In Alexandre Dumas 's masterpiece "The Count of Monte Cristo", the protagonist Edmund was framed and imprisoned in a black prison for fourteen years, but Edmund did not give up his yearning for freedom. After learning all kinds of knowledge from the priest in the bottomless black prison, he finally overcame the cold and cruel desperation, found a chance to escape from the prison, and after obtaining the treasure, he changed his name to the Count of Monte Cristo and began his revenge plan to punish the evildoers who framed him.
It can be said that in the whole story of The Count of Monte Cristo, what left the deepest impression on me was the scene where Edmond was unjustly imprisoned. Alexandre Dumas made the powerless struggle tangible, but Edmund did not give up the hope of life. His desire for freedom burned in his chest like a flame, finally breaking the cold metal cage and releasing the unruly soul in his chest. Just like the Maven Pro recently launched by UM, in the cold metal shell, there are warm emotions like fire, burning with eye-catching brightness and temperature.
UM Maven Pro is the second generation product of the UM titanium series. This series should be regarded as one of the most high-end series of the UM family. It is a proper flagship-level million-yuan plug. As the flagship series, UM Maven Pro has an unusual packaging design. Although from the appearance, Maven Pro The Pro's packaging box is a simple small blue square box. It does not over-package in a dazzling way, but when you open the box, you will find the "little thought" in it: the headphone body is designed on the upper layer of the box, which can be seen when you open the lid, while all the accessories are arranged on the lower layer of the box. UM has designed the accessories into a small drawer that can be pulled open from the outside. After opening, you will see the accessories. This kind of design regulates each area very well, so that there is no need to open various paper bubbles when accessing and storing, which is convenient and clear at a glance. This kind of packaging design seems simple and ordinary, but in fact it is "big and transformed" and returns to nature.
In terms of accessories, UM Maven Pro comes with a black Italian vegetable-tanned cowhide storage box, three pairs of AZLA earmuffs, three pairs of UM's own silicone earmuffs and two conversion heads. The number of accessories is not large but very fine. Especially the black Italian vegetable tanned cowhide storage box. The classic Italian tanned leather pattern and the "ice crack" spliced into the metal set off each other, creating a very elegant temperament. Just like an Italian man in a suit and tie, he has a very noble and elegant style. The soft vegetable-tanned cowhide leather box is warm and soft to the touch, and you will know it is extraordinary as soon as you put it on.
is the flagship product of UM. Needless to say, their top-notch metal private molding technology must be used. In terms of appearance, the color of Maven Pro alone is very attractive to me. The clear sapphire blue is like a blue wave crawling on the titanium casing. The sparkling paint surface reflects like ripples on the water. Combined with the rough and powerful shape of Maven Pro, Maven Pro looks great. Pro exudes a low-key yet eye-catching contradictory aesthetic. The sapphire blue that symbolizes calmness is intertwined with the metal that represents hardness, creating an "ascetic" aesthetic.
Speaking of the UM Maven Pro shell, we have to mention the metal private mold technology. Customized private mold technology has indeed become very popular today in 2022. There are already many headphones on the market that can be customized with private molds. But if you add the word metal, it's completely different. There are only a handful of manufacturers on the market that can make metal private-mold headphones. This is because metal 3D printing technology has very high requirements for precision and craftsmanship, and the construction period is extremely long. UM advertises that each Maven Pro titanium casing must undergo 12 processes and 12 hours of processing, and can only produce 12 casings per week, and the scrap rate is extremely high. It can be seen from this that the effort and time spent in manufacturing each Maven Pro is not on the same level as commercially available products, which also contributes to the high-end value of Maven Pro.
The reason why UM is so fond of titanium instead of ordinary resin materials is because titanium has extremely low sound absorption and extremely high sound insulation. These two characteristics of titanium can reduce the interference of the shell material on the sound to a considerable extent, and reduce the mutual interference between multiple units in the shell, making the sound purer and clearer.
As for the unit configuration, Maven Pro is naturally not stingy as a top-level earplug. The luxurious configuration of ten moving irons and dual electrostatics is considered the first echelon even if you look at the entire hifi circle. Moreover, due to the use of two electrostatic units, the high-frequency extension of Maven Pro reaches an astonishing 70KHZ. Such an exaggerated frequency response range makes me have great expectations for its high-frequency performance.
Seeing such a cool color and unusually rough shape, visitors would think that the sound of Maven Pro would be a sufficiently "scientific" restoration stopper. If you really think so, you would be completely wrong. Not only is the sound of Maven Pro not scientific at all, but it is not "cold and stiff" at all. Instead, it is extremely warm and real, with a very strong muscle and bone structure and a fiery soul. The loose and thick atmosphere has a considerable sense of envelopment. The low frequency with both quality and quantity brings no delay in rebound speed and bottomless diving depth. Coupled with the mid-range vocals with excellent density and the high-frequency performance that is full of details but not sharp, Maven Pro made my eyes shine almost as soon as I turned on the sound. I have to say that in terms of training on moving irons, UM has really strong foundation. With this mellow and natural sound, if I hadn't been told it was a multi-unit, I would have mistakenly thought it was a "black technology" dynamic plug.
