Meze Audio ALBA - A Light in The Shape of Sound

[ThanatosVI]

I ordered a pair of Eletech Baroques to try with them.

Keep us updated

 

[MD Rohit]

I ordered a pair of Eletech Baroques to try with them.

Great, I think the performance should be good with this one

Hi, everyone!

This is the one many of you have been waiting for. It is especially exciting for us as well, since it was teased this year at CanJam Singapore and Munich High-End, and we appreciate the feedback you guys gave us. Meant as a complete audiophile package from the get-go and as an introduction to audiophilia in general (a FIRST LIGHT, if you will), this is the Meze Audio ALBA!



SOUND THAT SPARKS EMOTION

Experience the unmistakable Meze sound. Possessing a neutral sound profile with an added touch of warmth, ALBA can vividly emphasize both the rain and the thunder in your favorite songs. Reach for the light, close your eyes, and press play.



RADIANT COMPATIBILITY

Take the light with you anywhere you go. The Meze Audio custom-designed 3.5mm to USB-C adapter has a built-in DAC/AMP to ensure an immersive audio experience.





BUILT FOR COMFORT

By preserving the Meze Audio design language, high levels of comfort, ergonomics, and noise isolation are assured. The combination of zinc alloy and anodized aluminium parts ensures a resilient build.


SPECIFICATIONS:

Driver: 10.8 mm Dynamic Driver
Frequency Range: 15 Hz – 25kHz
Impedance: 32 Ω at 1kHz
SPL: 109 dB SPL/V at 1kHz
Distortion: <0.1% at 1kHz

You can find more information about ALBA here.

Great set

 

[unfitstew]

Will do. I will say so far the best performer source wise with these meh stock tips has been apple dongle somehow.
N30le didn't sound good. Nor the Envy AE.
Apple dongle is apparently punchier than both with this iem.

 

[Dellwolf]

I am dropping a review on this where I discuss the tips in detail. I also found the stock tips not very satisfactory. You can read my review if you want; I hope you will find all the necessary information there.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/me...the-shape-of-sound.27320/reviews#review-34415

I got my Alba today. I first tried the smaller tips included as I usually prefer smaller tips. It sounded hollow with them. The second largest tips have helped a decent amouny there but it still sounds oddly hollow.

Tuning wise it is mostly pleasant outside its shouty upper mids for me.

Going to have to try to figure out the hollowness.

When I tried it I did a bit of tip swapping and preferred the Alba with Final Type E tips.

 

[Kristofa]

When I tried it I did a bit of tip swapping and preferred the Alba with Final Type E tips.

Are those the type that come with the Advar?

 

[Dellwolf]

Are those the type that come with the Advar?

Yes they are.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Are those the type that come with the Advar?

Yes, the Advar comes with Final Type E

 

[unfitstew]

Going to have to also order a pair of those then.
But for whatever reason on the apple dongle the warmth is showing through more, is punchier, and has been quite a bit more fun while still being on laid back side. It is quite a nice iem right now.

 

[Deckard001]

Does any user prefer Alba from planar such as MP145?

 

[MD Rohit]

Does any user prefer Alba from planar such as MP145?

No, the hidizs is batter in my opinion

 

[garcsa]

I'd appreciate a direct comparison with the RE800 Silver, which is now available in the same price range. (I won't comment on the company's pricing policy...)

 

[Not so fat head]

I'd imagine that labor would be a pretty big factor in costs, both the labor in coming up with novel designs, and the labor in assembling said design in a sellable unit. For all the kilobuck IEMs I'd imagine that it involves a decent amount of hand assembly time for 1 unit, no one is trying to pass an inexpensive injection molded IEM for kilobuck prices. The Aviots technically have 5 drivers but it's all assembled in a singular package like an SoC that requires no hand assembly at all to manufacture or to mount, opening the door to cheaper methods of production.

Only reason I knew this was because I was assembling similar medical devices for work in college when I first joined Head-Fi in 2009. I wouldn't call it an easy job to hand assemble such tiny devices. That said I think it's worth celebrating when a manufacturer rolls out a quality entry level product, a lot of things happen behind the scenes to make it possible to buy and put in your ears.

Just an fyi, the Aviots are 3D printed, pretty cool …. These are tremendous bang per buck. Becoming favorites on the “TWS are we there yet?”; I’ve seen you there many times and appreciate your input

 

[Not so fat head]

Btw; don’t mean to hijack this thread, these Alba’s look amazing for the price and will remain on my radar screen.

 

[Jigetz]

Just got mine. Comfort is great. I find the stock dongle to lack detail but like others have said this is probably a warmer sound signature that Meze likes and is paired with this IEM. However using a FIIO JA11 I noticed an immediate improvement in detail over the stock dongle which I really like.

I’m going to go back and forth. This is a first 5 minute impression.

 

[Kristofa]

I got mine today. I thought something was wrong with the drivers because there were no lower frequencies. I tried three of the four sizes of supplied tips. I put on the Final Type E tips that were on my Advars and it immediately resolved the issue. I honestly didn’t realize that tips made such a difference and still think I must have been doing something wrong because the sound was so, so very thin. I look forward to walking to work tomorrow and trying them out!