HEAVEN ON EARTH

I would like to thank @Questyle for organizing this tour. The opinions in this review are my own.


INTRO

Questyle has launched a new Flagship model, the Questyle CMA Fifteen. Continuing the design aesthetic of the CMA400i and The CMA Twelve, the 15 sports the flagship ESS ES9038PRO Sabre DAC which supports Current Mode output. With the adoption of the Sabre DAC chip, the CMA Fifteen is now able to decode MQA, as well as 32-bit/768kHz and DSD 512. Another new feature is the addition of a USB Type-C input which has priority over the USB Type-B input to eliminate “wire conversion loss”. Construction is top notch with the CMA Fifteen chassis formed from 10mm-thick aircraft-grade Aluminum 6063, with precise machining tolerances of ±0.02mm, and the unit itself is just beautiful to behold.



WHERE I AM COMING FROM

I fooled around with some desktop configurations a year and a half ago, and it culminated with the Questyle CMA 400i. I sold the 400 intending to upgrade to the Questyle 12 and I just never got around to it. I was lucky to be included on the Questyle 12 tour, tho, so I got to listen to it at least. I still didn’t have a desktop setup yet and I opted to try the Ares II, a R2r DAC, with the Schiit Jotunheim 2 amp. I really love the natural analogue sound of the R2r DAC. The soundstage seems ‘3D’; each musical element has its own sonic geography. The Ares II reveals this, whereas other ‘silicone’ based DACS can sound more like a 2D ‘projection, even if that ‘projection’ has amazing sounding 3D holographic sound stage. The sigma-delta DACS translate that 3D effect via a projection, where the Ares II R2r DAC merely ‘reveals’ the sound, naturally. Prior to the purchase of the new desktop rig, I have been using my Shanling M8 DAP. As far as transducers, for cans I will be using my Audeze LCD-2C planar magnetic headphones; IEM I have the new Earsonics Onyx here on tour as well as my custom Empire Ears Valkyries. For the 2C I have a Forza works 8 wire copper cable, and for IEM a PWAudio Monile50s 8 wire hybrid silver/copper cable. I use Roon and JRiver Media center, where I have the 15 connected with true DSD.



INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

I burned the unit in for about 75 hours. At first the sound was a bit tinny and brittle, but this beautifully resolved itself by 25 hours play time. I put about 75 hours on the unit before I wrote this review. The only problem I had with the unit was when I tried connecting Bluetooth to my Bowers and Wilkins PI7 TWS, and it would not recognize it…but the W&B does not support LDAC and the 15 only supports LDAC. Kind of annoying. A minor issue but one worth mentioning is that at zero volume you can hear faint music. The last issue, and it is indeed a minor one, is the 15 can come across as a tad over-engineered with an interface that is a tad ‘busy’, unless of course you like that look (which I do). But beyond those three issues, the unit was a breeze to use and setup and a pleasure to listen to.

Upon listening, the amp seems to just disappear and just present the music, very nice. Very neutral. Great PRaT. The sound is highly refined…truly hearing things I never heard before, in a wonderful way. Rich, authoritative sound, full of delicacy and nuance. Highly revealing but revealing the beauty… Heavenly and beautiful…. silky smooth yet controlled at the same time. Rich dynamics across the spectrum, yet relatively neutral in presentation. Overall presentation transcends the sum of its parts. There is an epiphany here. Great clarity and depth. Absolutely superb. The Onyx on the 15 is stunning. Good texture and ‘grunt’. Puts meat on the bones. At the end of 75 hours, the sound stage seems to have opened up a tad, and there is great clarity, resolution.



SOUND IMPRESSIONS

I am going to start my impressions with my Empire Ears custom Valkyries and my PWAudio Monile50s cable. I am plugged directly into the 4.4 port, and bias is on ‘hi’, tho I can’t hear a difference. I’m choosing the Valkyrie for its resolution. It has the W9 dynamic driver and dual electrostatic tweeters. It is U or V shaped depending on how you view it, and it has great clarity and sweet, extended highs. The Monile cable is 8 wire hybrid copper/silver. It has a huge soundstage, and it really opens ups dynamics on the bass, while the silver increases extension and clarity in the highs. And the unit was on and warmed up. I’ll try some other gear too, at the end, just for comparison.

My first impression is the 15 has gobs and gobs of power. On low gain I am in the 9:00 position volume wise and it’s pretty loud. Also, at zero volume I could hear some music, where with my Ares and Jot, it’s dead silent on zero volume… But once engaged, the 15 astounds with its clarity and detail and balance in the sound signature. The highs are sweet and heavenly, while the bass is rich and textured. Transmission of micro dynamics are excellent, while the bass is deep and authoritative, yet airy and light at the same time. In fact, if there was one dominant trait, I would say the ‘airiness’ of the whole presentation…it’s effortless; smooth, controlled, powerfull.

I’ll do individual songs by genre, starting with top 40 type stuff. Starting with Only the Lonely, the female voice sounds like it is enshrouded in a cathedral…the atmospherics are fantastic. The voice itself is rich and smooth, and the bass, tho strong, is controlled and rooted. In I Want To Know What Love Is, the mids are smooth and layered as the synthesizer’s melodies pour out…again, there is that ‘lightness’ or ‘airiness’ to the sound, as well as that layering and texture…but at the same time ‘rooted’ and ‘in charge’…It’s delicacy and power by design, and Questyle balances these two aspects amazingly well. In Listen to the Music, the acoustic guitar sounds amazing…the timbre and clarity…at the same time the bass is present and controlled and cradling everything. The male vocals and backing vocals are, again, smooth and layered. It really sounds fantastic. I was afraid I would lose that meaty, textured sound of AKM DACS, but, again, Questyle did a great job of providing that extra ‘grunt’ and texture while also being airy and delicate and musical. Heavenly.

Switching genres to Jazz, and throwing on the LCD-2C. In Parker’s Mood of the Jazz Piano History album, the alto saxophone sounds crisp and clear, with great timbre (I used to play the sax), and the bass is greatly controlled, but hitting deep as well. In Juice Heady Baby by Charlie Rich, the soundstage is accurate with depth and width, little bit of height, too. The bass is tight and plucky, and the piano is smooth and full of rich tonality. All this is again, being presented effortlessly, with great air and musicality. In Manha de Carnaval by Chuck Mangione, the trumpet intro sounds beautiful, and there is just a beautiful balance, again between ‘control’ and effortlessness. Switching to an ‘old’ recording, let’s hear Vict’ry Polka by Glen Miller. The Q15 just sounds fantastic, very smooth. The voices are creamy and smooth, and the horns retain their timbre. The Q15 brings an elegant musicality, a gentleness, to this old recording.

Switching to electronic music, the Questyle seems to be able to deliver a detailed, neutral, musical sound full of air and delicacy no matter what you throw at it. In Digitaria by Bill Laswell, there is abundant sub and mid bass quantity, control, authority, and slam. In Psychic Life by Jah Wobble, the driving bass line is large and in charge. The Audeze 2C really digs deep, and with the power and delicacy of the Q15, the deepest bass layers are revealed. The female vocals by Julie Campbell, are smooth and rich. The mids are perfectly balanced against the bass and the treble. The sound stage has sufficient width to accommodate all the synthesizer effects, giving them, on my open back planar, ‘out of head’ perception.



