S12 Ultra Review: Planar wars strike again
TLDR: This IEM is made for sub bass lovers, analytical listeners and competitive gamers. Everything except the mids were good to excellent. Avoid if you like natural vocals/mids.
Introduction:
Letshouer has built a strong reputation in the audiophile community and most of the credits goes to their famous S series of planar magnetic IEMs. Today I am taking a close look at their latest IEM Letshuoer S12 Ultra from the S series.
While planar magnetic IEMs are considered excellent for technical performance, they tend to suffer from unnatural timbre. So let us see if we see the same in this new set or if they have cooked up something truly amazing this time around.
Note: This set has been loaned to me by u/Interesting_Play_270 (Reddit) / _deadsilver (Discord) for review. I would like to thank him for providing me with this wonderful opportunity. All thoughts and opinions are of my own and no foreign influence has affected me during writing of this review.
Test Gear:
Snowsky Melody (Low gain mode)(DAC) (Mostly used)
Cayin RU3 (Hyper + High gain mode) (DAC)
4.4mm balanced cable (stock)
Dunu S&S (Eartips)
Penon Liquer Orange (Eartips) (Mostly used)
FLAC/ALAC local source files played in bit perfect mode.
Design and Build:
The Shells of my unit comes with a matte brown (Mocha) finish which look better in real life as compared to images (subjective). The colour matched modular cables look excellent too. These don't attract fingerprints at all due to the above fact. The in hand feel of these are really solid and feel premium for the price. The modular cables with their screw on securing mechanism makes it very easy to replace the output on the go.
Accessories:
The packaging of the IEMs are as expected for the price. You get the standard paperworks on the top and the IEMs are kept in the foam cutouts with one set of eartips pre-attached and the accessories are provided in the cylindrical carry case that is in the space below the foams. Inside that you get the modular cables, 4.4mm output jack and 5 pairs of silicon eartips with different bore sizes. That's all. I don't think you can fit a DAC in this case. It is not exactly but fairly pocketable though as compared to something like the 7Hz Divine's carry case.
Note: I did not receive the DAC supplied in the box.
Fit and Comfort:
The shells themselves are medium to small in size and fairly lightweight for what driver they house and are really comfortable for me in my long listening sessions. Nozzles are shorter than Divines but it had no problem to hold on eartips. Keep in mind that my ears are fairly large to fit most IEMs comfortably. No issues here.
Specs:
14.8mm Planar Magnetic Driver
16 Ohms Impedance
101dB Sensitivity
Note that these need more power to drive than your standard single DD setups so pair it up with at least a CS43131 DAC with 210mW+ of output.
Sound:
1) Bass:
The bass on this set is really well done. In my testing it is apparent that this is a warm leaning set with good low end extension. The bass has a satisfying and well textured sub bass rumble complemented by decent mid bass impact when demanded by the track. Bass guitars feel lively and drums have sufficient kick.
It may come off as slightly boomy with longer decay (not DD levels) as compared to something like the 7Hz Divine which adds to the overall warm tonality. Although keep in mind that it is not bad by any means like on some cheap sets. On well mastered tracks with a prominent bass line, one can feel the texture and depth which is very enjoyable whereas the mid bass may feel less for genres like EDM or Hip Hop. Certainly not a basshead set.
- Mids:
The mids come off as warm with some energy in the 1.5KHz - 2KHz which imparts a slightly metallic (planar?) timbre. This impacts both male as well as female vocals but more prominent with the latter. They felt a bit thin and lacked the fullness that makes vocals feel alive. This takes away the natural feel from them. Guitars are better sounding than the vocals on this set. The vocals themselves are a bit backward for my taste but you may like it (not EW300 level of backward though).
A bit of brightness is added to the female vocals from the 6Khz - 8KHz lift which can make certain tracks a bit shouty but for majority of tracks they sound ok. I would consider the mids section as a weak point for this set.
- Treble:
The treble is well extended and quite resolving for the price point. Instruments such as hi hats and cymbals are prominent and enjoyable. They sound clean and are more on the analytical side. Sibilance on these sets are negligible for most modern/remastered releases that I have tested. Nothing to complain about it.
- Technicalities:
a) Soundstage: The soundstage is wide for IEM standards and nothing feels congested. Vocals are placed slightly behind the head and instruments are placed correctly in the mix. Vertical staging is also well done on these providing a sense of surround sound experience.
b) Imaging: The imaging is accurate and you can easily differentiate between different instruments in the track.
- Gaming:
a) Competitive titles: In CS2 the footsteps and gunshots were crisp and very accurate and I can tell if the enemy is above or below me as well. Distance was also pretty accurate.
b) Casual titles: Games with good quality OSTs sound good on these, especially ones which have a deep bass line. This added to the immersiveness but as I have said in the mids section, the metallic timbre can make sounds like sword clashes a bit sharp.
VS 7Hz Divine:
7Hz Divine is another new competitor in the market which is a collab from Crinacle who rarely disappoints.
Firstly, the shells on these are larger with a bigger nozzle so fit could be a concern for small ears.
Secondly, this set is a neutral bright tuned set and focuses on musicality in contrast to the S12 Ultra.
The bass on these have more emphasis on the mid bass with less extended and textured sub bass. The sub bass may be weaker in comparison but still complements the track well enough. The mid bass on these have stronger and tighter slam which I would still claim as near neutral or correct. It is still not basshead level of mid bass though. So both sets have their own strengths in this department.
The mids of the Divines are close to natural which is especially good for a planar set. Both the male and female vocals sound relatively forward, fuller and more musical with no observable planar timbre whatsoever. Upper mids have similar energy but Divines were a bit less shouty for me. Divine clearly wins in this department.
The treble on both sets are tuned differently. Divines come out as a more natural sounding and rolled off (air region) treble whereas S12 Ultra has a more extended, resolving yet non sibilant treble. So objectively speaking, S12 Ultra comes up as the winner here but your preference may vary.
Soundstage was wider on the S12 Ultra whereas the imaging felt a bit better on the Divines in my testing.
For competitive gaming, I would still prefer the Ultras for their better comfort and crispier sound. But for casual games, overall Divines felt better and natural.
My test tracks don't belong to some online playlist and I have also tested some random songs as well so I will not be putting up any test tracks in my review. You can still ask me in the comments if you want.
So that ends the review.
Wish the 1% of you who could read till the end a very nice day.