Meze - LIRIC
Closed-Back HeadphoneUnfortunately, even if we desire to, we won't be able to resurrect this product. The Museum is where we pay our respects to end-of-life, old, archived, but not forgotten products. This page was made with a lot of love and will live on for posterity. What to say, we're sentimental people. 😔
While this product is gone forever, here are others we recommend
Customer Reviews
Pros: excellent bass, sub bass. Clean and spacious sound stage. Great separation. Slightly forward mid. Highs little bright. But very much musical.
Amazing tech. Sounds like an open back.
The free balanced cable is top notch.
Cons:
Look is subjective.
Rt. Lt. Inscription is Invisible.
Very comfortable but the adjustment is irritating sometimes.
Burn in is must.
Hey there,
Thank you for taking the time to write this review, we really appreciate the genuine feedback! Your review will definitely help fellow audiophiles to make an informed decision.
The Liric is a closed-back Isodynamic hybrid array driver headphone. The MZ4 driver uses reinforced polymer with a 3507mm² active size. There are not too many of them.
Liric is a fairly comfortable headphone to wear. Much of that is due to the excellent pad materials combined with a ultra-comfortable headband system. It is at 391 grams fairly light on the head making it an excellent choice for extended wear and listening.The level of isolation from the Liric is excellent.
I feel that from an easy-going SPL of 100dB with an impedance rating of 32Ω the Liric backs up its tuning with a load profile entirely suited to portable sources. I have not tested it with any desktop solid state or tube amps as I don't have any, but it sounded excellent with iFi Gryphon (which I use as Desktop DAC with Signalyst HQplayer mounted on my Windows laptop), FiiO M17 and FiiO BTR7.
I have tried the Liric with music playing on Signalyst HQplayer over iFi Gryphon, Tidal on FiiO M17 and Spotify & Apple Music over FiiO BTR 7. I swapped the two SE terminated cables that the Liric comes with Meze Mono 3.5 to 4.4 mm balanced silver plated PCUHD which was provided gratis by Meze as a part of package.
There is a degree of forwardness in the mids, a good bass response, and I feel that there is a stronger sub and mid-bass presence and a definite upper treble push. As a result there is a subtle warmth towards the low-end and high pitching percussion and synth timbre sound very clean with better presence.
The Liric has more depth and height than width but the the imaging accuracy and complexity are excellent. By going with balanced 4.4mm brought more power, improved separation, wider stereo imaging, and a superior dynamic range. Combination of Signalyst HQplayer over iFi Gryphon provided more bass weight and dynamics from the Liric and large staging quality. Overall the Liric is likable with an aggressive sound signature. It gives up a bit in terms of resolution and dynamic range but it gives more immediate fun and an entirely suitable high-end listening experience for portable audio fans.
I would recommend it to all listeners of refined sound for its High energy sound signature, Gorgeous design, comfort and portability, and overall musicality.
Hey Rahul, thank you so much for your detailed and genuine feedback, we're glad that you have such positive thoughts about the product and we'll share your thoughts with the brand as well. It'll also help our fellow customers to make the right choice!
The LIRIC have one of the widest sound stages, but it’s also got one of the most separated and intricate. This is one of those headphones that busts a song open and lets it fly every which way. Plain and simple, the LIRIC does imaging like no closed back before it.
There’s a clear low end boost going on with the LIRIC. While this boost feels tasteful and well placed. If you’re bass averse, these could be a bit much in the lows.
The mid range is a bit of an exception to this in some ways. There’s a clear boost around the 1-2kHz area, which makes for a noticeable edge and bite. The LIRIC does at times struggle to contain harshness from more resonant vocals at higher volumes.
The highs have incredible precision and a natural timbre. They feel more true to life than life itself at times. it maintained an overall acutely tightened, specified boost, focusing more on the super highs than the low highs.
This LIRIC features the best of both natural, transparent qualities and enhanced, engaging dynamics paired with an incredibly tight and realistic room feel. With an innovative build and a sound.
Thanks a lot for your detailed and genuine feedback, we're glad that you have such positive thoughts about the product and we'll share your thoughts with the brand as well. It'll also help our fellow customers to make the right choice!
