[infinitycj]

Yep, everything you said I couldn't agree more. So it will probably improve more for you. Regarding the bass as being "punchy and thumping", this was very coincidentally as I was playing The Crew 2 while listening to rock songs. Some tracks, when they ask, they bass can sound powerfull, it's like you can feel the bass. When that kind of bass is not asked, you won't experience that. The 109 is indeed not a basshead heasphone. The real basshead headphone is probably the Tygr 300R.

There may indeed a LOT of better cans out there than the 109 but are they? This hobby is entirely subjective. Some may love the €5000 Focal and others may hate that €5000 Focal. And not to mention the giant leap in diminishing returns. So yeah, unjustifiable. But even if I rob banks or scam people around with NFT/cryptos that made me a billionar, I just won't buy headphones starting from €2000 all the way to 12K. I mean, I only buy headphones because of the specs, tonalities, how it sounds and not buying them by looking at the price tags and be like "damn, that headphone costs over 9000 so it must be very good!!"

And the funny thing is, I really wanted the Liric but because all lot of owners have shared their experiences on how it does sound, it's not for me. So yeah, you buy headphones that does sound good to your own ears, not by looking at the price tags.

I posted about 2 weeks ago about the hot top end frequency response and sibilance problems after about 60 hours of burn in time. I have say they improved a great deal or I have become use to the sound. Either way, I have started to really love my 109 Pro. That's something I didn't think I would "EVER" say after 100 hours...

 

[CTR640]

I posted about 2 weeks ago about the hot top end frequency response and sibilance problems after about 60 hours of burn in time. I have say they improved a great deal or I have become use to the sound. Either way, I have started to really love my 109 Pro. That's something I didn't think I would "EVER" say after 100 hours...

I also think after many of hours, the bass and treble are perfectly in balance. None of the frequencies are taking over.

 

[Koren]

109 pro vs focal celestee. Has anyone heard of both? if so, would you describe how their sound quality compares to each other? right now, it doesn't matter if one is open and the other is closed, I'm only interested in sound quality.

 

[tedevang]

How do the 109 Pro's compare to Meze Elite if cost is not a factor?

 

[peterinvan]

109 pro vs focal celestee. Has anyone heard of both? if so, would you describe how their sound quality compares to each other? right now, it doesn't matter if one is open and the other is closed, I'm only interested in sound quality.

I have the Elegia and the Meze 109. The 109s have deeper bass and (to my ears) nicer sound quality overall. Being open, the 109 has a bigger soundstage. The Elegias sound “cupped” in comparison. The Elegias are my go to for closed (over my heavy LCD-XC).
The 109s spend the most time on my head.

The differences are not massive. Horses for courses as the Brits say.

 

[MRSallee]

same conclusions as mine...also using foam disks to tame highs.

Thanks for sharing the review

For anyone looking to replicate the treble attenuation I refer to in this video, these are the foam discs I use: AKG K240 foam pads (they're sold one at a time, you'll need 2x units)

I've been borrowing a headphone measurement rig and the difference reliably shows up in the graphs. The rig is non-standard so I wouldn't compare these to graphs from other rigs, but there is useful fidelity here.

Stock measurement. Note the mid-treble elevation between 7-9kHz. (Aside: The dotted "Super OE Target" line here is loosely based on my measurement of an HD 600.)



Re-measured with K240 foam discs in place. Without affecting the rest of the frequency response, that mid-treble elevation is tamed. Assuming that mid-treble elevation is the source of the issues, it's kind of remarkable how targeted this change is.


Before and after. Same graphs, just laid on top of each other to highlight where they're different and, importantly, where they're not.

 

[Zap67]

I bought them

 

[baneand]

I bought them

I am curious, I see you have Verite Open, how do the 109 compare to them?

 

[Zap67]

after trying all the pads, now I am using the VOs with the Verite pads, the Meze seems more detailed to me, even on the basses, the Meze mids seem more neutral to me, the highs of the Meze are many! you keep the VOs for hours, with the Meze it becomes more difficult, even if I love the detail. IMHO!!!

 

[thecrow]

I have the Elegia and the Meze 109. The 109s have deeper bass and (to my ears) nicer sound quality overall. Being open, the 109 has a bigger soundstage. The Elegias sound “cupped” in comparison. The Elegias are my go to for closed (over my heavy LCD-XC).
The 109s spend the most time on my head.

The differences are not massive. Horses for courses as the Brits say.

 

[PopZeus]

I need to try that AKG K240 foam disc mod. Looks like one worth trying as long as it doesn't impact other areas of performance.

 

[Bling527]

I got the Dekoni Beyer DT Suede pads after seeing someone's post on reddit. They are a lot more comfortable and less fatiguing.

 

[BBuzecky]

I have the Elegia and the Meze 109. The 109s have deeper bass and (to my ears) nicer sound quality overall. Being open, the 109 has a bigger soundstage. The Elegias sound “cupped” in comparison. The Elegias are my go to for closed (over my heavy LCD-XC).
The 109s spend the most time on my head.

The differences are not massive. Horses for courses as the Brits say.

I have the Elegia and like them alot, thanks for your comparison. I was looking for another pair of cans to complement them and the Meze looks great. Having an open back with more soundstage would be nice, if it doesn't sacrifice vocals too much.

 

[daivatam]

I got the Dekoni Beyer DT Suede pads after seeing someone's post on reddit. They are a lot more comfortable and less fatiguing.

the originals are not so bad, already comfortable and not fatiguing. But about the sound they make a difference? tame the highs?

 

[daivatam]

Like could we see the 109 are not completely open ...they had all the back space padded with some thin hard felt like material. They had a lot of holes covered with that very permeable membrane, starting from the membrane aluminium enclosure that had a row of perforated holes to the rim and one hole on top in back to the plastic oval frame that keep the metallic driver in place...3 large hole top 3 bottom...one row larger than the other. Probably here it is a lot of tuning possibilities...to see how they sound without hole closed, completely open etc. Now I have them fitted with 2.5 mm hard felt cut in oval shape as the interior of 109. They tame the highs to a good ballance. Maybe I need to change the felt to 1.8 mm thick to keep the treble a tad more engaging or cut as earlier a hole in the middle. I will try different thickness and materials....maybe also soft felt. I will try also the sponge pads from akg but they are not available locally. As construction I do not like the pads they are a tad to easy to damage and I hate that system of elastic flaps to put them on....you could break them easily...at 800 they should had an quick pad removal system. Also I find the elastic headband a little on the cheap side of material and construction at this price, but it serve good his function even it is cheap and make some hasss noise, also when the elastic will start losse proprieties it is easy to change it..