Audiophilepure

https://www.whathifi.com/us/reviews/meze-audio-liric

These headphones improve quite a lot during the first few days of use. Our initial impressions were of a detailed but tonally bland presentation that offered little in the way of expression. Given time, though, things get more interesting, with large gains in articulation and finesse.

Once settled, these headphones sound impressively clean and clear. They have a wonderfully agile presentation that responds to changes in the signal effortlessly. We start with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s Carnage set and the Liric deliver Cave’s trademark gravelly tones with all the presence and grit they deserve. These headphones communicate the nuances superbly, leaving the listener in little doubt as to what the intended emotional impact of the music is meant to be. There’s a lovely consistency from the expressive midrange frequencies upwards, and a pleasing degree of focus to the sound. The lows are almost as good, but sound a little soft-edged in relative terms.

Switching to the Elite from the Liric is a bigger shock. The Elite is the more neutral, fast and energetic brother of the Empyrean and as such the difference with the Liric is quite big. The Elite here is far more neutral and precise with a much higher level of technicalities. It has a much lower amount of bass, and lighter body overall. The Elite sounds wider as well and logically more open. The Liric is softer in delivery and that’s mostly audible in the mids, vocals and lower treble. Bass in the Liric has better sub rumble but both reach down very low. Vocals in the Elite are also more to the front like in the Liric, but they are thicker in the open back Elite. The Elite has a higher level of refinement and the micro details and note extension is better. Same goes for the clarity. As you can see the difference between the Elite and the Liric are more important than with the Empyrean, but hats only normal.