Astute effort made by MEZE. Once again , outstanding quality ,craftsmanship. Divine and elegant sound
Designed in
Romania
Balanced Sound Signature
Museum with a Balanced sound signature presents a precise sound and an enriching listening experience, where sounds are naturally presented without extreme emphasis on any region. With a pair of headphones with this sound signature, you can hear audio with clarity and detail. The sound is vivid and revealing, a perfect mixture of instruments and vocals, lows, mids, and highs. This sound signature works for most music listeners who like switching between various music genres like Classical, Jazz, Blues, Rock, Folk and Pop.
Ideal for Audiophiles
Ideal for
Indoor Use
Planar Magnetic Drivers
Planar magnetic drivers combine characteristics of several driver types. They employ magnetic fields akin to dynamic and balanced armature drivers. However, planar magnetic drivers, like electrostatic drivers, use a flat, thin diaphragm in contrast to a coil. The planar drivers are known for their quick transient response.
Metal
Build
Closed-Back
Design
Needs
Amplification
Replaceable Cables
A pair of headphones with a replaceable cable has many benefits, and one of them is if the connecting cable has a problem, it doesn’t mean that you have to buy a new one. If the connecting cable gets pulled or damaged, you can replace it and keep using your good-old headphones or IEMs. This way, your headphones will be protected and will last longer. With the advancements in cable manufacturing, you now get a variety of replacement cables with various termination options, lengths and quality.
The Meze Liric is an impressive headphone with flagship-grade build quality and showcases leather across the headphone. The sound is relaxed yet detailed, with that signature Meze tuning. And the best part – it’s a power-efficient headphone, allowing you to run it even with a portable DAC&Amp or DAP.
About RAGHAV SOMANI
Raghav Somani is the Founder & CEO of Headphone Zone. An avid audiophile and musician since 2008, his choice of headphones include STAX Electrostats, Audeze LCD 3, and for music on the go, the JH Audio Roxanne + Astell&Kern SP1000 is never too far away. On his playlist, you'll find A.R. Rahman, Michael Jackson, and the Eagles.
DESCRIPTION
PRESENTING MEZE AUDIO LIRIC - WHEN SOUND MEETS POETRY
Meze Audio Liric is the company’s first portable planar-magnetic headphone developed in collaboration with Rinaro Isodynamics. These headphones were born from their mutual love for music, poetry and the attachment of their home country’s culture. Following the two successful collaborations with Rinaro, it was a natural next step to develop a portable planar headphone. Naming the headphone LIRIC was not a game of chance. It was an ideal metaphor to paint the authentic, vivid and poetic sound disguised behind its ethereal silhouette.
FEATURING THE AWARD-WINNING ISODYNAMIC HYBRID ARRAY DRIVER
Meze Audio Liric is the first closed-back headphone to be powered by Rinaro’s Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver. Created exclusively for Meze Audio, the MZ4 driver offers the same dual shaped voice coil array seen in Meze Audio Empyrean. Over 30 years of R&D have gone into developing this technology, resulting in one of the lightest and most advanced planner magnetic drivers on the market. This combined with the closed-back design, helps preserve the original clarity and emotion of your favourite music through enhanced sound and minimised external noise. Each driver is entirely hand-assembled and tested in Rinaro's industrial facility in Ukraine.
EMBEDDED WITH PHASE-X SYSTEM AND ISOPLANAR DIAPHRAGM
Meze Audio Liric is a perfect blend of timeless aesthetics and the best in audio engineering from Rinaro Isodynamics. Liric comes equipped with an Isoplanar Diaphragm which is manufactured from a custom developed isotropic thermally stabilised polymer with a conductive layer. Through the unique processing methods, an ultralight yet rigid diaphragm is achieved that weighs only 0.08g with a large active area of 3507mm2. With the addition of the Phase-X system, Liric achieves a more linear phase response and a faster transient response decay. This allows for a more faithful reproduction of transient sounds and improves ambience and spatial imaging for the listener, taking them closer to the environment of the source recording.
