Meze Liric closed-back headphones

Hello and welcome to the (end of) February 2022 Newsletter #14. This is our look back at the month and a throw forward to some reviews that are coming up.

Headphones

This month has seen a few headphones come through, and they have been of the highest order. From Meze, we have heard the Elite and the more portable Liric closed-back headphones.  Both benefitted from proper headphone amplification and in the case of the Elite, I was able to get a brief loan of the fantastic T+A HA200.  Look out for the 200 series being added to by T+A this year.

Meze does not do much by halves and in the recent Meze Liric review it was noted:

There is no doubting the quality and craftsmanship on offer from anything to do with Meze and the Liric is no exception. Every screw, connector or headband slider is exquisitely presented

We have seen this same quality in the Meze Elite flagship headphones that won our Outstanding award this month and it is hard to think headphones can get better than these, though I’m sure Antonio Meze will do his best.

Speaking of Meze, here at HF&MS we have produced our first video, a 3-minute introduction to the Liric.  Click on the link here.  If you like the video, do let us know and we’ll buy a duster for the next one, still learning 🙂

At the other end of the price scale, we were very impressed by the undoubted value, styling and performance of the Sivga Robin headphones which came from a new brand called Sivga.  They have a new headphone coming soon called the Apollo, it should be good and it has just arrived here at HF&MS.

Paradigm Founder 80F, without the grille

In reviewing the Meze Elite with the T+A HA200 we took the opportunity of reviewing the Atlas Hyper USB cable, it is clear in this revealing setup that cables do matter, they’re worth it and the more natural sound delivered by the Hyper cable is one to recommend it unreservedly.

Loudspeakers

Also reviewed this month were the fantastic and very good looking Paradigm Founder 80F loudspeakers, Highly Recommended by HF&MS.  They are a little more compact than the big brother 100Fs but not compromised by their size.

Coming Up

In the coming days, there will be a review of the Audiolab 6000A Play, which was announced late last summer, it is a terrific integrated amplifier in its own right and coupled with the streaming platform, a decent DAC and a crazy price point this is a must consider, particularly if you are starting an audiophile journey.  Hopefully, in the coming months here at HF&MS we will be getting out hands on the new Audiolab Omnia and based on the 6000A Play, there is a lot to look forward to.

Also coming up on HF&MS will be a look at the Chord MoJo 2, which is the latest MoJo upgrade.  It is a wonderful tiny DAC with USB C input and two headphone outputs, always a winner for me. It is certainly portable which is great if you have a pair of Lirics hanging about!

There are reviews lined up too of the new Cyrus XR series (we have the pre-XR), which represents a step forward by the British brand.  There are also reviews coming up of the REL S/510 subwoofer (wow, plot spoiler!) and the Leema Sirius network server.

Active Crossover Project

This month and next there will be three articles centred around the Kudos Super 20A loudspeakers with an initial review of their performance with a traditional power amplifier setup.  Then there will be an article on how to set up an external active crossover arrangement where the traditional crossover in the speaker is bypassed by external electronics, designed and tuned to deliver the same outcome.  The electronics are provided by Exposure who is one of only a few British companies that do this sort of product.  With such an arrangement you need to have several things in place, the first of which is matching cables across the installation, otherwise, you risk the whole setup being out of balance.  Here at HF&MS, Vertere has provided the power cables and interconnects needed for the setup.  The other thing you need with a 2 way active crossover is an amplifier to drive each of the speaker drivers, in this case, 4 Exposure 5010 monoblocks. Take a look at the setup on Instagram.

Music

There is some really good music around at the moment, particular favourites include the new album Sea Drift from the brilliant The Delines and, of course, the release of the Beatles’ Get Back rooftop concert on the 50th Anniversary last month.  Another really good listen is the new album from Beach House, called Once Twice Melody.  Also released today, Friday 25th February ’22,  is the new album from Johnny Marr.

Enjoy your music and your HiFi this weekend.