Sound Impressions
Sound Summary
In my preliminary musings with Ash from Dita Audio, the M’s tuning implementation harkens back to the Dream, a dynamic-driver IEM touting flagship-level transient performance and micro-detail retrieval. The downside to the Dream’s swiftness in attack is the overwhelming harshness and unrefined peaks that hinder its overall presentation. Generally, the M has a marginal U-shaped signature, with a widely juxtaposed upper-treble and bass presentation.
The M’s transient performance and touch-and-go PRAT bear a brotherly resemblance with the Dream. The unfortunate raspiness in the upper-treble region, however, has been quelled. Granted, there is a raspy quality and porosity in the highs that accentuates the sensation of ‘air’. Rougher artefacts are intentionally rounded off for a delicate presentation.
What makes the M so enticing is the PM1 driver. The M’s bass performance touts class-leading qualities. For starters, the M’s end-to-end bass presents subtle shifts amongst a cavalcade of instruments with lively textures, highlighting their timbral distinctiveness. Discernability between a diverse array of bass instruments is effortless yet nuanced. The M’s sub-bass extension rolls deep, with extraordinary detail rivalling those of live performances sans the sensation of chest-bursting bass.
Bass
As mentioned, the M’s bass region is the crowning quality differentiating it from the thousands of IEMs in the markets. Generally, mass-market IEMs in the audiophile market err on the side of caution, chasing the goose that laid the golden egg (Harman response curve). Unfortunately, the golden egg has lost its lustre because everyone now has a golden egg.
Unfortunately, while the Harman response curve’s bass (more of a sub-bass flourish) is pleasant, it tends to sound lifeless and boxed-in, lacking a dimensionality in microdetail retrieval, with instruments sounding closeted in. The M lies on the other end of the spectrum.
Kickdrums in pop-punk bear the analogue resemblance of live performances, mimicking the timely halt of the bass drum after each strike, with the subsequent echo reverberating across the studio in milliseconds. Baritone instruments are given new life, with a guttural sub-bass rattle that burrows deep without sacrificing providing a detailed image.
Mid-bass on the M is a gratifying experience, each pulsation imitating the sensation of standing next to an arsenal of cabinet loudspeakers at a venue. Macrodynamic slam is concrete and potent, without any semblance of fogginess or harmonic distortion in the entire image.
The M does not cease to impress in this regard.
Mids
The M’s midrange is a conservative affair. The lower midrange on the M is fairly recessed, with a detectable gulf on the lower-mid floor. This valley comprises the ‘fullness’ of instrumentation and voicings – the warmth that vinyl lovers crave. That is not to say that the M lacks an inviting warmth, but rather that it prioritises a U-shaped FR for top-end sparkle and low-end flamboyance.
This presentation favours female vocals in the soprano region tremendously, where sonorous vocals ring forward. The PM1’s ability to displace gobs of air helps to emphasise these positive qualities.
Musky and masculine voicings (especially baritone and below) don’t sound bad, but the M isn’t complementary. U-shaped signatures are aggressively dynamic, resulting in the midrange exhibiting an artificial tone that detracts from its overall timbral exactness.
Highs
The M’s treble region is an airy affair with excellent sparkle and shimmer. Synth stabs on songs such as ‘Blue Monday’ by New Order is assertive, larger-than-life and beautifully rendered in all its synthesised glory.
The M’s absurdly fast transients in the highs play to its advantages, with odd-harmonic tones exhibiting the correct amount of delay. Piano strikes carry the signature ringiness that ripples outwards without sibilance. The diffuse character of the M’s upper treble is especially impressive. Saxophones sound bright, brassy and commanding.
Sadly, as with the Dream, the M doesn’t completely evade some of its flaws. On occasion, poorly mastered or dynamically compressed tracks are exacerbated by the M’s revealing FR, with some upper-treble wonkiness and thinness emerging.
Soundstage and Imaging
The M’s soundstage exhibits average width and depth, recreating a fairly contained image relative to the listener’s ears. The headroom is decent but nothing noteworthy. Interestingly, the M’s driver configuration, to my ears, creates a more localised, in-your-head presentation. I would not consider this a detriment, but rather a preference.
Conversely, the PM1’s prowess in terms of micro-detail retrieval leaves the added benefit of proficient imaging, with instruments and voicings presented cleanly and accurately. While the M doesn’t quite reach ‘flagship’ levels of expected performance, cues are easily pinpointed in moderately crowded tracks. The placement of cues vis-a-vis the stage has enough distance between them for pinpoint identification.
Onto the next page for the rest of the review…
