[Kevintj604]

As a customer I'd prefer that but I can imagine that chuggling so many different production cycles could Pose quite the challenge to such small manufacturers

I guess. I’m used to a lot of options from smaller manufacturers like ZMF and Dan Clark so I guess I always assumed Meze would want a few different options. Antonio would sell thousands of units if they re-released an Empyrean at a lower price point like HiFiMan does with their older models. An Empyrean at $1800 MSRP would be a blockbuster.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I guess. I’m used to a lot of options from smaller manufacturers like ZMF and Dan Clark so I guess I always assumed Meze would want a few different options. Antonio would sell thousands of units if they re-released an Empyrean at a lower price point like HiFiMan does with their older models. An Empyrean at $1800 MSRP would be a blockbuster.

Unlike Hifiman, Meze can't scale up with cheap production lines in China though

 

[Kevintj604]

Unlike Hifiman, Meze can't scale up with cheap production lines in China though

Maybe. If DCA and ZMF can have multiple older models I guess I’m just surprised Meze can’t. Especially when the Rinaro Drivers are used it practically all their models.

Sad to see Empyrean and Liric get discontinued so soon after release but it’s good for the secondhand market prices. I wouldn’t be surprised if Empyrean goes up in value in a few years.

I’m super interested in Liric 2 and I’m hoping it’s not the headphone that GoldenSound and Resolve were talking about in Friday’s livestream.

 

[Jefecesti]

Have Meze Liric discontinued? Why? Is there new model coming up?

 

[SolarCetacean]

Antonio would sell thousands of units if they re-released an Empyrean at a lower price point like HiFiMan does with their older models. An Empyrean at $1800 MSRP would be a blockbuster.

That assumes that Meze can build those thousands of units in a given span of time; you can't effectively sell what you can't make, and waitlists can only grow so long before sales get impacted. High-end audio is a low-volume market, and while they'd get the demand for thousands of units if they lowered the price, if they can't fulfill that demand, it is of limited use. High-end audio production, from everything that I've seen, is also a very manual process with each unit assembled by hand. Much more like cottage industry rather than mass production. Increasing production means hiring more employees and training them to do careful assembly of the headphones. Videos from the Sennheiser factory in Ireland show people manually putting together HD800Ses, with each screw installed by screwdriver. Meze uses elaborate designs in their earcup faceplates; those take time to etch even on a machine, which limits the rate at which Empyreans can be produced.

As a point of reference from another high-end audio brand, Stax informed their dealers that they had completed their 1000th SR-X9000 about 22 months after the product was announced; the X9000 was announced in September 2021 (went on sale in November that year) and the 1000th production unit was completed in July 2023. 22 months for 1000 units is a little under 2.5 headphones produced per workday. It really doesn't matter how much or how little demand they have for the X9000 if they make less than 3 per day. Now, I highly doubt Meze is that supply-constrained, but the general idea is that unlike most consumer items, demand isn't always the limiting factor in how many units of a headphone a company can sell.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Maybe. If DCA and ZMF can have multiple older models I guess I’m just surprised Meze can’t. Especially when the Rinaro Drivers are used it practically all their models.

Sad to see Empyrean and Liric get discontinued so soon after release but it’s good for the secondhand market prices. I wouldn’t be surprised if Empyrean goes up in value in a few years.

I’m super interested in Liric 2 and I’m hoping it’s not the headphone that GoldenSound and Resolve were talking about in Friday’s livestream.

Having multiple models and drastically reducing the price of some are two completely different topics though.

Have Meze Liric discontinued? Why? Is there new model coming up?

Yes Liric 2 coming next week, scroll up for first pictures

 

[Unseen Aura]

Have Meze Liric discontinued? Why? Is there new model coming up?

New model is officially released

About Liric Gen 2: https://mezeaudio.com/pages/liric

Headphone for Acquiring: https://mezeaudio.com/products/liric

 

[Kevintj604]

 

[Kevintj604]

I’m sure we’ll see a ton of reviews today now that the embargo is lifted.

 

[Kevintj604]

Haven’t seen anything from Resolve or GoldenSound yet but WaveTheory’s review and GadgetryTech’s are excellent. Curawong is making an A/B comparison with the E3 which is what I’m most interested in. My local Meze rep won’t have the Liric II in store for another month or so so I won’t have a chance to hear them until closer to May.

 

[TaronL]

The Meze Audio LIRIC II is now available for pre-order in North America!

https://headphones.com/products/meze-audio-liric-ii-headphones

 

[ThanatosVI]

As always, order is in.
Hopefully @Currawong will release a review as well

The new Liric also has detachable earpads with the magnetic system. Wouldn't be surprised if we see more pad options in the future

 

[Daniel Johnston]

They seem more like an incremental update. the wood cups are nice and give it a more premium look. The driver is the same as current Liric. I guess it's down to the QWRM and tuning.

 

[yrstruly]

Just watched the WaveTheory review. Sounds this is more a retuning of the Liric 1 as opposed to any technical improvements? I like the sound of it being less fatiguing than Liric 1 - fingers crossed the mids are more akin to the Elite and less cold/lean than they were on Liric 1.

 

[ThanatosVI]

They seem more like an incremental update. the wood cups are nice and give it a more premium look. The driver is the same as current Liric. I guess it's down to the QWRM and tuning.

There still are some inconsistencies.
At one part they say 30 Ohm and in the spec sheet 61 Ohm.
At 61 it might be a changed driver (it has the same name as the Liric driver though)

The QWRM is new, the pressure equalization system is changed.
Pad System changed as well.