Unique Melody Merlin and Miracle Demo Program

[Anaxilus]

UM Miracle and Merlin demos should be in Joker's hands by early next week.

 

[i2ehan]

Quote:

UM Miracle and Merlin demos should be in Joker's hands by early next week.

...

 

[Blinxat]

I think that manufacturer sponsored demo unit reviews have the potential to be biased, and I would urge anyone to take them with a grain of salt in regards to their credibility.
 
My gut tells me that the pros might be similar but the cons a little toned down, because one simply didn't put down his or her own hard earned green.
 
But thats only an instinct feeling of mine, I have no empirical evidence to support my claim.
 
But it doesn't have to be biased to analyse the sound signature anyway, after knowing the characteristics one can choose based on personal preference, where it gets tricky from my point of view is comparing it to other products in the same category, which I think is still important.

 

[LegendaryLvl1]

Quote:

I think that manufacturer sponsored demo unit reviews have the potential to be biased, and I would urge anyone to take them with a grain of salt in regards to their credibility.
 
My gut tells me that the pros might be similar but the cons a little toned down, because one simply didn't put down his or her own hard earned green.
 
But thats only an instinct feeling of mine, I have no empirical evidence to support my claim.
 
But it doesn't have to be biased to analyse the sound signature anyway, after knowing the characteristics one can choose based on personal preference, where it gets tricky from my point of view is comparing it to other products in the same category, which I think is still important.

This is strange, because I woud think that it would be the complete opposite.

It's easy to critisize what is NOT your own (That is, it is easiy to critisize others, be they human or material)
It is NOT EASY to critisize what is your own (Say your children) But in this case, it is the final product of what your hard earned cash has achieved (Again, in this case the demo IEM's).
 
 

 

[Blinxat]

Quote:

This is strange, because I woud think that it would be the complete opposite.

It's easy to critisize what is NOT your own (That is, it is easiy to critisize others, be they human or material)
It is NOT EASY to critisize what is your own (Say your children) But in this case, it is the final product of what your hard earned cash has achieved (Again, in this case the demo IEM's).
 
 

True aswell, where people would seek additional info to support their already made purchase, there is a name for it in psychology I think. Nevermind. I am sure the reviewers will aim to be objective

 

[LegendaryLvl1]

Quote:

True aswell, where people would seek additional info to support their already made purchase, there is a name for it in psychology I think. Nevermind. I am sure the reviewers will aim to be objective

This reminds me of something I studied about confucius.
 
It was about a difference of opinion where he said
some people think babies are born greedy and obnoxious - until they learn their humanity over time.
 
Whereas other people may argue that babies are born innocent - until their morals and virtues are worn away by everyday life.
 

 

[shotgunshane]

Well these demos are going to 21 different people, many with which I've had direct interaction and discussion.  I think you will be getting very fair assessments and will certainly be able to accurately determine the cons after 21 different reviewers.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

I think that manufacturer sponsored demo unit reviews have the potential to be biased, and I would urge anyone to take them with a grain of salt in regards to their credibility.
 
My gut tells me that the pros might be similar but the cons a little toned down, because one simply didn't put down his or her own hard earned green.
 
But thats only an instinct feeling of mine, I have no empirical evidence to support my claim.
 
But it doesn't have to be biased to analyse the sound signature anyway, after knowing the characteristics one can choose based on personal preference, where it gets tricky from my point of view is comparing it to other products in the same category, which I think is still important.

Excuse me.  Before you start crapping in this thread do you mind if we get a single review in?  I mean, really? 

 You have no evidence because no one has heard or said anything about them involved w/ this program.  Makes sense right?  The only person person saying anything about the demos is you and you're not on the list and haven't heard them.  So if you don't mind, can we let Joker have a listen and let him offer his impressions?  
 
