Finally got a chance to get them on the GRAS. Here are the Meze Audio Liric measurements.
Channel matching (for Crin)
Out of the box, the tuning is serviceable. It’s very mid-bass and upper treble focused, and that 1khz forwardness can cause just a hint of nasally timbre at times, but this is also one of Meze’s better tunings overall. In general I think @Chrono nailed it, and I hear it in a very similar manner to how he described. More importantly, there aren’t any weird features that are difficult to EQ should anyone feel like diving into that. Let me be clear that this isn’t massively out of whack, if you use Chrono’s subtle adjustments you’ll see what I mean. It also seems to take to it reasonably well without any significant harmonic distortion swings - all seems kept well under control.
For those wanting a simple EQ profile, I recommend using Chrono’s as it’s really quite close. For mine, I opted to go a bit more surgical for those who want that option, which I don’t typically recommend doing - so be sure to also use your ears and see which you prefer:
And after EQ:
Source used (I’ll try some more over the course of the weekend, these are just what I’m running in the studio at the moment):
- DAC - SMSL SU9
- Amp - Vioelectric HPA V550
Other Aspects:
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Super mega ultra comfortable. And this is it… this is the best looking headphone, period. Okay of course that stuff is super subjective but I LOVE how this thing looks and feels, as its got top notch mechanical and industrial design. Best in class in my view.
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Detail - Generally pretty good, in particular the clarity for trailing ends of tones is excellent in the mids, and it’s somewhere around LCD-X level for immediacy of initial leading edge. So not quite as tight and fast as an HE6, but still snappy and engaging, and importantly no blunting whatsoever on the microdynamics. I do hear a hint of haze in the upper treble at the moment.
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Soundstage - yeah it’s a bit tighter here than the open-backs, but that’s also somewhat expected. Image distinction is excellent though, as is the layering and incremental image placement (no ‘three blob’ issues as far as I can tell).
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Dynamics - Chrono explained it well here again, it’s the main drawback, as there’s really not much going on for macro contrast and punch, even though it’s bass boosted. Keep in mind, very few planars excel at this, and those are all open-back.
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Other - These Rinaro planars always have some unique trait to them, and Chrono mentioned the layering… Yeah it just sounds different from other planars in a way that’s difficult to describe. Maybe that’s it, but at least it sounds unique.
In my view, the big question with the Meze Liric comes down to how it compares vs something like the DCA Aeon 2 Noire, since they have similar strengths, drawbacks and use cases. For me, the Liric is slightly more detailed for clarity of trailing ends of tones, which is something the Noire was already good at. Neither have much going on for dynamics, maybe slightly better on the Liric again but not by much. The Noire (perf pads) has a better tuning out of the box without EQ, but for those wanting that sort of ‘warmbright’ sound the Liric might be fine. After EQ… Yeah I think I prefer the Liric, as it’s just a bit more comfortable and a bit better for microdynamics, even if it’s not a whole $1k better.
Also, just thinking about the Liric as a product on the whole. While it still has some tuning quirks, I find the Liric to be Meze’s most mature release to date.