CVJ Mei 1 DD + 2 BA Hybrid, small comparison and impression
I got the CVJ Mei for free in exchange for some impressions online, thanks to Anna from CVJ for this. Before this I also got the KE-S that is perhaps the cheapest fun sounding IEM out there, 10usd so for the price nothing to complain about. But this is not about the KE-S. I'm going to talk about the Mei here.
CVJ Mei is a hybrid with 1 DD and 2 BA. It's very special due to the tuning switch and how it works, instead of boosting or lowering frequency range it is used to deactivate the BAs.
Can read the rest in the spoiler under if this is of interest.
Position 00 use only the dynamic driver
Position 10 use DD and also the first BA
Position 02 use DD and also the second BA
Position 12 use DD and both BAs
Looking at the measurement it changes the sound quite much and my preference goes to 10 or 02.
Accessories and the package are okay but not very impressive, you get a set of tips and one cable. The tips are silicone and work, the cable is not the best and I advise you to get an upgrade cable. It should still give you a good sound to get going.
How does it sound
CVJ Mei has a fun and full sound, with good resolving capability when we look at the price range.
Bass is elevated and has great slam and resolution, it feels not slow or fast so just very correct in decay.
Mids are also detailed with some added thickness to vocal, female vocal can lack a little presence in the 10 position but is near perfect in 12. Problem with 12 is that there can come some sibilance in certain music.
Upper mids are very perfect to my liking, where it's not tiresome and shouty.
Treble is well extended in both switch positions I like, while the sibilance dip is slightly too big and takes away some detail on 10. While 02 is having more treble detail.
Soundstage is average in depth and with, and has quite good imaging capabilities.
Comfort is superb with a small shell with just the right nozzle diameter and length that should please most people. I have large ears and prefer bigger IEMs or longer nozzles than most people, I still think Mei is great. My wife also tested this one and said it's one of the most comfortable ones she has tried, she has small ears.
The metal shell is beautiful and screams quality, the only thing I don't like is the 2 pin socket being on the outside. And as mentioned the cable is thin and has quite much memory, used it for one photo and moved over to something else.
Comparison to Simgot EA500 and ISN H30
Simgot EA500
Just a single DD IEM, but it's similar price and looks almost the same. Comfort is top notch, same as Mei when looking at design and weight.
Maybe the most resolving IEM under 100usd, great tonality for most people. The midrange is a problem spot for me, that can make it sound shouty or metallic. Also the bass could have been bigger to meet my preference, but the bass is of superb quality. Simgot clearly has used a very good driver in EA500. It's very easy to mod the EA500 to get more bass, or use filters to change the upper range. But to make it fair I will use the stock config here.
ISN H30
1 DD 9.2mm beryllium and 2 BA (Sonion and Knowles) from Penons brand ISN, a very good hybrid in its price range. But recent releases are making it forgotten, and some had problems with bad fit due to long and angled nozzles.
Bass reaches deep with great slam and rumble, mid bass a little light. There Were complaints about bass, but I believe many had fit problems. Midrange is very correct for me, some types of music can be too tiresome due to forward upper midrange. Similar to EA500 but here I don't get the metallic tonality. The Treble has great detail and extension, and is at a level similar to EA500.
A spider Graph of how I position it, it's very roughly done. Neon Pro stays in there as a baseline. As I see it the Mei has more fun factor than the other two, even if it lacks some technical parts of the H30 and EA500.
Using Kbear 07 tips, cable on EA500 and Mei is XINHS 16 core copper and a pure copper from VE for H30. The Mei has been used in the 10 position, if I Had used the 02 setting the resolution would have been closer at the trade of sharper sound.
Both Simgot EA500 and CVJ Mei are free units, so my take should be neutral between those two. H30 I bought during a very small sale, it's also the most expensive of the 3.
I have mostly used my own files or Tidal, but I will provide a youtube link for you to test.
