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Product Description
The first in-ear monitor tuned by Massdrop from the ground up, the Plus features a novel sound signature that combines aspects of a number of community-favorite IEMs. With three Sonion balanced-armature drivers per ear, it delivers extended bass, clarity, and a sound that leans toward full and fun Read More
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By far the most comfortable IEM I've ever owned. For some reason, my right ear always has comfort issues, causing my ears to hurt after about 30 min of wearing almost all other IEMs. These are the only IEMs I've owned that don't cause pain.
I don't know why I waited so long to pick these up. I purchased them when Drop had reduced the price and I bought them as an "okay, let's give these a try". Wowza am I impressed!
The size is small but they fit like a glove in my ears. I wouldn't think too many people would have a hard time fitting these in their ears. They have the best shell design of any IEM I have tried, most comfortable IEM I have owned or reviewed. I use the wide bore tips. But wait, there is more!
Sonically the Plus Universal are amazing. Well controlled, balanced, cohesive throughout. Bass has authority and power while remaining controlled. Sub bass depths are explored and reached without getting to far out there. Mid bass has nice thump and slam without beating your head silly till you have a headache. Upper bass is tame enough so it doesn't bleed into the mids. Speaking of the mids, oh yeah! The mids have a touch of warmth and lushness without being bloated or muddy. The mids are natural and accurate. The mids have good detail and clarity without being excessively expressive. Treble is well controlled, with adequate extension but could use just a touch more air. There is good amount of energy and sparkle but at times I wish that there was just a tad more. Soundstage is accurately wide, does a good job of reproducing the venue stage width. Depth is amazing and you can read into a stage and diagnose easily. Imaging is fantastic as sounds whizz around the stage and you can pin point locations with accuracy. Layering is also very good and there are no moments of confusion or muddling. Tone and timbre is the star of the show. The Universal Plus have some of the best tone and timbre I have heard from an all BA IEM. Every instrument sounds natural, accurate and true in reproduction, it is craziness how good they're in this aspect. Detail retrieval is good and solid, you won't miss anything. Resolution is also another highlight as these are fantastic for the price range.
Overall, I highly recommend the Plus Universal. I hope Drop brings them back as they are amazing and I think everyone should give them a listen.
Sound utterly fantastic, but build quality is so disappointing at this price
Driver in first pair broke with a fall from desk height (roughly 18 months after purchase). Connector in second pair (roughly two years after buying secondhand like-new) apparently came unglued from housing and pulled out entirely while replacing cable, detaching wire from driver along with it. The stock cable that came with my original pair also became discolored a couple months into owning it, then eventually broke entirely.
It's such a shame as they genuinely sound fantastic. I just cannot recommend them with how both of my pairs have broken.
NOTE: This IEM was first purchased in 2018. The cable connection died about a month later. I RMAed and received a new unit. The second unit's cable died about 2 years later, and after trying to replace the cable, I've ripped out the connector to the IEM, permanently destroying one of the housings. I've ordered a used a pair of these too and given it to my friend a gift, the stock cable has signal to one channel has also died, but the IEMs have not yet.
SOUND:
This IEM was great when it first came out. It was a tasteful balance between bass boost and neutral. The upper midrange and treble was quite good for vocals and instrumentals. However, because the IEM is only using balanced armature drivers (3 Sonion), there is a distinct lack of bass texture and slam (the amount of air or rumble you feel) which makes EDM, Electronic, and bass instruments lack the defined resolution that you would normally experience. This also affects the timbre (usually you can tell when musical instruments have a fake-plasticy quality), and is not as smooth and relaxed as a dynamic driver IEM (which has it's own myriad of difficulties including tuning and speed).
COMFORT:
The IEM is incredibly lightweight and the shape is very well designed to fit a normal ear canal. I upgraded the IEM to use dual flange and then later settle on the Spinfit CP145 medium tips (pictured below) that seal very securely and deeply in my ear. While the stock cable of the IEM is flimsy and will easily degrade (oxidization and eventual failure), lightweight cables are my recommendations for usage. This is easily the most comfortable IEM I've ever worn, better than my Shure SE215. I eventually ordered a Tripowin cable which led to the death of the IEM (see above). The Tripowin was softer and more flexible, but heavier and the connector was too tight and pulled the port out ripping the internal cables to the drivers along with it.
EXTRAS:These are very sensitive IEMs. I could not use these on my Schiit Magni 2U without a background hissing. Playing off my Galaxy S10e was fine, but if you have an older device with higher output impedance, be prepared to suffer. An iFi IEMatch cable will fix this issue temporarily.
FINAL THOUGHTSThe original price of $300 was very competitive in 2017-2018, however my new Moondrop Blessing 2 outdoes the MD+ Universal in technicalities, speed, bass, coherence, and enjoyment. If you can find this IEM for under $150 new, or $100 used, it is still worth for comfort/convenience, if you can ignore the timbre of the balanced armature drivers and hope that you don't destroy the IEM swapping the cables.
JebbieMine died today after 3 years. Just randomly lost the right connection and I don't think I can get a replacement because they're out of stock and extremely difficult to find used. Would not recommend. Cable dies or BA dies, pick your poison.