Meze Audio 109 Pro

Stunningly beautiful headphone that embodies the emotional side of audio​

Meze Audio has long been known for its stunning industrial designs and premium craftsmanship, and the Meze 109 Pro is no exception.

As the company’s first open-back dynamic headphone, it combines a 50mm dynamic driver with high-quality materials such as black walnut wood, copper-zinc alloy, and manganese steel. The result is an elegant, lightweight, and beautifully crafted headphone that exudes luxury while delivering an exceptionally engaging sound.

After spending a few weeks with the 109 Pro, I can confidently say that it is a perfect blend of design, comfort, and sound. It is one of the rare headphones under $1000 that can impress in all three areas and this is the reason I am calling the 109 Pro a perfect coffee table headphone:

With every headphone I review, I do a little test of friends and family and how they react when they see something I might have left on the coffee table, often they completely ignore it or my kids might even tell me something is ‘stupid’ or ‘ugly’, but the 109 Pro literally “turned peoples heads” and generated a few “wows” on first sight.

A headphone that “turns heads”​

I think the 109 Pro is the first headphone that got a “3-wows” in my little subjective test, after the initial “wow” that is a gorgeous headphone, I would ask if they want to try it on and would generally get a 2nd “wow” and finally I played some music for them and got that 3rd “wow”.

I do think this is what distinguishes high-quality high-end audio products from other products, everyone can appreciate the looks, the build quality, the comfort and ultimately this is what helps bring people into the audio hobby.

I think together these are the “emotional aspects” of the audio experience deserve credit and credit to Meze they produce some gorgeous, comfortable headphones that have a unique rich / warm sound signature.

Basically, in summary I think the 109 Pro is a complete package for $800. I had been listening to and recently also reviewed to the Meze 104 AER and in lots of way it is a very similar headphone but for 1/2 the price as Meze cleverly gave that headphone a little bit of the magic of the 109 Pro, but the 109 Pro looks more premium and its sound is just a little richer than the 104 AER. I even recommended some EQ for the 104 AEE to get it closer to the 109 Pro. So, if you are chasing that Meze ‘rich’ sound the 109 Pro delivers without EQ.

Meze have always tuned their headphones with a balanced yet unique sound signature, positioning their various headphones cleverly where you get a little bit better build quality and some tweaks to the sound as you move up the headphone range.

What led up to the 109 Pro?​

The 109 Pro was built on a rich heritage of Meze building quality headphones:

But before we get into the 109 Pro’s sound quality, let’s start by looking at what you get in the box:

Unboxing and Build Quality​

The Meze 109 Pro arrives in a stylish square box featuring a cool geometric design on top:



Everything about the unboxing exudes elegance with subtlety touches like the impression of the headphone on the back:

Inside, you’ll find a well-designed hard-shell carrying case:


The carrying case is very nicely built:


Removing the carry case you can see some documentation underneath:


Finally opening up the case we get to see the 109 Pro:


And overall this is very consistent with Meze’s luxurious packaging aesthetic:


Along with a leather pouch containing two detachable 3.5mm cables—one long and one short.

The Headphone Itself​

Meze never fails to impress when it comes to design and build quality, and the 109 Pro continues this tradition:

Inspired by the original 99 Classics, this model elevates the aesthetic further with an intricate spider-design earcup, real walnut wood, and copper-zinc alloy details.

I love the level of detail you get in every aspect of this headphone, for example, the copper mesh over the driver itself is quiet beautiful:

The entire structure is flexible yet robust, ensuring longevity and sustainability every part is easily replaceable, which is a hallmark of Meze’s commitment to long-term usability.
Meze even have a publicity photo showing all the individual components that make up the 109 Pro:

You can see the screws in these photos:

The 3.5mm connectors provide a secure fit and allow for easy aftermarket cable swapping, making it versatile for those who enjoy customizing their setup, but Meze themselves have an excellent boom mic cable which fit perfectly:

While similar in design to the newer 105 AER, the 109 Pro is clearly the more premium headphone:

Comfort and Fit​

Despite its relatively compact earcups, the 109 Prooffers excellent comfort.


Replacing / upgrading these earpads is relatively easy as there is a plastic ring around the back of the earpads offering some rigidity and a small lip to secure the earpads:

It has a self-adjusting headband, ensuring a perfect fit without requiring manual adjustments:

The clamping force is just right—snug enough for stability but never too tight.


