Meze Audio ALBA - A Light in The Shape of Sound

[leylandi]

https://www.headfonia.com/meze-audio-alba-review/

 

[Dellwolf]

Ouch! So if Empire Ears were to build/manufacture this, you’d charge around a 7X higher price??? No further comment…..

My opinions are my own, not EE's. As many people here know I am not a full time with EE, I pretty much just represent them at shows and do a bit of product feedback on prototypes at various stages. That Member of the Trade badge is there as a disclosure to you, the public, that I have at some point received compensation in some form from said company. I made that connection with EE because I'm passionate about this hobby, not just one brand, and I have no issue recommending a product I genuinely enjoy and/or find impressive that a company other than EE has created. Comparing it to the current IEM market overall and comparing the Alba to the Advar, which I am very familiar with, (granted on the AXPONA show floor when I tried the Alba, but listening to the Alba and Advar back to back for about 30 minutes during the last day which is notoriously slow). That ($1000-1300) price range is what I and a couple other people guessed without knowing what it was actually priced or each other's guesses, just that there was general excitement around it. Which simply means that I am very impressed by the performance, not that I think it should be more expensive. I think it's genuinely amazing how far entry-level audio products, especially IEMs, have come in the last 9 years or so since I got into the hobby and joined Head-fi when I was 15.

(Edit for typo I missed)

 

[ThanatosVI]

My opinions are my own, not EE's. As many people here know I am not a full time with EE, I pretty much just represent them at shows and do a bit of product feedback on prototypes at various stages. That Member of the Trade badge is there as a disclosure to you, the public, that I have at some point received compensation in some form from said company. I made that connection with EE because I'm passionate about this hobby, not just one brand, and I have no issue recommending a product I genuinely enjoy and/or find impressive that a company other than EE has created. Comparing it to the current IEM market overall and comparing the Alba to the Advar, which I am very familiar with, (granted on the AXPONA show floor when I tried the Alba, but listening to the Alba and Advar back to back for about 30 minutes during the last day which is notoriously slow). That ($1000-1300) price range is what I and a couple other people guessed without knowing what it was actually priced or each other's guesses, just that there was general excitement around it. Which simply means that I am very impressed by the performance, not that I think it should be more expensive. I think it's genuinely amazing how far entry-level audio products, especially IEMs, have come in the last 9 years or so since I got into the hobby and joined Head-fi when I was 15.

(Edit for typo I missed)

While I also think that they sound like much pricier options, I personally guessed at ~500

Since you compared them to the Advar, did you think they sounded much better than the Advar?
Or would you suggest that the Advar also punches way above its price tag and even above 1200?

 

[Dellwolf]

While I also think that they sound like much pricier options, I personally guessed at ~500

Since you compared them to the Advar, did you think they sounded much better than the Advar?
Or would you suggest that the Advar also punches way above its price tag and even above 1200?

I like the Advar a lot, except that it's always be a bit too sibilant for me personally no matter what tips I've tried on it, but I know plenty of people that they have zero issue with that with the same exact Advar unit, so that might just be a problem for me. Technicality-wise and just raw detail retrieval, I think the Advar does very well for its price, probably hitting closer to the $850-1000 range, imo when comparing it to the IEM market as a whole. The Alba doesn't have that sibilance issue for me at all, while also being a bit more neutral than the Advar while still having a slightly forward upper mid-range to bring out female vocalists, which is very much what I personally like in most of my favorite IEMs. Before knowing the price, I thought the Alba was a more refined newer version of the Advar that would eventually replace it. The Alba doesn't really have any downsides for my personal taste over the Advar while at least for female vocalist centered songs (which is a lot of my test tracks I was using that day) I found it to be a bit more detailed and natural sounding than the Advar for that specifically. Which is why I estimated it to be in the $1000-1300 range.

 

[Deckard001]

Hello can anyone compare or talk about his preference between Alba and Hidizs MP145?

