Short answer: a tie on sound quality. Both are rated 3.9/5 (#498 and #507 of 1291 in-ear headphones) at nearly the same price ($999 vs $999), so choose on features and fit.
What the Effect Audio Perseus does well: A broadly balanced tuning with a preference score of 73 against the Harman target. The catch: Treble about 4 dB below target from 3 to 10 kHz, which can sound dull or veiled next to brighter headphones.
What the Unique Melody MEXT does well: Bass is full and well extended, sitting about 1 dB above target from 20 Hz to 200 Hz in squig.link measurements, which gives electronic music and film scores solid low end weight. The tradeoff: Across hobbyist measurements the presence region sits 4.5 dB low with a 7.6 dB dip near 3.5 kHz, so vocals and guitars can sound recessed and lack bite.
Buy the Effect Audio Perseus or the Unique Melody MEXT on features: they are rated the same for sound quality at close to the same price.
Looking for alternatives? See the complete Headphones rankings.
A broadly balanced tuning with a preference score of 73 against the Harman target.
Effect Audio $999.00 eBay
Bass is full and well extended, sitting about 1 dB above target from 20 Hz to 200 Hz in squig.link measurements, which gives electronic music and film scores solid low end weight.
HiFiGo $999.00 eBayPrices on this page were last checked October 16, 2026 at 5:46 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Specifications Side By Side
| Effect Audio Perseus | Unique Melody MEXT | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $999.00 | $999.00 |
| Ranked | #498 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones | #507 of 1291 in In-Ear Headphones |
| Form Factor | In-ear | In-ear |
| Back | Closed | Closed |
| Harman Preference Score | 73 (median of 4 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) | 72 (measured by crinacle, via AutoEQ) |
| Deviation From Target | 1.86 dB standard deviation | 2.23 dB standard deviation |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.76 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) | -0.48 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+0.8 dB at 30 Hz) | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+0.3 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Connection | Wired | Wired |
| Driver Type | Hybrid (2 dynamic + 2 balanced armature + 4 planar magnetic + 1 bone conduction) | Hybrid (1 dynamic + 4 balanced armature + 1 bone conduction) |
| Drivers | 2 x 8mm dynamic + 2 x balanced armature + 4 x planar magnetic + 1 x bone conduction | 1 x dynamic + 4 x balanced armature + 1 x bone conduction |
| Impedance | - | 16 ohms |
| Sensitivity | - | 108 dB @ 1kHz |
| Frequency Response | - | 20Hz - 23kHz (Manufacturer specified) |
| Built-in Microphone | - | No |
Frequency Response Compared
Both headphones’ measurements overlaid on the Harman target. Above the target sounds louder in that range, below it quieter. Each curve is the median of several independent measurements, shifted so its 500 Hz to 2 kHz average sits at 0 dB, so only the tuning is compared.
Measurement data: the Effect Audio Perseus from bloomaudio, ducbloke, precog and superreview; the Unique Melody MEXT from aden, harutohiroki, hbb, ianfann, musicafe, precog, pw and sl0the, all via squig.link.
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