Introduction

First, I’d like to thank the folks at MEElectronics for sending me an HT-21 sample for review.

MEElectronics is one of my favorite manufacturers of IEMs. Seeing how far they’ve come in such a short time (it was only a year ago when I was reviewing their M9P, which I bought on a whim after reading a bit about them) is rather inspiring. This is a company that has gone from one with only a few truly compelling products to one with many, catering to just about any budget. MEElectronics has previously limited their product line to in ear monitors but now, they have taken their first step into the portable headphone market with the HT-21.

So, does their first portable headphone perform well enough to be worth note or does it simply trip up right out of the gate? Read on to find out.

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Today, I received a new shipment of review samples from both Woodees and MEElectronics, which I’ll be reviewing in the near future. Since this was a much bigger group of samples than I am accustomed to receiving in a single day, I figured I’d share a few pictures of the IEMs I’ve received and a few initial thoughts. First up are two IEMs from the folks at Woodees.

Recently, Woodees added a few new models to their lineup of in ear monitors in the form of the Sport series and the “Vintage” and “Blues” models. I received a pair of IESW201B Sport IEMs and a pair of IESW100L “Blues” IEMs for evaluation. The Sport models are designed for active listening and feature smaller housings with angled nozzles for ease of insertion when worn either straight down or over the ear. To add to their ease of use for active listeners, Woodees also includes a pair of detachable ear-hooks, which is a nice touch. The “Blues” IEMs are higher end in design and features a three button remote for use with newer iDevices and can be used to send and receive calls on most newer smartphones as well. Both feature great sound quality based on initial listening but I’ll reserve judgment on them until after they’ve had a chance to burn in properly.

Next up is a nicely sized box of MEElectronics items from their 2011 product refresh, nine in total. The full rundown will follow below.

From the new Clarity series:

• A151
• CC51P
• CW31
• CX21P

From the expanded “M” Series:

• M31
• M21
• M16

And the sole “Sound Preference” model, the SP51, which features a tunable sound signature.

In addition, I also received MEElectronics’ first portable headphone, the HT-21, which is pictured below.

I’m looking forward to evaluating these products and I will be posting initial thoughts on these as well as my full reviews in the near future.

Thanks to the folks at Woodees (http://www.woodees.com) and MEElectronics (http://www.meelec.com/default.asp) for the samples.

Before I begin, I have to say, Amazon’s Prime shipping is amazing. I purchased these yesterday afternoon around 2:00 EST and opted for the $3.99 one day shipping option and they arrived this morning around 11:00. Amazing stuff.

I’ve listened to and written a great deal about portable headphones and in ear monitors for my site, Musical Musings. It’s become somewhat of an obsession for me. I’m always pursuing the best possible sound quality I can get for my money and, when I finally entered the market to find a suitable upgrade replacement for my full-size Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones for home listening, there was always one set that kept popping up in discussions of great budget headphones. That pair of headphones happened to be Audio Technica’s ATH-M50 studio monitors, lauded for their deep, thumping bass, detailed sound and, best of all, low price. So, I finally decided to take the plunge.

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Introduction

I found these portable headphones by chance at Target one day and saw that they were on clearance, marked down to about $15 from the MSRP of $60. Seeing the relatively high retail price, I thought these were practically a steal at one quarter of the MSRP so I promptly purchased them, thinking that I’d done pretty well for myself. After owning these for six months or so and using them on and off during that time, I’ve decided to review these, as there are only a few reviews out there on these portable headphones.

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Earlier in my life, particularly in my teenage years, I was obsessed with bass. My sole indicator of quality was whether or not my headphones had good response in the low end. If my headphones could produce what I refer to now as “subwoofer bass”, then they were great in my eyes.

Now, I know better.

Listening to music has long been one of the greatest joys in my life and that is because I have come to appreciate it as an art form and I now know what to look for when buying a pair of headphones. It’s easy to say that “sound quality” is my main motivator when it comes to picking out a pair of headphones but to really define what that means is a bit more difficult.

But I’m going to take a crack at it anyway.

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