Short answer: the Lime Ears Maris. It ranks #889 of 1369 in-ear headphones by sound quality, rated 3.4/5, at $2,799; the Forte Ears Mefisto ranks #965, rated 3.3/5, and costs $2,899, which makes this an easy call rather than a real tradeoff.
Why pick the Lime Ears Maris: A flagship with coaxial dynamic woofers, six armatures, electrostatic tweeters and bone conduction drivers, with a solid Harman score of 66 across ten measurements. The catch: Treble sits about 3.7 dB below target, so it sounds dark next to its price rivals, and it measures behind the cheaper Lime Ears Terra.
The case for the Forte Ears Mefisto: A published AutoEQ preset corrects its response toward the Harman target, so a few minutes of EQ setup closes most of the gap. The tradeoff: Treble about 3 dB below target from 3 to 10 kHz, which can sound dull or veiled next to brighter headphones.
Buy the Lime Ears Maris. It is rated higher for sound quality than the Forte Ears Mefisto and costs less, so only choose the other one for a particular feature it does better.
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A flagship with coaxial dynamic woofers, six armatures, electrostatic tweeters and bone conduction drivers, with a solid Harman score of 66 across ten measurements.
Lime Ears eBay
A published AutoEQ preset corrects its response toward the Harman target, so a few minutes of EQ setup closes most of the gap.
Forte Ears $2,899.00 eBayPrices on this page were last checked October 17, 2026 at 6:04 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
| Lime Ears Maris | Forte Ears Mefisto | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,799 | $2,899.00 |
| Ranked | #889 of 1369 in In-Ear Headphones | #965 of 1369 in In-Ear Headphones |
| Form Factor | In-ear | In-ear |
| Back | Closed | Closed |
| Connection | Wired | Wired |
| Driver Type | Multi-driver | Tribrid |
| Drivers | 2 x 8mm coaxial dynamic + 6 x balanced armature + 2 x electrostatic + 2 x bone conduction | 7 drivers (dual 7.8mm LCP dynamic drivers + 4 balanced armatures + 1 Aria planar tweeter) |
| Harman Preference Score | 66 (median of 10 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) | 65 (median of 5 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) |
| Deviation From Target | 2.33 dB standard deviation | 2.45 dB standard deviation |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.97 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) | -0.63 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+1.6 dB at 30 Hz) | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+1.8 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Impedance | - | 5.6 ohms |
| Sensitivity | - | 105 dB |
| Frequency Response | - | 12Hz - 35kHz |
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 Lime Ears Maris from aden, animagus, audioamigo, ducbloke, eliseaudio, jaytiss, koi, practiphile, pw and superreview; the Forte Ears Mefisto from aden, dchpgall, eliseaudio, sl0the and zerostresslevel, all via squig.link.
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