Massdrop x MEE audio Pinnacle PX IEMs Reviews | Drop

Massdrop x MEE audio Pinnacle PX IEMs

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Oct 25, 2018

Verified Buyer

This was my 3rd pair of IEMs over $50, after the Thinksound TS-02 and the Sennheiser IE80. For me, these are my go-to beater earphones. However, they do have their flaws. TL;DR - Minor build issues and relative in-efficiency compared to other IEMs mar an otherwise decent set of earphones. Still recommended though. Sound These are, to my ears on par with, or within striking distance of the IE80. The sound is decently fun, and detailed. These and the IE80s kind of pump sound into your head, giving you more of the feel that your head is the microphone than any ear or headphones I've listened to. Though, admittedly that is a small sample size. However, in the Virtual Barber Shop, when Luigi taps the binaural mic, it reverberates like he actually tapped my skull. Have driven these from a few different sources and they sound about as good as I can expect them to sound from a Shanling M0. Soundstage feels wide enough and imaging is alright. Of course, tips make a big difference, but with a decent seal, I get enough bass to be happy on the go. Build Oh, the sorrow. Had mine about a year now, maybe more. Periods of both heavy and no usage, so probably 6 months of average usage. They're mostly in the case. I always wind the wire. I started to have problems with frequencies dropping out during listening... Like I'd lose all treble and mids would sound very far away and recessed, but bass was still present. I'm pretty sure it's the cable, but it's obnoxious. Also, like many others, the coating has chipped off near the seams, mostly. All that said, the MMCX connectors on the earphones are still working, and having dropped them a few times, there's no dents or damage aside from the coating. They're basically tanks. Sure, they're heavier than my IE80's by a wide margin, but... Comfort These are some of the most comfortable universal fit IEMs I've ever had in my ears. Compared to the odd shape of the IE80's, these are like a pair of earphones actually designed for a human ear. It may very well just be my ears are pretty average, but damn. I used the foam tips for a while but they got wrekt pretty quick. I'm using the single flange large silicone tips right now, which seal well and have held up spectacularly so far. They stay in my ears well to be honest. The thick cable doesn't help with my glasses though. I usually end up wrapping them inside the wings to keep the wire in place and because it's thick(ish) and braided, it tends to hurt over long periods at work. Efficiency So, this deserves it's own section? Yeah. It does. These IEMs are 50 Ohm Impedence and 96dB sensitivity. Those are some full size headphone numbers. Specifically, those are T50RP Mark III numbers! They're dynamic though and not planars... Dunno how much that matters. But compared to the pretty efficient actual IEMs that are the IE80's, these things are monsters to drive. Though, to be fair, most phones will push them to reasonable volumes, and in my experience, the Shanling M0 was enough to push them to their max potential, as I heard no benefit from an FX Audio DAC-X6 with considerable more power, or SE through the Aune X7s. These ARE still IEMs, but damn if those numbers don't require a little extra power... Overall I think these are still good IEMs for the price. They're comfortable, sound decent, can be driven decently-spectacularly by portable gear. look classy and understated, use the extremely common MMCX connector making replacement cables easy to find, and they come with a variety of ear tips to suit most. Their only real downsides are that the coating isn't very tough, and the stock wire doesn't seem very sturdy. Oh, and the efficiency could be annoying. Either way, I can still recommend them at this price, but with the minor build issues remedied they would easily be in my top 2 for an IEM between $50 and $150.

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Snessim

Oct 29, 2018

TaylorDI currently drive a pair of these with a OnePlus 3T, and both the efficiency and paint stripping have really gotten to me. They look terrible when I wear them in public, and volume only goes to 'acceptable' levels at best. What other pairs would you recommend in this price range instead, based on your experience?

