UM Multiverse Mentor
I just got my new UM Multiverse Mentor IEMs. These are more vocal/mid forward along with treble forward. The bass is good for a Balanced Armature driver and is completely adequate for most music. However, it's not a bass head kind of hard-hitting bass. I'll get right to the point. These have the best implementation of Bone Conduction that I have tried when it comes to creating a wide 3D holographic soundstage. It really accentuates the "3D holographic" part where you feel the sound surround you. These IEMs can be used for any genre of music, but to me their strength is in the Acoustic music(guitar), Heavy Metal, Rock, and vocal/singer's voice being focused on tracks. These IEMs are at the very top of endgame IEMs for these types of music genres where the vocals are the focus and any type of Acoustic guitar songs with instruments that benefit from extra treble detail.
*If you want the best pair of IEMs for Rap, EDM, or any other Bass heavy music. These are not for you. Having said that, these are an essential part of anyone trying to gather a collection of endgame "TOTL" set of different IEMs that cover the various genres of music.
I shall not write the detail review for MM here. There are 2 review from @twister6 , @Visceral in headfi which is pretty close to what I heard from MM.
Just want to shout out to Andrew a big Thank you for the excellence customer service and accomodate to my request. Will definitely patronise/deal again if I have any upcoming item in my wishlist (:
Comfort/build quality/cable: The MM is extremely comfortable for my medium sized ear canal, the fit is very secure, especially with the included AZLA tips. The passive noise isolation is also great. I find myself using iems as an earplugs in loud environments quite often and these work nicely for that.
The build quality is outstanding, the shells feel very premium and look absolutely stunning in person, probably my favorite looking iem to date.
The cable doesn't seem to be microphonic to me. It isn't light but not heavy either, the weight is just right. Very comfortable for hours and it does feel extremely premium, just like every other top of the line PW AUDIO cable.
The sound: Just like the Mason FS, the vocals and string instruments presentation on there are on another level, way above everybody else.
I've never heard an acoustic guitar and violin sound so authentic in any IEM. It actually sounds like you are playing the thing without the vibrations of it against your body. The vocals sound like the person is singing detectly to your ears and you can feel it in a way. I've never had so much fun with any headphones in my life, let alone an iem.
The tonality on MM is unmatched. I often do prefer there over my Genelec studio monitors for pure musical joy that UM bone conduction gives me and that is saying something. Even amazing sounding speakers can sound somewhat lifeless after these.
Overall the MM are extremely nuteral, dynamic, crisp, enjoyable, fun and everything in between.
The low end is extremely well controlled, very balanced and as punchy as you want it to be even for metal/djent/thall type of genre.
The soundstage is stupid wide. Wider than Mason FS, Mext and my trusty U12t's. Imaging is spectacular, I would say The best on any iem that I've heard in recent years.
The course: depending on the source, you could or couldn't feel/hear the UM bone conduction properly. With some daps/amps these become just a great sounding IEMs, with some it completely transforms and makes you feel and hear the music like never before. I do find them to pair best with the Cayin products (N8 II, C9 amp, HA-300 MK2, RU6 etc) and LP6. The better the source, the better they will sound. I personally run them through my Cayin C9 amp with an external dac and I'm very pleased with the sound.
Negatives: There is one negative for me personally.
I do find them unusable for tracking, It just doesn't feel right. I often do prefer to wear an iems when I'm tracking and practicing guitar so that was a little bit of bummer, but I already knew what I'm singing for after purchasing my very first UM product.
Conclusion: If you can afford these, please do yourself a favor and buy a set, I'm extremely happy with mine after 9 months of having it and can't recommend them enough.
Otherwise please do consider getting the MEXT, both are fantastic, the MM just gives you way more and has a better control over all of the frequency spectrum.
Amazing technicalities
Very coherent tuning without flaws
Best BCD implementation I ever heared
Superb bass quality
Big and holographic soundstage
Gripping representation
Great design and build quality
The UM Multiverse Mentors are simply the best IEM’s I’ve ever owned. I couldn’t be happier about the purchase. I was stunned about what a major step up in performance these were from my Empire Ear Odin’s. Thank you to Andrew for all his help and MusicTeck for getting this shipped out so quickly. Highly recommended.
