Muse Hifi M1, has my approval.
Zero noise/hiss on the Softears Volume. Can drive my 500ohm Bud at around 60% and my Ruler at around 75%.
Heavier than it looks due to full metal build and feels very solid and premium.
6 Likes
UM Mest MKII
So I first put this in the wrong thread and forgot to copy/paste all of it so I gotta rewrite my preamble but I just want to send a shoutout to @GooberBM @MMag05 @Sonofholhorse @VIVIDICI_111 for letting me listen to a bunch of sets I would have never gotten to listen to otherwise. I will be dropping a review a day from the sets and todays will be the UM Mest MKII! These are all shorter listens so I will be keeping things broad. Hope you all enjoy.
Sound Profile: bass and air (very mild V)
Overview
IMO while the Mest MKII is a beast itâs not worth the price of admission unless you get a deal used. I could see picking these up for no more than $800 but $800 isnât the same for everyone take that with a grain of salt. Bass is punchy and present which I require and is lacking from a surprising amount of offerings. I also get a enhanced sense of air that is mostly pleasant but on occasions can make the vocals sound frayed.
Details
Treble
These IEMs over pretty amazing extension and a great sense of air and openness. Imaging is good and instruments are clearly separate and adequately spaced out. I get more sense of width than height and a bit of a wrap around affect which is pleasant although depth is lacking imo. Buds still stomp on them though lol. One thing to note is that I get a sense of fraying and sizzle on the tail ends of notes that I think is due to the elevated treble.
Midrange
Instruments sound correct and have good body. They feel complete with nothing muted or missing. I really really dig acoustic guitar with this set. Vocals on the other hand feel slightly off. Itâs hard to describe but they feel recessed yet not⌠like they sound recessed but donât give a sense of depth so they donât necessary seem further out from the rest of the mix. Detail retrieval is very good and you can hear a lot of the intricacies in vocals and instruments which I appreciate. The level of details you get without it being fatiguing is very impressive. Nothing feels like itâs stomping on something else so for even more complex passages things stay clean and clear.
Mid bass
There is good texture and punch coming from the mid bass. Itâs present and not overpowering. I do think it could use a bit more mid bass to add some liveliness. Snaps are quick and dare I say⌠snappy. Kick drums have very good thump that you can really feel.
Sub bass
Sub bass quality is good when it comes in however I think it could come in a lot stronger than it does. I think There are some songs that have sub bass hits that are barely audible on this set. Sub bass when it hits is very clean and is purely tactile without any looseness. I added a shelf of about 3db and that gave me a much more enjoyable experience with some very high quality bass texture.
Genres
Below are my rankings for how this set plays each genre. These are based on my general enjoyment of the replay for some songs that fall in each category and is therefore very subjective and may not represent the category as a whole. If you have any questions as to what songs I listened to for each category feel free to ask!
Pop - 8/10
Rap - 7/10
Hip Hop - 7/10
R&B - 8/10
Latin trap/reggaeton - 8/10
House/EDM - 7/10
Country - 7/10
12 Likes
Sweet write up 
Agree with you on the vocals. My guess is itâs because of the delayed and change in the gain region. They still sound natural to me, but not as hefty or weighted.
3 Likes
Loving my new travel set up Bass head heaven
Shanling M1S, IMR ACOUSTIC Dark Matter with the Nicehck Blacksoul and SednaEarfit Crystal Standard tips
2 Likes
@GooberBM was shilling NiceHCK cables for so long I must have bought one myself.
Beautiful, thick, but veeery suple 24core SPC cable. No earhooks with high softness makes the ergonomics on top of the world which is huge with IEMs I would be using them (very fit dependent, not best comfort, so any improvement is nicely seen).
Aesthetics in connection with MEST OG are not bad either if you ask me 
would replace great, but a bit stiff Xinhs Graphene 4 core
7 Likes
Those Spring IEMs are probably in my top 10 in terms of looks! Beauties!
