Unique Melody - MEST MKII

+1 I prefer it over my annihilator and mest mk2

I like 64audio solo, probably endgame for vocals. I prefer those over mest mk2

Mest Mk2 has the perfect balanced bass for me. Not too much boomy but feel tactile and high quality

Having originally got into the hobby to improve my audio cues in Hunt Showdown; objectively changing the source of the audio in relation your ears/eardrums has an advantage. I looked over the recommendations and originally landed on the Tea Pros and could easily get better positional awareness from my DT990s on the same DAC/Amp. My new favorite for music is the MEST Mk2, cannot game with them in the same way because of unique tuning but if you want to FEEL in the game there is no replacement. While I will use the MEST almost for everything other than games . The Tea Pros have a very accurate representation of direction and distance in relation to the sound source which is great for gameplay.

I have tried the mid and high range of headphones, personally owned some mid range ones, then a jaw injury made headphones painful to wear, but I needed something for FPS, Cyberpunk at the time and general music/media. So I got some cheap moondrop starfields, enjoyed, got some Fiio FD5 second hand because they were recommended for gaming, enjoyed, but they werent that big a step up. Then I used the money I saved for a high end set of headphones on IEMs, got the UM Mest MK2, kept trying headphones again but it always ended up painful, so never going back. The MEST MK2 blew my mind, and they changed sound a little with tips, so I didnt have to chase a dozen sets of IEMs I could just change tips and get a little more bass, or smooth out the treble, or just more comfort. The way I explained it to someone recently. Headphones are like watching a movie in a home cinema, great experience, some will say best way to watch a movie, you get enough detail and contrast, blacks (bass) arent perfect but great experience, immersive. Then IEMs its more like watching a movie with a 4K OLED TV, its not the expansive cinema lite experience, BUT, you get inky ass blacks, tons of detail and texture you may have missed before, and all the image is before you in one blob rather than having to sort of reach out and find those details you want. Neither is a wrong way to watch a movie, or, listen to music. Neither is "better" than the other, they just both have their charms and sometimes one suits a person more than the other.

The issue I have with the claim that frequency response is the end all be all, is that it should mean that eq can make everything sound the same. >I've EQed the AirPods Pro 2 to have significantly better "technicalities" than any IEM I've heard. In that case shouldn't you only rank post-eq and comfort scores? Why do any of the pre-eq sound scores matter? Why try iems? Why own anything but a $20 dollar pair of apple earpods that you dont have to be afraid of getting stolen or broken, when eq can make it sound like the Prisma Lumen that tops your list? Why does the Prisma Lumen top your list, if you can eq the Shure KSE1500 (that you rank 1.85 in sound) to equal that? After your eq, wouldn't the top-notch comfort of the Shure make it a better iem? I really do appreciate the quantity of iems with low sound scores, which many others arent willing to do. As for the list: fulgrim, alter ego, uerr, 622b, volur, camelot. 6/10 (might be missing some): u12t, trio, ve7, se5r, mest ii, moondrop solis, eminent ears emrald, inear pmx

1. Focal Clear OG: very transparent and thumpy in a good way. I didn't like it at first but it grew on me. 2. Sennheiser HD560s: the daily driver. Comfortable, good for all day long calls. I can recommend this one for everyone. 3. Sennheiser HD6xx: sounds very natural but I always get sad when I change to Focal and notice how veiled everything are. 4. Sennheiser HD800s: just not my jam. Trying to trade in some Hifiman 1. Unique Melody MEST MKII: detailed, crazy amount of sub-bass. I just can't use IEMs for too long. 2. Moondrop Blessing 2: a good reference to go back.

Assuming you do not mean the best under a certain price. Objectively A cheap endgame will be an iem that is not lacking in all areas of technicality when compared to all iems that exist. If we have all iems in the $200 range and test them against 5 community selected TOTL comparing the bass impact, soundstage, clarity technicality etc. If no iem is on the same level (similar tech) increase the range by 100. I would say Unique melody mest mk 2 is the cheapest right now that has that special endgame sauce (An endgame shouldn't be plain and stop you from scrolling through amazon after 2 months)

Blessing 3? Mest Mk2? Give em a try and see if you still think this.

If any "audiophile" here says that a 100 dollar iem doesn't sound better than a 20 dollar Iem, they are completely deaf. It is true that higher price points have diminishing returns, but they still give you returns. Sweet spot is somewhere between 100-400 dollars for sound quality per dollar. Especially around the 100 dollar price point. But, for anyone saying you don't get more quality when you spend more is likely trying to convince themselves that what they can afford is good enough. And fair enough. My first pair of Etymotics blew away anything I had heard before. People need to try good values at higher price points to really go "ohhhh so this is different"

Glad you have your endgame 🙂 UM Mest Mk2 was worth it for me. Blessing 3 is also lovely. Both better than like a Hype 2 detail wise. Been an Ety head for years. Edit: But I still find it hard to believe that $2.50 iems sounded better than a $1000 flagship fiio 😂 even though I find Fiio IEMs a bit bloated for my liking. There's just no way that could be true. Actually Impossible. Like laughable lol

