Lypertek MEVI Review:
Lypertek is a new brand from China. The MEVI, their first IEM, targets the budget audiophile bracket. How does this freshmen attempt do in a crowded market?
You can find the MEVI for sale here, on Penon Audio, for $29.
Disclaimer: This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Lypertek beyond this review. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.
Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.
My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.
Source: The MEVI was powered like so:
HTC U11 -> USB-C adapter -> earphones
or
Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones
or
HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones
or
PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones
All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.
Sound Signature
Initial Impressions:
The MEVI makes use of a standard consumer V-shaped sound signature with some small modifications: the mid-range is evened out towards the lower mids and the upper treble is slightly boosted. Mid-bass is slightly boosted ahead of sub-bass, and the two are matched quite well.
Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy
Treble is actually quite satisfying. I was expecting the tin-can style of treble where the upper treble is just cut off and ignored, but the MEVI actually extends fairly well. That said there is a fine amount of resolution and detail retrieval — cymbals and high-hats are relatively distinct, though busy sections of a song will cause some of that resolution to deteriorate.
The tonality of the MEVI’s treble is fairly uncommon: it features a dry, but not sharp, upper range. This aids articulation and allows the MEVI to portray drums and background string instrumentation with some air even in a very busy chorus.
Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams
The MEVI’s mids are above-average in detail retrieval for the budget bracket. I am really happy with what you get for what you pay here: guitars are pretty well textured, vocals have above-average intelligibility, and mid-bound instrumentation has passable placement and separation.
Midrange tonality is overall pretty neutral but leans towards the brighter side.
Bass: Songs used: Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)
I was most concerned about the MEVI’s bass, as this is a common stumbling-block among manufacturers in their early IEMs. The bass was neither too aggressive, nor was it too weak. Within the context of the rest of the sound signature, it was just right and seemed to be tuned well given the dynamic driver’s limitations.
As for its characteristics, the bass is full and lush — n effective and satisfying contrast to the dryer treble. It doesn’t overflow into the lower mids, nor does it distort or soften in bass-heavy songs. I found it to be very consistent throughout each of my test songs, providing bass at both the quantity and quality I wanted. While this isn’t exactly a basshead IEM, it certainly does target an audience who likes to have more bass than less of it.
Packaging / Unboxing
Minimalist; cost effective.
Build
Construction Quality
While I am definitely a fan of how Lypertek handled the MEVI’s sound characteristics, I find that the build department has some areas in which it could improve. For example, while the plastic shells are well sculpted and don’t have any obvious flaws to them, the cable is too thin above the Y-splitter. Reinforcing that section is definitely a good idea.
The MEVI makes use of a single-button in-line control scheme. It also features a built-in microphone and is compatible with both Android and IOS devices. The button works well enough and has a relatively tactile feel.
Spelling Error.
The Y-splitter is made of plastic and has the MEVI (MAVI?)’s name printed on it. This is another area where I would suggest a change: extend the stress relief components further out. They would be far more effective like that.
The 3.5mm jack that the cable is terminated with has a good amount of stress relief and seems sturdy enough. No complaints here.
Comfort
The MEVI is light and small, making it easy to find a comfortable fit. Even my girlfriend, who’s ears are tiny, managed to get a comfortable seal.
Accessories
The MEVI’s accessories are understandably sparse. Inside the box you will find:
Summary
I am a fan of the MEVI. It doesn’t try and do much, but what it does do it does fairly well. Its sound signature is tuned well for the budget driver it uses, and while the build quality leaves something to be desired, it hardly hinders the daily use of the MEVI. So if you are in the mood to try something out from the new guy on the block, go for the MEVI! For $30, its a bit hard to be disappointed.
Lypertek is a new brand from China. The MEVI, their first IEM, targets the budget audiophile bracket. How does this freshmen attempt do in a crowded market?
You can find the MEVI for sale here, on Penon Audio, for $29.
Disclaimer: This unit was provided to me free of charge for review purposes. I am not affiliated with Lypertek beyond this review. These words reflect my true, unaltered, opinion about the product.
Preference and Bias: Before reading a review, it is worth mentioning that there is no way for a reviewer to objectively pass judgment on the enjoy-ability of a product: such a thing is inherently subjective. Therefore, I find it necessary for you to read and understand what I take a natural liking to and how that might affect my rating of a product.
