Meze Audio LIRIC - The portable isodynamic hybrid array headphone
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NJoyzAudio
100+ Head-Fier
I don’t consider myself a reviewer, just someone who enjoys audio
As such understand that what I write is “In My Opinion” (IMO) and “Your Milage May Vary” (YMMV)
I know “tuning” via cable changes has started many a religious war here on Head-Fi, but I look at it this way, to preserve your investment in both monitors (IEM and Over the ears) and source HW, if your happy with what you have but need a small “adjustment” then why not try a cable, as often the next “tweak” to what you own is going to be a sizable step up investment on your part from what you own today. Why not see if a smaller investment in cable will get you there at a much lower price point? (not all of us can justify the move up to the Oriolus Traillii or Meze Elite so maybe a cable onto your existing monitor which will be well south of that cost might get you 98% there?
Just one of my philosophies that many reviewers here I follow, also subscribe to.
But just as true reviewers on this forum are quick to say, will a cable suddenly make an overly dark or overly bright monitor neutral, or make a low cost monitor rival a Kilobuck monitor?
NO, it won’t....
But it can make what you have found meet your tastes and needs if it is close with a standard cable, and with the various blends of materials today, there is a lot to try to “tune” what you have.
And just for the record, all the cables I mention in this write up I purchased, nothing was given to me nor do I get any compensation from anyone for posting this. I do this because I just enjoy sharing my findings and my opinions. So these opinions and a $1 might get you a cup of coffee at best. I do this because I want to….
I’ve had a great run using cables form BOTH Plussound and Eletech.
Christian at Plussound has been a great source of info, and his cable builds and combination of materials and construction I feel are some of the best out there.
Christian has steered me in the right direction often selling me a less expensive solution than I originally thought I needed, and I’ve found his advise is usually spot on.
Definitely a good person to ask and trust.
Simlarly Eletech has done a fantastic job in this arena.
Eric and his team at Eletech have created cables that will suit many tastes. Being old school I tend to lean towards a warmer analog sound, but I still appreciate accuracy and many of Eric’s products have given me what I have looked for
Having met Eric years ago at A Can Jam, I was looking forward to seeing and talking to him in person at Can Jam Socal to demo the Inferno for my Meze Lyric’s I had purchased during the Covid Lockdown.
Been a while since I’ve had a closed back over the ear headphone (needed to be closed back for use around others) and narrowed it down to either Focal Stellia or the Meze Lyrics
I’ve always enjoyed Planar speakers over the years as an option and have owned both Planar and traditional cone drivers for home use.
These options presented themselves to me for a new over the ear headphone, and even at the height of the Covid Lockdown in CA I was able to audition the Lyric’s back to back with the Focal Stellia and while I did not think either was perfect, felt I had a better base sound to build on with the Lyrics and purchased them knowing I could tune via cable as mentioned above.
Ironically another respected Head-Fier was going through a similar process albeit for a different headphone.
I followed Wyville’s Journey here on Head-Fi with his Senn HD650’s, and his quest seem to mirror mine with cables he was trying and finding not meeting the mark
For my Lyrics as I found them to be a little mid forward, OK with highs, but a little lacking in Bass (both Mid and low punch) and knew from previous experience with IEM’s a cable change would probably get me what I was looking for with the Lyrics
I first tried the Meze Upgrade SPC and Upgrade Copper Cables. They both were a great improvement over the stock Lyric cable, but wasn’t quite what I was looking for. The SPC cable went a little shrill at times, and the copper cable seemed to lack some clarity.
I first worked with Christian at Plussound and after discussing with him what I was looking for, I was in the posiition to ask for one of his Copper+ cables (for those not familiar it is a coax type pure copper cable with silver foil for shielding). He mentioned Wyville was releasing a review of the Copper+ cable so I read with great interest while I waited for mine to be built and delivered
What Wyville mentioned were similar to what I wanted to find in the Lyrics
The cable arrived and as Christian recommended, I gave it about 120+ hours of burn in, not sneaking any listening while being burned in so brain burn in was not a factor (and I know Burn-In is another topic that has also ignited religious wars here on Head-fi, but I can say there is a marked difference, and I’m a believer but know others are not, so please take what I say as IMO and agree that YMMV.)
The Copper+ did what I wanted it to
I didn’t think I needed anything more in the mids and the Copper+ left the Lyric’s mids as-is (which is what I thought it needed...I was wrong), it cleaned up the highs, added clarity and maybe a little more extension. But it did help the bass A LOT, and gave the lyrics the punch I desired.
It also improved the soundstage left to right but left the height and depth with a small improvement and for all practical purposes it was the same. Again thought the Lyrics were already good front to back so this did NOT bother me at all
I’ve been use to Plussound’s cable always improving both depth and width so what the Copper+ did was new to me for a Plussound Cable. This might be the Lyrics as other reviews of the Copper+ cable do talk about soundstage improvements in all directions
I was enjoying the clarity the cable provided, but occasionally A/B’ing with my IEM’s I felt there was still improvements to be had.
