Very solid pair of planar iems. amazing instrumental separation and resolves excellently for this price point.
Now 49$ off. Enjoy!
Please note that 3.5mm is currently out of stock, and only 4.4mm is available. So unless you want to change to an aftermarket cable, or have a 4.4mm source, do research before buying.
CamelCamelCamel.
I messed up the title - corrected!
thanks for the correction :)
I've been looking for a good pair of earphones for competitive gaming focus on hearing audio queues and footsteps etc do you have any recomendations ? @zjz93
Dunu titan s would fit the category at a lower pricepoint. They have a more elevated pinna at 2-3kz that aids in positional queues. My mate plays in the counter strike spl-c grade with them since I made the recommendation and I haven't heard a complaint since
Thanks for the recomendation i was looking at the tinhifi t3 plus my budget was max $150 would you still suggest the dunu titan s over the t3 ? im a audiophile noob but these would be purely used for fps gaming as mentioned footsteps audio queues don't care for bass or things sounding immersive all that yada yada
Thanks again
I haven't heard the t3, but the tin t3 shows slightly more bass on measurements. Which arguably isn't good for footsteps.
I can't comment on the imaging and technical performance though, since I haven't heard it. But you are highly unlikely to be running into issues with the titan S. I use i t myself in fact for gaming
Then you are not an audiophile
Something more neutral is best. Slight bass boost is fine.
Titan s and the cheaper tin hifi T2 are great choices. Their tuning for music aren't for everybodies taste though but imaging(direction of sound) and soundstage are amazing for their prices.
How do these fare vs moondrop starfield?
Far better in bass texture and resolution, as well as bass speed and extension.
One caveat it has is slightly worse bass dynamics, likely due to it being a planar driver.
Moondrop starfield is mostly overtaken by many other chifi offerings these days. Including moondrop's own aria
Thanks for that!
Would it be considered an upgrade in terms of soundstage and instrument separation?
I personally feel the law of diminishing returrns will set in and I won't really find a difference in day to day use.
Happy to be corrected!
Yes to instrument separation, maybe to soundstage. The planar drivers are highly resolving and instruments can be isolated very easily.
Soundstage in iems can be largely influenced by eartips. Most wouldn't be buying this for the soundstage.
Damnit 618 sale was 224$ Amazon is so cheap
Is this substantially better than the popular KZ-ZS10 Pros?
A lot better. A few steps up. In my opinion for $183 and with a good amp, they are competing with iems in the $300-350 range.
I'm no audiophile but coincidentally my Moondrop Chu's arrived today. Pretty happy with them so far and does ok for gaming (pubg).
Moondrop Kato was $210 fulfilled by Amazon AU recently. Are these better for $183?
Better detail retrieval and more high end focused. Kato is a little more neutral sounding but the S12 works better with a good amp, kinda average from your phone or laptop. If you don't have a good source, then Kato is a great choice.
Mid-Fi iems do not need amps
Need? no. But these are sensitive enough that they will pick up the noise floor from the jack on a laptop (and some phones), and there will be a slight (but detectable) difference in the overall quality of sound with an amp.
I'm not saying they require a $500 amp, but a portable low-power one like FiiO's bluetooth offerings in the $50-100 range will offer improvement in most cases.
@silentsoar: If the sole reason of recommending an amp is to remove the noise floor and coil whine from devices, a simple 3.5mm to usbc adapter would do the job. No need to spend any more than $20 when apple's usbc dongle and VE's abegail dongle exists.
Wasn't saying an amp is a must in general or with the S12, just that it is an improvement.
On Let Shuoer's own website, the S12 is the only iem available as a bundle with a dac+amp and the tag line;
"S12 works great with a DT02"
Just to reiterate- the S12 work perfectly fine from a phone or a laptop but with a little more power, they can go up a notch in quality.
@astroxxx: Have you thought that maybe shuoer is mentioning their own dongle DAC as a way of advertising, rather than suggesting there is actually an improvement?
I am currently A/Bing the s12 on the VE abegail against the objective 2 and schiit magni heresy amplifier. Currently, I'm noticing no differences other than a touch of warmth on the heresy.
The s12 only needs 0.33 vrms, or 7mw of power to reach 110db. I'd think that most, if not all phones and dongles can output much higher levels of power these days. So other than using a cheap dongle to remove noise floor, I don't think it's correct to say that an amp would improve the sound in any meaningful degree.
@zjz93: Late reply because of new account posting limitations.
To say they don't scale at all is just completely incorrect. Vortex reviews and Prime audio are just a couple of reviewers that point this out.
@astroxxx: I am not saying they don't scale at all. I'm saying the degree (if at all) in which they scale are negligible.
I watched vortex and prime's reviews and noted their comments on source pairing.
I'm not saying they are wrong, after all, this is a subjective hobby. but there are a few things in the video that make me think that their conclusions are based on placebo or factors that don't directly contribute to the observations they made.
For one, neither reviewers mentioned technical ratings for power on the iem. They never described the exact differences between a good source and a 'worse one'.
Are the listenig tests done with volume matched? What if they simply had higher volume on the more powerful source? Creating the illusion of more bass or detail?
Thanks for the summary. Better detail and high end focus of the S12 sounds good, unfortunately I am too late yet again and there are no more 3.5mm S12's with the discount able to be applied.
I have these and they really go next level with a good power source. Something like a desktop amp.
for the poor folk like me.
have zsx pro, 60$ i think alright for the price, nothing to brag about in 2022.
have zsx pro
Really? How is it? Care to elaborate more? Still waiting for mine (Aliexpress) to arrive on my doorstep. A month and counting. ðŸ˜
I'm really set on getting the newly released(?) KZ AS16 Pro next. Anyone tried it personally? Just really hate the wait time for deliveries.
