Tom’s Guide Verdict
The latest headphones from Romanias Meze are a design and sonic treat.
We’ve already seen the headphone jack slip into obscurity.
Your smartphone doesnt have one anymore, and your tablet has lost it.
But many laptops still have one.
The audio jack is, unfortunately, a dying rarity.
Thankfully, there are ways to hook headphones like these up to different outputs.
A DAC, an adapter, etc etc.
Theyre tasteful, but they still look luxurious.
Its topped off with some Alcantara-covered earpads for a lovely fit around your ears.
Theres space inside for the headphones themselves and the cables, wrapped up in their own little bag.
You do get everything you could want out of a pair of wired headphones, however.
The cable is detachable and attaches (and detaches) with ease.
Its supple, and obedient, so wrapping it up to put in its dedicated bag is simple.
The Meze 105 AER-7 are open back, which does come with a couple of caveats.
Your traditional headphones are closed back, which means theres no way for air inside to escape.
That means 1. it’s possible for you to hear the outside world and 2.
Everyone else can hear your music as well.
In exchange, you get a much wider, airier sound stage for a more immersive audio experience.
The thing you notice first and foremost with the 105 AER is the soundstage.
Its incredibly wide, immersive and imminently engaging.
The thing you notice first and foremost with the 105 AER is the soundstage.
Its incredibly wide, immersive, and imminently engaging.
Detail is top-notch, with plenty to be found up top and around the mid-range.
Bass impact is impressive for a pair of open ears, and youll never find yourself wanting for low-end.
Theres detail too the sliding of fingers on the fretboard, the subtle orchestral notes in the background.
The strings are well-rounded and perfectly formed.
Its almost ethereal at points, although it relies on the tight and controlled low-end of the headphones.
Its moody, scary and perfectly judged.
Pink Floyd rounds us out withComfortably Numb,if not only for Dave Gilmours genre-defining guitar solo.
The 4:31 comes along, and it happens all over again.
Let me just briefly touch on the last point there for a second, before we wrap things up.
ANC headphones tend to level out the sound theyre all effectively the same volume.
The 105 AER are for a different purpose.
More from Tom’s Guide