As luck would have it, Wyville posted his change from the Copper+ to the Eletech Inferno. Additionally other reviewers I follow and who's opinions I trust such as Twister6, Deezel177 and Ryan Soo all had either full reviews or smaller posts on the Eletech Inferno, so along with Wyville’s full review, I was interested.
After waiting for 6 months, I was finally at Can Jam SoCal, able to spend an extended amount of time with Eric and the Inferno
I was actually surprised I was the first person to let Eric Try the Lyrics, and he was able to hear the stock cable, the Copper+ and the Inferno, and gave me his honest opinions, and they did mirror what I too was hearing between the Copper+ and the Inferno.
The true gentleman Eric is, he told me point blank that the Copper+ was definitely a little more accurate and did extend the Treble a little more than the Inferno
But what we both found the Inferno did was extend the bass much lower, cleaned up and attenuated the mid bass, cleaned up the mids without moving them forward, and made a nice bridge/segway to the highs, which was an area I feel the Copper+ left too much on its own with the Lyrics, there is a distinct difference between the 2 cables where the mid highs and the highs transition.
Both Eric and I summed it up as the Copper+ was a little more accurate but at a cost of warmth and maybe a little more “digital” sounding (which is NOT bad, just not what I wanted)
The Inferno was warmer, more analog in its sound and the sounds transitioned smoothly across the spectrum.
Of the 2 the inferno was more “musical” with the Copper + being more “accurate” and digital in its sound
I’ve moved the Copper+ on to another headphone that was overly warm and lacked accuracy and they are great there, but for the Lyric’s the Inferno has found a permanent home.
Would I have been happy with the Copper+, Absolutely, and would recommend to anyone looking to increase accuracy for critical listening
But the Lyric’s for me were never meant to be a headphone I was going to use to analyze a recording or do critical listening with. It was the settle in after a long day, put on familiar tracks and lull myself to relax or a nap with.
The Inferno’s help these headphones do just that. Mind you the combo is still accurate as if I listen and miss certain attributes in the music I know should be there, that would drive me nuts, and those headphones would not stay long in my arsenal, but the combo of the Inferno on the Lyrics just make it a comfortable nice to listen to pairing, and one I can recommend to anyone.
One word of Caution. Eric mentioned the Inferno really needs a long burn in, and recommended 150 hours at least. I can say when the Inferno first arrived it sounded NOTHING like what I had auditioned at CanJam and was in all ways inferior to the Copper+. But at 100 hours it started to sound like what I heard and at 150-160 hours it became a great cable to use and just keeps improving the more time I put on it.
Patience is a virtue when it comes to the Inferno.
If interested and helps you in your testing, my source HW for these tests was the Cayin N8ii running Class A/Tubes combo, Med Gain and P power setting
I also used my Lotoo PAW 6000 in variable Line Out mode, into my Cayin C9 amp in "Pre" mode (removing the C9's volume controls from the signal path) and also running in Class A/Tubes mode with low gain.
Source material was Rock, Jazz (Classical and Modern) R&B and even some Classical music. via 16 and 24 Bit FLAC files and some High Bit rate MP3's
If you’ve made it this far reading this “write up” THANK YOU, and again, this is IMO and YMMV
I agree wholeheartedly with you! I love my Meze Liric with the Inferno: compared to the Meze upgrade silver cable, which is also great, it is just more full bodied, three-dimensional, deeper and more visceral. The only downside is that the cable it is pretty heavy and the plug is so thick that it is not possible to go through the case of my new Astell&Kern sp 3000 - so I have to use the Dap naked - but man does it sing! I sold my beloved Fiio M17! So I have a transportable dream team now with the Liric, the Inferno and the Astell&Kern. I just listen to Nils Landgren’s “three generations” unbelievably good!!!
I don’t consider myself a reviewer, just someone who enjoys audio
As such understand that what I write is “In My Opinion” (IMO) and “Your Milage May Vary” (YMMV)
I know “tuning” via cable changes has started many a religious war here on Head-Fi, but I look at it this way, to preserve your investment in both monitors (IEM and Over the ears) and source HW, if your happy with what you have but need a small “adjustment” then why not try a cable, as often the next “tweak” to what you own is going to be a sizable step up investment on your part from what you own today. Why not see if a smaller investment in cable will get you there at a much lower price point? (not all of us can justify the move up to the Oriolus Traillii or Meze Elite so maybe a cable onto your existing monitor which will be well south of that cost might get you 98% there?
Just one of my philosophies that many reviewers here I follow, also subscribe to.
But just as true reviewers on this forum are quick to say, will a cable suddenly make an overly dark or overly bright monitor neutral, or make a low cost monitor rival a Kilobuck monitor?