Review can be found on headfi: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/unique-melody-mest-mkiii-cf.26526/reviews
TLDR: I loved the Mest Mk3 when I first heard it at CanJam, and I have no regrets purchasing it. It really is a wonderfully tuned iem, that does pretty much everything right. It strikes a perfect balance to me of sounding detailed and resolving but also having a hint of warmth to give it a more natural tonality without bloating the lower mids. It also has a unique spacious spherical soundstage that is truly impressive, especially when compared to my other iems in my collection.
Nice IEM and thank you to Musicteck for delivering it safely.
Absolutely wonderful sounding and feeling cable. I need to buy about 5 more. Very very impresed.
Powered by an LP6TI (199) & connected to the Aura, I simply dressed them up in a luxuriant "envelope" that embellished the entire spectrum and darkened the black background even more!
The "tactile" side of the instruments thickens, the details are just as magical in their realism, and the highs are breathtakingly smooth... A gain I'd describe as admirably "emotional"...
Nothing is spared, reverb/sustain/echo/vibrations Pffff the extinction of notes never ends 👏
👉🏻 The tuning on Todi is fairly balanced with a slight mid bass focus over sub bass, and somewhat relaxed lower mids that gain energy as they rise into the upper mids and highs.
I don’t find any particular range to be over, or, under represented to any detrimental degree.
👉🏻 Recorded sources are quite transparent. Poorly recorded source files will be laid bare, while, well recorded source files will bend Todi’s tuning to their will.
👉🏻 Listening to a sub bass test track (Bass Test 20Hz by Boosted Bass, or, Mo’ Better Bass by Techmaster P.E.B.) the sub bass is capable of going very deep with nice rumble or boom. Not as low as some bass focused IEM’s, but Todi is no slouch.
Listening to Cherish the Day by Sade;
The opening couple minutes of this track start with a steady rhythmic
kick drum beat with impact and thump, at about the 1:30 mark the bass guitar drops in deep and low. Todi maintains clean clear definition between sub and mid bass, while Sade’s sultry voice floats overhead with clarity and natural tonality.
Nicely confirming that the 2 full range, 6mm dynamic drivers are capable of moving enough air to offer strong sub bass presence, yet agile enough to deliver impactful mid bass and tonally correct vocals.
👉🏻 Lower mids are recessed, but the bass stays in its place and doesn’t overshadow. Lower mids detail and clarity is good, just not elevated or forward.
Energy builds into the upper mids and vocals, giving them a more elevated and prominent presentation. No harshness or sibilance.
👉🏻 Highs are crisp and clear with excellent micro detail retrieval. Very good air and sparkle.
Listening to Poncho Sanchez Medley #2 by Poncho Sanchez, there is a flute solo just past the 3:00 minute mark that lasts more than a minute. The high notes reach well into the upper frequencies and Todi handles it like a champ. Crisp, clear, and accurate with no hint of sibilance or harshness.
👉🏻 Head stage is very good.
Very wide left to right, just outside the head.
Top to bottom height also very good, especially on tracks that pull the sub bass low and also have good treble presence.
Front to rear depth is just average.
I find the stage head filling, but intimate.
Imaging and layering are very good left to right and top to bottom.
Instrument placement is easy and accurate.
Summary:
I spent a considerable amount of time listening to recorded tracks of individual instruments, listening for tonality and timbre, and I found Todi to be extremely accurate.
This was one area where higher resolving source devices had a slight disadvantage. They had a tendency to thin the tonality of the upper ranges on some tracks. Bit of a nitpick, but it is why I choose a warmer source device with Todi.
Todi is very much an audiophile tuning.
It doesn’t cater specifically to serious bass heads, treble heads, or mid centric aficionados.
It does offer a quality musical presentation throughout all the ranges that will, in my humble opinion, satisfy a wide swath of music enthusiasts.
At $1500 usd it is not an inexpensive offering, but the build quality, technical design, and quality sound presentation, establish it as a worthy contender in this price bracket.