Introduction:

The Romanian-based Meze is a brand that has solidified their place in the high-end headphone ecosystem. While their range of headphones may he a tad polarizing (with the tuning of the Empyrean being at the forefront of that), there are nearly-undeniable truths about Meze's devotion to the craft; these are very well-built, finely constructed, comfortable and attractive headphones. Antonio's dedication to the hobby and to the industry is equally undeniable.

Over the past year, Meze has unleashed a double-strike on the game; the top-of-the-line Elite, and the closed-back Planar, LIRIC. The closed-back Planar market is fairly (and somewhat surprisingly) limited, with the most notable previous entrants to the field being from Audeze. LIRIC takes the Meze Planar approach and scales it down to a Closed, Semi-Portable format, while avoiding a true high-end price tag (although certainly in the upper-middle echelon of headphone pricing).

Everything but the Sound:

Look and Feel - This is an understated, but premium, headphone. Aesthetics are not as striking as the Empyrean, bringing a bit of a "boxy" vibe, but they maintain attractiveness for the form factor, with the bronze trim adding an elegant touch. Build quality is robust, with the headphone emanating quality while in the hand.

Comfort - The pads feel plush and comfortable around the ear and on the head; the headphone is fairly light-weight, and brings overall strong comfort.

Stock Cable - It is adequate with no auditory concerns or significant ergonomic pitfalls, but is a bit microphonic. An upgrade cable might be worthy of consideration to reduce microphonic tendencies and slightly increase ergonomics.

Isolation - With resprect to Closed-Backs, this category is fairly important. It can be characterized as good, potentially above average, although there are other headphones (including Elegia) that seemed to have a very slight amount of additional isolation.

The Sound:

Overall tuning - This is a sonewhat-neutral, but leaning on warm, tuning. The tendency towards slight warmth is more due to the muted treble than an overabundance of low-end.

Bass - There is good depth here and acceptable impact ("slam"), although this is certainly not amongst the hardest-hitting Closed cans. Bassheads will be yearning for more, but the bass never gets in the way here.

Mids - A bit recessed (mostly notable on female vocals) but not overly warm; more natural tonality than both some other Closed-Backs and Planars, but not quite approaching the natural timbre of a ZMF Auteur or a Rosson RAD-0. Overall, a pleasing mid-range presentation.

Treble - Muted and lacking in "sparkle," will please those who are susceptible to treble fatigue. Reminds me a bit of ZMF treble tunings (most notably as such on the Aeolus). This may be perhaps one of the more polarizing elements of the LIRIC, for those who prefer a brighter presentation.

Sound Stage/Imaging - Somewhat closed and narrow, acceptable but unremarkable imaging. No "wow" factor to either staging or imaging here.

Resolution/Detail Retrieval - There is no real yearning here in that you're lacking in clarity or transparency, but details and nuances you may pick up on the top-tier headphones in this class will be lost here.

Comparison versus Focal Elegia (with Dekoni Sheepskin pads):

One of the most popular hifi Closed-Back headphones over recent years is Focal's Elegia, which continues to be used by a wide array of folks despite being recently obsoleted by two other Focal offerings. While Elegia and LIRIC play in two different price points, many may look at the LIRIC as a potential upgrade option for diving into the deeper end of the Closed-Back pool.

LIRIC is notably more comfortable than Elegia, with superior build quality. LIRIC has more bass depth and impact than Elegia (especially comparing to Elegia with stock pads; the Dekoni leather pads do narrow the gap a bit). Elegia has a more-forward mid-range presentation than LIRIC. LIRIC's mids are smoother than Elegia's, but slighly-recessed in comparison. Elegia has greater emphasis in the treble region than LIRIC. Elegia does have a tendency to sometimes be too forward, too aggressive; LIRIC does not possess that quality. LIRIC does, at times, come across as a bit "muddy" compared to the Elegia, and I prefer Elegia's soundstaging over LIRIC's.

Conclusion:

This headphone was built for listening; from the comfort, to the robust build quality, to the no-frills, crowd-pleasing tuning (slightly warm with no fatiguing qualities), this headphone exists to be used, to be listened to regularly. This headphone exists for the music, not to be lost in the technicalities. I find myself sometimes listening to the headphone more than the music itself, so to speak; with this headphone, that problem doesn't exist. The trade-off there is that it may not be the most exceptional headphone on the market and it's technicalities may not "wow" you; but for it's particular use-case as a semi-portable closed-back headphone, it certainly excels, and may very well be the best option on the market for that particular use-case.

Playlist (used directly for comparison to Focal Elegia):

Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat
Emily Haines - Siren
Death - Zero Tolerance
Sonny Rollins - I'm an Old Cowhand
Boz Scaggs - Sierra
Skrillex - Bangarang
Sade - Why Can't We Live