1 Like
I too have been bitten by the NiceHCK bug. Him and I were going back and forth over text the other day and it made me realize Iâve bought 7 cables the last month and a half⌠
I can confirm that the new GreyRhino is a sick cable for the money. If you like thick fabric cables, it slaps.
1 Like
Speaking of cables, does anyone have any good options for one with a 90 degree termination? For reference, I am a big fan of the 4 core graphene cable from Xinhs
just ask XINHS to make you that 4 core graphene (or any other) cable with a plug like that. Show him a picture if you want to make communication smoother.
4 Likes
Oooh I have this cable too. Itâs so nice 
1 Like
My girl sent me a care package last week and I thought it was full of a bunch of her homebaked treats like croissants and banana bread, but the boys and I finally made it through enough of them to see that she also included the Ikko OH10s and my new Yincrow RW-2000s along with some foams and the Dunu S&S tips I bought a while back.
I grabbed these OH10s like a month ago from @rattlingblanketwoman on a whim to try, but my girl hijacked them and had been enjoying them ever since the showed up so this evening was the first time I have been able to get them in my ears. Long story short, these are a very cool pair of IEMs! 
The bass isnât as elevated as I was expecting from the many reports I have read over the years. Donât get me wrong, the OH10s are unabashedly v shaped in their tuning and the bass reaches deep with plenty of rumble and punch, but I was expecting them to possibly be too bassy for my preferences while I have instead found them quite easy to enjoy. The mids are also better than I was expecting from descriptions as well. Overall, for the cash you can grab these for nowadays (especially used) theyâre basically a no-brainer. Between these and the OG TRI i3s I acquired around Christmas-time Iâm quite surprised by how well some of these favorites that were released a few years back hold up compared to whatâs coming out today. Not to mention the fact that both the OH10s and the i3s have unique character/personality that I find is becoming more and more rare in the affordable IEM realm where the vast majority of releases these days are quite similar.
Iâm listening to a jazz-rock fusion group from Israel/Chicago named Marbin with the OH10s right now and Iâm absolutely loving every second of it. The grooves driving the tracks are rendered with authority, the mid range is nothing special, but does a capable job giving the guitar in the tracks itâs own space and reasonably natural tone, and the treble has cymbals sounding nice and shimmery, if a bit splashy at times. I know Iâm late to the party on these, but I had to post about them somewhere so sorry, but you guys won that privilege lol! 
7 Likes
Are you sure you got really deep fit with proper seal and lots of contact between shell and your pinna?
MESTs are by a mile and a half the most tip dependant piece of IEM I had and they make almost night and day difference for me (like with Fiios HS18 or W1 I could not get ideal seal and those were unlistenable for me). Going a step down in size to get better depth (needing some extra stiffness of the stem not to allow the loose of the seal) was a way to go.
In regards to the contact - I am for sure biased and âplaceboedâ by the sheer presence of this BC driver in the specs, but either my mind is tricked well enough or something indeed is working that if I have them really deep in canal with plenty of contact I feel like the sound is more from the outside and more âpalpableâ also including bass (which makes it more likely to be a placebo as BC is supposed to work in higher range). But it really feels like if my pinna was involved in the vibration part.
1 Like
I definitely had a proper seal although idk if I got a lot of contact with my ear. My bass preference is pretty high so I think I was getting the full bass it has to offer. The bass was more sub bass focused so on bass drops you could def feel them, I just wanted more of that tasty bass
1 Like
Sure, it makes a lot of sense, I have seen your EQ presets for different sets (if I remember correctly even low-shelving FatFreq MM 
) so your review completely aligns with that! 
I just have heard couple of others also saying that having deep fit->contact made a difference.
Have you heard Monarch MK2 up until this point btw?
1 Like
lol yeah I def threw a low shelf on the MM. If I get some time Ill try it will smaller tips and see if I can get it closer to my ear. I havenât heard the Monarch MK2 yet although I would love to. I have the Monarch MK1 on me now which I i will be giving a longer listen to in a couple of days
2 Likes
I was super excited ever since I bought these, the DUNU SA6 MK2. Got these in the mail yesterday, and they sound quite clean and crisp in their definition.