The DAC and AMPS

The DAC out of the Q15 into the Jotunheim 2 amp; the sound is a bit punchier, more dynamic, but also less firm. Don’t get me wrong, the DAC out into Jot 2 sounds amazing…clean and detailed, with musicality and power. But I think the amps on the Q15 are more authoritative, and the Jot 2 is more dynamic and punchier. Just a preference, really. I think the Jot 2 makes the Q15’s DAC sound more engaging and less ‘projected’. I think the Questyle DAC is more resolving, but, presented through ‘projection’. For increased resolution of the ESS DAC, the Ares II DAC excels in ‘revealing’; it’s more natural and ‘less processed’ than the sigma delta DACS. There is more texture, layering and depth in the R2r DAC. Has more of an ‘immediacy’ and excitement about it. A naturalness. More engaging. Sometimes when listening to the Q15, as much as I loved it, it felt like I was sitting in a theatre watching a movie. It was as if the music was happening without me, and I was just an ‘observer’, a listener. Whereas with the R2R DAC, I felt much more engaged, that screen was torn down, and suddenly the music has a ‘landscape’ about it; it’s suddenly a sonic world that is not 2D flat projection, but 3D immersion…Sometimes I almost feel like I could “walk into’ the world of the R2R music.



CONCLUSION

Without question, when it comes to things like sound quality and construction, the Questyle 15 is a 5 star winner. But when it comes to functionality, I just can’t get past the fact that I have a $400 TWS set that I cannot connect with a $2,500 DAC/amp that supports Bluetooth. All because the Wilkins and Bowers PI7 is APtX, and the Questyle 15 supports LDHC only. I mean, am I wrong? Is it me? I am rather shocked at this oversite! Unless there is a technical reason why this is so, this has to be the oversite of the year. In any event, the irony is I do not even use Bluetooth, and I have since sold the PI7. So as much as this point is trivial to me personally, I have to put myself in the shoes of a Bluetooth user or enthusiast and think that this issue becomes a potential deal breaker. So, for this reason, as much as it kills me, I have to take ½ a star off the 5star rating this would normally get from me. So, in conclusion, if AptX support is not a critical issue for you and the $2,500 price tag is within your budget, I would put the Questyle 15 at the top of your list. You can’t go wrong with this all in one package!

This unit was sent to me for the purpose of a review. The thoughts and opinions in this review are strictly my own. I would like to thank Thibault at Earsonics for reaching out and including me in the unveiling of the Onyx!



I got an email from Thibault from Earsonics asking me if I was interested in writing a review of a new IEM, the Onyx. Surprised and honored, I graciously accepted. I enquired about the price and the driver configuration, and I was told that it was confidential. A mystery! What would I get? In about a week or so, I was delighted to receive them in the mail, and immediately started listening to them. After 21 days of daily listening and burn in, I can happily say, Audiophiles rejoice! The Onyx is a 5-star winner that has astounded me from the moment I first heard them out of the box! It is a rich, vivid, powerful sound with great treble, rich mids, and tons of bass and I want to tell you all about it, so let’s take a closer look!



FIRST THINGS FIRST

Not knowing the price point or driver configuration of the Onyx (until about a week ago), and loving them the way I do, started me thinking about real vs perceived value. I used to be a door-to-door bed salesman. They taught us in training that there are just some people in the population that just choose the most expensive option, no matter what. Best bed we sold was just parts from other beds switched around, with a different baseboard. They slap a prohibitive price tag on it ($5,000), for people that want “the best” no matter the cost. It was a popular model. But what was its true value? It was all just perception. As audiophiles, we have to protect our wallets. There is plenty of overpriced items that are either poor build quality, and/or mediocre performance, that cost a ton of bucks. I have auditioned many $1,000+ IEMS and all of them were overpriced for what they offered. Either the bass was bad, or the mids were too forward, or the overall presentation was just unimpressive, but the Onyx sounds better than all of them. I do not know what the Onyx will retail for (turns out it is 490 Euros, or about $560!), but I can tell you they have killer sound quality. They trade blows with my custom Valkyries ($1,700) tho the Valkyries have better resolution and soundstage depth. The Valkyrie’s are relaxed and U shaped. The bass is deep and refined and the treble is smooth yet detailed. In contrast, the signature presented by the Onyx is bold and vivid and highly resolving. Does that put the price of the Onyx at$1,000+ Or even more? What is its true value? Does it take you to that audiophile place you want to go? How much are you willing to pay to get there? For me, the Onyx takes me to a place I want to be. What is that ‘dollar value’ worth to me? I choke at the thought of guessing it’s price point! Let’s just wait and see… (When I actually found out the price of the Onyx, I was shocked!).

As audiophiles we are always on the lookout for value. For example, my Shanling M8 DAP ($1,660). With dual AK4499 dacs, the Shanling has a beautiful presentation that sounds ever so slightly warm, with great musicality, detail, and also great bass with layering and texture, and tons of power. It was totally worth the money because it lays down a quality foundation for anything you wanted to throw at it- IEM, planar headphones, or cable wise. All things were improved tonally due to the foundation of the M8. Plus, I have used it every single day since I bought it a year and a half ago. That’s value.

The same principle is at work with my PWAudio Monile50s cable ($1,000). 4 conductors of ultra-pure copper, and 4 conductors of super pure silver, the cable exhibits robust, rich, and layered bass, as well as textured mids, and astonishingly clear and resolving highs, it opens up the soundstage and it has great dynamics and perfect synergy with the M8. The copper brings out the richness of the low end, while the silver allows the treble to shine, and contributes to the overall level of resolution and clarity and depth. The cable and the DAP act as force multipliers; they have synergy, they will ensure that whatever IEM or headphone is plugged into it, it will be getting the highest quality signal possible. Welcome to your new home, Mr. Onyx! I can tell you up front; once they were burned in, the Onyx played beautifully with the M8 and the Monile50s. The synergy is perfect. The 8 wire Monile gives the Onyx the dynamic range to breathe, expanding the soundstage to ‘out of head’ proportions, with deep, rich bass to boot. With this trio together, I can tell you the Onyx delivers a quality audiophile experience, albeit with its bold, powerful sound signature. Before we get to analyze tracks with impressions, we have to talk about the unboxing experience, and then most important of all we have to burn these in to 150+ hours before they settle in. I kept a little ‘burn-in’ diary along the way, and we will talk about that too!



OUT OF BOX EXPERIENCE

Delivery day, I cut open the package, and took out a simple rectangular paper black box with raised glossy embossed letters, which read Onyx. Opening it, I beheld the Onyx for the first time… Holy IEM’s, Batman! If Batman was to have an IEM, this would be it!…Indeed, Boy Wonder, this thing looks boss! A single IEM weighs in at over 15g, and it seems to be made of high-quality aircraft grade anodized black aluminum. This thing is built like a tank! Could it be made of steel? I had the stainless steel Andromedas a while back, and they were about as heavy…maybe a little more, but whatever this is made of it is beautiful to behold. Oozes quality and durability. Has ‘heft’ and weight.

I attached the Monile50s, put on some yellow Spinfit tips, and played some pop, top 40 type stuff. Out of the box, the bass is huge and lacks a bit of control, and the treble was a teeny bit too hot. As of now, after a few hours, these exhibit a little bit of bass ‘bloom’, but it does not interfere with the clarity or space of the mids…The mids are forward but are allowed to breathe in their own space, tho there was clearly room for improvement. The sheer volume of the bass is astounding! Seems to be rather ‘tip dependent’…tried a few different things, including stock foams, Comply foams, silicones, etc. Not better or worse, just different…tip rolling will be fun with this. It is also easy to drive, used low gain for first time in year and a half on many recordings. High gain works best most of the time tho, the Onyx seems to come more ‘alive’ in high gain, even at a lower volume.



INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: LARGER THAN LIFE

The Onyx has a beautiful mix of low-end power, midrange texture and layering, and a perfect top-end, with great speed and dynamics. This is not a neutral monitor. It is an engaging, but versatile tuning that pairs fantastically well with hard rock, pop, and EDM with a ‘robust’ but detailed performance. The overall presentation is slightly w-shaped, and it is beautifully complemented with a ton of PRaT. The Onyx is big sounding with a ton of depth and dynamics. Lower-mids pick up a bit of warmth and power from the forward low-end so they sound firmly planted. Classical, especially with good recordings, can be stunning, tho some symphonic works had wonky timbre and a bit too much volume in the bass.

Sometimes when you have a mid-centric presentation, the vocals are so far forward that when you adjust the volume to back up the vocals away from your nose, the bass is underwhelming, and the dynamics of the sound signature seem to collapse. Now when I say move the vocals back, that means I want to hear a vocalist about 10 feet in front of me, I don’t need them 3 inches from my face! That is the brilliance of the Onyx; when those wonderfully layered and textured and vivid mids are presented at a comfortable volume, you still get a rich, deep, satisfying bass and treble experience. Succulent bass. The sound presentation is electrifying, but there is also a delicacy to the texture and dynamics. Cymbal crashes are at times sublime and splash out to infinity with subtle shades of chiaroscuro contrast against the black background.

I hear a lot of power, but I also here a lot of micro dynamics and micro details as well as ‘micro-textures’. The treble is always splashy, and it has great sizzle, texture, body, and extension, and I never feel like they are dark or that they are lacking air. The treble is tastefully done. Sub bass has great reverb and impact. Sub and mid ‘Bass Cannons’ engage when called upon (especially down tempo and techno or metal), or whenever the recording requires it. When the full power of the bass is unleashed, during a song like Kashmir off the Led Zeppelin live album, Celebration Day, the mid bass and sub bass volume and dynamics are earth shattering. It belies belief that there is just a mere 1 DD involved here! As good as they sound out of the box, these need to be burned in. The best is yet to come. Let’s walk through it…



THE BURN IN.

The most immediate thing the Onyx needs is greater control, especially in the bass. After merely one night of burn in, the sound is much better in terms of bass control and hot highs… The highs are much smoother, and the depth and layering has improved a touch…Cannot wait to see what a full week of burn in does. Spent the week chewing my knuckles waiting for burn in to finish…Would it all come together? The sheer ‘volume’ of the bass can be overwhelming at times…. Will it be tamed? Yes, greatly tamed after 1 night…bringing out the layering and adding much needed control across the spectrum. There is a lot of power here, and it must be presented carefully…Will the Onyx deliver?

After 2 nights, imaging is improving, as well as sound stage and especially layering and texture. Bass control is continuing to improve as well. Highs are smoother, but still detailed and crisp. Mids can be a tad shouty at times, even after 3 nights burn in, but the mids have smoothed out substantially. The 4th burn in session lasted 12 hours and I was nervous about the mids being too forward, now that the bass has much more control…I was delighted to find that the mids are exhibiting much better control as well and are amazing. I can hear, (as I predicted, or at least hoped) that the soundstage and layering is improving, i.e., clarifying and opening up, and they are…

5th day of burn in and the layering and depth of the mids is coming out even more… deeper and deeper we can see into the mix, and also the clarity and extension of the treble becomes more resolved and refined. The old cliché’, “I’m hearing things I never heard before!” comes to mind. This is where you hear the micro dynamics. Treble has great air and shimmer. Bass Canons… The main trick here is the ‘separation’ the bass and the mids and the highs all have from each other as they all operate in their own space. As big and rich as the bass is, the mids are rich and vivid in their own right, and they complement the bass, which operates in its own dynamic space. I’m starting to realize the direction this IEM is taking, and I like it a lot.

After 100+ hours of burn in, these have gotten almost perfect. Pitch black background. The bass now is under great control, and, indeed, great control across the spectrum. It is not bass canons all the time like out of the box, now it’s just when called upon in the recording, and it delivers this bass with great authority and precision. I am continually shocked how easily the Onyx answers the call when bass artillery is needed in a song. More than that, when the bass is a simple bass line playing in the rear or side of the mix, the Onyx accommodates beautifully, and the bass just stays where it was meant to be under great control and accuracy. Throw on a techno downtempo, and suddenly bass canons engage. That shows amazing control and dynamics. I think there is still a little more clarity, control, and depth to be gained, tho, so let’s take it to 150 hours and see what we see…But these sound damned fine right now…

At 150+ hours, and I think it is done. Some more depth and clarity was gained. Soundstage opened up a little more. I may give them another few nights, (I did) I still feel there is some more depth to be gained (there was). I wanted to walk through the burn-in process to illustrate how the sound signature changes over time on the Onyx, how it ‘settles in’. Ok, now I think we are ready for some critical listening and sound impressions. Let’s see the final product in action. I will try a bunch of different genres to give you a sense of what these babies can really do! Let’s go!



SOUND IMPRESSIONS

I do not think it is necessary to do extensive sound impressions, I am more interested in sampling a range of genres. The Onyx breathes a lot of energy into recordings. Old, stale favorites like U2’s Joshua Tree, Bowie’s Tonight, and Talking Head’s Remain in Light and Little Creatures are resurrected with new energy and perspective. Low gain is best; give the dynamics room to breathe. Higher gain makes the bass a bit ‘boomy’ sometimes when using silicone tips, and the increased volume can sound shouty at times. Foam tips give greater control hence allowing you to play at higher gain modes to increase dynamics and not become strident or shouty in the process, but this is at the cost of clarity, plus the foam tips can sound a shade darker than the silicones.



Let’s start with some ‘pop’, top 40 one hit wonder type songs. In Tin Man by America, everything just sounds perfect. The bass is tasteful and full sounding. The guitars and vocals occupy their own space, and the timbre and tonality are perfect. The backing vocals sound smooth and rich. In Run to You by Bryan Adams, the presentation is just spectacular. The bass, again, is right in front, and it is driving the emotion of the song, and contrasted against the mids, it just sounds fantastic…the Onyx just kills it. The trick for me, is that because these are so sensitive, there is a tendency to want to ‘crank it up’ and tap into those reserves of power. You certainly can do that, but, again, I find higher volume levels fatiguing over time. In what is Love by Haddaway, lol, what can I say? The presentation is rich and bold, yet effortless and ‘musical’ at the same time. Even at low gain, I am only at 40/100 volume. The cymbal crashes are sublime…The treble is just perfect…not too much, but not too rounded either…It has energy and body and texture, and it sounds great, especially against the black background.



Let’s take a look at some random classical works. In Vivaldi’s Concerto #2 RV578, there is a layered, vivid presentation of the strings. The bass and cello sound wonderfully rich and emotive, and they are not to boomy or loud, which can sometimes be the case on ‘strings’ or symphonic type works, but here the bass is fine. There is also a sense of ‘air’ and space around the performance. Looking at Schumann’s Piano trio #3, Everything sounds great; microdetails and micro textures…strings and piano have great air and space, and the bass is not boomy at all, but it does have slightly more ‘body’ than a strict neutral presentation would offer. Sampling a beautiful vocal performance from Bach’s Mass in B Minor off the Bach Violin and Voice album. The contrast between the cello and the voice is stunning. Keeping the volume lowwww to contain the rich dynamics, the performance is vivid and exciting with tons of verve and zest. The emotion of the performances really captured by the Onyx. Again, the bass, as is the case in many classical works, borders on the edge of ‘too much’ without ever crossing the line. Again, if you mostly listen to classical, you may want to find something with more neutrality. Switching to a pure symphonic work, Saint-Saens Symphony #3, I hear rich, detailed strings that exhibits great soundstage, especially in the interplay between the harpsichord, the strings, and the woodwinds. Again, the bass has a good deal of ‘body’, but it is also rich, layered and has great rumble when called upon.



