[Xinlisupreme]

I found very very good Acoustune AET08 on Mest Mk2, later I’ll test AET07

 

[FooFighter]

Honestly I wouldn't expect an IEM to perform as much as a HD800S in terms of stage and holography but was quite wowed those days when I got my ISINE20 (sold meanwhile) how much 3d an in-ear can produce (though those were more sticking out than being in your ears )
With my Andros I am also getting yet some nice behind-the-ear-experience, curious how the Mest MKii will perform.
Mine is yet being loaded in NY hub

 

[RTodd]

Got mine today. I'm a headphone guy and wanted to see what the IEM world has to offer. I must say I am a little bit disappointed. They are definitely decent, but they did not blow me away or anything near to it. The highs are definitely fine, but the rest is "ok". I found the soundstage pretty narrow. And some things are sounding off, I am analyzing it at the moment (e.g. the snares in "the road" by Lydia Ainsworth, the background noises sound veiled in "Liberty" by Anette askvik (24 sec) and little Energy on "Your Song" from Rita Ora). I don't believe in burn-in, but can recheck after some hours. The seal works pretty good on these! Works from my smartphone as good as on a desktop amp.

Probably you are not getting a good seal.
If you have it right when you first insert them you should feel a little pressure from driver flex. That will pass quickly.

Also wondering if you let them burn in for a day first? They will improve after some hours of playing sounds.

I do not think you will have the same experience that over ear open back TOTL HPs can give you for space. But space should be decent with this set. Some time using them may change your experience for the better as you hear them for what they are.

 

[Dynamo5561]

To get a noteworthy experience with iem is a tricky business, i bet all my over 20 years of such experience that you haven't heard them right, mostly, play with tips more, then listen to the iems longer than you do with headphones, rather then get your earpholes used to big cans and then shove these things and expect miracles just coz you spent more than most of your cans cost.
Eventually, you'll get acoustically atuned and it'll hit you how much better they actually are to prob everything you owe, let's say minus one, if you bought the right headphones(valid question above)

I mainly listen with Fostex TH900 SB, ZMF Verite Open Back and Audeze LCD-X. All of them have noticably better sound quality in my oppinion. I played around with ear tips and have a very good seal. I found the seal particularly good on the mest mkii. I normally have problems with the seal, as my right ear is a little bigger than the left, so I definitely understand that seal is very important as I had several negative examples in the past. But I have no seal issues at all with the mest mkii. I also think that tip rolling doesn't impact much on the mest mkii, as they pop in pretty deep.

There are certain songs that I am very used to, and where I can really hear differences between headphones and the mest did not impress me there. I provided some examples above. Another one that I have just noticed is "Kiss the cloud" from Yello where the handshakes at he beginning (? don't know the english word) give a 3D effect on good headphones, but I have a very 2D stereo sound on the mest. I'll listen for some days and see if anything changes.

Don't get me wrong, they are not bad, but I was expecting much more.

 

[RTodd]

I mainly listen with Fostex TH900 SB, ZMF Verite Open Back and Audeze LCD-X. All of them have noticably better sound quality in my oppinion. I played around with ear tips and have a very good seal. I found the seal particularly good on the mest mkii. I normally have problems with the seal, as my right ear is a little bigger than the left, so I definitely understand that seal is very important as I had several negative examples in the past. But I have no seal issues at all with the mest mkii. I also think that tip rolling doesn't impact much on the mest mkii, as they pop in pretty deep.

There are certain songs that I am very used to, and where I can really hear differences between headphones and the mest did not impress me there. I provided some examples above. Another one that I have just noticed is "Kiss the cloud" from Yello where the handshakes at he beginning (? don't know the english word) give a 3D effect on good headphones, but I have a very 2D stereo sound on the mest. I'll listen for some days and see if anything changes.

Don't get me wrong, they are not bad, but I was expecting much more.

Okay makes more sense now.

Have you listened to an IEM in the past that you liked better for space etc... than the Mest? I have. This one has a specific profile that is different to my ears, I do like it, to me it is interesting enjoyable and different, higher energy more live sounding than my other couple IEMs.

I have V1 but so far they seem fairly similar in the presentation based on this thread and early reviews.

 

[eclein]

Don't get me wrong, they are not bad, but I was expecting much more.

I understand what your saying, I’m not challenging your experience, we all hear uniquely. For me its the other way around, IEMs sound better to me than full size headphones. The experience I get with music coming from anywhere around me, with Mest even behind me, is much more enjoyable than full size over ear headphones. In my early days with this hobby I started out listening to full size cans only and had some high end sets but the first time I listened to in ear monitors I realized the imaging they can present and the way you can almost forget your wearing them with the right fit was the “THING” I wanted to explore and all the speakers and equipment I owned eventually thinned out and DAPS and IEMS became my main focus.
I still have a full system and full size headphones but my IEM collection (which is entirely too many by the way) provides the most enjoyment.
I can walk to a local store, go to appointments, take a bus etc. all while hearing amazing sound with mind blowing clarity and detail with a few pieces of gear thats pretty inconspicuous and cost effective.
The soundtrack to my life can be anything I want it to be and I love that about this hobby absolutely love it!
I’ll stop rambling on now and listen to some music! Good luck with your new MEST MKII !

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I mainly listen with Fostex TH900 SB, ZMF Verite Open Back and Audeze LCD-X. All of them have noticably better sound quality in my oppinion. I played around with ear tips and have a very good seal. I found the seal particularly good on the mest mkii. I normally have problems with the seal, as my right ear is a little bigger than the left, so I definitely understand that seal is very important as I had several negative examples in the past. But I have no seal issues at all with the mest mkii. I also think that tip rolling doesn't impact much on the mest mkii, as they pop in pretty deep.