NO, it won’t....
But it can make what you have found meet your tastes and needs if it is close with a standard cable, and with the various blends of materials today, there is a lot to try to “tune” what you have.
And just for the record, all the cables I mention in this write up I purchased, nothing was given to me nor do I get any compensation from anyone for posting this. I do this because I just enjoy sharing my findings and my opinions. So these opinions and a $1 might get you a cup of coffee at best. I do this because I want to….
I’ve had a great run using cables form BOTH Plussound and Eletech.
Christian at Plussound has been a great source of info, and his cable builds and combination of materials and construction I feel are some of the best out there.
Christian has steered me in the right direction often selling me a less expensive solution than I originally thought I needed, and I’ve found his advise is usually spot on.
Definitely a good person to ask and trust.
Simlarly Eletech has done a fantastic job in this arena.
Eric and his team at Eletech have created cables that will suit many tastes. Being old school I tend to lean towards a warmer analog sound, but I still appreciate accuracy and many of Eric’s products have given me what I have looked for
Having met Eric years ago at A Can Jam, I was looking forward to seeing and talking to him in person at Can Jam Socal to demo the Inferno for my Meze Lyric’s I had purchased during the Covid Lockdown.
Been a while since I’ve had a closed back over the ear headphone (needed to be closed back for use around others) and narrowed it down to either Focal Stellia or the Meze Lyrics
I’ve always enjoyed Planar speakers over the years as an option and have owned both Planar and traditional cone drivers for home use.
These options presented themselves to me for a new over the ear headphone, and even at the height of the Covid Lockdown in CA I was able to audition the Lyric’s back to back with the Focal Stellia and while I did not think either was perfect, felt I had a better base sound to build on with the Lyrics and purchased them knowing I could tune via cable as mentioned above.
Ironically another respected Head-Fier was going through a similar process albeit for a different headphone.
I followed Wyville’s Journey here on Head-Fi with his Senn HD650’s, and his quest seem to mirror mine with cables he was trying and finding not meeting the mark
For my Lyrics as I found them to be a little mid forward, OK with highs, but a little lacking in Bass (both Mid and low punch) and knew from previous experience with IEM’s a cable change would probably get me what I was looking for with the Lyrics
I first tried the Meze Upgrade SPC and Upgrade Copper Cables. They both were a great improvement over the stock Lyric cable, but wasn’t quite what I was looking for. The SPC cable went a little shrill at times, and the copper cable seemed to lack some clarity.
I first worked with Christian at Plussound and after discussing with him what I was looking for, I was in the posiition to ask for one of his Copper+ cables (for those not familiar it is a coax type pure copper cable with silver foil for shielding). He mentioned Wyville was releasing a review of the Copper+ cable so I read with great interest while I waited for mine to be built and delivered
What Wyville mentioned were similar to what I wanted to find in the Lyrics
The cable arrived and as Christian recommended, I gave it about 120+ hours of burn in, not sneaking any listening while being burned in so brain burn in was not a factor (and I know Burn-In is another topic that has also ignited religious wars here on Head-fi, but I can say there is a marked difference, and I’m a believer but know others are not, so please take what I say as IMO and agree that YMMV.)
The Copper+ did what I wanted it to
I didn’t think I needed anything more in the mids and the Copper+ left the Lyric’s mids as-is (which is what I thought it needed...I was wrong), it cleaned up the highs, added clarity and maybe a little more extension. But it did help the bass A LOT, and gave the lyrics the punch I desired.
It also improved the soundstage left to right but left the height and depth with a small improvement and for all practical purposes it was the same. Again thought the Lyrics were already good front to back so this did NOT bother me at all
I’ve been use to Plussound’s cable always improving both depth and width so what the Copper+ did was new to me for a Plussound Cable. This might be the Lyrics as other reviews of the Copper+ cable do talk about soundstage improvements in all directions
I was enjoying the clarity the cable provided, but occasionally A/B’ing with my IEM’s I felt there was still improvements to be had.
As luck would have it, Wyville posted his change from the Copper+ to the Eletech Inferno. Additionally other reviewers I follow and who's opinions I trust such as Twister6, Deezel177 and Ryan Soo all had either full reviews or smaller posts on the Eletech Inferno, so along with Wyville’s full review, I was interested.
After waiting for 6 months, I was finally at Can Jam SoCal, able to spend an extended amount of time with Eric and the Inferno
I was actually surprised I was the first person to let Eric Try the Lyrics, and he was able to hear the stock cable, the Copper+ and the Inferno, and gave me his honest opinions, and they did mirror what I too was hearing between the Copper+ and the Inferno.
