Comparison.
The comparison was done using Maven III with a stock PWA copper cable, stock Azla Xelastec eartips, and SP4000 source, volume matched in every comparison.
Starting with a comparison of UM “family” IEMs.
Maven III vs UM Maven II – both have a very immersive, round-shaped (expanded in all 3 directions) soundstage, big, expanded, natural, without any artificial exaggeration. What makes this interesting is that Maven III has a slightly fuller-bodied tuning, which usually (in other IEMs) gives the sound greater intimacy and a perception of a slight reduction in soundstage expansion. Yet their soundstage expansion is very similar, even with MIII bringing you one row closer to the performer and offering slightly wider L/R stereo separation. Both have a deep, extended textured rumble, with MIII having a bit more weight in sub-bass. Mid-bass perception is slightly different. Both have a more polite mid-bass presence, not as hard-hitting, however, still north of neutral. But along with a more neutral lower midrange of MII and slightly shorter note decay, its bass has a more tactile, snappier precision. In contrast, the fuller body of MIII gives its bass notes a more linear transition, with slightly longer decay, blending in more seamlessly and giving its mid-bass punch a bit more laid-back presentation. In other words, MII bass almost felt like a hybrid between DD/BA, while MIII bass is unapologetically a pure DD performance. MII lower mids are more neutral, while MIII has a more textured, fuller body, not by a lot, but enough to give the sound more delicate musicality. Even with that, MIII mids are still very clear and detailed, just smoother and more natural. The same carries over into the upper mids of MIII, with more texture and smoothness, especially noticeable in vocals. MII upper mids are a bit more neutral, creating a bigger contrast due to a boost in mid-treble. MIII upper mids don’t have much pinna gain, creating a more linear, smoother, seamless upper-frequency transition with a more natural definition of the treble without any extra zing or crisp spiciness. MIII still kept its mid-treble peak to maintain its resolving definition and natural clarity, and, on top of that, even extended the treble with added airiness. From a technical perspective, aside from the already-mentioned soundstage expansion, the neutral tuning of MII offers some advantages in layering and sound separation. However, MIII, with its refined treble tuning and extra airiness, is not too far behind in instrument and vocal separation, ensuring the sound is not congested while providing more body and lower-mid texture.
Maven III vs UM Mest JB – JB tuning picks up from both MII and MIII, then adds its own flavor on top. As usual, starting with a soundstage expansion, JB has a little more depth than width, with slightly more center focus. In contrast, the MIII soundstage is more rounded, with slightly wider L/R separation and more holographic imaging. JB’s sub-bass has a similar level of texture, just a bit scaled down in quantity, while mid-bass has the same characteristics as MIII, with both having a more laid-back presentation and longer note decay. I would say their mids are similar as well, both having more body and texture, although JB mids sound a bit thicker, which could also be due to its (JB) bass being scaled down, bringing the mids more forward along with their smooth texture. When it comes to the treble, JB is more aligned with MII than MIII, with greater presence and a spicier zing. But unlike MII and MIII, JB’s layering and separation is a level below these two because of its extra body and less airiness.
Maven III vs UM Mest MK2 – With so many people who have experienced the Mest MK2, it made sense to use it as a reference for comparison. Here, there will be more differences in tuning and technical performance. MK2 soundstage has a deeper and taller expansion with a focus on the image closer to the center, while MIII has a more evenly expanded, rounded soundstage and more holographic imaging. MK2 sub-bass lift is more pronounced, while their mid-bass quantity and punch are rather similar. I found their lower and upper mids to be similar as well, having more natural texture and resolution. But the mid presentation is different due to MK2’s lifted sub-bass and mid-treble, which creates a more U-shaped signature vs the more balanced tuning of MIII, which brings more balance to the mids and gives them higher clarity and better detail retrieval. And, as already mentioned, MK2 treble is more forward, with greater presence, especially in the lower treble, which can add extra zing to the sound (even more than MII). At the same time, MIII has a clear definition with less metallic spiciness. Both have decent layering and sound separation, but the U-shaped signature of MK2 draws focus away from its mids, while MIII brings more focus to them.
And, some other IEM comparisons.
Maven III vs Forte Ears Mefisto – I had a few people asking me about this comparison, which I found to be interesting. Mefisto soundstage has a more holographic expansion, almost wrapping around and behind you, while MIII has a more natural and less artificial sound expansion; however, it also carries a holographic level of imaging. Their bass extension is quite similar, going deep, with a textured, elevated rumble. Mid-bass quantity is similar as well, but the quality differs: Mefisto’s lower mids are below the neutral level, creating a greater separation and contrast between the bass and the mids, with snappier, shorter decay of mid-bass notes, while MIII mid-bass has a longer decay with a more laid-back presentation. Mids are very different as well, with Mefisto being very lean, colder, and more revealing, while MIII has a fuller body, more texture, and sounds more natural and musical. Treble is quite different as well, with Mefisto having more of a lower-treble presence, giving its sound more crunch and extended upper-treble airiness. At the same time, MIII has a less pronounced lower treble and greater focus on mid-treble definition, with slightly less airiness. The tuning of these IEMs is quite complementary, and I think those who already own Mefisto would consider MIII an addition rather than a replacement or an upgrade.
