Like a Game of thrones, The Sony EX1000 has finally been put down

by the Unique Melody Me.1

The Unique Melody Me.1 is what is known as a “Planar” IEM

It is a technology developed and used for expensive headphones costing in the thousands of dollars. Recently the technology, forms of it, have been miniaturized and used in IEM or “In Ear Monitors”. This is a very good thing for music listeners obsessed with detail. The minutia that is barely audible and sometimes lost to harmonic distortion is now available to you, the O.C.D crowd (me) and people who expect the whole recording to be played back…ALL of it

Sound impressions

Finest, clearest most impressive sonic playback of any IEM I have ever heard at any price.

The black quiet background is unlike any BA,Hybrid or Dynamic driver I have ever tried. It is absolutely addicting.

A Benchmark.

The sound of the needle gliding along between tracks on a vinyl rip is like being there. Next to Mom’s record player again, young, loving music and not analyzing it.

The moments between “The Battle of Evermore” and “Stairway to Heaven”

Those kind of moments are why I love this hobby.

I decided before starting to write this to just say what i think without trying to be some balanced robot infonator passing facts and general thoughts on to you. Nah, fuck that, these fucking RULE!

Bass

It is very much like the Sony EX1000. No measured increase of note between 20Hz and 1Khz. It is very clear and the speed of planar is second to…nothing. Bass guitar is outstanding. The pluck and pull and resonance of bass strings on some thing like the Violent Femmes “Blister in the Sun” is pure joy.

Who is she? No idea? Mommy or Daddy sure know their freakin’ music though. Whole album sounds sick on the Unique Melody Me.1

EDIT:

The best pairing for this IEM is the FiiO Q1MkII with it’s hardware bass boost switch. Most any good amp with a good bass switch will bring out the thump in these in a way an EQ cannot. Most DD or BA can be EQ’d to a reasonable point but for thump these love a good hardware boost..to my ears anyway.

Mids

Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham are an awesome pair of Male and Female vocals. Christine Mcvie reaches a little higher and brings in what is the sole weakness of the Planar…all of them. From 1.5Khz to approx 4.5Khz there is a harmonic event. A dip. Just prior is often a hump. Vocals on planar IEM without EQ can come off as shouty or odd if no EQ work is done.

Bass can go up because…it’s planar,

mids will not become veiled.

1Khz is very sensitive with this IEM IMO and it is my dip.

I do that at 400-500Hz usually but here it is 1Khz then I slow rise peak between 4-6Khz

Pretty simple and the payoff is perfect mids that transition to treble well, anchored by tight and authorative bass if you want it to be

Treble

“Telephone Line”

Woooo!! WOOOOO!!!

every crispy little detail pulled out and layed there for you. NOTHING shaded, trimmed,dulled…nothing. I coulda used any track with some sparkle but I was listening to this, wanted to try the widget so BAM….there ya go.

Science, muf __kers!!

Product Specifications

Impedance: 23.1 Ω
Diaphragm Diameter: 18.5 mm
Magnet Type: Dual-Layer High Strength Neodymium

Shell: 3D Printed Medical Grade Acrylic with CNC Finish Connector Type: 2-Pin Protruding Connector
Cable: 6N Single Crystal Copper
Cable Termination: 3.5 mm Headphone Jack

You can change the cable..

But why??

Pimp C would blush….then wear it.

The cable is sick, the comfort is great (I use comply) the earhooks are soft and easy to adjust to your ear and the cable is sick….did I mention that?

Good

Un rivaled SQ

Speed of driver and it’s assurance of the TOTL quality

Very responsive to EQ

Comfortable for long listening

The cable is unicorn hair dipped in gold

Bad

EQ near 1.5-4.5 Khz would be advised

hardware bass boost really needed to push bass properly

Ugly

Your desk without these on them

I once watched Twister6 stumble over announcing one top of the line IEM after the other till he said he would stop making such grand statements and I thought..pffft, get a grip dude!

Now I am looking at my EX1000 considered by many old timers and myself to be the apex of dynamic in ear monitors. And I find myself rationalizing that they are in the Dynamic driver world but I am just splitting hairs over here. The Unique Melody Me.1 are the finest IEM on the market and they are not over $1000, they are not even near Unique Melody’s most expensive IEM yet here I am calling them the King.