At the time of the review, the Unique Melody Maestro was on sale at Musicteck’s online store. Here is a link to their listing of the product:
https://shop.musicteck.com/products/um-maestro-universal
Unique Melody has a great Facebook Page with lots of links to some really good reviews. Here is a link to their page:
https://www.facebook.com/UniqueMelodyInternational/?fref=nf
Introduction
Over the course of reviewing products we occasionally are given rare opportunities to cover something really special. These times don’t come around all too often, and when they do it’s an epic opportunity, not only to experience a summit-fi product, it’s also a chance to share my experience with the Head-Fi community.
Unique Melody has been around for a while. They hit it big around 2010 with their release of the Miracle. Since then an ongoing war has been waged, as companies continue to come up with ways to stuff more and more drivers into each channel of their in-ear monitors and jack up the price. This can be a very good thing, but it can also be nothing more than a gimmick. I’ve heard multi-driver earphones that sound worse than some single dynamic driver designs. It’s not a matter of how many drivers you can stuff inside a shell to make them sound good, it's more a matter of whether or not the manufacturer can use tubing, resistors, dampers and crossovers to make a number of drivers sound cohesive and pleasing to the listener’s ear.
When I was contacted to see if I could review the Unique Melody Maestro universal in-ear monitor, my excitement level was through the roof. At the same time, I didn’t want to set my expectations too high. In the summit-fi multi-driver IEM world there are models that are selling drivers rather than sound. I had to wait until I actually heard them to decide which side of the fence Unique Melody was on with this earphone. I’m happy to say that Unique Melody is selling twelve armature drivers on each channel (twenty-four total) that sound INCREDIBLE.
Disclaimer
I was given an opportunity to review the Maestro in exchange for my honest opinion and review. I am in no way affiliated with Unique Melody. I would like to take this time to personally thank my friend Andrew for the opportunity.
My Background
I AM NOT a numbers and graphs audiophile or sound engineer. Personal audio enthusiast? Absolutely! Headphone junkie? Possibly…
There’s something about quality DAPs, DACs, Amplifiers and Earphones that intrigues me, especially if they can be had for low prices. I will buy the $5 to $500 earphone that looks promising, in hopes that I will discover that one new gem that can compete with the big names in this industry. If you look at my Head-Fi profile you will see that I have purchased MANY different headphones and earphones, ranging from from dirt cheap to higher end products. For me, this hobby is more about getting great price to performance ratio from a product, and having a variety of different gears with varying builds and sound to mix and match. With personal audio gear, we tend to pay a lot of money for minor upgrades. One thing I’ve learned over the last few years is that just because a headphone has a higher price tag, it doesn’t mean that it has superior build and sound quality.
I’m always looking for great audio at a great price. I’m after headphones and IEMs that give me the “WOW” factor. I can appreciate different builds and sound signatures as long as they have good ergonomics, and the sound is pleasing to my ears. It is my pleasure to share my experiences with audio products and make recommendations based on gear I have owned and used.
REVIEW
The Miracle comes in an all black box the size of a large jewelry cube. The Unique Melody logo is printed in discreet shiny black print on the top. “HAND CRAFTED WITH LOVE” is printed on the bottom of the box with the same glossy black lettering. Another interior box slides out from the package which contains the earphones. A third box pulls out from the second one, containing the Maestro Universal accessories.
After removing this box, I was greeted with a heavy duty black metal canister that unscrews to reveal a velvet bag which was holding the earphones.