The velour earpads strike a balance between firmness and plushness, preventing your ears from touching the driver while maintaining comfort over extended listening sessions. And thanks to its lightweight design (375g), you can wear it for hours without fatigue.


I do think both the 104 AER and the 109 Pro offer the right compromise for most peoples heads between super large ear cups and tiny earpads. For example here is the size compared to my Hifiman Edition XS:

Internal Driver Architecture​

At the core of its design is a dual-composite diaphragm, composed of three carefully selected materials: a Beryllium-coated polymer for the dome, a cellulose-carbon fiber composite for the driver membrane, and a copper-zinc alloy stabilizer at the center.

This combination optimizes rigidity, damping, and weight, ensuring fast transient response, low distortion, and excellent frequency reproduction.

You can see this driver clearly if you remove the earpads:

The Beryllium coating enhances stiffness while maintaining low mass, allowing for precise treble extension without harshness. The cellulose-carbon fiber blend reduces resonances and contributes to a natural midrange with excellent instrument separation, while the copper-zinc stabilizer minimizes unwanted vibrations, improving clarity and dynamic impact.

Sound Impressions​

The Meze 109 Pro is a rich, immersive, and dynamically engaging headphone. Meze are known for having a rich ‘house sound’ but the 109 Pro is probably the most neutral and balanced headphone in their collection. It has a full-bodied midbass and a matching slightly emphasised treble which work harmoniously to create a highly musical and enjoyable yet balanced sound. It can be a sound to fall in love and has helped Meze gather a huge world-wide following.

Bass​

The midbass is rich and textured, adding warmth and depth to the presentation. While it doesn’t extend into the * deepest sub-bass* as some planar models do, it provides a satisfying and organic bass response that complements many genres well.
Test Track: “Angel” - Massive Attack

• The bass hits with depth and control, never overpowering the mix but always present.
• Layering and texture are excellent, adding realism to each bass note.

Mids​

The midrange is lush, warm, and smooth, characteristic of Meze’s tuning philosophy. Vocals and instruments have a * rich timbre*, making this headphone particularly engaging for vocal-centric music.
Test Track: “Hotel California” - Eagles (Live)

• Vocals sound natural and full-bodied, with excellent texture.
• Acoustic guitars have a realistic bite, maintaining clarity without harshness.

Treble​

While some treble enhancement is present, it never gets harsh or sibilant. The upper frequencies add a sense of air and detail, making for a lively yet non-fatiguing presentation.
Test Track: “Bubbles” - Yosi Horikawa

• Percussion and high frequencies sound crisp yet smooth.
• There’s no excessive brightness, but enough presence to keep details engaging.

Soundstage & Imaging​

The soundstage is wider than most dynamic driver headphones, providing an open and spacious presentation. Imaging is excellent, allowing instruments to be placed with precision across the stereo field.

Specifications and Measurements​

The important specifications here are the impedance and sensitivity which show this is a super easy to drive headphone. While I have been listening to it with some price equivalent amplifiers like the JDS Element IV and the new FiiO K17, it does work exceptionally well with everything from my Macbook Pro and even the Apple USB-C dongle.

Frequency Response​

Note: The following measurements were taken with my KB501X soft ear Pinna and a 711 clone coupler. They are available on my measurement database here.

I added a few areas to highlight what sound you can expect from the 109 Pro:

1. Great bass extension
2. Rich sounding mid-bass
3. Recessed 1K-2K region typical of headphones aiming to provide a decent soundstage
4. Great treble which extends deep (balancing that rich mid-bass)

I also measured the headphone with Glasses to see what change people who typical wear glasses might expect:

And, here is a comparison with the Meze 105 AER:


On this graph, I added two areas to note, the 109 Pro has a richer mid-bass (1) and has a fuller more extended treble (2)
And finally with the Frequency Response, here is a comparison with the Hifiman Edition XS and the Modhouse Tungsten:

All 3 are excellent headphones in completely different price ranges with the Meze 109 Pro in the middle but also probably the best built and arguable the most comfortable.

