Meze Neo 11 (gun metal) review

-expatinjapan

https://www.mezeheadphones.com/

Neo 11 https://www.mezeheadphones.com/meze-11-neo-gun-metal-earphones

Meze have released several products with their most famous so far being the Meze 99 Classic headphone, a beautiful combination of design and technology with many fans, reviewers included.

Meze 99 Classic headphone review: http://headpie.blogspot.jp/2016/08/meze-99-classic-headphone-review.html

This new entry into the Meze line up is a light weight, easy fitting, sweet and airy earphone that will please many listeners not just for the price but for the sound.

Packaging and inner details

Specifications of the Meze Neo 11

Frequency response: 16Hz - 24KHz

Impedance: 16Ohm

Sensitivity: 101dB (+/- 3db)

Total harmonic distortion: < 0.5%

Noise attenuation: up to 26dB

Titanium coated 8mm mylar driver

3.5mm gold-plated jack plug

7N OFC cable, length: 1.2m

Photo courtesy of Meze.

A great carry semi hard case to keep the earphones clean and safe.

A nice wide range of tips.

Double flange and a range of small bored single tips.

Photo courtesy of Meze.

Build

Meze put a lot of time into their products and the Neo 11 is no different. A well thought out solid and comfortable design.

Also see the Meze photos at the end of this review for a break down of the many parts and components used.

A mic for receiving those important phone calls whilst on the go.

Controls:

Hold down the button: Voice control/talking

1. push: Play/Pause

2. clicks: Next Song

3. clicks: Previous Song

Nice gold plated jack with decent cable support.

Nice rounded edges for a painless insertion and comfort over long periods of listening time

A supple, strong and tangle free cable.

Value

At US$60 on Amazon they are to beat in terms of price and sound quality.

Anyone who has tried the Meze 99 Classic headphone knows that Meze puts out a decent product.

Fit

Whether over ear or hanging down the Meze Neo 11 fits a treat. very light and comfortable. I myself preferred the hanging down style, this is probably the intended design as it fits with the mic.

Nicely sloped rounded edges away from the tips and nozzles makes insertion easy and pain free as well as a decent array of tips to select from.

Sound

I used various Daps and dacs to give the Meze Neo 11 a good working over. Priced at around US$60 I refrained for the gentle approach, I thought an item from Meze would probably be able to withstand the abuse.

As usual I got over 100 hours on the earphones because those who care about burn in care about such things, and for those who don`t ....well it doesn`t matter anyway to them whether its 1 hour or hours....so everyone is happy.

On with the show!

I started with the CEntrance DACPortable and just shuffled some songs as per usual.

Morcheeba - Gain1. Dynamic, good body, medium instrument separation.

The Pixies (Surfer rosa album) - `Cactus`. Gain 2. A bit flat, not so dynamic, a quiet recording?

Radiohead - Paranoid Android. Gain 1. Perfect, accurate, good body, nice smooth treble, fast response, vocals balanced with the music.

Bic Runga. Sub bass has a slow decay.

Black eyed peas. Tight and clean.

Mazzy Star - A bit dark and murky in the lower end.

Red hot chili peppers - Coherent, fun, still that low end.

ipod touch 6G - Good clean match, no dark low end.

Opus#1 DAP.

Similar experience to the ipod touch 6G at times.

Nice pairing, good body, dynamic, medium to wide soundstage, good decay.

Good height, nice timbre and non-fatiguing.

Trying out my go to tips for fit;
The JVC Spiral tips added a bit of low end body to the music. Smooth. detailed. Wide sound stage. It strangely takes off some of the top end sparkle, but not all. Adds more mids. A bit flat.
Back to stock tips: wider sound stage, more height and more treble.
Ortofon tips.These seem to provide a good balance between the the JVC and stock tips. Nice treble, height and width with nice body.
I will even drag out the Spinfits for all the fans: Good reach and airiness, nice vocals, bit artificial sound.
Ortofon for the win, with the stock tips a close second.

Stock: small bore, Ortofon: medium bore, JVC Spiral tips: Large bore.

The Neo 11 prefers perhaps a flat, neutral or slightly lighter DAP to sound at its best.
That is where is comes into its own, nice and smooth, resolving, organic, decent medium soundstage with a delightful airiness overall to complement the highs.

It isnt a flat reference earphone, but remains quite even over all. Bass can be increased with the complys If that is ones wish, mids are slightly recessed but not overly, enough treble without being sibilant.

A fairly accurate earphone with a sound beyond their price. two pies up!

Overall

The Meze Neo 11 is well designed and constructed earphone.

Proving once again you can have quality design and sound at an affordable price.

At times I thought the Neo 11 was like a lighter and brighter Shozy Zero, which is priced the same. Why not have both I kept thinking as they would be a good coupling for the budget shopper.

It is very user friendly in terms of fit and sound signature.

It is quite wonderful what they have done for such a low price. Elegant design and sound.

Smooth, organic, non fatiguing, decent detail, medium sound stage, good instrument separation, medium height and width, bass could decay a bit faster for my tastes, luscious but not over bearing mids and detailed highs.