Meze 109 Pro Review: AWESOME Headphones!

This is Meze Audio’s first ever open-back dynamic headphones, and it really does sound quite incredible. We have the Meze Audio 109 Pro headphones with us today, and if you’ve been following the brand, you’ll notice immediately that it takes a great deal of inspiration from the 99 Classics and it looks gorgeous.

Design

So, let’s talk design first, starting with the box. It’s relatively big with a gold geometric design on the front, and inside, you get a nice, hard-sided case for protection. Inside that case, there are the headphones and a leather bag along with two 3.5mm cables, one 1.5m cable and a 3m cable. There’s also a 6.3mm adapter included, which is nice.

But let’s talk about the headphones. Meze Audio uses sustainably harvested black walnut wood, which is beautiful and adds a touch of refinement to the headphones. More than that, the headphones can be taken apart for repairs and replacement, and I tried it out at home, taking out the screws here to remove the self-adjusting headband and all. The cable connects via 3.5mm jacks to the headphone, which means it’s easy to find aftermarket cables if you’re into that.

The headphones are incredibly comfortable right out of the box, thanks to that self-adjusting headband that helps to distribute pressure across your entire head, resulting in basically no pinching at the crown at all. The earpads are made of velour and they’re certainly very nice with just the right amount of clamping force.

On the outside of the earcup, you get what Meze Audio calls their spider-shaped structure which allows for airflow. Everything put together, I never found my ears overheating once, even in hot and humid Singapore.

Inside, there’s a 50mm driver made with a combination of Beryllium-coated polymer and cellulose-carbon fibre composite, which offers stiffness and durability. This driver sits inside an aluminium frame and is angled towards the ear.

Meze 109 Pro Sound Quality

All that put together makes the 109 Pro incredibly excellent in terms of sound quality. The bass attack is quick and well-controlled, overall, very well-balanced. I have to note though, that this isn’t a bassy pair of headphones, so if you’re looking for something with a bit more rumble, this isn’t for you. Regardless, I enjoyed using this to listen to a variety of music.

Coming to the mids, you’ll notice warmness and vibrancy here. There’s so much detail and energy, with great separation and transparency.

The treble is also crisp, with plenty of sparkle and energy, which I love. There’s air and a very clear sense of spaciousness here, along with a defined separation from the mids.

The soundstage is excellent as well since they’re open-back headphones. It’s relatively wide, and there’s plenty of layering and separation with an accurate presentation of instruments and vocals.

With a 40ohm impedance, these aren’t hard to drive at all. I can drive them perfectly well with my small DAC/amp, but they will benefit and scale up nicely with better equipment.

Price

At US$799 or S$1,234, these are certainly one of the better headphones in this price range. Not only is it very well built, but the sound quality is also absolutely excellent. It’s musical and dynamic, and I’d highly recommend giving it a listen at a store if you can.