If Google is showing you this page directly, click here to go to the start of the article.
Sound – Intro
In this section we usually go over how the brand describes their newest creations.
Unique Melody’s marketing division describes the MEST MKIII as having exceptional layering and separation as well as having a holographic imaging with top level 3-dimensional presentation> Bass is supposed to be impactful, with rich mids and vivid clear treble. Last but not least, the MKII is supposed to be captivating, engaging, balanced and immersive.
I have to say that they have got it quite right, let’s dive in further!
Sound – General
The Unique Melody MEST MKIII was tested with a large number of desktop and portable sources, where possible always in a balanced configuration. We used Tidal to supply us with the library for our testing. Again, note that this is the custom version of the MEST MKIII.
The first thing that strikes you when listening to the MEST MKIII is its fulness. The weight in bass , mids and treble is present in a more than neutral way, but it always is reasonable and fully under control. In fact, the MKIII even though not neutrally tuned in this regard, is absolutely balanced and the weight is evenly distributed from top to bottom.
The sound stage is good, as well as the spaciousness, air and layering but there still is room for improvement when comparing the MKIII’s performance to a higher-end monitor such as the Multiverse Mentor. Comparing it to that level of IEM, the MKIII is a more intimate and inside your head kind of inear, but it is wonderfully tuned within this boundary.
The control and speed of the MEST MKIII is good as well as it’s precision and resolution. The note extension is ear pleasing (though the MKI was king here). The strong points of the MEST MKII are its balance and the way it always sounds engaging and exciting. With its fulness, impact and softer presentation the MEST MKIII is easy to listen to and a pleasure to the ear. Its all-round performance is excellent end no matter what music you listen to, the MKIII always excites, engages and controls and all that with a punch, musical delivery.
Bass is elevated but perfectly in control. Sub bass is nice but it’s more the mid bass here which is full, strong and comes with a good punch. As said, bass is present ;ore than in a neutral way, but it never feels forced or too much in any way. I would call it musically present, as most consumers like it nowadays. The mids perfectly connect to the bass region and compared to before they are much more present now. The amount of air and mid spaciousness is ok, but it is not the widest or best layered monitor on the market. That said, its positioning and left-right stereo imaging is quite good and if you’re using a top-end source like the N8II or SP3000, even the layering/depth becomes impressive. Vocals like in the MKII are still beautiful and just a tad more to the front but they’re still perfectly balanced and part of the whole. The treble section, like the bass section carries good weight but it is balanced now, and not as edgy feeling as in the MKII. Treble is energetic and lively with a good resolution and extension. Again, there in this area are better performing IEMs on the market at a higher price level, but that’s only normal.
I in general am very pleased with the MEST MKIII’s tuning. It’s powerful yet controlled, musical yet detailed and it’s engaging and ear pleasing at all times, no matter what music you’re listening to. IT’s the kind of monitor/IEM that is easy to like. The MEST MKIII is nicely transparent as well so you can always tune its sound somewhat by changing the source. Let’s look into that further.
Sound – Sources
As usual we in this section are using a selection of the better and most popular sources on the market. When you say popular and good, then you always have to talk about the Chord Electronics Mojo 2.
As we have a 4.4mm terminated cable on the MEST MKIII, I am using one of ddHiFi’s convertors to work with the Chord’s single ended outputs. The MEST MKII here sounds fast, energetic and it has the typical solid state strong points. This means a high technical level and a more clinical delivery, but luckily the MKII is musical and smooth enough to balance that. This results in excellent PRaT, top level separation, ear pleasing timbre and very enjoyable layering from top to bottom. The combo isn’t the widest or airiest sounding however, but that’s as negative as I can be really. Of course the Mentor and Mojo 2 setup performs better, but that’s fully on the Mentor because of its higher technical level. All-in-all a really nice combo, with a balanced performance (body, weight, linear) good energy, excellent speed and musical liveliness. You can’t go wrong with this setup if you like the typical Mojo sound, mixed with the MEST’s tuning characteristics.
One of the better dongles in my opinion is the Cayin Audio RU7, so I just had to included it in this MKIII review. With the RU7 you compared to the Mojo 2 get better extension in all directions, including note extension. You also get a slightly fuller sounding MKIII, with bigger bass presence and impact. That said bass is still balanced, controlled and it never becomes too much. The Mojo 2 is more neutrally tuned in this regard, but the RU7 is more musically pleasing. The RU7’s presentation is softer and smoother in the delivery but it still has a high technical level with the typical R2R detail and presentation. The RU7 and MKIII isn’t as fast as the Mojo 2 combo and the PRaT are not as performant. That said, it is an easier combo to listen to and it will give you a more musical and softer experience while maintaining a high technical level. The beauty of the MEST MKIII is that the monitor adapts to your favorite source, making it an IEM that many people can enjoy.
From the Astell&Kern SP3000, the MEST MKIII sounds more like the Mojo 2, but it has better note extension and spaciousness. Sure you still get the more typical solid state sound, but the presentation is more musical especially because of this. The MEST MKIII sounds musical and a tad easier on the ear, but you still get the high technical performance of the SP3000. I would put the sound somewhere in between that of the Mojo 2 and that of the RU7. It’s quite a good combo and if you like the SP3000, you will also love the MEST MKIII combo. From the point of view of presence, weight, body and fulness the SP3000 is more like the Mojo 2, so lighter and more balanced and linear. If you like a high technical level but with more body and oompf, the Cayin N8II is the DAP that comes into mind, so let’s check that out next.
The Cayin N8II is a lovely DAP with its P+ power function, Class A/AB possibility and tube/ss mode. With the MEST MKIII you of course don’t need the power mode (or higher gain) to be activated but if you do it translates to more energy without ever going overboard with it, or without it becoming shouty and harsh. I actually quite like listening to the MEST MKIII in P+ mode myself. Of course if you want to switch between Class A and AB, you can’t use the P+ mode, but to be honest the difference between these 2 amp modes is minimally audible with the MKIII. Switching between solid state and tube mode brings a bigger difference where you get a fuller and smoother sounding MKIII. In ss mode the MKIII sounds more balanced and neutral in all regards, where it in tube mode is a bit bigger and bolder, but also more extended and more spacious on top of the extra musicality. In short, the MEST MKIII to me sounds best in Power Plus mode, with the tube output. Body, impact, bass, extension, smoothness and musicality all in one, what’s not to like? It is an excellent combo. Of course if you prefer a faster more balanced signature, you can easily switch to the solid state output. The N8II and MKIII is a great combo in either way.
Conclusion: The MKIII isn’t the hardest to drive IEM and all of your amplification will suffice. That said, the MKIII is transparent enough to show you what your source brings to the party, so make sure that it is up to the task.
The part on sound continues on the third page. Click here or use the jumps below to head to the next chapter
Page 1: Intro, UM, MEST, MEST MKIII, PriceBox/Accessories, Design/Build quality/Comfort, Specifications
Page 2: Sound intro, General, Sources
Page 3: Sound Comparisons, Conclusions, Summary