Very cool track from Emily King’s last album Special Occasion. Lots going on here and fun to keep playing track on repeat while comparing. Bass is really nice here and the extra Mei has given the track a more fun factor. Both instruments and vocals are very clear and present.
The resolution of the EA500 shows more here than Mei, but it doesn't sound better as the bass seems slightly fuzzy at times on EA500. Bass is also louder with Mei while the impact is very similar. Her voice lacks a little soul on EA500, that it just sounds leaner with less forwardness. Both do it great.
The H30 is leaner sounding than Mei, but has perhaps nicer vocals with more nuance. Bass is similar to EA500 in amount, and sounds slightly better than EA500 but I still put Mei bass better here.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 H30 and 3 EA500
First of that bass on Mei, wow. Terrace Martin has some great releases within the jazz or jazz hop genre, this is no exception and is a superb album and track. He has a nice voice and has an old school vibe, like a 90s hip hop sound blended with jazz. The track is very bass heavy with a thicker mid presentation.
Mei is almost too overpowering on the bass here compared to H30 and EA500, maybe a tad too much rumble drowning some of the instruments and vocals. It's a thick and fun sound on Mei, and it's less sharp on the cymbal compared to the other 2.
EA500 shows more detail in the drums with crisper sound, but I also need to turn volume down more since the high hat is slightly too forward. And the bass is better sounding than Mei as it's not as overpowering.
H30 does the bass best here of all 3, and has maybe the most pleasing vocal. But is behind the crisp detailed drumming on EA500. Also slightly less fatiguing than EA500, so it is my preferred sound for this one.
Ranking for me on this 1 H30 2 EA500 3 Mei
A true classic, must admit I forgot I was going to compare and listened through many times before starting. His singing is superb and the whole track is detailed and great.
H30 and Mei have similar resolution and dynamic range here, while EA500 does show more dynamic range with slightly more going on. Mei has the most full sounding vocal with great detail, and drums sound more real and impactful.
What I don't like on EA500 is a mix of cold dry sound, at the same time it's slightly metallic. I know I am very sensitive to how the midrange is done on EA500, which might be the reason here. His voice dont sound as natural and the instruments lack some fullness.
H30 sounds better compared to EA500 with more fullness, and better tonality that is instead on the neutral warm side.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 H30 3 EA500
Recently I found out about The Dark Side of the Moon, a cool album where they have covers of known songs. Here from Harry Potter with Double trouble, just in a metal version. Rusanda Panfili plays violin both beautifully and vigorously, while Melissa Bonny is great with her voice. All the players are great, superb recording in my opinion and maybe blasphemous for the Harry Potter fans out there.
Drums and guitars sound so full with life and great detail, violin is clear and airy. Melissa also sounds great on Mei.
EA500 has much more aggressive tonality here, and the violin is more airy. But at the cost of becoming slightly too much for me personally. It also lacks some note weight in the drums, guitar and bass. Vocal and Violin is great, just slightly too hot for me.
H30 is also more aggressive but not as much as EA500, H30 also has slight sibilance that is not on EA500 or Mei. Violin is equally impressive in detail and airyness as EA500, and her voice is also great except for some sibilance.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 EA500 3 H30
Electronic music in the Psy genre, don't ask which is exact as I don't know. It's a very cool release, with addictive bass and sounds. The beat is tight and digs deep, you can feel the bass. The sounds appearing throughout are very special and intoxicating when mixed together with the beat.
EA500 actually shows more bass than H30, make me guess most of the bass is mid bass range as H30 has great sub extension. And the detail is superb, like really superb on everything.
H30 does this like a master, the amount of bass and upper mid energy give great detail while never too much.I find the detail similar to Mei, while the amount of bass and impact is less. Its still very good bass, and it comes down to the amount that's less.
Since I am a basshead and prefer that I go for Mei first, but it's close here.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 EA500 3 H30
Tell Me is J-Pop by millet, I often use it to check female vocal, sibilance and overall energy. Also introduced by my friend Kenneth who is a big fan of J-pop.