Let us move on to Techno/Dub genre of music. I want to cover the genre just to be thorough, but I think you know what I am going to say: It sounds fantastic. This type of ‘modern’ music which often eschews any actual ‘instrument’ is actually very easy for a competent sound system to reproduce, after all, it isn’t as complex or challenging as reproducing, say, a full symphony. Having said that, this music sounds fantastic, and it’s due to 3 things: the bass (and sub bass), the soundstage, and the imaging. On Divination One by Bill Laswell, oceans of bass and sub bass rumble and fill a vast soundscape. The vocal and synthesizer treatments hang in a 3D space with perfect air and location. On Five Beat, Part 1 by Jah Wobble and Deep Space, the opening bass chords are deep and full but accurate and precise. There is no bloat; this bass performance on this IEM is highly accurate and precise. The guitar effects hang in that 3D space, that vast soundstage, and occupy their own reality in the most hypnotizing of ways. The actual sonic elements - the ‘notes’ if you will - all have this vivid, electrifying quality about them. Stunning.



Finally, let’s take a look at some random Jazz. These recordings are off Chesky records. Listening to Jazz in the New Harmonic, the performance is just stunning. The bass is full, but it works here; the stand up bass compliments the cymbals and the trumpet wonderfully, there is great energy and dynamics here. The saxophone comes in and it has a rich, sonorous quality. In Miles Away by Sara K, female vocals sounds rich and engaging. The bass is perfect…a little full sounding with great body, but the layering and the micro details and dynamics are perfect. Not ‘hyper-detailed’ but the whole presentation comes together with great musicality. Sara K’s voice is perfect. I’m running out of adjectives, folks, the Onyx is a great IEM.



FINAL THOUGHTS

I have had the Onyx for 20 days, now, and I simply cannot stop listening to them! They have a fun, addictive sound. To seal the deal, the stock cable and tips are rather decent! I generally do not like stock cables or tips, but this one just works for me. Stock cable off my cell phone and YouTube music sounds fantastic! To me that increases value, you don’t need fancy cables or expensive DAPs to experience what the Onyx can do. Tip rolling can be your friend here, with nothing ever sounding ‘bad’: each tip shapes the sound in different way, and it is really just a matter of preference. The stock silicone tips sounded great to me, they just kept getting loose. Spiral dots are tight and punchy. Sound stage opens up. Strings and bass in symphonic works sound more natural, and there is a bit more air and space. The Sedna wouldn’t fit on the barrel. Yellow Spinfits are great too, and it was the Spiral Dots and the Yellow Spinfits that I listened to the most. Aqua Marine Spinfit sounds great, adding a touch more control across the spectrum. Has all the clarity of the yellow, but also a little bit more control of the bass, which is welcome. Now the Final E…great control but makes the soundstage a bit more intimate and seems to diminish the treble and treble extension in general. Honestly, I don’t care for the Final E on the Onyx, but your mileage may vary. Stock Delkoni style foam tips are also an interesting option. Controls dynamics and mostly resolves bass volume issues, but gives a much darker presentation, and the high end lose some of its dynamics. Symphonic works sound more neutral, but still lean a little ‘rich’ in their tonality and presentation, due mostly to the bass, which while greatly controlled, especially with the foam tips, is still a bit forward.



CONCLUSION

Earsonics deserve praise. They delivered the goods, and they did it at a reasonable, affordable price. Even if the Onyx was more expensive than it is, it would be worth it, because it excels at what it was designed to do. Perfect execution. Force multiplier stuff. Caveat emptor. This is value. For the Onyx, the end result is more than the sum of its parts. The Onyx isn’t just all about power, it is also a beautifully refined, tastefully tuned experience. It is not for treble heads nor the faint of heart. Neither is it for those who are looking for anything ‘moderate’, or ‘relaxed’ or ‘reference’. If you are looking for an ‘all-rounder’, this will not be for you. If you listen to predominantly classical, I would move on and find something more ‘neutral’ unless of course you like a bass that can sometimes be a little forward sounding. But in just about every other genre, if you are looking for a ‘larger than life’ earphone with tons of Power, resolution, and bass that hits like the Hammer of the Gods…then the Onyx should be at the top of your list. Run to it.

Introduction



The Yulong DA1 DAC headphone amplifier was recently offered up on tour by Andy Kong, and I was eager for a chance to get a listen. After all, it is not only the DAC/amp, but also the DA1 Power Station that accompanies it as a $1,600 option. The DAC/amp itself retails for $2,500. The combo costs a cool $4K. I happen to be in the market for a desktop solution, so I was intrigued, and the power conditioner was the icing on the cake. Applying for the tour, I was delighted to be accepted. I want to just take a moment to thank Andy for including me, I truly am honored to be a part of the tour. The thoughts in this review are my own opinion.



Where I Am Coming From



I was originally interested in ‘audiophile’ back in the 80’s. In my 20’s, recently discharged from the Navy, I was working, I had some cash, and I loved music. Out on Long Island where I am from, in a little town called West Islip, on Sunrise Hwy, used to be a little shop called Audio Visions. It was run by 2 great guys, Nick and Steve. Audio visions was a high-end store. They had 3 rooms and they sold things like $30,000 Magnepane speakers, Huge Bryston amplifiers, Thiel speakers, Thorens turntables, $10,000 cables, things like that. The guys used to let me come in and listen to stuff, and Nick, an old irascible Dutch guy with crazy hair and rumpled clothes, acted as a type of ‘mentor’ to me. He used to get discounted tickets to Carnegie Hall, and me and my friend Greg would often go. I remember watching Yo Yo Ma sitting on a folding chair on stage with nothing but his cello and bow, playing Bach cello sonatas by memory. Heady stuff. Nick taught me a few things. He said, if you want to evaluate the performance of a sound system, it’s best to listen to a symphony, and it has got nothing to do with whether you ‘like’ classical music. Reproducing the tonal and acoustic complexities of a symphony properly is the most difficult thing a sound system can do. Rock, Jazz, Pop, etc. is fine, but it will not ‘challenge’ a high-end sound system. At the time, I was rather enamored with ‘graphic equalizers’; they were so cool looking! No, said Nick. Audiophile products do not have “bass and treble” controls. Hardly. Such course adjustments would never be necessary. You adjusted the sound by the type of cables, cartridges, interconnects, and components you use. (Not to mention wall hangings and carpets).



Oh, and I never, ever, use EQ or DSP. Not because Nick wouldn’t have approved, (although he wouldn’t) it’s because I simply do not think it improves the sound in any way. Yes, you can boost frequencies, but the overall fidelity drops significantly. I recently was playing around with the Hiby MSRB system wide adjustments on my Shanling M8 ($1,650), and at first, I was amazed! Convinced I was ‘improving’ the sound by boosting rumble, and clarity, and thump…but when I made all my adjustments, then turned it off, instantly the default sound was always better. Also, frequency charts! God, no… This is a tough topic because a few people on head-fi that I greatly respect love to look at frequency charts. I always ask: Show me sound stage on a frequency chart…for that matter, show me timbre, tone, layering, extension on a frequency chart…point to it. You cannot. To me, charts tell you little. Maybe if you are sensitive to a certain frequency, a chart can show you in that sense if, say, you are sensitive to 4KHz region, a chart can show you that there is an abundance of that frequency, granted. But beyond that, charts, like EQ, are counterproductive. The “Harmon Curve”, another sacred cow. Why not just tune everything under the sun to the Harmon Curve and be done with it? Ah, eh, uh huh, see? Yes, I said it. So sue me. And yes, cables and ear tips make a significant, often, a profound difference.