There's a reason I sent them to him first.  He has the Miracle full custom and can gauge how the demos stack up by comparison.  Not to mention his extensive listening experience.  Not one person on this forum has heard and reviewed more IEMs than him.  If you want to say he's a corporate shill or biased take it somewhere else.  Better yet, say nothing because that's ridiculous.  I suggest you have a good look at the review list.  That is a wide breadth of preferences and perspectives from people that don't always see eye to eye.  There were others I wanted to include but couldn't due to geography and logistical constraints.
 
FYI, reviews tend to be more biased when you HAVE put down your own money.  I just bought 'X' it's the greatest thing in the world!  Sound familiar?  So it's actually quite the opposite from your theory.  Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.  They also aren't getting to keep free customs either so I'm not sure where the problem is.  If I came out a bit harsh on your post it was necessary IMO.  There is no place for flame wars and OT trolling in this thread.  This isn't the 'Science' forum.
 
Besides, you have no idea what the details of the program are.  You can shoot me a PM if you have any questions if they weren't answered in the first post.  This was not UM's idea and I wouldn't call it a manufacturer 'sponsored' event.  The reviewers don't get to keep the phones and actually have to take their time and effort to pay out of their own pocket to ship them.   
 
So let's get back on track please.   
 

 

[average_joe]

I for one am looking forward to the hearing the demo units in the near future, if for no other reason than to finally and hopefully have a good idea of where the Miracle sound signature lies in the grand scheme of things.

 

[mistertomlinson]

FWIW, I had to make a $400 deposit to demo the Merlins...

 

[Bigjppop]

FWIW, I had to make a $400 deposit to demo the Merlins...

I just received the Merlins that mistertomlinson had, at least I think I did. I also put the same deposit down for the privilege of trying these out. Ive been listening for about an hour so far and I'm really enjoying them. They have some SERIOUS bottom end. Some might consider it too much, but it reminds me of the darker flavor of my HD-650s that I enjoy so much.

I'm listening straight out of my iPod but I'll run them with my main rig, Darkvoice 337, next week.

More thoughts to come.

 

[project86]

My review of the Merlin is complete:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/566965/review-unique-melody-merlin-hybrid-dynamic-balanced-armature-custom-iem
 
I'm not sure if the folks in the demo program should read it though... If you think it might influence your impressions of the demo, then you should probably skip it until after your turn is over.

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

My review of the Merlin is complete:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/566965/review-unique-melody-merlin-hybrid-dynamic-balanced-armature-custom-iem
 
I'm not sure if the folks in the demo program should read it though... If you think it might influence your impressions of the demo, then you should probably skip it until after your turn is over.

Thanks project86!  I wouldn't worry about that as this thread will invariably fill up w/ reviews.  We have a pretty good collection of objectivity considering.
 

 

[ljokerl]

I guess I am first to kick off with impressions for the loaner program here so here's my short write-up.
 
One of the limitations of custom monitors in consumer applications has always been the fact that there really is no good way to ‘try before you buy’ – a fact especially concerning considering the relative difficulty and expense of going the custom route. In an attempt to convince potential customers that higher-end customs really are worth the asking price, manufacturers started building ‘demo’ versions of custom monitors – customs molded to fit most ears complete with nozzles that work with conventional eartips. I’ve recently had a go at two such demos – one of the Unique Melody Miracle and the other of the newly-released Merlin. Both units were supplied by UM Australia as part of the Head-Fi loaner program. Big thanks to them for the opportunity to sample these units and to Anaxilus for handling everything stateside.
 

General Notes

The Miracle uses 6 balances armatures and two passive crossovers. The Merlin is a hybrid IEM, using 4 BA transducers and a single dynamic driver. Both use a dual-bore design and the Merlin is also vented. It’s difficult to say how the vent impacts the isolation, however - the noise blocking abilities of the two demo units are very similar and both yield to the full custom Miracle. The long-term comfort of the demo units is also not very good for me despite the shells having been molded as compactly as possible.

For the purposes of this testing, I used my standard listening setup – Cowon J3 with and without a 5x mini3 and an iBasso D10. Tracks used for critical listening were selected from my lossless library, mostly in wma format.
 

