List Price: $79.99
Sale Price: $61.22
Today's Bonus: 23% Off
Pros:
Tight, controlled bass
Very good isolation, much better than my previous SoundMagic PL-30s
Detailed highs, not a lot of sparkle, no sibilance,
it's not fatiguing -> treble is not super bright, it's well-presented and doesn't extend uncomfortably high
Soundstage is good -> Well-separated, accurate, though it's not HUGE
Cable is braided -> thick, solid, tight
Little to no cable noise -> microphonics is very low if worn around the ear
Includes nice amount of silicone tips, 5 in all
Cons:
Bass-light: not for you if you like hip-hop, rap, heavy metal, bass-heavy stuff.
Nit-pick: I'm not really a fan of the mirror finish, since I believe it might attract curious wild-life some day. Though, it just might save my life if I get stranded on a desert island and need to signal a passing air vehicle. Hmmmmmm...
Overall I am pretty happy with my purchase. I'd give these a 4.5/5 "officially". I've had them about two weeks and they've held up well so far. If anything happens quality-wise, I'll be sure to update my review accordingly.
Sidenote: To get the highest quality sound out of any in-ear headphone, a good seal between the ear and the tip of the headphone is crucial. Without a good seal, you might as well stuff standard iPod earbuds in your ear canal. Keep this in mind if this is your first set of IEMs.
UPDATE: March 24, 2012: Through normal use, they are still holding up well. I have been having problems with the stock silicone tips, though. They are ok, but they never could stay in my ears for more than 10-15 minutes without needing re-positioning or readjusting. I recently bought some Comply T-100 foam tips. They make the A151 sound THAT much better. The Comply tips sit well and feel comfortable hours at a time. The bass presence is increased (due to a better, more consistent seal), and also has a bit more impact. The IEM is fantastic without the foam tips, but the tips are a worthwhile investment, and also make for a more "custom" fit than the stock silicone tips.
ADDENDUM: December 5, 2012
It's been nearly a year since I've bought these IEMs. I've gotten to know them quite well. They've held up really nicely over the past year. I've dropped them a few times, but they are just as good as the day I bought them. As I've used them, I can say that I have to modify what I originally felt about the treble. The A151 is analytical. There's nothing really 'fun' about the sound. It can have a tendency to really make bad source material rather difficult to listen to. Finally, I can say that the treble might be a bit much. My brother uses them sometimes, and he says they can be fatiguing. I've noticed this ever so slightly, so if you're extremely sensitive, keep this in mind. Lastly, after my Comply tips became a shredded mush, I had to revert back to the silicone tips. I found the bass to be rather lightweight. It's there, and it's tight, but only the really low bass is completely present. There is some presence in the mid bass, and it's still tight and controlled, but perhaps less than it can be (presence-wise). I use a homemade bass-boost Cmoy to remedy this, but keep that in mind. These are my second or third high-quality (relatively) IEM, so I really don't have much to compare it to.
Don't get me wrong, I love these IEMs. They're with me almost everywhere. My official rating used to be 4.5, but I feel like after really getting to know them, and listening to them stock for the better part of 3 months, they are more of a 4. The bass is kind of light, and the treble is just slightly too harsh. I don't mean they are shrieking banshees, but it's enough that if you look for it, you'll find that harshness. I feel like the comply tips really rounded them out, but bone stock, they're are still great IEMs with a few caveats.
Click Here to Read More Reviews >>
Read alot of positive reviews about these but I don't think the sound is for me. Speakers and headphones are very subjective. One persons pleasure is another's poison. Some like alot of bass. Some alot of detail. Some folks prefer a more neutral sound. My other set of earphones are from Denon but I can't remember the model. They're no longer made but are the dynamic type and cost approx. $30.The MEElectronics A151's are the first armature type earphones I've tried.
First off, you have to get used to putting these in your ears properly. Once you get used to that it's not a problem. Just takes a little bit more time. That being said they are pretty comfortable. They were even more so when I switched to the Sony Hybrid earbuds (Highly recommended). I can wear these for a long time without any irritation.
Construction is well made. The wiring is great and the ear pieces look nice and sturdy. Unlike some people I like the straight jack a opposed to a right-angled one.
