Meze 11 Deco In-Ear Headphone – Beech Wood Creates Great Bass

We are at a bit of a loss right now as…well to start from the beginning we received a set of headphones unexpectedly last month and never thought much of them…so they sat.  To start, the exterior packaging was no more than a small 3″x3″ cardboard case, something that one might find if they walked into Wal-Mart looking for a set of headphones. The name of the company is Meze and the founder, an industrial designer from Romania, Antonio Meze.  As we had never heard of Meze, we thought we might do just a bit of a background check on the internet, findings that definitely contributed to these headphones sitting for so long.

A few days back, I was heading out and happened to glance at the Meze packaging on the Test Bench, as I had so many days prior, and thought, “What the heck.”.  I grabbed them and threw them in my case.  Hours later, they just seemed to be a pain in the case so, for the first time, I spent some time listening to this set of Meze 11 Deco  In-Ear headphones.  The first song that happened to play on my Samsung Note II was Joe Cocker – The Letter and I remember the awe of the saxophone reproduction that caught my attention.  The second was Funky Nassau by the Blues Brothers and I can still hear the clarity and ‘warmth’ of the low bass. Where have these earphones been?  Don’t answer that!

MEZE 11 DECO IN-EAR HEADPHONES

Meze 11 Deco’s are constructed of aluminum and beech wood, the beech providing some amazing tone characteristics and making each and ever set a one of a kind experience as no two sets are alike.  The speaker is 8mm neodymium which immediately speaks to the quality of construction.

Frequency response is 17Hz-25KHz, with a sensitivity of 101+/- 2dB at 1KHz/mW with 14 ohm impedance and 3mW input power.  The highlight of these earphones are definitely the bass, sometimes even sacrificing midtones in result.  As well, the exterior package is an off white small hard leather case that contains the buds with medium silicone tips on, small and large replacement ear tips and a D-ring.

The cabling is a smooth white ‘non-tangling cord with a smooth hard portion that can be clicked to start and stop music, or clicked twice quickly to skip to the next song.  The mic is also located here for speaking on the cell.  The true highlight of these earphones is definitely the beech wood finish which provides a very authentic sound, bringing back memories of early 70’s sound reproduction that were representative of Boston Acoustics.  As I write this, the song Alison by Elvis Costello is playing and there are so many lower tones that would not normally be recognized; not this time though…. Another perfect example is Bob Seager – Turn The Page , except in listening to this, you will definitely notice the lost midtones.

These headphones will really create a love/hate relationship with some people.  The sound is amazing.  In fact, I have been hoping to review a set of Sennheiser IE 800’s and have to admit that these just may give them a run for their money, that is if that review ever avails itself.  The love is definitely the sound reproduction that is complemented by the comfort of the Meze 11 Deco’s in your ears.  Unlike so many others, these fit great with no effort or tricks in getting them placed correctly for ‘just the right sound’. The hate part of this equation is that, on checking for a price, we couldn’t find ANY retail sales but for the Meze Website itself, which has them set at a $79 price tag. As much as we have no problem with the price, availability should be much more convenient.

Lana Del Rey has never sounded this good!