Review: Unique Melody Maverick | Classy

In spite of that, I think the low frequencies are the strongest part of the Maverick because the detail, the texture and  the power is almost perfect. It’s so controlled you can even think the recording can’t be that good. Both the quality and the quantity are perfectly balanced. There’s no overpowering or a deficiency and I think UM has done a great job with this type of performance. Given that they used both BA and Dynamic driver for lows, they got the highest possible bass quality out of this IEM. You probably know that the typical dynamics drivers often can’t be very fast and also that BA’s don’t have a great rumble and extension but with this configuration, they achieved a great balance and texture with the lows. The Maverick surely is exceptional in this area.

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Decay is very good as well as the attack. No flaws. The only small flaw I could find is the midbass but I have to admit I’m just nitpicking here. It’s not enough sometimes but I think that’s a choice, given the IEM doesn’t have a great stage width. With more midbass, it could be too congested so that’s understandable.

Switching to the mids. You can be prejudiced for the single driver here but don’t be. I found them to be a success together with the great bass presentation. The instruments, the elements of the music, the harmony and the vocals are so alive that they give you a “live performance” feeling and that’s not often the case with IEM’s. The mids are so clean and energetic and the Maverick never bores you with its performance instead it gives you a desire to dance. Impressive.

The tonality goes a little to the thinner side when you compare it to something like the Kaiser 10 or the Angie for example but I don’t think it produces wrong tones as it sounds natural and correct. Maybe I would prefer a slightly thicker tone but it usually gives away the liveliness and energy. And because I also liked the energetic tone, I can’t say I’m not convinced.

On the upper mids: this is a very important area for me. When an IEM gives sibilance it immediately becomes a disappointment to me. Fortunately the Maverick is also successful with the upper mid control: it never sounds harsh if the recording and the source have reasonable quality. Another plus here.

Let’s move on and look upon the flaws. The treble is not great with the Maverick and this is the problematic part. The first reason of the imbalance is the laid back midbass, which is not a serious problem as I’ve said because it’s a preference in my opinion to create a roomy sound. But there’s a second and a more crucial reason for the IEM’s imbalanced presentation and it’s mostly the lower treble.

It’s too much elevated in the Maverick and you can easily hear that at a first listen. There are 2 consequences of that: first; this elevation makes the mids less impressive and shaded depending on the genre or the recording. Second, the treble doesn’t have great extension.

Even though Angie gives a dark and laid back impression with the treble, it simply has much better extension. Of course, here you understand why there are four drivers for treble in the Angie. With the Maverick, the focus is too much on the lower treble region. Sometimes you feel like you only hear lower treble and I don’t know but maybe that’s what they want with Anime types of music.

The highest part of the spectrum is not very apparent on the Maverick. The treble starts and  goes out a little fast and it doesn’t stay there for long. It lacks the treble extension, especially compare to other monitors in this price range.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

The Maverick is somewhat close sounding but the imaging part is very good and the 3D feeling is present most of the time. Depth is better than the width is although it’s still not far away sounding. So stage addicts should look somewhere else. If you don’t expect an enormous stage from an IEM, you’ll be OK with it though.

The Maverick does a great job with resolution. As I said above, it’s a transparent and clean sounding IEM and the background manages to be pretty dark. Pointing out the instruments is easy but if the stage width could be wider it would be even better. It’s still very nice and energetic to listen to so I have no complaints here.

The separation between the vocals and other elements is really nice. The vocals have their area for themselves as well as the other instruments. Sometimes with busy tracks it does struggles to show top notch separation and I think that’s because of the narrow stage.

Overall, the only thing I am missing is the soundstage. Although it has a great separation and positioning, with a better soundstage it would be even more amazing. But this is an IEM after all. Producing a headphone-like soundstage is so rare in this sector. Even the beloved TOTL K10 has a narrow soundstage imho. 

SOURCES – DRIVEABILITIY

Maverick has a 51 Ohm impedance and sensitivity is 111dB but you should not be too concerned with the impedance value here. It’s still quite easy to drive and it just needs a little more power compared to some other IEM’s, but not much more. You’ll be OK with most of the sources out there.

The Maverick is better with wide sounding sources such as the Sony ZX2. Maybe it’s nowhere near the best DAP in terms of resolution but it sounds roomy, wide and airy. That specialty carries the Maverick to a more relaxed and wide, less aggressive, less “in your face” sound.

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It gets even better with the Hifiman HM901S, the flagship offering of the famous brand. This is also a wide and airy sounding DAP, which makes the Maverick more balanced and enjoyable. It’s also a better overall DAP when compared to the ZX2 in terms of sound. This combination performs at a very high level.

The Lotoo Paw Gold is a world class DAP from China that has amazing resolution but it’s somewhat picky with the choice of IEM you make. When you pair it with the Maverick sometimes it sounds too busy and congested. The midbass gets better and overall you get a great dynamic and sweet meaty sound but it sounds so narrow it will bore you over long periods. Also, it’s more aggressive than the other two.

I’m particularly impressed by the Maverick with the Hifiman and I don’t recommend to pair these with bright and narrow sounding sources.

CLOSING

I think I loved this one as it is great IEM with a great sound. With all of its build quality, package, sleek design and the success in sound quality, it’s a classy IEM worth to try.

Sometimes you could need an EQ or the right DAP for these but I think it still has a high level sound as it is. The few negative things I mentioned are not major problems. Midbass is not very prominent and treble feels kind of unnatural because of the lack of extension but on the other hand, it has maybe the best lows out there I’ve ever listened to, as well as great sounding energetic mids.

Thank you for reading!

 

 

4.2/5 - (20 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

12 Comments

  • Reply August 16, 2016

    Aras

    Great review. I hope you change the “FİT” section to “FIT”. There is no “İ” in English you know. 🙂

    • Reply August 16, 2016

      Berkhan

      I think Lieven missed it somehow. I’m gonna tell him to fix it.

    • Reply August 16, 2016

      Lieven

      Done. Nitpicker :p

  • Reply August 16, 2016

    Barun C

    I’m not terribly excited when I look at UMMC’s description of the highs & head stage, coupled with the fact that it costs so much & yet it has lacking mid bass.

    How is the sub bass performance and is there any noticeable hiss with low end DAPs or phones?

    • Reply August 16, 2016

      Berkhan

      Mid bass actually depends on the source. And also, because it can go really deep, the subbass outshines midbass a little. I don’t think it has a lacking midbass.

      Subbass performance is great IMO. This is probably the best IEM I’ve experienced in terms of lows.

      No, there’s no noticable hiss.

  • Reply August 17, 2016

    Valeri

    Excellent review! Now I was in doubt between Maverick and JH Angie. xD
    I own a JH5 and I wanted a sound with a similar sound signature….

    • Reply August 17, 2016

      Berkhan

      How does the JH5 sound?

      • Reply August 17, 2016

        Valeri

        The JH5 has warmer mids, deep bass and treble not strident.

        • Reply August 17, 2016

          Berkhan Akçay

          You can be happy with the Angie then.

          • Reply August 17, 2016

            Valeri

            Thanks for the answer! ^^
            Another thing, why you do not use the system comment Disqus on your website? I think much more practice and many websites use.

            • Reply August 17, 2016

              Berkhan Akçay

              I just joined Headfonia so I don’t have the information about this. But I recall it was Disqus back then. Lieven can give info here.

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