Unique Melody - MEST (Gen 1 / MK1)

Mest OG The imaging ,stage and instrument placement.

I own a mest mki and can't personally hear the bone conduction; however I have tried the empire ears raven and thieaudio origin and do think I can hear the bone conduction driver on the right tracks.

I always write too much, I'll try to be concise. I have the InEarz Prophile 8s and the OG Unique Melody Mest. Love them both, fantastic presentation, great resolution. Now when I'm looking at new gear... how to say this.... if I'm interested, then they'd going to be no question about the fidelity they offer - if they weren't up to par in terms of frequency response, then I wouldn't be investigating. And what I seek now, given that everything else is good, is a holographic soundstage. At a CanJam a couple of years ago I heard the Spirit Torino Twin Pulse IEM. Not open. Bullet style with, to be honest, an annoying gear wheel/shuriken on the outer end. They blew me away. It was as if I were in a cloud of sound. I don't think I've ever heard such a 360⁰ soundstage in an IEM. They're not cheap, but if they were available where I live I would buy them immediately - and to be honest, I'm kind of done with buying audio gear, I'm happy with what I have. If at all possible, hunt them down and audition them. Best of luck in your quest, please let us know in here if you find treasure!

The punch is better for me than the Scarlet Mini, Symphonium Titan, and Flipears Legion. I've wanted to try the Origin, but haven't had the chance to try it. I don't care for the HBB logo on the punch, and I think the Origin looks amazing. Thanks for your opinion. The legion does have something special going on with the bone conduction though. I also love the UM Mest mk1.

Agreed. I have had the Mest 1&2, the Legend EVO and the AK EE Odyssey and the bone conduction has been good. I definitely preferred the Empire Ears implementation over the UMs. I currently have the Phantom SE's and the BCD is completely different. It is much more faint and is more mids focused. These have the Sonion BCD and it is different. It does expand the stage but it is nothing like the UM/EE BCDs.

I wouldnt say any of the Trailli nor MEST have a neutral tuning…they got really bloated bass

It really is. I’ve gone through about 15 IEMs over the past year and got completely caught up in the hobby, trying models from $400 to $2000. The MEST is still my favorite of them all. It’s crazy how, even five years after its release, it still sounds better than many newer and more expensive IEMs. Definitely a great deal for $900.

Tried a bunch and I like the stock tips - xlastic crystals. I do sometimes use wide bore divinus velvets

Can't say anything about other sets, but honestly, i would remove the Mest from that list.

Mest are great, just not what i would call a basshead set.

I was in Japan last week and I got to go to E-Earphone and I managed to try the MEST and a bunch of other IEMs. Man these are so cool. They make my U12T sound compressed somehow. They're nuts. I bought a used pair for $450. Should supress my desire to buy gear for another year.

On your IEM journey, this is the place to rest, after all they do say: MEST is best Still one of the best kilobuck sets out there even if its a bit older now.