Original Source Recording: Source recordings usually have an Absolute Linear Phase and this offers the listener the actual audio image of the recordings. This includes audio information not just from the instruments but the recording environment too.
Nonlinear Phasing : Contrary to Absolute Linear Phase that can be heard in original recordings, NonLinear Phasing is typically found in closed-back headphones due to Phase distortion. This noticeably affects the accuracy of the spatial image of the original recording.
Phase-X™ System : With the addition of the Phase-X™ system, Liric presents the correct phase and a faster transient response decay. This allows for a more faithful reproduction of transient sounds and improves ambience and spatial imaging for the listener, taking them closer to the environment of the source recording.
MEZE AUDIO PRESENTS THE EARPAD AIRFLOW SYSTEM FOR THE LIRIC
Meze Audio Liric introduces an Earpad Air Flow (EAF) system, developed by Rinaro, which reduces the weight and size of the Liric headphone by optimising its acoustic volume. Precision cut air vents that run from the Liric ear cup chamber into the ear pads allow the MZ4 driver to utilise acoustic volume from the earpads as well as the ear cup chamber. This significantly reduces the required size of the ear cup chamber allowing Liric to keep a compact and truly portable closed-back headphone profile without compromising on the acoustic performance.
DUAL DRIVEN DIAPHRAGM SYSTEM AND HYBRID MAGNET ARRAY
The MZ4 driver featured on the Meze Audio Liric combines individual switchback and spiral-shaped voice coils within the same diaphragm, allowing sound to be targeted with more accuracy around the natural form of the ear, for a more selective acoustic performance. Using this combination allows the headphone to achieve an increased exposure of direct sound wave frequencies over the 10kHz range, as well as improved imaging and localisation, by decreasing the impact of short-wave time delays caused by diffused field reflections. Liric also features symmetrically placed neodymium magnets on either side of the diaphragm. They are arranged into a Hybrid Array to create a 0.3 Tesla Isodynamic magnetic field required for a uniform activation across the whole diaphragm surface.
UNPARALLELED EFFICIENCY AT HIGHER FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
At frequencies above 10kHz, where the sound wavelength is smaller than the ear cushions inner cavity, the sound field becomes diffused with an amount of the direct and reflected sound waves within the ear canal. A significant increase of direct sound waves is achieved by positioning the most efficient part of the diaphragm in mid-high frequencies directly over the ear canal in the Meze Audio Liric, resulting in improved 3D imaging and spatial localisation. Liric also offers Absolute linear phasing to the listener where the original spatial image remains as it was recorded. This includes information from the instrumentation as well as the recording environment itself. Liric also corrects Nonlinearities in phase response that noticeably affect the reproduction of the spatial image of the original recording.
DESIGNED WITH AIRFLOW CONTROL AND PRESSURE EQUALISATION SYSTEM
Meze Audio Liric features padded headband cushions that are symmetrically placed in a “+” shape to allow proper airflow and lower the heat and humidity buildup. Covered in genuine leather, the headband is perfectly tuned for optimal pressure distribution and it follows the structure of the head, creating firm and even contact. A precisely tuned air vent hole can make a world of difference in how you perceive the sound around you, that is why the team at Meze Audio decided to add a Pressure Equalisation System in Liric’s ear cups. The result is better-controlled airflow, improved ear cup chamber pressure, and a sound that is airy, transparent, detailed and flows naturally, enveloping you into a whole new world of music.
ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED WITH STRIKING ATTENTION TO DETAILS
Meze Audio Liric showcases an actual harmony of form and function meant to set a new benchmark in high-end portable audio. Designed for high fidelity listening on the go, Liric delivers high build quality, excellent comfort and a life-like, immersive listening experience. The angled ovoid ear cups featured on Liric are perfect for surrounding your ears closely without adding unnecessary pressure or weight while offering a deeper sound and better passive sound isolation. A lightweight magnesium skeleton ensures the headphone stays flexible, shock-resistant and oxidation free while maintaining an ideal fit for long listening sessions. Reinforced polymer housing is designed to withstand the demanding 10,7N load generated by the Hybrid Magnet Array. The union of black leather, gloss-matte spatters on magnesium, and metallic copper accents were the perfect addition to this contemporary aesthetic, completing the portable personality of the headphone.
