MEZE ELITE
ELITE: £3749
THE SOUND OF PURE EMOTION
The Meze ELITE headphones represent Meze Audio's unwavering dedication to craftsmanship, artistry, and sound quality. With a "no-compromise" philosophy, these headphones aim to transform every listening session into a deeply immersive, multi-sensory experience. Meze Audio's passion for art and sound inspires innovative designs and technologies that harmoniously evoke genuine emotion.
Focusing on longevity, Elite is built to stand the test of time. The philosophy behind the design is to create a headphone that transcends fleeting trends, evolving into a true heirloom. Every detail, from its aesthetic to its technical advancements, is meticulously crafted to ensure that the Elite provides lasting value and an unparalleled listening experience for years to come.
The Meze Elite headphones offer more than exceptional sound. They represent the fusion of timeless elegance and cutting-edge audio technology, ensuring that they remain relevant and exceptional no matter how the industry evolves.
Focusing on longevity, Elite is built to stand the test of time. The philosophy behind the design is to create a headphone that transcends fleeting trends, evolving into a true heirloom. Every detail, from its aesthetic to its technical advancements, is meticulously crafted to ensure that the Elite provides lasting value and an unparalleled listening experience for years to come.
The Meze Elite headphones offer more than exceptional sound. They represent the fusion of timeless elegance and cutting-edge audio technology, ensuring that they remain relevant and exceptional no matter how the industry evolves.
IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS
Materials were chosen not just for the exciting sensory experience their raw texture provides but also for comfort and durability.
Antonio Meze, Lead Designer and Founder of Meze Audio
"With ELITE, we've created something that transcends all barriers of headphone design and engineering and moves to a new, artistic, graceful level. Following in the footsteps of a successful partnership, together with Rinaro Isodynamics we managed to exceed our expectations once again and create something for the ages. It’s not mass production; it’s the craftsmanship that sparks the magic and wonder in ELITE, what makes it exciting, and these are values that we choose over any shortcuts."
“
TUNGSTEN-INSPIRED RESILIENCE
Naturally found on various mineral deposits, tungsten ore becomes one of the toughest metals on earth when processed. The colour we chose for this headphone is similar to what tungsten looks like in its final form, and we chose it as a visual metaphor for our commitment to making reliable things, things that last well through the years. We achieved this stone-like texture by coating each piece of the frame with Cerakote™, one of the best types of finishes out there.
Traditionally used for the automotive, aerospace, defence, and healthcare industries, Cerakote™ coatings are renowned for their high resistance, unmatched hardness and outstanding UV resistance.
ALUMINIUM ELEGANCE
Creating a flagship headphone takes time and patience to do well, and that kind of craftsmanship separates the average from the great.
Take a closer look to discover the highly complex geometrical imprint accentuated through the silver finish of the CNC aluminium frame. The process of making a single frame takes about 20 hours. A deep black grill with intricate carvings completes the look, turning ELITE into a futuristic take on personal audio design.
Our choice of materials for the ELITE headphones was not just about creating an exciting sensory experience with their raw texture but also about ensuring comfort and durability, a testament to a commitment to quality.
DRIVER ARCHITECTURE
CASING
Reinforced polymer housing designed to withstand the demanding 12,7N load generated by the Hybrid Magnet Array.
RINARO PARUS® DIAPHRAGM
Weighing only 0.11g with a large active area of 4650 mm2.
HYBRID MAGNET ARRAY
Symmetrically placed on either side of the diaphragm, neodymium magnets are arranged into a Hybrid Array to create a 0.35 Tesla Isodynamic magnetic field required for a uniform activation across the whole diaphragm surface.
THE PROGRESSION OF THE FLAGSHIP
LIGHTWEIGHT
75g combined driver weight designed to create a headphone that offers prolonged listening sessions.
ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO
Upper frequency limit of audio reproduction is 112,000 Hz.