Some Initial thoughts related to its sound:-
Call me a fanboy but I simply loved the SA6 Ultra when it came out, the pair had all the qualities of an amazing set such as crisp detailing, excellent resolution, smooth tone, and a rich timbre. Well, the SA6 MK2 takes that performance a step above. I personally find the Treble and upper mids to be a tad bit smoother but a lot more airy than the Ultra. Instruments on the SA6 MK2 have a crispier definition, not the sharp kinda, but smooth kinda crisp. The resolution and details for instruments and vocals are also improved. Vocals have a clean, rich-textured presentation. Vocals on the SA6 Ultra were already very good, MK2 just takes them a little notch better in terms of clarity and definition. Compared to the SA6 Ultra, The MK2 has way more livelier vocals, they feel more lifelike. The bass section is also cleaner and has a tad bit more punch than the SA6 Ultra.
Staging-wise, I would say that the SA6 MK2 has a cleaner, wider, and more 3D presentation to the sound. Instrument separation, imaging, and separation are excellently done. The depth on the stage add a 3D factor to its sound.
Although I donât notice much of a difference with the tuning switch, the bass is already good enough for my taste. I switched the plug to âonâ for a while but couldnât notice much of a difference to highlight just a tad bit of boost in the mid-bass.
4 Likes
I would be curious if youâve heard an IEM with similar sound signature as OH10. I liked them a lot but they donât fit right in my ears due to the nozzle angle.
2 Likes
Symphonium Meteor Review
Day 2 brings the Symphonium Meteor and this one was a real tough one for me. Its definitely a perplexing IEM that warrants more time than I have to give it but overall this has been one of my favorites.
Sound Profile: Bass boosted mini W
Overview
I will say I really enjoyed the Meteor, probably more-so than the Mest MKII. It leans pretty close to my preference while also giving a very unique experience. I definitely think itâs worth the money. I will say if you are looking for something closer to a natural presentation this probably wonât be your cup of tea.
Details
Treble
The meteor has pretty crazy extension that doesnât get peaky or shrill at any point. It also avoids the fraying effect that I feel the Mest had while having similar air. While treble is obviously well extended it doesnât come off as sparkly or shimmery to me which is nice and keeps vocals sounding natural. Detail retrieval is good for the price range but nothing particularly mind blowing to me.
Midrange
Guitars and other string instruments have good body and detail. This is one of the best replays of guitars that I have heard in a while, it sounds correct but then takes it to another level and gives a very immersive. You can feel the reverb yet it doesnât mask the delicacy of the higher frequencies. Things get interesting in the vocals though, vocals come off slightly recessed and ethereal, benefitting from the save immersive qualities that the instruments show. They definitely donât sound natural to me but I donât hate it!
Mid bass
So this list he first time I have a heard an all BA IEM and I was very interested in this set because of the elevated BA bass and I have to say its definitely different but I appreciate it. Mid bass is extremely tight and precise. There is no bleeding and boominess but you definitely still get the tactality and can feel the mid bass kick drums and slaps. Having said that I definitely prefer DD bass.
Sub bass
Sub bass hits hit well but can come off soft, maybe that is the BA limitation. Even with the softness the bass hits are distinct, clean and quick, never lingering or loose. Itâs not basshead bass but that wasnât expected anyway. I think the sub bass (and mid bass) is actually very nicely balanced with the rest of the FR and it never overpowers it for my library. For an all-arounder I could see getting along with this however I think it would take it up a notch if they had a DD here for the lower freqs.
Genres
Below are my rankings for how this set plays each genre. These are based on my general enjoyment of the replay for some songs that fall in each category and is therefore very subjective and may not represent the category as a whole. If you have any questions as to what songs I listened to for each category feel free to ask!
Pop - 8/10
Rap - 7/10
Hip Hop - 6/10
R&B - 7/10
Latin trap/reggaeton - 8/10
House/EDM - 7/10
Country - 8/10
13 Likes