Meze Audio LIRIC - The portable isodynamic hybrid array headphone
Nov 18, 2021 at 4:28 PM Post #226 of 1,444
I could see that Meze chose the pad solution for the Liric based on seal quality and the fact they are closed back headphones.

It could also be that at the 2000USD MSRP, they couldn't implement the magnetic system seen in the Elite and Empyrean, and maintain the required B.O.M. for the Liric (though this seems somewhat unlikely.)

Ultimately, whilst I would prefer the magnetic system, as well as an alcantara pad option, I really don't mind too much, especially if it helps provide a better seal and isolation.
 
Nov 18, 2021 at 4:55 PM Post #227 of 1,444
I saw that post already thanks. Nowhere in it is a reason why they had to use glued-on pads.

This is particularly telling, however. The bold tells you that they know they've deliberately created a user-unfriendly product with a painful pad replacement procedure, and also that it is in fact possible to make it somewhat user-friendly with the right amount of manhours thinking on a solution for that problem. They just chose to put the product on the market before figuring all that out:

We expect the ear pads to last for 2 years, as stipulated in the warranty, therefore we assume the video and earpad replacement kit is not urgent. We plan to spend some time to look for user-friendly replacement components and try to simplify the procedure before we produce the video.

Who knows, maybe the solution will be more elegant than the frustrating disasters that have befallen many who dared test their Audeze (or other) glued-on pads. Perhaps some gentle tugging and a hair-dryer will be enough to remove them. Certainly would be nice to know before forking over 2k for a portable headphone.

Anyway at this point the back-and-forth is becoming increasingly useless, I think. So unless there's something new that pops up about this that's worth talking about, :peace:
 
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Nov 18, 2021 at 6:22 PM Post #228 of 1,444
I saw that post already thanks. Nowhere in it is a reason why they had to use glued-on pads.

This is particularly telling, however. The bold tells you that they know they've deliberately created a user-unfriendly product with a painful pad replacement procedure, and also that it is in fact possible to make it somewhat user-friendly with the right amount of manhours thinking on a solution for that problem. They just chose to put the product on the market before figuring all that out:



Who knows, maybe the solution will be more elegant than the frustrating disasters that have befallen many who dared test their Audeze (or other) glued-on pads. Perhaps some gentle tugging and a hair-dryer will be enough to remove them. Certainly would be nice to know before forking over 2k for a portable headphone.

Anyway at this point the back-and-forth is becoming increasingly useless, I think. So unless there's something new that pops up about this that's worth talking about, :peace:
What I can say is … I don’t care. I used to complain about the longevity (or lack of it) of things, but the truth is that most of my devices got replaced way before the battery or plug in question wore out. And for pads, it never was an issue even after many years. So you are creating a complaint scenario which is rather unlikely. And if it’s a major concern for you … you’d always have the escape route of not buying.
 
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Nov 18, 2021 at 7:04 PM Post #229 of 1,444
What I can say is … I don’t care. I used to complain about the longevity (or lack of it) of things, but the truth is that most of my devices got replaced way before the battery or plug in question wore out. And for pads, it never was an issue even after many years, So you are creating a complaint scenario which is rather unlikely. And if it’s a major concern for you … you’d always have the escape route of not buying.
Complaints about glued-on pads are very common. You don't care, but others do. Perhaps you need to take a trip to the empathy store, eh? Believe it or not, your experience and corresponding opinion is not the only one that exists, or matters. Shocking, I know. In fact it hardly matters at all given that it is highly personal and not concerned at all with other users and/or the behavior of corporations within the audio space. So...I don't care.
 
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Nov 19, 2021 at 12:56 AM Post #230 of 1,444
Late night seduction…

ED51E209-DA18-4B8F-9E75-498B1234BEA2.jpeg
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 3:00 AM Post #232 of 1,444

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Nov 19, 2021 at 7:00 AM Post #233 of 1,444
How's the passive noise cancelation btw? Just out of simple curiosity because open or closedback, I don't have issue about that.
I'm only impressed how amazing my Beyerdynamic T5p.2 blocks noise, better than the DT770 I had.
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 7:03 AM Post #234 of 1,444
I just jumped in my favourite HP shop, and what have I found on the audition table?

Someone with very good taste was there before.

Liric.jpg


Unfortunately I had no time for comparision, the small new beauty took it all.

Unmistakably Meze sound. Surprisingly wide and open sounding for a closed back hp. Very good sinergy with my Hiby R8.
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 8:06 AM Post #235 of 1,444
I just jumped in my favourite HP shop, and what have I found on the audition table?

Someone with very good taste was there before.

Liric.jpg

Unfortunately I had no time for comparision, the small new beauty took it all.

Unmistakably Meze sound. Surprisingly wide and open sounding for a closed back hp. Very good sinergy with my Hiby R8.
Hey my actual headphone collection on ine table only my chain is completely different
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 8:52 AM Post #236 of 1,444
I just jumped in my favourite HP shop, and what have I found on the audition table?

Someone with very good taste was there before.

Liric.jpg

Unfortunately I had no time for comparision, the small new beauty took it all.

Unmistakably Meze sound. Surprisingly wide and open sounding for a closed back hp. Very good sinergy with my Hiby R8.
Did you get a chance to listen to it out of Dave?
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 9:37 AM Post #237 of 1,444
Hey my actual headphone collection on ine table only my chain is completely different
And my actual plan. Just the founding need to go to a dac first. R2R, or Dave?

Maybe the priorities will cange as I get time to time some reminders that I hear the music too loud. The Lyric shall solve that. I tried, covering the cups with the palm off head. Not much left to hear.
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 10:10 AM Post #238 of 1,444
And my actual plan. Just the founding need to go to a dac first. R2R, or Dave?

