[Lowtech Trevor]

I have heard people say that custom IEMs can be uncomfortable or even painful at first, but if you give your ears some time to adjust (might be 2-3 weeks, not sure?) with regular sessions, your ear anatomy will adapt and the discomfort will disappear.
Anyone on here experienced this?
It could save you a lot of hassle trying to get them adjusted if this method does work for you

Thanks for the feedback, I have wondered how much they might adjust. It starts to get uncomfortable pretty quickly though, which is concerning. I received a message from another head fier with the exact same issue that didn’t get resolved properly after returning them to UM. So I’m leaning towards letting my local guy have a shot at it as I trust him. I’m going to try wearing them through work today to see if the comfort level changes.
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[justanut]

I have heard people say that custom IEMs can be uncomfortable or even painful at first, but if you give your ears some time to adjust (might be 2-3 weeks, not sure?) with regular sessions, your ear anatomy will adapt and the discomfort will disappear.
Anyone on here experienced this?
It could save you a lot of hassle trying to get them adjusted if this method does work for you

Uncomfortable yes... painful, no. Pain is usually a sign of something gone very wrong...

 

[Lowtech Trevor]

Uncomfortable yes... painful, no. Pain is usually a sign of something gone very wrong...

Agreed. The stem portion seems fine in both ears. It's only hurting around the top of the bud (They call the Cymba) that locks into that part of your ear for the fit. I've been PMing with someone who's had a similar issue and sending them back to UM didn't solve it. Which is my concern as they don't know how much to take off. I can sit in my audiologist office and we can try a little at a time until it works. Hoping to get an idea from UM how much material we have to work with before proceeding.

 

[justanut]

Agreed. The stem portion seems fine in both ears. It's only hurting around the top of the bud (They call the Cymba) that locks into that part of your ear for the fit. I've been PMing with someone who's had a similar issue and sending them back to UM didn't solve it. Which is my concern as they don't know how much to take off. I can sit in my audiologist office and we can try a little at a time until it works. Hoping to get an idea from UM how much material we have to work with before proceeding.

When I sent mine back, I took a photo of my ear (red and sore), and circled the problem areas. They can then check against the mould that was sent to them vs the digital file they created and hopefully figure out how much to adjust. I got lucky and the problems went away with the reshell (well, except the electric shocks I've been getting recently).

 

[RumbleWeed]

Did it happen to both (left and right pair) at the same time?
As for the warranty you should contact Andrew, I have bought second handed pair which was originally bought from Musicteck and Andrew was very helpful.

Thanks for the help all iv sorted it!
It was the tips I had changed and forgot i had changed them! Took them off and all's good!
I knew these are VERY tip dependant but i didn't realize one set of tips could change the sound SOOO much!
Anyway all is good now but still looking for my ultimate basshead tip if anyone has any rec's? I absolutely love the Xelastec's they are by far the most comfortable fit iv ever had but due to the wide bore bass isn't as impactful as the included silicon tips! I want the fit out the Xelastec with the sound of the Silicon's?

 

[Lowtech Trevor]

When I sent mine back, I took a photo of my ear (red and sore), and circled the problem areas. They can then check against the mould that was sent to them vs the digital file they created and hopefully figure out how much to adjust. I got lucky and the problems went away with the reshell (well, except the electric shocks I've been getting recently).

LOL, I think I would take a fit issue over electric shocks to the ears, yikes! Thanks for the insights

 

[Ufanco]

Thanks for the help all iv sorted it!
It was the tips I had changed and forgot i had changed them! Took them off and all's good!
I knew these are VERY tip dependant but i didn't realize one set of tips could change the sound SOOO much!
Anyway all is good now but still looking for my ultimate basshead tip if anyone has any rec's? I absolutely love the Xelastec's they are by far the most comfortable fit iv ever had but due to the wide bore bass isn't as impactful as the included silicon tips! I want the fit out the Xelastec with the sound of the Silicon's?

Here’s a link to some tip reviews.

https://www.audioreviews.org/guide-to-iem-silicone-eartips/

 

[ljnew]

Have moved on from the Sony 1Z to the Sony 1A (with Mr Walkman Midnight v2 FW). Excellent synergy.

