Sound Impressions
Before jumping into what Mefisto sounds like, let me set the scene for how I tested these. All my listening was done with a Sony WM1Z Walkman loaded with FLAC files – both standard CD quality and high-res stuff – to make sure I was getting the cleanest possible sound.
I also had some fun with Sony’s fancy DMP-1Z player, but most of what I’m about to tell you comes from the WM1Z sessions using the stock cable. Surprisingly, that ‘basic’ Eletech cable turned out to be one of my favorite pairings, even though I had some seriously premium cables from Eletech and PW Audio sitting right there.
Now, about burn-in – I know this topic gets people heated, but I definitely noticed Mefisto changing over its first 100 hours. The bass got more present and textured, while some rough edges in the upper treble pretty much vanished.
The overall sound felt more balanced afterward, though I don’t think these changes would completely flip your opinion if you weren’t feeling the general tuning from day one. Think of it as polish rather than a complete makeover.
Tonal balance and character
Mefisto rocks what I’d call a classy U-shaped sound – a gentle boost in the bass and a subtle lift in the mid-to-upper treble, with vocals and midrange staying nicely neutral without ever disappearing.
This isn’t one of those aggressive V-shaped tunings that hits you over the head with impact while forgetting about the finer details. Instead, it’s a thoughtful balance that keeps music sounding natural while still giving you that energy and sparkle that makes songs feel alive.
The bass here really caught my attention, and it’s worth diving into because these dual dynamic drivers don’t mess around. But here’s the thing – this isn’t a basshead IEM despite having excellent low-end capability. The bass is tight, quick, punchy, and has real weight when the music calls for it, but it never takes over or gets sloppy.
When you’re listening to all those different drums thundering across Stepping – Isise by Babatunde Olatunji, each percussion instrument keeps its own personality and timing. You can hear the different textures clearly, feel the varying impact of hands hitting drumskins with amazing precision.
The bass impact spreads pretty evenly between the deep sub-bass and the punchier mid-bass, creating that satisfying sense of air movement you can actually feel in the low registers without losing the detail needed for complex rhythmic parts.
This controlled approach becomes even more obvious with electronic music. Intense by Armin Van Buuren opens with a clean, clear, and weighty synth sequence that could easily overwhelm lesser earphones, but Mefisto keeps its cool perfectly. When that double bass-drop hits, it delivers the deep, impactful response you’re craving, complete with a beautifully decaying sub-bass rumble that adds real physicality to the experience.
The electronic bass hits throughout stay clean, punchy, and delightfully bouncy, yet tight with excellent decay that prevents any muddiness from creeping into the midrange.
Midrange presentation and vocal performance
The midrange is where some of Mefisto’s most interesting choices shine through. The lower mids sit on the leaner side – not scooped out completely, but not boosted to the point where they add warmth and fullness to instruments and vocals. This tuning choice really helps with overall clarity and prevents any bleeding from the upper bass into the midrange, keeping that crucial separation that lets each element breathe properly.
Male vocals don’t necessarily benefit from this approach, so I find myself drawn more to female vocal performances with Mefisto. Eva Cassidy’s emotionally-charged delivery in Songbird becomes absolutely captivating – her voice comes through honey smooth and creates a beautiful contrast against those deep bass guitar strums. The detail in Eva’s vocal inflections is so precise it feels like she’s performing right there in front of you.
IEMs with boosted upper midrange often struggle with harshness when Eva belts out that climactic “I will never be cold” but thankfully Mefisto is not one of those IEMs, and therefore handles this energy effortlessly, staying engaging without becoming tiring.
Male vocals, while still excellent, show off Mefisto’s lighter lower midrange tuning more clearly. Neil Diamond’s distinctive voice in Hello Again lacks some of the chest resonance I’ve heard with other earphones, though there’s still plenty of body to make his delivery engaging and emotionally connecting. James Blake’s performance in Limit To Your Love is another example shows that Mefisto can still deliver good range when it’s actually in the recording – it just doesn’t artificially pump it up.
Mefisto’s midrange really shows off with complex vocal arrangements. Dear Irony by Whitehorse presents a fascinating challenge with its beautiful harmony between Melissa McClelland and Luke Doucet. This blend can be tricky to get right, but Mefisto manages to present them as clearly separate voices while maintaining their harmonic unity – a technical achievement that also shows off the earphone’s sophisticated approach to separation and imaging.
Beyond vocals, Mefisto’s timbre and realism with real instreuments is a slam dunk. Rarely have I heard guitar strums, electric guitars, piano strikes, cymbals and even kick drum overtones sounding so clear, dimensional and satisfying. Crucially, Mefisto doesn’t over-elaborate; every instrument has its place in the mix, and rarely sounds ‘off’ unless it’s off in the recording. There’s also no stridency or shrillness anywhere, and while Mefisto can take me right up to the tolerance line with some brassy recordings, it never crosses it.