The reason why I say this is because the sound of Maven Pro is really very natural and durable. The atmosphere that can surround people makes me feel really full of circles. But the reason why I add the word "black technology" is because the resolution and density brought by ten moving irons and two electrostatics are very arrogant. When these two qualities overlap, it will give you a feeling of being overwhelmed. That is to say, if you think this is a single moving coil flagship, then its density analysis will be exaggerated to the point that you cannot believe it; and if you admit that this is a multi-unit, then its timbre will be so harmonious and natural that it will make you applaud.
This level of earplugs naturally needs to be paired with a flagship-level front-end. With its excellent quality and unparalleled potential, Kaiyin N8II has naturally become a solid backing for Maven Pro. With the strong quality support of Kaiyin N8II, Maven Pro is almost crazy about the restoration and description of sound details. Overlapping layers of fine brushwork are repeatedly outlined in every detail. Every bit of paint flowing from the brush will spread the dense colors layer by layer on the oil painting paper, stacking them like a spread into a gradient of real colors. What finally settles on the painting paper is the most tactile. The most real and intense strokes and emotions are divided into bits and pieces. The solidified acrylic paint gives this oil painting a sense of reality that seems to be within reach. The images, sounds, and details are gorgeous and intense, and full of affection.
Maven Pro's low-frequency performance is undoubtedly outstanding. Just like Edmund in "The Count of Monte Cristo" has an extremely unruly soul, Maven Pro's low-frequency also burns with this flavor-filled temperature. The warm and thick low-frequency is wrapped with rich emotional colors and embellishes it with extremely outstanding appeal. Every time the low frequencies in the music roar out, Maven Pro's low frequencies can give people a sense of substitution and are delicate enough. Taking drum sounds as an example, the performance of Maven Pro allows you to experience the process of low frequency being transmitted from the drum head. The dense low frequency has enough impact and the feeling of being eliminated in the air, restoring an extremely excellent flavor. The amazing thing is that the low frequency of Maven Pro is quite measured, but the low frequency of Maven Pro does not overwhelm other parts of the sound. Maven Pro gives people a layered feeling, and grasps the purity of low frequency and the scale of atmosphere rendering to a very measured level.
Headphones in recent years have paid great attention to "science" and adopted a very cautious attitude when it comes to mid-frequency taste. But as a tens of thousands-yuan flagship plug, Maven Pro would be very disappointing if it didn’t have its own tuning style. I have to say that UM has always had its own understanding of the taste of human voice. The mid-range vocal taste of their headphones is generally very "moist", and the same is naturally true for Maven Pro. Maven Pro's vocals have a very good balance. Not only can they achieve the thickness and fleshiness required by popular male voices, but they can also well express the immortality and elegance required by female voices. This is relatively rare. In previous reviews, I have always said that it is not easy for earplugs to achieve the immortality and elegance of female voices while making a certain thickness, and Maven Pro obviously combines the fleshy thickness required by male voices and the elegant feeling of female voices. Such vocal performance is difficult to achieve, and the performance of Maven Pro is worthy of its flagship positioning.
To be honest, I was a little confused when I first heard the high frequency and vertical sound field of Maven Pro. I originally saw that Maven Pro is equipped with two electrostatic units, and the advertised frequency response range reaches 70KHZ. I thought that the high frequency of Maven Pro would be very precise and towering into the sky, and the vertical sound field should also have an extremely wide extension. But the actual situation is somewhat different. The high frequency of Maven Pro is indeed beautiful, but it does not have a very special sense of lines and brightness. It seems to be somewhat different from the rumored static electricity flavor high frequency.
But after listening carefully for a few days, I gradually felt relieved. In this plug-in frame, the role of static electricity is mainly to modify and polish, rather than to bring about such sharp and cool lines. The high frequency of Maven Pro is natural and listenable. It is the kind of style that does not seem amazing when you first listen to it, but you will have endless aftertaste when you listen carefully. In the performance of strings or female voices, Maven Pro's high frequency has enough resolution and a very palatable flavor. It has enough high frequency expressiveness, making a choice between listening resistance and slender lines, and maintaining enough omnivorousness; as for the vertical sound field, Maven Pro The Pro does not create an exaggerated sound field that sounds powerful at first glance, but does not sound very good in detail. The sound field of Maven Pro has a very real sense of space, and all the details are arranged in an orderly manner in the sound field, either strong or weak, and clearly arranged. Even in the face of large-scale instrumental music in larger scenes, it can still perform very well. And I have to say that plugs like Maven Pro have a soul in describing instrumental music. They can trigger my imagination about music and give me the urge to use words to describe the scenes I hear. There are fewer and fewer plugs that can trigger this kind of resonance in me.
