You need to know about these 5-star wired open-back headphones

Meze Audio has plenty of experience where high-end headphones are concerned, but not quite so much in what I tend to call 'the real world'.

The 105 AER are the wired, open-backed, over-ear headphones designed to change all that – so what happens when a high-end hero decides to slum it a little bit?

Meze Audio 105 AER review: Price & Availability

The Meze Audio 105 AER were announced in November 2024 and went on sale a month later. In the United Kingdom they currently sell for £369, in the United States they go for $399 a pair, while Australian customers will have to part with AU$799.

Meze Audio 105 AER review: Features & what's new

Even the best headphones in the wired over-ear category don't tend to have all that much going on where 'features' are concerned – and the 105 AER are no exception. The drivers that deliver the sound have had care and attention lavished on them, of course – but other than that, these Meze Audio cans don't really have 'features', per se.

The drivers here are a 50mm full-range dynamic design that's based on those fitted to Meze Audio's pricier headphones – and it's undergone remarkably little amendment in order to serve in a relatively affordable model. Aside from changes to the driver membrane and the frame – which keeps weight down at the same time as cost – it's carried over more-or-less intact.

This means a 'W'-shaped dome made of a carbon-fibre/cellulose composite that's specified for both its light weight and durability. It's surrounded by a semicrystalline polymer torus that is similarly light, and has impressive credentials where damping of resonance and vibration are concerned. And, around the outside, there's a zinc/copper alloy stabiliser to further minimise distortion.

Meze Audio reckons this arrangement delivers good sensitivity and impedance figures (112dB and 42 ohms respectively), and a frequency response of 5Hz-30kHz.

Meze Audio 105 AER review: Performance

If it's a sort of sonic fireworks display you're after from your new headphones, it's possible the balanced and judicious sound of the Meze Audio 105 AER won't be for you. If you're after a full, unequivocal and positive account of your favourite recordings, though, these headphones have an awful lot to recommend them.

Their tonal balance, for instance, is really nicely judged. There's no appreciable heat or chill to the tonality here, but rather a careful neutrality that allows the headphones to get out of the way and let the recording dictate terms. Their frequency response, too, is evenhanded and convincing – from the bright, shining high-end to the deep, textured bottom-end, the 105 AER don't overstate or underplay. Those who crave low-end heft might be disappointed by the realistic balance these headphones strike, but the rest of us can get on with admiring their fidelity.

Detail levels are high at every point of the frequency range, with the 105 AER able to tease out even the most minor and/or most fleeting events in a recording and put them into proper context with just the right amount of weighting. And where the finest details of harmonic variation in a voice or an instrument are concerned, the 105 AER are vigilant in the extreme.

And everything that's presented by the Meze Audio is presented as a tightly unified whole – the sensation of 'singularity' and 'performance' is very strong here. Part of the charm of open-backed headphones is their ability to create a big, spacious soundstage – and the 105 AER certainly do so. But despite the rigorous nature of the layout, the control and separation the headphones can summon, everything on the stage relates to everything else in the most unforced and direct manner.

Rhythmic expression is strong, thanks to the nice straight edges the 105 AER describe at the onset of bass sounds. Dynamic headroom is extensive, so the shifts in intensity and/or volume in a recording are tracked faithfully and given all the power and drive they require. At every turn, they are an engaged and engaging listen, just as capable of entertaining as they are functioning as a tool of analysis.

Meze Audio 105 AER review: Design & Usability

Both of the earcups of the 105 AER need to be wired – so Meze Audio supplies a 1.8m length of braided cable with a couple of 3.5mm jacks at one end and a 3.5mm connection at the other. There's also a 6.3mm adapter provided. A balanced alternative with a 4.4mm termination would have been nice, but I guess you can't ask for the moon when you have the stars…

The headphones themselves weigh a trim 336g, and a lot of that is down to the use of very slim stamped magnesium for the outer headband. On the inside there's a PU leather headband that acts as the contact point – it's self-adjusting and should prove adequate for all but the most modest sizes of head. The earpads are velour over memory foam, and not only is it a comfortable arrangement but it resists absorbing your body heat for a fair while too. The velour covering can be detached for cleaning, which doesn't do any harm either. On the outside, the earcups are made of ABS-PC thermoplastic and feature an interesting segmented design above the open grille.

The 105 AER come with a hard, zip-fastening travel case that's a more upmarket proposition than is the norm. There's a little circular pouch inside in which to keep your cable when it's not attached to the headphones.

Meze Audio 105 AER review: Verdict

If you're interested in the Meze Audio 105 AER, then you're already primed to deal with the fact that they leak sound and have no balanced cable option.

Concessions need to be made, sure – but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of sound quality, there are no accommodations to be made. It's balanced, direct and engaging sound from comfortable, good-looking and nicely made headphones.

The Meze Audio 105 AER are a triumph – and deserve a place very near the top of your shortlist.

Also consider

You can save a fair chunk of money by buying a pair of Grado SR325x – but while it seems unlikely in the extreme you'll be disappointed in the sound, they don't compare all that favourably to the 105 AER when it comes to looks, comfort and perceived value.

Or you could pick up the Meze Audio baton of 'serious yet entertaining' and run with it – which will lead you to the Sennheiser HD 660S2. Not as elegant as the 105 AER, nor as light – but they most certainly have it where it counts…