Letshouer S12

 A fine planar implementation

PROS:

• desirable organic and musical tuning

• bass response

• good balance of tonality and technicalities

• reasonably priced for its performance

• comfortable fit and wear

• has that desirable roundness in its sound presentation

• adequate inclusions both in quantity and quality

CONS:

• medium drivability. I notched up my level 15-20% 

• A mobile phone will not drive this properly

• upper mids can get hot on some tracks. Jpop in my case (subjective)

• vocals are sometimes pushed back on some tracks (nitpick)

INTRODUCTION:

Letshouer S12 was released more than a half year ago. It was received warmly by many from the audio community for its tonality and technicalities.

It is one of the early release of a planar implementation and I think it is still one of the good ones up to this date. It is not a perfect IEM but the pros outweigh the cons for me. It ticked to me and made a mark and suited my personal preference. Read on to know more… 

DISCLAIMER:

My opinions here are completely my own. I am NOT in any way influenced by any form of incentive. This is purely my honest, subjective impressions and experience with the gear on hand. I cannot stress more that you should take this as a grain of salt for we have different perceptions to sound and what we hear. I always try my best to stick with the stock accessories that come with the gear by default. You are free to try other methods such as tip rolling or cable rolling. Below are worth noting before concluding on what I say here:

1. DAP (digital audio player, be it phone, laptop, mobile, or stationary setup)

2. DAC or dongle or any external amp

3. Ear Tips

4. Cables

5. Source of audio file be it offline FLACS or streaming services like Deezer, Apple music, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify and the likes..

6. Your playlist. It matters and is worth to be considered when reading from a reviewer's perspective. It is apparent that you get to know your favorite reviewer and what they are listening to leisurely and critically. 

My reviews are more on how music sounds in my ears. The technical stuff like frequency graphs and the physics behind the tech and drivers used, I leave to other reviewers.  

The S12 was sent to me directly from Letshouer FOC in exchange for this honest and unbiased review. I have shown interest in the S12 way back in the month of February 2022, but unfortunately, Letshouer had a problem with their FB account and did not respond to me until recently. Letshouer is very responsive when it comes to their customer service and everything was handled smoothly by them from their end to mine. Thanks, Letshouer! 

SPECIFICATIONS:

Configuration: 1 x Planar driver

Impedance: 16 ohms

Sensitivity: 102+/- 1db

Freq response: 20hz - 20khz

PACKAGING:

The packaging is simple and nothing out of the ordinary. I have nothing to complain about it. The inclusions are generous and the quality is above average. Inclusions are the following. 

1. a pair of S12 IEMs

2. a quick start guide documentation

3. 3 pairs of foam tips

4. a card of Letshouer’s social media accounts

5. an after-sales registration card

6. 3 pairs of light gray colored tips. I’m assuming these are balanced ear tips.

7. 3 pairs of bass ear tips

8. One stiff and sturdy cable.

9. Leather material carrying pouch

And that’s it! Pretty basic but all of good quality. 

Sound Impressions:

For the entirety of this review, all stock accessories are maintained with the exception of the ear tips. I used my personal JVC Spiral Dots. The stock tips were just too soft for me so I took the liberty of using my own. 

The S12 made a good impression on me and I’m definitely keeping this one. It will be included in my rotation of IEMs. What appealed to me most is its very musical and organic sound reproduction. Everything sounded natural to my ears and the way it should in real life. 

The lows are the main show here. It is what you will notice right off the bat. I personally prefer my lows to be on the neutral side of things and S12’s lows are not at all neutral. And for the first time, this is the elevated lows presentation that has my approval. Given that S12 has prominent lows, it is presented as very clean, punchy, and with roundness and smoothness at the same time. Extension to the sub-level is existent with the right amount of decay of rumble. It stays a little longer there but not long enough to make your listening experience muddy or bloated. Synth sweeps in the lows department are very satisfying making modern tracks very enjoyable. Classic tracks, on the other hand, were executed faithfully. Drum kicks and bass guitars from Queen remained almost accurate and did not have that unnecessary elevation. Hence, I can claim that the lows are well controlled here. 

Mids are produced with thick and lush characters with nice transient speeds. I would have preferred the mids to be just a tad shy forward, but all is good here. Instruments in contrast with the vocals have good balance even though both are placed rightly in the middle. Instruments have good texture and details to be desired and appreciated. S12 maintained to be naturally correct across almost all instruments, be it digital, electric or acoustic. I have no encounter with the “sheen” that plagues most planar drivers. Almost to none to be purely honest. On some Japanese tracks though, I’ve encountered some hotness in the upper mids from time to time but still tolerable. This all depends if you are sensitive to the 5k up to 8k frequencies. Vocals from both genders are well executed and as natural as it gets. Vocals are not highlighted in some special way but rather with just the right amount of fullness and weight. Every element is engaging while not being pushed forward. 

Trebles have that smoothness and polished edges to their sound while maintaining sparkle and shimmer. Cymbals are with grit and bite still. Sibilance is nowhere to be found. S12 is not void of energy here at the top and is very open and transparent. Macro and micro details are intact and existent and just waiting to be heard. 

Conclusively, the whole presentation of the spectrum is very well done here and I have no caveat whatsoever except for the occasional hotness in the upper mids. The whole presentation leans to be on the analog side of things. Organic and natural. 