There are certain songs that I am very used to, and where I can really hear differences between headphones and the mest did not impress me there. I provided some examples above. Another one that I have just noticed is "Kiss the cloud" from Yello where the handshakes at he beginning (? don't know the english word) give a 3D effect on good headphones, but I have a very 2D stereo sound on the mest. I'll listen for some days and see if anything changes.

Don't get me wrong, they are not bad, but I was expecting much more.

IEMs and full sized headphones are a completely different experience. Headphones will have the decided advantage in sound stage, macro dynamics and openness. IEMs excel in micro detail and isolation and blackness of background.. I like both and alternate between the two mediums depending on my mood.

 

[soundblast75]

I mainly listen with Fostex TH900 SB, ZMF Verite Open Back and Audeze LCD-X. All of them have noticably better sound quality in my oppinion. I played around with ear tips and have a very good seal. I found the seal particularly good on the mest mkii. I normally have problems with the seal, as my right ear is a little bigger than the left, so I definitely understand that seal is very important as I had several negative examples in the past. But I have no seal issues at all with the mest mkii. I also think that tip rolling doesn't impact much on the mest mkii, as they pop in pretty deep.

There are certain songs that I am very used to, and where I can really hear differences between headphones and the mest did not impress me there. I provided some examples above. Another one that I have just noticed is "Kiss the cloud" from Yello where the handshakes at he beginning (? don't know the english word) give a 3D effect on good headphones, but I have a very 2D stereo sound on the mest. I'll listen for some days and see if anything changes.

Don't get me wrong, they are not bad, but I was expecting much more.

I hear you and it seems we have similar experience and tastes (yello )
I would agree that no iem will be on those headphones level, yet i would insist with a little mileage you will start enjoying them more than you think, otherwise those big cans are a totally different experience yeah, i tend to enjoy both sides, hope you do too.
Btw,to me, deep insertion doesn't provide best sound, you need to find that perfect middle in your earlobe where there's no feelings of vacuum but its perfectly isolated and comfortable, i only tend to like a single piece of tips that works for a iem, yet it's of course very personal

 

[ryaneagon]

I just placed my order for a set of CIEM MKII's, I'm sending my ear impressions in ASAP. I look forward to giving all of you my impressions, soon.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I just placed my order for a set of CIEM MKII's, I'm sending my ear impressions in ASAP. I look forward to giving all of you my impressions, soon.

Do you own any MEST OGs versions? I am really interested in knowing how the CIEM MEST MKII sounds like relative to the OG.

 

[F700]

Landed this afternoon. Early impressions are (very) positive, especially after having found the right tips (from which I don’t remember the brand ), switched the stock cable with a Totl one from Romi Audio and applied a slight EQ (a tad less midbass and upper mids/lower treble).

They offer a pleasing and immersive listening experience and I now better understand the « hype » around the Mest. The soundstage is spectacular, but it’s not what I am looking for in the first place. Now, let’s see if they will stand the test of time, which to me means approx. 3-4 months of listening.

 

[ryaneagon]

Do you own any MEST OGs versions? I am really interested in knowing how the CIEM MEST MKII sounds like relative to the OG.

I do not, these will be my first set of UM IEM's, I'm coming from a set of Moondrop Blessing Dusk, and MD Starfields. These will definitely be across-the-board upgrade.

 

[FooFighter]

Landed this afternoon. Early impressions are (very) positive, especially after having found the right tips (from which I don’t remember the brand ), switched the stock cable with a Totl one from Romi Audio and applied a slight EQ (a tad less midbass and upper mids/lower treble).

They offer a pleasing and immersive listening experience and I now better understand the « hype » around the Mest. The soundstage is spectacular, but it’s not what I am looking for in the first place. Now, let’s see if they will stand the test of time, which to me means approx. 3-4 months of listening.

Am interested in your equ technique.
Can you share a little details?
Using UApp for this or DAP equ?

Would be interesting Imho to share equ experiences for different use cases (maybe with example songs) once we have a common basis like UApp.
I remember once I sent Sennheiser Xelento back as I found its midbass too elevated though I liked the rest.
Doesn't need to be once we find a solid platform and configuration for equing...

Edit: the effect of different tips of course make the equing again a little relative once others try to copy but still I am interested in sharing some examples later once we have more people with MK II
BTW same idea might also be applied to MK I - what are experiences here?
Potentially tunings of both models could even be brought closer to each other

 

[F700]

Am interested in your equ technique.
Can you share a little details?
Using UApp for this or DAP equ?

Would be interesting Imho to share equ experiences for different use cases (maybe with example songs) once we have a common basis like UApp.
I remember once I sent Sennheiser Xelento back as I found its midbass too elevated though I liked the rest.
Doesn't need to be once we find a solid platform and configuration for equing...

I am using the EQ from the xDuoo X 10T II, which solely is a digital transport. Amping and D/A conversion via the Dethonray H1. I need to experiment a bit more with the EQ to reach final satisfaction. I will post it within this week, as I am not listening to it right now.

 

[FooFighter]

I am using the EQ from the xDuoo X 10T II, which solely is a digital transport. Amping and D/A conversion via the Dethonray H1. I need to experiment a bit more with the EQ to reach final satisfaction. I will post it within this week, as I am not listening to it right now.

Oh my, you are again triggering my wishlist fetish with xDuoo X 10T II
Though I yet like Shanling Q1 as minimum footprint digital transport but your player is looking even more versatile plus offering full PEQ I guess.
Looking forward to your impressions and config examples.