Headphones from Meze Audio have been typically divided into extremes of simplicity and elegance using natural materials such as wood on the earcups in the company's most affordable 99 models, while embracing baroque aesthetics and metallic details in its most expensive, flagship models. The new POET headphones seem to sit in the middle for the Romanian company and will probably be considered over-the-top by many and a symbol of luxury by others. In any case, it doesn't seem like Meze Audio designed the POET headphones to be used in the subway, which means that aesthetic criteria will not matter that much.
What stands out is that Meze designed the POET headphones with a new Hybrid Magnet Array designed to create a uniform, powerful magnetic field across the diaphragm, which, combined with the Parus diaphragm, should provide an expansive active area for pristine audio reproduction, with the added benefits of an incredibly low weight (just 0.06g). One of the most sophisticated and advanced planar magnetic technologies, these have been scaled down for a compact form factor in the POET. Symmetrically placed on either side of the diaphragm, the neodymium magnets are arranged into a Hybrid Array to create a 0.3 Tesla Isodynamic magnetic field required for a uniform activation across the whole diaphragm surface. The MZ6 drivers, a synthesis of the MZ4 and the MZ3SE drivers featured in the Meze LIRIC and ELITE headphones, are all hand-assembled and tested at Rinaro's state-of-the-art facility in Ukraine. The result, Meze says, is also in the ultra-low distortion (<0.05%) and ultra-high-resolution of the reproduced signals.
These are intended as high-end headphones, and Meze promotes them accordingly to an audience that cares about every detail. The POET headphones are a carefully crafted open-back design that the company knows will be investigated ad nauseam by those who scrutinize every peak and dip of the frequency response and invest fortunes in custom stands for their headphone collection.
In that regard, POET will not disappoint, with a design that blends high-performance materials with an aesthetic of luxury, starting with the intricate steel grill, reinforced polymer housing, magnesium chassis, and soft suede leather headrest. Designed for comfort and longevity, the headphones' flexible titanium alloy headband evenly distributes weight, while the magnetic earpads make POET convenient for long-term care. And the POET headphones are also fully serviceable, with every component designed to be easily disassembled and replaced.
Meze Audio also coupled this new product with a premium, high-strength suitcase with foam inserts and a leather handle, leather pouch, and a hand-braided 2.5m copper cable with 1/4" jacks to ensure the widest compatibility with desktop setups.
"From the very beginning of our POET journey, we knew we wanted to create something unique — a more compact planar-magnetic open-back headphone that is every bit as capable as our flagship models. Well then, what better place to look than at the very apex? In collaboration with our friends at Rinaro Isodynamics, we synthesized the essence of ELITE's driver technology and gave it new life. I believe POET turned out to be more than just a headphone; it’s a nod to a huge stepping stone in our development as a team and a testament to how far we’ve come,” says Alex Grigoras, Acoustic Engineer at Meze Audio.
The POET headphones are available priced at $/€2,000. Attendees to CanJam NY and the Florida Audio Expo this weekend (Feb 21-23, 2025) will be able to test them before anyone else.
www.mezeaudio.com
