This is an impression post about
Meze Audio Advar, lent to me quite generously by
@aakashk .
First of all, it really was surprising how heavy it was despite its quite small size! The shell I believe was made with some kind of ceramic, with a higher density than SS - surmised from the fact that it was heavier than my LOAK-T(CL), which has a bigger shell made of SS, but much lighter in weight. The fit was quite snug inside the ear and very comfortable. Using narrow and long bore tips made the fit quite comfortable and it simply disappeared inside the ears.
Advar did not come with a balanced cable, hence I paired a XINHS Alloy Copper balanced cable with it. For source I chose the Shanling M7, balanced out, mid gain. The tips were BGVP E01 M size.
Advar is without doubt a quite refined sounding iem with slight peaks in the upper mids. The Low end, however, was not as strong as I expected from some reviews. Rather, it was slightly reserved. Although it slammed well and rumbled well, the body of the notes felt slightly smaller than my expectation, but in all certainties they were very much full bodied.
Lower mid surprised me, to say the least! Male vocals sound so incredibly full and emotional and weighty that it was quite orgasmic! Leonard Cohen’s voice was superbly full and deep and organic…honestly I don’t think I have heard such beautiful male vocals in this price range..yes, it felt better than IE600 even. The notes felt quite well defined and had perceptible depth. String instruments sounded similarly organic and yet detailed.
Upper mid is slightly different. Female vocals sound slightly subdued than my preference. It feels as if the female vocals are reigned back and not being allowed to express the complete vibrancy they have. There is a distinct warmth in them, which isn’t detrimental by any means. However, there also are some peaks which introduced a slight bit of sibilance here. Nothing too uncomfortable, but hard to miss also.
Treble is nice. Lower treble has plenty of energy, while the upper treble rolls off a bit earlier. The treble in general has the sparkle and vibrance to satisfy my requirement. It certainly isn’t ear piercing, yet produces plenty of details. The upper treble shimmers are not so energetic and hence does not provide enough satisfaction.
The notes, except male vocals, feel slightly on the leaner side, but very slightly, and the DD timbre anyway helps the overall presentation to remain organic enough. There is noticeable air between the notes, not as much as IE600, but that’s $100 costlier, and Advar still sounds airy enough. The stage depth was quite nice and imaging was quite well done. There is a pretty nice balance between the width, depth, and height hence the presentation is quite well-rounded.
I compared it with my 634EARS LOAK-T(CL). LOAK-T(CL) had a slightly stronger low end with slightly fuller notes in comparison, but not a lot. It took me a lot back and forth listening to finally pinpoint the difference. Apart from the Bass, the rest of the presentation of LOAK-T(CL) leans noticeably more to the brighter side compared to Advar, tonality is slightly on the neutral side as well. The midrange of LOAK-T(CL) is more forward and slightly more attacking in comparison. Male vocals sound a bit leaner on LOAK-T(CL), but female vocals sound much more vibrant and emotional that took my breath away. Lower treble has a similar energy while upper treble has noticeably more energy on LOAK-T(CL). Most importantly, and I don’t know whether I am just speaking nonsense or this is a real thing, the individual notes feel slightly wider in dimension on LOAK-T(CL) compared to Advar, whereas on Advar the notes feel to have slightly more depth. Due to the forwardness of the presentation, the depth of stage is perceptibly less on LOAK-T(CL) than Advar, while height of the stage was slightly more on LOAK-T(CL). Width of stage was more or less similar, but may be Advar edged out by a slim margin here. Despite the forward presentation, layering is superbly done on LOAK-T(CL), while it’s obviously better on Advar. Air between the notes is more on Advar than LOAK-T(CL), and hence imaging is a tad bit better also. But LOAK-T(CL) does by no means have poor imaging at all.
Both of them have their own strengths and weaknesses, and serve different tastes quite well. The Advar really is quite a competent iem for those looking for a balanced and slightly laid back tuning, while also having enough tolerance for slight upper mid peaks.
Testing tracks:
- Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah
- Evanescence - Imaginary
- Battlestar Galactica Season 2 OST: Prelude To War
- Fleetwood Mac - Dreams
- Whitney Houston - I Belong To You