Disclaimer:The UM Maverick was on loan from a friend and UM wasn’t contacted about this review in any way. I myself reviewed the custom UM Maestro a few months ago and it still is one of my very best ciems.This is Berkhan’s second review on Headfonia, he wrote about the 64Ears Adel a few weeks ago.
Maverick
The Maverick is somewhat different from the IEM’s that we’re accustomed to, so I’ll try to explain that as much as I can.I’ve never listened to such a hybrid IEM before, so it was a unique experiment for me. As you can see, the interesting part lies within the drivers that work for low frequencies but more on that shortly.
This time you’ll read my impressions about one of UM’s Japan exclusive models, the Maverick.
These specially tuned models are made for Japan and as far as I know, they’re particularly tuned for Anime types of music. In reality, Maverick is a differently tuned Merlin, just like the Mason, which is retuned and shaped from the Mentor. You have to order these from Japan. So they’re not amazingly different from the international models but they have slightly different configurations.
Maverick has an interesting configuration.
PACKAGE, DESIGN and BUILD
The nozzle is well built and there are 4 bores in it if you look carefully. It’s all metal and the IEM’s fit neatly inside. I really liked the sleek case, because sometimes I face questions like “is that a cosmetic material?” for my case which belongs to Angie’s. The carrying case is also robust and stylish. Jealousy is real I suppose. This one looks more serious and elegant than my shiny red JH Angie case.
UM usually has good reputation with these type of things anyway.I don’t think one can’t be satisfied with the package, build or design in any way. So there’s no need to talk about the package excessively.
The package has many things covered. It has the silicon and foam tips, 4 pairs for each, which is quite rich. As usual there’s a cleaning tool and you also get a cleaning wipe, an airplane adapter and a ¼ jack converter.
The Maverick’s design is mostly pure, elegant, sleek and aesthetic. It’s not amazing like a metal or some other elements that certain companies use but it still looks and feels beautiful. Moreover, you can clearly feel the build quality when you use it.
FIT
Especially with the foam tips that are supplied the fit is really good and isolation is also excellent.Fortunately, they have a convenient shape on the inner part of the earpieces, so they tightly seal and I didn’t face problems with these. The shells are smooth and rounded so there are no sharp points to make you uncomfortable. For comparison; despite being smaller, K10’s were much worse for me because of the short nozzles. The length of the nozzles are just right with the Maverick in my opinion.
Bigger than Noble universal’s or the Miracle universal for instance. So people with small ears can face some trouble. In addition, as I mentioned above, the Maverick has 1 dynamic driver each side which makes it a little bigger.These kind of universal’s are always susceptible to fit problems. Therefore, I don’t think these will fit every type of ear easily, especially small ears.
So in spite of being a large IEM, the fit is excellent with Maverick in my case.
The cable is the one we’re used to from Westone and Earsonics etc. Memory wire is also not surprising, just like I expected. It’s a classic: light, convenient and comfortable.
SOUND IMPRESSIONS
The Maverick is not an easy IEM to describe. First of all I have to say it’s definitely not a balanced or a reference type of sound andI’ll try to explain where the imbalance lies.
Thankfully, my friend gave me unlimited time with these to write accurate sound impressions. You have to get used to the presentation and that usually takes about a week.The Maverick is transparent, a little bright, revealing, detailed and somewhat a close sounding IEM. It has a different presentation and it’s important to give yourself some time to get familiar with it.
Reminder: My critiques are based on this price range, which is around $1300 USD for this particular pair.
FREQUENCY PERFORMANCE
You would think that given the 1 BA + 1 Dynamic driver setup for lows, the Maverick is a bass monster but that is not the case. In fact, because of the little laid back midbass and the situation with treble which I’m going to describe, you can even feel that the Maverick is somewhat a thinner IEM with certain recordings.
In addition, if the Maverick gave too much midbass, it would become too muddy and too intimate, so I’m glad it gives an open and roomy feeling with low frequencies. Midbass is a little trimmed down, which gives it a relaxed feeling making the IEM sounding close to you. As a result the midbass is satisfying: it’s not too deficient, it’s just that the Maverick can go very deep so the midbass is a little shaded.As usual, I’m going to start with the lows. I think the Maverick goes for more subbass rather than midbass.