Cat Ear Audio mimi: A Sweet Purr for Ears

Newly launched earbuds "Mimi" is a product of Cat Ear Audio (CEA) brand of Shunshi (Shenzhen) Technology. This brand mainly deals with high-fidelity headphones and high-fidelity digital products (portable field), fashion digital products, earphone wires, design, development, production and sales, and private custom tuning and custom design of earphone digital peripheral products and other services.

Mimi comes in a nicely folded black cardboard box with a cut out logo of cat which when opened reveals a cute little aluminium box that holds the product. The aluminium box has an adorable cat paw printed over the lid, inside which a very beautiful pair of earbuds coupled with an elegant silver color tangle free SPC look alike wire is placed along with two pairs of foam Doughnut covers. The earbud consists of transparent housing upper over which silver decor flaunts the model name on one side and the brand name on other. The design is not over the top flashy but is very elegant to look at.

Disclaimer:

I have received CEA Mimi review circle sent from the brand itself in exchange of honest reviews. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources and is based on my experience with ear buds of similar hardware configuration and price range.

Sources: 

For this review the unit has been paired to A&K SE100, Chord Mojo and Fiio Q5 without any additional amplification. Stock Doughnut Ear foams have been used during listening experience.

Review:

CEA Mimi features one dynamic driver unit on each side paired with a beautiful tangle free SPC look alike cable which terminates firmly to a single ended 3.5 mm jack. The overall quality of the product feels top notch and premium for its price value.

Straight out of the box these earbuds sound very sweet, melodious and organic with lot of micro details and a super wide sound stage for which earbuds are known for. There is no sibilance or harsh peaks in the entire frequency spectrum. 

Pros:

1. Musical lush Sound
2. Good quality bass
3. Sparkling Highs
4. Sweet Mids
5. Premium looks and feel
6. Very Comfortable

Cons:

None at this price point of view

Highs: 

Brilliant details and sparkling highs which one notices straight out of the box. There is no sibilance or harsh tones at any point of time. Treble response is well extended, and airiness is all around the headroom. The earbuds make through heavy instrumental tracks easily. Cymbals and trumpets sound very clean and airy with a sweet presentation in them.

Listening to Call of Silence track by Hiroyuki Sawano there was no sibilance at even any point of time and whole presentation of highs was sweet and melodious.

Mids: 

The mid spectrum reproduction is sweet and organic. Both upper and lower mids are bit forward and give a full-bodied representation to it. Instruments such as acoustic guitars are very clean and resolving. There is a lush in vocals. The overall representation becomes very melodious and relaxing.

Listening to Witchy Woman by Eagles, gets instant feel as of all the lush in vocal transactions and very organic sound of all the instruments. Similar impact can be observed while listening to Hotel California, these earbuds gives an instant high.

Lows: 

The Bass response of CEA mimi is far better than any other earbuds at this price point. It feels overall a bass-oriented earbud. There is a hint of sub-bass in them. Texture and details are there in bass response.

I would say that listening to EDM has been a fun experience on these earbuds.  While listening to Tokyo Drift by KVSH, there was decent rumble at every bass drop.

Soundstage/Detailing:

Both vertical and horizontal soundstage are good on these for which the earbuds are known for. Listening to Call of Silence/Eye water track by Hiroyuki Sawano fills up the entire headroom and give a very nice and precise presentation; The micro details, the soundstage, the vocals and depth and imaging was surprising at this price point.

 

Comparisons:

CEA Mimi vs VE-Monk SE: When compared to VE Monk standard edition the CEA mimi excels at every aspect of it, be it the aesthetics or the sound quality. The monk SE sounds bit flat where as mimi has a command over entire spectrum, the highs had more sparkle while the lows have much punch to them, the overall details and soundstage is also better with CEA.

CEA Mimi vs Vetala II-SE: When compared to Vetala earbuds standard edition the bass response was better in mimi. The micro details are also better in mimi by slight margin, but the soundstage felt bit narrowed.

CEA Mimi vs Moonbuds Crescent: On comparing CEA mimi to Moonbuds Crescent they give a head to head competition. Listening more analytically what I felt is the attack is much better in CEA mimi as compared to Moonbuds crescent.

Final Verdict: 

CEA Mimi is quite a beautiful pair of earbuds at a very decent price segment. These earpieces are super comfortable and looks quite elegant in ear. Moreover, they have been tuned very well. The soundstage, detailing, and richness is somehow exceptional at this price. It has an overall musical presentation with a sweet melodious touch to it. The bass response is quite nice. In the nutshell, it is a very versatile earbud that can give quite lot competition in the market.