Hey friends! It has been a while since my last post here. Have bought and sold some stuff recently, and glad to welcome my two new beasts to join my collection.
Both of these are among the best summit-fi IEMs that I've experienced so far, while to my ears it’s complementary enough to own them both.
Let's start with what they share in common - Both benefit from UM’s latest BCD tech, offering a very special 3D spherical soundstage that I haven't experienced with other IEMs, including the Viking OG. While the Viking OG does offer higher technicalities and a larger horizontal soundstage, but it still lacks a bit the immersive wrap-around feeling these two provide.
Mason FS Solei Tombé tilts its tuning more towards the midrange, particularly vocals. It's somewhat more relaxed in its detail retrieval compared to the Amber Pearl, eschewing excessively sharp details in favor of a velvety, warm, and thick presentation of vocals that are simply top-tier. Combined with its already strong sense of space and the density of the midrange found in the u6w, I personally find that pairing it with an N30le setup is the ultimate combo for listening to vocals and Pop tracks. This full-bodied and moist vocal expression is something I just can't find in any other IEMs.
Amber Pearl on the other hand focuses a bit more on detail retrieval and a sense of speed in sound. Driven by the N30LE, it excels at rendering various music genres, from large-scale classical to ACG and Jpop/Kpop, with vigor and precision, maintaining excellent three-frequency dynamics. Relatively speaking, while its vocals are formidable among flagship IEMs, they can come off a little bit dry and less emotionally engaging to my ears, compared to the Mason FS ST. The PW original cable slightly smoothens the Amber Pearl's signature, but I still prefer switching to the Beat Audio Obitsaga cable, maxing out the detail and energy. If I can choose to own only one IEM, the Amber Pearl would be my absolute go-to.
It’s also worth noting that these two IEMs are particularly sensitive to eartip pairing. Their tuning already leans slightly towards the lower mids, and since the bone conduction requires a close fit to the ear, using eartips that boost the lower frequencies can muddy the sound and overwhelm the bass. Conversely, long, loose-fitting metal eartips can substantially reduce the sense of space. I’ve found the perfect match with
Azla's Xelastec II, which sits snug in the ear while enhancing the upper mids and controlling the bass, thus perfectly balancing and maximizing the performance of both IEMs.
Lastly, I've included my own frequency response charts for reference. Whether it’s worth to own both is entirely up to you