Meze Audio 109 Pro

[marekm]

They're fun and dynamic but don't come across as bright.

My experience too

On top of this, beautiful, comfortable and easy to drive

Modular build means I can have them forever, always in mint condition

 

[csch92]

i am thinking that i got a wrong product or something or i just preffer sennheisers sound. my k5 pro ess should be plenty for the mezes

 

[marekm]

my k5 pro ess should be plenty for the mezes

Sure has enough power, but is it a good match sonically ?

I power mine from iFi ZEN stack. Love Burr Brown chips

 

[csch92]

i tought the mezes aren't picky on amps so that was one of the main reasons i bought them

 

[Mitch34]

Hi @Mitch34, curious to know more of your observations on 109 pro + Ifi zen dac v2?

What stood out mainly with this pairing?
Does it tame and smooth out the highs a bit?
Does the truebass switch make a significant improvement to the bass capability of 109 pro?

I have been using Earmen Sparrow balanced 2.5mm to drive my Meze Rai Penta. The clarity with this combo is pretty great.
But using Sparrow with 109 pro "seems" like it makes an already bright headphone more sharper on the highs. Btw, its only been a week with 109 pro, still breaking them in. Hoping the highs would mellow down eventually.

I'm considering Ifi zen dac v2 given majority online accept its slightly on the warmer side.

Hello!

I honestly don’t feel qualified to answer these questions, as this is the first audiophile grade equipment I’ve ever purchased and I’m by no means equipped with a trained ear, but as you alluded to, the reason I went with the Zen DAC is because of the purported warmness, and in that regard, I would agree. I’ve not had enough time to do comparisons with and without the DAC, but I haven’t had any of the issues with brightness or harshness with the 109s that I’ve seen others mention. (But this could very well be my lack of experience and/or an insensitivity to it.)

I will say that to my ears, the true bass is absolutely awesome on most, but not all of the tracks I’ve listened to; sometimes it’s too much, but for me, I’ve found that for many tracks it’s Just Right.

 

[Meze99]

TrueBass is nothing but a built-in EQ. And Zen DACs Total harmonic distortion plus noise < 0.005% (125mW @ 32R) hardly justifies its price in 2023 (same applies for Zen Dac V2 with THD+N < 0.0015%). My tiny Sound Blaster X1 has THD+N 0.00056% at $49 and it is capable to drive any headphones including 600ohm. If you want a professional grade DAC (so called S class) there is TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Bluetooth DAC/Amp at $199 with 1800mWx2 @32Ω, 0.00015% THD+N (only thing it lacks - balanced output).
As far as the ability to hear Meze 109 treble emphasis is concerned - it is not a question of a trained ear but an age, when you reach a certain age high frequencies become less audible for you. In my opinion Meze 109 should come with pads over drivers, only then its treble is tamed.

 

[marekm]

Funny how some get excited about parameters that have no audible effect

Chinese manufacturers have noticed this phenomenon and hence their equipment is always top notch on paper. In real life not necessarily

Had we all been driven by 0,0000000001% numbers, who would decide to buy a tube amp. Yet many do and are more than happy

 

[Meze99]

Chinese manufacturers have noticed this phenomenon and hence their equipment is always top notch on paper. In real life not necessarily

Could you elaborate please? I know that noname Chinese vendors on aliexpress can claim anything, but do you suspect Creative as well as Topping in producing phony THD+N levels and using other chips than they claim to use in their equipment (but not iFi because they have offices outside of China even though their products are made in China)?
I understand that tube sound can be pleasantly distorted and can't be objectively measured, but how digital DAC measurments can be irrelevant? Do you choose them solely by their appearance or price?

Many manufactures have also noticed placebo effect and hence their equipment costs hundreds and thousands of dollars without any justification.

 

[marekm]

I am not saying that the quoted numbers are phoney. I am saying that many of these numbers are in a range that is insignificant for the listener.

In music, trust your ears not specs sheets. Simple as that.

