105 AER

Meze 105 aer. Great headphones. Super comfortable. Sound is like a 560s with slightly more bass. They're just superb.  And they are easily serviceable if needed

I don't know about the blackshark but I can tell you my experience switching from cloud alpha to 560s. At first the 560s seem to have a lot less bass because of the neutral tuning and open instead of closed back build. The bass punchiness is missing. The sound profile is bright, similar to cloud alpha so I enjoyed the sound from the beginning. It was just perfect, no eq needed  The detail retrieval of the 560s, imaging and soundstage were much better. After using them for about 2 weeks they seem to have more bass. The brain tunes in to the new sound. But I still loved the alphas so after a year of 560s I bought a new pair of alphas (I gave the old one away). But... they did not sound as I remembered :)) Bass was muddy, details were missing, treble was further away. You don't notice so much the upgrade as you notice the downgrade after using the 560s for a while. The 560s are excellent headphones. They have superior soundstage, great detail, great imaging, you hear everything from footsteps to whispers. They are audiophile headphones. People refer to them as mid range probably because they have mid range build quality. But for sound I think they can be considered high end. They can trade blows with the hd600 which are high end. 560s has a wider soundstage and an extended bass response.  Music sounds very good. Voices like Enya, or ballades from Roxette sound divine. I really tried to find a difference between 560s and 600 but apart from soundstage they sounded identically. Same voice, same tonality, same dynamics etc. The velour earpads and open back don't cause much heating. The earpads are bigger than usual, they are lighter than most headphones and are really comfortable. They run just fine on a good motherboard audio or a good usb dongle. No separate dac/amp needed. Beside them getting louder you won't notice a quality or sound difference. I also tested hd599, hd600, meze 99, meze 105aer, beyerdynamics dt770, ananda nano and some I can't remember. In the end the 560s for me is the best pair. With a little bit of desire to also get the 105aer. The reason I gave up my alphas was that the earpad's fake leather broke down and I could not find original replacements. Any other earpad alters the sound dramatically because of different sizes. But the 560s share the same earpad with many other sennheiser models so replacements should be easier to find. Also velour should be more durable than pleather. So yes, at 120 eur they are a best buy. I don't think you could get anything better. 

Secret option #3. Meze 105 AER.

Why not? To my hears it has smoother high end, warmer sound overall, nicer low end, and is levels above in comfort. Build quality also worth mentioning, although the Senn are absolutely well built also.

Hi! Looking to buy a pair of audiophile open back over ears for around 350 eur (must be available in Europe, plus minus 100 eur if there's a strong reason either way). To date I've had every version of airpods / pro / max, shp9500, x2hr, x3, all bose qc, a few momentum and X-phones, iems like Hola which lead to hexa and pure. So Tldr, mostly optimized for ease of use and anc given always on run / lots of travel days with exception for some great deals on Philip cans that I use at the desktop for gaming / bass heavier music. With a new job and more time at desk in closed offices (alone) want to invest in a pair of better open back over ears; however I will still switch offices and rooms so will have to run with a portable amp/dac setup like qudelix 5k or similar. I'm allergic to shitty durability and qc, so unfortunately I can't get myself to buy a pair of last gen hifiman flagships like sundara / xs (:(). Also considered ar5000 but joints seem to break like crazy, and same with f1 pro (better on later versions?). Guess that leaves sennies, ath-r70x/xa, beyers? I have a big head with relatively big ears too, so comfort matters. As a final note, I do most my listening while working, so I want something a bit more fun / warm than purely critical / analytical. Bonus if I can run them straight from Mac / iPhone. Leaning towards hd 550 (easy to drive, seems serviceable, ok for larger heads, good reviews, slightly more fun?) - could that be a solid buy for my preferences? Other ideas? Much appreciate your input and ideas!

Picked them up yesterday! Realize my ears need to break in, but honestly first impression is magnificent. The quality - in packaging, in build, in sound - really impressed me. It's fantastic to listen to music in a relaxed musical way, that still has so much clarity and detail. I think these were spot on for me. And the store offered me an early black friday deal, making it even better!

I’m literally wearing headphones right now. And I wear glasses. 1. Ensure the earpads have good pliability or a suitable adjustment (some headphones have a notch for glasses) 2. Make sure the clamping doesn’t impact an area you’re sensitive to (for example, in my case, the back of my ears) 3. Bigger ear pocket = better. Avoid pressure on the ear when possible. I usually use the HD599 or Meze 105 AER when gaming and both of these are great for long use with glasses. (I also have the PC38X and it’s good, but has a higher clamping force. I did need to stretch the PC38X some, though, using the book trick.) Note that I have bigger ears. 4. Thinner frames = better. Especially if they sit closer to your head. Some of my glasses are by Nike, and their form factor can become an issue because they don’t hook, they press behind the ear. Talk to your friendly neighborhood vision store, and they can help adjust that. I would not recommend a switch to earbuds all the time. I mean you can, but depending on the type (mostly IEMs) you might run into ear infection issues if you don’t use them right or use them too long. Consider also

