Lypertek Mevi: $29.90 at Penon Audio:
https://penonaudio.com/lypertek-mevi.html
Lypertek website:
https://www.lypertek.com/
Lypertek is another new Chinese brand, and as it stands they have the Mevi as their sole product. I am honored to be part of the ground floor for this company. With a straightforward and simple website, one could quickly scroll by, as most would when a Google search comes up with “
Hypertech,” instead of Lypertek. Their website is buried a good way down page two of a search, so there is work to do…My hope is that I can help. A quick listen upon receiving the product provided a good start, and color me impressed!
Disclaimer- I want to thank Penon Audio and Lypertek for the review unit, on which this write up is based. The Mevi was provided free of charge, and in return Penon only ask an open honest review. I would not have it any other way.
A bit about me:
I am older. I am happy that I have rediscovered the joy of music, through personal listening devices. Through this opportunity, I have become exposed to some wonderful kit. Much I now own, much I covet. Much I would never purchase, for various reasons.
My listening style has changed somewhat over the years…from old time Rock-n-Roll to the Blues to Reggae, to Bluegrass. I cut my teeth on Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Outlaws, The Who, Santana, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton, David Bowie, and Pink Floyd. But the music I hold dearest and nearest my soul, is Stevie Ray Vaughan. I was lucky enough to see him perform four times…twice in open air venues, followed by (that evening each time!!!) smoky blues bars, where intimate would be an understatement. Each holds a very special place in my psyche, and I can almost remember the whole of each concert in their entirety…
I enjoy a warmer signature in my equipment, and listening, with a good bass line (but not basshead), complimented by outstanding vocals. Combine the sweetness of SRV’s guitar and Billy Holiday’s voice, and you get my musical genre.
Through too much hearing loss of high end (loud car stereo as a teenager with a car…), I cannot quite fathom the differences of sound that those experts on Head-Fi do. So, I try to accommodate with subtle differences…detailed differences wrought from my days banding birds and working bird surveys where it was imperative that I separate what kind of Warbler, or Flycatcher, or Sparrow that was, and from what direction and elevation change the song originated. I used my deficiencies of treble-loss to my benefit; searching for that sound, which was not there a moment before. I got pretty darn good at it. And, I TRY to use that same methodology to separate details enough to offer a modicum of differentiation in the product at hand. I like to think I’m doing OK. But can always improve…
Specifications from the Penon website:
LYPERTEK MEVI Dynamic Driver High Fidelity In-ear Earphones with Mic
Description
- Compact, comfortable design.
- Robust aluminium construction.
- Universal remote & microphone.
- Clean, good bass & wide soundstage HiFi Sound.
Specification
- Driver: 7.0mm Dynamic
- Impedance: 32 Ohm
- Frequency response: 20-20KHz
- Sensitivity: 95dB
- Plug: 3.5mm Stereo
- Cable: 1.2M
Package
- LYPERTEK MEVI Earphone
- Cable clip
- Hard carrying case
- 3 pairs of silicone eartips (S/M/L)
Review gear:
Shanling M3s
Opus #1s
iPhone X
Aune B1s
Comparisons:
FiiO F1
Hypersense Hex02
Songs used:
Daylight-Coldplay
Moosesong-Big Head Todd & the Monster
Guns for Hands-twenty one pilots
Dragonfly-Ziggy Marley
#34-Dave Matthews Band
The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)-U2
Slow Train-Joe Bonamassa
Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)-Bob Marley
Initial listen: Upon receiving the package, I did a quick check to see if everything was copacetic. It was, so I gave a quick listen to ensure that all was good. I then burned the critter in for 50+ hours. Not because I had to, but because I was busy with other reviews. Some believe in this, others do not. When a manufacturer specifies that you burn a unit in, then it is a pretty good idea to do so. Lypertek made no such assumptions, but I did anyway, along with the Hypersense Hex02 and Tin Audio T2. So, after 75-80 hours, I was able to dedicate some time to the Mevi.
My initial listen provided me with a good aural sound. One, which provided good mid note, decent bass limited by a 7.0mm dynamic driver, and a decent reach of treble. Color me red, and again impressed. Something I also noticed in reading other reviews was that the color of choice for them seemed to be the black IEM. I was lucky enough to have red, and I liked that color much better. This is a good-looking unit!
Packaging/Unboxing:
The Mevi is about as simple as it comes. A nice printed box to start, upon which opening one is presented with a “Cordura” hard case and that is all. Upon visiting the company website, one can understand simplicity rules the day. Maybe to keep costs under control, or maybe that is the company mantra I do not know. That said, I would call the cylindrical near-bullet shape in line with the simplicity theme. I approve so far.
Inside the zippered case we are presented with the IEM, rubber attached cable, shirt clip and three sets of tips. Nothing else, but for the price not bad.
