I tried Spiral Dots, Final E Tips, and Spin fits. I tried going one size smaller with Final E tips and definitely break seal. In general for me, I need a shorter stem like the U12T or Andromeda. I just realized I can take my Spiral Dots and push it to the base of the stem and that is more comfortable for me for sure.
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For anyone interested, these are quick impressions of MEST Mkii and compared to some other IEMs I have.
What I like to hear in my gear and my music tastes:
I am a weird bass head and primarily IEM person. Weird as in I love lots of rumble and impact, but I rarely like warm sounding headphones/iems with the exception of a few like the IER-Z1R and Meze Empyrean. When I mean warm, I mean gear like the CA Atlas, Shure SE846. I enjoy warm neutral IEMs and use source gear to provide quality added bass rumble and impact (when I want it). I rarely software EQ since Tidal doesnât have EQ. I also love airy qualities to my IEMs. If I canât add rumble, I do enjoy warm neutral or âbalancedâ sounding IEMs. In other words, my preferred sound signature is L shaped or mild V-shaped. There are exceptions.
I primarily listen to electronic, edm, pop, rap, rnb. occasionally instrumentals and rock. Some artists I enjoy are Billie Eilish, Lorde, Sam Smith, Kanye West, Linkin Park, Alicia Keys, Daft Punk, Zedd, Old school Dr. Dre, Dua Lipa, Hans Zimmer, Daft Punk, Scott Bradleeâs Postmodern Jukebox, Taylor Swift, Glass Animals, The Weeknd, Justin Timberlake, and more. Not sure if this matters, but I am in my early 20s and many others I have met/talked to IRL or on forums are older than me at this price bracket. I have a different opinion than most people who own this tier of gear .
Impressions:
MEST Mkii:
Solid sounding IEM. I definitely prefer it over the Intl Mki version. Mki was a bit incoherent and a little bright tbh. Wasnât really to my liking because it was a bit too neutral. My friend who is familiar with high end audio but not an audiophile said the Mki sounded very close to live like he was at the concert he went to. Mkii fixes the issues I had with the original. There is a bit more warmth and cohesiveness amongst the frequencies that I find better to listen to. Itâs also way more comfortable than the Mki. I have average sized ears and the Mki Intl MEST was the most uncomfortable IEM I have ever worn and I used to own the IER-Z1R. Overall signature of Mkii and Mki are warm neutral with the Mkii being warmer than Mki. It has a detailed and technical sound while still being musical and engaging to listen to. Works better when there are more natural instruments involved with the music. Tips noticeably matter more.
In comparison to U12T: U12T is more laid back while the MEST Mkii is more engaging and aggressive. U12T is an IEM I can listen to without thinking. It sounds âeffortless.â MEST Mkii is more for when I want to be more engaged with the music. I really love the APEX modules on the U12T. It allows me to listen to the U12T for longer hours. They are both warm neutral. U12T has a more âstudioâ sound and is more coherent/smoothed out amongst the frequency range.
In comparison to Legend X: Mid-range on the Legend X is noticeably farther away, but is still a really well done mid-range. Bass quantity is more noticeable on the Legend X and rumbles a bit more than the MEST Mkii imo. The bass on MEST sounds a bit âbiggerâ though if that makes any sense. Legend X while still being very technical and detailed is a bit easier to listen to since the detail isnât as in your face as the MEST. Legend X is L-shaped or V-shaped depending on how one interprets the sound. I donât think Legend X is a bass heads dream. It is a balanced sound (donât confuse with neutral). I consider IER-Z1R to also be a balanced sound.
In comparison to Andromeda 2020: This is a bit harder for me to compare. MEST presents more technicalities and detail than the Andromeda. Andromeda lacks quantity in the bass and I prefer the bass on the MEST. Andromeda does have a unique airy quality to it. I really like the way vocals and treble sounds on the Andromeda. It is a really engaging sound and likeable tuning and actually always my go to IEM to showing non-audiophiles what high end audio can sound like. Tbh they just sound different and I donât know how to describe the Andromeda sound well enough since itâs different and I donât know why. They are both warm neutral, but MEST is warmer.
