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I really love the colour of these. They are great looking iems.
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Hi all, Iām new here!
As a IER-Z1R owner, i was wondering if MEST or A64 U12T as a suitable upgrade?
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Would have thought more of a side grade when dealing with TOTL iemās. Welcome.
Iāve owned all three of them, and I feel like the Z1R is the most unique of the bunch. The MEST is pretty good as well, but isnāt the best all rounder imo. U12t is the safest option, and the most versatile. I feel like the U12t would be a nice complement to your Z1R (excellent DD bass + effortless treble vs accuracy and best in class technical abilities).
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Cheers guys, I end up getting a U12T due to the black Friday sale, canāt resist 
Iāll wait patiently for a good deal on MEST 
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I just got my hands on the MEST the other day, thanks to a Black Friday sale that prompted me to seize opportunity rather than save responsibly. The MEST has been on my radar for a while, so I invented the poor excuse that some shiny new IEMs would help me to spend more time outside of the house. Yeah, thatās it.
Straight out of the box I tried some Alice in Chains for a tongue-in-cheek nod to MESTās bone conductor. Much to my chagrin, I was not terribly impressed. The mids sounded a little recessed and grainy. The stock tips were a little too big. And while I could tell these were good IEMs, they werenāt great like I wanted them to be.
I swapped the tips for a smaller set of cheapie silicone ones and tried again. I turned down the lights, laid down, and flipped through some more songs. And then everything came into focus. Literally.
The MEST required an acclimation period, and I needed to stumble across a song that took advantage of their uncanny staging ability. And I mean freaky. Iāve heard good staging; I have Susvara and Pendant + VC. I have Stax L700. But I have never experienced staging like what MEST is doing.
When I think of superb staging, it means I can effortlessly pick out elements in a track and trace their movement through space. Truly exceptional staging does this even during very busy tracks. But MEST is doing more than telling me where sounds are coming fromāeach element in the track is vividly tangible. They have location and size and distance unlike anything I have experienced before. And with the right tracks, the effect is simply awesome.
One track Iāve simply had to revisit multiple times is āAll Time Lowā by Nine Inch Nails:
It starts simply enough with the atmospheric backdrop filling the stage, synth ping-ponging at the left and right edges of the stage and vocals front and center. But by the time the second chorus drops, layers of vocals emerge from every corner of the soundscape, including intimately in your left ear. A sinewy wave of scales climbs up and down and weaves across the stage. And every single layer is in perfect focus at the same time. What I thought was āeffortlessā before still meant a conscious decision to focus on a particular element; now there truly is no effortāno conscious thought to examine one element or anotherājust a complete 3-dimensional soundscape with every aspect carved out in stark relief.
Iāve found this spatial magic trick especially irresistible with electronic music. Thumping beats lay down a foundation. Tapestries of atmospheric sounds create a backdrop. And playful exotic sounds dance across the stage.
Thatās not to say itās the only material that works. Alice in Chains Unplugged was just as intoxicating. Any track that showcases staging and imaging well is a prime match. I could hear the plane of the table as the pencil rolled across it at the end of Yosi Horikawaās āLetter.ā
Perhaps MESTās parlour trick is a gimmick, but itās an utterly spellbinding gimmick that I donāt want to stop experiencing. This IEM is without a doubt a special addition to my collection.
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Great impressions @speleofool.
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Welp, as things go in our parts, I purchased a MEST over this weekend.
Hoping it secures a permanent spot as an upgrade to my Solaris OG or recently acquired Andromeda Goldā¦Iām thinking itās going to replace the Solaris if I love it enough but weāll see. Unfortunately canāt keep all three and will have to let one go one way or another.
Super excited to see what all the hype is about.
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I own all 3 of those; Solaris were a one time favorite. And itās not like I stopped liking themāI just got U12Ts, Anole VX and MEST.
I loved Solaris because of the impactful DD bass with clear mids and highs. Itās a signature that works with all types of music for me and carries enough heft for material that needs bass, like EDM, without coloring other genres too heavily.
Andro Golds were another attempt at a kind of āAndromeda + Bassā tuning. They kind of succeed at that. Fit is a little more easygoing than Solaris. Bass is more detailed but less impactful. Overall, I kinda like both for the same reasons.
MEST is still something of an oddity. Because of that imaging thing, I find it harder to just pop them in and enjoy tunes than I do with either of the Campfires. Thatās because Iām still in a āwhat happens if we do this?ā phase of exploration. Perhaps the amped up curiosity will settle down in time, but for the moment Iām having a little trouble relaxing, lol.
Iām curious to hear your impressions of MEST and what you decide to do with the others since Iām quite familiar with all of them. Do be wary of a possible adjustment period with MESTāas I mentioned, straight out of the box I was initially underwhelmed, but having settled in and found what works with them, Iām becoming more and more attached.
This whole album is a good listen, FWIWālots of great atmosphere:
I also tried MEST today for gaming, and unsurprisingly the imaging was a great fit. I ran them directly out of an XBox controller, and they were phenomenal for some Bioshock 2 single-player. I havenāt tried them yet with more demanding games, but Iām very optimistic about them.
Finally, I ended up rolling to some Xelastic tips, which helped a great deal with comfort. I can go for hours with this combo.
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Thanks very much for the in-depth comparison of all three ~ thatās exactly what Iām looking for. Right now, Iām already thinking Iām going to actually be keeping the Solaris over the Andro Golds because for my tastes and music library the Solaris is the better rounder of the two.
Will definitely keep the adjustment period in mind. Itās one of the reasons why I went with purchasing one straight out so I donāt have to worry about any loaner timeline. Iām a huge gamer myself, so super duper look forward to that as well! Wouldnāt have thought about it initially.
Andrew and the whole Musicteck team have been wonderful and I canāt recommend them enough for any mest related interest since I believe theyāre the only folks in the US who still have them.
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Anyone rolling EQ with the MEST? (What are your settings and why?)
Also, how does the MEST compare to the Andromeda? Upgrade?
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Here is a (lengthy) post I just made that touches on the MEST and Andromeda if youāre interested. My TLDR: depending on who you are and what youāre after the MEST may either be an upgrade or a sidegrade to the Andromeda. The MEST wins in technicalities and pyrotechnics but imho Androās sound is more balanced, is a little more versatile and has a certain allure that draws you in and stirs your emotions in a way the MEST doesnāt quite. You canāt go wrong with either though imho.
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I would take the MEST Custom over Andro 2020 and itād be a toss-up for the universal.
MEST wins in resolution and low end quality. Andro wins in a more balanced tuning, though I think the MEST is quite balanced as well, but it does depend on your fit/seal/depth since the pesky 6K peak can do harm or do wonders. This isnt an issue for the CIEM version for me ā its extremely well balanced and slightly warmer/laidback than neutral and very enjoyable.
Both are very source dependent!
MEST gets bassier with impedance and Andro does the opposite. (and when i say source dependent, i really mean it. both will vary greatly even at very small increments of impedance change)
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Interesting. I found the bass of the MEST almost overwhelming at timesā¦perhaps it was an impedance issue. Unfortunately I didnāt try them through sources with a wide variety of OI.
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Check out my graph above: Unique Melody MEST - Hybrid IEM - Official Thread
Thanks to @jrockwell, Iāve got the MEST on the way to office to try out. I remember quite liking them at CanJam NY but itās been nearly a year since then so Iād be interested to see how much my initial impressions line-up with a proper listening session!
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@taronlissimore needs mega OI to enjoy it to his nighthawk standards
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