Distortion​

I thought it would be useful to check the distortion, specifically for those who want to drive it hard and also maybe use EQ.
As you can see there is minimal distortion even playing over 100dB:

And as a percentage it looks pretty good with around 2% in sub-bass:

Rating​

The Meze 109 Pro earns a 5-star Pragmatic Rating due to its exceptional combination of build quality, comfort, and sound performance.

Here is a breakdown:

• Build Quality: (Outstanding)
• Comfort: (Effortless to wear for long periods)
• Sound: (Rich, Engaging, musical, and dynamic)
• Value: (Great at its price point, but you could look at the 105 AER something almost as good)

Conclusion​

The Meze 109 Pro is one of the most complete headphone packages under $1000. It stuns with its beauty, impresses with its comfort, and delivers a rich emotionally engaging sound.
If you’re in the market for a stunningly crafted and emotionally engaging headphone, one that will impress your family and make your friends jealous, the Meze 109 Pro should be at the top of your list.

My first contact with the Romanian headphones maker Meze dates back to 2017, when I first listened the 99 Classics model. I liked its freshly new design, the earcups looked impressive and felt very comfortable and the sound was more pleasant than on my M50x. Recently I got the opportunity to listen the Elite, and after a 4 hour listening session I was convinced that these are my all time favourite pair of headphones and in the future they will sit on my desk. So, when the 109 Pro were launched, I was eager to get my hands (and ears) on them. Luckily, a friend of mine got them and I had the pleasure of testing them for a whole week-end. I liked that they are coming in a solid box as you can take them when you`re traveling but also keep them clean at home, as dust is a headphones (especially open back ones) biggest enemy. The cups are beautifully crafted, the attention to details remains at a high level, the wood looks awesome and the velour pads are smooth to the touch and fit your ears perfectly. The headband design makes them one of the easiest to wear and comfortable headphones I have ever had, you can listen for hours without feeling them on your head. But what about the sound? Well, compared to my LCD2C or the Elite, they sound completely different. The first thing that you notice is how clear and present the highs are. If on the LCD2C the highs are very discrete here are on the opposite side, as they offer a wide presentation, with lots of details and clarity. Depending on the source and amplification, they could get a little hot on treble peaks (or when playing low quality records), but when they are powered by a warm A Class amplifier solid or Tube based they will sound awesome. The bass completely surprised me, as I didn’t believe that from a dynamic and open design I will receive a decent amount of low frequency, but boy I was so wrong. They have a solid representation in low end area and mid bass, and listening to electronic music was so fun. The voices sound extremely clean, maybe too much sometimes, and the instruments also. I enjoyed to listen to Rock albums, blues, jazz, they handled all the genres effortless.

Hello all! It has been a long while since I've been active here! I acquired the Meze 109 Pro about a month ago as I got back into the swing of things. These have been my daily cans at work so I feel I've had enough time with them to offer my opinion on them.

Context:

For some background on me, I started my head-fi journey back in 2013, after moving into a smaller space due to my job. This move forced me into the awkward situation of not being able to enjoy music the way I wanted to... shortly after moving (and a few complaints later) I was put in a position where I had to get rid of my large listening rig (Vienna Acoustics Mozart Grand and ML Dynamo) After a few weeks of being sonically crippled and now dealing with having to downsize my guitar stack (yeah I was that guy) ended up being talked into buying a set of Grado's by a silver tongued sales person called Ken to help ease the pain of my situation. Th Grado's offered a very colored take on recording familiar to me, sometimes it was utter trash, but when it worked they sounded magical! This was the impetus to my head-fi journey, I now needed to find something magical that sounded good regardless of what I fed it! This completely snowballed into slowly acquiring a huge hoard of stuff... Stuff that I've also cleared out here in hopes that some of this gear gets the love it deserves. My sonic preferences lean towards the more analytical side of things, I really enjoyed my time with the HD800, and now Arya. I appreciate fulled bodied presentations but they are not my preference. Musically I digest most things, but really enjoy a Jazz, Prog Rock and Folk.