Maybe the priorities will cange as I get time to time some reminders that I hear the music too loud. The Lyric shall solve that. I tried, covering the cups with the palm off head. Not much left to hear.
I use a Rockna Wavelight, which is FPGA based R2R.
Thoroughly recommend it!

@Roasty once compared the Wavelight and the Dave side by side
 
Nov 19, 2021 at 12:00 PM Post #239 of 1,444
I had an hour-long audition with the Meze LIRIC and the Dan Clark Audio Stealth today.

Long story short, the LIRIC was a better fit for my tastes, whilst the Stealth remains a good contender for a top-tier closed-back headphone (with some caveats).

First things first, both headphones are very comfortable in use; neither headphone has a strong clamp. In tandem with the lush, thick pads, and with bodies that are feather-light, the 2 of them were a pleasure to use.

On to the sound....

Meze LIRIC
The LIRIC sounds very different from the brand's original flagship, the Empyrean. The latter exceeds in bringing to the fore a lush, textured, meaty sound that's more parts musical than detailed, more fun than balanced, in the overall sense. In contrast, the LIRIC takes a different approach - the tonality is leaner by choice, with a bass presentation that is lighter on the slam; on the flipside, the highs on the LIRIC are more prominent, with good articulation and presence. In comparison, the Empyrean struggles, on occasion, to deliver the magnificent highs that its comparative brethren in the top-tier, open-back space achieve with stunning efficiency.

Ultimately, the LIRIC takes a more level-headed approach; it's an Empyrean that has decided to mature, by shedding away its layers of verdant bloom and blush, and introducing a more neutral take on things, comparatively speaking. You'll still enjoy a bass section that has good layering and sub-bass extension; the midrange retains a decent amount of warmth that provides vocals with authority and vigor; and you'll finally have a treble section that is more lively, with good detail, sizzle and sparkle.

With EDM, the LIRIC doesn't struggle to provide a good semblance of energy, dynamism, and musicality; these are the traits that I seek most in headphones (or IEMs). A robust bassline, replete with texture and slam, accompanies the aforementioned treble section to give dance music a figurative boost; you'll hear the thump and the cymbals, the synths and the grooves. This is a headphone that pairs very well with EDM, IMO.

Dan Clark Audio Stealth
To be brutally honest, I wasn't impressed - at all - with the Stealth when I first listened to them. They sounded rather lifeless and lackluster; it was severely lacking in engagement and musicality. Still, I proceed to listen to the very same tunes that I subjected the LIRIC to, and it became apparent to me that the Dan Clark Audio flagship had more than a few tricks up its sleeve.

Evidently, the Stealth is a maestro at producing the finest bits of detail; clarity was clearly (no pun intended) at the forefront of the designers' minds. Amongst the myriad closed-back headphones that I have tried, only the Rögnir stands alongside the Stealth as an equal in the pertinent aspects of resolution and detail.

In the bass department, a slight mid-bass hump lends a touch of warmth to an otherwise neutral-oriented headphone; the layering on the Stealth is quite superb. Couple this with the excellent sub-bass extension, and you have a presentation that's quite welcoming to bassheads. On the other end of the spectrum, treble is equally inviting, thanks to an airy display that retains good articulation. It isn't a bright headphone per se, but the highs are certainly one of the best in the Dan Clark Audio stable; probably the Ether C Flow 1.1 provides highs that are equally as prominent as the treble on the Stealth.

Sadly, despite its top-tier resolving capabilities, I found the Stealth deficient in the (important) facets of dynamics and musicality. Despite its ability to produce micro-details with effortless labor, the overall sound didn't engage me in a very meaningful way. I could certainly appreciate its technical strengths; it is definitely a headphone that was made to distill the qualities of top-end open-back headphones in a portable, closed body. With that being said, I couldn't enjoy my music with them - I played crucial segments of 15-20 of my favorite dance tracks between the Stealth and the LIRIC, and the latter won on the "toe-tapping, head-bopping" scale, each and every time.

Overall
Make no mistake, though, if you are in the hunt for a closed-back headphone that has fortes in the aspects of detail, layering, and balance, the Stealth is a good-to-great choice, albeit one that is somewhat pricy. If you don't need a portable solution, the Rögnir remains the better option, IMO. It is equally as resolving, but is easily more engaging and dynamic than the Stealth.

The LIRIC, on the other hand, is a fantastic option at the $2,000 mark. Yes, this isn't cheap either, but $2,000 is still half of $4,000. What you lose in sheer resolving prowess, you gain in musicality, engagement, and fun. Plus, they are just as portable, so neither headphone gets the win in this department.

Edit: Added impressions from my 2nd audition.
 
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Nov 19, 2021 at 12:17 PM Post #240 of 1,444
I played crucial segments of 15-20 of my favorite dance tracks between the Stealth and the LIRIC, and the latter won on the "toe-tapping, head-bopping" scale, each and every time.
That summarizes my experiences comparing LIRIC vs Stealth, as well. Stealth certainly has greatness, and it even sounded really good on Nautilus, with tubes lending them some much needed musical life. But they still never grabbed me like LIRIC does.

The LIRIC, on the other hand, is a fantastic option at the $2,000 mark. Yes, this isn't cheap either, but $2,000 is still half of $4,000. What you lose in sheer resolving prowess, you gain in musicality, engagement, and fun. Plus, they are just as portable, so neither headphone gets the win in this department.
I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the tradeoffs here. Ultimately, these are subjective factors that may appeal differently to people with different preferences and needs. Both are worth an audition, if possible.
 

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