I was one of the UM Group buyers in the US* deal that started back in early fall. I chose the Mage because I'm interested in a detailed, less bass-emphatic sound. I have a pair of 1964-Ears triples, that are that company's approach to the same sort of sound signature.
Build - the Mages are a much more finished product that the triples. You can see this at the bore openings, which are a little rough, sharp edged on the triples, but completely smooth and finished on the Mages. Even though I chose a boring color and no custom art, these are great looking iems. They're also a little shallower than the triples, due to the way the drivers are arranged. This makes the Mages ride a little more flush when they're in. The fit was perfect. The impressions for both were done by the same audiologist here in the Bay Area.
Accesories - One big and I mean big box holding the phones, a brush/wire cleaner, a small hard shell carrying case, cables, cable clip, and the warranty and registration card. The box and registration card are pretty fancy, but the rest are fairly standard. The cable is the tangle-prone braided cord that comes with a wide range of custom iems.
Listening experience - These are definitely what I wanted for sound signature. There's no single emphasis in the range as far as I can tell after a week of constant listening. But the bass goes very deep, as needed in classical music, rock, hip-hop and electronica. The trebles are clear and detailed, with different cymbal sounds easily distinguished. The midrange is excellent, vocals and chamber music really shine on the Mages
Soundstage turns out to be very recording and source dependent. With a well recorded track, positioning is excellent. With low resolution or just crappy recordings, sounds are shoved together. The Mages are the first iems I've listened to that play poorly with the Clip+. Even good recordings lack dimension and sound thin.
These are detailed iems and more sensitive than the triples. As I alternated between the two for comparisons, the Mages were noticeably louder even though I didn't change the volume settings between songs. At a comfortable volume, I can leave these in for hours at a stretch without discomfort or fatigue. Nothing sounds bad and nearly (nearly) everything sounds great, from old timey bluegrass to the most abstract art music.
Equipment
iAudio 9 (no equalization used)
Clip+
Xonar Essense STX - Schiit Asgard
iRiver h140 - Meier Headsixx
iPad, headphone out
Music
Lorraine Hunt Lieberman - Handel Arias
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Eric Dolphy - Live at the Five Spot
Carl Craig - Domina
Borodin Quartet - Mendelssohn Quintet
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Pt. 2 Return of the Ankh
Glenn Gould - Bach Partitas, 1- 3
Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments
Frank Fairfield - Frank Fairfield
(And a bunch of other stuff this week, but these are ones I took notes on.)
These were really worth the wait. They remind me of what I remember hearing with the universal version of the UERMs last year at the Bay Area meet.
Mage and Triples
closeup
*Hat Tip to Poetik for pulling the whole thing together, getting the best deal he could for us, and not quitting when it got crazy.
Edited by rroseperry - 12/21/11 at 9:17pm
Build - the Mages are a much more finished product that the triples. You can see this at the bore openings, which are a little rough, sharp edged on the triples, but completely smooth and finished on the Mages. Even though I chose a boring color and no custom art, these are great looking iems. They're also a little shallower than the triples, due to the way the drivers are arranged. This makes the Mages ride a little more flush when they're in. The fit was perfect. The impressions for both were done by the same audiologist here in the Bay Area.
Accesories - One big and I mean big box holding the phones, a brush/wire cleaner, a small hard shell carrying case, cables, cable clip, and the warranty and registration card. The box and registration card are pretty fancy, but the rest are fairly standard. The cable is the tangle-prone braided cord that comes with a wide range of custom iems.
Listening experience - These are definitely what I wanted for sound signature. There's no single emphasis in the range as far as I can tell after a week of constant listening. But the bass goes very deep, as needed in classical music, rock, hip-hop and electronica. The trebles are clear and detailed, with different cymbal sounds easily distinguished. The midrange is excellent, vocals and chamber music really shine on the Mages
Soundstage turns out to be very recording and source dependent. With a well recorded track, positioning is excellent. With low resolution or just crappy recordings, sounds are shoved together. The Mages are the first iems I've listened to that play poorly with the Clip+. Even good recordings lack dimension and sound thin.
These are detailed iems and more sensitive than the triples. As I alternated between the two for comparisons, the Mages were noticeably louder even though I didn't change the volume settings between songs. At a comfortable volume, I can leave these in for hours at a stretch without discomfort or fatigue. Nothing sounds bad and nearly (nearly) everything sounds great, from old timey bluegrass to the most abstract art music.
Equipment
iAudio 9 (no equalization used)
Clip+
Xonar Essense STX - Schiit Asgard
iRiver h140 - Meier Headsixx
iPad, headphone out
Music
Lorraine Hunt Lieberman - Handel Arias
TV on the Radio - Nine Types of Light
Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Crosby, Stills, & Nash
Eric Dolphy - Live at the Five Spot
Carl Craig - Domina
Borodin Quartet - Mendelssohn Quintet
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Pt. 2 Return of the Ankh
Glenn Gould - Bach Partitas, 1- 3
Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments
Frank Fairfield - Frank Fairfield
(And a bunch of other stuff this week, but these are ones I took notes on.)
These were really worth the wait. They remind me of what I remember hearing with the universal version of the UERMs last year at the Bay Area meet.
Mage and Triples
closeup
*Hat Tip to Poetik for pulling the whole thing together, getting the best deal he could for us, and not quitting when it got crazy.
Edited by rroseperry - 12/21/11 at 9:17pm
