Meze Audio doesn’t make headphones—they make precision-tuned status symbols for people who alphabetize their vinyl by mastering engineer. At High End Munich 2025, they’re rolling out the kind of gear that spikes blood pressure in audiophile forums: the 105 SILVA, an open-back heavyweight with vintage swagger, and the Ultra cable—a silver-laced overachiever engineered to convince you your last upgrade was a mistake.
Mid-Century Modern Meets Eastern European Mojo
The Meze Audio 105 SILVA is what happens when someone at Meze says, “What if the 105 AER had a design baby with the 109 PRO and gave it some titanium vitamins?”
The 105 SILVA’s got walnut wood earcups that are freshly milled, not just for looks, but for a solid, durable feel. The reinforced polymer frame isn’t just a cost-saving afterthought, either—it adds to the strength without making the whole thing feel like a tank. Meze’s clearly sticking to that “design it like it belongs in a museum” mantra, and they’re not wrong here.
It’s a sharp-looking piece, but the real kicker is that they actually made sure it sounds good, too. Something you don’t always see in designs this ambitious—sometimes it’s all style and no substance. Not here.
At the heart of the 105 SILVA is a 50mm dynamic driver featuring a cellulose composite dome and a titanium-coated semi-crystalline polymer torus (say that five times fast). There’s also a copper-zinc stabilizer tossed in there for good measure—because apparently plain copper just isn’t bougie enough anymore.
Given the design choices, we’re betting the 105 SILVA will lean into a sound profile that’s clear, precise, and maybe a bit warmer than its more industrial-looking siblings in the 105 series.
Meze’s been pretty consistent with their tuning, favoring a natural, balanced presentation—so don’t expect anything that’ll punch you in the face with bass or shrill highs. It’s probably going to sit somewhere comfortably between “audiophile reference” and “hey, I can actually enjoy this” without leaning too hard into either extreme.
Customers have been asking for something with a bit more sophistication, so if the SILVA doesn’t deliver that, Meze might have just designed a really expensive paperweight. But knowing them, they’ll probably pull it off.
105 Legacy: The Family That Plays Together
The 105 series has always carried itself like it had something to prove. The 109 Pro was the firstborn—refined, technically sharp, and confident enough to let the tuning do the talking. Then came the 105 AER, the high-value overachiever—warm, smooth, and so easy to drive it practically ran on vibes. Now there’s the 105 SILVA, the design-school sibling with a flair for drama and a titanium edge. It’s flashier, sharper, and, annoyingly, might actually be the most talented of the bunch.
Where AER was the all-rounder, SILVA is more refined and specialized. More focused midrange. More microdetail. More “we heard you upgraded your DAC, now hear this.”
And unlike its isodynamic cousins (hello, Empyrean II and Elite), the 105 SILVA keeps it dynamic and delivers a more classic driver sound—fast, punchy, human.
Ultra Cable: For the Audiophile Who Has Everything (Except Shame)
If the 105 SILVA wasn’t enough of a flex, Meze also introduced the Ultra cable—because what good is an expensive headphone if it’s shackled to a garden-variety cable?
Ultra is a 99.99999% pure silver, zero-solder, 40-conductor snake that promises to “minimize resistance” and “improve signal transmission.” And it might. Or maybe it just looks like a $500 silver necklace and gives your setup that “I summer in Bucharest” aesthetic. Either way, it’s gorgeous, over-engineered, and utterly flashy—which means audiophiles will eat it up.
It comes terminated in basically every flavor—3.5mm, 4.4mm, 6.3mm, and even 4-pin XLR if you’re that guy. And yes, it works with the Elite, Empyrean II, and probably your future regret.
