[macdonjh]

Yep, you have a handle on it and as you've seen by my photos the first thing I changed was the wonky stock cable and of course I put my favored Auvio tips on them. Enjoy and hope you have several sources to try them on

Honestly I find most manufacturers to cut cost with sub par (by my standards) cables and as you can see from this photo I pretty much re-address that on everything I own

I have both the solos and the pentas and agree. Of course the pentas are on a different level, considering the price, but the solos are still very good. I did replace my cable on the solos, the memory wire was even more annoying than that on the cable of the pentas.

We know Meze, Inc watch their threads here, so maybe they'll change their cable for the Solo. I don't have any problem with the "sound" of the cable, I just hate that memory wire. Much too stiff.

Oh, by the way PixelSquish, I am also very impressed by the difference a Bifrost I MB made in my bedroom system. Squashed my long-held thought all DACs sound much alike.

 

[PixelSquish]

We know Meze, Inc watch their threads here, so maybe they'll change their cable for the Solo. I don't have any problem with the "sound" of the cable, I just hate that memory wire. Much too stiff.

Oh, by the way PixelSquish, I am also very impressed by the difference a Bifrost I MB made in my bedroom system. Squashed my long-held thought all DACs sound much alike.

Indeed. I don't have much of any experience with higher end DAC and amps but I had my price point and I researched extensively, so I can't say how it compares to the competition except that it seemed like the best shot after reading for hours and hours. The Bifrost MB was what I went with and I am thoroughly happy. With the Burson Amp and the T90 headphones I am in heaven at home when at my desk.

 

[macdonjh]

Indeed. I don't have much of any experience with higher end DAC and amps but I had my price point and I researched extensively, so I can't say how it compares to the competition except that it seemed like the best shot after reading for hours and hours. The Bifrost MB was what I went with and I am thoroughly happy. With the Burson Amp and the T90 headphones I am in heaven at home when at my desk.

I've had an original Mjolnir for years, purchased as hoping to future-proof my head phone amp (enough power to drive anything I might buy, hoping it would sound good enough I'd want to keep it). I tried the Bifrost as a way to dip my toe back in the multi-bit world. I really want to try a Gugnir, but that was way too much money for an experiment. I may take Schiit up on their 15-day return in the future, though. The Bifrost is impressive enough I'd like to hear the next step up the line. Someday.

 

[erich6]

I got the Rai Solo's with the Black Friday sale and agree with most of the descriptions on this thread. The quality is fantastic (both physical and sound). Coming from using Meze's 99 Classics and Sennheiser HD 660s with tube amps I feel the upper mids are just too peaky for my taste but I haven't had too many hours on them so will see if burn-in (drivers or brain) make a difference. Also, I'm driving the Solo with A&K SR-25 DAP using stock cable so not getting the most of what I would if I had them connected to the balanced port.

 

[macdonjh]

I got the Rai Solo's with the Black Friday sale and agree with most of the descriptions on this thread. The quality is fantastic (both physical and sound). Coming from using Meze's 99 Classics and Sennheiser HD 660s with tube amps I feel the upper mids are just too peaky for my taste but I haven't had too many hours on them so will see if burn-in (drivers or brain) make a difference. Also, I'm driving the Solo with A&K SR-25 DAP using stock cable so not getting the most of what I would if I had them connected to the balanced port.

I didn't notice much difference between driving my Pentas single ended versus balanced. What I did notice is Penta sounds very mellow and laid back with my A&K DAP and noticeably more energetic and engaging with my Questyle DAP. I noticed a similar difference when I paired my Solo with my Questyle. My two theories are: I like Meze IEMs with a lean, dynamic source and the Solo are resolving enough to show the difference in sources.

 

[peterinvan]

The Shure BT2 should work with our Rai Solo, do give it a try, the driving capability of the BT2 is surprisingly good.

By the way, when you use the comply foam, don't push it into your ears directly. As you have aware, they are slightly bigger then other tips, if you push it into your ear every time, it will go in but the extra pressure might shorten the life of the comply foam. I suggest you squeeze the comply tip with your thumb and index finger gently, make it smaller by reducing the air inside the foam tip, put the IEM into your ear and hold it in your ear for couple of seconds, let the foam tip expands in your ear. this will create the best seal.

COMPLY FOAM 400 TIPS:
I tried the Comply 440's and found that they Increased bass but attenuated the treble. Female vocals were lost in the heavier bass response. I now prefer the large single flange tips supplied with the Rai Solo.

 

[peterinvan]

Yes, headphones that cost 250$ should have balanced cable and jack.
Every device now, even the cheap ones, have a balanced output.
[/QUOTE]
FiiO LC-4.4C 4.4mm Hand-Woven,8-Stranded High-Purity Monocrystalline Silver-Plated Copper MMCX Replacement Cable


I like the FiiO 4.4mm balanced cable.

