they do work even better on a desktop.
@@GavinsGadgets
btw your video gain my confidence on getting the S12.
great review. and tq.
You're welcome and thanks for the feedback 👍
I have owned the 7Hz Timeless since last December and Planar IEM's are becoming my favourite type of IEM. I know at 7:13 you said they blow away every other IEM that we have heard but is that really true? I ask because I'm looking to buy the Thieaudio Monarch MK2 soon and if that statement is correct, should I even bother to look at buying them considering I own the 7Hz Timeless already? (The Timeless being a smidgen bit better than the S12)
If you own the 7hz Timeless buying these won't achieve a leap forward. My comment is really for someone without anything decent already. However, these IMO are far more enjoyable than many of my other IEMs. We both know how one can get carried away with Audio gear 😀
If I had bought these first, I don't think I would be looking elsewhere.
Planar IEMs are definitely they way forward too . I agree.
@@GavinsGadgets Yeah I don't plan on buying the S12 because I already have the Timeless. Its mad to think this type of tech has been around since the 1970's and only now is it really kicking off. 7Hz are bring out another planar IEM soon so lets hope they can catch lightning in a bottle twice. I really don't know if I should be looking at other IEMs to be honest because if an IEM that only costs £200 (the Timeless is around that price) then what's the point of £1000 or £2000 worth of IEM?
I agree on the price point. These £200 IEMs do enough IMO. I'd rather spend the difference on a music subscription instead and a decent amp/dac. However, there's a pricing point for everyone. Some people have no issue spending more, doesn't bother me if people do, so long as they are happy with their headphones.
@@GavinsGadgets To me, price represents the quality of said item so I guess I'm the sucker the manufactures are looking for lol
are they a good improvement over dynamic driver earphones
yep
@@GavinsGadgets gr8..thanks
which is better ,SHUOER S12 or the Moondrop Blessing 2 Twilight . Pop, K-pop, Metall, Rock, Orchestral violin, FamaleVocal , Detail analize?
I've not heard the Moondrop yet.