Sorry to spoil the party here, but for this pricepoint there is significantly better choices like the CRA+ or the CRA which can be had for almost 1/3 of the price on AliExpress. They still carry the nice bass and v-shaped sound signature, without the treble peaks that physically cause my ears pain to use.
If you like Harman target, there's the new Truthear X crinacle Zero which has a dead-accurate Harman targeted tuning.
Or if you like more neutral sound, there's the Moondrop Chu or the Salnotes Zero
The other colours have stock.
Post edited!
Edit:site isn't letting me edit title, for some reason
The 3.5mm single ended seem to be out of stock but if anyone is after the 4.4 pentacon they seem have have stock of both grey and silver
=(
The voucher is only 23 off now?
Deal expired.
The deal is back and a cheaper $171.75 for the 4.4mm jack only version.
https://www.amazon.com.au/S12-Earphone-Earphones-Monocrystal…
I will remove the expiry. Thanks for the update! I will have to wait for a mod to edit the title since amazon links are causing an issue atm with editing titles
I am seriously thinking of grabbing this ripper deal. Read nothing but rave reviews about the product. Only thing stopping me is the 4.4mm jack since I don't have anything to plug the damn thing to. Though there is this seemingly good quality 3.5mm cable but then, that would be an additional cost. Mmmm.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Linsoul-Tripowin-Silver-Earphone-M…
The 2 pin ends on that cable don't look like they will sit properly like the included cable does.
Default: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718xPWUOnsL.AC_SL1003.jpg
Linsoul: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/6170fefM7QL.AC_SL1500.jpg
Looks like there is some potential for wobble and loosening of the pins.
It's not a good risk to take for $170 headphones in my opinion.
I found a cable that looks similar to the included one.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Silver-swappable-Earphone-Upgraded…
@n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: Oh mate, thanks for the heads-up. How could I miss such important detail? The link you provided seems to be right 2-pin connector, though it still an extra but at a higher cost.Hmmm.
@pacificstorm: Yeah no problem. Honestly I was interested in the S12 with 3.5mm myself but I was too slow to jump on it.
@n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: Not sure if you're still interested but the S12 deal is back. Also the cable you linked is 0.75MM 2Pin but the S12 is 0.78MM like the cable the other guy posted. Although I'm still trying to figure this stuff out haha
@CEO Rachel Jake: Thanks I did not notice that difference in spec. Kind of confusing for us newbies, because the connector of the 0.75mm I linked looks exactly like the included cable. But the 0.78mm one doesn't look like it will fit properly?
I am not sure if 0.03mm can make a difference or if it is an error someone typed in the product title/description?
Well in any case if the 3.5mm version is now available no need to buy a separate cable. And because a deal hasn't been posted for the 3.5mm one that's back I guess I have some time to think about it.
@n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: Don't take too long, I waited last time before it was posted on OzB and the next day they were gone so I picked up a pair this time. I've been looking at the Tripowin Zonie cable on AliExpress which is the one posted above and people say on reddit they should work together but I think I need to stop spending for a while haha
@CEO Rachel Jake: I can see the Tripowin Zonie cable fits in that reddit post, but my concerns were not the size in mm but the design of the two pin enclosure. As you can see in the S12's stock cable it sits almost flush with the IEM which would prevent and "wobble" and I am thinking prevents loosening of the pins.
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/718xPWUOnsL.AC_SL1003.jpg
While the cable I linked is 0.75mm not 0.78mm, it has the same two pin enclosure design as the stock cable.
In any case if I were to get them I would just use the stock 3.5mm cable as I know that will definitely be a perfect fit.
@n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: Hiya Fellas.
I am now a very happy and proud owner of the S12. The music that comes out of it is nothing short of phenomenal. The bass and treble are all out in front. Nothing is recessed. I love hearing those cymbals and hi-hats with such great clarity.
I ordered the 4.4mm version since that was on sale for $115 after the $45 coupon was applied and went for the
OKCSC 16 Core Silver Plated https://www.amazon.com.au/Silver-swappable-Earphone-Upgraded… which I got for $35.99 and now it's on sale for $30.59 (oh well). The replacement cable fitted the S12 with no issues and am now gonna order the 2.5mm connector for my BTR5.
I think the deal I had was on for only a few short hours (?) and now its priced at $206.10. For those wanting to grab these superb iem for a cheaper price, I would suggest to keep on checking Amazon every now and then since the price seems to go up and down with great regularity.
I will tell you now, you won't regret it if you do. :)
@pacificstorm: "I ordered the 4.4mm version since that was on sale for $115 after the $45 coupon was applied "
Wow great price. I knew it was definitely worth waiting around for the price to drop further. I will be on the look out for the 3.5mm version if it drops closer to $100.
@n3ck3ntry8bort0rgasm: Whatever it takes and your are serious about getting it, go for it man! You'll be grinning from ear to ear.
Found the S12 on HIFIGO going for 182.13 AUD. This comes with either 3.5 or 4.4mm jacks. Seems to be the best way to go. I never had any dealings with this company(reseller) before and for those that have, some feedback (positive/negative) would be helpful.
https://hifigo.com/products/shuoer-s12-14-8mm-planar-magneti…
Amazon fulfilled have been having some great deals recently on these headphones, and they were even cheaper than the cheapest I could find on Aliexpress.
In another comment above I mention seeing the Moondrop Kato for $210 which was also cheaper than Aliexpress at the time.
Nothing beats Amazon's 30 day return policy and RMA process. I checked the T&C's as long as it's Fulfilled by Amazon the 30 day return policy applies.
4.4mm S12 is currently $171 on Amazon, so I am going to wait around for another price drop.
https://www.amazon.com.au/S12-Earphone-Earphones-Monocrystal…
Voucher for an extra $46 off on the page check box, totaling to $183