Better synergy than 1z?

 

[ljnew]

Just arrived yesterday. Hard to find the right tips for Indigo. Tried variety of tips and didn't feel. Comfortable wearing for 5mins, and right now settled with AET08 somewhat comfortable and acceptable sound.

Initial impression, coming from U18t and NIO, Indigo has way more forward mids and noticable mid bass, imaging that are sharper than knife. Staging not bad but didn't go out of my head. I don't know if i'm spoiled with Tia treble. But in certain tracks i can feel some harshness on the treble that i didn't find annoying on u18t.
Mid and vocal has a good body but still less than Nio. And on the low i don't feel any bone conduction in play here? Sub bass and slam barely felt, but i haven't tried a lot of EDM tracks..

How do you compare it to u18t? Which one is better?

 

[ljnew]

Very happy with my UM Mest mk2. It’s stunning on m17, even better on Holo May + 430ha (which usually doesn’t play nice with IEMs but sounded great for Mest.)
Beats my A12t/A18t, and also beats a lot of over ear headphones (minus Susvara)

Can you compare the mest 2 to the a18?

 

[ljnew]

$562 Too expensive. It will be unbalanced combination for an IEM costs $299 and cable costs twice of IEM

I may first try see how their copper28 V2$(90) matches with Monarch and Tea first.

Tea is an unbeliavable iem. How does it compare to the mk2?

 

[Badlands]

Indigo Impressions

It has been a long and enjoyable journey for me which commenced two years ago when I started researching tube amps for my Auteur. I spent many weeks reading reviews of various tube amps but was apprehensive about going down that rabbit hole so I reverted to my comfort zone which is IEMs. There’s a simplicity and dare I say an intimacy that listening to an IEM evokes, allowing me to lose myself in the music. The current stop on my audiophile journey is the UM Indigo. After listening to it for a bit more than a month, these are my impressions.

Indigo has a well balanced signature with a robust bass that serves as the foundation on which the mids and treble reside with equal prominence, resulting in a monitor which is well suited for multiple genres.

Whether parlaying the power and passion of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2000 MSG performance or the butterfly delicateness of Lana Del Rey’s vocals in “Chemtrails Over The Country Club”, Indigo is equally adept at rendering both with an authoritative, yet always smooth presentation. Its precision imaging and timbre elicits an engaging realism to vocals and instruments that envelops you, resulting in a highly emotive and engaging listen.

Indigo scales a bit on more powerful sources. It pairs wonderfully with my Lotoo 6K as well as the JDS El Amp II and Liquid Gold X amp. The Lotoo and El Amp pairing have a bit more sparkle in the treble while the Liquid Gold X focuses more in the mids and bass, indicating that Indigo will reflect the nuances of the source. I do notice that Indigo benefits from desktop power in that it results in a slightly more solidly constructed soundstage. There’s just a touch more separation in the instruments and vocals. Also, I found Indigo to be dead silent, even through the balanced Liquid Gold X output.

So is this endgame for me? Will I sell my Solaris SE or my Auteur? I know myself well enough to say the answer is most likely no. Hence, the use of the word “journey” in this post. For me, my journey and living vicariously through your collective journeys is such a wonderful part of this hobby. Please do note that my impressions emanated from my 58 year old ears and most of my listening includes a plethora of female vocalists, pop, rap and some jazz in addition to the inimitable Mr. Springsteen.

Finally, a shout out to Andrew at Music Teck who always provides excellent customer service and was so patient in responding to my questions while demoing IEMs.

I thank you for taking the time to read this post.

 

[RodC]

MEST MKII Impressions

Hi everyone, just a quick summup of my impressions listening to the Mest MKII. I'm not an active Head-Fi member but Andrew kindly asked if I could write down a quick review in this thread so here I am.

I own this set since 12/23/2021 and bought it with my own money.