HD599 lover here. I have a lot of headphones and IEMs: Meze 105 AER, 105 Silva, Empyrean, Elites; Focal Bathys, Azurys, Clear OG; Grado SR80X, sr325x; Sennheiser HD380 Pro, PC38X, Hd599, Momentum 4, Momentum 3, Accentum; Bose, Sony, Master & Dynamic, Bowers & Wilkins… and more. And the HD599’s are my daily drivers. They’re what I base my opinion about everything else on. The other ones that compete? Meze105 Aer, Grado sr325x. So yeah. I get it. Enjoy :-)

1. Comfort. Simply put, great comfort all around. 2. Smooth vocals, big focus on them. 3. Scales well with amps. I use them with my Blue Yeti mic most of the time. But when I’m listening to music, I switch to the iFi Go Link or the Chord Mojo 2. These both sound great, especially with a bit of bass boost. The comfort and vocal focus are why they’re my daily drivers at work: I spend all day listening to voices so the smooth vocals are of utmost importance. The PC38X are great at this, too, but not as comfortable. The music performance is a great bonus, and it’s why I often swap the HD599 for the Meze 105 AER: it has better musical performance with similar smoothness and comfort. But the ear cups are smaller and I have big ears, so that’s why I like Sennheisers. I’ve been considering the HD550’s which I hear are a solid upgrade to the HD599’s, but I don’t see a real need.

Personally, I wouldn’t jump from the Sonys to a $500 headphone until you know what you like. I’d recommend starting with the Sennheiser x Drop HD 6XX; they’re on sale right now for $180 and they’re a really, really great pair of audiophile grade headphones for you to see if that’s even something you like. Alternatively, the Hifiman Sundara is under $200 right now and it’s a great example of an entry-level planar magnetic headphone. If you’re committed to going all out, I’d recommend the Meze 105 AER at $399 and a JDS Atom Amp+ for $99. Reviews: - 6XX: https://daemonxar.com/2025/01/27/sennheiser-x-drop-6xx-review-seven-years-in-the-making/ - Sundara: https://daemonxar.com/2025/10/26/hifiman-sundara-a-classic-in-open-back-headphone-design/ - 105 AER: https://daemonxar.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/

It's normal for those headphones, neither of which are particularly great to my ears. I think things like the Fiio FT1 ($160, also a closed back) holds its own against the Airpods Pro 2, but it's the only closed back under $500 that I personally think is worth grabbing over the Pro2. The Pro2 are a REALLY good, well-tuned, resolving headphone. Open-backs are generally going to be better for most use cases and at most price points; they vary a lot, but generally if I'm looking for great sound I'm grabbing open backs before closed backs (with some notable exceptions). If you're in the US, the Drop x Sennheiser 6XX are a great deal around $200 and compete with things up to the $500 range (they're a recoloration of the HD 650, which sell for $400+. If you're not in the US, or you want more bass, I'd recommend the Meze 105 AER at around $400. IEMs can be a great value for headphones, if you can comfortably wear them. For pure sound quality, there are a bunch of IEMs in the $20 range that compete with substantially more expensive headphones for detail retreival. I'd grab a pair of Tangzu Wan'er 2's for $20 to see if they're comfortable for you; they're great headphones at that price. Reviews: \- FT1: [https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/04/17/the-fiio-ft1-a-truly-excellent-budget-closed-back/](https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/04/17/the-fiio-ft1-a-truly-excellent-budget-closed-back/) \- 6XX: [https://daemonxar.com/2025/01/27/sennheiser-x-drop-6xx-review-seven-years-in-the-making/](https://daemonxar.com/2025/01/27/sennheiser-x-drop-6xx-review-seven-years-in-the-making/) \- 105 AER: [https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/](https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/)

The 109 is my all time favorite headphone, so I'll second this. If you don't want to spend that much, the 105 AER is like 90% of the performance at half the price (but also slightly less comfortable). Full review here: [https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/meze-109-pro-review/](https://daemonxar.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/meze-109-pro-review/)

I snagged a pairf of used 660S2 last week for $250; no complaints so far. I also really like the Meze 105 AER and 109 Pro for a more bassy-than-neutral performance, but I wouldn't call them bassy like Sony's XMs or Beats. Honestly if you want blow your mind bass, you're probably better off getting a pair of good headphones with decent bass response and compatibility with EQ and applying a big ole bass shelf; anything that's incredibly bassy out of the box is probably going to have a bunch of compromises elsewhere.