Caution: it is very tight to insert the MMCX connection, but the advantage is that once set in a comfortable position I don't have to fiddle with the memory wire when inserting my Rai Solos.

BTW... it took about 80 hours of run-in before the frequency response settled down.



https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07GGZCFD2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[peterinvan]

Just got the Rai Solos after a long time with no IEMs and my god is the memory wire terrible Any suggestions for a (cheap) replacement? Also, is it normal for the MMCX connectors to swivel around its axis quite freely? Never had headphones with those before.

FiiO LC-4.4C 4.4mm Hand-Woven,8-Stranded High-Purity Monocrystalline Silver-Plated Copper MMCX Replacement Cable

I like the FiiO 4.4mm balanced cable. The curved MMCX connector is comfortable, but...

Caution: it is very tight to insert the MMCX connection, but the advantage is that once set in a comfortable position I don't have to fiddle with the memory wire when inserting my Rai Solos.

 

[macdonjh]

So far, my take on the Rai Solo is they are amazingly good for the sale price of $150, and very good for the retail price of $250. I've listened to them at work (cube farm), while doing work around the house, and just laying on the couch. I've used three different DAPs: Aune M2, A&K AK70-II and Questyle QP2r. Sound is complete and reasonably rich. Highs are a soft and lacking in detail compared to the Solo's "bigger" brother the Penta (which I also have and also enjoy greatly). Likewise, bass detail is not at as high a level as the Pentas or the Trio. These; however, are a pair of IEMs to make all but the most hobby-est of us say, "You paid how much for those? Why, these Solo are great!"

I found a silver single-ended cable I'm not using elsewhere. I'm going to try a bit of cable rolling to see if it will bring some sparkle to the treble. More later...

 

[mbritt]

Pairing the Meze Rai Solo with a Schiit ModiMutibit and Vali2+ with Sovtek 6922 is a beautiful combination visually and sonically. Looks aren't the top consideration for audio gear but it does play a role in my choices. The Rai Solos are beautiful machined art. They also happen to sound great In several of my rigs but the synergy in this pairing is excellent. The Sovtek tube is recommended for darker headphones like my LCD-2Cs. It gives the mids a nice bite and adds some slam to the bass. I've been using the Rai Solos for podcasting (they work great for that) but today I started to really listen to music with the small Schiit stack.

One of my go-to's for testing headphones is Billie Elish's Bad Guy. The strong electronic bass boomed and vibrated my eardrums followed by her breathy voice whispering in my ear like I was standing next to her at a club. Next I started listening to a few of Tom Petty's home recordings from Wild Flowers And All The Rest. I can almost picture being in his home studio as I close my eyes and get lost in these well recorded songs. This spatial room sound is one of the attributes I love about the Vali 2+ that synergizes nicely with the Rai Solos especially with the Multibit DAC and vintage tube adding heft to the sound.

Next up was Robbie Robertsons Somewhere Down The Crazy River. The haunting strings bring you into the song and the sparse drums and cymbal strikes carry you the rest of the way to the sing songy vocals and electric guitar licks making it a very nice sonic journey. I know a lot of the Rai Sol reviews talk about the mids being lacking but I just don't hear that with this combo on the music I listen to. I cued up a piano song, Los Ageless (Piano Version) from St Vincent's acoustic album version of MassEducation. Another great live room sounding recording where you can picture the piano and microphone placement. You can hear the foot pedals creaking as she plays and sings. Her voice gets pretty high and loud at the crescendo but never sounds peaky.

I'm really enjoying time spent on the Rai Solos with this rig. The funny thing is that my main rig is on the other side of the room next to a comfy chair/ottoman. It's a Schiit Bifrost 2/Asgard 3 stack paired with LCD-2Cs. I haven't been able to tear myself away from this little silver stack. I had no idea I would be using IEM's at my desktop with so many other choices available.

 

[Podster]

Pairing the Meze Rai Solo with a Schiit ModiMutibit and Vali2+ with Sovtek 6922 is a beautiful combination visually and sonically. Looks aren't the top consideration for audio gear but it does play a role in my choices. The Rai Solos are beautiful machined art. They also happen to sound great In several of my rigs but the synergy in this pairing is excellent. The Sovtek tube is recommended for darker headphones like my LCD-2Cs. It gives the mids a nice bite and adds some slam to the bass. I've been using the Rai Solos for podcasting (they work great for that) but today I started to really listen to music with the small Schiit stack.

