Unique melody me 1 обзор

Обновлено: 07.07.2024

The Unique Melody ME.1 is a specialized single planar driver universal in-ear monitor with acoustic filtering. It is priced at $769 SRP.

Disclaimer: The Unique Melody ME.1 was sent to us as a loan sample in exchange for our honest opinion. It will be returned after the main review. We thank Unique Melody for this opportunity.

To learn more about Unique Melody products on Headfonics you can click here.

Note, this review follows our new scoring guidelines for 2020 which you can read up on here.

Two interesting themes have developed over the last year or so but not necessarily intertwining until now.

The $769 Unique Melody ME.1 is the first IEM to combined both of these themes into one IEM. A planar IEM with an acoustic filter that attenuates the outside noise at specific frequencies thus reducing the potential for damage to your hearing.

After all, UM, like many other good monitor development companies, have its roots in the hearing protection business for years.

What Is The Pitch?

User Experience

The first thing that stood out for me in the marketing material is the form factor that UM is putting forward. UM believe they have achieved the most comfortable fitting full range planar IEM in the market today. One that is more comfortable for longer listening sessions than competing planar IEM designs.

Universal And Custom options

Not only have they managed to reduce the size to something a bit more normal looking to you and me but they have also managed to produce it in both custom and universal format. Universal is a very attractive $769 whilst custom designs start at $1069 depending on your final design choices. The one you see in this review is the universal design but they do come in a range of colors beyond blue.

Acoustic Filtering

The filtering is similar to the ADEL and APEX premise which an acoustic treatment tube to assist with normalizing the pressure within your ear consistent with how planar technology moves air. Unique Melody believes that the open-back design of the ME.1, combined with the acoustic filter will attenuate external noise at specific frequencies to prevent long-term hearing damage.

Design

Form Factor

The ME.1 is unique but also has a form factor that evokes the spirit of the LCD series of Audeze with its CNC finished grid pattern front oval plate providing the basis for its open-back design. Its strong sturdy and very well designed. This is the kind of front plate that is going to stop a lot of people in their tracks for a second look.

Driver Size

This is an 18.5mm diameter as opposed to the massive 30mm driver used by Audeze. This allows the whole package to be shrunk down to a more user-friendly size. Interestingly in 2016, they were touting the ME.1 with a 22mm diameter magnet design so I can only presume that this variant either technically not good enough or just made the whole design too big.

3D Acrylic

Behind the grilled circulate plate you get a more traditional universal UM material design. The shell is a 3D printed medical-grade acrylic mold dropping down into a fairly long and wide nozzle. This particular version is blue, but you can also get the universal in black, red, and purple.

Nozzle & Filter

The nozzle shape should be different on the custom version, more in keeping with typical nozzle designs shaped to your ear. Part of that length is due to the acoustic filter tube position at the base of the stem.

Cables & Connectors

Protruding

The connector itself is made of hard translucent plastic and its purpose is to offer additional stability over previous 2-pin connectors by using a flexible plastic shell around the pins to house itself and protect the socket.

Materials

Single crystal, or sometimes known as long-grain crystal copper, is a pretty good quality material for a stock cable, to be honest, much superior to Plastics One variants and will provide a fairly smooth sound signature.

Comfort & Seal

The contoured acrylic shell is actually pretty comfortable in the ear, if you have ever tried a demo version of a custom IEM then is pretty much a similar experience. It has that nice smooth lacquered finish with no sharp edges.

The nozzle, despite being long does not go that deep. In part, because it needs to create distance between the plate and ear and also due to the width of the single bore design and the accompanying foam tips. This is a comfortable but tight fit for me personally but I can see some finding it a little heavy or too wide for their ear canal.

Tips Choices

Foams

I suggest using the smallest foam tips supplied or your own trusted tip size as normal medium fitting was too big for me and put too much pressure on my canal lining. With the small foam tips I got rock solid fit and reasonable seal but you have to bear in mind this is an open-back design. By their very nature, the ME.1 is going to be poor at isolation though better than the iSINE in direct comparison.

Silicone

You can revert also to the supplied single bore silicone tips included though one slight problem is the lack of a lip on the end of the ME.1 nozzle making them relatively easy to inadvertently slide off.

You actually get four sizes with the silicone variant, super small, small, medium, and large. I found the medium tips to be the best for my own fit but if you have tiny ear canals the greater variety and chance of fitting success will come with the silicone tips.

Suggested alternatives

To be honest I felt UM could have picked a better set of silicone tips. The stem is simply too soft to get a grip on the lip free nozzle. The sound a little more open and lighter than the foams but they had a habit of sliding up and down and even off. They are also a bit of a devil to get on quickly.