The XV is worth the jump up. I'm still finishing up my review (mostly editing and doing the product photography this evening), but it's one of the VERY few headphones that I think is fairly priced at MSRP. It's really exceptional. Here's what I wrote in my comparison to Sundara: "While I do still really enjoy Sundara (and I prefer its midrange to a substantial degree, particularly for guitar tones), the Edition XV has substantially better bass, similar treble, and better detail resolution and comfort on my head. I'm going to keep the Sundara around (they cost me $80, after all) for guitar heavy listening, but I'm going to guess that the vast majority of the time I'm going to grab the Edition XV for most kinds of listening. A quick glance at the graph: **Verdict**: Edition XV is a better headphone. It's also a lot more expensive; if you have less than $200 to spend the Sundara is a great option and you don't NEED to wait and save up for the Edition XV if you want a headphone now. That said, if you can afford the difference, the Edition XV is just better." Came to similar opinion on the Edition XS and FT1 Pro; the XV is just better than both, though the FT1 Pro has a place in my collection because it's just so dang fun to listen to. Haven't heard the Kithara yet though, and I really didn't like the Ananda Nano when I auditioned it.

You really, really don't want to use an active headphone via 3.5 mm if there is any alternative. Do you actually NEED 3.5 mm, or could you work with USB-C? Either way, the only traditional headphone in this price range that I recommend without pretty serious reservations is the Sennheiser Momentum 4. It's definitely bassy out of the box but that's pretty easily addressed with the Sennheiser app ... unless you plug in the 3.5 mm cable, in which case they go back to the default tuning and you can't change it. Unless you turn it off, or the battery dies, in which case you get a remarkably bad passive tuning. Normally I'd recommend either the Fractal Scape or the HyperX Cloud IIIS but neither accept 3.5 mm connections; if you are willing to give that up they're both great choices at or under $200.

You really, really don't want to leave three headphones plugged in all the time, particularly if they have different impedances and sensitivities; I'm not aware of an amp that gives you three separate volume controls for three different outputs and leaving them plugged in all the time risks damaging (or at least unnecessarily wearing) higher sensitivity headphones while listening to lower sensitivity ones. As the other commenter noted the Jotunheim 3 gets close (I forgot they added a 4.4 mm jack, very cool), as does the Topping DX5II at around $300. Decent preamp outs (XLR and RCA), XLR/4.4 mm/6.35 mm jacks on the front, and the ability via menus to turn on all outputs, all headphone outputs, or either balanced or unbalanced headphone outs. Pretty good power, nice built-in EQ functionality. Plus a visualizer that makes my geriatric millennial heart sing.

I would say the Bathys hold up pretty well against a lot of wired headphones, though in situations where I don't need ANC I am more likely to grab a good closed back like the Focal Elegia or Celestee or the Meze 99 Classics v2. \[Worth noting that the Bathys have an excellent DAC mode, if you don't mind tethering them to a source device via USB-C; you get all of the sound benefits of the active headphone + lossless, and in a quiet environment that \*might\* matter for you.\] A good, \*well-tuned\* closed back in a similar price category will outperform the Bathys, but there just aren't that many well-tuned closed backs. The advantage of an active headphone like the Bathys is that it can use DSP (basically EQ) to correct the passive sound of the headphone, whereas a traditional, passive closed back is stuck with whatever physical characteristics the manufacturer decided on. And most design them poorly. Now, if you're looking at the open back market like the Ananda Nano, you can get a lot more value for the same money. I could list a dozen headphones under $500 that I'd rather listen to than the Bathys in a quiet environment, though the Nano probably wouldn't make that list (it's too treble-y for me). I'd point you primarily to the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro, the Meze 105 AER, or the Hifiman Edition XV. All will perform solidly better than the Bathys in a quiet environment.

Skip the 700s; they're REALLY bright. In closed backs, the FT1 is an exceptional value at $150 but the 480 Pro is an exceptional headphone. If you can afford it, it's a good upgrade. ANC headphones offer a lot better noise isolation, as long as you can tolerate the sense of pressure that they create on your ears. I find that some work better for me than others. They also, almost universally, have more consumer-friendly and less-audiophile type tunes, with elevated bass and treble. My favorite reasonably priced ANC headphone is the Sennheiser Momentum 4, which you should be able to get around $200. Anytime I don't NEED active noise cancellation, I strongly prefer open backs or closed backs over ANC headphones, despite the annoyance of having to physically connect them with wires.

I’ll second the 105 AER; I bought open box for $300 a few months ago and I’m pretty happy with them. I got my 490 yesterday and I’m very impressed. I still prefer the 6XX/600, I think, but if you want a stronger bass response and wider soundstage they’re a great option.

I like the 105 AER more than the 6XX, so while I haven’t done any A/B’ing yet I’m confident that I’m going to like the AER more. The AER is like 90% of the performance of the 109 Pro at half the price and without the occasionally spikey treble. My review here: https://daemonxar.com/2025/06/05/meze-105-aer-review-another-great-meze-product/