One of my go-to's for testing headphones is Billie Elish's Bad Guy. The strong electronic bass boomed and vibrated my eardrums followed by her breathy voice whispering in my ear like I was standing next to her at a club. Next I started listening to a few of Tom Petty's home recordings from Wild Flowers And All The Rest. I can almost picture being in his home studio as I close my eyes and get lost in these well recorded songs. This spatial room sound is one of the attributes I love about the Vali 2+ that synergizes nicely with the Rai Solos especially with the Multibit DAC and vintage tube adding heft to the sound.

Next up was Robbie Robertsons Somewhere Down The Crazy River. The haunting strings bring you into the song and the sparse drums and cymbal strikes carry you the rest of the way to the sing songy vocals and electric guitar licks making it a very nice sonic journey. I know a lot of the Rai Sol reviews talk about the mids being lacking but I just don't hear that with this combo on the music I listen to. I cued up a piano song, Los Ageless (Piano Version) from St Vincent's acoustic album version of MassEducation. Another great live room sounding recording where you can picture the piano and microphone placement. You can hear the foot pedals creaking as she plays and sings. Her voice gets pretty high and loud at the crescendo but never sounds peaky.

I'm really enjoying time spent on the Rai Solos with this rig. The funny thing is that my main rig is on the other side of the room next to a comfy chair/ottoman. It's a Schiit Bifrost 2/Asgard 3 stack paired with LCD-2Cs. I haven't been able to tear myself away from this little silver stack. I had no idea I would be using IEM's at my desktop with so many other choices available.

Nice, 6922 Sov is a great tube. Have a boatload of those in my BAT VK-P5 phono-pre I'm still in the research phase of a tube headphone amp, DAC/Amp to replace my FX-Audio FX-DAC6 MKII which the Solos sound pretty good on for me at the moment

 

[chichaphile]

skip

 

[danielonweb]

Hello everyone.
Today I received my Meze Rai Solo. They are extraordinary headphones, with an exceptional sound and quality. I am so proud that these headphones are produced in my country. I use them together with Fiio M11 Pro. With the cable they came with, I lack a little of the clarity, the bass, and the soundstage of the Meze 99 Classics headphones. How much does a balanced cable improve the sound compared to the standard cable? It is quite expensive compared to the price of headphones. If the balanced cable doesn't improve the sound much, I'd rather save this money for Meze Empyrean headphones. If I catch a promotion. It would be the only joy after a terrible year that I spent in a protective suit near death (I am a doctor who treats patients with Covid-19 infection).

 

[macdonjh]

Hello everyone.
Today I received my Meze Rai Solo. They are extraordinary headphones, with an exceptional sound and quality. I am so proud that these headphones are produced in my country. I use them together with Fiio M11 Pro. With the cable they came with, I lack a little of the clarity, the bass, and the soundstage of the Meze 99 Classics headphones. How much does a balanced cable improve the sound compared to the standard cable? It is quite expensive compared to the price of headphones. If the balanced cable doesn't improve the sound much, I'd rather save this money for Meze Empyrean headphones. If I catch a promotion. It would be the only joy after a terrible year that I spent in a protective suit near death (I am a doctor who treats patients with Covid-19 infection).

I can't speak to the sound of Solo with a balanced cable, but I tried my Penta with a balanced cable (ALO, I think, not Meze). It didn't make much difference so I went back to the stock Meze single-ended cable. I think I sold the ALO balanced...

 

[mbritt]

With the cable they came with, I lack a little of the clarity, the bass, and the soundstage of the Meze 99 Classics headphones. How much does a balanced cable improve the sound compared to the standard cable?

Congratulations on your new Meze RAI Solo. The first thing you should know is that they require some break in to loosen up the single diaphragm - just like new speakers. Several online reviewers commented about how much the RAI Solo's improve with over a week or two of use and that was my experience as well. The bass and mids deepen and the highs seem to sparkle a bit more than right out of the box.

I can't answer the balanced cable question because I use them single ended but I did see another improvement in SQ when I switched cables to a NICEHCK C4-1 6N UPOCC Copper Silver Plated Cable. It didn't change the overall characteristics but it seems to make the sound a little beefier and less constrained. I use silver plated copper cables on my Audeze LCD-2C's from C3 Audio and really liked the SQ improvement so I jumped on a $69 sale for the NICEHECK C4's on Aliexpress for the Meze RAI Solo's. I don't think there is anything wrong with the Meze silver cables but I don't really like thin cables that tend to get easily tangled and I am happy with the bump in SQ.

The Solo's sound great with a good DAC and when properly amped but the big surprise for me is that they also sound pretty good straight from an iPhone/iPad audio jack (older models that still have the jack). I'm very happy with my Meze IEM's.