Another issue I think it is important to discuss is this whole thing we do called “audiophile”. Dodgy stuff. I get a kick out of reading ‘professional’ reviews on headphones and other components. I have literally seen different reviews contradicting themselves; one review says a headphone has great soundstage, another review of the same item will declare it has bad soundstage! It’s all so dodgy! OK, OK, enough about me…I feel better I got all that off my chest! Let’s get to the review!



The DA1



This Yulong is a beast. The power conditioner is very heavy (IDK, maybe 20 pounds?). Unboxing was tricky, and I suggest you do it on the floor. It comes with a quality USB cable that was greatly appreciated. I know a lot of people write these reviews that look like they are going to be published in Stereophile magazine. It’s like they are auditioning for a job! Extensive paragraphs on all kinds of technical information, stuff that can easily be found on the product website. This is not going to be that kind of review. If you want all the technobabble, go to the product webpage, or look at some other reviews on head-fi, they got you covered. No, friends, I like to focus on sound impressions because that is what it’s all about.



The Sound



Below I will analyze a few songs, but I am going to lay out my ‘opinion’ on the sound right up front. In a nutshell, the Yulong DA1 sounds terrific, with one big problem (for me); the upper mids are slightly too aggressive; too forward. It’s a mid-centric tonality, giving it a bit of a ‘shouty’ presentation, but great detail and resolution and soundstage…the sound is very transparent. Bass is controlled with an emphasis on mid-bass. The bass is great, but it’s a little light. To get any kind of volume out of it puts the mids too far forward. The overall sound is musical, but it also excels at technicalities. It has a smooth and natural presentation (except for the mids) with good layering, excellent timbre, and tone.

The power conditioner provides an ultra-black background that must be heard to be believed! Microdetails and micro dynamics are excellent; more evident due to the black, and I mean black, background. In this sense, if you can afford it, the power conditioner is a must, it’s my first experience with one and I am deeply impressed. The black background is sublime!



The Details



I am going to choose a few songs at random just to try to illustrate exactly what is going on with these mids and why. The settings on the Yulong are Sharp filter, 2x’s clock. I will be using FLAC recordings of various quality, but a warning up front, no matter what genre, recording or artist, the story was the same; sounds great! But the mids are too far forward. Let’s take a look….



Biggest Part of Me by Ambrosia

I chose this song because it is a great song and recording. First thing out of the gate: the vocals are right up in my face. Turning the volume down puts the vocals at a decent level, but now the bass is too low. The quality of the bass is excellent. It seems the upper mids are the problem. Shouty. The treble is excellent, nice and smooth and detailed. Imaging and soundstage are decent. It’s the vocals. The lead vocal is bad enough, but when the chorus of background vocals comes in, it grates on my nerves and I cannot finish the song. Too bad.



I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett

I love this song. I love the drums and the guitar playing and the whole ‘attitude’ of the song. The drums intro slams like an attack of thunder, and the guitar riffs come in with great texture and tone. What’s more, the ‘space’ around the drum hits and cymbals and the guitar riffs are filled with air and space and micro dynamics, all due to the ultra-black background. It’s as if the blackness contrasts the music in a wonderful way. It reminds me of trying to watch TV in a bright sunlit room vs. a dark room at night with the lights off; the music just pops out of the blackness, and it sounds marvelous. Oh, God, but again after about a minute, the vocals and guitars start grating on my nerves…



Black Dog by C.C. Colletti

A Chesky recording off the Rock: Reimagined album. The opening acoustic guitar and cymbal hits sound absolutely fantastic with tons of detail; the microdetails in the guitar strings and cymbals is stunning…again, that black background thing; the contrast. Vocals are too sharp. Again, I don’t know what it is, but the mids just grate on my nerves…oh, boy…. I gotta tell you tho, when I close my eyes and just listen the soundscape is 3 dimensional with great layering and depth. I just wish the singer would back up a little bit, she’s right in my face.



Jazz in the New Harmonic by Chesky

This song, like the others, sounds great. This is a jazz quartet so there is less of a ‘mids’ problem here. The instruments have great ‘presence’; what I mean by that is when I listen to the saxophone, it SOUNDS like there is a saxophone playing in front of me…but even now, as I listen, the upper notes of the sax sound too forward, it’s just not as annoying as on the other songs. The bass is fantastic, filled with emotion…the bass is actually rather succulent…It sounds like a standup bass, and I can imagine sitting at the studio watching the strings get plucked; they have a great ‘rumbly’, ‘plucky’ quality that is not thick or cloying at all…it’s a clean bass, and the timbre of the trumpet contrasting the bass is rather remarkable!



Beethoven’s 9th Symphony by Daniel Barenboim

Excellent sound stage, all elements of the symphony can be placed easily in space. The bass and cellos have great rumble. The strings are beautiful, airy, and light with great timbre. Rich and detailed. The woodwinds are smooth. Ah, see, the upper mids of the brass (not bass) is just a tad too shouty…See, again, as the soloists come in, their voices are just a tad too forward…it makes me want to turn the volume down, but then all the dynamics collapse…(i.e. everything else is too low).



Conclusion

I have ambivalent feelings about the DA1. It is truly an outstanding product, and I LOVE the power conditioner, a “must have”, if you can swing it. The Yulong does SOOO many things great! But here is my dirty little secret: I have always been ‘sensitive’ to mids. I may not ‘like’ bass or treble on any particular item, but they never “irritate” me. Forward mids irritate me, they always have. There are usually 2 camps in audiophile, those who say the most important thing is the mids (it’s where all the action happens, they say; vocals, guitars, it all happens in the mids)! Others like me say, no it’s the bass! The bass is the foundation and the emotion! The bass envelopes and cradles the mids. Again, although the bass is great, it takes a back seat in presentation to the upper mids, and that just does not suit my preference.

In my evaluation I used my planar LCD-2C ($800) with Forza 8 wire copper cable ($250), my custom Valkyries ($1,600) with my PWAudio Monile50s cable ($1,000), and the Penon Serial ($300) with Monile cable. No matter the setup, and no matter the filter and clock settings, it was always the same story with the mids. So, if you like your mids and don’t mind a slightly forward presentation, the Yulong DA1 with power conditioner should be at the top of your list, it truly does excel in virtually every other aspect. Personally, I prefer a neutral presentation with a bit more authority, like the Questyle CMA 12, which I auditioned on tour once. But that is my opinion, for what it’s worth…Thanks for listening! Enjoy!

Todd the Vinyl Junkie recently offered up the Focal Celestee ($990) on review tour. Described on the Focal website as “high end closed back headphones,” these cans use an aluminum magnesium moving coil dynamic transducer. On condition of the tour, we are obligated to offer our opinion in a review. We were in no way pressured to say anything one way or another. These thoughts in this review are mine and mine alone.



Before we get into the music, I think it is fair to say a few things about where I am coming from. My experience with high end closed back headphones is minimal. All of my headphones have been open back planers. I’ve been spoiled. I currently own the SendyAudio Aiva (pretty amazing for the price), and the vaunted Audeze LCD-2C (which I adore). Another issue I feel the need to disclose is that I auditioned the Focal Clear, about a year ago, with the intention of buying them. I left the store with the Hifiman Arya instead. I heard the Focal Clear 1 times before that, and both times I didn’t like them. They sounded ham-fisted to me; a ‘construction’ if you will with no coherency or finesse. This is one of the reasons why I was interested in hearing the Celestee. I know Focal is beloved by many audiophile, so I was eager to hear what all the fuss was about.