Sound Quality

Demo Miracle vs Custom Miracle

 

UM Miracle demo
 

UM Miracle demo

As some may know, I own a fully custom UM Miracle – a (spectacular) gift from the Head-Fi community that has been my sound quality benchmark for the past six months. A full review of the custom Miracle can be found towards the bottom of the long review thread here. Looking at the custom Miracle and demo Miracle side by side, it is pretty clear that there should be sonic differences between them – the size and shape of the shells varies significantly between the two. All of the Miracle’s armatures are of the self-contained, non-vented variety but there is still a disparity in driver placement and sound tube lengths between two units, not to mention the inevitable differences in fit. This may explain why, try as I might, I simply couldn’t get the demo Miracle to sound like the real thing - originally designed as a full-shell custom monitor, the Miracle sounds significantly poorer to me as a universal.

With the best fit I was able to achieve with the demo Miracle, the biggest balance difference was at the low end. My custom Miracle has deep, plentiful bass that is both powerful and very controlled. The demo lacks some of the sub-bass presence of the real Miracle, offering instead slightly greater mid-bass presence and gentle roll-off at the very bottom. It sounds warmer than the real thing as a result and offers less crispness and articulation. Clarity is a bit poorer across the range and the overall performance isn’t quite as impressive as that of the custom Miracle. The mids of the demo are less detailed, clean, and engaging – not hugely so but enough to make me pick the real thing over the demo every time. The demo even requires a bit more volume to be enjoyable. The top end is more prominent on the custom Miracle, with better definition and cleaner presentation of cymbal crashes. The demo Miracle ends up being slightly darker in tone as well, though it is still brighter than the Merlin unit.

It is the differences in presentation, however, that kill the demo Miracle for me - here the test unit is not even in the same league as the custom-shelled IEM. Whereas the ‘real’ Miracle is easily the most engrossing and dimensional earphone I’ve heard, the presentation of the demo is very reminiscent of a number of high-end universals. The soundstage is not as large as that of the full-shell custom and lacks the fantastic on-center feel. I find the presentation of my Miracle to be incredibly enveloping without overstepping any bounds but the demo doesn’t offer anything above high-end universals such as the Westone 4 in imaging, separation, or positioning. It doesn’t necessarily seem small or confined but ends up sounding much ‘flatter’ and less convincing. Truth be told, the slightly laid-back - especially in the midrange - sound of the Miracle simply doesn’t work without the coherent imaging of the full custom, and the whole experience suffers greatly as a result.

 

Demo Merlin

 

UM Merlin demo
 

UM Merlin demo
 
My disappointment in the Miracle demo makes evaluating impressions of the demo Merlin quite difficult. To rule out the double variables of custom fit and different driver configuration, I mostly compared the Merlin to the demo Miracle and not the full custom. It is entirely possible that the demo Merlin is closer to the real thing than is the Miracle; the opposite can be true as well.

For one, the Merlin seems to require more power than the Miracle. The difference is not huge but it is noticeable – even the demo Miracle is easier to listen to at low volumes with a player such as my Sansa Clip. The bass roll-off is accentuated with the clip and less noticeable with the Cowon J3 or when a mini3 is added into the mix. Flat sub-bass or not, it’s difficult to call the Merlin anything but bassy – it would really make a great earphone for those whose musical enjoyment hinges on feeling the bass. The Miracle is by no means bass-light for my taste but the Merlin is on a different level. The significantly greater mid-bass quantity carries with it greater sub-bass presence as well. The Merlin is not quite as linear as the full-custom Miracle – quite possibly a limitation of the demo – but there is still more than enough deep, thumping low-end grunt to go around. In addition to greater bass quantity, the Merlin boasts all of the usual dynamic-driver characteristics – it is softer of note, fuller, and more liquid-sounding than the Miracle. There is a reverberant character to the bass, likely the fault of longer attack/decay times, and even a bit of boominess on occasion – not at all surprising considering the overall weight of the low end. The detail requires a few extra notches of volume to bring out and even then the Miracle remains a touch more crisp in typical armature fashion. All in all the Merlin really showcases bass designed to please those who find balanced armatures to sound unnatural at the low end, not beat the Miracle in texture and detail.

