davidmolliere
Headphoneus Supremus
So, first impressions of Mentawai after a couple of hours - I figure things are going to settle as the DD burn is - but still, I always value first impressions.
Those are from FiiO M17 in desktop mode so a pretty powerful and clean source.
If you remember my Mundaka review when I wrote "Think of Mundaka as a good excuse to satisfy your inner basshead without compromising your audiophile backbone" ?
Well, Mentawai takes this philosophy all the way to flagship level and I could write "Think of Mentawai as the flagship that will wow your audiophile aspirations while not forgetting to satisfy your inner basshead".
Mentawai features a highly engaging tuning like the Mundaka but with the technicalities of the more neutral Noosa. The stage is not the widest but stands out by its excellent height and depth, it's very balanced and more circle shaped than elliptical. Don't expect stadium like stage on the other hand, Mentawai features big, bold instruments size (yet separation is excellent) and as we'll see a tad forward midrange (especially in the vocal range) but for this kind of signature it's as good as it gets.
Bass are powerful consistent with the house sound of Alambic Ears. Like the Mundaka tis is a bass that commands your attention with a lot of power. As far as bass is concerned, the Mentawai means business! They slam with authority and give a spotlight to the bass line and in that sense it's a very rhythmic IEM deeply grounded with excellent sub bass. It does so with a snappy attack and a natural decay both granting a good sense of speed but also a realistic and very "tactile" feel with its rich textures. To me it's a bit faster and agile than the Mundaka making it even more versatile in its ability to handle all genres.
Mids is where Mentawai departs from the Mundaka : while it's also a full engaging midrange smooth and natural, it's also a more mature midrange (as it should). First, there is a tad more bite to instruments building on the lively nature on Mundaka. Second, Mentawai features significantly better separation. This shows on larger ensembles where imaging is greatly enhanced from Mundaka. Third, Mentawai - as a flagship should - has the ability to convey a lot more nuances with its 7 drivers and has a more accurate timbre to instruments although there is a clear warm hue to its mids it's more on the side of naturalness. This makes it overall more versatile and more suited to acoustic genres than the Mundaka.
Last but not least, the treble brings the same balance to its signature that the Mundaka did with its treble given its powerful thunderous bass but this is where it really gains its flagship status. 4 EST is state of the art setup these days and it clearly bring Mentawai the air, the resolution and imaging precision that I have come to expect but where the Mentawai shines is that it combines this qualities with an energetic lower treble that has excellent note weight. This clearly shows on piano notes where the weight and impact and a tad longer decay of notes is more akin to the best BA than pure EST and I suspect something is going on there with the BAs. For all their greatness even 4 EST setup don't reach the best BA in terms of note weight in lower treble. This has gotten better but not to the point of reaching this kind of lower treble. Note that energy and weight must not be confused with any treble hotness for there are no offending peaks in the Mentawai signature. Not that there was any in the Mundaka or Noosa either, but Fred clearly push both the upper mids and lower treble to more energetic brand.
Despite this very engaging brand of sound between the bass sheer power, tad forward mids with good bite and energetic lower treble the Mentawai remains smooth at all times. It won't be a relaxed listen though those babies command your attention!
Those are from FiiO M17 in desktop mode so a pretty powerful and clean source.
If you remember my Mundaka review when I wrote "Think of Mundaka as a good excuse to satisfy your inner basshead without compromising your audiophile backbone" ?
Well, Mentawai takes this philosophy all the way to flagship level and I could write "Think of Mentawai as the flagship that will wow your audiophile aspirations while not forgetting to satisfy your inner basshead".
Mentawai features a highly engaging tuning like the Mundaka but with the technicalities of the more neutral Noosa. The stage is not the widest but stands out by its excellent height and depth, it's very balanced and more circle shaped than elliptical. Don't expect stadium like stage on the other hand, Mentawai features big, bold instruments size (yet separation is excellent) and as we'll see a tad forward midrange (especially in the vocal range) but for this kind of signature it's as good as it gets.
Bass are powerful consistent with the house sound of Alambic Ears. Like the Mundaka tis is a bass that commands your attention with a lot of power. As far as bass is concerned, the Mentawai means business! They slam with authority and give a spotlight to the bass line and in that sense it's a very rhythmic IEM deeply grounded with excellent sub bass. It does so with a snappy attack and a natural decay both granting a good sense of speed but also a realistic and very "tactile" feel with its rich textures. To me it's a bit faster and agile than the Mundaka making it even more versatile in its ability to handle all genres.
Mids is where Mentawai departs from the Mundaka : while it's also a full engaging midrange smooth and natural, it's also a more mature midrange (as it should). First, there is a tad more bite to instruments building on the lively nature on Mundaka. Second, Mentawai features significantly better separation. This shows on larger ensembles where imaging is greatly enhanced from Mundaka. Third, Mentawai - as a flagship should - has the ability to convey a lot more nuances with its 7 drivers and has a more accurate timbre to instruments although there is a clear warm hue to its mids it's more on the side of naturalness. This makes it overall more versatile and more suited to acoustic genres than the Mundaka.
Last but not least, the treble brings the same balance to its signature that the Mundaka did with its treble given its powerful thunderous bass but this is where it really gains its flagship status. 4 EST is state of the art setup these days and it clearly bring Mentawai the air, the resolution and imaging precision that I have come to expect but where the Mentawai shines is that it combines this qualities with an energetic lower treble that has excellent note weight. This clearly shows on piano notes where the weight and impact and a tad longer decay of notes is more akin to the best BA than pure EST and I suspect something is going on there with the BAs. For all their greatness even 4 EST setup don't reach the best BA in terms of note weight in lower treble. This has gotten better but not to the point of reaching this kind of lower treble. Note that energy and weight must not be confused with any treble hotness for there are no offending peaks in the Mentawai signature. Not that there was any in the Mundaka or Noosa either, but Fred clearly push both the upper mids and lower treble to more energetic brand.
Despite this very engaging brand of sound between the bass sheer power, tad forward mids with good bite and energetic lower treble the Mentawai remains smooth at all times. It won't be a relaxed listen though those babies command your attention!