Much has been made about the aesthetics of the Celestee. I dissent. Tho the metal pattern of holes over leather is really cool, I cannot get excited about the color scheme. Apparently, the colors are supposed to invoke a sense of “the cosmos”: I suppose the bluish color is supposed to invoke the ‘golden hour’ of sunset, where the blue sky is fading to inky black and the veil of stars… Unfortunately the ‘bluish’ color reminded me of art class. Remember in art class how they made you paint with water colors? And the water you were given in a cup soon turned to that ‘mud’ color? That is what the blue on the Celestee reminds me of, and also the case. The case color looks like someone took bunch of colors and mixed them together, and said, “There!” Yuck.



Before I get into my sound impressions, I want to share a summary of professional reviewers on the Celestee, just to orientate ourselves. Headphones.com lauded the Celestee’s detail retrieval, as well as its “forward, detailed” presentation, it’s “great imaging clarity and texture,” and it’s “analytic” bass.” The timbre is described (by more than 1 reviewer) as being a bit “off.” The reviewer was also impressed with the Celestee’s “bright, airy tonality.” Moonaudio described the Celestee as “natural and smooth” and; “lively and engaging in a mellow kind of way.” Recognizes “front to back soundstage”. Headphonia.com went on to say that the Celestee has a “lively, dynamic tuning matched with great detail retrieval and is pleasingly well extended at either end of the frequency response.”



These observations pretty much matched with my own initial gushings during the ‘honeymoon period.’ Armed with this knowledge, I forged on with my own critical listening. I tried to draw on a mix of genres to see what the Celestee could do. I used my Shanling M8 DAP out of the 3.5mm standard out with an adapter. I did not have access to a balanced cable.

Sir Duke Stevie Wonder

First impression I get is that of ‘Clarity’; the second impression is ‘Anemic bass’. Good detail. Soundstage sounds more narrow than it should. Excellent depth and layering tho. Bass has good control and detail, It just doesn’t have enough quantity. It’s more than that tho, even if there was more ‘quantity’, the bass still has a lean presentation. Cymbals have great splash and sizzle.



Wishing Well Trent D’Arby

Opening drum hits lack slam. Sound thin and chintzy. Lacks authority. Treble sounds rolled off to me. Mid-forward presentation lacks energy and excitement. Vocals and backing vocals in the mids sound too ‘busy’…too congested.



Dread Internal Bill Laswell

Bass dub…Bass certainly sounds ‘richer’ and the sub-bass hits more pronounced. This actually demonstrates great bass extension relative to the other recordings. Again, the mids sound congested to me. General lack of excitement. The good detail here sounds a bit fussy and contrived.



On the Right Road Jah Wobble

Demonstrates excellent imaging. The excellent imaging and detail, combined with the anemic and over-controlled bass, and the mid forward presentation, makes for a wonky listen which lacks organic coherency.



Tightrope Jah Wobble

Unimpressive drum hits. Lacks texture, sounds ‘glossed-over’…Notes sound flat. The sound sounds ‘contained’ as if it was playing inside a glass jar. Could be what I’m hearing is the claustrophobic soundstage. The layering and depth cannot make up for the lack of width and extension.


Romance in A Rachmaninov

The detail and clarity really brings out the strings of the violin. The piano notes lack overtones and depth. Ultimately the violin sound brittle and lacking richness and microdetails.



Oh, dear. Honestly, I expected more from a pair of cans that cost a grand. The main problem for me, is that there is just not much ‘there’, there, as they say. For me, the ‘analytic’ bass sounds over controlled. The 2C has succulent bass, the Celestee has chintzy bass. Could it be that the Celestee is just too bright? The narrow soundstage and the thin, brittle tonality is the ultimate demise of the Celestee.



In conclusion, I just want to say that I do not think the Celestee is a ‘bad’ headphone. I am giving them 3 out of 5 stars. They are 'good', they are just not ‘great’. And I think they are over-priced. Also, too, is the issue of my experience with open back planar. To put this in context, I recently participated in a review tour of the $3,800 Rognir, and I hated them. To the point that the tour sponsor and I thought they may have been damaged in transit. The next person in the tour loved them. Go figure. To me, the Rognir sounded worse than the Celestee, at almost 4X’s the price! Perhaps my love of open back planar has ruined my ability to be impartial. I like to treat myself maybe once a month to a nice bottle of wine. I always go for a decent Malbec. Last month, while passing the ‘French’ wine section, my eye caught a highly rated bougelet. I bought that instead, and when I drank it I was disappointed. It was thin and watery…lacked depth and richness. I could say the same thing about the Celestee…yes the Celestee had a few things going for it, but it didn’t put those things together to make them greater than the sum of it’s parts. In this sense, like the wine, the Celestee fails to impress. It sounded ‘good’, it did not sound ‘great’. Honestly, for a cool grand, I think, as audiophiles, we should expect greatness. In this sense, the Celestee failed to deliver.

I was at Canjam NYC this past February, when I found myself in front of the Musik Tek table. The gentleman at the table eagerly asked if I would like to try a new hybrid IEM with “Bone Conduction” technology. In the sensory overload environment of the show, I misunderstood his description, and thought the bone conduction was a “sub-woofer” technology. I put them on, using my A&K SE100 DAP, and while they sounded good (I remember liking the bass), I couldn’t really discern any ‘tapping’ sensation in the bass. It all sounded gimmicky to me anyway. Looking at the literature, I noticed all these drivers: EST, bone conduction, dynamic, mid-high, high, ultra high…it was confusing. After a few moments, I decided that I basically liked them, but wasn’t too convinced of this “Sub-bass bone conduction thing.” They were expensive. I smiled, handed them back, and moved on to other things.

Fast forward to Spring, and I saw the ad in Head-Fi for the MEST review tour. I have a policy of basically applying for any and all review tours; after all, it’s free, and if it’s free, it’s for me! To my delight, I was chosen and found myself second on the list. In between Canjam, and being accepted for the tour, I sold my SE100, and bought the SP2000 copper. Once ‘the virus’ set in, everything became uncertain and I decided that caution was the better part of valor, and returned the 2000, (it was too heavy, anyway, but it sounded great). I asked Andrew if he could bounce me to the end of the list, because I found myself without a DAP, and I was stuck using my Fiio BTR3 as a backup, which I deemed insufficient for the task of a review.

In the interim, I was reading good things about the BTR3 successor, the BTR5, which I ordered off Amazon for $109. WOW, this BTR5 is a gem! A dap killer, this thing sounds fantastic! My palms grew itchy for the MEST. I emailed Andrew and told him I was ready to review, and to my delight, I found the MEST in my mailbox a few weeks later (Thank you Andrew!) I eagerly opened the box, threw on my favorite tips, the yellow Spinfits, grabbed my cell phone, fired up the 5, plugged them in, and…was disappointed. There was a graininess and incoherence to the sound. But I liked the bass. Oh, well. I packed it up and let it sit in my closet.

After 2 or 3 days, my curiosity got the better of me, and I broke them out again. Nope, don’t like them. The individual elements were OK; the mids were a bit forward, definitely a ‘W’ presentation (which I am not fond of). The bass was good, the treble was hot but detailed. The soundstage, layering, high end extension, sub-bass rumble, and mids-detail were all there. I liked the individual elements, but when you put it all together, it lacked coherency: it sounded ‘ham-fisted’. I figured the cable was a copper, SPC hybrid, but didn’t know. SPC cables always sound harsh to me, so I put on my EROS II silver/copper hybrid from my EE custom Valkyries, and WOW! MUCH better! The highs were smoother, but they still sounded too ‘busy’ to me, too fatiguing. I replaced the EROS II with my PWAudio Limited pure copper, and BAM! suddenly these things came alive! Yet even in the face of all this, the treble still seemed a teeny bit too hot, and the mids a bit too forward. My Head-fi pal Cr3ativ3 suggested I replace the Spinfits with the Type E, which certainly is known to tame the treble. Well, once I had this kit together, The MEST won my heart. I had them on while grocery shopping, and I had to laugh out loud and admit that these things won me over! So, I spent some quality time with them, put together a playlist, made some notes, and I’m ready to write up a proper review. Lets jump in!