Actual Context (I promise this time):

Build

The Meze 109 Pro is a wonderfully built piece of functional art. The walnut wood cups look and feel premium as they should, the headband and accompanying hardware are beautifully finished and sufficiently sturdy. Each unit comes with 2 cables (more on that in a second) and a carrying case. The packaging is very nice and includes plenty of aesthetically pleasing waste products (A lot of you will enjoy the unboxing but I'd prefer less waste on marketing and more of the product cost sunk into development or manufacturing) The included cables are at best adequate, they work fine and its nice that we get two choices of length BUT they are of average quality and usability. They like to stick to themselves due the friction of the material used on the outer jacked (an unidentified TPE, though likely a form of TPE-U). The jacks used on the headphone side of the cable are TS mono connectors that are long and skinny since the headphones themselves have a very recessed port. This is just an annoyance but it would have been nice if they were less recessed OR had bigger entry points so I could use my existing balanced cables (I ended up buying a set, another additional cost in this hobby). The ear pads are well cushioned and of above average size, they were never uncomfortable on my very average sized head. The overall package is light, comfortable and built well enough to last.

4/5

Sound:

Bass:

This was actually a surprising thing... these open back headphones have pretty good bass impact, speed and texture! Listening to Patricia Barbers "Code Cool" I was surprised to be experiencing the amount of bass impact and texture in this track. Now these aren't a bass heads dream BUT they have a very fun way of sounding big when the recording calls for it. Bass is fairly tight and precise with minimal bloom or bleed into the mids. Extension sounds fairly good as demonstrated in Heather Rigdon "My Mother Would Like You" Electronic music fairs well in this regard also, using Daft Punks Random Access Memories sounds delightful. In short bass response is what I would call fun, punchy, quick and present and never overbearing, or muddy.

4/5

Mids (Where Music Lives):

Mids on the 109 Pro are fairly neutral to warm sounding. The overall feel of the mids is thick but not veiled. Notes carry weight, instruments and vocals have great timbre, and sense or placement. The mids sound luscious and deliberate. Listening to Nightwish "Ghost Love Score Live at Wacken" The guitars have good texture and are very saturated but retain definition, Floor Jansen's voice sounds glorious here but hold that thought. To summarize these cans have very nice mids that don't do anything to offend and often reveal enough about a track to know if its recorded poorly BUT never beats you over the head with that information ruining the experience .

4.5/5

Treble:

Treble is a sensitive topic for a lot of us so I'll be blunt. These headphones have a good about of treble energy tittering on being sibilant on occasion but never crossing the line. These have what many would call well extended "sparkly" treble, though it continues the theme of texture. Cymbals have great attack and decay, never sounding overly splashy and undefined. If you like treble these are glorious, if you hate sparkly treble, still try these, I find them on the edge of enough and too much... or nearly perfect. Referring back to the Nightwish video above, this recording is somewhat hot in the treble, but listen to then last 3 minutes of it and take in all of that sonic information... on some setups this would sound pretty harsh BUT on the 109 Pro its not. Its well reproduced, detailed and beautiful.

5/5

Presentation and Technicalities:

The Meze 109 Pro makes a very complete and cohesive musical statement blending frequencies into what I consider could be an everyday sound. Rarely do I find a track that sound bad on these (poorly mastered audio will only go so far though) They are forgiving but not completely like some other headphones. They are spacious without sounding artificial (K702, HD800), detailed enough but not overly analytical, impactful without bloat and build well imaged soundscape (although not the best) Detail retrieval is good but not amazing. Layering and separation has a very 3d quality, the overall presentation of the sound stage is fairly wide and tall, with above average depth. Everything about these cans is above average but not class leading. There are a lot of other options in this sub 1K segment that do individual things better than these. OG Clears are probably the biggest competition, but in terms of space the Meze are better by quite a bit, detail retrieval I would give to the OG Clear. The Meze is more fun and engaging, the Clear more "correct" and has better dynamics. Different flavors of the same ice cream if anything.

4/5

Conclusion:

The Meze 109 Pro are wonderful cans. They are not the most technically proficient at anything vs the competition in the sub 1k class BUT they are engaging, comfortable, beautiful and most importantly enjoyable. As an overall package these are great cans. These will be my recommended headphone in the sub 1K space along with the OG Clear. They both offer a taste of more expensive equipment and would be endgame level equipment for a lot of people. They are easy to drive and will sound good out of pretty much anything. They scale a bit with better amps and sources, but never truly make big gains. If you're looking for a fun sounding can with great extension on both end of the sonic spectrum with beautiful mids and a great sense of space you will enjoy these.

4.4/5