[Andykong]

Not to be a jerk here, but a friend recently home auditioned the 3100 HV and preferred the Weiss 502 to it. Might be worth auditioning as an alternative

Now, this is an interesting topic. I have been using DAC502 since its launch (~ 6 years). I like it very much and am about to send my unit to Weiss Asia for a major upgrade (to DAC502-MK2-4ch). According to the official description, "the sonic characteristics of the MK2-4ch versions are on a higher level with incredible transparency and openness. Both line output stages and headphone output stages are built with discrete electronics developed from the standard DAC50x." This sounds extremely promising and put Weiss DAC50x up there as one of the TOTL single-box solutions for high-end headphones such as Meze Elite.

So what are the TOTL single-box All-in-Ones that will work for Elite? The following FIVE comes to my mind, feel free to add your dream All-in-One to the list. I must emphasize that the list is in alphabetic order, so please don't start a war on the ranking of these DAC/Amp.

• Boulder 812
• Chord Dave
• dCS Bartok
• T+A HA200
• Weiss DAC502-MK2

 

[Andykong]

To my experience it is the general vibe unfortunately, with some exceptions. Mostly on YouTube. (Highly biased and personal headphones.com made a great damage on Meze's reputation.)

Mostly because people do not get Meze's concept of sound. It is not all about sharp and artificial details under a microscope. Not about an altered soundscape to highlight the things most people are interested in.
Meze sound is about naturalness. And it is about the most details you can see in a natural light.
IMO a lot of people including reviewers are simply not mature enough to appreciate the Elite.

I read in someone's headphone list they rated the Elite fairly low because it could not compete technically with other headphones. My perception is that many reviewers and some listeners are looking for some kind of technical wow factor in a headphone, and headphone brands/models distinguish themselves by highlighting one wow factor or another (or several). As if listening to the gear over the music.

My experience with the Elites is that they pull everything together cohesively to play music in a very engaging way. I get lost in the music. Worth every penny.

Thank you very much. Have to thank our dedicated users to voice up and explain our product philosophy to HeadFier over and over again. The topic of technicality vs musicality has been beaten to death in several Meze headphone hreads, and I am quite sure we shall see more to come down the road.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Now, this is an interesting topic. I have been using DAC502 since its launch (~ 6 years). I like it very much and am about to send my unit to Weiss Asia for a major upgrade (to DAC502-MK2-4ch). According to the official description, "the sonic characteristics of the MK2-4ch versions are on a higher level with incredible transparency and openness. Both line output stages and headphone output stages are built with discrete electronics developed from the standard DAC50x." This sounds extremely promising and put Weiss DAC50x up there as one of the TOTL single-box solutions for high-end headphones such as Meze Elite.

So what are the TOTL single-box All-in-Ones that will work for Elite? The following FIVE comes to my mind, feel free to add your dream All-in-One to the list. I must emphasize that the list is in alphabetic order, so please don't start a war on the ranking of these DAC/Amp.

• Boulder 812
• Chord Dave
• dCS Bartok
• T+A HA200
• Weiss DAC502-MK2

• Boulder 812
• Chord Dave
• dCS Bartok
• Mola Mola Tambaqui
• T+A HA200
• T+A SD 3000 HV
• Weiss DAC501 (identical to 502 but only half as big)
• Weiss DAC502-MK2

 

[betula]

Thank you very much. Have to thank our dedicated users to voice up and explain our product philosophy to HeadFier over and over again. The topic of technicality vs musicality has been beaten to death in several Meze headphone hreads, and I am quite sure we shall see more to come down the road.

At the end of the day IMO it comes down to personal preference. I just think the two groups should show more understanding, acceptance and respect to each other's personal sonic preference. It is about certain (currently) unmeasurable sonic merits we value and prefer, not about an ultimate list or standard/measurable sonic data chart.
Anyway, I never understood folks who choose headphones based on measurement graphs. I simply listen to them and choose the most pleasing one.
The Elite has been the most pleasing one so far. And I heard most other headphones.

