MEElectronics CW31: Warm Woodies July 29, 2011
via Kmart.com

Anyone that knows me at all would know that I?m a total sucker for wood. I?ve been dreaming of being able to get an Audio Technica W11JPN ever since I?ve gotten into this hobby. 3 years later, I still don?t have it. (I?m working on it!) But in my ears right now are some mini-woodies. The MEElectronics CW31 is up on the testing block right now! The CW31 is the middle child in the Clarity series. Appropriate, because the middle child tends to be the rebellious one, and this definitely is a bit different than the CC51 and CX21, in areas other than looks.

Packaging: The packaging of the CW31 the same clear plastic boxes of yore. Inside, there is a ?safety and tips? piece of paper that most people reading this have no need to read, a very nice ballistic nylon case akin to the Brainwavz IEM?s, with purple accents--a bit more?metro that I?d like, but still very nice, and inside the case is extra tips. It?s basic, but gets the job done.

Build: The CW31 is obviously made of wood. Samak wood in fact. Sure, it isn?t the fancy Cocobolo or Rosewood other nice headphones use, but the wood looks nice and discreet. It?s also apparently hard and eco-friendly, so everyone wins! It also seems resistant to dings and such. It?d take a good bit of abuse. The nozzle is very interesting. Instead of being the typical circle-shape the most of the IEM world uses, the nozzle is ovular. I can only assume it?s an ergonomic feature, and it doesn?t inhibit the usage of any kind of tips. I?ve used Comply TS400?s on them without a hitch. The plug is a familiar 45 degree angled plug most of MEE?s line uses, and the clip is already attached to the cable. Strangely, the clip has the ability to swivel. When I first found this out, I thought it was downright awesome, but when I tried to think of a special use for the swivel, I couldn?t think of one. Still, I think it?s pretty cool. The cable is the typical Teflon covered affair the rest of the line uses aside from the CC51 and A151.

First Impressions: As with the CX21, I plugged these into my NaNite N2 and played Noah and the Whale?s Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down to compare the differences between the two. I immediately noticed the sweeter presentation the wooden housing gave. Timbre and decay is also more realistic. Mids are a bit more warmed up and intimate than the CX21, and bass resonance was more apparent. Treble is a bit more restrained and smoother.

Review: Gear used is a NaNite N2 and 320kbps music of various types. My Hisoundaudio Studio still hasn?t come, but I promised a review within 2 weeks and I have a feeling it?s stuck in customs. I hope they aren?t having fun using it though? They?ve been burned in roughly 100 hours. I lost count, but I didn?t really notice a drastic difference.

Treble is very different compared to its younger brother. It?s actually smooth and rolled off compared to the bright and slightly peaky CX21. I think I like this more.

The midrange seems to have rid of a lot of the strange hollowness the CX21 has and replaced it with a sweeter sound. It?s still slightly warmed up by the bass though, and far from prominent. Vocals have a certain ?rightness? that woodies tend to give that plastic usually can?t. It?s very nice in fact, and makes me want the W11JPN even more?

These are bassier than the CX21, not surprising, considering the general properties of wood resonating differently. It goes deeper and sounds more ?subwoofer-y?, but it can sound a bit mushy at times, and is consequentially slower than its younger brother. I can only assume it?s a great upgrade from the old MEElectronics woodies, the R1, though.

The soundstage is a bit smaller than the CX21, probably because of the smaller housing. It?s nothing bad, and positioning is good.

Detail and tone is a smidge more accurate than the CX21. Again, wood. It doesn?t like complicated music though. It smears pretty easily.

Conclusion: As with the CX21, I like these. And since they?re roughly the same price on ******, I?d probably pick these over their younger brother because, well, these just sound more ?right? to me. I?m a sucker for good timbre, and because of that, these would be a better pick. However, they aren?t the best for aggressive music like metal and rock. I?d pick the CX21 for that. Regardless, the CW31 provides an insane value for the price. They do very little wrong, they don?t do special tricks, they just give you a very pleasant sound that?s easy to relax to. Controversial comment time! I haven?t had the pleasure to listen to the Audez?e LCD-2, but from what I?ve read about it, these seem to be a low end version of them.

The reviewer indicated they received a sample of this product.