 

[pk4425]

TrueBass is nothing but a built-in EQ. And Zen DACs Total harmonic distortion plus noise < 0.005% (125mW @ 32R) hardly justifies its price in 2023 (same applies for Zen Dac V2 with THD+N < 0.0015%). My tiny Sound Blaster X1 has THD+N 0.00056% at $49 and it is capable to drive any headphones including 600ohm. If you want a professional grade DAC (so called S class) there is TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Bluetooth DAC/Amp at $199 with 1800mWx2 @32Ω, 0.00015% THD+N (only thing it lacks - balanced output).
As far as the ability to hear Meze 109 treble emphasis is concerned - it is not a question of a trained ear but an age, when you reach a certain age high frequencies become less audible for you. In my opinion Meze 109 should come with pads over drivers, only then its treble is tamed.

All of these distortion figures basically are inaudible to human hearing. If you can honestly tell the difference, then you must have dog- or cat-like hearing.

@marekm is right: Specs are a guidepost. Your ears and brain always should be the final arbiter.

He's also correct in that the main marketing tool for many Chinese audio companies is specs. "Our THD is .000007 cleaner than theirs." "Our headphone amp cranks out enough power to illuminate a small city."

So effing what? Those THD differences are all but inaudible, and only the most demanding planar or VERY inefficient headphones NEED that kind of power from an amp. Otherwise, you're buying a Ferrari 488 and driving it 50 km/h to the grocery store.

I've owned some demanding Dan Clark Audio, Audeze and HiFiMan planars and 300 ohm Sennheiser cans, and my 1 watt at 32 ohm JDS Labs Atom+ amp drives them just fine with ample, clean power, even without high gain turned on.

My experience shows spending money on headphones, DACs and pads has a far bigger impact on sound than spending on amps and cables. And EQ and quality sources play a bigger role in sound quality than ANY DAC or amp, at least for me. Switching from Spotify 320 kbps to Qobuz lossless made a far bigger improvement for me than any hardware. Same with Roon's Audeze preset EQ for my LCD-X 2021.

 

[ostewart]

TrueBass is nothing but a built-in EQ. And Zen DACs Total harmonic distortion plus noise < 0.005% (125mW @ 32R) hardly justifies its price in 2023 (same applies for Zen Dac V2 with THD+N < 0.0015%). My tiny Sound Blaster X1 has THD+N 0.00056% at $49 and it is capable to drive any headphones including 600ohm. If you want a professional grade DAC (so called S class) there is TOPPING DX3 Pro+ Bluetooth DAC/Amp at $199 with 1800mWx2 @32Ω, 0.00015% THD+N (only thing it lacks - balanced output).
As far as the ability to hear Meze 109 treble emphasis is concerned - it is not a question of a trained ear but an age, when you reach a certain age high frequencies become less audible for you. In my opinion Meze 109 should come with pads over drivers, only then its treble is tamed.

You're quoting inaudible differences between equipment based on specs alone, which I feel is a little silly.

How old are you?

For transparency's sake I'm 29 and have been in this hobby for the last 12/13 years.

 

[malenak]

Good sound, bad cable / sockets for the cable. Competitive in that price point, but not quite punching up to an Arya sound wise...

I've given this guy a chance many times but it hurts me to watch his videos. I would nominate him for the internet boredom award.

 

[peterinvan]

As far as the ability to hear Meze 109 treble emphasis is concerned - it is not a question of a trained ear but an age, when you reach a certain age high frequencies become less audible for you. In my opinion Meze 109 should come with pads over drivers, only then its treble is tamed.

I am 75, and my ears test well for my age. I periodically get the wax cleaned out. My treble hearing drops off after 10KHz.

The 109 Pros sound just right to me

 

[Zap67]

Switching from Spotify 320 kbps to Qobuz lossless made a far bigger improvement for me than any hardware

great

 

[Meze99]

You're quoting inaudible differences between equipment based on specs alone, which I feel is a little silly.

What are there to quote then? What makes a DAC worthwhile to purchase for you? For me it's simple, it must have enough power to drive all kind of headphones including 600ohm without any audible noise for the adequate price. If one so-called audiophile grade DAC clearly sounds different than the other it means for me one thing - built-in EQ. Modern DAC chipsets should sound pretty much the same, DAC prices are usually based on THD+Noise levels (on its own they are inaudible but when you multiply it with the headphones distortion levels, which are unfortunately pretty high, it may make sense to choose a DAC with lower THD+N levels). I agree that most people can hardly hear the difference between a Studio grade DAC unbalanced output and a tiny dongle based on good chipsets like Sound Blaster X1, unless there is a built-in EQ in the DAC to market it to audiophiles and make them purchase dozens of DACs because they now sound different.