Meze Audio 105 SILVA – Preview Specifications
As shown at High End Munich 2025 (advance preview; final product details may vary)
Specification Details Driver Type Dynamic, 50 mm Dome Material Cellulose composite Surround Titanium-coated semicrystalline polymer Stabilizer Copper-zinc Impedance 42 Ω Sensitivity 112 dB SPL at 1 kHz, 1 mW Frequency Response 5 Hz – 30 kHz Weight 354 grams Ear Cups Walnut wood with PC-ABS polymer Headband Self-adjusting spring steel Design Features Fully serviceable and modular design for long-term durability and comfort 
Meze Audio Ultra Cable – Preview Specifications
Shown as a new accessory at High End Munich 2025; subject to change prior to release
Specification Details Conductors 7N purity (99.99999%) high-purity silver Configuration 0.08 mm x 40 conductors, braided from 16 to 8 wires Headphone-End Connectors Dual 4-pin mini-XLR Source-End Connector Options 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm, 6.3 mm, 4-pin XLR Shells and Y-Splitter Cast zinc alloy with PVD coating Dielectric PVC Lengths Available 1.2 / 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 meters Soldering Jensen 5% silver
The Bottom Line
Meze Audio doesn’t play it safe—and thank whatever’s left of good taste for that. The 105 SILVA proves they’re still swinging for the fences, blending design bravado with sonic precision in a way few brands dare to try. It’s bold, it’s beautiful, and we suspect that it sounds damn good—another reminder that Meze isn’t just in the headphone business. They’re in the business of making the rest of the industry sweat.
Related Reading:
- Meze Audio POET Headphones Review: The Right Blend Of Sound And Portability?
- CanJam NYC 2025 Headphone Highlights: HiFiMAN, Meze Audio, Audeze, Focal, Pud And More
- Meze Audio’s 105 AER Headphones Feature Trickle Down Technology For Only $400
- Meze Audio’s 109 Pro Primal Headphones Deliver High-End Performance And Old World Craftsmanship
- Meze Audio 109 Pro Open Back Headphones: From Romania With Love
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Anton
May 9, 2025 at 6:41 pm
That is clearly a rendering but please let them look like that. What a stunning piece of industrial design.
Any idea on price? And is there an official release date?
Ian White
May 9, 2025 at 6:44 pm
Anton,
Meze only provided those renderings, but our understanding is that they are likely going to look like that. The advance preview of them will be at Munich on the 15th. Price TBD but clearly in-between the AER 105 and the 109. I would expect something like $600. Hopefully not more.
Q3 or Q4 2025 release.
IW
ORT
May 9, 2025 at 10:13 pm
It is one thing to swing for the fences and quite another to swing for the feces, i.e., foul one off the outhouse because your mind is elsewhere instead of just where it should be.
This is the former of those two percolating efforts. Percolating. Not Herculean. I have recently cut myself down to five sets of wired ‘phones and two of BlooToofishnessessss…
Could I be lost in the maze of the beauty of this Meze and fallen afoul of it’s sireen yodelin’? Has its beauty done loved me up so that I “…come lay your bones on the altar stones and be”?
They done loved me up and turned me into a toad.
J. Thaddeus Toad
ORT
Ian White
May 9, 2025 at 10:22 pm
ORT,
Really? I think these look fantastic if that’s the final design. But the proof is in the listening and I wasn’t blown away by the Poet or LIRIC. My Empyrean II, 99 Classics, and 109 Pro are good enough.
IW
ORT
May 9, 2025 at 10:55 pm
Ian, I am the Shallow Hal of Audio. Looks are my Sireen. But if they are not even the audio equal of my Focal Elegia (so, sooo, loverly!) I will shun them for the painted lady they are.
The Elegia sit ever ready by my Marantz CD60. They are my favorite. The Meze does not appear as beautiful to me but I am open to interpretation and the chance they are a variation on the theme of Ortwellian Audio beauty. Far from being Rubenesque mind you, as my ears are likely a C-Cup in size and Rubens was more a lower half kinda guy than me.
I’ll be in Hades for that one, pushing my rock up the hill if anyone needs me.
ORT
Ian White
May 10, 2025 at 10:32 am
ORT,
I was going through my parent’s storage locker in FL during the last move, and I found their Ken Ishiwata Marantz SE CD player. Don’t think it works anymore. Pity. Methinks my father paid quite a lot for that one almost 30 years ago.
Antonio Meze is a cyclist and I know he finds great inspiration in the bike. It gave him the idea for the 99 Classics. Our first encounter was almost a decade ago in a crowded room at CES in Vegas. Just some entrepreneurial Romanian guy passing his creation around for the Hi-Fi elite (he apparently did not know my reputation) to sample. I was smitten immediately.
IW