Now for the sound. Definite difference in sound signature from the Denon dynamic types. If you're a bass head don't even think about these. You will find yourself playing with the EQ to get more bass. Yes, the bass is there and finely defined but not real deep. These are more detailed than the Denons but to my ears more on the bright side. Sort of like the music is being played in a room with lots of glass windows. I find I get listener fatigue pretty quickly and find myself turning the volume down lower and lower the longer I listen. I also found myself playing with the equalizer for a tad more bass even though I'm not a bass head but some music you just want to "feel" more rather than worrying about whether the bass is accurate or not. That would just take the fun out of listening to some types of music. That being said, I don't like to have to fiddle with the equalizer.
In conclusion, I find myself listening to my old Denon's more often. They have a warmer tone with more bass although not as tight as the A151's. I have to note that the Denon's bass improved with the Sony Hybrids from the original stock buds that came with them. The sound didn't change on the A151's when using the Hybrids but were less irritating to the ear canal. I guess the bottom line is I like the warmer sound of the Denon's as opposed to the colder more detailed sound of the A151's. I hope this helps some make a buying decision.
I know I used the words "find" and "found" alot in this review so sorry if some folks found that annoying. No pun intended there.First things first, if you're the kind of person who's always complaining that all your headphones don't have enough bass, these headphones are not for you. That's not to say that the A151s lack bass, but just that they're not particularly bass-heavy headphones. Now that that's out of the way, I'll try to give an idea of how the A151s sound. I'm not a professional, so just bear with me here. First off, what these headphones really excel in is in detail. When you're listening to a song with them, you can easily pick out individual instrument lines from the music. Especially on some songs from bands like Fleetwood Mac and Pink Floyd, the overlapping guitar parts can really easily be distinguished. If you listen hard enough, you can even hear details you never heard before. It's really pretty cool. As for the sound, it's generally pretty balanced, without any frequencies that overpower the others. As I mentioned before, the bass is not huge, and doesn't go down to like the super rumbling frequencies you can't really hear, but is adequate for most music. At first, the bass might sound a little grainy, but this goes away with usage. Another note is that some vocals may sound slightly muffled, but it's only noticeable on certain tracks. However, because it's not as good with super low bass, it might not be a good choice for electronic music like dubstep. The sound works well, however, with rock music, or any music that uses actual instruments... Now, a note about the fit: These headphones are meant to be worn with the cord looped over the ear, which accounts for the design. This eliminates pretty much all the noise that you get from the cord rubbing against clothing and stuff, so a big plus. Also, you might need to play around with the eartips a bit, because I had a bit of trouble getting a good seal with these. If you don't, the music might sound a bit tinny. Also, in terms of build, the cord on the A151s is really solid. It looks a little weird at first, but it's really flexible and doesn't kink up or anything, and well-relieved at connector areas.
All in all, a really solid pair of earphones.The MEE A151 is a balanced armature based phone, and as such, it is more of a mid and treble IEM than a bass head's dream. But it delivers a nice, crisp clean sound. As with all of these in-ear phones, you must get a proper seal to hear the true sound signature. If you can with the assortment of tips, as I did, you will be treated to a smooth, non-fatiguing sound signature, one that provides lots of detail and plenty of balance across the frequency spectrum. Also, very comfortable for long haul listening.These are the first and only balanced armature IEMs from Meelectronics. At first I set the equalizer flat, I didn't like the sound at all sounded like AM radio. Then I set the equalizer to the classic smile curve, way too much midrange. I fine tuned it to have mostly treble and bass amped up on the equalizer, the mids highly turned down.
I've found that these have decent bass, nothing mind blowing like the M9. Probably could be described as 'accurate' bass. The mids are too pronounced for my liking. The highs are not as crisp as I want them to be, I wish they had more treble actually. These don't hold a candle to my ultimate ears triple.fi 10 IEMs, but I don't expect them to. I wish they were made from metal or ceramic instead of plastic, although they don't have a cheap feel to them. Also, I wish they came with a more elaborate case than the usual case. I got this same case with my M9, M9P, and M6 earbuds. The case is sufficient for storing extra tips inside.
A couple of things I love about the IEMs: The cord is amazing. I wish all of my earbuds had this cord. The cord is very soft and beautifully twisted. The chin strap works great. Unfortunately they do not have memory wire like the M6 do, so they may slip from behind the ears while running. The A151 came with a ton of tips, none of them fit my ears correctly. I ended up taking the triple flange tips and trimming off the largest flange. They fit securely and comfortably now. You may be able to use other tips like Shure black foam tips or some from Comply. The have a smaller tip, much like the Shure E4C earbuds. The sound stage coming from these is huge, seems like it fills the whole room.
They take some time to wow you. If you are looking for accurate sound, these are a nice choice
0 comments:
Post a Comment