My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass. The mids should be slightly less pronounced than the treble, but still ahead of the bass. I prefer a more bright upper range.
Source: The MEVI was powered like so:
HTC U11 -> USB-C adapter -> earphones
or
Hidizs AP100 3.5mm out -> FiiO A5 3.5mm out -> earphones
or
HiFiMAN SuperMini -> earphones
or
PC optical out -> HiFiMe SPDIF 9018 Sabre DAC 3.5mm out -> earphones
All music was served as MP3 @320Kbps or as FLAC.
Sound Signature
Initial Impressions:
The MEVI makes use of a standard consumer V-shaped sound signature with some small modifications: the mid-range is evened out towards the lower mids and the upper treble is slightly boosted. Mid-bass is slightly boosted ahead of sub-bass, and the two are matched quite well.
Treble: Songs used: In One Ear, Midnight City, Outlands, Satisfy
Treble is actually quite satisfying. I was expecting the tin-can style of treble where the upper treble is just cut off and ignored, but the MEVI actually extends fairly well. That said there is a fine amount of resolution and detail retrieval — cymbals and high-hats are relatively distinct, though busy sections of a song will cause some of that resolution to deteriorate.
The tonality of the MEVI’s treble is fairly uncommon: it features a dry, but not sharp, upper range. This aids articulation and allows the MEVI to portray drums and background string instrumentation with some air even in a very busy chorus.
Mids: Songs used: Flagpole Sitta, Jacked Up, I Am The Highway, Dreams
The MEVI’s mids are above-average in detail retrieval for the budget bracket. I am really happy with what you get for what you pay here: guitars are pretty well textured, vocals have above-average intelligibility, and mid-bound instrumentation has passable placement and separation.
Midrange tonality is overall pretty neutral but leans towards the brighter side.
Bass: Songs used: Moth, Gold Dust, In For The Kill (Skream Remix), War Pigs (Celldweller Remix)
I was most concerned about the MEVI’s bass, as this is a common stumbling-block among manufacturers in their early IEMs. The bass was neither too aggressive, nor was it too weak. Within the context of the rest of the sound signature, it was just right and seemed to be tuned well given the dynamic driver’s limitations.
As for its characteristics, the bass is full and lush — n effective and satisfying contrast to the dryer treble. It doesn’t overflow into the lower mids, nor does it distort or soften in bass-heavy songs. I found it to be very consistent throughout each of my test songs, providing bass at both the quantity and quality I wanted. While this isn’t exactly a basshead IEM, it certainly does target an audience who likes to have more bass than less of it.
Packaging / Unboxing
Minimalist; cost effective.
Build
Construction Quality
While I am definitely a fan of how Lypertek handled the MEVI’s sound characteristics, I find that the build department has some areas in which it could improve. For example, while the plastic shells are well sculpted and don’t have any obvious flaws to them, the cable is too thin above the Y-splitter. Reinforcing that section is definitely a good idea.
The MEVI makes use of a single-button in-line control scheme. It also features a built-in microphone and is compatible with both Android and IOS devices. The button works well enough and has a relatively tactile feel.
Spelling Error.
The Y-splitter is made of plastic and has the MEVI (MAVI?)’s name printed on it. This is another area where I would suggest a change: extend the stress relief components further out. They would be far more effective like that.
The 3.5mm jack that the cable is terminated with has a good amount of stress relief and seems sturdy enough. No complaints here.
Comfort
The MEVI is light and small, making it easy to find a comfortable fit. Even my girlfriend, who’s ears are tiny, managed to get a comfortable seal.
Accessories
The MEVI’s accessories are understandably sparse. Inside the box you will find:
- 3x pairs of silicone eartips
- 1x shirt clip
- 1x semi-hard carrying case
Summary
I am a fan of the MEVI. It doesn’t try and do much, but what it does do it does fairly well. Its sound signature is tuned well for the budget driver it uses, and while the build quality leaves something to be desired, it hardly hinders the daily use of the MEVI. So if you are in the mood to try something out from the new guy on the block, go for the MEVI! For $30, its a bit hard to be disappointed.