[bassheadnewbie]

Nope, this is not for basshead despite having 15.4mm DD driver. The sound sig is more mid-forward with a very clear natural tonality. Bass is rather neutral in quantity but it is not flat, has a nice texture with a modest rumble and softer impact. Treble also has a natural modest sparkle. These are great for those who love natural forward details in mids/vocals without bass or treble getting in the way. Also, 3T-154 feels like wearing full size open back headphones with holographic sound presentation.

If you like squiggles , here you go!

I see

I can't wait to read the full review

 

[Silverlinings]

To summarise: on the one hand, it is a question of principle as I now deeply reject UM and want nothing to do with it, and on the other hand, what I wrote earlier: "I hate the idea that Mentor will be my last flagship from UM. I really love UM and Mentor and I don't want to think that after Mentor I will definitely not buy another UM flagship, keeping the desire and interest open."

Ok I get that. I have a feeling that there may be another incantation of the mentor sometime in 2024 that probably will be more $ than the original. Maybe $5k. I mean look at cars. Would you boycott Mercedes if you have a C class bc they come out with the S class? That’s just the way I feel.

 

[phiemon]

Ok I get that. I have a feeling that there may be another incantation of the mentor sometime in 2024 that probably will be more $ than the original. Maybe $5k. I mean look at cars. Would you boycott Mercedes if you have a C class bc they come out with the S class? That’s just the way I feel.

You are far too optimistic. I have already written that. I bet UM will release a new version of Mentor very soon (1-2 months?) as an upgrade from Amber Pearl with the same new breakthrough technologies from Mason FS. The price: 6499 USD / 6999 USD. Remember this message, you will see. I'm so glad I didn't buy Amber Pearl.

 

[Silverlinings]

You are far too optimistic. I have already written that. I bet UM will release a new version of Mentor very soon (1-2 months?) as an upgrade from Amber Pearl with the same new breakthrough technologies from Mason FS. The price: 6499 USD / 6999 USD. Remember this message, you will see.

No argument there lol.

 

[OneEyedHito]

I’m a bit confused by the discussions or consternation around “new flagships”.

I find there’s only a couple of things as differentiators at given price points or “tiers” of IEM’s. 1. Being fitment 2. Being sound signature (ie v or u or w shape) & 3. Being categories of perceived benefits. This matters most to me and not the tier I’m listening in. With IEM’s so far to me we are definitely chasing the dragon and I find fitment to be the paramount factor to my enjoyment within any subset of “tier”. I think customs are next after Trifecta if I’m going to spend more responsibly in this area.

It would be really helpful if our hearing and ears could be categorized as easily as our heights but it seems our hearing and ear shapes are NEARLY as unique as our fingerprints.

Edit:
I’ll add for clarity that after rereading a few of these posts I’m not in the camp of escalating prices are equal to BETTER as a guideline. Newer tech isn’t always better. CarPlay was newer a while ago and still has inherent issues with working as it should EVERYTIME I get into my car. Newer doesn’t mean better to me except when it comes to bread.

 

[LFC_SL]

I treat high priced offerings like UM, PMG or whoever like videos of sports cars ; not in my income bracket and it is there in the background to filter in or filter out

At 9k for universal monitors that are not even custom fit there should be a lifetime guarantee to the original owner

I always zero in on case and storage solutions so the 'Gogh bag leather case' is the most interesting thing. My inherent laziness probably still prefers using the Campfire Audio IEM bags ; wrap the cable around the IEM bag, in the case, done. Laziness is also the reason why I have not purchased the Plussound stands...

 

[drftr]

I don't see how extremely expensive IEMs would alter my buying behaviour. I'll never spend a dime over 2.5k and if the retail price is way higher I'm open to generous discounts. If not, fair enough and I won't enjoy my music any less.

drftr

 

[fejnomit]

I understand this thread has become almost exclusively devoted to IEMs at this point, but I'm wondering if anyone here can weigh in on the actual sound quality of something like this:

https://hypebeast.com/2023/12/takahiromiyashitathesoloist-flatiron-speaker-release-info

Acknowledge that I know virtually nothing about home speaker wattages or the like. I'm considering eyeing one of these at discount for a family home entertainment setup for dual use for movies and music (general listening rather than clinical listening). My gut take is it's entirely overpriced gimmick based solely on aesthetic, but I'm wondering if there's anything out there at around half that list msrp that might be recommended as sounding decent while perhaps also doubling as visually interesting home decor. Not expecting a lot of replies to this but figured I'd put out feelers.

I haven't heard them, but since they've showed up on hypebeast, I'm sure you'd be paying more for fashion over function.

