After an extensive session of photo-taking these candies (with my dad’s regular camera, I have yet to get my DSLR!), I gave them a brief listen, hoping I would be just as captivated as I was when I heard the JH13 demos at Jaben. Granted, they are much cheaper (about half the price of a JH13) and it would be irrational and illogical to ask for the same caliber of sonic performance – but if they succeed to reenact the same feeling I had that day, I have nothing more to ask for.
I think this whole experience has only left me with all but one gripe: the turnover time. I was very expectant of a 3-weeks maximum period from the day I dispatched my impressions to the day I receive the completed customs, but it took a total of 39 days; from the 8th of March when I dropped off my impressions to the 15th of April when the customs arrived at my doorstep via FedEx. I would like to think this is an isolated case though, as the many other customers before me have always received theirs within 3 – 4 weeks. It could also have been something to do with the Westone cables not in stock in time for prompt shipping – a fault not on UM’s part. I was also told that UM was shifting to a bigger factory, so production time wasn’t at its peak. In that case, I can only hope for even better quality and a faster turnover time for their future customs! Oh, and of course, that elusive artwork printer they’ve been meaning to get...
It was a long, long wait indeed...but worth it was the distress The build quality of these is nothing short of stellar, and the sound – ah the sound. In tremulous palms, I hold the product that the past month of sleepless nights and agonizing wait and paycheck has yielded.
As of the time of writing, I believe the unit hasn’t been fully burnt-in yet. I’m not a believer or non-believer of burning-in, as I haven’t actually come across enough IEMs/headphones to be able to make a judgment yet. But take it for what it’s worth – the crossovers; not the armatures, are said to require burn-in and are touted to sound better after that. Take that opinion with a grain of salt.
They arrived in a FedEx Large Pak at 4pm. I was tracking the status on FedEx’s site since I got the tracking number that morning and waited anxiously for the van to show up…it did, only 6 hours later.
Oh, what a ride it was for you.
Since I’ve developed an OCD habit of taking excessive photos of the shipments I get, this is no different. I proceeded to snap photos before meticulously opening the package.
The FedEx package looked battered up. I could only hope the contents weren’t.
The World On Time. – Yes, yes indeed.
Opening the package yielded a pleasant surprise. A white box and a small black case were found. I wasn’t expecting the latter – I thought UM only bundled a tiny soft case with their customs. The black case smelled of new rubber/latex, visualize yourself in a tire factory. You get it. The box was made of cardboard with 2 magnets in front to hold the flap in place. It’s like the sort of cardboard they used for leatherbound hardcover books, sturdy and secure.
I wonder what's inside.
The hard case looked like a mass-produced, el-cheapo product, but it’s better than nothing. Sure, it may not be “crushproof” as an Otterbox, but it gets the job done. So long I can have my IEMs in my left pocket with my car keys and have peace of mind knowing they’ll be fine, I’m happy. No need for any fancy “UM” logos or stamps on it, the lesser I have to pay for trivial things, the better. I don’t know if UM has started to bundle this together, since I recall the others before me not getting it. But if that’s the
case, great!
!
In the box lies a black booklet with blue words. Beneath that is something commonly associated with UM’s remolding services, a frequency graph of your very own monitors. Then comes the silvery pouch, a poor choice indeed for ideal protection of your monitors. In a small slit by the left lies the cleaning tool – a brush-like thing with a hook on its other end to clear off and keep your monitors shiny after usage. Hard Styrofoam sits in place beneath it all, keeping everything intact.
I wonder what lies beneath.
And here we are.
Placed in two corners of a cut-out Styrofoam are the monitors. The memory wire is bent in such a way so they don’t shake and bump around during the transportation.
The booklet included is a little bilingual (English and Chinese) instruction manual on how to insert your monitors and guidelines/tips of usage, along with other tidbits of information that one probably already knows, assuming he knew what he was getting into when ordering a pair of these in the first place. All this is written in broken English – understandable, but hilarious. Criticism unnecessary – I could care less about all that.
As expected from UM, the build quality of these monitors is top notch. The shells are essentially flawless. I managed to find no air bubbles anywhere save for the sound bores – there were a few on each monitor. Nothing major, I’d have to squint to even see them. The shell colors are just as I expected and requested for. I got the idea after seeing another person’s remolded UE Triple Fi 10s. They were beautifully taken and I wanted a similar color scheme – translucent red/blue faceplates with smoky black shells. Now, juxtaposing my photos and the ones of his, they don’t look exactly the same. My shells seem to be more opaque. But again, this can be caused by the lighting/camera. Either way, I’m very contented with how mine turned out – they’re just as I wanted them.