The midrange of the Merlin is perhaps even more laid-back than that of the Miracle. Due to the heavier bass presence it sounds a touch recessed and a bit thinner than that of the demo Miracle. The Miracle is also a bit brighter, or, rather, more neutral due to differences in overall balance and tends to beat the Merlin in overall crispness by a small margin. Not a large difference overall and one that becomes even smaller into the treble. Aside from the balance of the Merlin being skewed in favor of the low end, I really can’t tell the top ends of two demos apart – a plus, assuming it will translate into full custom form. Presentation-wise, the demo Merlin may even get ahead of the demo Miracle at times - the soundstage is a bit more wide and airy and differentiates itself better from reasonably spacious universals such as the Sennheiser IE7. It’s still not as enveloping and immersive as the full custom Miracle but is more tolerable than the demo Miracle. Then again, if a more separated and spread-out left-right soundstage is desirable in place of the singular, coherent sonic image of a full custom, I just don’t see the Merlin beating an open universal such as the MDR-EX1000.
 

Conclusion

 

Left->Right: UM Miracle, UM Miracle demo, UM Merlin Demo
 
My experiences with the UM’s Miracle and Merlin demo units are a mixed bag. There are many variables but the one thing I am certain of is that with the fit I was able to get, the Miracle demo is not doing the real thing justice. It provides a reasonable approximation of the custom’s sound signature, which is not all that surprising since response is easiest to test for, but the absolute quality and refinement of the full-shell Miracle just isn’t there. By far the largest difference is in the presentation, which is much more ‘universal’ on the demo. It is akin to comparing an Etymotic HF5, which tends to sound wide and well-separated but a tad flat and not very involving, to a universal with good 3-D imaging, such as the CK10 or W4.
 

Other things learned in the process:

-Quite a few of the top universals I’ve heard are competitive with these demo units in many ways, which may be the reason why most customs manufacturers do not sell universal versions of their earphones – those would simply have to be priced much lower to be compete in sound quality with existing universals.
-Cramming five or six drivers into a shell is absolutely not indicative of overall sound quality and that there is more to a high-end custom than number and type of drivers.

Despite my tangential takeaway, the whole purpose of this audition was to audition the new UM Merlin – a hybrid custom with a single dynamic bass driver and 2+2 armatures used for the mids and highs. Assuming the relationship between the sound of the demo Merlin and the custom one is similar to that between the two Miracle units, I would expect the full-shell Merlin to deliver exactly what it promises – tons of deep and powerful dynamic-driver bass laid over the sound signature of an armature-based custom. Though there is still an emphasis difference between the midrange and low end of the Merlin, the crossover is clearly less flawed than that of UE’s old hybrid - the hideous SF5EB - and the powerful low end integrates reasonably well into the overall sound.

A final disclaimer - demo units could potentially fit some people better than others and may or may not be a better approximation of how the custom IEM will sound than they were for me. It is therefore doubly important for reviewers to state that they’ve only tried a demo or someone else’s mold when commenting on customs as the gap in performance is there and can be a relatively wide one. In addition, while the well-known adage of ‘try it for yourself’ still holds, the value of reviews might be higher for custom monitors than I expected since demo units can leave key elements out of the equation. I can honestly say that if I had heard only the demo, I’d probably have walked away from the Miracle content with my stable of universals.

 

[i2ehan]

Quite the surprise my friend. It's great that you had both the full shell custom and demo in hand for comparison, and while I can't say I'm surprised to find there was a difference between the two, I never expected for it to be such a significant, day and night one. In that very regard, I quite honestly couldn't help myself, and didn't make much of the Merlin demo impression. As you mentioned however, the Merlin demo may very well closely resemble the full custom version, but personally, I can't help but think the odds are more than likely to favor the contrary.