RINARO PARUS® DIAPHRAGM
An innovative low mass acoustic diaphragm constructed on an ultrathin biaxially oriented semi-crystalline film.
EASY TO DRIVE
101db@1mw/1kHz; 32 Ohm; can be driven by almost any source without the need for amplification.
PATENTED ISODYNAMIC HYBRID ARRAY TECHNOLOGY
One of the most sophisticated and advanced planar magnetic technologies in the world.
DUAL DRIVEN SYSTEM
The Isodynamic Hybrid Array enhances sound intensity distribution at high frequencies, resolving issues with traditional arrays where reflected signals negatively affect 3D sound imaging. Dual coil arrays provide better frequency targeting within different ear areas, improving auditory perception of higher frequencies.
SWITCHBACK COIL
The switchback coil is more efficient at reproducing lower frequencies and is positioned in the upper part of the driver.
SPIRAL COIL
The spiral coil is more efficient at reproducing middle-high frequencies and is positioned directly over the ear canal, enabling more direct sound waves to enter the ear without any time delays.
RINARO PARUS®
AN INNOVATIVE DIAPHRAGM MATERIAL
The driver behind ELITE features Rinaro Parus®, a low-mass acoustic diaphragm made of an ultra-thin polymer film. When combined with Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver tech, this film produces natural sound and a wide soundstage, improving definition and speed across the frequency range. The polymer is made using a process of sequential biaxial lengthening that improves its structural performance, resulting in remarkable strength, stiffness, and stability with an extremely low acoustic mass.
Positioning the most efficient part of a diaphragm in mid-high frequencies directly over the ear canal can increase direct sound waves and improve 3D imaging and spatial localization in the ear canal for frequencies above 10kHz.
An innovative design feature developed by Rinaro is the Isomagnetic® earpad attachment, which utilises the demagnetizing field generated by the driver to hold the earpad in place whilst also redirecting the magnetic field back into the driver and improving efficiency.
ANGLED ALCANTARA
These earpads are designed to enhance the acoustic personality of your Elite, revealing new, exciting sound nuances. The angled shape creates more space inside the ear pad, which translates to an airier sound signature with cleaner bass and improved presence in the mid-range frequency. Made of soft foam coated with Alcantara, with a fine protective mesh on the grill, the angled ear pads provide increased wearing comfort for most ear shapes.
HYBRID
(Perforated Alcantara® Interior + Real Leather Exterior)
With a soft, yet durable outer finish, the HYBRID ear cushions perfectly balance the qualities of Alcantara® and leather into a single design. Besides the high wearing comfort, this unique combo delivers an airy sound signature, in which sound waves appear to trancend the space around you to create an immersive experience.
What we are then left with is sonic performance – an area in which I also find Meze’s flagship extremely compelling. It manages to evolve the loveable Empyrean signature into something more technically accomplished without losing its soul in the process.
ELITE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
OVERVIEW
DRIVER TYPE:
Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Array® MZ3SE
OPERATING PRINCIPLE:
Open back
EAR COUPLING:
Circumaural
FREQUENCY RANGE:
3–112,000 Hz
IMPEDANCE:
32 Ω
SENSITIVITY:
101 dB at 1 KHz, 1 mW
MAXIMUM SPL:
> 130 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD):
<0,05%
Weight:
420 g
MZ3se DRIVER
Geometrical Shape:
Ovoid
Size:
102 mm x 73 mm
Driver Weight:
75 g
Casing:
Fibreglass reinforced polymer
INPUT CONNECTOR:
Dual 4-Pin mini-XLR
Diaphragm Type:
Rinaro Parus®[MZ3SE]
Active Area:
4,650 mm2
Diaphragm Weight:
0.11 g
Acoustic Mass:
7.5 kg/m4
Lower Frequency Limit:
3 Hz
Upper Frequency Limit:
112,000 Hz
WARRANTY PARTS AND LABOUR:
2 Years