He’s asking if he needs more juice than that. Short answer is no
Yeah was guessing that.
Yes, thank you
Power wise, you golden
You sure? I wouldn’t use them with anything less than Topping A90 (7,6W per channel)
You bullying Resolution mate?
Huh???
Good.
On topic: I like having power, I might grab something powerfull by the end of the year, but I can’t justify recing it!
IMO unless you’ll drive some hardcore headphones, 1W is waaaay over the top for IEMs. Even 500mW is overkill.
Hi guys,
Sorry for the delay. I’ve just been away lost in end game bliss for a while.
At any rate here’s what I feel about the Mest MkII.
If you get your tips right (really short and open worked the best for me - I used the xelastics but instead of allowing there to be a bit of a lip at the nozzle I squished it further back so that it exposed the nozzle maximally) it is magical (to me). I was fortunate enough to stumble upon this accidentally on my first go at the Mest.
It sounds like I’m at the studio and the studio engineer is showing me his final mastering of the audio track. It sounds (to me) like weirdly hi-fi. Like higher Fi than usual. All the music that I used to listen to over and over again somehow had come to life in a way I had never quite experienced before.
Its not just that everything sounded awesome and natural, it wasn’t just that I could hear all the crazy details without really even trying to (like hearing the sound of the pianist step on the piano pedals), it was also the really strange immersive 3D effect with sounds coming at me from different places. In fact during the song “It gets funkier IV” by Vulfpeck, right at the end of the recording there’s a bit of a laugh and chat… I really thought someone was behind me (I was at a park then) trying to get my attention and I turned around quickly only to find no one there.
During my tip rolling process, I realised that if you got the wrong tips all of the magic goes away. It just becomes a good iem at that stage. It took a few days of trial and error to realise what I did right the first time after I had lost the magic. I was actually really scared that I lost that magical experience forever. Fortunately I realised what I did and again live in aural bliss until my wife tells me off (again) for ignoring the baby.
It has a very engaging sound, listening to it, I find myself having difficulty pulling my attention away from the music. As of such it made trying to focus on something else whilst listening to it very difficult. It is why I was ignoring my 7 month old.
It also has slam for days! Though unfortunately after a while I found my right ear hurting a bit.
@nymz I think had pointed out the possibility of fatigue with the Mest and I have personally experienced it. It didn’t feel too much to me of a fatigue via bass, mids or treble but more of detail overwhelm.
I found listening to the Mest after a long day or with a tired mind a little overwhelming and I did not enjoy it as much with the combination of very high engagement and loads of detail as well as the very high slam that hurts my right ear after listening to it for a while.
Listening to the Mest MkII in the morning with a fresh mind though brought me back into aural bliss. I’d imagine other detail monsters would have the similar issue of detail overload.
The final ‘complaint’ I have with the Mest is that because it is so hifi and detailed going from a newer song to an older (non-remastered) song is quite jarring. It isn’t that the experience of listening to the older song is poor per se but more that because you hear everything as hifi as possible (to me) the older recording can’t get to the same high fidelity as the newer song and thus it is jarring.
I have actually done a shootout with all my IEMs over a few days and I’ve actually learnt something interesting that people don’t quite talk about as much.
That is, some IEMs are great whilst you are tired, whilst others are great whilst you are fresh. I haven’t quite experienced something that is great with both yet (for my personal tastes of course). IMO it’s worth having a fresh brain pair and a tired brain pair at the end game.
Getting back on track, I really feel that if one can afford it and one is an audiophile, one should really try to experience the Mest MkII. And not like just for a short time, but to experience it over days with many genres. I would agree with @Resolution 's account of this being an ultimate audiophile experience.
It’s not cheap but I don’t feel at all ripped off. In fact I kinda feel lucky that such an experience that I will continue to have for such a long time is only $1.5k.
Of course I haven’t heard many other TOTL IEMs or many other great in general IEMs too… So maybe I’m just making a mountain out of a molehill. Take all I’ve said with some grains of salty stuff.
And also as usual YMMV.
Accurate audiophile replay at its finest. Congratulations.
I find it very interesting you finally have the hyper technicalities monster you’ve been dying to hear and once you do, you immediately see the need for other IEMs that do something different. I’m in the exact same boat.
The MKII is amazing and I don’t think I’d ever want more from an earphone. When I want to hear the music the way it was meant to sound, the MKII is my go to. But if want to relax and enjoy something that is more fun and enjoyable, that opens a whole new Pandora’s box to the hobby which has been a lot of fun to explore.
Glad to see yet another high praise review. I have yet to see anyone regret buying these.
I sold some of my old hobby stuff and my income is once again nice and stable. I’m going to be patient and wait for another sale, even if I have to wait for Cyber Monday or something, but I’m now ready to buy.
Not my sale and I don’t know the seller but might be of interest?….
I’d only buy something this expensive directly from an official retailer, probably wouldn’t buy a used/refurbished version either.
Thanks for the heads-up though.
Hmmm. I am also considering buying MK2, but I would not buy them here! Maybe I will wait until November 11, if there is no promotion I will buy them at the regular price. However, they are expensive, there must be a guarantee !!
This, so much.
I’ve given my opinion about purchasing Mest if you dont have infinite funds in another thread. Point is, should someone buy it? At what cost/tradeoffs?
Most people know its an amazing iem, some people heard it, some people own it.
It’s a piece of art, that’s for sure.
I have found the MEST Mk2 pairs really nicely with a DAP like the Shanling M8. It smoothed out the MEST in a way that maintained its detail, but it’s not as fatiguing. I do think the complaints that have been mentioned are valid. When I used to own it, I didn’t listen to it for long periods of time due to fatigue from the aggressiveness of its detail.
you still did not buy them? Just do it
My solution: FuSang customs… I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but UM has my impressions on file from MEST MkII, and I auditioned the universals. FuSang still has the vividness of MEST MkII, but the tuning is more neutral, and the overall presentation is less hyper-energetic (i.e., more relaxed and even more sublime for chillout material like Delerium, for example). I expect it will replace MEST MkII as my everyday go-to, but MEST is still champ for when I’m in the mood for high-energy listening. It’s great to have options.
I just went for it and have no regrets. The MEST Mk2 will keep me a very happy camper for a long time.
It fills my spot for a DD, while also answering different questions I like being answered in my set-up mainly being having products that have wonderful implementation of emerging technologies. I’m a sucker for bone conduction and ESTs.
The sound is right up my alley, and perfect for my music. It’s vibrant, energetic, and not lacking in one area or the other while never being piercing or too exciting to listen to for long periods of time.
The comfort of my custom is great, and despite being an excellent deep deal with artist style fitment, it disappears after a period of time once I insert it in right!