Specifications and Accessories
Specifications:
12 Balanced Armatures
4 Low, 4 Mid, 2 High, 2 Super High
4 Way Crossover
20 Hz to 20 kHz
109 dB SPL Sensitivity
20 ohm Impedance
Accessories:
4x Pair memory foam tips (S,S/M,M/L,L)
4x Pair black silicone wide bore tips (S,S/M,M/L,L)
1x Airline adapter
1x ¼ inch adapter
1x Earwax cleaning kit
1x Two year warranty card
1x Metal cannister
1x Velvet drawstring pouch
Housings
The Maestro housings are made of a black acrylic material that seems very sturdy. It’s bulky and has a quasi-custom-ish shape. A two pin connector is located on the upper portion of the housing. The fitting is slightly recessed into the housing, making the cable connection more secure than earphones without this feature. The faceplate of the earphone is a holographic carbon fiber printing with the Unique Melody name printed in a shiny finish. Overall, the housing seems tough enough to withstand daily abuse. Because these are a loaner I refrained from using them as nunchucks to see how well they would hold up. Just know that they look built to last. I didn’t see any screws or misaligned seams. It’s honestly pretty flawless looking. If you have any concerns, the Maestro comes with a two year warranty.
The Maestro name is printed on the inner part of shell. The right side is printed in red, and left side is printed in blue (to mark each channel). The Maestro nozzles are wider than average. Looking at the end of the nozzle, they have three separate ports for sound. Tip rolling is a bit tougher than normal but for the most part I was able to fit just about every tip I had on the nozzle with a little extra effort.
NOTE: The Maestro comes in both a universal and custom model. Please take a look at Musicteck’s website to find out more about pricing and design options for the custom models.
https://shop.musicteck.com/products/um-ciem-maestro-12-drivers
Cable, Y-Split, Cable Jack, Strain Reliefs
Maestro comes with a braided black cable that follows along the lines of many other high end in-ear monitors. A quad braided cable leads up to the Y-split which is held together by clear heat shrink tubing and separates into two twisted cables that leads to each channel’s two pin connector. There is also a piece of clear tubing that operates as a chin/neck slider to snug things into place. The Maestro stock cable has two inches of memory wire that help secure the earphone in place and works well. The cable jack is a ninety degree variety that has a gold plated 3.5 mm jack and plastic and rubber jacketing. Strain relief at the jack is adequate, and the memory wire offers some strain relief where the cable connects to the housing.
Functionality
The stock cable is plug and play. However, the fact that it is removeable opens up options for microphone and remote cables as well as upgrade cables. When talking to a fellow reviewer, they indicated that The Maestro sound benefits from an upgrade cable.
Ergonomics, Fit and Microphonics, Isolation
The Maestro is a bulky housing, but also a pretty nice fit. The tips that come with the Maestro are formidable for getting a good seal. I found the memory foam tips that come with Maestro to be high quality.
Unique Melody gives you everything you need to get a secure and consistent fit. Find the right fitting tip, pop them in your ears, secure them in place with the memory wire, then adjust the chin/neck slider to secure the cable over your ear. The Maestro is designed to go over the ear. Because of this microphonics are minimal and virtually non existent. With the right tip isolation is just a hair below custom in-ear monitor level.
Sound Review
I did my demo with my usual gear. I used an LG-G3 with the latest firmware for portable and smartphone use, and either my Shanling H3 or iBasso DX80 DAP for high fidelity portable use. For desktop use I used my Toshiba Satellite Laptop in combination with a ifi micro iDSD playing at 32/192kHz. I tested them with several other sources as well. I used Google Music in its highest download quality (320 KBPS) and I also streamed FLAC via Tidal streaming service. I also used purchased and downloaded tracks in MP3, FLAC, WAV and DSD. I make sure that any gear I test has sufficient playtime before writing a review.
I used my usual same songs for testing gear:
“Limit to your love” by James Blake (bass speed, punch, response)
“Doin’ it Right” by Daft Punk (sub bass)
“Get lucky” by Daft Punk (bass to midrange transition resolution, male vocals)
“Madness” by Muse (soundstage, separation)
“Some nights” by Fun (soundstage and male vocals)
“The soundmaker” by Rodrigo y Gabriela (texture and imaging)
“Bassically” by Tei Shi (bass to midrange resolution, female vocals)
“Skinny Love” performed by Birdie (female vocals, acoustic playback)
“One” by Ed Sheeran (male vocals, acoustic playback)
“Outlands” from the Tron Legacy Soundtrack (symphonic presentation, imaging)
“Sultans of swing” by Dire Straits (detail, separation, balance)
“And Justic for All” by Metallica (driver distortion, treble response, rock playback)
“Ten thousand fists” by Disturbed (driver distortion, treble response, rock playback)
Note: Other tracks were used, but the listed songs were primarily used to assess and break down the gear’s response.