 

[Andykong]

• Boulder 812
• Chord Dave
• dCS Bartok
• T+A HA200
• T+A SD 3000 HV
• Weiss DAC501 (identical to 502 but only half as big)
• Weiss DAC502-MK2

SD3100HV is the Reference Streaming DAC of T+A with a headphone amplifier option, I couldn't find any detailed description or specification regarding this headphone option. The only information provided by T+A is "Headphone output: 6,3 mm Klinke (20 Ohms) and 4,4 mm Pentaconn (8 Ohms)". That's why I leave it out in the beginning. If you have more information regarding the headphone amplifier option of SD3100HV, that would be most helpful.

The DAC501 is identical to DAC502 for speaker application, but it does not have the headphone amplifier or XLR4 phone output, so I don't think we can call it a TOTL All-in-One for high-end headphones. Like the SSD3100HV, I believe people are buying these as DAC.

If we include a high-end DAC with a bundled headphone output, the list will probably increase 3-4 times longer, but what's the point?

 

[ThanatosVI]

SD3100HV is the Reference Streaming DAC of T+A with a headphone amplifier option, I couldn't find any detailed description or specification regarding this headphone option. The only information provided by T+A is "Headphone output: 6,3 mm Klinke (20 Ohms) and 4,4 mm Pentaconn (8 Ohms)". That's why I leave it out in the beginning. If you have more information regarding the headphone amplifier option of SD3100HV, that would be most helpful.

The DAC501 is identical to DAC502 for speaker application, but it does not have the headphone amplifier or XLR4 phone output, so I don't think we can call it a TOTL All-in-One for high-end headphones. Like the SSD3100HV, I believe people are buying these as DAC.

If we include a high-end DAC with a bundled headphone output, the list will probably increase 3-4 times longer, but what's the point?

Regarding the T+A SD3100HV I could inquire about more info. All I know atm is that it's a pure class A Design.

The Weiss DAC501 has the same headphone amplifier as the 502, it only lacks the 4 pin XLR on the back.

 

[pastorernie]

Make no mistake, the Elite is a resolving and detailed headphone. I respect Andrew at headphones.com and watch the Headphone show regularly. I am a fan of Crinacle, as well. But, my dependence on their opinion was shaken some when they expressed that the Elite was not detailed enough to justify the price. To be straight, I was shocked. I listen to this headphone everyday, I love the thing. I hear things I didn't hear on the HD800s, a detailed headphone, it is light years past the Auteur. But, the detail is married to excellent timbre and a sweet tone. It is nearly transparent, it's the best of all worlds.

Something else, Currawong and others have pointed out the holographic, 3-D illusion created by the Elite with good source material and gear. Well, I can attest that this effect is real. Instruments exist in a realistic space around my ears and head. Sometimes it is so real that I am transported to the concert hall.

 

[pastorernie]

I mean, my opinion, and who am I, is that detail past a certain point is detail for detail sake. When a headphone is detailed enough that it is lifelike, then other qualities take the fore, i.e., comfort, timbre, sound signature, pleasing tone, etc.

 

[Arcamera]

After owning the Elite for around six months now, surprisingly I'm only now getting around to trying the alternate pads (the Alcantera). To my surprise, so far I like them better than the hybid pads. Because the Elite is a touch 'cleaner' in tone than the Empyrean, and perhaps because I'm using the Elite with the silver coat upgrade cable, I find that the Alcantera adds a bit of warmth, balancing out the presentation. I dunno. And I don't know why I'm even bringing this up--- I usually find pad swap talk kind of boring actually, lol. ("Talking about music is like dancing about architecture"--who said that, Frank Zappa?) Carry on. Go Team Meze. Back to listening...

 

[lmf22]

My first “summit-fi” headphones.
My first Meze Audio headphones.
Absolutely in love with the design and the sound.

It took a while, but I finally saved enough for a top-of-the-line “summit-fi” headphones. After reading reviews, comparisons, and impressions from the people on this thread, I decided to get the Elite and have been using them for a month. I also got the silver-plated upgrade cables.

The design is absolutely beautiful and the build quality is the best I’ve seen in any headphones.
The sound…so addictive! It’s warm, natural, yet detailed and revealing. It’s so good at conveying the emotions of the song/music.

The bass is deep, detailed, has great slam, and excellent textures. The midrange is buttery smooth and great at showing the subtle details of instruments and artists’ voices. The treble is beautifully tuned with just the right amount of sparkle and never fatiguing. Overall, the tonality has a great balance for my preferences; a lot of details but they don’t jump out and shout at you; never fatiguing even after watching a 2-hour action/thriller movie without a break. Best of all, every type of music/TV/movies worked very well with these headphones.

