Today, we’re reviewing the new Meze Audio 105 AER dynamic headphones, available for a competitive $399 USD.
Disclaimer: The Meze Audio 105 AER was sent to us directly from Meze Audio. The review reflects my honest opinion.
Meze Audio
Meze Audio has become famous and significant over the last few years. They offer top-quality sound, excellent build quality, and high-performing headphones. You can read their “About us” section on their website here if you haven’t heard about them.
The Meze Audio units have won awards worldwide, and that doesn’t come as any surprise, as many people seem to love the Meze creations. On top of that, the Meze team is always friendly, knows what they’re talking about, and is just really lovely to communicate with. It’s one of the friendliest audio companies.
We have reviewed many of Meze’s products here on Headfonia, and you can find all of those reviews here. We had the worldwide scoop of their Empyrean 2 headphone, and you can also find that review here:
Meze Audio 105 AER
The new Meze Audio 105 AER is Romania’s reasonably priced dynamic driver headphone. It’s the brand’s second open-back dynamic driver, the first being the 109 Pro. Similar to the 109 Pro, this dynamic driver has a 50mm diameter and a 42 Ω impedance.
105 AER is made from high-quality, premium materials, including cast zinc alloy hardware with PVD coating, stamped manganese spring steel headband, ABS-PC ear cups, velour ear pads, and a soft PU leather headband. All these material choices resulted in the lightest headphone open-back model they’ve created. The dynamic driver consists of a combination of Beryllium-coated polymer, cellulose-carbon fiber composite and copper-zinc alloy.
“Rich-sounding and versatile, 105 AER was created for those who value a deeper connection to their music”
Packaging
The new Meze 105 AER headphones arrive in a square box with a gorgeous geometric symbol on top. The presentation is classic Meze, with a more down-to-earth unboxing than the previous models, but it’s still awesome.
Inside, you’re greeted with a stylish, cool-looking carrying case that stores the headphones. When you open this zipper case, you have the 105 EAR and a leather pouch containing a 3.5mm cable.
Design & Build Quality
It’s very hard to nitpick about the build or design of Meze Audio products. Their headphone creations are fantastic, and the 105 AER follows a similar design language to their 109 Pro headphones, which we reviewed two years ago. The 105 AER looks very impressive, with spider-design earcups and overall elegance.
The headphone’s design has an awe-inspiring yet elegant harmony and luxurious touch. Meze Audio surely nails the design part with every release. They’re exceptional in that regard. It’s safe to say that the new 105 AER is a great-looking piece of product.
The new 105 AER’s build is excellent, too. All the parts are very robust, and the overall assembly is perfect. It’s also very flexible, so you can be sure it’ll survive for many years. And if you know Meze Audio, you’d see that they make their headphones sustainable, which means that every part is easily replaceable if something happens.
The cable connects to the headphones via 3.5 mm and sits tight. If you’re into that sort of thing, you can easily roll an aftermarket cable.
Comfort
I found the 105 AER quite comfortable despite its relatively small earcups. I’m usually more comfortable with more oversized earcups like the ones in the HD 800S, but when you wear the 105 AER, it wraps around your head nicely with just enough clamping force—not too much. The earcups frame your ears nicely without any discomfort.
As you know, one of the most significant advantages of dynamic earphones is their weight. We have even lighter headphones when you add the new ABS-PC earcups that Meze produced. The 105 AER is very light, so it does not bother you even if you listen to music for long periods. The best part, though, is the headband design. You don’t adjust the headband. The headphones slide to the best position when you put them on.
Also, the headband’s shape is very well balanced, so the force you feel on the top of your head is evenly distributed. Many headphones only put pressure on your head from the tip, but the 105 AER’s headband wraps your head on top, so the whole pressure is not on your head’s tip but on the whole top.
The earpads are velour, and they are not too soft. This is a measure to prevent your ears from touching the driver, as it’s not a very deep earcup/driver design. But I didn’t find it uncomfortable at all. While the isolation is almost non-existent—understandable for an open-back—you still get a tiny bit of isolation when you put them on.
Page 3: Driving, Comparisons, Conclusion