Intense track, very in your face with the whole presentation. The more intense parts have lots going on, some sets get more congested make it a mess.
Mei has a nice tonality for this, just slightly thick sounding. My preference is to have this, but here it sounds slightly too dark. The switch position I use on Mei takes away sibilance but at same time takes away some of the vocal presence. It's the least fatiguing of the 3, with no sibilance whatever.
EA500 has a very bright tonality that is very correct for this, even if it makes me turn the volume down. The detailed nature makes it sound detailed and clear also on lower volume, and the amount of bass makes her voice have more cleanliness with more airyness. The sibilance is very borderline, but I find it okay.
H30 is more similar to EA500 with a more clear presentation with great airiness on millet's voice. Sibilance is maybe the most, when compared to the other two.
Ranking for me on this 1 EA500 2 H30 3 Mei
NewJeans has some great K-pop releases, here with Zero. Nice track with great female vocals, in general very catchy and fun. Maybe not the most technical music, but still great for testing K-pop.
Mei has really nice tonality here, some extra fullness in low range. Great vocals that are slightly forward, a slight amount of dark tonality compared to H30. Tried this also with the 02 position, since there is not really any sibilance present. I loved the 02 switch position on this track.
EA500 is also really good, but has a slight edginess on some of the vocal parts.
H30 is very good and clean sounding, with a neutral amount of bass when compared to the vocals being more forward.
Ranking for me on this 1 H30 2 Mei 3 EA500
Ranking with 02 switch 1 Mei 2 H30 3 EA500
Conclusion
I like Mei very much, I was impressed immediately when I got it. Has very much the amount of low end I prefer, with also some warmth in its midrange. Treble lacks a little energy for my taste, but this also makes it more pleasant to use for longer periods.
For me this tonality goes perfect with most music I listen to, also with the switch I can change the driver in the upper range for more energy.
So yes I do recommend this, one of the top dogs under 100usd. Can be a very good alternative to EA500 if you find it too energetic or cold sounding.
Position 10 use DD and also the first BA
Position 02 use DD and also the second BA
Position 12 use DD and both BAs
Looking at the measurement it changes the sound quite much and my preference goes to 10 or 02.
Accessories and the package are okay but not very impressive, you get a set of tips and one cable. The tips are silicone and work, the cable is not the best and I advise you to get an upgrade cable. It should still give you a good sound to get going.
How does it sound
CVJ Mei has a fun and full sound, with good resolving capability when we look at the price range.
Bass is elevated and has great slam and resolution, it feels not slow or fast so just very correct in decay.
Mids are also detailed with some added thickness to vocal, female vocal can lack a little presence in the 10 position but is near perfect in 12. Problem with 12 is that there can come some sibilance in certain music.
Upper mids are very perfect to my liking, where it's not tiresome and shouty.
Treble is well extended in both switch positions I like, while the sibilance dip is slightly too big and takes away some detail on 10. While 02 is having more treble detail.
Soundstage is average in depth and with, and has quite good imaging capabilities.
Comfort is superb with a small shell with just the right nozzle diameter and length that should please most people. I have large ears and prefer bigger IEMs or longer nozzles than most people, I still think Mei is great. My wife also tested this one and said it's one of the most comfortable ones she has tried, she has small ears.
The metal shell is beautiful and screams quality, the only thing I don't like is the 2 pin socket being on the outside. And as mentioned the cable is thin and has quite much memory, used it for one photo and moved over to something else.
Comparison to Simgot EA500 and ISN H30
Simgot EA500
Just a single DD IEM, but it's similar price and looks almost the same. Comfort is top notch, same as Mei when looking at design and weight.
