Disclaimer: The 105 AER was sent to me as part of the tour for review, I do not get to keep it and by the time of posting it has already left my possession. As always all thoughts and opinions remain my own and I have not been requested to do or say anything.
Personal preferences in audio gear may vary. This review is based on my own subjective experience.
If you prefer to watch a video review you can watch mine here
Pros –
- Ultra comfortable
- Tuning doesn’t get grating even for all day listening sessions
- Male vocals have a great warmth to them
- Build quality feels great
- High quality case is included
- Very easy to drive
- Soundstage can be somewhat intimate but the imaging makes it feel quite open depending on the mix
Cons –
- Detail retrieval could be better
- Cable after split can be slightly microphonic
- Warm meze house tuning might not be for everyone
- Sub bass lovers may not be satisfied
Gaming:
Pros –
- Comfort Comfort Comfort. Fantastic for long sessions
- Imaging gives a good sense where sounds are coming from
- Immersive worlds sound and feel large
- Boom mic accessory makes it a all in one headset
Cons –
- Small details and audio cues get lost
- Cable could maybe be longer for gamers
Build, Fit & Accessories:
The Meze 105 AER is price at $399. An open back 50mm dynamic driver headphone.
As this was a tour unit I did not open a brand new package but as far as I am aware all of the stock inclusions were inside the box. In the box you get a lovely premium hard case to store or transport the headphones in and a soft cable pouch, also included is a 6.3 mm to 3.5mm adapter and the stock cable as well as the headphones themselves. I very much appreciate the well built case for either storage or travel and all the extra goodies are a welcome inclusion as well.
As for the for the headphones themselves they are a beautiful black with grey accents, they don’t stand out and look flashy but the colors all work well and the design is fantastic and make them look unique and pleasing. These look and feel very well built using premium materials, there are no creaks or odd sounds moving anything around. The self adjusting headband is absolutely wonderful not just in comfort but in convenience. I can wear these for way too long and forget they are even on my head, this is top tier comfort.
This is an extremely comfortable set and with all the inclusions make it a great deal in my opinion. For gamers Meze also sells a boom mic accessory for these. They are another $80 on top of the headphone, but for gaming comfort these are absolutely wonderful.
Equipment Used:
- FiiO K11 on Windows
- FiiO Q11 on Windows and Android
- MusicBee on Windows 11 with FiiO ASIO drivers for local FLAC and DSD files
- Tidal Music Streaming
Test Tracks used:
- Test Tracks (Work in Progress)
Sound Quality:
The Meze 105 AER is a 50mm Dynamic Driver Headphone
Most of my general listening was on my desktop using the FiiO K11, I did try it on the Q11 and it performed the same. These are extremely easy to drive and should run on just about anything.
Bass:
I do quite enjoy the bass on the 105 AER and it is enough for the style of music I generally listen to, however on more tracks that require a decent amount of sub bass these do fall short for that very low end oomph.
There is good note weight and definition otherwise making most genres enjoyable, Kick drums and toms have good note weight and definition and bass lines have a good presence and can be quite fun to listen to. Overall these are quite warm but there is enough clarity that they don’t lean into muddy territory.
Midrange:
The whole midrange remains quite warm and cozy to listen to, nothing stands out as wrong or incorrect sounding but I do wish some instruments just had a little more bite and were not as subdued from the warmth here. Flutes, horns and guitars are my main ones that I find can come across as a bit rounded and just don’t have the grit to cut through for my tastes.
Vocals:
Vocals I found at times to be the weak spot of this warm tuning. They make pretty much the whole vocal range come across a bit soft and although not recessed they don’t really get separated in the mix and more or less blend in with the instruments. I am sure some appreciate this tuning but for me I enjoy having vocalists having their own stage to stand on.
Treble:
The treble kind of surprised me and shows that Meze knows exactly what they are tuning for tuning. As much as the 105 AER is quite warm throughout you can still hear the treble range extremely well and there is a surprising amount of air while also having absolutely no worry about fatigue. Warm and comfy but balanced throughout. Slightly blunted at times but quite pleasant.
Technicalities:
As for the technicalities the 105 AER is kind of mixed for me in some aspects. While I think the imaging and soundstage are good at this price point I find the soundstage can become a bit cramped at times for more busy genres and tracks meanwhile during slower instrumentals it opens up and can really breathe. It seems to be quite genre specific, most likely because of the warmer tuning. With that being said I do think detail retrieval is the most affected part because of the tuning, many small vocal and instrument nuances are lost. Lots of small details I am used to hearing are barely audible or inaudible on tracks and this was probably the single biggest con for me personally.
Gaming Performance:
$399 is a nice chunk of change for a gaming headphone and Meze sells a boom mic accessory the these meaning they should be great for gaming right? Well from what I tried they performed just about how I expected
Immersive Gaming:
I really only played one game because I can’t stop playing it right now and that game is Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. I am a big fan at how these immerse you into the world and really throw all the ambience at you. Music, birds even the tavern chatter is extremely immersive and spacious. These really brought the world to life and made it feel big. Although the world felt and sounded great I did notice that some of the little sounds were being missed due to the tuning but for this type of game it wasn’t distracting or taking away from the experience, but if I was using these for Tarkov or more competitive shooters I definitely think I would be missing necessary audio cues due to the tuning.
Conclusion:
I feel like the 105 AER is truly a great headphone and I think Meze achieved everything they were trying to do with it. Fantastic build, Wonderfully comfortable and a nice warm lush tuning that you can listen to all day long….I just checked the website and they even market it as that. I’m not surprised, they clearly know what they are doing and what they are making. My only cons are subjective at best and just because of my tuning preferences but overall these will be a fantastic headphone for most people. Including my wife who is trying to convince me to get one so she can use it haha
The following are my affiliated links to purchase the 105 AER and Boom Mic from Meze, these links provide a way for you to help support my reviews at no extra cost to you.
- 105AER:
https://mezeaudio.com/products/105-aer?_ef_transaction_id=&oid=46&affid=231
Boom Mic:
https://mezeaudio.com/products/boom-mic?_ef_transaction_id=&oid=41&affid=231
Cheers!
