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MEElectronics M11 Review
First impressions: well these look rather nice don’t they, maybe not as nice as the M6 but still super pretty. Same not great bundle, the pointless aircraft adapter, cable tie and that little baggie. Bundle aside these really look like a quality product, the cable is stunningly pretty, the jack I like and the IEM’s themselves being metal look great too. Sound wise not bad, a little bassy still but there is some treble in there. More balanced than the others have had so far. Burn in time for these.
Lows: There is still rather a lot of bass but not as much as the others from Meelectronics have had. It maybe isn’t quite as rich and voluminous but it does feel a little tighter and slightly more punchy. There is warmth in there but really not too much which is rather pleasant, in tone it reminds me of Denon a little which could be in part to its metal structure being more rigid and cold. Either way the bass on these is nice but not entirely to my tastes. I like softer gentler bass and this has a bit cooler bass and because of its relative abundance its slightly punchy nature just gets slightly tiring on my ears after a while. It is quite clean bass and doesn’t interfere with the mids. I really feel I should be liking it more than I am but for some reason I’m just not. However on paper as it were the bass on these is good just not to my preference.
Mids: The mids while not stunning are pretty good, among the better end of the Meelectronics range. These are that little bit cooler and dryer than the very warm rich sounds of the others. The mids are slightly behind the bass but of the range they are so the most balanced and a kinda like them. Sometimes the upper vocals can get a little unruly but its only at high volume and with provocation. Could I say the mids are almost fun on these? It really depends on the song but on more breathy singers these do them rather nicely. For me here I’m thinking of Relient K, their stuff really doesn’t call for super forward mids but it does want a more cool airy sound than rich wet vocals. Natalie Imbruglia too, she goes really quite nicely with these. For my own tastes it’s not really what I’m inclined to but I find myself likening them, they are relatively clear and clean vocally. The more I hear them the more I like them. These can be really good. I’ll elaborate more near the end.
Highs: Are the highs stunning? No but they are really pretty good for this pricing point. There isn’t an overabundance of them, possibly too little for many tastes but I’m a firm believer that unless you’re getting highs spot on then it’s better to recess them a bit. These have enough to be fun but without going overboard. Of the MEElectronics range these are about the most balanced. These really aren’t very heavy on the treble still but enough for me to be happy with the quantity.
Soundstage: It’s quite good, the sound I may not be able to pinpoint but it’s quite enveloping.
Comfort: These things are just tiny and with the little tips can just disappear right inside my ear. A min or two later I’ve completely forgotten they are in there. Comfort is top notch. Oh and you can wear them up or down whatever you prefer.
Fit: Fit was the same as comfort, once I got the tips I was most happy with sorted I could just shove these in at that was that, instant fit.
Microphonics: Nonexistent. A great cable, shirt clip and I wore them up.
Isolation: Isolation was above average, not going to be maybe enough for a long flight but enough to get you run over.
Cable: As I’ve said a couple of times the cable on these is great. Looks wonderful, the jack looks good too if a little odd but very functional. This cable could easily belong to something more expensive.
Value: Yeah there aren’t bad at all. For their cost they look great and sound good enough. Yes the bundle isn’t great, that little baggie just no. I’d say bump the cost $2 and include the little case that came with the M9. Something so pretty deserves to be looked after even if they are metal. If looks matter to you at all then instantly these are great value. At this cost I know of nothing that looks so good (bar its sibling) and sounds as good. On sound alone yes they are still worth the cash but right now the price of the Radiopaq Jazz or Classical has plunged in cost to basically the same as these, for me that’s some impossibly stiff competition. So depending on where you are and what you can get things for, in the UK the Radiopaqs are a rather better buy just now. In the US the cost will be rather different as shipping will be less for these and the Radiopaqs get far more costly. The M6 too I feel is the better sibling and other than fit or really wanting metal IEM’s I can’t see why anyone will buy this which is a shame.
Conclusion: Now you may or may not have noticed I haven’t comment on the amped / unamped difference yet, I know it s a bit odd to leave this till the conclusion but there is a good reason for it. The review as it is was written based on them being unamped as I really don’t think anyone is going to be amping these with anything other than a FiiO. The idea of taking us$45 earphones and adding a us$100 or a us$300 amp is just nuts, so I really wasn’t going to say much about these being run from those. Running from the FiiO there was no great difference but from the Icon Mobile and the XM5 there was a huge leap in sound quality. The mids in particular got way better but there was just such an improvement across the board I was really surprised. I tried all the different players I had and there were the usual differences but none anywhere near so vast as when using an amp. The thing is I can’t see a situation where the M11 is going to come into contact with these sorts of things in the wild. Maybe the same sort of improvements will be there in players like the AMP3 or the Sony X series? As I have neither of these I can’t say.
On sound alone these can’t beat the Jazz or Classical but they look so much better and they are so tiny and so very comfortable. So very very comfortable. On sound they cant beat the M6 either.
So if you have a decent amp and for some reason are looking for a cheap slightly bassy great looking IEM’s then this really is what you are looking for. If you’re just driving these out of a normal player then again if your wanting slightly bassy these are a good option but not a blow you away option. I reasonably liked these, they did everything quite well but nothing jumped out at me and made me love them however often that’s a sign of something being long term liveable. They are relatively even, relatively clear, really comfortable and super pretty.
