IMR Opus Mia review : The expansion king

STAGE AND IMAGING:-

Let me make a point here, to be really precise, to pinpoint it.. You don’t buy the Mia for the level of details it delivers, not that it does not have details but that is kind of 2ndary here, the biggest featue of the Opus Mia is its stage, there is no other earphone in the under $800 price range which has a bigger stage that the Mia, let it be width, height or depth it has it all and the expansion feels complete and natural with some margin for expansion, it’s not limited by a wall like feeling like most of the BA based earphones.

The vocals are placed inside, originating just out of the ear. Except a handful of instruments most of them are placed out of the head with class leading amount of air between them. The interesting thing is, if paid a bit of attention one can feel the floor and the room for each instrument which is vividly clear.

TECHNICALITY AND MATCHABILITY:-

Unlike most of the ES based earphones the MIA is not a very demanding earphone and can be driven out of anything decent starting from the LG G7 up to anything with a good amount of power.

Plenue R (9.5/10):-

The analytical sounding DAP makes the matching a bit more analytical, a bit more accurate and precise. Notes gain abit more bite and depth. The bass region loses some grunt. It now becomes a bit more flatter, a little less rumbly. Mid bass maintains fullness but gains faster decay speed. Instruments have slightly more space between them as the body get tighter. Vocals are a more focused and less juicy. It just makes the Mia more precise than it is. Treble region gains little bit of energy and spark. The stage size is slightly smaller than the Shanling M6 but it still is huge.

The Plenue R is one of the best match for the Mia.

Shanling M6 (9/10):-

The M5s matches nicely with the Mia, the musical sounding Mia along with the Neutral sounding M6 deliver an enjoyable sound. It brings a bit more calmness, notes do have some sharpness but not as much as the R. It brings out a bit of evenness. Bass notes are fuller with slightly more sub-bass rumble. Vocals with the M6 are a sweet sweet affair. It takes the Mia’s fun and musical tonality and tunes it a slightly more accurate. It brings slightly better texture too. Instruments have similar amount of details but they don’t have the added depth or sharpness of the R. Treble region follows the trend with accurate and tighter notes. Layering and separation is equally good. Stage wise it is much bigger in every dimension compared to the R.

CABLE EFFECT:

One need not to bother about aftermarket cables as the Mia already ships with 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced cables. The balanced cables add a bit of extra separation while slightly expanding the already huge stage. The micro details are a bit more transparent too.

COMPARISON:-

VS IMR R2 Aten:-

The R2 aten has a very similar tonality to the Mia but has a slightly controlled delivery. The lower end is slightly smaller, mid range lacks a bit of notes depth, voclas are slightly less forward and treble regions is not as detailed as the Mia.

The biggest difference is the stage which is a lot less tall and wid than the Mia with equally impressive depth, switching from the R2 to Mia show the excellent resolution, details retrieval and transparency of the Mia.

VS Shozy Pola:-

I had never thought that there will be an earphone for under $800 which will topple the Pola off its class leading stage size but here we are, the Mia just gains at least 30% more volume than the Pola’s. It just engulfs Pola’s stage with some room to breathe.

The Pola’s bass is slightly boomier with less forward mids and highs, even with that it manages to deliver more micro details at the grass root level. Pola’s textures are more perceivable where as the Mia is a bit more polished. Layering and separation is better with the Mia as the notes have much better depth and air between instruments. Pola sounds more organic.

Switching between the two made me realize how big the Mia’s stage is.

VS Unique Melody Mirage:-

CONCLUSION:-

I have heard the ES hybrid earphones drowning the Mid range or pushing both the mids and highs into the back seat but the IMR Opus Mia is nothing like that, it delivers a thumpy bass without going overboard while the rest of spectrum is well balanced. You don’t buy the IMR Opus Mia for its technical abilities or level of details, it is not a studio tool for analytical listening.

Buy it for its tonal accuracy, balanced spectrum. It is a musical sounding IEM with one of the biggest stage with excellent sonical abilities. It is a fun and jolly sounding IEM with an ever so lively heart. It has no dull moment. The vocals sometimes feel like being served for you and you only, they give you access to the stage and you are sitting just aside the singer and sometimes you are placed in the front row, there is no dull moments what so ever.

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ABOUT AUTHOR

Suman Sourav Meher

Suman Sourav Meher

My humble audiophile journey started in 2010, when I was in college, where I fell in love with the elements, nuances, and variations of this mesmerizing world. The ability of tiny earphones to recreate amazing sounds made my bad days tolerable and good days better! Now I am a full-time audiophile with a preference for musical tracks, especially vocals and engaging ones. I must admit I am addicted, but not to drugs or alcohol, but to earphones. Come join me as I share my experiences, bad or good, and let’s have some fun!

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