Maven III vs Vision Ears VE10 – Another comparison I was asked about, which I think made sense to include in this review. However, it turned out to be as complementary as with Mefisto, except going in the opposite direction of tuning. When it comes to the soundstage, VE10 has more center-focused imaging and more depth than width. MIII soundstage is more rounded in shape and more spread out in imaging. With the bass, MIII places more emphasis on sub-bass rumble and less on mid-bass punch, resulting in a slightly more laid-back presentation. In contrast, the VE10 bass has more mid-bass punch and a similar sub-bass extension. VE10 lower mids also have a lot more body and a smoother, more musical tonality, making MIII, with its decent amount of textured body, feel a bit leaner by comparison. VE10 upper mids have noticeably more pinna gain, pushing them forward, while MIII upper mids are more balanced and slightly more neutral in comparison. As a result, you hear more clarity in MIII and more organic, thicker tonality in VE10. With treble, they are not too far off, but due to a thicker tonality and more forward pinna gain, VE10 treble is noticeably less pronounced and a lot smoother, in comparison to MIII, which has a higher definition of mid-treble. Again, a complementary tuning, just like with Mefisto, except that with Mefisto, many of the changes pointed south, toward a leaner tuning direction. In contrast, with VE10, they pointed more north, toward a thicker, more organic direction.
Source Pair up.
In each of these source pair-ups, I was using a stock PWA copper cable and stock Azla Xelastec eartips. Also, with 105dB sensitivity and 8.8ohm impedance, Maven III IEMs are relatively easy to drive.
A&K SP4000 (Advanced DAR on) – balanced sound signature with a natural, detailed, textured tonality, deeper sub-bass rumble, smoother, just slightly pulled back mids, clear, naturally-defined treble, and an expanded, rounded soundstage. Sounds better with a volume a few notches down, which takes the edge off the treble and makes it more natural.
L&P P6 Pro – wider soundstage expansion with a bit more holographic imaging, a bit more clarity in mids relative to SP4k, which has a bit more organic texture.
Hiby RS8ii (Adaptive amp, turbo off) – first observation was to turn off the turbo boost, which, when enabled, made treble a bit too crisp for my liking. With the turbo off, it went back to being less aggressive and more natural. Here, the sub-bass rumble is slightly elevated, while mids are more resolving and more pulled back, creating a mild and tastefully-tuned U-shaped sound sig.
iBasso DX320Max – great pair up synergy with a clear, detailed, natural, balanced tonality, a bit more reference tuned in mids, not as much texture as in other pair-ups, but the signature was more balanced with mids being slightly more forward, bass having a stronger mid-bass punch, and treble having more well-controlled crunch. The soundstage expansion was quite holographic as well. The only thing here was finding the right volume setting, since the 320Max stepped attenuator has 3dB jumps, and I had to go back and forth across different tracks, adjusting the digital (DAC) volume in Android Settings. With the new 340Max and its dedicated digital volume wheel, in addition to the analog one, it will be much easier to handle.
Cayin N6iii/R202 – in R2R dac mode, the sound tuning was closer to SP4k, with deeper sub-bass rumble, natural, detailed, textured, and slightly pulled back mids, and naturally crisp treble. The soundstage was rounded, and imaging was holographic and non-exaggerated. Switching to a 1-bit DAC made the bass a bit less aggressive and the overall tuning more balanced, with a touch smoother treble definition. To my surprise, I actually preferred 1-bit DAC mode in this pair-up.
NiPO A100 – also, similar to SP4k, I hear a deeper, more elevated sub-bass rumble, smoother, textured, more organic mids, and naturally crisp treble. But mids were pulled back in their presentation, more out of your head, creating a more U-shaped, less balanced sound signature. Also, to my surprise, I wasn’t too crazy about this particular pair-up.
A&K SP4k w/Brise Audio WATA – by far the best pair-up synergy I have heard with MIII. The soundstage expansion was on a holographic level, stretching to the max in all 3 directions without exaggeration or artificiality, and also exhibited holographic imaging. The sound signature is closer to balanced while still mildly U-shaped, with a deeper, textured sub-bass rumble; more rounded mid-bass with well-controlled note decay; natural, textured, detailed mids with a slightly pulled-back presentation; and naturally crisp, well-defined, non-fatiguing treble with extra airiness.
Conclusion.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I received Maven III, or whether it would be an upgrade, a side-grade, or a fine-tuned version of Maven II. It always makes you wonder how the next generation of a popular release will turn out, what the changes are, how drastic they are, and whether it will be an upgrade or a downgrade. After spending a few weeks with it, I can say with certainty that I found Maven III to be a finetuned version of their Maven II. It feels like UM revisited every aspect of Maven II sound tuning and adjusted it in a more natural, musical direction without losing the original hi-res essence that made Maven II so popular. Also, it almost felt like the Maven III tuning took a slight turn toward Mest’s direction, which I found to be quite satisfying!
The sound signature is still well-balanced, with a more linear tuning across the entire frequency range, spanning from a deeper sub-bass rumble, through a bit relaxed, yet still precise mid-bass punch, a bit north of neutral lower mids, clear, detailed, balanced upper mids without too much forward emphasis, and well-defined, naturally resolving and crisp mid-treble with airier extension. To me, it hit all the right spots, especially during extended listening sessions, and with a wider variety of music. Plus, it has a solid Titanium build and a very comfortable fit. And it still offers many premium accessories, such as the new PWA copper cable, the unique Dignis storage case, and the AZLA Xelastec eartips, making it a great value in today’s mega-kilobuck world of rising prices.