As a 3rd party tip suggestion, the Symbio W hybrid foam and silicone single wide bore tips were the best matches for me retaining the airy top end of the stock silicone and still showing good bass weight and seal of the foam tips. They also had stronger and longer stems making them a breeze to fit onto the nozzle.

Accessories & Packaging

I have to keep checking the price of the ME/1 because the packing is more fitting of a flagship IEM no kidding. The whole package comes in a beautifully finished light grain wood with the Unique Melody branding badge on top. There is no actual latch though it seems to lock through a series of magnets.

Inside you receive the two packs of foams and single bore silicone tips, as well as a gold-plated quarter jack adapter and an airline adapter. The soft case is perhaps more practical of the two but the UFO case is just too cool not to bring out and show off.

Sound Impressions

Tonality & Presentation

The ME.1 has a gentle u-shaped signature with an emphasis on a smooth sounding tonality though with a little uptick in the lower treble response around 4-6k for additional contrast. This is a presentation that is a little bit more fun than most, perhaps more musical with an elevated sub-bass and a gentle drop into the lower mids sub 1k to prevent any muddiness.

The open design does create a wonderfully spacious soundstage though with excellent depth. For me, it delivers more of a headphone type presentation, never sounding congested or closed in.

UM has wisely avoided overcooking the rumble on the ME.1 to deliver that sense of power. Doing so might have forced a steeper drop into the lower mids creating a more brittle sounding instrumental timbre. It could easily have sounded very disjointed but instead, it sounds quite coherent with good fundamentals and a very healthy level of PRaT.

The ME.1 has a wonderfully full-bodied and smooth sounding instrumental timbre. In particular rhythm guitar and lower string passages sound engaging with good levels of detail and separation. They do sit slightly behind vocals with that dip to 1k but the additional sub-bass power and generally full sounding low-end adds a nice bit of authority which makes the ME.1 an excellent choice for rock and metal.

Treble

Click on Page 2 below for Matching & Comparisons

Технические характеристики

Mirage

Излучатели: 3 × со сбалансированным якорем
Диапазон частот: 20 Гц – 20 кГц
Чувствительность: 104 дБ @ 1 кГц
Импеданс: 23Ω

Maven

Излучатели: 11 × со сбалансированным якорем
Диапазон частот: 20 Гц – 25 кГц
Чувствительность: 108 дБ @ 1 кГц
Импеданс: 26Ω

Упаковка и комплект поставки

Презентация обеих моделей по сути одинаковая, это, кстати, и натолкнуло меня на мысль объединить обзоры. Оба варианта поставляются в минималистичной коробке из чёрного картона. Сверху в ней находится кожаный футляр, хранящий наушники, модели немного отличаются между собой по цветовой гамме этих чехлов. Также в коробке вы найдёте:

сами наушники и комплектный провод
3 пары пенных насадок Comply
4 пары силиконовых насадок
тряпочку из микрофибры для ухода
гарантийный талон

Что особенно забавно, у Mirage гарантийный талон сделан в виде обычной картонной карточки, а у Maven — это USB-флешка, аналогичная той что входила в комплект Mason V3.

Дизайн и удобство ношения

Было ожидаемо, что дизайнеры компании, дорвавшись до технологии трёхмерной печати из сплава титана, использовали её по полной. Если Mirage просто услаждает взгляд сложным фейсплейтом, а внутренняя часть шелла осталась гладкой, то Maven весь покрыт эффектными ажурными переплетениями. Думаю, фото вполне передают впечатление о внешнем виде обеих моделей. О вкусах можно спорить долго, лично мне это оформление нравится, кому-то — наоборот, поэтому отмечу только что общее качество сборки и исполнения — прекрасное.

Кабель обеих моделей сделан сменным, используются двухпиновые коннекторы с приподнятым сокетом. Штатные провода немного отличаются толщиной (ожидаемо что у старшей модели она больше), а вот внешне — разницы особо нет. Кабеля сплетены из контрастных чёрно-белых (точнее коричнево-топлёномолочных) проводников, они комфортные и мягкие, микрофонный эффект выражен слабо, на холоде практически не твердеют.

Для прослушивания использовалось следующее оборудование.

Перед прослушиванием все наушники были прогреты на протяжении 48 часов, но, ожидаемо для арматурных излучателей, изменений в звуке не было.

Mirage

Данная модель по манере подачи близка к самому массовому варианту тюнинга с акцентами на НЧ и ВЧ или, проще говоря, V-образной подаче.

