James critiques the Meze Audio 105 SILVA, a brand new set of easy-to-drive open-back 50mm dynamic driver headphones with a Walnut Wooden end. They’re at the moment priced at $499.
Disclaimer: This pattern was despatched to me in trade for my sincere opinion. Headfonics is an impartial web site with no affiliate hyperlinks or standing. I thank Meze Audio for his or her assist.
You possibly can click on right here to be taught extra about Meze Audio merchandise beforehand reviewed on Headfonics.
This text follows our present scoring tips, which you’ll be able to learn in additional element right here.
Meze Audio 105 SILVA Evaluate
Abstract
The Meze Audio 105 SILVA is a gorgeous set of open-back headphones with dynamic bass, good readability, and sensitivity that permits it to sound clear and interesting with varied transportable and desktop sources.
Professionals
Fashionable design and engaging good high quality.
Enhanced transient response over the 105 AER.
Simple-to-drive.
Cons
Lacks a 4.4mm inventory cable possibility.
Right this moment is all about Meze Audio’s new 105 SILVA open-back headphones priced at $499. It is a sibling of the 105 AER I reviewed earlier, however with a really completely different tuning and materials design.
It’s price noting that the identify SILVA refers to “forest” in Romanian, as Meze Audio goals for a vigorous, balanced tuning, and doubtless that’s why walnut wooden is introduced into the design.
How does it examine to the earlier 105 AER and equally priced widespread headphones, such because the FiiO FT5? I discovered in my full overview under.
Options
The 105 SILVA is an open-back dynamic driver headphone and comes geared up with a 50mm dynamic driver identical to the 109 PRO.
This driver has cellulose composite supplies for its driver dome, a titanium-coated semicrystalline polymer torus, and a copper-zinc Stabilizer positioned across the membrane. The driving force is rated at 42Ω impedance with an SPL of 112 dB/mW at 1 kHz.
The 105 SILVA has an impedance and sensitivity score that matches the 105 AER, so transportable units can simply drive it, although with stronger amplification, you’ll be able to hear them scale.
I discovered that the perceived readability on the similar listening stage is even stronger on the 105 SILVA with extra strong bass and stronger treble readability.
Design
The 105 SILVA is impressed by the mid-century Fashionable motion combined with modern aesthetics.
It encompasses a distinctive design that blends walnut wooden and high-strength PC-ABS polymers in its housings. Radial patterns are intricately carved out, with filtering meshes positioned under.
General, the design language aligns with earlier Meze Audio fashions, and the load will increase barely to 354g from the 105 AER’s 336g, seemingly as a result of using wooden, which nonetheless feels fairly gentle on the pinnacle.
The design is well-built, glossy, elegant, and fashionable, that includes a mix of matte and shiny elements. Like its counterparts, it showcases stunning curves on each part, and this new housing design suits seamlessly with the framework.
The auto-adjusting headband is a really helpful characteristic. Regardless of this, if I needed to discover one thing to complain about, it will be the jacks on the headphone-side connectors, which have a reasonably small diameter and should restrict improve prospects.
Though this mannequin feels barely heftier than the 105 AER, the wooden texture provides extra depth to the contact, and the contrasting colour, harking back to Tom Nook from Animal Crossing, is refined but premium-looking.
The wooden grains are seen up shut, and the wooden is polished very easily with no machining marks.
Consolation
Meze designs are recognized for his or her consolation, and the 105 SILVA isn’t any exception. There may be enough clamping energy within the body, and the hinge within the center permits the cups to tilt freely, selling a greater match and seal.
The suede earpads additionally really feel well-made and really gentle, serving to to seal across the ears successfully. There isn’t any want to regulate something when placing on the 105 SILVA, and it doesn’t put stress on the world across the ears even after hours of listening.
The auto-adjusting headband continues to be one among my favourite options, not solely since you don’t want to regulate it once you put it on, but additionally since you don’t need to set it to a sure place when storing it within the equipped arduous case, making it good for outside use.
Undoubtedly, there may be diminished isolation energy with this open design. Nonetheless, once you flip up the amount, it simply covers the ambient noise.
There isn’t an excessive amount of leakage to the environment, presumably as a result of mesh damping on the again. This additionally helps supply a greater sense of openness and contributes to a extra pure sound tuning.
Inventory Cable
The Meze 105 SILVA comes with a 1.8m thread Kelvar OFC twisted cable with darkish gray anodized aluminum casings as customary.
Simply to notice, my overview pattern got here with a regular model of this cable, however you’ll be able to anticipate the cooler model in all manufacturing items. A 3.5mm to USB-C converter can be equipped, permitting you to connect with telephones with out headphone jacks.
Whereas the design may be very transportable, the longer cable size is good for desktop setups, enabling you to lean again with out worrying concerning the cable size.
My pattern cable feels fairly sturdy, though there’s a slight quantity of microphonics, which I presume is not going to be there with the retail model.
Packaging & Equipment
Other than the headphone unit, you’ll discover the great effort that has gone into the peripherals and the packaging field, which is professionally designed with a constant design language, fonts, and fashionable colours.
The important thing design options are printed on the high of the packaging field, and upon flipping it open, you’ll discover a really well-made arduous case.
Contained in the arduous case, there’s a small pouch that homes a 6.3mm to three.5mm converter, together with the USB-C to three.5mm converter talked about earlier. Along with these, there are leaflets explaining tips on how to swap out the earpads, in addition to different technical details about the design.
