When it comes to in-ear monitors, MEE audio isn’t a stranger to high-quality solutions. We were fortunate enough to collaborate with one of our favorite IEM creators and given a pair of their MEE audio M6 Pro (2nd generation) to write a fair and honest review today, and for this price-point, we were ecstatic to get going on using them and writing down our thoughts for you. At first use, we were very impressed and quite honestly excited to know a pair IEM’s are out there for this price-point that provide such high-quality, especially the audio quality as well as noise isolation capabilities, not only for musicians and performers on stage, but those who want a solution better than those over-marketed or off-brand names you see on popular retail stores around the net. Let’s get into the details.
Features and specs of the M6 Pro 2nd generation
- 2nd generation of their highly-rated M6 Pro
- Universal Fit in-ear monitors
- Designed for use on or off stage
- Detachable cables
- Replaceable ear tips
- Over-the-ear fit with memory wire
- Comes with replaceable headset cable to control music\mic
- Built-in microphone (on the control center replacement cable inline)
- Comes with carrying case, 12 ear tips, and extra cable
- Driver: 10mm moving coil (dynamic) with 5µm diaphragm
- Frequency response: 20 Hz to 20 kHz
- Impedance: 16 Ohms at 1K
- Sensitivity: 100 plus minus 3 (1mW at 1kHz)
- Max input power: 30 mW
- Water resistance: IPX5
- Cable length: 51″
- Connector: 3.5 mm (comes with 1/4″ in adapter)
Overall build quality of the M6 Pro
For one, their original M6 Pro were one of Amazon’s top-selling monitors and was an overall hit with performers, especially when it comes to those looking for an affordable yet high-quality pair of IEMs. So what’s new with the 2nd generation of their highly rated in-ear monitors? Only a few tweaks to make it even more solid than the previous generation was. The newest model will now include customization with their new unique engraved metal faceplates — we’re pretty sure this is the first time a universal in-ear monitor has ever offered this. The 2nd generation also, and most importantly, offers even better sound and build quality than their original 1st generation.
After unboxing the M6 Pro 2nd gen., we were quite happy to see how many replacement parts we had at our finger tips. Let alone with a nice and sturdy carrying case, we feel we’re covered in all aspects here when it comes to ‘build satisfaction’. The monitors themselves are sturdy and won’t break on you easy — we tested this by dropping them a few times (yes, this will probably happen not only on stage but if you just wear them around town for leisure listening), wearing them around the gym in our pockets, thrown into our cars glove-box (you definitely shouldn’t do this, but as testers we wanted to give them a good beating to see how the held up), and even pressed on them relatively sternly to see how the casing around the monitors stood up. All was well and we didn’t experience any damage, and the monitors don’t scratch easy, either (we took a key and tried to scratch them but to no avail — there’s a good amount of coating on their plastic casing).
Available in both smoke and clear colors, what’s great about the build here is that they’re also sweat protective — perfect for working out and exercising, and of course, being on stage under all of those bright and warm lights. It’s IPX5 so don’t go wearing these in the water please, but that rating alone can help with smaller splashes or of course, sweat (wipe them off after). We wore them while we played some guitar and also went for a good run on the treadmill and sweat quite a bit to see how they were afterwards and were completely fine. A lot of our ‘in-ear headphones’ and ‘earbuds’ have just straight up stopped working and we think it was because of water damage. They were pretty cheap, though.
Sound quality of the MEE audio M6 Pro in-ear monitors
After using random, cheap in-ear headphones at the gym for so long (we break them literally every other month — don’t ask), using these there was a whole different experience. Playing some of our favorite work out tunes, we can actually hear (or perhaps just notice) the breaths of the singer and felt an extremely even and accurate frequency distribution range with no clutter in any particular (especially treble and bass, which we’ve experienced a lot with this knockoff brand names being sold on Amazon nowadays). Remember, these are ‘monitors’ — they’re specifically made for musicians, in particular on stage (doesn’t have to be limited to this, of course), and those who use these for the intended setting need a clear and concise mix to accurately gauge and engineer the sound they’re portraying to their audience. It’s also important to have the clearest audio (and isolated sound, which we’ll talk next) to hear themselves sing or play instruments alongside a band or instrumentals in the background.
Combined with the overall sound quality, let’s talk noise-isolation, since the M6 Pro 2nd generation do have that phrase in their title. First of all, the ear tips we noticed resemble some ear plugs we use frequently at shows (we have tinnitus in our right ear, don’t forget to be careful with your ears, especially with in-ear products). Why is this important? Well, it makes us realize, and especially when wearing these without sound playing yet, they actually act as ear plugs to drown out the surrounding sound from around you. This helps with isolating the audio you have playing, since it’ll be the only thing your ears are focusing on, with the rest of the world (or stage’s) drowned out. This was particularly noticeable when we wore these at the gym — we could barely hear the treadmill or others talking about their everyday lives next to us. We also noticed this when we walked downstairs to fill our coffee back up and our significant other tried to talk to us — we were about 2 ft. away and had to take the monitors out in order to hear what she was saying.
