MEE CW31 "Wood is Good" First Impressions (Review)
May 2, 2012 at 4:34 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 4

Magicman74

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First off I feel sorry for those of you who missed the " Wood is Good" Special.  I missed it the first time around but after us MEE fans requested for them to run it again I jumped right on the deal. $19.99 with free shipping was too good to pass up.
 I've seen a few reviews about these posted  but it seems these aren't really talked about too much?
I have no idea why not?, These things are just fantastic. Really good, Really, Really, Really good!!!
 
They come well packaged just like all the other MEE products.
They include 3 sets of single-flange tips(S/M/L)  1 set of Double-Flange & 1 set of Triple-Flange tips.
1 small clamshell case. Which is a little smaller then the " Standard" case of the M series. But it is actually built better, It seems to be stronger. Also included is a shirt clip, Which is the new style, A big plus here. No more fighting to remove it from the cable.
No worries here on cable damage.
 
The IEM's are made of a light weight Samak wood with hard plastic rings for the tip and nozzle.  The nozzles are actually oval, which adds to fantastic comfort.  They are also protected by a fine mesh filter.  The cable is your standard MEE cable that's on most of their products. Top shelf here.  Maybe one of the best cables period.  Not a Westone, but better then most cables in any price range.
The cable itself is termed with their new style gold L-plug. It's more of a hockey stick plug, but is quite nice.  I prefer a full L-plug but I see no problems in the future.  Top notch build quality as always coming from the MEE guys.  They really have design down when it comes to IEMs
 
So you are wondering about the sound?  Well in a word: Fantastic!!!
 
The Bass has a nice punch to it. I can't believe how much detail the low end has here. The depth is quite nice as well, Far from a Bass monster but these IEMs aren't supposed to be. These fall into the middle line of the Clarity series.  So thats how I feel the Bass comes across, Clarity,Detail and perfect Bass Balance.  What works real good here is the Bass has a very nice warm feel to it, It carries over into the lower Mids but never smearing the Mids. It just gives the Mids a simple warming up.  Which works very well.
 The Mids are just perfect.  They are what I call perfectly balanced, Neutral all the way.  They have so much Detail and Clarity.
It's just mind blowing the detail these but out.  Guitars sound amazing. 
Treble is great as well, there is some roll off at the very tip top but it has just superb crispness.  No harshness here at all.
Treble Heads might want a little more but for my taste they are just right.
 Soundstage is quite good as well, It has more depth from top to bottom instead of a wide scope.  Quite nice actually, I call it about Mid head- Not completely out of head but not in head as well. Just the perfect space and air..Nice!!
 
 
I'd call these IEMs balanced with just a perfect balance of added warmth, The slight warmth works quite well here.
Classic Rock music sounds amazing.  These IEMs remind me of a killer 1980's 2- way set up.  It's like having some old Kenwood-
JL975 AV's being pushed by a Marantz 2240 in your ear.  Warm and smooth with enough punch to rock out hard for hours.
 
With the (MSRP at $49.99) these are a steal.  I think they normally go for 29.99 on MEE's website.  It's hard to believe they only want $30 for these? These things punch WAY above their asking price..Value for the money is not even a question. You are getting so much with these IEM's.  Highly Recommend for anyone looking for an amazing IEM under the $50 mark, You won't find anything that sounds this good at your local big box store, unless these are stocked there:)
 
May 24, 2012 at 12:15 AM Post #2 of 4
I wanted to come back to these after a few weeks of heavy usage. I'm not one who believes in Burn -in on Dynamics that are not Bio-Cells like the Vsonic GR07 or Denon's (overears). I've never heard a review stating a IEM sounds worse after " Burn in" for some reason all Headphones get better after burn in.???  Um OK!!! My opinion of course.
 
Anyway, I don't understand why these aren't hyped up?  IMO these are the best IEMS in MEE's whole range. I Have owned all of them except the 151 & 161 and sport-fi (M6 basically) ...These need to be heard, seriously....I'm listening to Fates Warnings-Inside Out cd.....These things sound Amazing!!!   Wonderful really.....I LOVE Vsonics low range GR99 & 02  But I'd add these right next to those two all day without thinking twice.   IMO, Joker needs to put his set back on for awhile. The 6.7 doesn't seem right...I'd give them a easy 7.1 or 2.......   At $30  these are the sleepers of the year....Rock lovers need to look here.   Perfect Kick Drum punch on these , and guitars shine....
 
 
May 24, 2012 at 12:20 AM Post #3 of 4
Quote:
I wanted to come back to these after a few weeks of heavy usage. I'm not one who believes in Burn -in on Dynamics that are not Bio-Cells like the Vsonic GR07 or Denon's (overears). I've never heard a review stating a IEM sounds worse after " Burn in" for some reason all Headphones get better after burn in.???  Um OK!!! My opinion of course.
 
Anyway, I don't understand why these aren't hyped up?  IMO these are the best IEMS in MEE's whole range. I Have owned all of them except the 151 & 161 and sport-fi (M6 basically) ...These need to be heard, seriously....I'm listening to Fates Warnings-Inside Out cd.....These things sound Amazing!!!   Wonderful really.....I LOVE Vsonics low range GR99 & 02  But I'd add these right next to those two all day without thinking twice.   IMO, Joker needs to put his set back on for awhile. The 6.7 doesn't seem right...I'd give them a easy 7.1 or 2.......   At $30  these are the sleepers of the year....Rock lovers need to look here.   Perfect Kick Drum punch on these , and guitars shine....
 

 
I've heard the MEE CW31p, CC51p, M6, A151, and A161p.  I'm going to say that the sound quality of these is between that of the M6 and CC51 with the ratings going like this (best to worst):
  • A161p
  • A151
  • CC51p
  • CW31p
  • M6
 
Value-speaking, they stack up like this (at MSRP):
  • A161p
  • A151
  • CW31p
  • CC51p
  • M6
 
This is obviously my opinion, but that's how I hear it.  The value of the A161p is absolutely stunning, so is the audio quality.  The A151, although I didn't personally like them were technically really good until you hit the high end.  The CW31 had that problem to a further degree and had a slight veil in the sound from memory.
 
May 24, 2012 at 12:33 AM Post #4 of 4
Quote:
 
I've heard the MEE CW31p, CC51p, M6, A151, and A161p.  I'm going to say that the sound quality of these is between that of the M6 and CC51 with the ratings going like this (best to worst):
  • A161p
  • A151
  • CC51p
  • CW31p
  • M6
 
Value-speaking, they stack up like this (at MSRP):
  • A161p
  • A151
  • CW31p
  • CC51p
  • M6
 
This is obviously my opinion, but that's how I hear it.  The value of the A161p is absolutely stunning, so is the audio quality.  The A151, although I didn't personally like them were technically really good until you hit the high end.  The CW31 had that problem to a further degree and had a slight veil in the sound from memory.


Yeah see I haven't used the 151 or 161, I didn't like the c51...It's good but too grainy in the top for my likings.   I'm not hearing any veil at all on the CW31's...It does have some very slight warmth but not hearing a veil..A veil too me Is Senns. These are way more clear then Senns.   I think these are really balanced actually, just a small taste of warmth.
But I do notice it is also due to certain recordings.    I'm a total snob when it comes to cd pressings, Only quality 1st presses be it W/G, Japan, MFSL,DCC....So I do think it comes down to the music as well.....If your cranking out a brickwalled remaster it could cause some problems....I know this P33 Japan Fates Warning cd is crisp and clear with outstanding detail...Veil I don't hear it at all, but everyones ears are different:)
 

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