SOUND
FREQUENCY GRAPH
CHEAT SHEET
Regions of the frequency spectrum
(20Hz - 80 Hz)
(80 Hz - 300 kHz)
(300 Hz - 1000 kHz)
(1 kHz - 6 kHz)
(6 kHz - 10 kHz)
(10 kHz - 20 kHz)
SPECS
| DRIVER TYPE | Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Arrayå¨ MZ4 |
| OPERATING PRINCIPLE | Closed |
| EAR COUPLING | Circumaural |
| IMPEDANCE | 30 Ω |
| FREQUENCY RESPONSE | 4-92,000 Hz |
| NOMINAL SPL | 100 dB (1 mW / 1 kHz) |
| MAXIMUM SPL | > 130 dB |
| THD | <0.15% |
| WEIGHT | 391 g |
| GEOMETRICAL SHAPE | Ovoid |
| SIZE | 92mm x 63mm |
| WEIGHT | 71 g |
| CASING | Fibreglass reinforced polymer |
| TYPE | Rinaro Isoplanarå¨ MZ4 |
| ACTIVE AREA | 3507 mm2 |
| DIAPHRAGM WEIGHT | 0.08 g |
| ACOUSTIC MASS | 6.5 kg/m4 |
| LOWER FREQUENCY LIMIT | 4 Hz |
| UPPER FREQUENCY LIMIT | 92,000 Hz |
| BOX CONTENTS | 1. Meze LIRIC Headphones |
| 2. Hard EVA pouch with velvet lining | |
| 3. 1.5m soft TPE cable with 3.5mm jack 3m soft TPE cable with 3.5mm jack | |
| 4. 6.3mm jack adapter Airplane jack adapter | |
| 5. Cables pouch |
PRESENTING MEZE AUDIO LIRIC - WHEN SOUND MEETS POETRY
Meze Audio Liric is the company’s first portable planar-magnetic headphone developed in collaboration with Rinaro Isodynamics. These headphones were born from their mutual love for music, poetry and the attachment of their home country’s culture. Following the two successful collaborations with Rinaro, it was a natural next step to develop a portable planar headphone. Naming the headphone LIRIC was not a game of chance. It was an ideal metaphor to paint the authentic, vivid and poetic sound disguised behind its ethereal silhouette.
FEATURING THE AWARD-WINNING ISODYNAMIC HYBRID ARRAY DRIVER
Meze Audio Liric is the first closed-back headphone to be powered by Rinaro’s Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver. Created exclusively for Meze Audio, the MZ4 driver offers the same dual shaped voice coil array seen in Meze Audio Empyrean. Over 30 years of R&D have gone into developing this technology, resulting in one of the lightest and most advanced planner magnetic drivers on the market. This combined with the closed-back design, helps preserve the original clarity and emotion of your favourite music through enhanced sound and minimised external noise. Each driver is entirely hand-assembled and tested in Rinaro's industrial facility in Ukraine.
EMBEDDED WITH PHASE-X SYSTEM AND ISOPLANAR DIAPHRAGM
Meze Audio Liric is a perfect blend of timeless aesthetics and the best in audio engineering from Rinaro Isodynamics. Liric comes equipped with an Isoplanar Diaphragm which is manufactured from a custom developed isotropic thermally stabilised polymer with a conductive layer. Through the unique processing methods, an ultralight yet rigid diaphragm is achieved that weighs only 0.08g with a large active area of 3507mm2. With the addition of the Phase-X system, Liric achieves a more linear phase response and a faster transient response decay. This allows for a more faithful reproduction of transient sounds and improves ambience and spatial imaging for the listener, taking them closer to the environment of the source recording.
Original Source Recording: Source recordings usually have an Absolute Linear Phase and this offers the listener the actual audio image of the recordings. This includes audio information not just from the instruments but the recording environment too.
Nonlinear Phasing : Contrary to Absolute Linear Phase that can be heard in original recordings, NonLinear Phasing is typically found in closed-back headphones due to Phase distortion. This noticeably affects the accuracy of the spatial image of the original recording.