We also used the special ‘Comply T-Series memory foam eartips’ (those black tips you see in the image) to get a feel of those and we definitely noticed a significant different in not only fit (comfortable, yes) but sound as well (in our opinion, they were slightly better at isolating sound when we compared). They’re a lot more ‘stiff’ than the normal rubberized ear tips but that’s for a reason. They stay in your ears very well and when we pressed them with our fingers we noticed they weren’t necessarily ‘squishy’ but would stay in the position we pressed them into, sort of like your memory foam pillows and beds. This is a great feature and although they only come with one set of these, we recommend them for a better feel. If not, you can always save them for later or when your mood calls for them. You can also purchase them separately if you lose the pair it comes with, or perhaps want to use them for other IEMs you have.
Aside from the ear tips however, the real sound quality and sound isolation come from these little monitor’s internal build and personalities. The drivers in particular are a lot more advanced than your standard ‘earbud’ here. To explain it technically, there’s an ultra-thin 5µm diaphragm and aluminum voice coil which helps with movement precision (it’s a single moving coil driver. If you a step up in this regard, their M7 Pro has a dual-driver hybrid with a literal moving woofer and tweeter but that’s about 3x the price). This aided precision ultimately creates for a better delivery and balance with dynamic audio among the frequency range (20 to 20 kHz). Listening to these for a long amount of time had us hooked — you can tell these have a special internal build right when you turn them on.
Additional standout features of the M6 Pro 2nd gen.
A big gripe we always have with in-ear monitors are their ability to stay in place. Especially if you’re a performer on stage like us, we’re sure you’ve experienced at least one mishap where a monitor popped out of an ear (we lost count). This is solved by MEE audio not only with some great ear tips (as well as the Comply tips previously spoken about) but also a locked-in fit with memory wire. Using this was very easy to use. What this “memory wire” means is that the very end of the cable (near the in-ear monitor — we have a picture in the gallery above if you can see it bent, as well as more below in the gallery), there’s a thicker plastic coating which bends and molds as you wish, not moving unless with a lot of force. This acts as a sort of ‘mold’ around your ear once you’re able to get the monitors in place and set them as you prefer — we love this feature even if you aren’t performing but perhaps exercising at the gym (they act like those plastic ‘fins’ we see on some ‘exercise in-ear headphones and earbuds’ but are less agitating and aren’t as obvious since they rest behind your ear inconspicuously, and are clear if you grab the color we have). They also have a useful M6 pro fit video here you can watch for help (it did take us a few minutes to figure it out ourselves, but was worth learning and we got it down pretty quickly).
When it comes to longevity, the fact that MEE audio’s M6 Pro 2nd gen. not only comes with the most ear tips we’ve ever seen helps tremendously (12 to be exact — 6 sets of ear tips, as well 2 shirt clips and 2 foam eartips) as well as replacement cables (one with a control center to control mic, remote and volume and the other is a strict cable-only for the studio). This is great for being able to replace the smaller parts of the M6 Pro in case a section breaks (just take care of the actual monitors since those are the only technically ‘irreplaceable’ part of these).
The final word on the MEE audio M6 Pro in-ear monitors
When you see the term ‘in-ear monitor’, that ‘monitor’ word gives you an indication of what they’re meant for — high quality audio with zero embellishment in any of the three main frequencies to properly gauge the mix of your audio you’re portraying to an audience. Comparing these things to any type of ‘in-ear headphone’ or ‘earbuds’ isn’t going to work. They’re a lot different, and although we feel IEM’s are superior to earbuds, it may not be your thing (or not always, that is). Made for musicians specifically, these work off stage of course, and are meant for those who don’t want ‘extra bass’ or even ‘extra treble’ in their music, TV shows or movies when used on the side. If you do like some bass thumping, that’s fine, and we feel the M6 Pro still offers a deep sound especially on the low-end, but it will all come down to personal preference.
We also love the longevity these IEM’s will bring, especially because of the numerous replacement parts you have at hand. If anything, you can even purchase the smaller parts separately if you ever need to in the future (yes, everything from the carrying case, all the way down to the ear tips and connecting cables). On top of that, MEE audio has a lifetime replacement and can even give you a new pair at half the price if you damage or lose them at a venue (check their site for more info here and what it actually entails).
Of course, in-ear monitors go into the thousands of dollars range if you want to get professional. These of course don’t compare to any of those higher-end professional monitors considering they’re $50 retail (this brand in particular has IEM’s all across these ranges). For example, their M7 Pro as we had stated previously has a more complex internal build but a few more extra features that may be attractive to you — such as a better quality cables, a few extra Comply tips, better internal engine, and higher quality connector for cables, albeit for about $150 retail.
Ultimately, we love the MEE audio M6 Pro 2nd generation for those who want an affordable pair of on-stage in-ear monitors with extremely clear sound, or perhaps those who want to take the step up from standard earbuds and actually hear their sound for what it is without the dinky internal drivers. It may even be a gateway for those looking into IEM’s for the first time to see what they’re all about.
MEE audio M6 Pro In-Ear Monitors Image Gallery
