Letshuoer (Shuoer) - S12 2024 Anniversary Edition

I love my S12 2024, love for you to compare them. I am waiting for my 50 dollar giftcard from Linsoul to buy this set, I was considering the Odyssey but I’m a big fan of planars and this will be my 3rd.

S12 2024 if its available, unless you like the spicy treble and punchy mids of the s12 pro.

S12 2024 is the most tonally correct

For a warm IEM with good bass, the S08 is pretty unique. I can’t think of other planars tuned like that, and also doesn’t have that planar “veil”, or metallic sound some folks don’t mike in planars. I think the limited edition S12 2024 was tuned a little closer to the S08 by Letshuoer when that came out, but at over double the price. I can vouch for the S08, and as a treble sensitive person, can use it for hours. There’s enough upper mid to treble extension that female vocals and whatnot sound fine, just without the piercing highs or sibilance that can occur with brighter planars.

s12 pro is not good for gaming, s12 2024 was great better than any of these but that's discontinued and it was more money, new s12 ultra might be but that's $170 haven't tried it yet it's rly new

i would 100% recommend the kb02, it’s super cheap and so worth the money, i actually have them in right now haha ive tried the s12 2024 and the kz prx, so not that many, but the aether definitely cuts down on the planar sharpness that’s signature of the other two

It's not commanding per se, it's more small leap in price especially above $100+ tend to result in a not too drastic improvement i.e a sidegrade rather than upgrade. I jumped from my S12 2024 to Bravery Wae which is a 100$ difference and while the S12 can match and even beat the AE in a lot of aspect, if I don't focus on trying to find differences theyre so-so in differences. It's when I jumped to 3x the price of the S12 where I don't even have to focus to notice the differences, it was outclassed completely. That said there are good offering at 300$ like BGVP DMA if you like details and want to jump into an IEM with Bone Conduction Drivers, but whether it will be major or minor improvements I wouldnt know. You'll soon realize diminishing return hits hard at these ranges.

From the sound of it looks like you prefer Planar and BA bass? I'd look into all BA IEM if I were you. Or maybe that new Kiwi Ears Aether. I love my Butastur bass but that's in the 600$ range. And my S12 2024 has really good bass too.

Hell yeah the s12 2024 is hard to beat imo. The only planar I own that I like more is the s15 (got it for $160 only!). Aether is on my radar considering it’s on sale for $135 right now……but I DO have an odyssey coming lol.

I’d say the et142 is a fantastic choice, same with timeless 2, but since you like the lm the et142 would be closer. Both have 4 different nozzles to tame or boost the upper mids/lower treble. Timeless 2 also has those bullet nozzles that create a spacious sound…a little different but spacious. Ea1000 is pretty much the lm with red nozzles (or the og ea500) but slightly better. I prefer the dunu falcon ultra and tanchjim origin for single dd in that range (also fiio fd15, which is $150). Rather than those 2 planars I’d get the s12 2024, imo it’s still the best planar aside from s15

I own some of those $1200 IEMs, and I use none of them for gaming. Many of them make poor gaming sets, with a few exceptions. The IEMs I have used most often are the Simgot EM6L, Supermix 4, Crinicle Zero Blue/Blue 2, Thieaudio Hype 4, Xenns Tea and Top Pro, Meze Alba, and Letshuoer S08 & S12 Anniversary. The one I recommend most is the EM6L. It has consistently been my go-to for competitive gaming most of the time. Coincidentally, it's one of the cheapest sets in my rotation. Unfortunately, recency bias often often plays a major role in what is recommended in the community, which is why you don't see it as often in these types of recommendation threads, but a good tuning remains good forever -- which means many budget sets may be getting more attention recently, but they haven't necessarily dethroned the EM6L. The most critical areas of the frequency range for gaming is the upper mids and treble. The EM6L excels in these areas, offering great detail and clarity, with enough bass extension and emphasis to round out the tuning, but without losing detail in the mids. Imaging and soundstage is solid for an IEM, and they're comfortable enough for long periods of time, with the exception that the nozzle can be challenging for users with smaller ear canals. The other sets I often fall back on for immersive/single-player gaming is the Letshuoer S08. Up from there, the Hype 4; both are warm and fun, with the Hype 4 providing stronger bass performance, albeit typical Thieaudio "rounded" bass, and not as incisive as the S08's faster, more immediate planar slam. On the higher-priced midfi side, as mentioned above, the Hype 4 is one of my go-tos for immersive games, and the Top Pro is my competitive set of choice. It is like the Tea Pro, but with more controlled lower frequencies, and better detail and clarity. The Tea Pro is often recommended for gaming, the Top Pro improves on that tuning. It doesn't quite hit Volur-levels of "holographic" soundstage and imaging, but it is an exceptional set for its price. TL;DR: do not spend more than $500-$600 on a gaming IEM, and to be honest I wouldn't even recommend spending that much. I have dozens of IEMs in my collection, and my favorite gaming sets are on the budget side. Do I still use the Top Pro and Hype 4? Yes, but not as often as the EM6L and S08, and you could get by using the former for every use case -- I just like the S08 enough that I enjoy weaving it into my day-to-day as much as possible.

