No guarantees, but ideally that’s how it should work.
Eartips hold IEMs in place by exerting pressure on the walls of your ear canal. Customs, however, conform to your anatomy and “lock” in place with the contours of your ears. Assuming you have a good fit, the CIEM stem just pretty much floats in place and the whole body of the shell provides seal and isolation. Any weight / support should be distributed to your outer ear, where the shell “locks” in place, vs through the tips to your canal. So that’s what should provide vastly superior comfort–but you need a good fit.
There are a whole host of reasons that CIEM fit might not be ideal, but probably the biggest factor is the quality of impressions (or scans). Another significant one, though, is that your ears change shape slowly over time. So there may be a shelf life on CIEMs, even if you get a great fit initially. Finally, a tight-fitting CIEM might still be uncomfortable, even if the shape is generally correct.
Bottom line, there are a lot of variables with customs, but with a good fit, comfort is amazing.
No idea about that, but seems reasonable. More variables to consider…
By getting STL files for my MEST, I am hoping to at least eliminate physical impressions as a variable. If my MkII fit is great, then I should have the recipe to duplicate that great fit with other customs.
Great review, as always! I’m curious if you have any thoughts on how the Mk2 compares to the Monarch? I know there were a lot of comparisons of the og MEST vs Monarch, and the consensus was that MEST was all around a bit better but maybe not twice the price better. I have the Monarch and really like it, but find myself often adjusting the volume as the Monarch is sharp on vocals and peaky in the treble. It sounds like maybe the Mk2 dials back the upper mids, smooths the treble, and boosts the sub bass just a bit and might be exactly what I’m looking for
Appreciate the insight. Sounds like something worthwhile to invest in since the STL(?) files are reusable. For the longest time, I only ever considered owning IEMs for travel. But I could never use them for long due to discomfort so I dropped them in favor of focusing on headphones. maybe time to reconsider… these MEST sound interesting for sure, partly due to option of going custom.
You can always get fresh impressions done for each new set of customs, but that adds some time, expense, and hassle to the process. It’s easier just to email these files.
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I tend to prefer full sized headphones over IEMs for most use cases except ultra-portability. I have the same issues, in general, with extended listening. You can get accustomed to longer sessions w/ universals over time, but customs are awesome. About the only issue I have with customs is moisture build up; it’s good to take a break every so often and let my ears air out. But in general, the biggest barrier to all-day listening is battery power on whatever is driving my CIEMs.
Looks like I’m in the same boat as several of you…absolutely driving myself nuts trying to decide between a MEST mkII and a U12t as a day in, day out, all arounder.
I have very little experience with high end IEMs. I made what I thought would be a big jump from my old pair of $350 FLC8s to the MEST OG a while ago and ended up selling the MEST. I couldn’t get a good fit, the mids were too recessed, and even though across the board my old IEMs were “inferior” technically, they were just more pleasing to listen to overall, if that makes sense. I could just enjoy the music a lot more and no genres, albums, or tracks sounded “wrong” or “off” like they did on my MEST OG.
I don’t know if that means I didn’t like the MEST’s tuning and I need to look for something different (like the U12t) or if the changes UM made MEST for the mkII will directly address the issues I had with it.
As someone who owned the Mest Mk1 & U12t, i ended up selling the Mest instead as i found myself preferring the U12t as a better all rounder. Also the fitting wasn’t comfortable for me on the Mest, but the Mk2 should have a better fitting now with the slightly slimmer profile.
I feel bad for not coming back earlier to post impressions of my MEST MkII customs. Work has been extra demanding lately, and, well, the customs are so good that I kinda just got caught up in enjoying them.
The OG MEST floored me with their unique spatial capabilities, but didn’t work well with everything I threw at them. Still, they were good enough for me to commit to getting customs. However, COVID slowed up the process for long just enough for MkII to be announced.
After a bit of hand-wringing, I ordered MkII universals so that I could decide which version to make custom. I’m super glad I did, because I ended up liking MkII more as an all-rounder. The darker tuning had me wishing for just a little more treble extension, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker.
Well, my customs came in, and they’re in the Goldilocks zone. The treble is sufficiently more present to eliminate any quibbles I had about the universal tuning. More importantly, fit is perfect. I’ve got perfect seal & isolation, perfect consistent shell contact, and sublime comfort.