On balanced output 2.5mm/4.4mm: 

S12 scales well with more juice given that it is a planar driver implementation. If you have a balanced termination, do yourself a favor and use it. Dynamics, details, and resolution are all leveled up on balanced output with S12 for a more immersive listening experience.   

Fit & Isolation: 

Comfortability of wear is fatigue-free and long listening sessions would be a breeze. A nitpick on the cable ear hooks is they are very stiff and don’t follow the curve of my ear. Giving my wear with the S12 offset and gives me somewhat a sort of uneasiness. But this is just a minor issue for me. You might want to explore some comfy cables if you have some at your disposal. 

Isolation is effective and shuts off outside noise at 60% at least. As always, learn to find the right tip sizes and pursue that optimum seal. 

Technicalities:

The S12 with its brilliant and engaging sound reproduction would be a waste if not paired with good technicalities. And I bear good news that S12 is not void in terms of technicalities. 

Sound stage. Ok here we go again. We are talking about IEMs. There is no natural sound stage here. But it can’t be helped to still have that perceived sound stage in our minds. The S12 exhibits good width and some adequate height. Again, this is perceived more in the mind than being really there. 

Imaging is very brilliant here and quite amusing. I can hear elements in a track thrown in different places and accurately. Instruments and little details are very easy to follow and pinpoint making this trait one of the S12’s strength. 

Speed is one thing that a planar boasts just like a BA. The S12 delivers complex and busy tracks with ease and effortlessly. 

Resolution of the S12 is not bad at all and I say this because I have heard better. But S12 did not disappoint still. Details and textures of elements are existent and very well noticeable. If I have to compare, the Zetian Wu from Tangzu has an edge over the S12 on this. It's just the S12 is not overly clean to exhibit absolute resolution thus I say that it is not bad at all. 

COMPARISONS:

The S12 is the second IEM that I’ve tested with a planar implementation. Being the first one, Zetian Wu from Tangzu which is now at its hype. Then it is only natural to compare the two. Below are some quick key points on how they differ.

• Zetian Wu is more on the Hifi sound, and the S12 is more on being analog sounding.

• Zetian Wu has an edge on technicalities. 

• The S12 has a more natural tone and timbre. 

• Both possess almost the same sound character or signature. A very close call in tuning, to be honest. 

• The S12 has more prominent bass reproduction. 

• The Zetian Wu performs well in control over the whole spectrum of frequencies by a hairline compared to the S12. 

And basically this is all I can say to compare the two. Both are very close in terms of sound, and it all comes down to personal preference if you have to choose which one is for you. Auditioning first is strongly suggested.

SOURCES AND GEARS:

• Questyle M15 portable DAC/AMP

• LG V30 hifi dac (high impedance mode)

• Hiby Music player

• UAPP app (USB Audio Player Pro)

• Tidal Masters subscription

• offline FLACS

• Hidizs AP80 pro

• Deezer Hifi subscription

Here are some tracks I usually listen to when reviewing: 

That’s the way of the World by EWF

Africa by TOTO

The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Kral

Balmorhea album All is wild, All is Silent

Sila by Sud

Smooth Escape by D’Sound

Never too Much by Luther Vandross

P.Y.T by Michael Jackson

Ain’t no Sunshine by Eva Cassidy

Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC

Another one bites the Dust by Queen

Good times bad times by Edie Brickell 

Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans

Ain’t it Fun by Paramore

 Redefine by Incubus

Far Away by Nickelback

Lovesong by Adele

Lingus by Snarky Puppy

Harvest for the World by Vanessa Williams

Love Bites by Def Leppard

No Such Thing by John Mayer

As by Stevie Wonder

Whip Appeal by Babyface

Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan

Futures by Prep

Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

Every Summertime by NIKI

SADE tracks

AC/DC tracks

Queen tracks

And many more… I always listen to High resolution format, being the least quality 16bit/44khz FLACS be it offline or online. 

VERDICT:

The S12 managed to get really into me. I did not just like it but loved it. There are times that a gear, no matter how good, did not connect with me in a euphoric way. This is not the case with the S12. It is not perfect and still has polishing to be astounding, but for me, it is a great piece of gear. Mainly for music enjoyment, the S12 still won’t disappoint in terms of technicalities. A lot of my jazz tracks revealed how capable it is especially in the way it is tuned. The S12 is one of the few that I approve of substantial elevation in the lows because of how clean and impactful it is, giving a good body and foundation to the overall sound. 

I would recommend the S12 to:

• those who love a well-tuned, enjoyable sound

• a good balance of tone, timbre, and technicalities

• those who love speed performance of drivers with good tonality

• those who are leaning toward analog sound presentation

• those who want a good start with planar implementation on IEMs

Special Note: To drive this IEM to its full potential, I strongly suggest something with extra juice when it comes to driving power. A DAP perhaps or a portable DAC AMP or a full pledge amp for a desktop setup. Or the least a mobile phone with a quad dac like the LG V series. 

And that wraps my impressions on the Letshouer S12! I did enjoy this set and stay tuned for more reviews from our circle. A video review will be coming up soon! 

And remember to love the music more than the gears! Catch you on the next one!