Iāve finally found my perfect little mele set up and theyāve been my number 1 set the last 2 weeks. I love them. If you just want to Jam out, I donāt think thereās a better set for that price point. So comfortable and small I could wear em for hours too.
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I donāt think itās his tuning. It was targeted to do fix some deficiencies with the BL-03. It does that ā it fixes the midbass bloat and replaces it with more sub-bass, and it improves the mids. It also improves the fit and cable by a lot. What it doesnāt do, per his explanation, is have a lot of upper treble. He commented that given the driver, and his methods of tuning, if he tried to pump up the upper treble, it would have messed up the upper mid and lower trebleā¦ so he chose the lesser of two evilsā¦he perfected the mids at the expense of upper treble.
I like the choice he made for casual listening. I prefer the Olina once I put on a second filterā¦ but if Iām in the mood for bass, the MELE rules them all except for perhaps OH-10.
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While I agree, the Mele is closer to his tuning than Olina, or most other IEMs that I think of. It stays pretty close until the dip just above 5k.
I completely agree that he made a choice to make a great all day IEM, and the best way is to avoid sibilance is getting the treble under control. Mele stands up well to stuff that is several times its price.
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if i HAVE a blon is it worth getting? or should i stick with blon and wait for another higher end IEM
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That is a good question. I never got a good fit with the BL-03 so Mele was an easy buy for me. It fits great, and is the most comfortable IEM I own.
I also really like the improvements to the sound. I am listening to the Mele today, and despite having more expensive sets ( Olina, Timeless, and S12 ), I still get in the mood for the tonality of it pretty often.
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okā¦ i think i now know i prefer a brighter signature than the āwarm V shapeā of the meleā¦ because the upper treble that makes things like pop punk electric guitars or the synths of Pierre bourne donāt have the energy they should without EQing 2K regionā¦ so i like the soundā¦ but there definitely needs more high end energy for a moreā¦ fun soundā¦ maybe i might return it and wait until i have more for something like an S12 or timeless as an alterativeā¦ the bass is niceā¦ but its just not popping enough
(also i was using spinfits and final e tipsā¦ i didnāt know how the original tips feel)
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The Mele is a darker tone, but it was designed to be that way, since it was sort of the BL-03 done right. The idea was something that would never be sibilant, and that you could wear all day, and still be under $50. It really is the best in its price range, and I would say was the best under $100 until the Olina. The T3+ gave it a run for its money depending on what you liked.
I think the best of both worlds is the Olina with the double filter. The Olina is much more affordable than the S12 or Timeless, at $100, it is worth a serious look. I own all three of those, and the Olina is my favorite currently, but they all do different things well.
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honestly i was unsure if i even needed the mele because i did already have a blonā¦ i was just nervous the 2pin connection i was using was degrading fast and needing something that worked in time (also note that i am not sure when my moondrop chu will arrive and i have to go on a vacation in a few days)
its kinda stopgap thing currentlyā¦ hopefully amazon will allow me to return it after that week is done but linnsouls own shipping is only a 7 day return so they might just do that for me not wanting it compared to others
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how does the olina fair in technical performanceā¦ i like the punchiness OF the meleā¦ but i still somewhat miss the flair in the treble regionā¦ its hard to explain since i like describing sounds in feeling and sound (how my autism works compared to HBBs)ā¦
i do like the mele with some bits of eq (wavelet with the auto EQ at maybe 50%), but i kinda dunno how it will deal with detail or punch or stuff compared to a timeless with its planar driver (i know KZ has made the driver war more pointless but its still hard not to think about with ape brain)
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Olina is a big step up in the technicalities to the Mele imo but you wonāt get the same level of detail and resolution that you will with the Timeless
Olina is far more technical that Mele. It also has more treble and air than the Mele or Timeless. The S12 has lots of treble, done a bit differently, but is the other one that I think of along with Olina for well executed treble at a good price.
Olina is great compared to Mele, and has better stage and imaging than either Timeless or S12. Planar IEMS tend have an imaging effect that is lacking depth, and I have heard others describe it in similar ways. I find the S12 does this better than Timeless, and I think it is the extra energy around 8k.
People that want bass slam usually donāt like planar sound since it usually is lacking in that impact that a DD generates. I can get some impact from the S12 with some EQ, but it takes about a 6db shelf to get there. It is part of those trade offs that go with each driver technology. In that trade, you get insane speed and resolution.
I own Olina, Mele, S12, and Timeless, and like all four. I like bass, and Olina gets more listening time than the others, because it plays my library incredibly well. In the end that is really what is going to matter.
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This kinda confuses me because the Sundaras have the bass Slam I want (mostly with the ifis bass boost), or maybe I just dunno what slam is compared to the feeling of just a ton of bass
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Headphones and IEMs wonāt be the same, even with the same driver tech. The spacing between the magnets on the Sundara is about about half the total driver diameter of Timeless and S12. The distance from your ears, the power requirements, resistance, etc. are all completely different. These things all change your perception of them.
That would be like thinking that all DD IEMs would sound like a pair HD600s. We know that isnāt the case, but they are all the same the same driver tech too. I donāt even want to guess how many single-DD IEMs there are right now. I own a more than a few, and they are the easiest to get right, and affordably.
It was a big thing when Timeless came out, because prior to that, the only decently tuned planar IEM was the Tin P1, which would not have enough bass for either of us. There was also a weird open back IEM that was around $900, the Audeze LCD-i3.
It also sounds like you are using EQ, which bass boost is really just a preset EQ, to get the slam on your Sundara. Usually if people ask for IEMs most like Sundara, I donāt think of anything that has bass, since it is most known for being neutral and rolling off around 60Hz.
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Iām late to join the party. But I must admit Mele value and overall quality are really good within its price range. Sorry for bggar/chris, I have to change its stock cable and tips to make its treble extends further which is more suitable with my preference
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Enjoy in the way brings you joy 
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Wow. Thank you very much dude. 
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While I was in the UK I let my sister try the following IEMs (very short auditions and possibly didnāt get perfect fits with my tips)
Oriveti OH300
Dunu Vernus
Penon Serial (she liked this as a runner up)
Penon Vortex
Blon BL03
Moondrop Chu
And out of all of them, her favorite wasā¦
The Meles she already has.
So, props where they are due!
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Did form factor also help? Mele/Olina shell is something for the books if it fits you well.
I think it probably did.
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It makes sense. Non-audiophiles usually look for fit and comfort before sound. My is like that as well and she actually prefers non-isolating monitors, like earbuds or not-so-intrusive fits. She now stole my Neobuds Pro after using a 10$ oneplus buds for 3 years.
Yesterday I did a pretty neat experience of letting my dad try out Z1R without knowing prices etc, and he instantly complained the fit and weight.
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