A…D, C, B?
You can clearly see the four armatures inside (a benefit of translucent shells!). The two biggest ones are for the low frequencies, and the other two smaller ones behind them (depends on which way you hold them) are for the mid/high frequencies. The crossover board is on top.
The wires look extremely fine and brittle. They’re neatly coiled/arranged and not just dangling all over the place – a display of scrupulousness in the manufacturing.
I requested for the Westone ES cable along with my monitors. Having owned a Westone UM3X, I liked how they looked, the build quality and how there’s virtually no microphonics with them. They were also light and soft. However, the cables that came looked different from those on my UM3X in a few ways. I don’t know if this is a new batch or if Westone changed their cables, though. The Y-splitter is different – there is no “Westone” logo. Instead of being a black piece of plastic which is used to adjust the length of the two cables routed to each monitor, it’s a piece of plastic. The divided cable is also considerably shorter than the ones on the UM3X. Lastly, the end that is connected to the monitors look different – there are no red or blue dots, but instead an “R” and “L” lettered respectively. There is a few cm of memory wire from the prongs, which accommodates to the shape of the back of your ear, presumably for better grip/comfort. I’m not a fan of this, though. I much prefer no memory wire, but to each his own.
I managed to get a good fit. I wouldn’t know what a perfect fit is, but they feel comfortable and they seal well. The right monitors fit better than the left, though. If I smile, the left ear breaks the seal easily (they stay put if I yawn/ open my mouth, though – only smiling breaks the seal). The bores reach longer into the canals than the UM3X’s tips did – a bit of a discomfort at first; as it’s a different feeling, but I’m getting used to it. Two small bores; one from the two low armatures and another from the mid/high armatures terminate into a larger bore at the tip.
Isolation is decent. I personally found my UM3X with Comply tips to be better at isolating noise than these. With no music playing, most noise is blocked out, save for loud sounds like the slamming of a door. With music on, I can hear nothing from the outside. Having said that, I’m satisfied with the isolation – I don’t think I’ll be opting for a refit, since I’m not very willing to part with these and the money for another set of impressions + expedited shipping.
On to sound quality. Now, I doubt I can provide a good review on the sound quality as I’m not very experienced and haven’t had the opportunity to hear a lot of different headphones/earphones, but I’ll try to describe things to the best of my ability.
The only other high-end IEM I’ve owned is a pair of Westone UM3X. Right now I have a Shure SCL2 as a backup pair and a pair of Yuin PK2 earbuds for when I want to fall asleep listening to music. That being said, I don’t think I can provide accurate comparisons.
From memory, the first noticeable thing about the UM Mage customs is the soundstage. The UM3X had a very small soundstage – music felt like it was being played in a small, confined room. The Mage presents an extensive soundstage, very open and welcoming.
They sound more like headphones, not IEMs. Instead of getting the impression that music is playing in my head, it sounds as if there’s that airspace between the music and my ears; like what a pair of headphones offers.
The detail is amazing. I appreciate the clarity that comes with it – I very much detest overwhelming and uncontrolled bass. The Mage offers just that – astounding treble and balanced bass. I remember pairing my UM3X with Comply tips and having to use the Treble Booster EQ setting on my iPod as the Comply sucked out the highs from the music and added a weird bass hump. That in turn resulted in sibilance, which was a lose-lose situation. I didn’t experience as such with the Mage – I didn’t need to change any EQ settings. They sounded right. The decay of instruments was clear and perceivable. I could hear the crash of the cymbal and have it linger.
From what I’m able to tell, there’s good instrument separation. I could concentrate entirely on a single instrument with ease, and the music felt as if it was each distinct instrument coming into play together.
I apologize for not being able to write more on the sound quality. I simply lack the necessary experience with more earphones/headphones and the knowledge of terminologies to describe sound.
The ultimatum: Did the Unique Melody Mages manage to enthrall me the same way the Jerry Harvey JH13 Pro have?
I would say, out of the box – no. They didn’t give me that wow I had when I plugged in the JH13s. They sounded good, that I knew – but I wasn’t as amazed. Now, after hours of playback, I’ve grown accustomed to the sound. I feel just as enthralled and I’m finding it hard to put them down! This could be attributed to the burning-in, be it mentally or the crossovers breaking in. But I have to say, that bit of magic is lost when you don’t find it right at the start. Perhaps I should have refrained from giving them a listen first, and instead let them run overnight.
I hope you enjoyed reading!
- Zarium
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