Today we take a detailed look at the Fearless HyperS12, the company’s 12BA monitor, priced at $899USD.
Disclaimer: The Fearless HyperS12 was given to me by Linsoul for this review. The IEM doesn’t have to be returned.
About Fearless Audio
Fearless Audio is in operation since 2012, which means they have 7 years of experience in IEM production. Considering today’s market standards, this actually is quite a long time. But despite their 7 years of work, it’s not easy to find detailed information about the brand and the people behind it.
There’a dedicated website, but it’s all Chinese, so there isn’t an awful a lot of information in there either. What we do know though, is that they’ve started to use the 3D printing technology back in 2016. A lot of brands initiated the usage of this method roughly 1-2 years ago at best, but Fearless was one of the very first brands to use 3D printing for their shell design.
The Headfonia crew likes Fearless IEMs as you can see in the reviews below. This is our 5th Fearless review and I think there’s more to come in the near future. The new Paladin series is on the way already, so keep an eye on that.
About Fearless HyperS12
Obviously this is a 12 BA driver IEM with a 4-way crossover network. I remember the days when 12 driver IEMs were a dream to many of us, but now it’s a market reality. Once the technology expands and the costs are reduced, you see more affordable products with similar technology. So at this point you can purchase a 12BA Driver IEM with a relatively affordable price tag.
You can find detailed info on Linsoul’s page for the S12, but strangely I couldn’t find this model on Fearless’ own page. My sample is a universal model yet you can purchase a custom fitted one as well. All you need to do is sending 3D files to Fearless Audio. Or, you can get your ear impressions made and send them over, so they can scan your impressions.
The S series is going strong for Fearless and you can see these IEMs are quite popular already in many regions. Let’s see what the S12 puts on the table.
Design
This is the first ever Fearless Audio IEM for me but I am quite impressed so far. The Fearless HyperS12 features a very cool looking blue color. However it’s not just a simple blue, it has different hues on the shell, creating an energetic look instead of being boring. Especially when you look at the shells in broad daylight, those blue tints look really nice. So I absolutely like the looks of the S12.
You can select different colors for your liking but that topic is not very clear on every website. So just ask to the store you’re going to purchase beforehand if you don’t wish to have blue. This is a 3D printed shell so they can apply many colors.
The shells are very compact and small for a 12 driver IEM which surprised me initially. That makes it very ideal for small ears, and helps having a good fit. The shell is also very smooth and curvy, so that also affects the fit positively.
Build Quality
The Fearless HyperS12 is a wonderfully built earphone and I couldn’t find any weakness in its structure. The body has a mono block impression thanks to a very smooth face-plate closing, and the nozzles are very sturdy since they’re a part of the chassis. The nozzles with a separate assembly always worry me in the long run, so this is a good thing to have.
The S12 also has recessed 2-pin socket areas to improve reliability. We have seen this solution with many IEMs already, but it’s nice to see that Fearless also opted for this design. 2-pin connectors are prone to loosen over time, but the recessed sockets create additional contact area to ease off the load on the pins. However, I would’ve preferred an even deeper recession in this area as I’ve seen with different IEMs before.
The cable is an 8-wire one which I assume is from SPC, but I’m not sure since there’s no official information in terms of that. It is very soft and it also has good strength overall. The splitter and the neck slider are from silver aluminum. Overall the cable has good quality and the 3.5mm jack is also very well built.
The review continues on PAGE 2 by clicking here using the page numbers below
Stephen Ng
Hi,
Greetings from Singapore.
I am searching for a good quality in-ear headphone which has good bass.
Berkhan
And?