Antonio Meze started his award-winning headphone brand from the perspective that headphone design had become very stale and that as designer, he wanted to combine his industrial design background and love of music into something unique. Meze Audio has succeeded on that front for almost 8 years and its latest creation pushes the envelope even further. Don’t ask consumers to spend $3,000 to $5,000 on a pair of headphones that don’t offer spectacular sonic performance, award-winning industrial design and a level of comfort and durability that makes one never want to stop listening. The Meze Audio Epoque have arrived and whilst some will cringe at the $5,000 asking price — we think these will disappear faster than you can possibly imagine.
Why?
Because the high-end headphone market has matured into something that goes beyond the traditional high-end audio customer. The customer base is far more diverse and with younger and more affluent music listeners gravitating to wireless speaker systems, Dongle DACs, and desktop headphone systems — the Meze Audio Epoque will succeed.
Having already reviewed the Meze Elite, which serves as the basis for the Epoque — the audio performance is already proven.
Started in 2009, Meze Audio began its journey into the world of headphones in Baia Mare, Romania; a city of 136,000 people located less than thirty miles from the border with Ukraine.
The creation of a new middle class fueled demand for western consumer goods, but more importantly, led to investment in domestic start-ups who have proven capable of competing with well-established brands from America, Western Europe, and Asia. Companies like Meze Audio who have exceeded every possible expectation.
The Skinny
A limited-edition of Elite, their flagship headphone, Epoque pays homage to one of the most iconic artistic movements – Art Nouveau. Limited to 100 units worldwide, this headphone is Meze’s timeless reminder of “La Belle Epoque”.
“This particular style of art had a significant importance throughout my creative journey, and I wanted to express my admiration for it through my own craft. Much like the artists of that time, we are inspired by shapes, textures and patterns from nature. We try to revive creativity and bring genuine artistic value to a world of mass production. Epoque is the perfect reflection of our artistic sensibilities.” – Antonio Meze, Lead Designer and Founder of Meze Audio.
Made from CNC milled aluminum, the headphone frame features a sophisticated finish in shades of gray, inspired by iconic works of architecture, paintings and designs that defined the Art Nouveau movement.
Shapes that resemble stems and flowers are hand-applied with precision on the cups, as well as on the carbon fiber headband, giving the impression of an infinite flow of sinuous lines. The painting process is meticulous and unrushed, with each frame taking more than a day to complete, before final assembly.
Epoque Features:
- Custom ELITE frame features a sophisticated finish in shades of gray, inspired by iconic works of architecture, paintings and designs that defined the Art Nouveau movement
- Shapes that resemble stems and flowers were hand-applied with precision on the CNC aluminum cups, as well as on the carbon fiber headband
- A carbon fiber headband with a real leather headrest adds to the frame’s ultra-light feel and maximum durability
- Suspension wings distribute the weight of the headphone evenly, for an utmost comfortable listening experience
- Patented isodynamic hybrid array technology: One of the most sophisticated and advanced planar magnetic technologies in the world developed exclusively for Meze Audio by Rinaro Isodynamics
Specifications:
- Ultra low distortion: Total harmonic distortion (THD) measures under 0.05% in the whole frequency range
- 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.
- Easy to drive: 101db @ 1mw/1kHz; 32 Ohm; can be driven by almost any source without the need for amplification
Price & Availability
Made for passionate audiophiles, art enthusiasts and collectors, as part of Meze Audio’s Art Gallery collection, Epoque is now available for $5,000 on mezeaudio.com and in selected dealers’ stores. The first orders are expected to start shipping on December 15, 2022.
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