Treble extension and character
The treble region went through the biggest change during burn-in, with any hint of initial roughness disappearing after those first 100 hours. What’s left is a presentation that might not be as sharp or biting as some people prefer, but this restraint turns out to be one of Mefisto’s biggest strengths for long listening sessions.
This more polite treble approach doesn’t sacrifice sparkle, air, or extension – it’s all there, just presented without that fatigue-inducing bite that can make extended listening sessions uncomfortable.
Love Bites (pun fully intended) by Def Leppard serves as my torture test for upper midrange and treble peaks, and Mefisto passes with flying colours. Cymbal crashes that often sound compressed and harsh through lesser earphones stayed energetic and crisp while being completely non-fatiguing, even when I pushed them to uncomfortable volumes during testing.
There’s an added texture in the treble that some might find unnatural, and it occasionally highlights issues with certain female vocal recordings, but I find this texture adds interest and reveals elements I’d never focused on before.
The key here is that this detail retrieval never goes into microscopic territory that can make less-than-perfect recordings unlistenable – a balance that shows off Mefisto’s philosophy of using technical skill to enhance musical enjoyment rather than turning everything into an analytical exercise.
Technical performance
Mefisto’s technical capabilities show up most clearly not through obvious showboating, but through how seamlessly they integrate into the musical experience. The soundstage stretches impressively left and right with good depth and height – not the biggest I’ve encountered, but generously sized and natural feeling.
This isn’t an intimate or cramped presentation; when The Louvre by Lorde unfolds, the stage depth becomes particularly impressive, creating an oval-shaped soundscape that extends well beyond the confines of your head.
Resolution reaches truly excellent levels, picking up detail without becoming obsessively analytical. Every element in complex arrangements like Alone by BEYRIES stays easily distinguishable even when drums, strings, vocals, cymbals, and hi-hats all compete for attention during the crescendo. Mefisto maintains a tight grip on such busy passages while preserving the individual character of each instrument.
Imaging precision proved consistently top-tier throughout my testing. Mountains by Hans Zimmer provides an excellent showcase for dynamic swings and spatial placement; the ticking clock effect at the opening sits precisely positioned, and when the big reveal hits at the two-minute mark, every element, from the rumbling bass to the soaring strings, occupies its designated space with pinpoint accuracy.
Perhaps most impressively, Mefisto shows remarkable pace and timing control. Whether following the accelerating drum patterns in Olatunja’s percussion work or keeping pace with the tempo changes in Intense, there’s never a sense of the drivers struggling to keep up.
This rhythmic coherence extends to complex guitar work as well; Nils Lofgren’s intricate fretwork in Keith Don’t Go showcases guitar timbre and detail that’s absolutely top-tier, with every texture from steel strings to wooden body taps rendered with remarkable realism.
Genre versatility and musical pairing
After extensive listening across all kinds of musical styles, Mefisto emerges as that rarest of achievements: a true all-rounder that excels across genres without obvious bias toward any particular style.
Classical works like Max Richter’s recomposed version of Winter 1 by Vivaldi benefit from the natural string reproduction and controlled treble, while electronic productions leverage the tight, impactful bass response and excellent separation. Rock and pop recordings showcase the fatigue-free energy delivery that makes extended listening sessions genuinely enjoyable.
Mefisto’s forgiving nature with imperfect recordings deserves special mention. Breathe by Two Steps From Hell, for example, features one of the genre’s most emotionally powerful vocal performances hampered by less-than-ideal recording quality. While the grain in Merethe Soltvedt’s ethereal vocals remains audible, Mefisto’s presentation of the sweeping strings, electronic effects, and commanding bass response makes it easy to focus on the musical grandeur rather than mixing limitations.
This versatility extends to complex, genre-blending material as well. Peppers by Lana Del Rey could easily become an avant-garde mess with the wrong IEMs, but Mefisto transforms it into a stylistic masterpiece, maintaining vocal clarity while organising the surrounding auditory chaos into coherent, followable layers.
Target audience and recommendations
Mefisto will most appeal to listeners seeking a sophisticated, fatigue-free presentation that puts musical enjoyment over analytical dissection. This is an earphone for those who value refinement over risk-taking, and technical competence over obvious specialisation. Long-term listening comfort combined with genuine technical excellence makes it ideal for music lovers who listen for hours rather than minutes.
However, those seeking maximum bass impact, ultra-sharp treble definition, or an obviously colored presentation that dramatically transforms their music might find Mefisto too reserved for their tastes. Similarly, listeners who prefer an intimate, close-quarters presentation may find the generous soundstage too expansive for their preferences.
Mefisto succeeds because it understands that the best technical performance serves the music, not the other way around. It’s a dynamic performer that can swing between relaxed and energetic as the music demands, delivering big doses of energy with minimal fatigue. For those seeking an almost perfect all-rounder capable of making any genre enjoyable at the very highest level, Mefisto deserves serious consideration.
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