Maybe the most resolving IEM under 100usd, great tonality for most people. The midrange is a problem spot for me, that can make it sound shouty or metallic. Also the bass could have been bigger to meet my preference, but the bass is of superb quality. Simgot clearly has used a very good driver in EA500. It's very easy to mod the EA500 to get more bass, or use filters to change the upper range. But to make it fair I will use the stock config here.
ISN H30
1 DD 9.2mm beryllium and 2 BA (Sonion and Knowles) from Penons brand ISN, a very good hybrid in its price range. But recent releases are making it forgotten, and some had problems with bad fit due to long and angled nozzles.
Bass reaches deep with great slam and rumble, mid bass a little light. There Were complaints about bass, but I believe many had fit problems. Midrange is very correct for me, some types of music can be too tiresome due to forward upper midrange. Similar to EA500 but here I don't get the metallic tonality. The Treble has great detail and extension, and is at a level similar to EA500.
A spider Graph of how I position it, it's very roughly done. Neon Pro stays in there as a baseline. As I see it the Mei has more fun factor than the other two, even if it lacks some technical parts of the H30 and EA500.
Using Kbear 07 tips, cable on EA500 and Mei is XINHS 16 core copper and a pure copper from VE for H30. The Mei has been used in the 10 position, if I Had used the 02 setting the resolution would have been closer at the trade of sharper sound.
Both Simgot EA500 and CVJ Mei are free units, so my take should be neutral between those two. H30 I bought during a very small sale, it's also the most expensive of the 3.
I have mostly used my own files or Tidal, but I will provide a youtube link for you to test.
Very cool track from Emily King’s last album Special Occasion. Lots going on here and fun to keep playing track on repeat while comparing. Bass is really nice here and the extra Mei has given the track a more fun factor. Both instruments and vocals are very clear and present.
The resolution of the EA500 shows more here than Mei, but it doesn't sound better as the bass seems slightly fuzzy at times on EA500. Bass is also louder with Mei while the impact is very similar. Her voice lacks a little soul on EA500, that it just sounds leaner with less forwardness. Both do it great.
The H30 is leaner sounding than Mei, but has perhaps nicer vocals with more nuance. Bass is similar to EA500 in amount, and sounds slightly better than EA500 but I still put Mei bass better here.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 H30 and 3 EA500
First of that bass on Mei, wow. Terrace Martin has some great releases within the jazz or jazz hop genre, this is no exception and is a superb album and track. He has a nice voice and has an old school vibe, like a 90s hip hop sound blended with jazz. The track is very bass heavy with a thicker mid presentation.
Mei is almost too overpowering on the bass here compared to H30 and EA500, maybe a tad too much rumble drowning some of the instruments and vocals. It's a thick and fun sound on Mei, and it's less sharp on the cymbal compared to the other 2.
EA500 shows more detail in the drums with crisper sound, but I also need to turn volume down more since the high hat is slightly too forward. And the bass is better sounding than Mei as it's not as overpowering.
H30 does the bass best here of all 3, and has maybe the most pleasing vocal. But is behind the crisp detailed drumming on EA500. Also slightly less fatiguing than EA500, so it is my preferred sound for this one.
Ranking for me on this 1 H30 2 EA500 3 Mei
A true classic, must admit I forgot I was going to compare and listened through many times before starting. His singing is superb and the whole track is detailed and great.
H30 and Mei have similar resolution and dynamic range here, while EA500 does show more dynamic range with slightly more going on. Mei has the most full sounding vocal with great detail, and drums sound more real and impactful.
What I don't like on EA500 is a mix of cold dry sound, at the same time it's slightly metallic. I know I am very sensitive to how the midrange is done on EA500, which might be the reason here. His voice dont sound as natural and the instruments lack some fullness.
H30 sounds better compared to EA500 with more fullness, and better tonality that is instead on the neutral warm side.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 H30 3 EA500
Recently I found out about The Dark Side of the Moon, a cool album where they have covers of known songs. Here from Harry Potter with Double trouble, just in a metal version. Rusanda Panfili plays violin both beautifully and vigorously, while Melissa Bonny is great with her voice. All the players are great, superb recording in my opinion and maybe blasphemous for the Harry Potter fans out there.