Бас приподнят, сила этого подъёма где-то средняя, до басхедных наушников Mirage не дотягивает, что, пожалуй, хорошо. Атаки с затуханиями немного сокращены, поэтому манера подачи имеет небольшой акцент в сторону сухости, но зато пользователь получает прекрасное разрешение и передачу текстур, что в сочетании с правильной массой обеспечивает НЧ эффектное арматурное звучание. Глубокие слои баса присутствуют, но по сравнению с выделенным мидбасом, они отведены на второй план.

Средние частоты — детальные, с небольшим уклоном в микроконтраст, в общем, именно то, что ожидаешь от одного арматурного излучателя. Так же ожидаемо, на некоторых треках ему немного не хватает телесности, но тут это с лихвой компенсируется разрешением и эмоциями. Разумеется, на середине, как и на всём остальном частотном диапазоне, наушники хорошо контролируют звук и играют очень когерентно, без проблем в местах стыка излучателей. Воображаемая сцена больше средней в ширину и где-то средняя в глубину, Mirage дополнительно подчёркивает разделение планов, вынося вокал немного вперёд относительно остальных инструментов.

Верхнечастотный диапазон, несмотря на акцент, оттюнингован так, чтоб звучать не сильно резко. Конечно, особо чувствительным в этой части диапазона людям стоит наушники послушать перед покупкой, но вряд ли много слушателей сочтут их сильно резкими. Хотя что я знаю о ВЧфобии? Протяженность ВЧ не запредельная, но довольно хорошая, разрешение — типично для арматур высокое, атаки с затуханиями чуть сокращены, но, в целом, эта часть диапазона подаётся весьма естественно.

Maven

Верхние частоты — акцентированные почти по всему их диапазону, начиная где-то с ВСЧ. Очевидно, что людям, не любящим ВЧ данные наушники совершенно противопоказаны, хотя на мой слух границу допустимого они в подавляющем большинстве случаев не переходят. Подобный манёвр разработчиков придал подаче Maven большую эффектность, они играют с подчёркнутой ясностью и чистотой, что на многих стилях просто завораживает. Разрешение ВЧ, равно как и естественность с атаками/затуханиями — на хорошем уровне, наушники эффектно подчёркивают обертона инструментов, придавая им живости, причём иногда даже больше чем у них есть в реальности.

Сравнения

Для начала, сравнения с Mirage.

HUM Pristine Модель от гонконгских кудесников звука была создана для максимальной чистоты и нейтральности и, собственно, так и звучит. Они детальней чем Mirage и протяжённей на ВЧ, но при этом у них менее весомый бас и более сухо звучащая середина.

Campfire Audio Andromeda Сравнение, от которого никак не уйти, впрочем, разница тут довольно очевидна: Андро звучат нейтральней, мониторней, с меньшими акцентами на низких и высоких частотах. У них больше массы, но при этом немного меньше уклона в микроконтраст.

Ну и, конечно, сравнения для Maven.

Mason V3 Наверное, стоит считать эту модель вторым (ну или основным) флагманом компании, они более нейтральны в верхней части диапазона, но при этом немного больше выдвигают вперёд СЧ и акцентируют их.

Noble Audio Khan Гибриды с тремя типами излучателей предлагают более плотный и весомый динамический бас с немного меньшим разрешением, чуть менее акцентированные но более весомые ВЧ от керамического излучателя и чуть большее разрешение СЧ, ради которого пришлось пожертвовать толикой их массы.

Совместимость

Обе модели не нуждаются в большой мощности, но, разумеется, для полного раскрытия их потенциала нужен плеер верхне-среднего или топового сегмента. К фоновому шуму они толерантны, главное — хороший контроль всего частотного диапазона.

Стилистически и Maven, и Mirage универсальны, всё упирается в предпочтения слушателя, но для Mirage лучше походит простой джаз, классический рок, блюзы, для Maven — стили, позволяющие им раскрыть свои таланты вроде сложной классики или круто записанного джаза. Придирчивость к качеству записи составляет где-то 7 для Миража и 8 для его старшего брата.

Треки-примеры

Veronica Swift — Interlude И ещё один джазовый трек, но более сложный для наушников, потому что это — вокальный джаз в исполнении одной из восходящих звёзд жанра, Вероники Свифт. Начав карьеру с 10 лет, к своим 25 годам Вероника добилась значительного успеха, выступала с Бенни Грином и Крисом Ботти, получила высокую похвалу от Билла Милковски, в общем, всё, о чём может мечтать потенциальная икона жанра. Нас же в её творчестве интересует умение певицы великолепно владеть голосом, что выгодно подчёркивается Maven, иногда буквально вызывая мурашки по коже.

