MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 High Fidelity Audiophile In-Ear Headphones Review
Editor rating
4.3/5 on February 18, 2017 Reviewed by: Peter Alexander
PROS
- Great overall tonal balance
- Detailed sound
- Spacious sound signature
- Durable and comfortable
- Excellent cable
CONS
- Not suitable for all music genres
VERDICT
While the stellar build quality is evident at first sight, it can take some time before you begin to appreciate the sound of these headphones. They’re not the right choice for those who seek fun over accuracy. If that doesn’t sound like you, you’re in for a treat. The P1 deliver fantastic comfort, excellent audio performance, and amazing value, showing that MEE Audio has what it takes to compete with the big boys.
The MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 are hardly the first product from this still relatively unknown manufacturer of audio gear. In fact, MEE has been around since 2005, when they were founded as Meeelectronics. In 2009, the company changed their focus, and the rest is history. Over the years, MEE Audio has release a large number of budget-friendly products, most of which received a lot of praise from experienced audiophiles and regular users alike. Still, MEE’s focus on affordability was preventing to fully show what they are capable of—until now. The P1 are a true game-changer because they are the first pair of headphones from MEE that makes absolutely no compromises in any regard. Let’s take a look at what makes these high-end headphones different from less expensive products from MEE Audio.
Build and Design
The MEE Pinnacle P1 ship in a relatively large retail box that protects them from damage during shipping. Inside the box are the headphones themselves and a sizable selection of replaceable eartips. Some versions ship with Comply form eartips, which are our personal favorites. Unlike silicone eartips, form eartips provide much better seal, and they fit even people with weirdly shaped ear canals.
Even though the headphones are made from metal, they are so light that you can easily forget that you’re wearing them. The beautifully polished, smooth housing is composed of three pieces: a stainless nozzle and 2 polished zinc alloy halves that together form the main chamber.
The same level of quality extends to the two cables included with the headphones. Both consists of 4 separate conductors twisted together for extra durability and resistance to microphonics. The cables terminate in a sturdy right-angle audio jack, which is slim enough to be used with a smartphone in a thick case.
One cable that comes with the headphones has a single push button control, allowing you to play/pause your music, skip tracks, and activate your voice assistant of choice.
Sound Quality
MEE use their proprietary 10mm moving coil dynamic driver with 50-ohm impedance together with something they call acoustic diffuser. This diffuser uses a series of chambers to control the high-frequency sound waves. As one would expect from MEE Audio and their flagship pair of headphones, the sound is mesmerizingly clear.
These headphones present your music the way it was intended to be enjoyed, which means that you’ll be able to hear both the good and the bad parts. Mind you, this neutrality and clarity take some time getting used to. At first, many listeners think that the headphones sound rather lifeless, but most soon start to appreciate all the little nuances revealed to them.
Lower frequencies are perhaps the best example of what we’re talking about. They are well-controlled, and the bass shows up only when the track calls for it. When it does, it’s never bloated nor exaggerated. Unfortunately, some producers—particularly making EDM and hip-hop—count on this exaggeration and mix their music accordingly. As such, the headphones don’t always portray certain albums as best as they could.
Typical headphones in this price range are often plagued with subdued mids, but this is not the case with the P1 from MEE Audio. Mids are clear, and so is the fantastic treble, which strikes a perfect balance between clarity and smoothness.
What’s in the Box?
Included with these headphones are two high-fidelity audio cables (one with an in-line microphone and the other cable without one), a premium leather carrying case, 6 pair of silicone eartips, a shirt clip, and a manual.
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