I’ve been driving all of my MEST from an SP1000M. Sound quality ranges from excellent to transcendent. I regularly stumble across tracks that exhibit some kind of exotic imaging or staging trickery that leaves me awestruck. For example, this track by Boris Brejcha has a pounding beat, a lot of quick and subtle changeups (like pulling the bass back slightly then letting it loose in a torrent), and a crazy “waterfall” effect that showcases MEST’s ability to track a seemingly infinite number of images moving through a track while never sounding busy or congested.
I’ve even managed to sleep in the customs (which is to say, I’ve refused to stop listening until exhaustion took my choice away, lol). The shells have a pretty low profile (at least compared to my K10 CIEMs), so there’s no discomfort laying on my side with my head buried in a pillow. I’d hazard to say the first time was unintentional, but since then I’ve purposefully queued up relaxing nature sounds, which, frankly, are kinda awesome to fall asleep to.
Anyway, the customs aren’t much different sound-wise from the universals. However, with no tips and consistent fit, they take a lot of the guesswork and fiddliness out of trying to get the right fit, seal, and balanced sound.
My MEST MkII customs might just be my all around favorite thing ever to listen to, and that includes Susvara and VC. It certainly doesn’t best those headphones in all areas (Susvara timbre and delicate delivery is to die for, and VC is utterly enthralling), but given everything they do coupled with portability, they’re more versatile and more portable, so I can take this incredible listening experience with me anywhere.
Agee that MEST mkii is a great all-arounder. I never heard the mki, but I have yet to find anything that sounds less than amazing on mkii. Honestly, I can’t even imagine what a “better” IEM than this would sound like? Unless there’s one out there that does the full HD800S soundstage thing I’m pretty sure MEST mkii is all the IEM I’ll ever need. I’ve thought about possibly going custom at some point, but I’ve found that the universal varies its sound signature wildly with different tips, so I’m not quite sure what to expect from the custom and a little bit afraid of messing up a good thing (I prefer Xelastec by a mile, btw).
I’m also genuinely glad I discovered MEST after I already went all the way down the over-ear rabbit hole or else I might never have progressed past IEMs. It really is just THAT good. MEST mkii holds its own alongside my flagship(ish) over-ear headphones as more than just the only option when I’m on the go.
I don’t really feel qualified to review an IEM as I’ve only really heard 2, but suffice it to say fwiw MEST mkii gets my absolute recommendation.
Mest MK2 has some magic, but it isnt as cohesive and refined, and it’s mids presence doesn’t compare. It can feel a bit disjointed with some music, U12T always always does a commendable job.
Where U12T loses out is in the sparkly presentation and excitement the Mest brings.
But you said all rounder sort of IEM. U12T is king there.
Getting a hard time to choosing between VX vs U12T vs Mest Mk2. I mainly listening to string instruments, like violin, piano, guitars. No vocal for me. Sorta prefer a neutral warm typed sounding. Seems U12T is a good fit for me. But the others two are quite intriguing as well. I do prefer a holographic, out of my head, speaker-like magic for IEMs. That’s what makes me land here for the Mest MK2. What do your guys think?
Not really. Newbie in these TOTL iems. I own M9, Fh7. Looking for a step up. Enjoying my Arya as headphones as well. Tbh, I think Arya bass +2db is pretty much enough for me. Not a bass head.
Of the three options for that music choice (which I also listen to), I’d eliminate the VX and stick with the U12t or the MEST MK2. Either one will do well I think.
I haven’t heard the U12t or VX (though I understand both are excellent), but I have MEST mkii and I also listen to mostly instrumental jazz (plus occasional electronic) and can tell you fwiw I find the MEST to be perfection. Again, I never heard the original MEST though I understand it was a bit wonky in its presentation. I don’t find any such wonkiness in MEST mkii. At no point do I ever find myself critiquing the sound or presentation or timbre when listening to MEST mkii because it always just sounds “exactly right.” To my ears, at least.
I am quite happy with M9. But I feel less mid-bass, and more treble of M9 would be my idealist taste. But I do like the warmth M9 created. Though M9 has a good imaging, but it’s quite “in-your head” typed staging which I am not a fan of
I have been maintaining a playlist in Qobuz with fun tracks for MEST MkII. The other day I shared that @ HiFi Guides, and someone asked for screenshots since they didn’t have Qobuz. I took the opportunity to translate my playlist to Tidal, and in the process I also captured songlink links for all the tracks.
This is sort of an active playlist–it’s curated for flow up to the Health + NIN track (“ISN’T EVERYONE”). The rest of the tracks are tossed in there, and one of these days I’ll make an effort to tweak the order for flow. If I can’t make stuff fit, I have a second playlist for leftovers.
So, without further ado, here is “Music That MEST With Me.”