Fit & Finish:
When the case is opened, we are presented with a coiled rubber cable attached to two red bullet-shaped IEM’s of 7.0mm dynamic driver variety. The red is an anodized aluminum color and looks quite spiffy. Almost like Ferrari red…almost. Nice, though. With two halves (and the nozzle insert) to the critter, fit is very good, matching the seam well. Some of the earlier reviews mentioned mismatched halves, with lower quality anodization. I am happy to state that is not the case here. Fit is very good (belying the price), and the finish is good. I did notice in my time, a small spot where the ano had been roughed up, or slightly gouged. That said, I do remember a time when I dropped them on a hard surface, so this could very well have happened then. With a long nozzle, the shape is complete. Angled slightly above 90 degrees, there is a purposeful look to the Mevi. That long nozzle can get somewhat fatiguing after a good long session, since the IEM does insert so deeply into the ear, though.
I found that changing the placement of the IEM within my ear did not alter sound characteristics that I could discern. Others with better ears, might disagree. And that small size is something on which I consider a benefit. Especially when compared side by side to my CA Jupiters or UM Maestro V2, both of which need a day or two of “reacquainting/friendship” with my ears to come to a truce. Both situations of which I “suffer” and pay the price, haha.
Overall sound:
While listening to the Mevi, balance kept ringing in my head. A fairly balanced sound, with a slight enhanced bass led me to the conclusion listed above. Unobtrusive also rang into my cranial matter. There really was not a tone put too much out of place for my tastes. With a decently deep reach of bass, mids, which can be quite pleasant, and a slightly bright (to me) treble, there wasn’t much to complain about. For the price, this hit all of the right notes to me.
Bass: With a hint of more, the bass gives a decently full bass, that enhanced bass prevalent on Junior Brown’s excellent
Peel’n Taters. The string bass giving that foundation on which Junior’s guitar sings superbly. I could hear a bit of punch to the bass, but that was taking a back seat to the mids. I wanted a bit more bass, but for the size of this and price the quantity given was certainly adequate. I do agree with the reviews, which called the bass tight. I would state that the bass is of good quality, just not enough for my tastes.
Mids: Transparent, with good presentation of vocals is how I would describe the sound here. A good clean sound, but not of the crystalline nature of a much more expensive IEM. That of course is to be expected. To even make a statement, where some sort of product of much higher quality come in, is a compliment in itself. And, the Mevi is worth that. While I wouldn’t call it “punching above its weight,” I would call it a good representation, and worthy of the previous sentences statement. Decently placed vocals do tend to dominate the center, but in my experience that is often the case in this range, and of what people looking for a replacement crave. Not bad, and as a marketing ploy, spot on with the Mevi. Layering does suffer as a result, but in the aspect of where the Mevi might be used (commuting, gym…) that characteristic tends to lose out anyway.
Treble: To make up for the loss of layering in the mids, I do believe the detailed presentation of the treble counters nicely. A bit bright again, but not enough to warrant any sibilance (even on my go-to sibilant Lyle Lovett track
Bears. It does seem a bit artificial to me. That is a phrase I have not used for a good bit, but here I do not consider that an insult, just not what I think the Mevi needed. Dynamic Drivers tend to represent the musical tone quite accurate and realistically, with thicker notes. Here it is a bit odd and thin, what I would call a slight anomaly. Not a big worry, but to those who refer realism in their classical really wouldn’t be looking here anyway. No big loss, and certainly not an insult, or something which would drive you away from the Mevi.
Soundstage/separation: With the intimate setting of a mid-tier closed backed headphone would be an apt description here. Narrower of depth but made adequate by a semi-out of head experience is quite pleasant in which to listen. On Stevie Ray Vaughan’s
Chitlins Con Carne it is quite obvious that Chris Layton’s drums are behind in support. But that subtle voice, which come on at about the 2:00 minute mark is almost non-existent, lost to the others. And this really isn’t that congested of a song. Here is where detail suffers in my humble opinion, but only briefly.
Continue: Ultimately, this is an easy to drive IEM, with many more good qualities than bad. For instance, where the isolation might suffer on a run outside (it did…), the very good phone quality in that same situation counters. I didn’t get these to supplant my usual running IEM, my FLC8S (yes, I know I’m crazy, but I love them on the go). This would be another of the yet more throw in the bag backups, which would not be an insult to use, should the need arise. What some consider a thin, weak cable I consider a positive for its ease of use, and portability. Not everyone needs an expensive aftermarket cable as there back up, and the Mevi would not embarrass as a result.
Finale: So…what does this all mean? Well, in a brief nutshell, it means that this is another worthy consideration for those looking at a stylish, affordable pair with which would be an upgrade to most included Smartphone headphones. The Mevi while lacking that overall appeal of detail makes up for it with a solid near-neutral inoffensive sound, albeit slightly artificial mids hinder this. Some may think it a bit warm, but yours truly lives for warm sound characteristics, hence it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I would consider this an appealing sound, with a good-looking package to back that sound up. And, the small size is a tremendous benefit for those of us who like to stay unobtrusive by nature. Just know that long sessions may deserve a break due to the long nozzle. A good effort on which I would love to see Lypertek build, and I most certainly would garner a listen should that occur.
I would like to again thank Penon for the opportunity to review a product in which they think worthy of a look. I said it in another review, but state again: if a marketer deems worthy a product, then they give faith in our skills. The critter in question either makes the grade or doesn’t. It is our duty to report either. And we must be in a rein of does, because this one is certainly worth a look as that back up or Smartphone replacement.