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Iâll need to get back to you on that. I have let maybe 10 or so people try the Andromeda/Andromeda 2020 and only 2 were kind of in-between on it. One of them was wowed by the IER-Z1R so turns out it was preference. Mk2 I havenât let anyone else listen to it yet.
I was able to get 5 non-audiophiles to try the MEST MkII, Andromeda 2020, and 64 Audio U12T. Players used are iBasso DX300 Amp11Mk1, Shanling M8, iPhone 12 dongle, their phone. Each person didnât try each player + IEM combo, but all tried the three IEMs.
Music Preferences/Info about each person:
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Person A: Gear doesnât matter to them as long as they are listening to songs they like. Generally prefers upbeat feel good songs like September by Earth, Wind & Fire, Canât Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli.
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Person B: DJ so can appreciate nice gear, but doesnât use anything high end for audio playback. Listens to electronic/edm.
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Person C: Generally listens to rock and rap, some pop.
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Person D: Generally listens to jazz, pop, and instrumental. Not an audiophile, but used to own high end gear like the HD800 and Andromeda S. He attended audio show with me once which is how he knew about the Andromeda S.
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Person E: Generally listens to heavy metal and rock, some pop.
Summary of their opinions after listening
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Person A: MEST MkII + DX300 > Andromeda 2020 > MEST MkII + M8 > U12T. Got lost in the music with MEST MkII + DX300. Andromeda 2020 was pretty good. Didnât like MEST MkII with M8 or U12T much.
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Person B: U12T + M8 = Andromeda 2020 + their Phone or DX300 > U12T + their phone > MEST MkII. Got lost in the music with U12T + M8 and Andromeda 2020. Wasnât a big fan of the MEST MkII.
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Person C: MEST MkII + M8 = Andromeda 2020 + DX300 > Andromeda 2020 + M8 > U12T. Really enjoyed MEST MkII and Andromeda 2020. U12T not so much, but wasnât sure why.
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Person D: MEST MkII + M8 > Andromeda 2020 > MEST MkII + DX300 > U12T. For him, MEST MkII was like being at the concert without the feeling of the speakers. Favorite IEM he has heard along with MEST MkI. Still really enjoys Andromeda. U12T was eh.
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Person E: MEST MkII > Andromeda 2020 = U12T. Liked MEST MkII for rock, but was like eh for heavy metal. Was also eh on Andromeda 2020 and U12T. I showed the Empire Ears Valkyrie to them once and they loved that.
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All: Enjoyed hearing details they havenât heard before. They could hear differences between phone and DAPs, couldnât tell me why they enjoyed one more than the other. Going from phone to DX300 or M8 was night and day to them for MEST MkII and U12T. Andromeda 2020 was only small differences when changing player.
13 Likes
Just want to add a bit of my own thought on MkII.
MKII are tonally perfect for me. I still own OG Andromeda and Solaris 2020. I like the sparkle, airy treble with my CA IEMs. I do like the bass on my Solaris as well. MKII sounds absolutely correct to me.
What I think MKII shine is its technicality. I like how MKII present the details. I really enjoy MKII create an expansive soundstage. MKII offer a sense of space around me. But I also point out that this âsense of spaceâ might be more apparent if you are listening to a good recording. I personally found Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japanâs Bach Cantatas sound very impressive with MKII.
p.s. I mainly listen to classical music but I do enjoy many other genres.
I currently using the combo of UM MEST MKII with Shanling M6 pro and my music collections are largely hi-res flac or DSD.
4 Likes
Couldnât agree more on BCJâs Bach Cantatas series on MKII!! Itâs an exceptional match.