As for EQ, I think they’re optional. I started with jaakkopasanen’s (AutoEQ) and Oratory1990’s EQ profiles. Out of the two, I liked Oratory1990’s EQ better. However, I ended up not using either of them. I just increased the sub-bass (30 Hz, Q 0.75, 4 dB). I felt like using full EQ profile (even the 5-band AutoEQ) made the Elite lose some of its magic and that additive sound.

I’m currently using the Burson Conductor 3 Performance (3P), and may upgrade to the Conductor 3 Reference (3R or 3XR) next year. Have to refill that piggy bank! Any other DAC/amp all-in-one recommendations?

 

[NYanakiev]

In my humble opinion, N8ii and Elite have very good synergy, but that's at timber/sound signature level. N8ii didn't have enough power to explore Elite satisfactorily. N8ii + Elite is enjoyable with some genres and at a moderate to low listening level. I probably will use Elite as the reference headphone for N8ii in a show, to demonstrate the capability of N8ii, but I wouldn't recommend Meze to use N8ii as a demo player unless we are in a portable audio event.

Thanks Andy. I ended up staying put, no matter how tempted I was by the black Elite.

My main reason was the hassle of having to sell my Focal Utopia with the Lazuli Reference cable- which has unbelievable synergy with DAVE and sounds fantastic.

Good to be able to say no to the itch to buy something new

 

[xenithon]

I'm struggling so hard to decide between keeping the Elite (which I own) and the Solitaire P (which I have on long term loan). I love the musicality and pillowy comfort of the Meze, but it's hard to shake the holographic depth / three dimensionality and bass depth / tautness / texture of the T+A. If only funds would allow for both

 

[Andykong]

Regarding the T+A SD3100HV I could inquire about more info. All I know atm is that it's a pure class A Design.

The Weiss DAC501 has the same headphone amplifier as the 502, it only lacks the 4 pin XLR on the back.

That's great, definitely looking forward to more infomation, I hope the SD3100HV headphone amp. option (€23,400.00) is at least superior to T+A HA200 (€6,600)

I sincerely hope, for the benefit of the personal audio industry, more All-in-One will take the Headphone amplification features seriously, and provide a headphone output that will take full advantage of the high-end DAC.

Yes, you are correct, maybe we can edit the list to DAC50x, but I doubt if serious HeadFier will go for 501 instead of 502, the choice is obvious.

 

[Toonartist]

That's great, definitely looking forward to more infomation, I hope the SD3100HV headphone amp. option (€23,400.00) is at least superior to T+A HA200 (€6,600)

I sincerely hope, for the benefit of the personal audio industry, more All-in-One will take the Headphone amplification features seriously, and provide a headphone output that will take full advantage of the high-end DAC.

Yes, you are correct, maybe we can edit the list to DAC50x, but I doubt if serious HeadFier will go for 501 instead of 502, the choice is obvious.

One thing I find is missing from many AIO systems is a remote control that works with Roon. Since picking up the Atom HE I've really appreciated the remote. I can pick out playlists etc to begin with via the Roon app but once I've started playing it's much easier to be able to skip, repeat or pause tracks from a remote in the hand rather than opening up a phone, iPad etc.

I hope the Atom HE is just the start of Naim building systems specifically for the headphone market... maybe add some higher spec systems in a similar size case.

 

[sarnhelen]

I'm struggling so hard to decide between keeping the Elite (which I own) and the Solitaire P (which I have on long term loan). I love the musicality and pillowy comfort of the Meze, but it's hard to shake the holographic depth / three dimensionality and bass depth / tautness / texture of the T+A. If only funds would allow for both

I made the decision for the Elite at Axpona, but it was difficult between these two - I was able to listen to the Elite on LTA amp - I have the LTA MZ3 - and to compare with the Audeze LC-5 - no contest; and when the LTA guy asked which I preferred, he responded That's what I think too. The Solitaire P was transfixing, but I was listening to it on the T+A amp and streamer, and the music file (YoYo Ma playing Morricone) played to the headphones' strengths, richly impressive (and a bit too much like eating a whole box of chocolates when heard at any length on any headphone, as I discovered when I returned home). I'm completely happy with the Elites, even after only about 20 hours' use. I often smile when listening to music I know (or thought I did).