I will spare a description of the technicalities of the MEST, it’s rather well documented, and focus on sound impressions. Below is the playlist I used for my analyses.

The following track list provides song name, artist, and album. All files are flac format. All tracks are 44,100KHz, except Black Dog and 9th Symphony (96,000).



Numb, Andy Stott, Luxury Problems

Edyocat, Andy Stott, Merciless

Dominion Day, Gary Numan, Exile

Los Ageless, St. Vincent, Masseducation

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Deep Blue Something, 11th Song

Visions of You, Jah Wobble (feat. Sinead O’Conner), Rising Above Bedlam

You’ve Got Another Thing Coming, Judas Priest, Screaming For Vengeance

Sir Duke, Stevie Wonder, Songs in the Key of Life

Spinning Wheel, Blood, Sweat and Tears, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

First Light, Harold Budd, Brian Eno, The Plateux of Mirror

Delta Rain Dream, Jon Hassell, Brian Eno, Fourth World Vol. 1 Possible Musics

Pride and Joy, Albert King w/ Stevie Ray Vaughn, In Session

Black Dog, C.C. Colletti, Rock: Reimagined

Journey to the Center, Journey to the Center, A Night of Chesky Jazz Live at Town Hall

The Second Part, The Hillard Ensamble, English and Italian Medieval Madrigals

Suite No. 1 in G BWV 1007, M. Rostropovitch, The Complete EMI Recordings

Toccata & Fugue in D minor, Christopher Herrick, Bach: The Complete Organ Music

Idomeneo, re di Creta, K.366, Mozart Opera Arias, Anna Netrebko

Symphony No.9 in D minor, Barenboim, Beethoven for All





When I set the volume, I like to put the vocals at a comfortable distance in front of me, and let the bass and high end fall where they may. With my Valkyries and CL2, this works great, but with the MEST, on some tracks, this puts the bass and treble too far in the rear. In order to get the full effect of the bass, I had to turn the volume up, putting the mids a little too forward of what I am used to. This is not true on all tracks, tho, so lets break it down!

Numb, Andy Stott: This song is an example where the forward vocals are most welcome. Alison Skidmore’s vocals exhibit hyper detail with rich, beautiful tonality and elegant layering. The menacing bass tones emerge out of a primal blackness contrasting the vocals with rich layers and detail. That is going to be buzz-word in this review: Detail. The sound stage is wide, high and deep and the vocals remain comfortable in their own space. At the same time, infinite layers of bass tones breath and pulse in there own reality. Stunning.

Edyocat, Andy Stott: I decided to go with another Stott song to illustrate the sub-bass rumble, which is absolutely fabulous. The synthesizer’s buzzes and beeps occupy their own space and tonality yet again, while the bass yet again exhibits a rich, detailed, layered presentation with tons of impact and slam. It is not the fastest bass, nor should it be. There is a relaxed, yet accurate presentation, with just the right amount of attack and decay. The sub-bass reaches low and will rattle your teeth, while the high end is polished and smooth, accentuated with just the right amount of sizzle, while not being exhausting or sibilant in the least. Well done.

Dominion Day, Gary Numan: We move on to one of my favorite albums in recent years. This is a tricky track because the bass is so multifaceted and can sound over-whelming and muddy to lesser IEM’s. If there is any song I know that could sound like a muddled mess, it is this one. Over the years I have spent a lot of time finding a flac recording of this album, just to try and get this song to sound the way I feel it should sound. Whenever I buy a new IEM, or cable, or DAP, this is usually one of the first song I try. It is an avalanche of bass, sub-bass, layers, vocals, effects and synthesizers. As I sit here listening to it now, my eyes are tearing up. It sounds spectacular! I crank up the volume, forward mids be damned, and revel in the avalanche of sounds lashing my ears. Gary’s vocals, which are usually buried in the Malmstrom, sing out, filled with agony and rage at the injustice of the deity. The sound stage is vast and layered, and the detailed layers extend out to infinity. Finally, I can enjoy this song and album the way Gary intended.

Los Ageless, St. Vincent: Going to another favorite, we see an example of where the mids are not served as kindly. The vocals are far too forward, and the guitars and synthesizers are rather incoherent and fatiguing. Perhaps it’s the mix, but the bass seems to overwhelm and drown out St. Vincent’s vocals. Ah, too bad. Still rich with detail and slam, the sound stage sounds a bit too closed in. I had originally planned to review a Sheryl Crow song, Run, Baby Run, and found it suffered the same fate as St. Vincent. Is it the recording? Is it “female vocals”? Is it the pop genre? Let’s forge on and find out…

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Deep Blue Something: Staying with pop, for the moment, let’s see if the MEST is genre specific. The guitar intro is clean and breezy sounding with lots of detail and air. The vocals are cool and tamed. The sound stage and presentation is roomy, airy, filled with richness and ‘pop’ (no pun intended). The electric guitar chords ring out with authority and musicality; they have a rich layering with perfect ‘note’ and tone. There is a richness there. The drums are in the back where they belong, and I can hear the high hats and cymbals crashing and sizzling with perfect effect, Each instrument and element sits in its own space with layering and tonality. The bass is, again, filled with detailed and emotion. Fantastic!

Jah Wobble, Visions of You: This track is actually from an album of remixes of the song Visions of You off the Rising Above Bedlam album. It features Sinead O’Conner on background vocals. Jah Wobble is by far my favorite bassist and one of my favorite artists. He is prolific, and vastly under-rated. I chose this particular mix because of Jah’s synthesized bass. It is, again, rich with detail and tone. Sinead’s ethereal, other-worldly vocals surge teasingly in and out of the forefront, poking in and out of the background blackness. Jah’s vocals are smooth and rich, and every element of the song lives in it’s own layer and space. The composition of elements show fantastic coherency, and once again the MEST interprets all these musical elements effortlessly. The sitar solo bounces up and down, left and right, warbling in the sound stage with a 3-d holographic effect. Beautiful.

You’ve Got Another Thing Coming, Judas Priest: A guilty pleasure. I’m not a big ‘metal’ guy (tho I love my Zeppelin, if they can be considered ‘metal’) but I love this song. Let’s crank it up and see what we see. Right off, the bass and bass drum sound like they are slamming in my throat. The cymbal crashes sizzle with smooth extension, not hot or sibilant in the least. Rob’s vocals are smooth and fantastic: If I close my eyes, I can easily visualize him standing there, posing and screaming, his voice perfectly removed from the incessant guitar riffs. It’s a clean, big, bold, slamming, beautiful sound. Wonderful!

Sir Duke, Stevie Wonder: Let’s return to pop for a moment, and try a few songs known for their complexity and musicality. Wow, those horns on the intro come in with authority, and you can discern each individual element. Stevie’s organ, the drums, the horns, the vocals, drums, cymbals, all yet again are filled with richness and detail. The timbre and tone is spot on, and the soundstage is detailed, uncluttered, and each instrument occupies it’s own space. If I had to criticize one thing, it’s possible the bass may be a BIT too much if you are a treble head. If you love your bass the way I do, I think you will love these IEMs.

Spinning Wheel, Blood, Sweat and Tears: Staying with pop for just one more song, I wanted to see if the wonderful horns of Sir Duke carried over to a band whose horn section I have always admired. This song sounds amazing. Timbre, tonality, and tone is spot on. Nuff’ said.

