MEST MKIII

I sold mine because it did not have enough bass for my liking, but at the current price you can get one at \~$800 it's definitely a steal!

I was just thinking that it was interesting that ASMR doesn't get brought up on r/iems much. My recommendation is the dunu Braindance or a used Mest series. I have the Mest mkIII and it's perfect for comfort when falling asleep to ASMR, but a little out of budget. The Braindance is a little less spacious but is still comfortable for me. IEMs I've also tried for ASMR include: * Empire Ears Raven (too big but very nice rumble feeling) * Mega5EST (comfortable but not as spacious) * Thieaudio Monarch MK2 (too big) * Galaxy buds 3 pro (not nearly loud enough)

Tea pro at around 300 was magic to me. I'm now back and forth with archangel and mest mkiii so it's definitely addictive but I'd stop around 300.

I was really lucky to get a pair of blue UM MEST MKIII CF iems for 875$ used. They came with linsoul nymph cables and I bought the lizerlabs jijujet 3 eartips which make them sound like open back headphones. Everything is crystal clear and perfect when I listen to hifi audio. Did I make a good call buying these? It seemed like a good deal for 875$. These are my first iems, i didnt want to buy a bunch of crappy ones and have to listen around.

Mest mk3 owner here. It’s no like that always. now I want to dive into the full size headphones and amplifiers world

I have the IER Z1R, Anole VX and IE900. I also have some newer high end iems like the Valhalla and Mest MK3. Despite being old, those first are still just as good and arguably better than the new stuff. I don't think people will lose interest in them, but the used prices will continue to drop, that's the nature of the used market.

For me only the MEST MKIII is worth it, there are other sets above 1k which I love like the U12T, but really, there isn't much that does that can't be done nearly as good by cheaper stuff like the Butastur. The MEST MKIII however was really the only IEM I've ever heard that sounded so damn wide that I was spooked and looked around me the first time I heard it. I've read other people saying they can't hear a thing different about it though, so YMMV.

Only reason I sold mine is it's not comfy for my small ears, and the venting is really bad, what a shame, genuinely spooky soundstage...

None wil rival headphones. The most amazing I’ve tried by far was the MEST MkIII, it did feel a bit like magic. Otherwise I thought the Kiwi Ears Aether was quite good. Keep expectations low.

(I have posted this on r/headphones but would also love to hear the opinion of IEM people) Hi all, First of all, two disclaimers: 1. I’m not trying to start a fire. I’m just asking a question that I’ve had basically all my 5 year audio journey.  2. I am a “””seasoned””” audiophile. Not trying to brag (consumerism really isn’t something to brag about), just saying that I’ve been around the block and owned around 30 or so pairs of IEMs, most of them in the mid-high end range, as well as about 10 wired mid-high end headphones, and a few bluetooth headphones and TWS. I also think I’ve gotten really good at EQ over the years, and I never use a headphone without it. All right, so over the years, I have always, always enjoyed IEM sound more than headphones. Even $100 IEMs, EQed to my preferences, just sound more dynamic, lifelike, and detailed than the headphones I’ve tried. So far, my favourite IEMs have been the Elysian Pilgrim (amazing value) Night Oblivion Butastur, MEST MKIII, ISN EBC80, and the U12T, still my reference for sound. All these sound better than the HD800 (my current headphone of choice and the best I’ve personally tried, which, for the record, I also EQ), as well as other decent headphones I’ve had (some Focals, quite a few HiFiMans (men?), ZMF Bokeh, FT1, Azurys, a few others. Not to bore you with endless audiophile terms, but with IEMs, the sound is alive, lifelike, and just makes me want to move. It’s also simply quite a bit more detailed. To give a single example, the beginning in this ([https://youtu.be/EzPTLCZVjQs](https://youtu.be/EzPTLCZVjQs)) track sounds so lifelike on my Pilgrim, whereas my HD800 just sounds a bit dull to be honest. When the song really starts, it’s intoxicating on IEMs, but just sounds so-so on headphones for me. (For the record, I add 6db of bass and reduce treble peaks on the HD800, and I reduce the sub bass on the Pilgrim by quite a bit and remove some peaks as well). I am trying to understand why. Not only just to know, but also because I cannot wear IEMs anymore. My ears have gotten allergic to all the tips I’ve tried (trust me, I’ve tried them all), and IEMs just have never been as comfortable as lightweight headphones, which is really a shame. I am wondering, are there others that have tried the “endgames” of headphones and IEMs, and like me, just really prefer IEMs for sound? And, is it possible to somehow make headphones sound a bit more in-your-head and dynamic in the manner of IEMs with EQ? I’ve EQ’ed headphones this way and that for the past year and have not been able to really achieve the effect. Maybe headphones sound worse to me because of my ear anatomy, my ears are very small, my ear canals’ opening is smaller than that of most people, and I think the canal is also shorter. Maybe there is less “space” for headphones to get their sound in when compared to IEMs, which can just bypass the whole thing?  I am also still open to the possibility that I just haven’t found the right headphones for me, as I have had many more IEMs than headphones. However, as I said, even many budget-ish IEMs have sounded better to me than the expensive headphones I’ve tried, so I am skeptical of that explanation. I also have a beefy DX5 II, so lack of power also isn’t a plausible explanation.  Hoping someone can shed some light on this. Any comments are much appreciated! 