Phase-X™ System : With the addition of the Phase-X™ system, Liric presents the correct phase and a faster transient response decay. This allows for a more faithful reproduction of transient sounds and improves ambience and spatial imaging for the listener, taking them closer to the environment of the source recording.
MEZE AUDIO PRESENTS THE EARPAD AIRFLOW SYSTEM FOR THE LIRIC
Meze Audio Liric introduces an Earpad Air Flow (EAF) system, developed by Rinaro, which reduces the weight and size of the Liric headphone by optimising its acoustic volume. Precision cut air vents that run from the Liric ear cup chamber into the ear pads allow the MZ4 driver to utilise acoustic volume from the earpads as well as the ear cup chamber. This significantly reduces the required size of the ear cup chamber allowing Liric to keep a compact and truly portable closed-back headphone profile without compromising on the acoustic performance.
DUAL DRIVEN DIAPHRAGM SYSTEM AND HYBRID MAGNET ARRAY
The MZ4 driver featured on the Meze Audio Liric combines individual switchback and spiral-shaped voice coils within the same diaphragm, allowing sound to be targeted with more accuracy around the natural form of the ear, for a more selective acoustic performance. Using this combination allows the headphone to achieve an increased exposure of direct sound wave frequencies over the 10kHz range, as well as improved imaging and localisation, by decreasing the impact of short-wave time delays caused by diffused field reflections. Liric also features symmetrically placed neodymium magnets on either side of the diaphragm. They are arranged into a Hybrid Array to create a 0.3 Tesla Isodynamic magnetic field required for a uniform activation across the whole diaphragm surface.
UNPARALLELED EFFICIENCY AT HIGHER FREQUENCY SPECTRUM
At frequencies above 10kHz, where the sound wavelength is smaller than the ear cushions inner cavity, the sound field becomes diffused with an amount of the direct and reflected sound waves within the ear canal. A significant increase of direct sound waves is achieved by positioning the most efficient part of the diaphragm in mid-high frequencies directly over the ear canal in the Meze Audio Liric, resulting in improved 3D imaging and spatial localisation. Liric also offers Absolute linear phasing to the listener where the original spatial image remains as it was recorded. This includes information from the instrumentation as well as the recording environment itself. Liric also corrects Nonlinearities in phase response that noticeably affect the reproduction of the spatial image of the original recording.
DESIGNED WITH AIRFLOW CONTROL AND PRESSURE EQUALISATION SYSTEM
Meze Audio Liric features padded headband cushions that are symmetrically placed in a “+” shape to allow proper airflow and lower the heat and humidity buildup. Covered in genuine leather, the headband is perfectly tuned for optimal pressure distribution and it follows the structure of the head, creating firm and even contact. A precisely tuned air vent hole can make a world of difference in how you perceive the sound around you, that is why the team at Meze Audio decided to add a Pressure Equalisation System in Liric’s ear cups. The result is better-controlled airflow, improved ear cup chamber pressure, and a sound that is airy, transparent, detailed and flows naturally, enveloping you into a whole new world of music.
ERGONOMICALLY DESIGNED WITH STRIKING ATTENTION TO DETAILS
Meze Audio Liric showcases an actual harmony of form and function meant to set a new benchmark in high-end portable audio. Designed for high fidelity listening on the go, Liric delivers high build quality, excellent comfort and a life-like, immersive listening experience. The angled ovoid ear cups featured on Liric are perfect for surrounding your ears closely without adding unnecessary pressure or weight while offering a deeper sound and better passive sound isolation. A lightweight magnesium skeleton ensures the headphone stays flexible, shock-resistant and oxidation free while maintaining an ideal fit for long listening sessions. Reinforced polymer housing is designed to withstand the demanding 10,7N load generated by the Hybrid Magnet Array. The union of black leather, gloss-matte spatters on magnesium, and metallic copper accents were the perfect addition to this contemporary aesthetic, completing the portable personality of the headphone.