Source Selection
Just like most multiple driver in-ear monitors, the Maestro is a very sensitive and easy to drive IEM. With most more powerful sources (even portable sources) you will hear a faint hiss when music isn’t playing.
I don’t know how it does it, but one of the things I really enjoyed was how well the Maestro could play with any source or recording and make it sound incredible. The Maestro was able to take my mp3 files playing from my clip zip and make them sound like FLAC. I heard details in tracks from this very average/mediocre source that I never heard before with any other earphone. Also, they sounded that much better with a higher quality sources and recordings.
The Maestro will sound great with a smartphone streaming music, and phenomenal with your best DAP playing your highest bit rate music files. For best results, use the best sources and files you have in low gain with the Maestro and be whisked away to another dimension of quality audio.
Sound Signature
The graph made with my Vibro Veritas. Although it isn't an industry standard device, it should give you an idea of the Maestro tuning.
The Maestro is a combination of musicality and detail that you will seldom hear. It’s endgame sound in my opinion. The amount of clarity and spaciousness trumps just about all of my in-ear monitors and full size headphones. The sound is rich and dynamic. It’s definitely a music lover’s earphone. You get an incredible low end response in combination with a level of resolution that is seldom replicated. The thing I think I liked the most about the Maestro was its ability to play every frequency with ease and at a maximum level of resolution and clarity. If I had not heard the Shure KSE 1500, I might be saying that this is the best in-ear monitor I’ve ever heard (this or the Noble K10). The sound is balanced with just a touch of lift at upper and lower frequencies. Extension on both ends is fabulous.
Bass
Bass is impeccable in my opinion. I’ve said it before in other reviews, but these definitely have the best combination of armature accuracy with dynamic impact I've heard at the time of writing the review. Bass extends as low as I can hear and is just as responsive at 30Hz as it is at 150Hz. Truth be told I can hear kickdrums in a way that I don’t hear them with other earphones. The resolution is so good it adds a sense of realism that you have to hear to understand. I usually talk about the transition from sub bass to mid bass, but there isn’t necessarily a “transition” to speak of. The four way crossover blends the 12 drivers pretty flawlessly. Mid bass is perfectly in line with the neighboring frequencies, rendering a very spacious sensation. Its as if someone at Unique melody was able to pull the sound apart to reveal every single detail the way it should be heard. To be completely honest I can’t listen to the Maestro, then go back to listening to other earphones without feeling like the low end is either somewhat sloppy or muffled.
Midrange
The midrange of the Maestro is just a hair behind the lower frequency response, but not to the point that it is severely lacking or overshadowed by the rest of their sound. Just like any other part of the Maestro presentation, the level of resolution is top notch, and the sound just seems effortless, like the drivers have no problem keeping up with the music being played. There is a bit of dip at upper midrange frequencies, making vocals have a smooth finish and never allowing the signature to seem shouty whatsoever. I might have liked to see the upper midrange be just a touch more forward, but I completely understand why Unique Melody did this. This keeps people from saying vocals are “grainy” or “shouty” while still maintaining their musical signature.
Treble
The Maestro has a spike at around 6K, that makes cymbal crashes and hi-hats sound awesome. This spike also helps pronunciations of the letters S and T coincide with the forwardness of the lower midrange. I can see this being an issue for those sensitive to this frequency, or for those who listen to their music at louder volumes. I personally enjoyed it, and didn’t find it harsh or sibilant in any way. After trying to EQ this area down a couple decibels, I soon found out that the Maestro presentation seems somewhat lifeless without it. In fact, there was no EQ adjustment I could come up with that sounded better to my ears than the stock sound. Let that be a testament to how well the Maestro is tuned.