I'm a fan of KEF's wireless speakers. I think they look great, sound great, and they're easy to set up since they don't require any extra equipment like a DAC or amp. They also have a bunch of input options, both wired and wireless. I have their near-field LSX II speakers set up at my desk with the KC62 sub. They're a happy medium between the run-of-the-mill powered PC speakers and filling up my desk with more DACs, amps, and passive speakers.

If you're looking for speakers for a bigger room though, you'll probably have to move up to the LS50 or LS60 to better fill the room.
https://us.kef.com/collections/wireless-hifi-speakers

I am sure that those speakers are fine for what they are. But a big +1 to:

KEF - LS50 WIRELESS II​

For less than half the price, guaranteed to please.

In the time I've been in the hobby Astell & Kern, Effect Audio & Unique Melody have consistently released impressive, high-end products.

As have many other brands, which is why I find the levels of brand loyalty I encounter at times eyebrow raising. This can be explained by the primitive nature of our tribal ancestry - people fuse brands they relate to positively with their own identity, and then feel obliged to defend them far beyond the realms of rational explanation.

If there were merely a handful of brands who were head & shoulders above the rest one could make a stronger argument for such behaviour, yet more & more I struggle to identify any brand in the portable audio space that consistently releases higher quality products than its' competitors simply because competition is too fierce to allow it.

Instead people choose brands largely on the basis of flavour and taste, so what they're really doing is advocating for their own preferences - and by extension worldview.

Pretty dim view of humanity. And I totally disagree. I have plowed forward in this hobby by listening. I have arrived at my trinity through trial and error and testing and merely stated the brands that happened to make my three current favorite devices. Probably the same for most here. There is little clanishness in that.

While I agree that Quattro is great in relaxed listening and mesmerizing in doing so without excellent technical performance, I can't help LOL at your music chain for Quattro is so so over killing! Again by the conventional wisdom, you should spend higher percentage on transducers, and less so on upstream, you are doing just the opposite.

Wait, whose wisdom is that? There is also wisdom to source first. You want the absolute best quality to start the chain off...

To summarise:

- Improved "unique house sound that offers an impressive soundstage and lifelike timbres through bone conduction technology"
- New "revolutionary BC-Turbo Micro Voltage Booster [that] heralds a new era of sonic possibilities"
- New FreqShift BCD
- New First Time Shielding Pro

And all this for the modest price of 8500 USD. If I had bought Amber Pearl, which was released only a few months ago for the equally modest price of 8000 USD as a minor upgrade compared to Mentor (4500 USD, note: 3500 USD price difference for a minor upgrade), I would be extremely pissed off right now. UM is obviously deliberately holding back new, apparently groundbreaking technologies so that it can release another, even better and more expensive IEM shortly afterwards. And I bet (!!) that the new version of Mentor will be released next month for the price of 6999 or 7499 USD. And between Mason FS and Mentor, we all know which one has had more success in the past (spoiler: Mentor). So the question here is whether it wouldn't be worth waiting. Apart from that, I personally can no longer justify UM's marketing strategy. These price jumps are for me no longer rational and I am no longer willing to support UM. As much as I love my Mentor - it's still my favorite of the current TOTL - I've now resolved to stop buying UM's products as long as UM pursues such a mocking strategy. It is quite clear that UM wants to push it until it finally breaks. The moment has now come for me. I will boycott it and sell my Mentor in protest (I know, no one surely cares).

My principles are worth more to me than any IEMs. UM may produce such great IEMs (of course this is debatable), but there are plenty of alternatives on the market that are equivalent or better. I would also invite others to stop buying UM's products. This trend must be stopped, it is in the interest of all of us.

@UniqueMelody

I ditched UM a while ago for the very reasons you state. There is such a thing as consumer activism. Sometimes it's all you can do.
ALSO it is entirely debatable whether the newest iterations are truly better. What does "better" even mean? Higher resolution? Truer to life? Doubtful there are gains to be made anymore. I truly believe there is no better anymore at the top end, just different.

 

[Rockwell75]

MSRP: $8499

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/evolving-the-um-reference-a-new-chapter-for-the-mason-series—mason-nuit-Étoilée-soleil-tombé.971503/

Sweet Jebus...

My expectations from brands is formed from my past experience with their sets.

When I think about not yet released or mentioned sets.

I expect from Campfire something different and interesting to come from them, and curious if they will pull of another unicorn like Trifecta.

From Oriolus really nice tuning, great less is more design elements.

From EE and Noble sets that have a luxury feel and amazing craftsmanship.

From Custom Arts sets with a no nonsense approach, that are always priced below what they offer in terms of profile and driver count.

From Audio 64 I do not expect anything revolutionary just refreshes of what came before.

From Aroma sets that do not meet my design criteria for the prices charged.

From FIR I expect new ideas, new designs, and interesting sound profiles.