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so for non audiophile person,
I think the best iem to recommend is Andromeda 2020,
the priority is like this:
1 Sound stage
2 Bass impact, mainly mid bass slam,
3 imaging
âŚ
7 Details,
âŚ
9 texture
âŚ
11 tonal accuracy
âŚ
99 speed
Yeah definitely. If they listen to rock though primarily, I think MEST Mkii is a better option. I did get an absolute bass head non-audiophile to try Andromeda 2020 last year and they loved the Andromeda. Same person was like âpretty goodâ on Focal Clear
Potentially, from what I can tell:
1 Overall Tuning
2 Sound Stage/Imaging
3 Bass
4 Details
âŚ
I am not sure where to put everything else lol
Hi all!
I am thinking about getting the MEST MK2 in some time because I think i would really enjoy the sound signature.
However I am not sure if i should get the custom or the universal version.
I have no fit issues with the ISN H40 which are my main iems at the moment.
I can get the MEST MK2 used in good condition for a good price and I am not sure if itâs worth to get the custom version for reasonably more money.
From my personal experience with customs, I highly recommend hearing the universal version first since if you happen to not like the sound, itâs hard to sell (a mistake that I have made unfortunately). Like for me, I used to own the MEST MkII and ended up selling it because I preferred other IEMs like the Legend X and Elysium. I am not sure if UM reshells for different owners if someone sells their custom MEST.
I think I have read people are able to get their universal MEST converted to custom. I would recommend contacting MusicTeck to confirm if that is possible especially if you buy off the used market. Maybe they can even convert the custom to universal? Rare for custom IEM companies to do that but UM might offer it for the MEST so Iâd ask about that as well.
Another option is buy the used one and listen to it. If you like it, sell that for a similar price and get the custom version. Do keep in mind that the universal will sound slightly different that the custom.
With that being said, the custom version is probably the best version of the MEST since it does take full advantage of that bone conduction driver. Also custom is real comfy and nice since you donât have to deal with tips.
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Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense.
Is musicteck going to pay import tax already for me ?
I heard that hifigo is doing that.
Otherwise I would have to pay 202⏠tax.
I am not sure, but I would email them about it. Personally Iâd stick with MusicTeck because of how good their customer service is. If things go wrong, might be easier to go through MusicTeck than HifiGo.
Ok thanks.
Can you tell me how good the two pin sockets are on the MEST?
I have bad experiences with two pin sockets where the cables are easily coming off if you pull the cable a little. But that was on cheap iems.
Generally I more like mmcx for itâs secure fit.
Edit: looks like MusicTeck is not going to pay the import fees for me
(https://www.head-fi.org/threads/lotoo-paw-s1-designed-for-hifi-on-the-go-with-lotoo-paw-quality-and-the-first-usb-dac-amp-with-dual-3-5mm-4-4mm-output.932676/post-15858706)
In that case buying it from hifigo would maybe be the better option.
I had no issues with mine, but only had mine for about 2 months. It is a flush 2 pin connector, but both connector and cable are quality. You might be able to ask for a recessed 2 pin for either universal/custom which might be more durable.
I personally have had more issues with mmcx than 2 pin, but I have only had 2 pins with high end IEMs so tolerances would be higher
Edit: If you go through HifiGo, make sure that warranty is covered through UM as well. When I bought the DX300 through Hifigo, I realized that they werenât an iBasso authorized dealer so warranty for the DX300 goes through Hifigo instead of iBasso. Itâs probably fine going through Hifigo. Iâm personally a bit more careful with regards to purchasing through them even though theyâre probably fine. Reason for me recommending MusicTeck is I have had a great experience with them and Iâve talked to people from Europe who have also had great experience with MusicTeck.
I just calculated tax and shipping on hifigo and it is 0⏠for tax + shipping using Priority or YunEypress
Lol
Only Express:DHL/UPS/FEDEX/TNT is excluding tax + duty
I just read that MusicTeck is the only authorized seller in north America for Unique Melody
3 Likes
Oh wow, not bad at all!