First Light, Harold Budd, Brian Eno: Switching gears and genres, lets go minimalist and see what the MEST can do, where subtlety is required over slam and impact. Turning the volume WAYYY down for this ambient masterpiece, Budd’s haunting piano chords ring and chime out of an ethereal haze. If you ever wanted to find a song that acts like a musical version of an abstract expressionist work from Rothko, this is it. There is no “bass” here, no rumble, no slam, no sizzle, no ‘timbre or tone’ (well, maybe tone): but there are ‘effects’; lots and lots of effects, and ‘treatments’. It’s one of the things the Father of Ambient, Brian Eno, is known for. With the high, mid high, and ultra high drivers of the MEST, these ethereal, subtle expressions, as fine as gossamer threads, theoretically should be brilliantly captured, and they are! The MEST is showing amazing range and adaptability here. Bravo.

Delta Rain Dream, Jon Hassell, Brian Eno: Staying with Eno and ambient, I wanted to take a look at this song, because it has all the subtlety and nuance of First Light, but adds what sounds like African bongo drums. The synthesized background contrasts the drums marvelously. Jon’s synthesized trumpet, the drums, and the synthesizers create a vast, layered, detailed soundscape which has all the extension and vastness of the sky. Or the ocean. Or space, even. The drums… you can almost see the palms and fingers smacking the skins…

Pride and Joy, Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughn: Moving to the blues… Well, what is there left to say. The vocals and mids are perfectly presented. The drums, cymbals, high hat, and guitars all sound perfect and effortlessly rendered. In the middle of all this, the tickled piano keys float in mid-air occupying there own space.

Black Dog, C.C. Colletti: Going high end here with a Chesky recording taken off an audiophile sampler. I wanted to get to the bottom of this “forward mids” claim I have been making. It seems to come and go. C.C.’s vocal, singing a Zeppelin cover, are not forward at all. The band surrounds her; if anything, the vocals are a tad recessed! The recording is amazing, and I am running out of adjectives. Micro detail. This sounds perfect. The vocals are velvety smooth and beautiful. The bass, drums and acoustic guitar sounds like it is in the room with me. What more is there to say?

Journey to the Center, Journey to the Center: Giving a nod to the Jazz genre; yet another Chesky recording, and I guess at this point you know what I am going to say…. Well, here, If I had to make one criticism, the bass could be a teeny bit thick… Then the smattering of applause ripple like waves, and the trumpet solo begins, and all I can do is smile…

The Second Part, The Hillard Ensamble: I wanted to focus on vocals, so what better than medieval polyphonic. The performers sound like they are singing in a cathedral, and all the subtlety, harmonics, and atmosphere is brilliantly rendered. There is a richness here… The voices sound natural, musical, articulate and beautiful.

Bach Cello Suite #1 in G, Rostropovitch: The next 2 tracks are designed to explore this dynamic bass driver. Mstislav’s cello is filled with, you guessed it, richness, timbre, tone and microdetails. You can almost taste the resin.

Toccata and Fugue in D, Herrick: No music will disseminate an IEM's bass performance like some good ol’ pipe organ music, and what better than Bach’s Toccata and Fugue? Harmonic overtones are astonishing and perfectly rendered and the cacophony of notes effortlessly portrayed. Magnificent.

Idomeneo, re di Creta, K.366 - Act 1 - 'Quando avran fine omai' - 'Padre, germani, addio!', Anna Netrebko: One last examination of the mids and female vocals: what better than a Mozart aria? The contrast of the bass and cello and harpsichord against Anna’s vocal is mesmerizing. The orchestral passages are rendered with air and ease: The vocal soars above the orchestra majestically.

Finally.

I was taught many, many years ago by my audiophile mentor, Nick, (may he rest in peace), that if you truly wanted to understand the ability of a sound system, an audiophile sound system, you HAD to listen to a symphony. Only by accurately rendering the complexities of a proper symphonic piece with all it’s majesty could a system or a piece of equipment TRULY be called AUDIOPHILE. Audiophile is a word that is far too easily thrown around now a days. Popular, modern music is fine, I love a good techno dub as much as the next person, but if you really wanted to see what’s what, you have to render a proper symphonic work. And if you really want to go there, why not throw in a good chorale passage section or two to boot. So for the last work, I will analyze the grand daddy of them all, the 4th movement of Beethoven's beloved 9th Symphony. I hear the stirrings of strings, and the brooding, pulsing ebb of bassoons and oboes. Shhh…they have already begun. Let’s sneak in past the usher and find a seat center aisle, 1/3 back from the stage…

Symphony No.9 in D minor, Op.125 - "Choral": 4. Finale (Presto - Allegro assai), Daniel Barenboim: First impression from the opening salvo of the tympanis, strings and horns is that of grandeur; it sounds like the onslaught of a thunder storm, then the strings come in playing the main melody, and there is yet again, a richness and detailed tonality. The bass and cellos rumble. Each section occupies it’s own space. The sound stage is easily discerned. The woodwinds, to the right, the strings to the left. I can hear the players sucking in breath. Within the strings, the violins, bass and cello are easily distinguished. Like Numan’s Dominion Day, the MEST handles this complexity with aplomb. In the quiet string section, where the violins are placidly playing the main melody, I can hear the microdetail of the bows changing directions on the strings. Then, as the woodwinds come in, the stage is perfectly rendered as each melody and part delicately occupy its own location. As more and more instruments pick up the melody, tears are filling my eyes. It is so emotional and musical! There is a swelling and I know any second all hell is going to break loose, and indeed, it is glorious. The horn and brass have taken up the melody, and they sit above and behind the strings. The soundstage is marvelous! Once again, if I had to make a criticism, it would be the bass could be a 'little’ thick. But I also know that if I put on my yellow Spinfits, there will be a tad more treble energy injected to counterbalance the bass… lets see…Yes…more air… The chorus has come in, and the height and width of the soundstage is apparent! The chorus clearly sit above and behind the symphony. The soloists are now singing, and they are down front where they belong. I’m sure if I was using a proper dap, the strings would come alive with more richness and detail. But as it stands now, they sound great. The chorus is at crescendo, and the harmonics are fantastic. There is a modulating effect between the voices which I know is no accident; these performers practice for hours to get it just so at the conductors command, and with maestro Barenboim at the helm, the effect is captured perfectly. Now the triangle is ringing out in the middle of the full maelstrom, and the high end extension and rendering is perfect! The chorus is singing Ode to Joy at full volume, and yet the symphony sits in front and below in their own space, each section clearly discerned… That is impressive! At the climax, the cymbals, chorus, and yes, even the triangle are all perfectly rendered. Very, very impressive! Well done Unique Melody!



Conclusion

Phew! What a ride! My original plan was to compare and contrast the MEST with different tips and cables, then do A/B compare against the Valkyries and CL2. To be honest, I don’t think it is necessary, and I don’t think I have it in me! This review ended up being a lot longer than I originally intended, but I think the MEST deserved it. I am listening to the playlist again with my custom Valkyries, and suddenly, where I didn’t like W presentations, I find myself suddenly missing the mids! I know brain burn is real, (yeah, it’s a thing) and after a day or so I will be back in happy land with my customs. Cr3ativ3 asked me if I was going to buy a pair of MEST and the question rather stunned me. Would I? No, my Valkyries are my babies, but now, I’m not so sure. I can’t help but wonder how the MEST would sound as a custom… hmmm… I truly don’t know, but now I’m thinking I may start saving my pennies….

I took off half a star because of the stock cable, but with the right cable and tips, the MEST is a 5 star winner!