What threw me off was the fact that the MEST MK2 - I would still say - is pretty source dependent. It is not as extreme as I stated earlier in the thread and probably not as extreme as other IEMs (like the Volume or Andromeda), but there is a very clear difference. Some of the graphs posted earlier give the idea: some sources lower the treble energy, raising bass and making the bass bleed more into the mids… all resulting in a loss of detail/clarity and tilting the tonality away from my preference. I tried 6 different sources so far with the best being the Apple dongle. Hopefully soon I will be able to test drive one of the new Topping devices.
After doing more listening and A/B testing without the DSP, my feeling towards the MEST is now somewhat ambivalent:
- for me the perfect IEM has to be convenient. The MEST isn’t that because I can enjoy it’s full potential only on certain sources which sours the experience with others. EQ helps, but is inconvenient in itself.
- with some of the worse sources I tried (even ones specified with <1 Ohm Output Impedance) the MEST doesn’t hit my tonality preference. Sometimes I feel like there is a lack of treble extension/energy and a lack of clarity. Comparing it with the CRA, the CRA can be more fun tonality wise. The timeless maybe overshoots my preference, but I still like that side of the spectrum better.
- on the other hand: a cheap source like the Apple dongle is enough to solve most of those issues… to bad my phone has no USB-C
- going from the MEST to any other of my IEMs, they all sound somewhat broken. It’s a little bit like going from HD to DVD Quality. DVD Quality looks great, if you never saw an HD movie. When going from MEST to CRA/Timeless I start hearing all the things they do worse (e.g. how they replay voices more unnaturally). The MEST comes across simply more refined on a technical level (shocker, I know…).
Overall I guess the MEST is still the best IEM I have listened to and I wouldn’t know from reading reviews/impressions which IEM would top that. I still think there is a slight chance that I would like the Variations better, but can’t justify spending even more money on IEMs right now.