advertisement


Meze 109 Pro

R

RoA

pfm Member
I had a chance tolisten to the 109 Pro at the Bristol Hifi show using 3 different amplifiers; SPL Phonitor XE, Earmen St Amp and Chord Mojo 2.

I have to be honest, I was left underwhelmed after reading rave reviews about this Headphone.

Whilst beautifully built (!) it sounded flat, forward and too bright. Bass too was flat not punchy enough and it needed more to bring it in line with the rest.

I preferred the 99 Classic which had a sense of depth (and fun) the 109 just lacked. I was hoping for good things and it was on my shopping list. Not anymore.

The Lyric was another story. You could argue at twice the cost it should have been but we all know that is not always guaranteed. I found it superb but frankly, I can't pay that much for a HP. Worth it? Probably.

My opinion only. YMMV.

20230224-141721.jpg


20230225-105759.jpg


20230225-104414.jpg
 
Head-fiers from that other site would probably argue the 109 Pro driver hadn't been properly run in yet (200 hours some say).

Did you get to listen to Empyrean and Elite?
 
I was underwhelmed on my first listen to the 109 Pro against Stax, HIFiMan something and LCD-2 and LCD-X in November but over the space a couple of hours realised I couldn’t dismiss them. I went to Audio Sanctuary (Unilet basically) at New Malden and returned for two more consecutive Saturday mornings focusing mainly on these options below £1K and adding in Focal something at £1.5K.

Over this extended listening I dismissed them one by one with the 109 Pro emerging as favourite in the second session and they stayed there. A combination of comfort, clarity and ongoing enjoyment so that’s what I brought home. Two months on and they are a joy to use, I clearly hear the difference in production of all sorts of music I listen to and don’t regret the decision.

I should add I auditioned using RME DAC as that’s what I have at home with FLAC ripped collection on my Synology via Teufel (now rebranded as Raumfeld) connector.
 
Paul L said:
I was underwhelmed on my first listen to the 109 Pro against Stax, HIFiMan something and LCD-2 and LCD-X in November but over the space a couple of hours realised I couldn’t dismiss them. I went to Audio Sanctuary (Unilet basically) at New Malden and returned for two more consecutive Saturday mornings focusing mainly on these options below £1K and adding in Focal something at £1.5K.

Over this extended listening I dismissed them one by one with the 109 Pro emerging as favourite in the second session and they stayed there. A combination of comfort, clarity and ongoing enjoyment so that’s what I brought home. Two months on and they are a joy to use, I clearly hear the difference in production of all sorts of music I listen to and don’t regret the decision.

I should add I auditioned using RME DAC as that’s what I have at home with FLAC ripped collection on my Synology via Teufel (now rebranded as Raumfeld) connector.
Click to expand...

Interesting and glad you like them. It is entirely possible I did not spend enough time with them, who knows. It could be that the busy surroundings influenced my perception too, difficult to say. I just found I preferred other HP's more in comparison. Unfortunately there was not one occasion with either music genres or different amplification which made me think ... maybe.

I perhaps will give them another try if the opportunity arises.
 
I wrote to Julian Richer's office at Richer Sounds to ask them to make available a pair of Meze 109pro's for demo. To their credit they did. Heard them at the Leicester store, brand new out of the box. As expected they sounded a bit bright with a slight sibelence on vocals. Impressive bass and retrieval detail, but I really need to hear a pair with 100 hours of play time on them. They have now gone to central office as a demo pair available for listening at any branch on request. Now if only 99 pink fishes can be inspired to get a demo, I will take another listen.
 
surely any headphones on demo at a show would be run in beforehand?

these are on my list to try along with Focal Clear/mg and Dan Clark Aeon 2 closed noire. after reading good reviews on all 3.
 
oldson said:
surely any headphones on demo at a show would be run in beforehand?

these are on my list to try along with Focal Clear/mg and Dan Clark Aeon 2 closed noire. after reading good reviews on all 3.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not. They’re often straight out of the box and ditto the accompanying boxes. I’m not a massive headphone listener but these are on my list and the reviews from peop;e who have run them in are consistent.
 
home trialling the 109pro and i think they sound pretty darn good.
prefer them to my HD800.

not saying i am going to buy them yet as i wish to try others, but the HD800 will be sold pretty soon, regardless
 
The 109's were top of my list after a shop demo comparing them to the HD800's and the Sundara's but a home demo resulted in me buying the 99 classics which are lighter so more comfortable and in some way a bit more fun.
I only use them with a Fiio m11s plus dap so it's possible that a better amp may make a difference but comfort is my biggest issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top