IEMusic
Headphoneus Supremus
I realize this OT for this thread, but how is the imaging of the u12t vs the MEST? Would you say the u12t also has a similar holographic imaging, with really good depth and layering?Just so we're clear, I'm a fat U12t shill. That aside, I do think the U12t is a clear cut above both of them. The big issue you run into with a hybrid setup is coherency. Both the MEST and the Monarch are highly technical and fairly well-tuned, but I don't find either of them particularly coherent.
For example, the MEST's midrange is way more resolving than it's bass, and in general, the MEST has a tendency to over exaggerate the separation between instruments lending to "holes" in the way it images. On the other hand, the Monarch, again, has more 2-dimensional imaging, albeit very good positional accuracy and width, lending to disconnect. I'd also argue that the Monarch's coherency issues are a byproduct of the tuning itself which is somewhat segmented, if you will. All of this is ignoring that neither of them - particularly the Monarch - has top-tier qualities in isolation. The U12t's BA bass has better tactility than both of them and is more resolving to my ears. Both the MEST and Monarch's treble roll off in the final octaves of extension whereas the U12t is straight up peaking at that point. The Monarch's macrodynamic ability is poor, the MEST's is inconsistent. I could go on, but I think you can see where I'm going haha.
Both the MEST and the Monarch are really good IEMs for their respective price points. They're exceptionally well-rounded, and you could easily make an argument for either, particularly the Monarch, punching above its weight. However, I think there's still a good ways between these IEMs and the truly top-tier stuff like the U12t (which isn't without its faults either, of course).