Meze Audio Launches Liric Portable Planars

Meze Audio's latest release puts the famed Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver into a set of closed-back headphones.
The Meze Audio Liric headphones sport the same technology as the Meze Audio Elite flagship and the Applause Award-winning Empyrean before it but scaled-down and tuned to deliver a similar experience in a closed-back, portable design, says the Romanian-based company.
To create Liric's MZ4 driver, Meze Audio partner Rinaro has created what it calls the Phase-XTM system. This patent-pending technology promises improved spatial imaging accuracy in line with Liric's open-back counterparts and is said to be especially noticeable on binaural recordings.
Additionally, where you might expect to find a logo on most headphones, the Liric sports a copper-accented "precisely tuned" air vent hole on the fibreglass-reinforced polymer earcup. This Pressure Equalization System is said to result in 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.
The Meze Liric has a quoted frequency range of 4-92,000 Hz and 30 ohm impedance.
Meze Audio's Liric headphones combine high-grade magnesium, leather and aluminium for its sleek, modern aesthetic. We are told that this all-new ergonomic design has referenced the textures found on magnesium parts of professional photography cameras to give the wearer that same tactile experience while demonstrating "outstanding wear resistance".
Meze Audio founder Antonio Meze told StereoNET:
We've been wanting to do a portable planar for a while, and following two successful collaborations with Rinaro, it was a natural next step. Naming it LIRIC was not a game of chance. It was an ideal metaphor to paint the authentic, vivid and poetic sound disguised behind its sculptural silhouette.
Meze Audio Liric headphones are hand-assembled in Baia Mare, Romania, and are available now for pre-order, priced at £1,850/ €2,000.
Visit Meze Audio for more information

Jay Garrett
StereoNET’s resident rock star, bass player, and gadget junkie. Jay heads up StereoNET as Editor for the United Kingdom and Europe regions. His passion for gadgets and Hi-Fi is second only to being a touring musician.
Posted in: Headphones
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