On the again of the field, the design initiatives are described, and it’s at all times enjoyable to see and really feel how Meze Audio connects the design with creative themes and the Romanian language.
Sound Impressions
For my 105 SILVA sound impressions, I gave them roughly 100 hours of run-in, utilizing the RME ADI-2 Professional, FiiO K17, the xDuoo XD05 Professional, and the USB-C to three.5mm adaptor that comes with the bundle.
Abstract
The earlier mannequin, 105 AER, stands for “AIR”; nonetheless, the wood-infused design on 105 SILVA is nearer to the 109 PRO and provides an alternate sound profile that strengthens the technicalities and enhances the transient response.
The tuning is equally punchy within the bass however will get a bit deeper and fuller whereas energizing the treble to supply extra sparkle. This contributes to stronger, extra definitive energy, firmer assault,s and enhanced dynamics.
Whereas it will get extra V-shaped, it’s nonetheless skillfully rounded from harshness and maintains enough dynamics even at louder volumes.
Just like the 105 AER, the 105 SILVA may be pushed to sound very loud even on the MacBook Air, and with the equipped USB-C adaptor, the ensuing tuning is kind of nice.
There may be some room to scale. With stronger decoding and higher amplification, the 105 SILVA sounds extra naturally articulate within the vocal physique, and the bass kicks deeper.
Bass
The 105 SILVA provides punchy and impactful bass on transportable gamers. The bass devices exhibit good agility, with subtly detectable sub-lows.
This leads to a properly layered and ethereal presentation with bass-intensive mixes. Elementary vocal frequencies are introduced cleanly and neutrally, with ample physique.
Darker voices have enhanced presence and sound fairly distinguished and up entrance. In distinction, thinner voices or mixes could come throughout as comparatively distanced however not too far.
When listening to Home, EDM, and R&B music, the responsive bass creates a rhythmic high quality. Tracks from the 70s and 80s characterised by richer physique are introduced with playful bass assaults that spotlight percussion devices and vocal overtones. With trending pop music, it sounds dynamic and clear, which sounds fairly upbeat.
At increased volumes, the bass stays managed and punchy, with a quick, punchy decay that doesn’t bleed into the comparatively gentle mids.
When powered by desktop decoders just like the D&A Alpha PRO, the 105 SILVA successfully captures the deep resonant of cellos and double bass, offering enough air and texture.
The bass guitar can be introduced clearly, having the ability to extract ample richness whereas sustaining discernible notes in quick riffs.
Mids
The mids want some consideration on pairing because the depth within the mid-range frequencies, significantly across the 600-800 Hz space, feels comparatively dipped in comparison with the 2 ends.
That is extra noticeable with weaker voices and fewer highly effective sources, however the 105 SILVA usually maintains a impartial and easy presentation with common vocalists. You possibly can really feel the voices gaining extra robustness when sufficiently powered.
The tuning permits a bit extra power round 6kHz, which provides voices a cleaner define. As such, even when the physique of vocals isn’t very intense, it nonetheless cuts by simply with out sounding boxy.
You could discover the 105 SILVA extra expressive when paired with gear that has richer colorations within the mids, such because the Shanling M8T, which provides additional heat, physique, and boosts the overtones.
With just a few pairings, I observed the vocals on the 105 SILVA sounding barely laid-back and in a soothing method.
There may be at all times good smoothness and prominence within the higher midrange elevation that helps strengthen texture and provides a stronger sense of its speedy transient response. This shapes the stereo picture strongly, though the vocal imaging isn’t very intimate.
Treble
The open-back design with meshes provides slight dampening within the treble. The tuning maintains passable airiness and area for devices and a number of vocal traces to mix into the combo with out sounding harsh or congested.
Higher-register strings and better notes on guitars are discernible and textured, with the harmonics captured clearly. As an alternative of emphasizing the air past 10kHz, it chooses a extra sweetened method and successfully tames the sibilance zone, particularly with warmer-sounding sources.
When the vocal or brass devices get hotter, the light roll-off up the highest helps include harshness properly with out hampering dynamics and openness.
Cymbals and hi-hats are introduced with good nuances however not overly sharpened, and transients are captured with good texture and velocity with out sounding overly sharp.
The treble depth is on par, if not barely stronger than the decrease register, which collectively ship good distinction even when listening outside below noisier environment.
The way in which it emphasizes the transients sounds a bit like planars, however specializing in the response within the bass with completely different gears reminds you it’s based mostly on a dynamic driver.
Soundstage
The 105 SILVA has ample power at each ends of the spectrum, which improves the perceived air and depth. The ensuing stage is reasonably huge as a result of treble roll-off. When listening outside, the atmosphere leaks in a bit to paint it extra pure.
The gently laid-back mid-range provides depth, positioning the vocalists additional aside within the soundstage. Nonetheless, you may discover the picture extra dispersed, however on the similar time extra relaxed, which helps extra backing devices to go below the highlight.
Regardless of this, there may be enough penetration energy within the upper-mids to maintain it distinctively positioned and separated from the backing.
With most gears paired, the 105 SILVA sounds pretty open and has good layering because the tuning stretches the 2 ends. Superior sources with higher decoding energy and ample present provide preserve the bass cleaner and extra impactful, enhancing the depth and positioning.
Click on on web page 2 under for my really useful pairings and chosen comparisons.