The true gentleman Eric is, he told me point blank that the Copper+ was definitely a little more accurate and did extend the Treble a little more than the Inferno
But what we both found the Inferno did was extend the bass much lower, cleaned up and attenuated the mid bass, cleaned up the mids without moving them forward, and made a nice bridge/segway to the highs, which was an area I feel the Copper+ left too much on its own with the Lyrics, there is a distinct difference between the 2 cables where the mid highs and the highs transition.
Both Eric and I summed it up as the Copper+ was a little more accurate but at a cost of warmth and maybe a little more “digital” sounding (which is NOT bad, just not what I wanted)
The Inferno was warmer, more analog in its sound and the sounds transitioned smoothly across the spectrum.
Of the 2 the inferno was more “musical” with the Copper + being more “accurate” and digital in its sound
I’ve moved the Copper+ on to another headphone that was overly warm and lacked accuracy and they are great there, but for the Lyric’s the Inferno has found a permanent home.
Would I have been happy with the Copper+, Absolutely, and would recommend to anyone looking to increase accuracy for critical listening
But the Lyric’s for me were never meant to be a headphone I was going to use to analyze a recording or do critical listening with. It was the settle in after a long day, put on familiar tracks and lull myself to relax or a nap with.
The Inferno’s help these headphones do just that. Mind you the combo is still accurate as if I listen and miss certain attributes in the music I know should be there, that would drive me nuts, and those headphones would not stay long in my arsenal, but the combo of the Inferno on the Lyrics just make it a comfortable nice to listen to pairing, and one I can recommend to anyone.
One word of Caution. Eric mentioned the Inferno really needs a long burn in, and recommended 150 hours at least. I can say when the Inferno first arrived it sounded NOTHING like what I had auditioned at CanJam and was in all ways inferior to the Copper+. But at 100 hours it started to sound like what I heard and at 150-160 hours it became a great cable to use and just keeps improving the more time I put on it.
Patience is a virtue when it comes to the Inferno.
If interested and helps you in your testing, my source HW for these tests was the Cayin N8ii running Class A/Tubes combo, Med Gain and P power setting
I also used my Lotoo PAW 6000 in variable Line Out mode, into my Cayin C9 amp in "Pre" mode (removing the C9's volume controls from the signal path) and also running in Class A/Tubes mode with low gain.
Source material was Rock, Jazz (Classical and Modern) R&B and even some Classical music. via 16 and 24 Bit FLAC files and some High Bit rate MP3's
If you’ve made it this far reading this “write up” THANK YOU, and again, this is IMO and YMMV
If someone here has the FiOO M11S let me know how it works with the meze Liric.
The M11S supports roon ready now so that would be really nice for me
The M11S supports roon ready now so that would be really nice for me
Has anyone tried the Liric with a Bottlehead Mainline? I'm in need of a lightweight headphone to back up my ZMF Verite Closed because of my neck issues (my VC with cable and extra padding weighs in around 575-600 grams. My neck starts to kill me if I listen to them for a whole work day).
I'm seeing that tubes really help with the treble issues some have reported, but I haven't seen anyone mention if the Mainline has that effect.
My other option is an Aeolus with a magnesium frame, but I know that'd still be heavier than the Liric.
I'm seeing that tubes really help with the treble issues some have reported, but I haven't seen anyone mention if the Mainline has that effect.
My other option is an Aeolus with a magnesium frame, but I know that'd still be heavier than the Liric.
tonimccloud
Head-Fier
Have you tried the Sony mdr-z1r? it weights only 385 gr and sound is phenomenal
Daniel Johnston
Headphoneus Supremus
I love the Liric with tubes. I use both the Woo WA8 and Folkvangr. I don’t know the bottlehead mainline, but it’s specs seem to be appropriate for the liric.
I can vouch for the comfort. They’re probably my most comfortable headphone rivaled only by the DCA Stealth.
ThanatosVI
Headphoneus Supremus
I love Liric with tubes (Octave V16)
For me the Liric is the most comfortable headphone there is, even beating Elite/Empyrean and Expanse. (Which is probably due to my small head)
I hope they bring an open headphone with that construction at some point as well
Just bought the Lirics and love them! Sweet pairing with my Mojo 2!
Looking for a cable upgrade for the Liric to tame the upper mids / slightly tizziness in vocals and cymbals and add a touch of warmth. From posts above sounds like Inferno is a good shout. Any other suggestions? Thanks all
SmashedITR
New Head-Fier
How do these compare to the 109 Pro?
There's only one cable which can do that, and it's called EQ.
Ouch. Some posts itt (e.g. p68) seemed to indicate otherwise - will probably give a cable upgrade a go in any event.
Daniel Johnston
Headphoneus Supremus
What’s your source/amp/dac?
Cables will, at best, be subtle in changes. Whereas an overly bright system more problematic.
For what it’s worth Corpse Cables are very well made, not horribly expensive, and are Cardas copper. I use those and the Nordost Blue heaven. No tizz to the treble.
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