Meze Strada Review — A Closed Back 109 Pro?

The Meze Strada is a new closed-back dynamic driver headphone priced at $799, and while it shares much of its physical design with Meze’s Liric and Liric 2, it still has its differences people will want to note. This unit was provided by Meze for review, but as always all impressions here are my own.

From a design and comfort standpoint, this is very much what I expect from Meze. The Strada looks excellent—with the mix of familiar wood accents and the new (and handsome) green detailing—and it feels extremely well built. Comfort is one of its strongest attributes. The clamp force is more accommodating than what I get from something like the Meze 99 Classics V2, and the ear pads are large, soft, compliant, and ear-shaped rather than circular. I’ve had issues in the past with the Liric platform feeling a bit cramped in the ear chamber, but that isn’t a problem for me here. The lighter dynamic driver construction also helps; the Strada settles naturally on my head and stays in place without constant adjustment.

The earpads attach magnetically and are easily removable, revealing a slightly angled baffle that plays a role in the tuning. Meze uses standard 3.5 mm connectors for the earcup-side connection, and the included cable is compliant and nicely constructed. In terms of drivability, the Strada is low impedance and fairly sensitive, so it doesn’t require a dedicated amplifier to reach good listening levels.

Where things become more complicated is with the sound. To my ear, the Strada has a distinctly U-shaped tuning with a very strong upper-treble emphasis. This gives it a sense of air, shimmer, and immediate detail, but it also introduces some significant trade-offs. I find the treble to be overly elevated, to the point where it becomes fatiguing for me. Cymbals and high-frequency textures are strongly highlighted, often more than I’d like, and vocals can sound translucent and thin rather than natural and weighted.

While the Strada does have elevated bass, it’s primarily focused in the sub and mid-bass, and it doesn’t transition super smoothly into the midrange. As a result, the mids come across lean, which contributes to an overall lack of coherence. On simpler or more sparse tracks, this can sound exciting and highly textured, but once the music gets busy, the timbral compromises become more obvious. For me, this presentation just doesn’t hold together consistently.

There’s strong sub-bass presence followed by a dip through the low mids. In the treble, there’s a notable resonance around 4 kHz that’s masked by the even stronger upper-treble lift. This masking effect means the glare isn’t immediately obvious, but as soon as you reduce the upper treble with EQ, the lower-treble resonance becomes very apparent. The overall behavior reminds me somewhat of the Meze 105 AER, with similar treble resonances that hit a few personal pain points for me.

EQ can, of course, improve the Strada, but it’s not really a simple fix. This isn’t a case of just adding bass or making a broad treble cut. I’d personally reduce the upper treble by around 10 dB and apply a fairly narrow filter around 4 kHz, and maybe a few other things too; while I can get the Strada to sound quite good, it does require a more surgical approach than many listeners may be comfortable with.

In terms of comparisons, the Strada is more comfortable than the Meze 99 Classics V2 and offers a stronger sense of detail out of the box, though I would use EQ with both. Compared to the original Liric, I prefer the Strada’s midrange, but the treble issues remain a limiting factor. The Liric 2, despite its own quirks, is the better headphone overall in my view due to its more convincing midrange presentation. When I look at other closed-back options focused on sound quality—such as the DCA Aeon X Closed, FiiO FT1, or Focal Azurys—I would still recommend those over the Strada unless someone is specifically looking for a very U-shaped, flared sound.

Using my subjective rating system, the Strada scores reasonably well for bass and comfort, but the midrange leanness and treble resonances are major drawbacks for me. While some listeners will likely enjoy its sense of detail and excitement, those qualities come at the cost of timbre, coherence, and versatility. For sound quality alone, I land around a four out of ten, with comfort bringing the overall score to roughly a 5.2.

In the end, the Meze Strada is a great-looking, extremely comfortable closed-back headphone with a... distinctive tuning. In its stock form, the treble behavior and tonal balance make it a difficult recommendation for my preferences, but if you know you prefer a more vivid, glistening sound profile, it may be worth checking out.