Meze 105 AER review: Glorious levels of detail

I’ve just had my first experience with a Meze Audio set of headphones, but it won’t be my last. After spending a few weeks with the new Meze 105 AER — the Romanian audio company’s most affordable open-back model — I now have a deep-seated need to hear what its more expensive headphones can do. Because if spending $399 is all it takes to get the incredible clarity and detail I’ve been enjoying, the mind boggles at what might be possible if you spent more.

If you’re an open-back enthusiast, you already know that this kind of headphone design lets sound (air) travel freely in both directions through the backs of the earcups. Fans of this approach value the more natural, “open” quality of the sound they create.

If you’ve only ever used closed-back cans (e.g. wireless headphones from companies like Bose, Beats, or Sony), you can probably tell just by looking at the 105 AER that they’re nothing like those products. But it’s still worth pointing out that these aren’t the right choice for commuting, sitting in a Starbucks, or flying — they offer almost no isolation from external sounds.

Where they excel, however, is for at-home critical listening, or any place where you can be assured of relative peace and quiet. The oversized, velour-covered ear cushions are comfortable for long listening sessions — even while wearing glasses — and I never found them too hot. The wide headband attaches to the steel frame via an auto-adjusting inner strap, and does a great job at distributing pressure.

At 11.8 ounces, the 105 AER are a bit heavier than competing open-ear cans, but their clamping force compensates for it with just the right amount of squeeze. It keeps the earcups where you place them, while avoiding unwanted pressure.

If I could change one thing, I’d shorten the headband by a few millimeters on each side. I have a very small head. If it were any smaller, the headband would end up floating above it, instead of pressed against it — something to keep in mind if your noggin is also on the smaller side.

Meze Audio 105 AER specs

Design

The design will likely be a love or hate proposition for most folks. The steel frame sticks up (and out) from your head like an industrial halo, and the exaggerated 3D honeycomb outer grilles of the ABS plastic earcups have a decidedly techno vibe; but you can put me in the love camp.

They’re not as streamlined and clean-looking as Sennheiser’s classic HD 660S2, and yet I adore the choice of high quality materials and simplicity of the construction. The polished metal suspension stays that connect the frame to the headband are one of my favorite touches, and remind me of Oakley’s X-metal sunglasses, which I still consider to be one of the best pieces of industrial design from the past 30 years. Meze says the 105 AER is easily repaired if damaged and it carries any replacement part you may need.

Each earcup has its own dedicated 3.5mm single-pole connection. Unlike some headphones, these don’t lock into place. I actually think that might be preferable for the same reason that Apple uses MagSafe connections on many of its laptops — sometimes you want a cable to break free when it gets accidentally yanked.

They come with their own hard-shell zippered travel case — a rarity at this price — a detachable 3.5mm braided, tangle-free, unbalanced 63-inch cable (which my cat unfortunately finds irresistable), a small zippered pouch for that cable (and any others you buy), and a 3.5mm to 1/4-inch adapter. Meze sells compatible balanced 4.4mm cables if you feel inclined to upgrade.

Sound quality

As I alluded to above, the 105 AER a fabulous listen. Experience has taught me that, generally speaking, more expensive earbuds and headphones tend to offer better performance than less expensive ones. It’s not linear: you can’t spend double and expect to get double the sound quality, but there’s almost always a tangible improvement. The 105 AER challenged that expectation.

In my current library of headphones, I have just two open-back models: The $600 Sennheiser HD 660S2, and the $180 Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro Limited Edition 80 ohm.

Before I started listening to the 105 AER, I guessed they’d fit somewhere between these two, based on the AER’s $399 price. Nope. Not even close.

Almost as soon as I got through the opening notes of Sabrina Carpenter’s Taste, I knew Meze had created something special. “The clarity on these things is off the charts,” I texted senior editor John Higgins, moments later. “By comparison, the Sennheiser HD 660S2 sound like you’re standing outside the club with doors half open.” It’s now two weeks later, and if anything, I’m even more impressed.

The openness and airiness that open-backs are known for are there in spades. It gives stereo tracks a relaxed, smooth quality, but it also does good things for spatial audio, enhancing that format’s already wider-than-normal soundstage.

Bass response may feel tempered if you’re used to closed-back cans, but once you adjust, you realize how well balanced it is — with warm tonality and resonance that anchors a track while never intruding on the other elements.

Billie Eilish’s bad guy will reveal any hints of low end distortion immediately, with it’s nearly subsonic bass line, but the 105 AER didn’t wobble even a hair as I pushed them way beyond my volume tolerance. What was more impressive was Eilish’s voice. Normally just a whispery presence floating over that powerful beat, I could hear a level depth and detail that sounded like the track had been remastered.

Jazz standards from Dave Brubeck and Miles Davis benefitted as much or more, with a wonderful separation of instruments and pinpoint accuracy in their placement.

Qobuz prompted me to try Mogwai’s new album The Bad Fire and I’m glad I did. The third track, What Kind Of Mix Is This? highlights both the clarity and precision of the cans with its playful arrangement of keyboards and drums.

I’m hard-pressed to find anything I don’t like about the 105 AER’s sound signature, which seems to complement so many music genres, but if I were to pick on one element, it’s the highs. In a cruel twist of fate, as I’ve aged (and thus started to lose access to higher frequencies), I’m more sensitive to the highs I can still detect. I have a low tolerance for any perceived peakiness. And the apparent double-edged sword of the AER’s superb clarity in highest registers is that they can occasionally ring too sharp for me.

It’s nothing that some judicious EQing can’t solve, but there you go — a very minor flaw in an otherwise outstanding performance.

With a 42 ohm impedance, these cans are very easy to drive — the headphone jack on my MacBook Air had more than enough power — but don’t let that fact talk you out of using a dedicated DAC and/or headphone amp.

Thanks to the 105 AER’s awesome precision, you will absolutely get more out of these cans with the right tools. I tried them with Apple’s $9 lightning-to-3.5mm adapter, Ifi’s new $79 Go Link Max, and Questyle’s remarkable $399 M18i and with each upward move, I was treated to more detail and better tonality.

Meze doesn’t market the 105 AER as gaming headphones, but three aspects make them a surprisingly good fit for this purpose: They’re comfortable enough for long sessions, their open-back design might improve the perception of spatial audio accuracy for some users, and they’re compatible with Meze’s optional $79 Boom Mic accessory.

At $399, the 105 AER won’t be a trivial investment for most people, but if you’re serious about seriously listening to music, I can’t think of a better entry point into the world of open-back audiophile-grade headphones.