Soundstage and Imaging
This is where I give the Maestro an eleven on a scale from one to ten. The resolution and extension is awesome, giving the Maestro one of the most impressive soundstages I’ve experienced. I heard reverb and echos in vocals and instruments I simply didn’t hear before with other gear. Even with a mediocre sources and files I picked up micro details I didn’t previously notice in the past. The resolution and sense of space makes imaging on the Maestro elite.
Comparisons
Unique Melody Miracle V2 Universal ($1000 USD on Musicteck’s website)
The Miracle V2 universal is retuned version of the original. I will be reviewing this earphone in the near future.
Comparing the two, the Miracle is a somewhat similarly tuned earphone. The differences are minor, but make a considerable difference. The Miracle is a slightly smoother and more neutral sounding earphone with a bit less sub bass extension and smoother upper frequency presence. Midrange seems slightly more forward on the Miracle. To my ears the Maestro seems more musical and detailed, with the Miracle being more neutral and transparent. The Maestro is more of an entertainer and music lover’s earphone, with the Miracle being more of a reference monitor. I can see the Maestro being more for a drummer or bassist, with the Miracle being more for the guy mastering the track in the recording studio. Both are excellent in their own way.
Build quality and accessories are a draw. They are pretty much identical in this case.
At the end of this comparison, I can see why the Maestro has a higher asking price. If these two earphones were people, the Maestro would be the Miracle that started going to the gym three times a week, taking protein supplements and hiring a personal trainer. The Maestro is a beefier and more defined version of the Miracle to my ears.
Noble 6 ($1000 on Noble Audio’s website)
The Noble 6 is a bass forward earphone with a warm top end. It carries a very decent amount of detail and dynamics.
Comparing the two, the Noble 6 brings a much more prominent mid bass presence and lower midrange. After this the Noble six slopes into a relaxed upper midrange and treble presence that maintains a nice sense of extension. The Maestro is a more balanced sound with a brighter top end. They have a less forward but more responsive low end. Choosing between the two will be a matter of preference. I prefer the Maestro tuning over the Noble 6, but I can see how others who like warmer and bassier tunings being turned off by the 6kHz boost of the Maestro, preferring the Noble 6 as a result.
Build quality goes to the Maestro. Their housing feels more solid in my hands, and the recessed fitting for the two pins plug seems more solid. Accessories goes to the Noble 6 by a large margin. They offer a plethora of tips, and I prefer the pelican case over the metal cannister that comes with the Maestro.
Conclusion
If the Maestro was a thousand dollars or less, I would contact Head-Fi administrators to see if they could add a sixth star to the rating system for this review (joking). When I look at a price tag approaching $1500, I have to deduct a half of a star. I've purchased cars that cost less.
Is the Maestro worth the money? I think that comes down to budget and how much a guy has in his wallet at the time of purchasing them. If I ran into a large inheritance I would be scooping up a pair right away, no questions asked. As it stands, I’m your average Joe who is married with a mortgage and child who needs to go to college some day. If I took this much out of my savings to purchase a pair of in-ear monitors, I might be sleeping on the couch for a while. Your mileage may vary…
I was able to take the Maestro to a Head-Fi meet in Chicago shortly after getting them in. I had guys listen to them who honestly didn’t think too much of in-ear monitors all together, and were primarily listeners of high end full size headphones with DACs and amplifiers that cost thousands of dollars. The consensus was pretty much unanimous. Despite their biases, they were all impressed with the performance of the Maestro.
The Maestro is a legend in my book. They are a incredibly well tuned earphone that didn’t just take twelve drivers and stuff them in a shell. They took twelve drivers and a four way crossover and turned it an earphone that will be a trophy earphone in several audiophile’s collections. Their combination of dynamics and detail will give many who hear them the “wow” factor we’re all after.
Are you looking for an endgame earphone? See if you can give the Maestro a listen. They might check all the boxes and be the high end in-ear monitor you’ve been searching for.
Thanks for reading and happy listening!