Вывод

Unique Melody продолжают движение по вектору, взятому компанией несколько лет назад и доказывают, что они не только могут делать качественный звук, но и являются одним из лидеров в области дизайна и материалообработки.

I have had the ME.1 for a couple months now after previously owning the Audeze iSine 10. I was initially attracted to these because of how much I love the iSine 10. They were a miniature version of a full-sized headphone with some great sounding low end detail and extension and airy sound. They did require a bit of EQ though to make them sound great. Luckily, Audeze provides their Reveal plugin as well as posted their own EQ for the iSine publicly.

The one thing I didn't like about them, however, were their unusual shape and size. They were weird looking, however extremely unique (ha!) and very comfortable once you got the right fit. I could wear them for days. I still got funny looks wearing them in public though from co-workers and random people around the office. Then I saw the ME.1 come out and I was curious.

I eventually picked them up and have been in planar bliss ever since.

These actually do not sound like the iSine at all. They are different. These have a thicker sound, and more forward vocals but with some top end energy that the iSine lacked. They also have less impact on bass, however more detail all around. They also look incredible -- like you're wearing a set of LCDs in micronized form.

Comfort on these can be challenging though. They are heavy for IEMs and they insert medium depth - very similar depth to the popular Massdrop Plus which I also owned. Getting the right tips makes a huge difference on these for comfort and fit but you may have to take a quick break from these every so often since they are a bit weighty.

Back to the sound -- One thing I discovered was that if you push the volume up, these IEMs go from sounding excellent to sound very unnaturally shouty. The area around 1Khz is elevated and really does require some reduction to sound good. Luckily, I have eq capability on my phone, DAP and computer to compensate. I also like to add slight increase in bass, and elevate the 8Khz+ area to gain more energy/detail. These IEMs respond very well to eq since they are planar drivers which typically have very low distortion.

All in all, these are my most favorite IEMs I've owned. They can be a little annoying if you can't eq them and like to listen to music loud, and you may have some issues getting a good fit for long listening sessions, but the sound that these produce are excellent and comes highly recommended.

Here's some additional measurements from MiniDSP EARS:

Attachments

narco dacunzolo

New Head-Fier

Pros : FAST BASS RESPONSE
DYNAMIC AND TRANSIENT RESPONSE
SOUNDSTAGE

Unique Melody is a company already famous in US and Asia and i am very happy that is becoming more and more known in the European audiophile world. With the ME.1 this company was able to implement a lot of innovations in such a small body: first of all planar technology, acoustic filters and a semi-open back design.

All these characteristics makes this IEM “Unique” , even though new Mason and Mantor models are the new flagship in the catalogue, ME.1 represents always an iconic model.

Since there are a lot of reviews and opinions about this product, in this review I will focus mainly in a comparison with other two premium IEMs: Galaxy V2 and Aroma Audio Yao.

ME.1 unit was sent me as a loaner unit, I am not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions will be only my own. Would like to thanks Lawrance and Unique Melody team for sending me this unit giving me the opportunity to test this innovative audio product.

ME.1 comes in a premium and very nice wooden box. In the box you can find a lot of accessories: silicon and foam eartips ( you can easily find the right one for you). I suggest you, as always, to try a lot of eartips and when you find the “magic”, you will be able to enjoy the full potential of your IEM.

Build quality is excellent: body is made of transparent acrylic with a top semi-open grill.

Most important thing, this IEM is very comfortable and lightweight considering it uses a planar technology.

With ME.1 you can find a nice and premium cable: after switching to different aftermarket cables I can surely say that it is not only nice-looking, but it gives a more natural and detailed sound with a airy and controlled presentation. My only concern about the stock cable is that is not one of the most comfortable.

a lot of reviewers wrote about the sound of this fantastic product. For me ME.1 has a truly audiophile organic sound with a great bass quality ( you can’t find a lot of bass quantity, but quality is excellent with a very fast impact and decay). Mids are not recessed or too much in face and they are very detailed and natural, in particular with female voices. Highs are a bit laid back, so you cannot find a lot of sparkles, but at the same time they are very precise and clean and you will not find any harshness or sibilance issues.

Soundstage is very wide, but not too much holographic and it is really airy and natural.

Dynamic and transient response is great thanks to planar technology.

If you want to enjoy ME.1 at its full potential, I absolutely suggest you to use a good amplifier.

