UM Unique Melody x MusicTeck - Pentara

I'm the guy that wrote the novel below but since I'm and idiot and forgot to talk about the tuning switch, which is kind of a big deal, I'm adding this review. The tuning switch is definitely not a gimmick. The Pentara provides two very real, usable tunings. It's not a massive change but enough that it makes Pentara stand out from the crowd. The 1 switch tuning from what I've read is the UM tuning. It lightens bass a touch, opens up the headspace more and pushes the mids more forward. Excellent for vocal and acoustic music. With that said, I don't use this tuning very much. I listen to mainly On which is Leo from Musicteck's tuning. It's just so darn musical. What little you lose in technicalities from the 1 tuning, you gain in fun and enjoyment that makes you listen for hours. Both are great and defintiely unique and just another reason why this is such and endgame IEM.

Let's get a couple of things out of the way first. Musicteck is awesome and a joy to do business with. Leo is great and was even more helpful to me on this purchase since he helped design and tune it. Second, a little info on my iem's. I currently own Pentara, Mona Lisa, Trifecta, Mefisto, A12T and N8. I have owned in the past the Empire Ears Triton and Ice Labs Spectrumica. I've been around the block a little.

We'll start with the very limited things that I don't like and neither have anything to do with the sound. The first is the unboxing. When you get to this price range you want to be wowed and with the Pentara it was just ok. You get a nice leather case and the mesh iem covers are cool. That's about it. When competeing with others, especially those that are less expensvie but have put more thought into this aspect, it just needs to be better. The second is the cable. From a sound perspective, it's very good. You can tell the internals are made with excellent materials. The issue is with the ergonomics. It is one of the stiffest and most microphonic cables I've used. With just a t-shirt on, turning your head with the stock cable is going to cause a rumble and be annoying. It's also heavy. Just not good.

With that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff. First, the design is really excellent. I love the contrast of the shiny shell with the darker face plate. The pictures do not do it justice, it looks much better in person. I love the intricacy and detail of the face plate. For housing so many drivers and being a little bigger, they are still very light and comfortable to wear. I've had no problems listening to them for multiple hours straight.

Ok, but how do they sound? In a word, amazing. They are true all-rounders. You can throw any music you want at them and they will give you things you've never heard and never in a boring, just technical way. The other night, I went from Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life, to Miles Davis Footprints, to a live Grateful Dead show from 1984, to Pink Floyd Animals, to Bob Dylan Another Self Portrait to The Bee Gees greatest hits. All were handled with ease by Pentara. You get a ton of detail but with true musicality. You can pick out specific instruments or just bask in the glow of how everthing sounds put together. The bass will go deep, with excellent speed and impact, with no bloat. This will not exaggerate bass that's not there. It just takes what is there and delivers it effortlessly. The mids are very, very good. Vocals pop against the other instruments, are clear and well defined. The treble gives plenty of detail without going over the top into sibilance and fatigue. The stage is holographic and extends both front and back, with plenty of air. Instruments are nicely seperated but again, it never loses musciality. It just makes you want to listen, listen and listen some more.

After reading Twister 6's great review, I purchased the Eletech Odyssey cable to pair with Pentara. It's been an awesome match. Not night and day sound wise from the stock, although it does tighten up the detail on the bass, bring out the mids a little more, tames back the very top of the treble. These were all improvements. The ergonomics of the Odyssey compared to the stock cable are night and day.

This is one great IEM. Paired with the Odyssey, it will be the end game to the vast majority of people out there. It does cost a lot of money but there is excellent return on investment. This checks all of the boxes and I couldn't recommend it more. Kudos to Leo for helping to make such and incredible IEM.

Just an outstanding experience from start to finish. I am lucky enough to have an extensive I.E.M. collection, and the Pentara is my new “end game” favorite listen. Andrew and his staff never disappoint!

Listening with Leo's switch tuning 'ON', if I were to describe it in one sentence - very coherent, natural, musical tuning with top tier technicalities in the best possible way. If you are looking for a top tier all-rounder, look no further than the Pentara. With the amount of drivers and crossovers, it is impressive to achieve such technical details and tuning at a truly flagship level. Buy with confidence if this is what you look for

Pronounced and very high quality, tight, punchy, textured, controlled bass. Mids with enough warmth, emotion, note weight. Never thin or analyctical. Treble that provides clarity, detail, and air without sharpness and fatigue for me. Very deep and wide soundstage that expands like a sphere. Excellent resolution and imaging. No congestion. I do not have issues with anything in the frequency range that I can fault personally like I do with other IEMs. Everything just sounds right. Nothing sounds artificial or weird. Not recommended for bassheads seeking for more bass but rather for those that want neutral-warm leaning sound with pronounced and elevated bass.

UM's tuning switch '1' leans slightly less bass quantity, more clarity, and opens up the soundstage a little bit

Two different tunings that are noticeably different but useful from each other rather than being inferior. Easy to use the switches that compliment each other with tacticle sound

90% of the time I will prefer the switch on with Leo's tuning because it invokes a lot more emotion and dynamics with the elevated bass and warmth in the mids. Just my preference

Fairly easy to drive but scales with power or better DAC/AMP

Only major gripe I have is that the stock cable sucks tbh. Not ergonomic, heavy, stiff, minor microphonics, emits a minor sinewave hiss with my DAP as a USB DAC which I do not have with other cables. Recommend using a better cable up to user's choice

I notice that the treble does get a little spicy with poorly mastered songs with elevated treble though that is fairly rare

Lack of accessories and unboxing experience is not a big deal if you are ultimately chasing the sound anyway

Sometimes at stratospheric pricing comes esoteric tuning that truly make you wonder if it's about the music anymore. Pentara is not one of those head-scratchers.

Happy to report that these are some of the best IEM's the world has to offer when valuing musical engagement, Bass Quality, Texture and Tonality. Has nice wide stage with great imaging, treble is snappy and bite-y, but remain effortlessly rendered with realistic voicing.

Never shouty since midrange is more on the rich/ dense site of things.

More of a departure from the Mentor Multiverse than expected, but playing at a higher plane of fidelity.

Hi-Fidelity done right.