I bought into the hype. Among them, the Mest Mk2, Blessing 3, and Etymotic lineup sound far better than anything that costs 100 dollars by a long shot. They both sound far better than the Theiaudio Hype 2, for example, at 300 usd. Far better than the Hexa at nearly 100usd. I'm not sure what you're listening to. If it's mainly just vocals in music, that is understandable. But to say that they don't sound better than a 100 dollar IEM is just flat out ridiculous. I mean, that is just massively fatal levels of copium. Is the 'blessing 3' 4 times better than the Hexa? Of course not. Is it worth it for detial oriented audiophiles? By a long shot. Does the Mest Mk2 sound worth it for me? Absolutely. I agree with you on diminishing returns. It's real. But you're overexaggerating to a degree that is unbelievable. You do point out something good, though - your enjoyment of the IEM is what matters most. For me? I nerd out on detail, imaging, and sounstage. I listen to music with many layers and tracks happening at once and want to isolate those tiny constituents parts. It's exciting for me. I get it. Not everyone trains their ears obsessively for years. But for those who do, where their music has a lot going on, having everything well defined and separated and excellently textured and presented is really important. I find many in the audiophile community to be a bit obnoxious. So I also agree with you there that it can be grating. But seriously - for 100 bucks? A Hexa or SE215 or whatever isn't even close to a Blessing 3 or Mest Mk2. Not even remotely close. I mean, saying a 1000 dollar IEM (again, not a huge fan of fiio IEMs myself) is worse than a 3 dollar Chinese IEM is trolling or being deliberately provocative. Sibilance? The FA19 is known for its lack of sibilance. What are you talking about? Is it financial spite? A bad fit?

Review speak has little to do with my IEM choices. Glad you like the IE600 even though its V shaped and vocal recessed. You must not like neutral IEMs very much? My preference is a very mild u shape / neutral. So maybe the Blessing 3 (neutral/mid forward) and the Mest Mk2 (Mild U shape) work better for me and my preferences. I've compared them back to back with IEMs from 100 to 300 dollars and they're definitely more detailed and better imaged. I really like Radiohead, and have a ton of bootlegs, and their music is really good for testing IEMs. I'm with you about diminishing returns. Sweetspot for value is 100-300. But I do find both the Blessing 3 and Mest Mk2 more detailed and engaging than anything in the 100-300 dollar range by a long shot. So that's why I think it's absolutely crazy to say a 3 dollar IEM is better than a 1000 dollar one, even if I agree with not personally being a fan of Fiio IEMs. I think it's a huge exaggeration. I really do get your sentiment. I do. The Hype 2 underwhelmed me being a bit bloated sounding compared to Blessing 3 or Mest Mk2 - even if the sound is more engaging. I prioritize detail about all things and nothing around 100 dollars comes remotely close to Blessing 3 or Mest Mk2 to my ears. I share your frustration with reviewers. And I have similar annoyances with the pretense and obnoxiousness of audiophiles - but from a technical performance standpoint. There's no comparison between a detail monster value in the Blessing 3 or a flagship like the Mest Mk2 vs anything 300 dollars or less. Maybe an Etymotic? But you trade off any sense of depth or dynamism with Etys. It's a very closed and flat stage.

Mest Mk2 for $899 was worth the price for me. But I'm a little bit of an obsessive perfectionist wanting to inch ever closer to the sun .. To add, is it more than twice as good as a Blessing 3 at 360 bucks? No. It's more like the Blessing 3 is 80% of the Mest Mk2 for less than half of the money. (Quite different IEMs, though, btw). Sort of like, if you're into cars, getting a 911 Carrera S vs. a 911 GT3RS. Both are amazing to drive , but for the obsessed enthusiast, the difference is quite noticeable. I am a detail snob, and for me, the Mest builds on the Blessing 3 Microdetail while adding a much larger soundstage and a tactile sensation with the bone conduction driver which, for me, makes the price totally worth it. Ramble ramble.

Mest MK2 ests are hardly noticeable, there’s something about legacy iems with first gens of est that they’re not even on par with BAs . (If not mistaken current gen is 3 or 4) I would say my experience with: prestige LTD( amazing, there’s so much air and anything from mid to upper range is just magic) Monarch mk3 was not as good as Prestige Volare (I have, is good, very nice punchy bass too, but remember it’s like 649$ in retail) Worth mentioning: Fiio FX17! 8 ESTs and price is 1499$ (it’s a lot, yeah) but all the reviews and comments are extremely good.

This is the thing with the Mest MK II - they're super impressive technically & when I first bought them I was absolutely blown away (they were my first north of $300 IEM). The soundstage is still the best that exists in IEMs, and they sound 'supersonic' - I am very aware that this isn't a remotely technical term 😅😅😅😅, but they just do... the EST's are super well implemented & they're really impressive... BUT they are really hit & miss with music & can get very fatiguing. They eventually got relegated to gaming (they are second only to the Sennheiser HD800 headphones for gaming - and so so so easy to drive youmcab plug them directly into a PS5 controller 😅😅😅). I recently picked up a second hand set of UM Mext (just as excellent build quality - only around $450 second hand in most places) & they are a far more well rounded experience with much better bone condition. They're also only about half the price of the Mest II new. They don't have that initial wow factor but they are definitely better as a long term option - that said - I do think owning the Mest II for a while is a good experience, because they sound like nothing else & can sound mindblowing with certain tracks. But if you play games, you need to try that. I'll absolutely buy another set purely for gaming when they eventually hit $300 2nd hand.