Well I have the Maestral Three standing on my desk, by me in short named the M III and listened to a variety of music. Lately I do like to listen to Ambient, Experimental and say BioSphere related music.
Actually I am not interested in the technical aspects of the M III because when things are built accurately and well inspired it is my experience that it will perform well too. People who like that type of information can look it up at http://www.had-audiolab.com/
So my focus is on the how does it manifest and perform with all the different styles of music.
First of all I have to say that this is for me the most fascinating headphone device I ever heard.
Every-time when I start listening to it, again and again it is surprising me by the sound it brings forward to my ears.
Just by fun I gave it a variety of headphones from the low cost-level to the higher cost-level ones.
I wanted to come to know by doing so what the true soul of this M III is.
In this respect I came to the conclusion that it always immediately is revealing the true character of each headphone and getting the best out of each headphone. Also this is the first time that such a thing became so apparent to my ears. And yes that makes me very happy.
So, out of this came my search towards the question: ¨What headphone do I like the best for my personal ears?¨
¨Does the M III perform better as a whole with the more expensive headphones?¨
My headphone options were very wide apart when it comes to costs.
I used the Sennheiser PX 100, Philips SHL 9500, Koss Porta Pro, Beyer Dynamic DT 990, Grado SR80 and the Grado PS500.
To do so gave and still gives me a lot of fun. Finally for me the winner is the combination of the Grado PS500 with the M III.
Together they come to a kind of synthesis that can only be heard because it is hard to describe the musical intoxication of enlightenment to the ears and brain that it gives me as I am listening now to Al Di Meola´s ´Diabolic Inventions´.
Yes, indeed to me it seems that the M III is to me something like a Diabolic Invention but made by Angels somewhere.
The highs, the mids, the lows, they all seem to have a party all the time when listening to this Maestral III with all kinds of different musical atmospheres and it does it without any pretensions and with ultimate ease.
It totally involves the listener and thus the M III, the Grado PS 500 and me becoming one as the Three Musketeers: One for All and All for One.
In this sense I can truly say that the sum of the parts is greater than the sum of the whole. This M III is proving that for sure.
Because the you, the Grado and the Maestral III, dissolve into nothingness leaving only the music to be experienced. Pure magic!
So in terms of a ´Wow factor´ I give it 9.5 points and am still looking for the weak points that are hard to find. Especially when I notice that it is for what it offers, ridiculously cheap.
Apart from the musical quality it produces, it is absolute outstanding when it comes up to design aesthetically. It is and has exceptional character and dignity when I look at it standing on my desk.
Indeed in that realm the Maestral III does not have any rivals.
I whole heartedly can recommend without a doubt this headphone amplifier to anyone who loves music.