Coming from the 300$ price range (Blessing 2, Mangird Tea), I was a bit sceptical about the improvements a set that is worth 5x the price could bring to the table. But some enthusiasts from a discord channel managed to convince me and give it a go.
And boy I'm not disappointed, I can't point any default to the Mest MKII:

- Bass is deep, impactful and slams with the right tracks (edm/trap...) while remaining precise on more calm styles like jazz.
- Mids are super clean, I'm not to focused on vocals but they sound just right, not forward nor recessed.
- Trebles are exceptionnal due to the use of EST drivers, no more sibilance or harsh cymbals, they extend way further than BA's
- Bone conduction, I had to listen a couple of hours for my brain to adapt but once you get the feel, it's hard coming back. I don't know how to describe it, sometimes during certain parts of a song like a bass slam, I think someone just slammed a door next to me. This is the best way I can explain what this technology can do.

The thing I appreciate the most is the amount of details and separation the MKII's are able to reproduce while staying musical. On super loaded styles like Technical death metal, I rediscovered some tracks.
The only con I would give, (a rather personnal one) is the fit. It's very good, but doesn't match the perfect insertion I had with the Mangird Teas. It's also slightly heavier due to the amount of drivers but this is not a drawback at all.

Overall I would say this set is an all-rounder, combined with a neutral DAC (L&P W1), It can play just about any genre or style of music while providing great listening pleasure.

My conclusion: Don't want to pay over a thousand dollars for a pair of iem ? Don't try the Mest MKII, you won't resist.

On a separate note, I want to thank Andrew from MusicTeck for is availability and for responding to all my questions regarding my order before and after buying. Top notch customer care.

 

[Lowtech Trevor]

Indigo Impressions

It has been a long and enjoyable journey for me which commenced two years ago when I started researching tube amps for my Auteur. I spent many weeks reading reviews of various tube amps but was apprehensive about going down that rabbit hole so I reverted to my comfort zone which is IEMs. There’s a simplicity and dare I say an intimacy that listening to an IEM evokes, allowing me to lose myself in the music. The current stop on my audiophile journey is the UM Indigo. After listening to it for a bit more than a month, these are my impressions.

Indigo has a well balanced signature with a robust bass that serves as the foundation on which the mids and treble reside with equal prominence, resulting in a monitor which is well suited for multiple genres.

Whether parlaying the power and passion of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s 2000 MSG performance or the butterfly delicateness of Lana Del Rey’s vocals in “Chemtrails Over The Country Club”, Indigo is equally adept at rendering both with an authoritative, yet always smooth presentation. Its precision imaging and timbre elicits an engaging realism to vocals and instruments that envelops you, resulting in a highly emotive and engaging listen.

Indigo scales a bit on more powerful sources. It pairs wonderfully with my Lotoo 6K as well as the JDS El Amp II and Liquid Gold X amp. The Lotoo and El Amp pairing have a bit more sparkle in the treble while the Liquid Gold X focuses more in the mids and bass, indicating that Indigo will reflect the nuances of the source. I do notice that Indigo benefits from desktop power in that it results in a slightly more solidly constructed soundstage. There’s just a touch more separation in the instruments and vocals. Also, I found Indigo to be dead silent, even through the balanced Liquid Gold X output.

So is this endgame for me? Will I sell my Solaris SE or my Auteur? I know myself well enough to say the answer is most likely no. Hence, the use of the word “journey” in this post. For me, my journey and living vicariously through your collective journeys is such a wonderful part of this hobby. Please do note that my impressions emanated from my 58 year old ears and most of my listening includes a plethora of female vocalists, pop, rap and some jazz in addition to the inimitable Mr. Springsteen.

Finally, a shout out to Andrew at Music Teck who always provides excellent customer service and was so patient in responding to my questions while demoing IEMs.

I thank you for taking the time to read this post.

Overall, I am incredibly happy with my MKii to spite some of the fit challenges I'm having. If I was to ever change to the Indigo's it may only be because they are so damn beautiful!

 

[14christ]

Overall, I am incredibly happy with my MKii to spite some of the fit challenges I'm having. If I was to ever change to the Indigo's it may only be because they are so damn beautiful!

That's exactly how I felt. Only reason would be for the cable but now you can get the cable for 1k.