Meze Audio has not been in any great hurry to replace its top headphones, and that restraint has worked rather well. The ELITE and Empyrean II have spent the past few years doing exactly what flagship headphones are supposed to do: stay relevant, collect awards, earn loyal listeners, and avoid becoming yesterday’s expensive mistake in a nicer box.
That matters because Meze has never treated its upper-tier models like disposable fashion accessories for audiophiles with restless credit cards. The company’s best headphones are handmade in Baia Mare, Romania, built around long-term serviceability, and designed to feel like objects you keep rather than trade away the moment the next shiny thing slithers out of a CNC machine.
The new ARTA changes the conversation.
Unveiled ahead of High End Vienna 2026, ARTA is being positioned by Meze Audio as a new reference headphone and one of the company’s most ambitious designs to date. It will make its first public appearance at the show on June 4, with consumer availability expected later this summer.
At $6,000 USD / €6,000, ARTA sits well above the Empyrean II and enters a tier where the source chain, DAC, headphone amplifier, cables, and even your beverage selection require more careful consideration.
New Rinaro MZ5 HΩ Driver: ARTA’s High-Impedance Planar Engine
At the heart of ARTA is the new Rinaro High Impedance Isodynamic Hybrid Array MZ5 HΩ driver. Meze describes it as the highest-impedance planar magnetic headphone driver to date, with an average impedance of 225 ohms. That is the first real clue that ARTA is not being aimed at casual desktop listening through whatever USB dongle survived the junk drawer. This is a high-voltage, low-current design intended to reward better amplification and cleaner source components.
That should not surprise anyone who has spent meaningful time with Meze’s top headphones. The Empyrean II remains my personal reference headphone because it does not force me to choose between resolution, tone, comfort, and musicality. It has enough detail to satisfy the audiophile side of the brain, but it never turns listening into a clinical exercise. Any headphone hoping to replace it has to do more than impress for 15 minutes at a show. It has to disappear for hours.
But the Empyrean II also benefits from better electronics. So does ELITE. These headphones do not need brute force, but they absolutely respond to better DACs, headphone amplifiers, and source components. Feed them properly and they open up. Starve them and you are leaving a lot of Romania on the table.
ARTA appears to push that idea further.
Meze lists ARTA at 495g, with a claimed frequency range of 3 Hz to 115 kHz and total harmonic distortion below 0.05%. That makes it heavier than the ELITE, Empyrean II, LCD-5, and even the newer LCD-5s, but not by enough to make comfort a non-starter. Meze has earned some trust on ergonomics, and 495g is still manageable for a full-size open-back reference headphone if the headband distributes the weight properly.
What it is not, however, is a commuting headphone. ARTA is open-back, which means everyone around you gets a partial listening session whether they asked for one or not. It also looks expensive enough to attract the wrong kind of attention on the subway. Maybe Metro-North after White Plains. The A train? Absolutely not.
Sculpture, Serviceability, and a Very Romanian Sense of Purpose
ARTA looks unmistakably like a Meze headphone, but the design moves in a more assertive direction. The materials are what one would expect at this level: precision-machined metal, carbon fiber, and leather, all used with a clear focus on durability, weight control, and long-term serviceability. Meze also deserves credit for continuing to build headphones that look distinctive without drifting into costume jewelry.
The acoustic grille is more than a styling detail. Meze says ARTA uses angled acoustic blades to reduce internal soundwave reflections, which should help with transient clarity and openness. The company is describing the tuning as warm-neutral with a more spacious, speaker-like presentation, but that part will need to wait until we hear it under controlled conditions.
That is the kind of claim that needs to survive actual listening, because the high-end headphone category is already littered with models that promise speaker-like presentation and then deliver an expensive clamp with excellent treble anxiety. Still, Meze has a strong track record here.The Empyrean II already does space, texture, and tonal density better than most of its rivals, and it does so without making weaker recordings feel like a punishment.
The serviceability story remains one of Meze’s strongest advantages. ARTA is designed so that every major component, including the earpads, headband, drivers, and earcups, can be disassembled, serviced, or replaced. That matters at $6,000. A headphone at this level should not become landfill because one part fails or one material ages badly. Meze has understood this for years, and ARTA continues that approach.
Comparison
| ELITE | EMPYREAN II | ARTA | |
| MSRP | $4,000 | $2,999 | $6,000 |
| Driver Type | Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Array® | Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Array® | Rinaro High Impedance Isodynamic® Hybrid Array |
| Diaphragm Type | Rinaro Parus® [MZ3SE] | Rinaro Isoplanar® [MZ3] | MZ5 HΩ |
| Impedance | 32 Ω | 32 Ω | 225 Ω average |
| Frequency Range | 3 Hz – 112 kHz | 8 Hz – 110 kHz | 3 Hz – 115 kHz |
| Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) | <0.05% | <0.05% | <0.05% |
| Headphone Weight | 433 g | 449 g | 495 g |
The Bottom Line
ARTA is unique because it is not just a more expensive version of the ELITE or Empyrean II. The new MZ5 HΩ driver, 225-ohm impedance, angled acoustic-blade grille, 495g weight, full serviceability, and $6,000 USD / €6,000 price point all suggest that Meze is building a new reference tier rather than simply refreshing the lineup.
The key question is not whether ARTA looks more advanced on paper. It does. The real question is whether the high-impedance Rinaro driver delivers a clear improvement in spatial presentation, transient clarity, tonal accuracy, and control when paired with the right DAC and headphone amplifier. At this level, different is not enough. Audeze, Dan Clark Audio, and HiFiMAN all have established planar magnetic models in this price range, which means ARTA enters a category with no shortage of credible competition.
ELITE and Empyrean II are not being shown the door, and they should not be. Both remain outstanding open-back planar headphones, and the Empyrean II remains my personal reference for good reason. ARTA may become Meze’s new summit model, but it still has to prove that the climb was worth it.
For more information: Meze Audio
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