“An encounter with a beautiful stranger can be sudden, and the impressions are indelible..” – a friend of mine once said over a foamy mug… Let’s assume that this also applies to the audiotheme. Not for nothing this phrase came to mind by itself as a result of direct contact with the new audio product MyST, a favorite domestic brand!
A few days ago I received a parcel with a “hot item”: new in-ear headphones made with MyST IzoEM-1, a full-fledged isodynamic driver. The very idea of such a technical solution seemed a little bit crazy to me. You can imagine how you can cram into the small shape what you can’t? But in the end it was me who was like a madman: guys from MyST put everything in place. Probably something else will be worked out, but they have already “hacked a flea”, having solved the unsolvable problem in the nanosize. Kudos to! The Lefty cause lives and wins! And we have one more excellent reason to listen to your favorite music with the new ears..
Thank you online store mycroft.su for the provided sample for the audition
MyST IzoEM-1 in-ear headphones
Appearance and ergonomics
The headphones come in a small cardboard box. Inside the bag are the headphones themselves, as they say, “without the ensemble” – without the ear cushions and other tinsel. Everything is modest and ascetic, as in the case with the armature headphones MyST Nail line. You can screw in your own nozzles or pick them up here, in Mycroft store.
The ears look quite decent, modest and without excesses. The transparent matte plastic shelf is made by 3D printer, inside, as if through the ice on a frozen river, isodynamic driver. The shape of the headphones is typical of BTE wear, but in this case they are slightly larger than usual. The twisted cable is high quality, made of silver-plated copper, it’s 1.5 meters long, with a Neutrik 3.5mm jack at the end.
I had to do a little wiggle with fitting the new ears, but thank God there was no “St.Vitus’s dance”: I turned and twirled and the BTE version fell in its place. By the way, my colleague fixed the same ears in few seconds. In general, things happen.
But it is necessary to take the choice of nozzles seriously, otherwise you will get a cut low frequencies. Usually I acted with foam attachments, placing them on the sound tube, but this time such a trick failed. I tried the version with double-flanged silicone, but the feeling that something is missing again, has not disappeared. In desperation I put on my ears the usual medium size silicone for a wide sound tube, and voila – comfort, coziness and sound in all its glory!
On the whole MyST ergonomics is not bad, but I would tweak some details about the fit.
Sound
Listening was performed on the MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, Lotoo paw Gold, iBasso DX200 and Hifiman HM-601. MyST ears are pretty stiff and won’t sing a canary from every source.
For example, in the case of the stationary MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2 they open a hundred percent, paired with Lotoo paw Gold, iBasso DX200 and Hifiman HM-601 sound a degree lower, but overall also not bad. But my Samsung smartphone with MyST IzoEM-1 plugged in sings with a different voice. I heard the sound of terror! So I decided not to screw on “grandma grandpa’s” anymore and went back to the players and the stationary.
I would describe the sound of MyST IzoEM-1 as smooth, smooth, very detailed, with a slight decline in the low frequencies.
The headphones impress with their speed and resolution. Every sound and every little thing is clearly delineated in the overall flow. The virtual space is drawn quite wide for in-channel headphones. The work of the planar driver is not confused with anything, MyST IzoEM-1 headphones show it in all its glory.
In terms of bass and clarity I would compare this model with the armature MyST Nail 2×2. At least this is how I remember it. The amount of bass in these models is about the same, but in all other respects the “IsoEMs” are superior to the 2x2s in every way.
Melodies in IzoEM-1 are clear, without peaks and valleys and as smooth as a summer breeze. You listen to it and it feels so good… Just put Bryan Ferry’s “Mamouna” on and the whole album is like in a fairy tale – remember the story about the cow-drunk cow? You get drunk and stuffed in one ear and dressed up in the other… And all these wonderful transformations, all this charm is so captivating that it is impossible to tear yourself away. Each pluck of the strings, each vocal intonation is conveyed subtly and musically. And the cymbals and bells sound like a choir of angels everywhere singing… The treble and midrange response is very good. And not a single annoying factor: no harshness, no dips in the midrange and treble.
The only drawback in the presentation of these headphones – some lack of bass. I listened in both ears, but I still lacked filling and weight due to the low-frequency register. Of course, after a few minutes the brain adapts, adjusts to the nuances of the local value and everything comes back to normal. But for me this is the only drawback I have to pay attention to. Don’t think I’m talking about personal taste. As a fan of Etymotic ER4S I can not be accused of excessive overuse of bass, there is also “plenty” of them. Bass notes should have their own full-bodied coloring.
After listening I can make the following conclusion: if light music genres and old rock listen great with IzoEM-1, then more demanding, heavy genres and electronics in my hearing lacks the “base” and density.
The tweeters are crisp, smooth, with excellent resolution and speed. Very good.
MF – here to the clarity and smoothness I want to add a very good intelligibility, clarity and detail, inherent in the isodynamic radiator.
The low frequencies are precise, qualitatively they’re good, but quantitatively, in my opinion, they’re not enough. However, the bass quality depends a lot on the fit of the ears – about the same as in the case with ER4s: how you fit, and you listen.
Conclusion
What can I say, on the whole – excellent work! We’ve got a flea, we’ve got music! We are on the right track, I think this model will have a lot of fans. Those who like instrumental music and jazz, will appreciate the advantages of these headphones. But the headphones are not suitable for every genre and are quite demanding to the amplifier. Although I’m sure that the guys will not stop there and take their idea to perfection.
MyST IzoEM-1 price in mycroft online store.su is 19 900 Dollars. The price tag is pretty high, but I think it’s reasonable. At least, I highly recommend to listen to this model. If you like MyST IzoEM-1 it will be very difficult to tear yourself away from listening to your favorite tunes.
The sound, especially when listening to light genres, instrumental music and jazz.
Kit, ergonomics debatable , number of woofers I would add.
Can anyone share their experience using the MyST IzoEM-1 in-ear headphones for both music listening and forging? How does the sound quality compare to other headphones in the market? Is it suitable for different genres of music? Would love to hear your thoughts before considering a purchase!