Unique Melody - Maven II

My UM Maven ii ($1800). Best all-arounder ive heard (neutral/bright). I've put it up against several more expensive sets (Trifecta, Odin, Astrolith, Triton, Ragnar, Volur,) and iv'e always preferred the Maven. It also responds really well to EQ, especially in the bass. Additionally, it has a titanium shell which for me brings a peace of mind against scratching/cracks/breaks. Sprinkle great comfort on top of that and for me it's been an amazing value.

That's completely fair, I myself have my all arounder which I eq for most music the UM Mavenii and for EDM the Ziigaat Estrella. For me the Mavenii is an amazing IEM for the value ($1800), but that's only because I can comfortably afford it, it has also beat out multiple $3-4k flagship sets when listening side by side. This is for my ears though, other people may not agree and prefer other IEM's so I will never say the Mavenii is the best, just that its an amazing value. If 1k was my limit, the pLTD would be high on the list for all-around end game. Don't forget to enjoy the music as well!

I've got the maven II to hand, just waiting for the valhalla to land (should be next week) The BGVP Solomon is neutral bright, and focuses more heavily on a technical presentation. It's a set that allows one to critically analyse the music, whereas the Dawn X allows one to immerse themselves in the music. Solomon as a result is much more resolving, the bass has less impact and is cleaner, and the mids are more thin. The treble is better extended on the Solomon, and there's more air & sparkle on the top end. Mind you, the Dawn X is quite sensitive to sources, on a FiiO ka17 it does push the set brighter, and brings the mids more forward. On a source such as the ifi gryphon (my personal favourite) it gives the Dawn X a bit more warmth, whilst opening up the sound and adding more impact/rumble to the bass, a warm-neutral source is perfect for giving that emotional and immersive listening experience. I'll have a playlist of around 10 track in which I'll describe how each iem sounds with that particular track, etc.

It would either be between the maven II or the Dawn X for me personally. The Dawn X has a deeper sub bass, slightly warmer mids and a slightly smoother top end compared to the maven II. The maven II does have more mid energy, thanks to it being a Q shape iem. This does mean thst the maven II, whilst being neutral-warm has more energy than the Dawn X. To use an analogy, the maven II would be my choice for a daytime set, and the Dawn X leans more into a night time relaxing set.

I flip between the astral acoustics mars, and the liquid links venom cable. Though the cable makes the least amount of impact on the chain, behind the eartips and dac/amp. I'll agree that the aesthetics of the maven II are nicer, and they're probably one of the comfiest iems I own. Mind you, they do have less drivers (10 vs 14) compared to the Dawn X. I'm not going to say one is better than the other, as it depends on what one wants. From memory, the Dawn X has deeper sub bass, with more impact on the mid bass. The mids have thicker noteweight to them, though the maven II has more energy in the lower treble, and the Dawn X extends further into the upper treble past 10k. In terms of a comparison, it would be with the stock cable of both iems, as I can't reasonably expect someone to spend an additional $650 on top of the $1700 it costs for the maven II. Not everyone will be ordering through Musicteck either, so the discounted cables won't apply to everyone.

Yeah, thought as much. Its a shame though, as others may not even be aware that these brands exist.  ISN H60, EBC80, EST80.  Penon Archangel, Voltage, Fan 3 Sound Rhyme DTE900, DTE264, SR10.  Earacoustic vsa pm crown.  All the above are fantastic iems from those brands, it's a shame that a of people aren't aware of them - as Penon and its sister companies probably give the best bang for buck out of most iem manufacturers (as a whole) excluding the likes of bgvp perhaps.  I used to follow Jay a lot, until I saw one Facebook post where he said thst the Unique Melody Maven II wasn't an alrounder... I've personally owned the Maven II in the past, and couldn't understand this at all - every other single review regarding those iems also praised them for their versatility. You got one person saying they're not an alrounder vs at least 30 who say they are 😅 it's going to raise some doubts..  The other was his take on the Annihilator, where he talked down to someone for being a "serious audiophile" basically just wasting their money. Funnily though, I also own the anni 23, and have yet to become across an iem that can deliver treble in such a smooth way as the anni can 😅 I'd love a cheaper iem, but no one to this day has recommended me a cheaper iem that can do what the anni does (yet it being ancient in the iem world)  Anyways, enough ranting - I hope people stumble across those brands that aren't talked about as much big the big reviewers. 

It really depends on the reviewer. Those who don’t receive units from penon, and who are willing to buy gear with their own money, often have a very different perspective. Penon (and its sister brands) are objectively poor at marketing, but in my experience they consistently offer some of the best value for money in the space, especially when you look beyond hype cycles. Distributors like linsoul or hifigo operate very differently — they’re far less selective about who they work with, which naturally results in a much larger volume of impressions and reviews. Ultimately, reviewers who ignore brands like penon, isn, or sr entirely aren’t being malicious — but they are giving their audience an incomplete picture of the market, which is a massive shame. I’d argue sets such as the EBC80, Archangel, or SR10 would be a big hit with a lot of listeners (as they already are within the circles that do discuss them). Personally, I don’t follow many of these reviewers anyway, as I’m fortunate enough to live near a place where I can demo gear myself. But if I did rely solely on that ecosystem, I’d be led to believe that linsoul alone offers the two best sub $2k iems — the monarch mk4 and valhalla. I’ve owned the valhalla in the past and, while it’s good, I personally still preferred the UM maven II.

I sold my Valhalla for the exact same reason 😂 one of the best sounding sets I’ve had but the fit is horrible. I’ve settled on the Unique Melody Maven II as my current TOTL set and I must say fit and sound wise I prefer them to the Valhalla. You should give it a shot!

Right now my TOTL sets are the Aful Dawn-X and Unique Melody Maven II. The Dawn-X in particular probably has the most special soundstage and layering I’ve heard in an IEM so far, and that includes multi kilobuck sets that I’ve owned.

Acoustune HS2000MX mk2 Unique Melody Maven 2 Sennheiser IE600 (I prefer it to the 900) Moondrop Darksaber Pentaconn Sloflo

I love mine as well, but it is a very source dependant set.

Hey, thanks for chiming in. Appreciate it! Very valuable information, especially because you've tried them first hand in CS2, which is my main thing. I, for some reason, deleted the Penon Archangel from the list in the post. It was one of my first £500+ options I considered. In the end I decided to go for the Unique Melody Maven 2. Hopefully will pick it up sometime today.