Oct 29, 2018

SnessimWell, the Massdrop X NuForce EDC's (the original, not the triple driver) seem alright. I haven't listened to them intensely, but my Fiancée has and I don't hear any complaints. My daily drivers before these was a pair of the Sennheiser IE 80 IEMs, but I'm not sure if they're readily available anymore. Because the IE 80S are different than the 80. Also, the Senn's have a proprietary connector, typically. The MMCX are much easier to find replacement cables for. Fiio also uses MMCX for their IEMs, which I've heard weren't bad. There was a decent pair that Zeos loved, the FH5? I think? But thy were more than your price range at $260, sorry about that. I found the Thinksound TS-02 to sound pretty good. But those lack removable cables, buy does the gunmetal and wood look sharp tho! Honestly, I went to over ears after these and the IE 80's. I still use both of those IEMs occasionally, but I've been dragging the HD 58X Jubilee's, and the Ath-M40x's to work with me these days, and my fiancée has been taking the Sony MDR-1A's with her. If you were looking for something different, a few bucks more can get you either the Monoprice M300 Planar In Ears (open backed), or a few more can get you the Audeze iSine LX(?) also In Ear Planar. I don't have any personal experience with these, but one or both of them is on my list to pick up for the winter. I'd recommend trying a few pairs before you buy, if possible. Can also try complaining to Massdrop or Mee Audio about the Finish/Efficiency and see if they have anything they can do to help. I don't dabble with IEMs as much as I used to, but my situation has been lucky enough that I can live in full size headphones. If you really wanna try the IE 80, see if ebay, or /r/AVexchange has anything for you. I'd let you try mine, but the cable is pretty beat and doesn't work all the time lol. I was really rough on them.

Ofer

Nov 18, 2018

SnessimI'm using the free Speaker Boost app on my Android phone and with it, they can be driven quite nicely.

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Dec 5, 2018

SnessimSorry to come back to this so late. I got me a pair of the iSine LX's because the M300's I ordered were defective. The LX's sound fantastic and are pretty easy to drive honestly. I'd wholeheartedly recommend them if you were willing to try open-backed, in ear, planars.

Snessim

Dec 5, 2018

TaylorDUnfortunately I wear IEMs purely for use in public - so the open-backed nature of the LX's wouldn't be for me. Thanks for the recommendation, though! The Thinksound TS-02 look amazing, but it seems the cable has longevity issues so the fact it isn't removable is a dealbreaker :/ I think I'll try to remove the paint and polish my Pinnacle PX's and hopefully get a phone more capable of driving it soon!

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Dec 5, 2018

SnessimI do have one other recommendation for you, but I do have to say, there's actually very little sound leakage from the LX's. It's a little surprising honestly. The Massdrop EDC's are a fine pair and also cheap. They come with both a braided mic cable and a regular round cable without a mic. Plus, they sound really decent, and imo fun. If you're looking for more power, try a DAP like the Shanling M0 or the new M5s that's coming soon with a 2.5mm balanced port. I was able to almost blow mine up balanced out of the Q1 Mark II (MMCX balanced is easy to find cheap on Amazon lol)

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Marlowe

143

Dec 5, 2018

TaylorDI've bought a lot of IEMs (Campfire Lyra 2, iBasso IT03, Sennheiser IE80) and full size headphones (Focal Elex, Sennheiser 700HD and 6XX, Hifiman 400i) over the last few years and the iSine LX is, by a large margin, the worst sounding one that I've heard. I deeply regret not returning it to Audeze in the 30-day window. I got it with the Cipher lightning cable primarily to stream Tidal with an iPad (so I could get decent sound in bed since it's not worth moving my laptop and entire rig)). I don't know if I got a defective set or cable, I don't like the cable's built-in DSP, or whatever but it's awful: muddy vocals, distortion (especially on female vocals, particularly with harmonies, e.g. the Roches are unlistenable with the LX) and almost no bass. I never listen to it; tried to sell it on Head-fi without success.

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Dec 5, 2018

MarloweI haven't noticed that. Bass is decent, and I honestly like the sound. It's not bad as far as I've heard, and that's without the cipher cable. I have the parts to build a custom cable for my LX's anyways, if you'd like, I can send you the normal cable to see if you like it better? Sound is subjective and all, and between all the full size headphones I listen to, I frequently take the LX's to work with me.

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