[Lokiiami]

I will write a full review and maybe a video in the coming days/week or so. My quick tl;dr is the universal and custom are similar sounding except the treble energy shifts further out with the custom. With the universal, I hear a more forward treble in the 5-7KHz range, and with the custom, it's in the 10-12KHz range. That makes the custom version much better for me and doesn't have random glaring harshness that some people may find on the universal. That said, music with excessive upper harmonics, like lots of snare drums/cymbals, and violins/viola-type strings or music with just just a lot of upper treble --- it can be fatiguing if you listen loudly. I did find a few times where my ears ring a little with the custom if I listen louder and certain types of music like trio-jazz music with lots of drumming.

I will just come out and say it now, I really really love the custom mest.

Thank you, are there any differences in the bass area?

 

[szore]

...the MEST has a black background from which sharp details emerge from a holographic stage that sounds almost 360, this preciseness with percussion is uncanny, very 3D, anyway, first impression, just arrived today...)

Put at least 100 hours on it...

 

[szore]

For me Mest is a piece of crap but maybe mine is faulty , I send it to the seller for a replacement so when I have the new one I can confirm if it is as good as the reviews said or if it is a crap

You may have had a blown driver

 

[antdroid]

Thank you, are there any differences in the bass area?

I think for me, the bass is a tad warmer on the universal. I think the custom is punchier for me though, and it clearly has better treble and definition and openess sounding. I am going to do a bit more tip rolling with the Universal like I did many months back when I first tried them out and reviewed it to see if I can find the most optimal setup for my comparison review.

 

[riverground]

Damn. I should've joined the tour. Would love to compare MEST to my IER-Z1R.

I’m gonna be writing my review soon. I compared it a bit to my ZIR as well. I’ll be doing a more thorough comparison soon. Comparing it to the VE Elysium, VE8, JH Audio Layla, Final Audio A8000, Empire Ears Zeus XR-A, and the Odin. So watch out for that!

 

[ErkH]

@Darthpool let me borrow his UM MEST Universal today so I can do a side-by-side review of the MEST Universal vs Custom. I let him borrow the Mini MEST in exchange.



Here's a comparison measurement of the Universal vs Custom. Note that this is using the Apple USB-C 3.5mm dongle, which is low impedance. The MEST is quite sensitive to Output Impedance.





And here's a comparison with the Mini in blue/green

500-1khz response of universal version seems different from the loaner set, its that audible? which one do you perfer if its audible?

 

[szore]

500-1khz response of universal version seems different from the loaner set, its that audible? which one do you perfer if its audible?

I'll never understand how looking at a bunch of swiggly lines tells you anything about the sound...

 

[antdroid]

500-1khz response of universal version seems different from the loaner set, its that audible? which one do you perfer if its audible?

This was due to source output impedance. I remeasured it recently and the sets shown in the latest graphic are based on the Apple USB-C 3.5mm adapter, meaning low impedance.

 

[IEMusic]

I was listening to the MEST with a 20 Ohm impedance adapter, and while the FR changes were c/w what @antdroid showed with his CIEM MEST, it sounded weird. While it may be affecting the FR predictably, I have no idea what it’s doing to the BC driver. I need to listen some more.

 

[KuroKitsu]

The u12t has me lazy with impedance. Goof thing all gear is under 1. Otherwise my OCD would make MEST highly contentious.

 

[turopark1963]

Szore , no I send it to Andrew and he confirm it was ok so I went to my doctors and he confirm it is my tinitus that are the problem !!! Mest and tinitus are not a happy marriage

 

[tommykrebs]

Can someone compare the MEST with the Fearless S8F for me? I love the bass, the details and the separation of the S8F. What are the main differences between those set's? Thank's.

 

[Strifeff7]

Szore , no I send it to Andrew and he confirm it was ok so I went to my doctors and he confirm it is my tinitus that are the problem !!! Mest and tinitus are not a happy marriage

oh no,
I have a mild tinnitus myself,
maybe you should try a pure bone conduction headphone, and see if it sounds bad,

 

[riverground]

I’m gonna be writing my review soon. I compared it a bit to my ZIR as well. I’ll be doing a more thorough comparison soon. Comparing it to the VE Elysium, VE8, JH Audio Layla, Final Audio A8000, Empire Ears Zeus XR-A, and the Odin. So watch out for that!

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to add the Zeus and A8000 in the picture.
but here are the IEMs I’ll be doing reviews and a shoot out once I find the time. Been very busy and I’ll be getting even more busy this week. But I’ll do my best with the reviews!! I just wish I could bring home the Odin, KSE1500, Wraith, Zeus XR-A, and the A8000 but unfortunately I’m not shameless enough to ask the shop owner to borrow them since they’re still pretty popular to demo. And the A8000 was a demo for him from Final just to keep for 2 weeks. And the Zeus was a customer’s.
I’d love to do a more in depth comparison with those.

 

[antdroid]

My video review for now.... written review in the near future.