Meze Audio’s latest premium open-back wired headphones feature new custom-designed planar magnetic drivers — technology that audiophiles have long revered for its clarity and ultra-low distortion. But it’s the design of the new $2,000 Meze Poet that might woo would-be buyers.
A lot of planar headphones tend to be bulky affairs with designs that don’t exactly offer as much for the eyes as they do the ears. The Meze Poet, are decidedly different, with copper-toned and finely patterned steel grilles, magnesium earcup chassis, a titanium alloy frame, and a suede leather headband.
The copper accents extend into the height rods, and continue into the detachable, hand-braided copper cable.
The earcushions attach magnetically, making them easily replaceable when they eventually breakdown from use.
For the Poet, Meze has once again partnered with Ukrainian electro-acoustics specialists, Rinaro Isodynamics. Inside each earcup lives an MZ6 Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver — a hybrid magnet array linked to an ultra-low mass planar diaphragm (0.06g). It’s a similar unit to the one that powers Meze’s $4,000 Elite Tungsten flagship headphones.
Those drivers deliver some impressive claimed specs:
Plus, the Poet, with an impedance of just 55 ohm, should be remarkably easy to drive, even from a standard 3.5mm jack on a laptop.
For a more poetic description of the Poet’s sound signature, here’s Meze’s take: “a sonic experience with lush, airy vocals and precise bass impact, balancing low-end depth with delicate high-frequency clarity. The headphones’ natural tonality is enhanced by subtle hints of sparkle, providing a lively yet effortless listening experience.”
$2,000 is a big investment for anyone. But Meze Audio helps cushion that blow literally by including what looks like a very sturdy, PC-ABS headphone hard case. There’s also a separate synthetic leather pouch to store your cables.
The included cable uses 3.5mm mono jacks at the earcup connectors and a standard, unbalanced 6.3mm (1/4-inch) source connection, however Meze sells several optional accessory cables that can provide 2.5 or 4.4mm balanced connections if needed.
For a much more affordable way into the open-back audiophile category, check out the Meze Audio 105 AER. They may not use fancy planar drivers, but they look great and sound fantastic.
Instagram is making its way to yet another screen, and this time, Apple TV is getting a taste of the Reels rabbit hole. The company has launched a dedicated Instagram app for Apple TV, bringing Reels, longer videos, and live shows to the big screen. So, if watching one quick clip on a phone somehow turns into an hour of scrolling, there's now a much larger screen for that.
Instagram brings Reels and more to Apple TV
Audio-Technica, a brand well known for making some of the best studio and professional headphones on the market, has just come out with the ATH-AWX7000, which the company itself claims to be its "finest headphones ever." The new flagship closed-back headphone has debuted at an eye-watering price of $3,799. It combines hand-finished Japanese woodwork with a newly developed 58mm driver.
The earcups are made from Kiso cypress, a prized wood historically used for Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. Each housing is finished by hand with traditional Echizen lacquer, which brings out the grain and is expected to darken over time. The frame and sliders are finished in a deep navy kachi-iro shade traditionally associated with samurai.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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