Poet

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis, HifiMan Susvara; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Kinki Studio Earth, Furutech; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra on all source components, Vibex One 11R on amps, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, LessLoss Firewall for loudspeakers, Furutech NCF Signal Boosters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini + Dynaudio S18 sub; Power delivery: Furutech GTO 2D NCF, Akiko Audio Corelli; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Audioquest Fog Lifters; Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z230 work station Win10/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/Headamp: iFi Pro iDSD Signature; Speaker amps: Nord NC500 monos with v2 input buffers; Speakers: Acelec Model One; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7, COS Engineering D1, Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: €2'000

Imperious. The word means arrogant; domineering. Meze's Empyrean probably meant to be neither. Yet the name still had the ring. That a flagship should dominate goes without saying. So does that the competition would think any flagship claims other than its own arrogant. But there'll be no such jerk reactions—of knees or eyebrows—today. Meze's latest goes by Poet. Its €2'000 ask doesn't aim at their portfolio's peak. Competitors can rest easy. There's no new trigger-happy sheriff in town, just an affable chap with the harmless gift of gab. He'll probably be the toast of the local watering hole to fit right in. Open-backed says hello to the world around us. 350g sans pads so ~415g with aren't a burden. Neither are 55Ω. Claimed bandwidth of 4Hz-96kHz means that Poet can recite the audible range with minimum phase shift. Once again a next-gen Ukrainian Rinaro planarmagnetic membrane of just 0.06g mass moves the air. Meta-material absorption tech licensed from Dan Clark Audio enables more strategic response shaping. Dual-sided neodymium magnets make for balanced drive, the ear pads attach magnetically and the material palette of steel for the perforated covers, magnesium for their oval frames and titanium alloy for the spring bridge paints with luxuriousness. The low-mass twin-wire bridge to shave off weight is another nod at Dan Clark's original nitinol scheme.

The clear cosmetic cup continuity with Meze's costliest models and a diaphragm purportedly nicked directly from the Elite whilst made smaller suggest that perhaps the competition should be worried. If the harmless Poet disguises an inner Empyrean or would-be Elite, our affable chap at the bar telling tall tales in a charming drawl could just be an unexpected gunslinger of sharp aim. It's when you don't see 'em coming that their sort is most dangerous. Getting too poetic aside, it seems clear that this model aims to bring the open-backed planarmagnetic Meze sound of their big guns to the sealed Liric2 hood on size¹ 'n' price. And that's something to watch for, don't you think?

To hit the price target, Meze include a 2.5m long 6.3mm braided copper cable to have most the stationary crew chilled, the mobile crowd cross because they prefer 3.5/4.4mm and being far shorter. But that's easily remedied in Meze's online store whose premium cable can be had in 1.3m or 2.5m lengths terminated 2.5mm, 3.5mm, 4.4mm, 6.3mm or XLR4. Its pricing is $249/399 in copper or silver.

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¹ Attentive readers already saw that whilst Liric's cup attachment offsets with the headband, Poet's centers. My head never got on with Liric2's geometry whose cups wanted to roll off my head and detach their seal. Purely looking at the stock photos suggested to me that Poet would avoid the same problem.

Given Meze's own subtext—long 6.3mm cable equals stationary—and the non-likelihood of wearing such luxo cans in public, none of my three ears-on stops were mobile. On the desktop an iFi iDSD Pro Signature did the honours being reclocked by the same LHY clock as the preceding Singxer SU-2 USB bridge. In the big system Enleum's AMP-23R sat in the driver's seat fronted by Laiv's Harmony DAC receiving I²S over HDMI off a Singxer SU-6 USB bridge. Upstairs it was Cen.Grand's Silver Fox getting signal from a COS D1 DAC fronted by a FiiO R7 SD-.card transport. Headphone contrast came from Final's D8000 and aune's SR7000 in my office; Raal 1995's Immanis in the big system; and HifiMan's Susvara plus Meze's own 109Pro and Liric2 upstairs. Rather than splash on a silly presentation box bound for the landfill or attic (same thing?), the Poet arrives in a branded simple cardboard box. Inside lives a foam-lined hard box with the headphones plus drawstring pouch for the slinky octa-braid cable whose four metal parts plastic skins protect during transit. Because the 2.5mm cable entries angle steeply forward, the cups have no need of channel identifiers marring their pristine appearance. Yet for the dim-witted amongst us, there are still embossed L and R markings on the upside of the soft headband. My big noggin had the perfect fit with 1cm clearance of the tight sliders. Even more swollen skulls than mine are in biz. Having crossed that off makes for the perfect segue into product sex. Though photos perform obligatory foreplay, seeing and handling Poet in its hybrid material mix gets a lot more erotic. By contrast, Grados look like Neanderthals. On comfort, my smallish ears fit ideally into the narrower oval openings. Bigger pink bits might make more contact. As expected, Poet's geometry completely avoided Liric2's propensity to roll. From fit'n'finish to wear to industrial design and noble materials, Poet ticked all my boxes.

Noblesse oblige is an old English morality motto. Whilst fortunes favour the bold, those fortunate enough to live well and exert influence must pay their good luck forward. Privilege carries responsibility. Antonio Meze seems to feel likewise about his industrial design gifts. Things needn't be beautiful to function just fine. Refrigerators and washing machines the world over make that point. Meze's mantra simply insists that if things can be beautiful, they really should be down to the smallest detail. When we inspect Poet, that argument is rather hard to dispute though many competitors certainly try. Enough on that. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Beyond mere opinion is Poet's relative compactness for a dual-motor planar. Antonio has shaved off as much raw size and weight as he could without eating into universal usability. I applaud his embrace of the exposed twin-wire bridge. Its low-mass principle really looks and works great. Just because it isn't exactly original doesn't mean it's not an excellent solution; like round tyres. Time to go sonic.