[TheOnetoWin]

Exposed drivers give the most accuracy in Sound production and lowest distortion. Mesh and grill can alter Sound waves

If that's the case, then that probably help explains the increased sound quality of the 109's. Still, I just don't feel comfortable keeping cans that are unprotected like that, especially given how close the drivers actually are to your ears.

 

[SlydZ]

I definitely disagree about the Liric sounding like $500 cans. What? LOL, dude.... have you heard the Liric's? They sound spectacular, especially with a bit of EQ. It's one thing to say you don't like their sound signature but they do not sound cheap at all man. They're right up there with the Focal Stellias (which are $1,000 more btw). And if you check out most reviews on Youtube they'd agree more with my assessment than the one you posted above.

I had the chance to buy the Stellia new for 2000 usd and that was the reason why the Liric was the direct competitor. For me the Stellia is technical another league. That was the reason to buy the Stellia. I really liked the small form factor of the Liric. Build quality of the Stellia is exceptional, too.

I think the Lirics sounded too boring for me as totl hp (I planned to have only one totl hp) and they were technical too bad in comparison as totl headphone.

But I respect your opinion. I really think about to buy the Lirics for portable use outdoor, at hotels.. but I don’t know if I can justify this in terms of soundquality and I‘m looking for a more relaxed and forgiving headphone, so I think that could fit.I think the Focal radiance is at the same level for the half price, but with a smaller soundstage and more dynamics and not so portable.

 

[Quadfather]

Has anyone compared these to Shure SRH1540? Even though those are closed back, they sound pretty open.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

If that's the case, then that probably help explains the increased sound quality of the 109's. Still, I just don't feel comfortable keeping cans that are unprotected like that, especially given how close the drivers actually are to your ears.

They still have metal grill in front that creates all these reflections, the only thing that is missing is "acoustically transparent" protective mesh.

 

[PopZeus]

The big takeaway for me is this thing is great with portable devices. When paired with the N6ii + R01, the 109 is more polite and refined. When paired with the RU6, it's more fun and NOSsy.

 

[TheOnetoWin]

I had the chance to buy the Stellia new for 2000 usd and that was the reason why the Liric was the direct competitor. For me the Stellia is technical another league. That was the reason to buy the Stellia. I really liked the small form factor of the Liric. Build quality of the Stellia is exceptional, too.

I think the Lirics sounded too boring for me as totl hp (I planned to have only one totl hp) and they were technical too bad in comparison as totl headphone.

But I respect your opinion. I really think about to buy the Lirics for portable use outdoor, at hotels.. but I don’t know if I can justify this in terms of soundquality and I‘m looking for a more relaxed and forgiving headphone, so I think that could fit.I think the Focal radiance is at the same level for the half price, but with a smaller soundstage and more dynamics and not so portable.

Yeah, absolutely. For me it was the opposite. Even at $2,000 I'd take the Lirics over the Stellias every day of the week, even if we're just talking sound quality. But that's what makes this hobby great, everyone has different tastes and preferences . I just don't like when people seemingly bash products manufacturers put a lot of time and effort into making. To say the Lirics sound like $500 headphones is absolutely ridiculous and quite disrespectful IMO.

 

[SlydZ]

Yeah, absolutely. For me it was the opposite. Even at $2,000 I'd take the Lirics over the Stellias every day of the week, even if we're just talking sound quality. But that's what makes this hobby great, everyone has different tastes and preferences . I just don't like when people seemingly bash products manufacturers put a lot of time and effort into making. To say the Lirics sound like $500 headphones is absolutely ridiculous and quite disrespectful IMO.

I can understand your point and my opinion about the price soundwise wasn’t meant disrespectful because I said there is more than soundquality. Comfort, portability and quality. The other thing is that there are exceptional hps at 500 Euro like the Hifiman XS. I think that resolve meant the same when he said that the 109 sound quality is at the level of the xs. That is this a good and not a bad thing.

btw: I’m really enjoying and listening to my XS at the moment

 

[catom]

I definitely disagree about the Liric sounding like $500 cans. What? LOL, dude.... have you heard the Liric's? They sound spectacular, especially with a bit of EQ. It's one thing to say you don't like their sound signature but they do not sound cheap at all man. They're right up there with the Focal Stellias (which are $1,000 more btw). And if you check out most reviews on Youtube they'd agree more with my assessment than the one you posted above.