FREQUENCY GRAPH
CHEAT SHEET
Regions of the frequency spectrum
(20Hz - 80 Hz)
(80 Hz - 300 kHz)
(300 Hz - 1000 kHz)
(1 kHz - 6 kHz)
(6 kHz - 10 kHz)
(10 kHz - 20 kHz)
| DRIVER TYPE | Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Arrayå¨ MZ4 |
| OPERATING PRINCIPLE | Closed |
| EAR COUPLING | Circumaural |
| IMPEDANCE | 30 Ω |
| FREQUENCY RESPONSE | 4-92,000 Hz |
| NOMINAL SPL | 100 dB (1 mW / 1 kHz) |
| MAXIMUM SPL | > 130 dB |
| THD | <0.15% |
| WEIGHT | 391 g |
| GEOMETRICAL SHAPE | Ovoid |
| SIZE | 92mm x 63mm |
| WEIGHT | 71 g |
| CASING | Fibreglass reinforced polymer |
| TYPE | Rinaro Isoplanarå¨ MZ4 |
| ACTIVE AREA | 3507 mm2 |
| DIAPHRAGM WEIGHT | 0.08 g |
| ACOUSTIC MASS | 6.5 kg/m4 |
| LOWER FREQUENCY LIMIT | 4 Hz |
| UPPER FREQUENCY LIMIT | 92,000 Hz |
| BOX CONTENTS | 1. Meze LIRIC Headphones |
| 2. Hard EVA pouch with velvet lining | |
| 3. 1.5m soft TPE cable with 3.5mm jack 3m soft TPE cable with 3.5mm jack | |
| 4. 6.3mm jack adapter Airplane jack adapter | |
| 5. Cables pouch |
Don't sweat it, this
Meze - LIRIC comes with a 2 Year warranty
from Meze that covers manufacturing defects.
All products featured on Headphone Zone are backed by an original manufacturer's warranty.
Read more about Meze's warranty in India.
Gold Award
Major Hi-FI
Nov, 2021
"With an innovative lightweight build, and a transparent sound that can be described as nothing other than state-of-the-art, the LIRIC is a game changer that rings in a new sonic future."
Read More
"Meze Audio's Liric headphones combine high-grade magnesium, leather and aluminium in an all-new ergonomic design. Rinaro created the Phase-XTM system, promising improved spatial imaging accuracy."
Read More
"The Liric is also surprisingly spacious with near open-back levels of dimension and separation, very impressive! You don't get the natural fall off of an open-back, listeners will be impressed here."
Read More
"New to the MZ4 variant is Meze/Rinaro’s patent-pending Phase X™ system that takes aim at the phase distortions introduced by a closed-back earcup to improve the Liric’s spatial cue accuracy."
Read More
"I would say that amongst closed-back headphones, even those in a similarly prestigious price tier, the soundstage impressed me greatly, depth is excellent, and the headphones separate well too."
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"Meze and Rinaro have undoubtedly succeeded in bringing their Isodynamic driver technology to a closed-back headphone that is lightweight, comfortable, compact & one that indeed sounds great.”
Read More
”The Liric will sound amazing with everything, given the superb imaging, clarity, and sound signature of the headphone. Meze makes some of the best sounding headphones on the market."
Read More
"Liric is a look back at Meze’s roots with 99 Classics, taking basic principles – a portable design with a sound that evokes the joy & emotion of music and pushes it forward into flagship level headphone."
Read MoreHave a question? Get in touch!
Check out the most common questions our customers ask. Still have questions? Talk to our Headphone Gurus.
What is the warranty period on the Meze LIRIC?
Which drivers are used in Meze LIRIC?
What are the advantages of a dual driven system in the Meze LIRIC?
SWITCHBACK COIL:
The switchback coil is more efficient at reproducing lower frequencies and is positioned in the upper part of the driver.
SPIRAL COIL:
The spiral coil is more efficient at reproducing middle-high frequencies and is positioned directly over the ear canal, enabling more direct sound waves to enter the ear without any time delays.
What is a Isoplanar Diaphraghm Material?
What is Phase-X System?
What is Ear Pad Air Flow System?
What comes bundled with the Meze LIRIC?
Does the Meze LIRIC come with a travel case?