Let’s use the song Floating Light as a small metaphor. Maven Pro’s description of it is extremely vivid: the opening is a clear percussion sound similar to bangzi and a clear low whistle, accompanied by faint surging wind and thunder, creating a sense of urgency in the clear sky but with wind and rain in it, as if a giant whale is whispering under the ruins, causing wind and thunder to rise above the nine heavens.
Sure enough, the storm followed and the mountains and rivers turned. A kind of potential energy accumulates with the continuous beating of the trembling low-frequency drum. The accumulated power spiraled upwards, and finally reached the astonishing scene of a giant whale breaking through the water. The scattered flying waves sprayed passionately, forming a spectacular spectacle.
But the spectacle suddenly stopped. The giant whale suddenly appeared, and then suddenly fled away. The clouds and thunder stopped on the sea, and there was silence, as if nothing had happened just now.
But this is not the end, it is just the beginning. Just like the sudden disappearance of the giant whale, suddenly, the sound shook the world in all directions. There was a thunderbolt, the hills collapsed, and a pod of countless whales broke through the water together. The water curtain, which was several times more majestic than before, poured down and swept across the sky and the earth, as if the clouds of the nine heavens were drooping, and like the water of the four seas standing. It is a magnificent scene like wind and rain in nature.
It can be said that the sound of Maven Pro is very gorgeous and rich. It is a very tasteful plug among the plugs launched in recent years. Its sound processing is completely based on the most basic principle of "sounding good". The results given are excellent enough and the sound is pleasant enough.
At this point in the article, it seems that we can make a conclusion. But just like Dantès himself has very good qualities, he still needs to be trained by the priest before he can become a great talent. I also want to dig deeper into the potential of Maven Pro.
The single crystal copper wire equipped with the original line of Maven Pro is indeed good enough, but for a ten-thousand-yuan plug, we have to do some research on its potential and quality anyway. After a few days of tossing, I think the sound of the two lines of Bandung's King Salmon and dd's Nyx when paired with Maven Pro is worth mentioning. Both of these two cables have quite unique characteristics and performance. After pairing them with Maven Pro, I went to taste Maven Pro offline. The performance of Maven Pro under these lines was like a narrative, reflecting the life trajectory of the protagonist Edmund.
The first is Nyx from the dd family. This line has a strong convergence ability. When combined with Maven Pro, the low-frequency measurement will be converged, while the high-frequency that would be somewhat suppressed under the original line will be naturally released, showing a lively and intelligent appearance. With the help of this line, Maven Pro will have a lot of lines and smoothness, and the female voice will show a bit of aura. The density of the mid-frequency vocals has been greatly improved, and it is even more energetic, just like Edmund in his youth, with unparalleled vitality and yearning for love. Although it is slightly angular, it has a pretty good timbre performance.
And if you can understand this description, then the original offline Maven Pro is more like Edmund who was trapped in prison and was taught by a priest. At this time, he was like the voice of Maven Pro. Although he is in darkness, his heart is burning with raging fire and unruly soul. Just like the popular saying in "The Count of Monte Cristo", "Wait and have hope!"
And this kind of waiting will not be disappointed. After being equipped with Bandung King Salmon, Maven Pro has greatly improved its quality. The balanced and powerful power of King Salmon provides Maven Pro with a strong foundation without touching Maven. Pro's original sound arrangement greatly improved the hearing and density of the human voice. The quality and hearing of the vocals were already strong enough, but they were given a boost by more powerful backers. At this time, Maven Pro was like Edmund who escaped from the dungeon and got the treasure, dressed up and blessed, and put on a gorgeous cloak. He carries himself calmly, talks and laughs in the most upscale social stage. But this elegant robe cannot hide the desire for revenge in his heart. The balanced and powerful qualities of the Bandung King Salmon are just like the priest's teachings to Edmund and the experience left behind after more than ten years of setbacks. It was Edmund, no, it was the majestic and persevering soul of Count of Monte Cristo that supported Maven Pro, which revealed the impressive qualities and abilities of Maven Pro. It can be said that Maven Pro under the Bandung King Salmon is the form of "Count of Monte Cristo" in my mind. The powerful qualities blended with the energy of Maven Pro itself, and finally burst out with astonishing light. He seems to be omnipotent, but in fact he has almost no shortcomings. He can handle almost all kinds of music, as long as you like his extraordinary bearing and incomprehensible listening experience.
But just like the reviews of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo itself, some people love his hearty and wanton passion, and long to pursue the kind of refreshing relief that can be released after repression; but there are also people who feel that such a novel is too happy about revenge and hatred, making people feel that it is too "ideal". The same goes for the Maven Pro's sound, which is so rich and warm that it's entirely dedicated to pleasant sound that some people will certainly not appreciate.
But in my opinion, the most important thing about a plug is that it sounds good. The sound of Maven Pro is the kind I like, so I don’t care whether its sound conforms to the so-called standard curve or complies with some of today’s rules.
I only care about whether those unruly souls imprisoned in metal cages have desire and passion in their hearts.