If you want an all ‘rounder, the Mangird Tea Pro is the best option in your price range. That said, even with dozens of IEMs, from budget to summit-fi sets, I run the EM6L 90% of the time. The Tea Pro is markedly better when it comes to media consumption, but the EM6L is no slouch there either, being somewhat mid-forward, but with excellent bass and treble and very strong imaging for a budget set. Whatever you choose, it’s best to avoid sets with emphasized lower frequencies as it will narrow staging and impact the clarity of your mids. Upper mids and treble are where most gaming cues live and is thus the most important area of the frequency range for gaming — hence why the EM6L is such a good option at its price. Other sets I’ve run for games that I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed; Thieaudio Hype 4, Crinicle Dusk, Xenns Top Pro, Meze Alba, Truthear Blue and Blue 2, Letshuoer S08 and S12 2024.

My assumption is the Ultra was a repackaged S12 Anniversary edition, and that looks like the case. At the very least, I'm glad they "reissued" the set, as it was the best of the S12 lineup and compliments the S08 very well. Letshuoer has really nailed the DD-like timbre with some of their recent planars.

I think they were paying attention to what Michael Bruce/Shortbus was doing with the Glamdring mod and changed their tuning philosophy. The S08 was basically a mini Glamdring, without the collab attached, and the 2024 felt like a very natural progression from that. I hope they continue down that road. At the very least, I know Michael Bruce is happy now that he can work on his own projects now and stop taking mod requests from anyone that tracks him down.

If price isn't an issue: **Hi-fi/summit-fi** Fir Audio Rn6 (Xenon technically has more bass, but the Rn6 is a better set all around) FatFreq Grand Maestro Canpur CP622B Nightjar Singularity Penon Impact Empire Ears Raven 64 Audio Volur (not the most popular set on this list, but stellar soundstage on this set) Sony IER-Z1R (fit can be an issue for some, was for me, demo first if you can) **Midfi/lower Hi-fi** Thieaudio Origin Thieaudio MKIV (Rumble switch on) Punch Audio Martilo Penon x Effect Audio Archangel Penon 10th Anniversary Penon Rival Kiwi Ears x HBB Punch (Martilo is the better set between these two) FatFreq Scarlett Mini (requires EQ) FatFreq Maestro Mini Hisenior Mega5est Bass+ (find and use TimmyT916's/DucBloke's EQ) **Lower Midfi/budget** FatFreq x HBB Deuce Thieaudio Hype 4 (with EQ) Crinicle Dusk (with EQ) QKZ x HBB Khan (bass-forward out of the box, *requires* EQ to clean up some issues with the tuning) **Honorable mention** If you can find one of Michael Bruce's Glamdring mods, may not be the most forward bass, but some of the best tonality you can find for the price. Or, pick up a Lesthuoer S12 Ultra or S12 2024 edition and add a bass shelf -- the S12/S15 drivers can handle a massive amount of abuse in the lower frequencies, especially.

I paid 7 bucks for my KZ ZVX Pro and they're not that much worse than the S12 2024. They're A LOT better than the Moondrop Blessing 2: Dusk I had before the S12 2024. I'm pretty sure if I wanted an upgrade I'd have to go into the kilobuck range. KZ has a way of making me lose interest in IEMs lol.