Unique Melody Mentor in-ear headphones: to listen to this is like eating gold

Hi guys! Today I will tell you about one of the coolest models: the Unique Melody Mentor in-ear headphones which are based on 10 armature drivers. Audiophiles the world over are arguing over whether it’s a Multi-Driver or a Single Driver? Well, they argue in vain, I personally think there are worthy models in one class as well as in the other. Another thing is that vendors often screw up the quantity rather than the quality – hence the rumor of bird wires – this is bad and this is good. So, the hero of our review, really deserves close attention and all praise for the originality and sound quality… Well, come on, let’s go.

Technical Specifications

Drivers: 10 armature drivers 4 drivers for the low frequencies, 2 armature drivers each for the mid-range, the upper middle and the high frequencies

Sensitivity: 112 dB

Frequency range: 20-20 000 Hz

Resistance: 20 Ohm

Noise isolation: 26 dB

Warranty: 2 years.

Package and appearance

The Mentor set consists of a replacement cable, a case, a special brush to clean the sound drivers, an adapter 6.3 mm – 3.5 mm, adapter for airplane listening, owner’s card and AFC chart. The universal version, unlike the custom version, comes with silicone and foam attachments.

I agree with fans of the custom version, the universal is a compromise after all. It took me quite a while to pick up the earpieces and aim with the fit of these ears to get them to love, understand and sound perfect.

Custom version deprives the owner of “dancing with diamonds” and other hassle, because it is made by taking an impression of your earflaps. But here there are some pitfalls. The impression should be quite accurate, in the factory on this impression make the selected model and send ready headphones to the hungry audiophile.

If something goes wrong, the “improvement” by correspondence will continue to the triumphant end. But in case of the Unique Melody there are very few cracks.

The headphones are quite large, fit like a fit and caused almost no discomfort. The Mentor that came to me was in black with a silver UM logo, made of high quality, as they say “If you touch it, you will feel it – it’s the thing!”. Liked the cable as well. Definitely, it is better and more reliable than analogues from Westone and Earsonics.

Sound

Now it’s time to bring some popcorn into the room and get comfy in your chair. The cinema will be explosive! When I put the UM Mentor on my head, I really felt like Pasha the musician: every rhythm, every beat penetrated the ear, then another, and exploded the brain with unreal images, like in blockbusters…

Listening was done on a MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, Hidizs AP100MM, QLS QA-360, Hifiman HM-601LE. The headphones played best on the stationary MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, but quite acceptable even on my Samsung Galaxy S3. No genre preferences could be detected.

The sound is quite juicy, deep, massive, quality with good detail work. Each musical instrument and sound is located at its specific level. The presentation is multi-layered, it is as if the listener is immersed in what is happening now on the screen. Exactly on the screen. Listening almost immediately evokes images of ghosts circling around the music source… Perhaps the ghosts weren’t flying, I won’t insist, but somewhere I did see them?..

Waking up at the end of the track from such a movie, I thought that in all this coolness there is a certain artificiality of sound, the line is thin, like the difference between a film frame and a full frame digital. But the musician will immediately hear when the clean, vital sounds are swept up with some cinematography..

Don’t bother though, the requirements for cool headphones are the coolest. The sound, for a normal audiophile who has heard everything in light, is impressive and mesmerizing. Very high level! But to tell you the truth, this is not a live concert..

Bass – Low frequencies are slightly elevated in the UM Mentor. The bass is crisp, deep, tight, punchy. It has good control and stays out of the rest of the frequency range.

The midrange is pretty good, clear and detailed. Great job on every nuance with no peaks and it’s smooth. The middle part is very musical. The material is served in layers, with no obvious gaps or dips.

Tweeter – Clear, crisp, detailed. The cymbals and bells sound pretty silver. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious flaws, but in some places they’re overly self-promoting, or something. There’s a bit of an accent in that frequency range.

How can we eventually describe the sound of this model? I would call it beautiful. Because there is some undertones, some artificial scale, some 3D, if you like. Is it good or bad I can’t judge, because everyone has his own ideal sound. I prefer the natural sound. But for many people this kind of monitor from the prose of life will seem boring, that’s why it’s harder for someone to find cooler Mentors and Merlins.

Conclusion

Did I like the UM Mentor? Yes, I liked them, in some places even very much. Of the multi-drivers I’ve heard, UM Mentor and UM Merlin are the most honorable representatives of this class. I would buy these for me? Sure, but on condition that the ruble will go back to 30 Dollars per dollar. Moreover, I would highly recommend this model to those who have no need to count money..

As I have seen, the headphones are quite decent to play from a budget sound source, as well as paired with a premium unit. The price for the custom build was set at $1449, the price for the universal one was $1249, which impressed me a lot.

Sound, build quality, appearance. In the custom variant there is also a comfort.

Price. Connoisseurs of smooth monitor sound may not be suitable.