Drums and guitars sound so full with life and great detail, violin is clear and airy. Melissa also sounds great on Mei.
EA500 has much more aggressive tonality here, and the violin is more airy. But at the cost of becoming slightly too much for me personally. It also lacks some note weight in the drums, guitar and bass. Vocal and Violin is great, just slightly too hot for me.
H30 is also more aggressive but not as much as EA500, H30 also has slight sibilance that is not on EA500 or Mei. Violin is equally impressive in detail and airyness as EA500, and her voice is also great except for some sibilance.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 EA500 3 H30
Electronic music in the Psy genre, don't ask which is exact as I don't know. It's a very cool release, with addictive bass and sounds. The beat is tight and digs deep, you can feel the bass. The sounds appearing throughout are very special and intoxicating when mixed together with the beat.
EA500 actually shows more bass than H30, make me guess most of the bass is mid bass range as H30 has great sub extension. And the detail is superb, like really superb on everything.
H30 does this like a master, the amount of bass and upper mid energy give great detail while never too much.I find the detail similar to Mei, while the amount of bass and impact is less. Its still very good bass, and it comes down to the amount that's less.
Since I am a basshead and prefer that I go for Mei first, but it's close here.
Ranking for me on this 1 Mei 2 EA500 3 H30
Tell Me is J-Pop by millet, I often use it to check female vocal, sibilance and overall energy. Also introduced by my friend Kenneth who is a big fan of J-pop.
Intense track, very in your face with the whole presentation. The more intense parts have lots going on, some sets get more congested make it a mess.
Mei has a nice tonality for this, just slightly thick sounding. My preference is to have this, but here it sounds slightly too dark. The switch position I use on Mei takes away sibilance but at same time takes away some of the vocal presence. It's the least fatiguing of the 3, with no sibilance whatever.
EA500 has a very bright tonality that is very correct for this, even if it makes me turn the volume down. The detailed nature makes it sound detailed and clear also on lower volume, and the amount of bass makes her voice have more cleanliness with more airyness. The sibilance is very borderline, but I find it okay.
H30 is more similar to EA500 with a more clear presentation with great airiness on millet's voice. Sibilance is maybe the most, when compared to the other two.
Ranking for me on this 1 EA500 2 H30 3 Mei
NewJeans has some great K-pop releases, here with Zero. Nice track with great female vocals, in general very catchy and fun. Maybe not the most technical music, but still great for testing K-pop.
Mei has really nice tonality here, some extra fullness in low range. Great vocals that are slightly forward, a slight amount of dark tonality compared to H30. Tried this also with the 02 position, since there is not really any sibilance present. I loved the 02 switch position on this track.
EA500 is also really good, but has a slight edginess on some of the vocal parts.
H30 is very good and clean sounding, with a neutral amount of bass when compared to the vocals being more forward.
Ranking for me on this 1 H30 2 Mei 3 EA500
Ranking with 02 switch 1 Mei 2 H30 3 EA500
Conclusion
I like Mei very much, I was impressed immediately when I got it. Has very much the amount of low end I prefer, with also some warmth in its midrange. Treble lacks a little energy for my taste, but this also makes it more pleasant to use for longer periods.
For me this tonality goes perfect with most music I listen to, also with the switch I can change the driver in the upper range for more energy.
So yes I do recommend this, one of the top dogs under 100usd. Can be a very good alternative to EA500 if you find it too energetic or cold sounding.
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so fast on already half-dead iphone that I’m using, and I recently got motivated from Cayin RU6 to invest further effort into a practical portable solution for dac dongle with portability.
: USB dongle sucks power out of my already half dead smartphone battery 
Their interconnects are cool too.
Using DAP to power USB dongle is a nice joke!