COMPARISON TIME: PLANAR VS 1DD VS 12BA

Trying to do a comparison about audio products is always a tall order in particular if you don’t use measures and provide frequency graphs, but sometimes is nice to share your own opinions and your own earing experiences. These three great IEMs belongs to different price range and works with totally different technology, so is really interesting how is their different approach to music.
Will try my best to write an understandable review since I usually write for my Italian public and English is not my first language. I decided to write this article cause a lot of my readers worldwide asked me to do so, hope you will enjoy my quick comparison and will help you to do the right choice if you are interested in one of these IEMs.
PRICE:
UNIQUE MELODY ME.1: 759 USD
RHAPSODIO GALAXY V2:1450 USD
AROMA AUDIO YAO: 2280 USD

Galaxy v2 incorporates a single dynamic driver( one of the best I have ever heard), ME.1 shows the latest planar technology and YAO uses 12 BA (2 driver unit for High frequency, 2 driver units for cross-section Super High frequency, 4 Driver units for Mid frequency and 4 Driver units for Low frequency)

BUILD QUALITY:
Galaxy v2 with its brass housings has a great and refined build quality and premium feel but it isn’t one of the most comfortable IEM cause they are on the heavy side, so if you can’t get a proper seal you will not be able to enjoy your music. Try a lot of eartips! only in this way you can bring out the best of this IEM. For example I found a good synergy with spinfit ones gaining a comfortable fit and so a better sound. Once found the right eartip for your ear-canal weight will not be a problem and you will find a good sound isolation.
On the other hand YAO shows quite a modern and elegant look, construction seems very solid: the shell is made up of transparent acrylic and the faceplate of metal material.
Comfort wise YAO IEM is very comfortable thanks to its rounded shape and nozzle angle; it’s lightweight considering that mounts 12 armature IEM and I was able to find a perfect fit with Acoustune silicon eartips out of the box. Speaking of isolation, it is very good in this department and if you can find the right eartips you will enjoy your playlist without any annoying external noise.
ME.1 has an interesting design: the shell is made up of acrylic and has a CNC grid at the end, surely this IEM with its unique open back design will catch the attention and interest of people around you in a good manner.
ME.1 is not one of the smallest premium IEM you can find, but its lightweight and comfortable.
I tried a lot of eartips and found a good synergy with double flange ones giving me a stable fit and improving sound isolation that is quite good considering their open-back design.
Unique Melody engineers made a nice work in realize planar technology in a such small body. Very compliment.

SOUND:
ME.1 has quite a U-shaped sound signature with organic and full-body sound, sometimes gives a fair romantic and engaging reproduction.
Galaxy V2 has a V-shaped sound signature with incredible resolution and details retrieval, but at the same time a fun and engaging sound.
YAO is quite a magic IEM with its voice reproduction so near-to-life and natural, it is a product capable to bring an audiophile and correct sound, but at the same time with a lot of emotions and details.

ME.1 has a very high quality bass response : very fast but a bit smoothed, so you will not have a strong bass, but you will get the right amount for a nicely timing and rhythm. Voices are well portrayed and fits good both for male and female vocals. Highs are detailed and clean, but will not find a lot of sparkles.
Dynamic and transient response is excellent thanks to planar technology and sounds great with a lot of musical genres.
What really makes incredible this IEM is its wide soundstage: it is not one of the widest or one of the most holographic, but it is really natural and airy.
On the other hand YAO has one of the best vocal I have ever listened: very detailed and natural, mids are in focus and are so vivid with a lot of emotions. This IEM is capable to bring “the emotions of your singer”.
Bass response adds a touch of warmth and gives a nice timing to tracks, highs are just a bit laid back but they are very detailed and refined. I think Aroma Audio created really a fantastic product: a perfect combination of audiophile and natural sound.
Dynamic is quite good and have a good instrument separation.
Soundstage is not one of the widest or tallest, but it is coherent and natural.
Galaxy V2 is pure resolution with a lot of details. Bass is really fast and strong (one of the best you can find in a single dynamic driver), vocals are little laid back, but they are very clean and detailed in particular with female voices. Highs are incredible detailed with a lot of sparkles, but if you have hiss problem, maybe this is not the IEM for you.
Dynamic and transient response is stellar. Galaxy has just a bit wider soundstage than YAO but is not so precise and coherent.

As you can imagine there isn’t a clean winner, all depends on your sound signature and musical genres tastes: if you want a smooth and organic audiophile sound with a great soundstage ME.1 is for you, if your looking vocal emotions and quite a neutral sound YAO will be perfect for you, if for you resolution, details and engaging sound is your priority Galaxy V2 will be a perfect friend for your ears.