From UM continued iterative changes like a different color and possibly slightly improved sound, for high prices.

It is interesting to see what develops, so much fun.

You said it best right here.

You hit the nail uniquely on the melody.

lol

In the end these people are making it tough for others to buy good gear

Fortunately this is far from true. It is true that the prices at the "summit" have gotten insane but while that has been happening 1) diminishing returns has been firmly established at about the $1.5k mark 2) there are many fantastic sets below $1k that hit well above their price and 3) the quality of products has improved at all price tiers. There is good gear out there at every budget. The only folks who are really suffering are those who equate the best with the most expensive and feel the need at all times to have the best and most expensive products out there. Following is a list of what (as of the end of 2023) this community feels are the best IEMs sub $2k or so, and having owned/demoed many myself I can attest that there are many endgame quality products in this list alone depending on what you're looking for. It's a golden age for all indeed in this hobby.

Nightjar Singularity
Campfire Bonneville
Unique Melody Mest MKiii
Elysian Acoustic Labs Diva
Symphonium Crimson
Campfire Supermoon
Bellos Audio X4
Penon Quattro
Fat Freq Maestro SE
7th Acoustics Supernova
FatFreq Scarlet Mini
Thieaudio V16 Divinity
Aur Audio Neon Pro
Sound Rhyme - DTE900
Campfire Audio Cascara
Sound Rhyme SR8
Aur Audio Aurora
Night Oblivion Butastur
634 Ears LOAK TC

 

[phiemon]

That was obviously meant seriously: https://shop.musicteck.com/products/um-mason-fs-nuit-etoilee

My regrets.

 

[fejnomit]

Ok I get that. I have a feeling that there may be another incantation of the mentor sometime in 2024 that probably will be more $ than the original. Maybe $5k. I mean look at cars. Would you boycott Mercedes if you have a C class bc they come out with the S class? That’s just the way I feel.

That's not really the analogy. The analogy is you buy a C-class when a new version first comes out, but then a year later another C-class comes out with better tech that Mercedes already had but delayed releasing so they could push the next C-class... Oh wait, that is what car companies do... Hm... Darn capitalism... The only real solution is to not care that your model is "outdated" a year later and set yourself principles for how often you buy a new car, etc. I guess the same could go for IEMs. If you love your Mentor or your Amber Pearl, they are still awesome even when new stuff comes out...

 

[bigbeans]

Caught up the thread this morning haha.

UM is meeting the customers desires by releasing new gears. Clearly the market is responding well to their pattern of frequent flagship releases and they do sell well (according to Li Le, CEO). I would run the business the same way. Good product companies do not engage in business practices which leave money on the table. UM's releases do not preclude others from enjoying their current sets.

New sets do not invalidate your IEM. Example, Mason Fusang is quite old by UM standards yet I rotate it frequently alongside Amber Pearl. Buy what you like, buy what sounds good to you. Regardless of what others think, how it sits in the product matrix, or what is 'yet to come'.

Buying flagships because you want to 'time' the market or because you want the latest and greatest will cost a lot of funds and will not make the hobby enjoyable imo. Enjoy the various products. I would not like to be in a world where product creation are limited due to artificial constraint (eg a principle that flagships should only be released every few years). Options are choices, no one is compelling you to buy it.

 

[Sound Eq]

Still Sony, Sony and Sony (source, cable, IEM). I have access to some outstanding products from many of the brands listed here, worth significantly more than the Sony, but push comes to shove I wouldn't trade any of them for this combo. You asked for the Holy Trinity, so by definition this has to be it.

​

thanks god sony made the ier z1r and not unique melody back then, as they would then have charged 10k usd for the ier z1r back then

 

[theintention]

lots of level-headed opinions here on both side of the argument. personally, new price tiers will inherently leave a bad taste in my mouth, no matter the hobby. i dislike the precedent it sets for the market as a whole, but i am on the side of "enjoying what makes you happy".

To each their own, i just want EVERYONE'S dollar to go as far as possible.

 

[claud W]

I understand this thread has become almost exclusively devoted to IEMs at this point, but I'm wondering if anyone here can weigh in on the actual sound quality of something like this:

https://hypebeast.com/2023/12/takahiromiyashitathesoloist-flatiron-speaker-release-info

Acknowledge that I know virtually nothing about home speaker wattages or the like. I'm considering eyeing one of these at discount for a family home entertainment setup for dual use for movies and music (general listening rather than clinical listening). My gut take is it's entirely overpriced gimmick based solely on aesthetic, but I'm wondering if there's anything out there at around half that list msrp that might be recommended as sounding decent while perhaps also doubling as visually interesting home decor. Not expecting a lot of replies to this but figured I'd put out feelers.

PWA
Cayin
Fir