First impressions: well these look rather nice don’t they, maybe not as nice as the M6 but still super pretty. Same not great bundle, the pointless aircraft adapter, cable tie and that little baggie. Bundle aside these really look like a quality product, the cable is stunningly pretty, the jack I like and the IEM’s themselves being metal look great too. Sound wise not bad, a little bassy still but there is some treble in there. More balanced than the others have had so far. Burn in time for these.
Lows: There is still rather a lot of bass but not as much as the others from Meelectronics have had. It maybe isn’t quite as rich and voluminous but it does feel a little tighter and slightly more punchy. There is warmth in there but really not too much which is rather pleasant, in tone it reminds me of Denon a little which could be in part to its metal structure being more rigid and cold. Either way the bass on these is nice but not entirely to my tastes. I like softer gentler bass and this has a bit cooler bass and because of its relative abundance its slightly punchy nature just gets slightly tiring on my ears after a while. It is quite clean bass and doesn’t interfere with the mids. I really feel I should be liking it more than I am but for some reason I’m just not. However on paper as it were the bass on these is good just not to my preference.
Mids: The mids while not stunning are pretty good, among the better end of the Meelectronics range. These are that little bit cooler and dryer than the very warm rich sounds of the others. The mids are slightly behind the bass but of the range they are so the most balanced and a kinda like them. Sometimes the upper vocals can get a little unruly but its only at high volume and with provocation. Could I say the mids are almost fun on these? It really depends on the song but on more breathy singers these do them rather nicely. For me here I’m thinking of Relient K, their stuff really doesn’t call for super forward mids but it does want a more cool airy sound than rich wet vocals. Natalie Imbruglia too, she goes really quite nicely with these. For my own tastes it’s not really what I’m inclined to but I find myself likening them, they are relatively clear and clean vocally. The more I hear them the more I like them. These can be really good. I’ll elaborate more near the end.
Highs: Are the highs stunning? No but they are really pretty good for this pricing point. There isn’t an overabundance of them, possibly too little for many tastes but I’m a firm believer that unless you’re getting highs spot on then it’s better to recess them a bit. These have enough to be fun but without going overboard. Of the MEElectronics range these are about the most balanced. These really aren’t very heavy on the treble still but enough for me to be happy with the quantity.
Soundstage: It’s quite good, the sound I may not be able to pinpoint but it’s quite enveloping.
Comfort: These things are just tiny and with the little tips can just disappear right inside my ear. A min or two later I’ve completely forgotten they are in there. Comfort is top notch. Oh and you can wear them up or down whatever you prefer.
Fit: Fit was the same as comfort, once I got the tips I was most happy with sorted I could just shove these in at that was that, instant fit.
Microphonics: Nonexistent. A great cable, shirt clip and I wore them up.
Isolation: Isolation was above average, not going to be maybe enough for a long flight but enough to get you run over.
Cable: As I’ve said a couple of times the cable on these is great. Looks wonderful, the jack looks good too if a little odd but very functional. This cable could easily belong to something more expensive.
Value: Yeah there aren’t bad at all. For their cost they look great and sound good enough. Yes the bundle isn’t great, that little baggie just no. I’d say bump the cost $2 and include the little case that came with the M9. Something so pretty deserves to be looked after even if they are metal. If looks matter to you at all then instantly these are great value. At this cost I know of nothing that looks so good (bar its sibling) and sounds as good. On sound alone yes they are still worth the cash but right now the price of the Radiopaq Jazz or Classical has plunged in cost to basically the same as these, for me that’s some impossibly stiff competition. So depending on where you are and what you can get things for, in the UK the Radiopaqs are a rather better buy just now. In the US the cost will be rather different as shipping will be less for these and the Radiopaqs get far more costly. The M6 too I feel is the better sibling and other than fit or really wanting metal IEM’s I can’t see why anyone will buy this which is a shame.
Conclusion: Now you may or may not have noticed I haven’t comment on the amped / unamped difference yet, I know it s a bit odd to leave this till the conclusion but there is a good reason for it. The review as it is was written based on them being unamped as I really don’t think anyone is going to be amping these with anything other than a FiiO. The idea of taking us$45 earphones and adding a us$100 or a us$300 amp is just nuts, so I really wasn’t going to say much about these being run from those. Running from the FiiO there was no great difference but from the Icon Mobile and the XM5 there was a huge leap in sound quality. The mids in particular got way better but there was just such an improvement across the board I was really surprised. I tried all the different players I had and there were the usual differences but none anywhere near so vast as when using an amp. The thing is I can’t see a situation where the M11 is going to come into contact with these sorts of things in the wild. Maybe the same sort of improvements will be there in players like the AMP3 or the Sony X series? As I have neither of these I can’t say.
On sound alone these can’t beat the Jazz or Classical but they look so much better and they are so tiny and so very comfortable. So very very comfortable. On sound they cant beat the M6 either.
So if you have a decent amp and for some reason are looking for a cheap slightly bassy great looking IEM’s then this really is what you are looking for. If you’re just driving these out of a normal player then again if your wanting slightly bassy these are a good option but not a blow you away option. I reasonably liked these, they did everything quite well but nothing jumped out at me and made me love them however often that’s a sign of something being long term liveable. They are relatively even, relatively clear, really comfortable and super pretty.