I don't think he said cheap. He just said not in the $2,000 realm which I agree with. After trying these at CanJam last weekend, I left feeling a bit indifferent and I prefer closed back headphones to open. I don't think it's fair to say $500 either though. To be honest, if I was given a list of the prices without knowing which headphone they were for and listened to Meze's entire line up... I'd assign the $2,000 to the 109 Pro and $800 to the Liric. I think I'd probably accurately assign the reamining values to the 99 Classics and the Empyrean and Elite.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Maybe just resting it closed is enough?

That's what I generally for with my Liric. (Putting them into thr case with cables attached, unzipped)

Should work fine for everyday use, and if you store them dor longer, detach cables and zip the case

 

[kRed]

Saying a headphone has a 500$ sound quality is… complicated.

Sundara is 350$ and it punches way above its price for technical performance. Does this define a 350$ sound quality? No.
The average 350$ headphone sound nothing like the Sundara.

If you have to spend more than double it’s price, it means the Sundara has a 700$ SQ.

How much does it cost to get a more technically proficient headphone than the liric?

 

[Nostoi]

I think that says nothing about the 109. The Liric is sound wise heavyly overpriced. Build quality like a 2000 usd and sound wise like a 500-700 usd headphone. Especially if you compare to the Focals or Hifiman. So could be that the 109 is normal priced.

Michaels reaction of directors Garage in terms of the Lirics price is priceless and he has a lot of much more expensive stuff in his videos:


But I like the Liric a lot for build and there is more than sound quality.

Basically agree with this insofar as the Liric's selling point is build/aesthetics. On a technical level, it does not sound like a 2k headphone at all. Imaging, layering, detail are all very soft and unrefined. Aside from metallic top end, timbre is good. I knew in advance when I bought them that the price was mostly because they offer a "premium" experience for travel. They look and feel beautiful. But so far as sound goes, I would agree that you can easily get a pair of headphones around 700$ that sound as good if not better.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Basically agree with this insofar as the Liric's selling point is build/aesthetics. On a technical level, it does not sound like a 2k headphone at all. Imaging, layering, detail are all very soft and unrefined. Aside from metallic top end, timbre is good. I knew in advance when I bought them that the price was mostly because they offer a "premium" experience for travel. They look and feel beautiful. But so far as sound goes, I would agree that you can easily get a pair of headphones around 700$ that sound as good if not better.

It's interesting how far perception of this deviates.
For me there is no better closed back option in the 2k realm than the Liric.

 

[Ultrainferno]

We received the Meze 109 PRO headphone some time ago already, and we now can finally share our full review of it on Headfonia.com. An article by @Virtu Fortuna

The Meze 109 Pro is one heck of a headphone and for sure one of the best sub $1K headphones on the market. Find out how it performs and compares, now on Headfonia. It's a new Recommended Buy!

https://www.headfonia.com/meze-audio-109-pro-review/

 

[donpablo]

not sure if anyone replied to you on this one. i have to go find a better ruler here. but i can measure this for you.

the shorter red line is just over 3 inches. the shorter orange is about 2.25" but i've got rudamentary tools here. measuring where it starts to curve sounds even less accurate. plenty of space for my ears though I may have small ears. i will try to follow up tonight.

Thank you very much! That seems plenty space even for big ears.
What about the blue lines I drew? I mean distances between the driver and ears/head.

 

[Nostoi]

It's interesting how far perception of this deviates.
For me there is no better closed back option in the 2k realm than the Liric.

Quite, much depends on what one means by "better." And also which genres one prefers to listen to. But if I was in market for 2k or under closed-back, I could list several headphones that I think sound better and offer much better value overall (to name but one: DCA Noire for me would have been an ideal portable headphone were it not for the fact it's very hard to drive on a portable set-up and looks daft on the head).

But again, this is not Liric bashing - I'm just underscoring that the price reflects their function as premium portable headphones. I don't really see them competing as one's main closed-back headphone for home use, however (within that price range, you're competing with D9200, TH900, AWKT/AWAS, LCD-XC, etc).