 

[Not so fat head]

My opinions are my own, not EE's. As many people here know I am not a full time with EE, I pretty much just represent them at shows and do a bit of product feedback on prototypes at various stages. That Member of the Trade badge is there as a disclosure to you, the public, that I have at some point received compensation in some form from said company. I made that connection with EE because I'm passionate about this hobby, not just one brand, and I have no issue recommending a product I genuinely enjoy and/or find impressive that a company other than EE has created. Comparing it to the current IEM market overall and comparing the Alba to the Advar, which I am very familiar with, (granted on the AXPONA show floor when I tried the Alba, but listening to the Alba and Advar back to back for about 30 minutes during the last day which is notoriously slow). That ($1000-1300) price range is what I and a couple other people guessed without knowing what it was actually priced or each other's guesses, just that there was general excitement around it. Which simply means that I am very impressed by the performance, not that I think it should be more expensive. I think it's genuinely amazing how far entry-level audio products, especially IEMs, have come in the last 9 years or so since I got into the hobby and joined Head-fi when I was 15.

(Edit for typo I missed)

@Dellwolf Thx for the feedback…
We currently have a Japanese company (Aviot) that’s has a new TWS device. It has 5 drivers, batteries, communication chips, processors, amplifiers, built in EQ and sounds amazing all for $350…. I simply do not understand IEM pricing and how the vendors can justify these kilobuck prices moving forward…. Of course just my opinion. If there is a high rejection rate in these IEM vendors matching drivers for balanced sound (or whatever), then I could see some of the increased costs.

 

[alota]

@Dellwolf Thx for the feedback…
We currently have a Japanese company (Aviot) that’s has a new TWS device. It has 5 drivers, batteries, communication chips, processors, amplifiers, built in EQ and sounds amazing all for $350…. I simply do not understand IEM pricing and how the vendors can justify these kilobuck prices moving forward…. Of course just my opinion. If there is a high rejection rate in these IEM vendors matching drivers for balanced sound (or whatever), then I could see some of the increased costs.

It is the entire market of headphones. Just insane...

 

[Nick76]

I bought a set, should be here Tuesday. Excited to try them out.

Any chance we could get some more info on the USB C Dongle? Specs and what chip it's using, etc? Thanks!

 

[Tenlow]

I ordered them as well. Excited to try and review them! Should hopefully be there within two to three days! I quite liked the Rai Solo and found the Rai Penta okay but wasn’t overly enthusiastic about them given their price point. I have never listened to the Advar.

Let’s go

 

[stacey]

@Dellwolf Thx for the feedback…
We currently have a Japanese company (Aviot) that’s has a new TWS device. It has 5 drivers, batteries, communication chips, processors, amplifiers, built in EQ and sounds amazing all for $350…. I simply do not understand IEM pricing and how the vendors can justify these kilobuck prices moving forward…. Of course just my opinion. If there is a high rejection rate in these IEM vendors matching drivers for balanced sound (or whatever), then I could see some of the increased costs.

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.

 

[Ichos]

I bought a set, should be here Tuesday. Excited to try them out.

Any chance we could get some more info on the USB C Dongle? Specs and what chip it's using, etc? Thanks!

The Dac chip supports up to 32bits / 384 kHz the power is 89mW at 1khz in 32Ω. Chip not yet specified.

 

[unfitstew]

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.

 

[MD Rohit]

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.

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

 

[unfitstew]

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 ordered a pair of Eletech Baroques to try with them.

 

[MD Rohit]

I bought a set, should be here Tuesday. Excited to try them out.

Any chance we could get some more info on the USB C Dongle? Specs and what chip it's using, etc? Thanks!

I reviewed mine a while ago and have been using the dongle for about 5-6 days. However, I found its performance to be average with the Alba, and I didn't particularly like the bass with the stock dongle. So, I used it with my other equipment. It performs perfectly with the new Hiby R3 MK2, FiiO BTR7, and Plenue R2. I like it, and I hope you will too.

Oh, and you can read my full review for all the information you need.

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