Hi all, First of all, two disclaimers: 1. I’m not trying to start a fire. I’m just asking a question that I’ve had basically all my 5 year audio journey. 2. I am a “””seasoned””” audiophile. Not trying to brag (consumerism really isn’t something to brag about), just saying that I’ve been around the block and owned around 30 or so pairs of IEMs, most of them in the mid-high end range, as well as about 10 wired mid-high end headphones, and a few bluetooth headphones and TWS. I also think I’ve gotten really good at EQ over the years, and I never use a headphone without it. All right, so over the years, I have always enjoyed IEM sound more than headphones. Even $100 IEMs, EQed to my preferences, just sound more dynamic, lifelike, and detailed than the headphones I’ve tried. So far, my favourite IEMs have been the Elysian Pilgrim (amazing value) Night Oblivion Butastur, MEST MKIII, ISN EBC80, and the U12T, still my reference for sound. All these sound better than the HD800 (my current headphone of choice and the best I’ve personally tried, and which, for the record, I also EQ), as well as other decent headphones I’ve had (some Focals, quite a few HiFiMans (men?), ZMF Bokeh, FT1, Azurys, a few others.) Not to bore you with endless audiophile terms, but with IEMs, the sound is alive, lifelike, and just makes me want to move. It’s also simply quite a bit more detailed. To give a single example, the beginning in this (https://youtu.be/EzPTLCZVjQs) track sounds so lifelike on my Pilgrim, whereas my HD800 just sounds a bit dull to be honest, in comprison that is (it’s still the best headphones I’ve had though!). When the song really starts, it’s intoxicating on IEMs, but just sounds so-so on headphones for me. (For the record, I add 6db of bass and reduce treble peaks on the HD800, and I reduce the sub bass on the Pilgrim by quite a bit and remove some peaks as well). I am trying to understand why. Not only just to know, but also because I cannot wear IEMs anymore. My ears have gotten allergic to all the tips I’ve tried (trust me, I’ve tried them all), and IEMs just have never been as comfortable as lightweight headphones, which is really a shame. I am wondering, are there others that have tried the “endgames” of headphones and IEMs, and like me, just really prefer IEMs for sound? And, is it possible to somehow make headphones sound a bit more in-your-head and dynamic in the manner of IEMs with EQ? I’ve EQ’ed headphones this way and that for the past year and have not been able to really achieve the effect. Maybe headphones sound worse to me because of my ear anatomy, my ears are very small, my ear canals’ opening is smaller than that of most people, and I think the canal is also shorter. Maybe there is less “space” for headphones to get their sound in when compared to IEMs, which can just bypass the whole thing?  I am also still open to the possibility that I just haven’t found the right headphones for me, as I have had many more IEMs than headphones. However, as I said, even many budget-ish IEMs have sounded better to me than the expensive headphones I’ve tried, so I am skeptical of that explanation. I also have a beefy DX5 II, so lack of power also isn’t a plausible explanation.  Hoping someone can shed some light on this. Any comments are much appreciated! 

Might indeed be this, I never really have a dead quiet environment, the quietest room I have access to has a fridge in it as well!.. Love the MEST MK3, for me it really did something special with the sound, it's the only IEM that I can say has a "big soundstage," but I also have seen many people say it sound completely normal and it's nothing special.