Meze Audio

Liric Closed-Back Planar Headphones

£1,799

Amongst the humble but well-received designs such as the 99 Classics and Rai Solo, it is difficult to ignore Antonio Meze's more high-end headphone offerings. The first of these exotic phones was the StereoNET Applause Award-winning Empyrean; this product impressed due to its superb performance without the need to pair with sympathetic hardware.

Today, the Empyrean has handed its crown to the Elite as Meze Audio's flagship. Meanwhile, a closed-back isodynamic model has also joined the ranks in the form of the £1,799 Liric which is the subject of this review.

Of course, I am not only sitting the Liric with the Elite and Empyrean due to its premium pricing, as it also follows this esteemed lineage in the use of planar magnetic drive units designed in collaboration with Rinaro. However, these MZ4 drivers have been scaled down and designed to work in a closed enclosure. Furthermore, we are told that it is crucial they work well with portable devices, so need to be easy to drive. To that end, an impressive 100dB @ 1mw/1kHz sensitivity and 30 ohm impedance are claimed by the manufacturer.

Rinaro Isodynamics certainly has a colourful history, with over three decades of experience in developing planar magnetic drivers. The company was founded in Ukraine during the Cold War when the country was still part of the USSR. At the time, it was a facet of a state-funded research programme in the field of electro-acoustics. Fast forward to today, and Rinaro's knowledge and refinement of planar technology have helped Romanian-based Meze Audio win fans and plaudits worldwide.

UP CLOSE

The 71g, 92x63mm ovoid MZ4 isodynamic hybrid array driver is a planar magnetic unit that marries individual switch-back and spiral voice coils, which come into play at specific frequencies. Dealing with the lower frequencies, the switch-back section sits at the top two-thirds of the polymer diaphragm. Meanwhile, the smaller spiral coil is positioned directly in front of the wearer's ear canal and looks after the midrange frequencies upwards. We are told that the positioning of the spiral coil provides a more direct sound that avoids any unwanted time delays caused by diffused reflections, and thus improves image precision. Total harmonic distortion is said to be less than 0.15% throughout the 4Hz to 92kHz quoted frequency range.

As I discovered during my Empyrean review, Meze has an eye for detail. Although plain at first sight, the Liric has several touches that will please the aesthetes among us. The experience starts with a classy padded presentation box that houses the travel case. Within that sits the headphones, along with a 3m and 1.5m soft TPE cable (both terminated with a 3.5mm jack). You also get a 6.3mm and an aeroplane jack adapter with a cable pouch.

Magnesium is used for the Liric's main structure, with aluminium and spring steel in the headband, which is then wrapped in soft leather. The magnesium skeleton helps keep weight down and makes the phones flexible, shock-resistant and oxidation-free, says the company. The copper accents to the aluminium posts really stand out against the black leather, and the gloss matte spatters on the magnesium parts. The two-tone black paint finish not only catches the light but adds to the tactile experience.

The copper-accenting continues on the earcup in the shape of the tuned air vent hole that's part of Meze's Pressure Equalisation System. This, we're informed, results in better-controlled airflow, improved ear cup chamber pressure and a sound that flows naturally. The headband pad forms a cross shape and should reduce heat build-up over long listening sessions. As well as looking every bit the premium headphone, the Liric sits comfortably on the listener's head, with its 391g spread evenly across that wide headband.

As portable headphones, they do pack away reasonably small into their travel case, but not as small as Dan Clark Audio's Aeon or Stealth offerings with their clever gimbal arrangement. The supplied cables appeared to be of decent quality, and not too microphonic when traipsing the pavements of East London.

The Liric was happy to be driven by the tube amplification of the Auris Euterpe when I was at my desk, just as it was by the impressive Chord Mojo 2 when on the move. It also spent time at the end of iFi's GO Blu and treated to the Moon 430HA in the main system.

THE LISTENING

This design presents itself with the grace, finesse and articulation that one might expect at this level. However, there were occasions where I'd have liked it to quickly down a few shots, kick off its shoes and cut loose a little more. With the right headphone amp and/or EQ nudging, it is possible to coax out the Liric's sense of fun, especially with high-quality source material, however.

For instance, Peter Gabriel's That Voice Again seemed a little held back through the valve-powered Euterpe. It was still pleasing but lacked the sense of urgency I associate with this particular track. Whereas plugging the Liric into the Mojo 2/ Poly pairing and playing the same track through Roon, the soft edges were tauter and the bass snappier.

For me, this underlined just how transparent the Liric headphone is, save for a little sprinkle of richness in the midband and upper bass, which just serves to pep up thinner recordings a tad. I dare say that some who like more impact in their cans may find themselves turning to something such as Mojo 2's clever DSP or maybe tweaking the EQ in their app of choice. However, I enjoyed the Liric's evenhandedness and didn't find the low frequencies left wanting in tracks such as Trentemøller's dreamy No More Kissing In The Rain.

This headphone deftly picked its way through complex pieces wonderfully. For instance, the intertwined strings on Penguin Cafe Orchestra's Swing The Cat remained musical, where some lesser headphones make it an annoyance. This knack for untangling pieces and putting them into their rightful place was also evident in There, There by Radiohead. This track spotlighted how acoustic instrumentation was being handled. The toms and cymbals on this 2003 recording sounded supremely realistic, thanks to the Liric's great midband and treble. Indeed, the more time I spent with this product, the more I appreciated its skill in delivering little nuances that you might otherwise miss. It's kind of like watching a film on a HD TV, and then seeing the movie in 4K.

I think it is fair to say that the Meze Liric was a better all-round performer than my much loved Oppo PM-1, in absolute terms. However, when plugging it into my Moon head amp and dropping the needle on The Mob's Let The Tribe Increase, I thought the Liric was almost too precise and refined. I nearly found myself reaching for my Ultrasone Edition 15 Veritas, with its dynamic drivers that are better suited to this particular form of angular angst.

That's not to say that this premium headphone cannot impart emotion. Take Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds' Red Right Hand, for instance. Here you definitely feel that you get every ounce of vocal enunciation along with heaps of timbre and grit. Still, the impact of the organ stab sections did seem slightly subdued.

I tend to class myself as one of those listeners who edges towards the analytical and insightful side of musical presentation. I love to unpick individual strands of a musical tapestry and see the inner workings at play. The Meze Liric has this surgical tool-like ability to get right in there and hold the acoustic entrails of any musical piece aloft for all to see. However, there were moments where I felt that I was missing just a little fun and dynamism.

THE VERDICT

The Meze Liric is an extremely capable pair of headphones then, and another excellent implementation of the Rinaro Isodynamic driver. Having the Liric over my ears whilst roaming the streets impressed me, not only by the level of passive noise cancellation but also by the amount of musical detail retrieval available on the move. Furthermore, the fit, finish and feel of the Liric is sublime – there's no mistaking that this is a premium product designed and built with care and attention to detail. So there is much to love here, making it a fine buy even at this very premium price.

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