Hi seeing as the Massdrop Plus iem’s haven’t been allocated a category for discussion or review I thought that I would create it.
I will do a mini review of the MD+ as I shall now refer to it.
**The Build and Accessories **
As you can see I am no photographer but you get the general idea. The iem’s themselves are made of 3d printed acrylic and seem quite robust. They have a fairly wide bore hole for want of a better word but nothing out of the ordinary. It uses a two pin connector for attaching the cables.
The fit of the MD+ is very, very good indeed. To all intents and purposes it seems like a custom made job. But it obviously isn’t. They’ve taken a sample lots of different ears and somehow managed to work magic. They fit my lugs really well.
Accessory wise you get various types of tips including some double flange silicon and the usual foam. Comply they ain’t but they’re perfectly serviceable. You get the one cable which isn’t the best as it’s very prone to twisting about all over but it does it’s job. For $30 extra I was able to buy a balanced one too. All this lot is packed, and I mean packed into a rather small plastic iem protective box. It would have been great if it were a little bigger but costs needed cutting somewhere.
Sound
The Massdrop Plus iem’s are tuned to resemble the sound of the Etymotic EXR4’s.
Lows
The lows on the MD+ are really good with an elevated sub-bass which has a real kick. There’s plenty of detail and character and you can hear all the bass you need unless you’re a real bass head. What struck me when I first heard them was the elevated sub-bass it is quite aggressive and I am not used to this sound signature. It can be a handful if your not used to it but that’s just me and my preference. After some time of mental burn in you become accustomed to it.
Mids
The mids are very good with vocals and give great detail and presence to the sound. The mids are ever so slightly forward but not in any way detrimental.
Highs
This is where I feel it lets me down a little. The highs are not at all silibant and are very clear and give image separation. But they roll off and don’t give you any sense of airyness. They don’t extend far enough for my personal taste. I can of course equalise them but it’s a shame. I mean they’re good up high but not quite good enough.
Soundstage
The MD+ has an average soundstage and gives detail in enough quantity to allow good imaging and separation. You don’t get much height if any to the sound but it does a good enough job to help you enjoy the music. Which in the end is all you’re after.
Conclusion
So the Massdrop Plus is a neutrally tuned iem with elevated sub-bass. It’s has slightly forward mids with a warm tinge. The bass gives a little kick and rumble when required. The highs are however the only slightly weak point. The they don’t extend far enough and I would have liked more attention paid to the highs. That being said the Massdrop Plus iem’s are a great buy and now having grown accustomed to them they will stay in my collection.
They can be bought (when the drop is active) for $299
-Paul-