Meze Audio Arta Review: A $6000 Flagship to Take Home

Upon opening the package for the Arta, you can tell that this is a high-quality headphone. The Arta shines in its carrying case, lying flat with the cables and spare earpads on display. The Duo-Angled pads were already attached, and the Alcantara earpads were kept neatly on the side. There are two cables inside the package, kept in individual zippered cases. You can already tell that the Meze Arta is meant to perform with desktop amplifiers based on the 6.35mm and 4-pin XLR terminations you get.

If you've seen headphones from Meze before, then the Arta will likely look a little familiar. The Arta has the same shape as the Empyrean II and the Elite, with a suspended headband and adjustment at the earcups. Everything about this headphone says luxury: the metal details, the sleek, black finish, and the silver cables that come with it. The Art Nouveau-inspired design is elegant and makes the Arta stand out above the rest of the Meze lineup. The Arta has a more open outer earcup to help with the space in the soundstage. The headphone has some weight, but it is comfortable to wear and doesn't feel overbearing for long listening sessions.

What makes this headphone stand out is its longevity. The Arta can be fully disassembled, and Meze Audio can service every part. This keeps your headphones lasting longer and able to keep up with the tests of time. Meze Audio wants to make sure that the Arta is an investment that lasts, and this clever construction quality ensures that. 

• DRIVER TYPE:  Rinaro High Impedance Isodynamic® Hybrid Array MZ5 HΩ
• IMPEDANCE:  225 Ω average
• FREQUENCY RANGE:  3 Hz - 115 kHz
• Total Harmonic Distortion (THD):  <0.05%
• Headphone Weight: 495 g

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

Now to answer everyone's burning question: what does this $6,000 headphone sound like? Firstly, we made sure to hook up these headphones to a decent power source, as Meze had suggested. Given its 225 Ω impedance, the Arta was sure to need some decent amplification. Here at Audio46, we had the Ferrum WANDLA HP and Hypsos stack, as well as the Astell & Kern PD10. I definitely liked the amplification from the Ferrum stack, so that is what I used for most of my listening. Upon an initial listen, I was taken aback by how spacious the Arta sounded. The soundstage expanded horizontally to make a very wide picture for all the instruments to spread out, and the depth that was created made the sound three-dimensional. The depth was effective in making the soundstage wrap around your head, placing instruments very precisely in the sound field. You got to appreciate the space in large, instrumental pieces but still get the intimacy of solo guitars or vocals. The midrange got pushed a bit forward, so you got to hear vocals with stunning clarity and realism. The sound reproduction overall was very natural and gave instruments very realistic and honest timbres.

I also switched between the Duo-Angled pads and the Alcantara pads to see whether the sound profile changed in any major way. Of the two, I preferred the Alcantara pads over the Duo-Angled ones for the Arta. It gave the soundstage a bit more warmth and depth that extended to the sub-bass region, so it felt more natural and easier on the ears. While the Duo-Angled pads were also very nice to listen to, and they did make the spacious soundstage more prominent, I found it was a thinner sound than I would have liked for the Arta. Both earpads are comfortable and give the headphones a good sound profile, so there isn't a wrong earpad to wear. 

The sound profile of the Arta was balanced yet full. The planar drivers created a very three-dimensional profile that balanced treble, bass, and midrange very naturally. When you put this balance with precise imaging, you get an immersive listening experience that is realistic in any genre. The midrange does get a little pushed forward, just so you can appreciate the vocals and some melodies more clearly. The Arta has a warmer tonality than some other planar magnetic headphones, but the bass isn't overwhelming to make it the only thing you hear in the sonic profile. 

BASS FREQUENCIES

As mentioned before, the Arta has a very full and warm tonality. The bass response in this headphone is part of the reason for this. The Arta reproduces bass frequencies very naturally, so instruments have a good foundational base to build from. Instruments have a lot of body and depth, which is a direct parallel to how the soundstage has a decent amount of depth. You feel the punch from drums and other low-end elements, all the while keeping their tonality. The extension into the sub-bass is impressive, as the frequencies start sounding more natural and realistic. The sub-bass gave lower-register elements an extra push of warmth that added to the Arta's overall bass response. Even though the elements were given a lot of body and weight, the bass was still able to stay controlled and detailed to make sure you were getting the most out of your tracks. You could appreciate bass guitars' tonality and the layers of percussion throughout any track. It was noticeable that when the Arta didn't have enough power running through it, you were left with a considerably thinner bass response that didn't slam as hard as it did with the Ferrum Stack. It felt more recessed in the signature, highlighting tonal detail rather than giving the Arta any additional body.

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The midrange in the Arta reveals all the detail that you would expect in a $6,000 headphone. This range gets slightly pushed to the front so you are met face-to-face with main melodies from voices and other instruments. I liked how this range felt very natural and realistic, where the instruments were reproduced with honest timbres that made you feel like they were in the room with you. With the depth of the soundstage and the expansive horizontal sound field, you were easily transported into your listening. Even in heavy instrumental tracks, you could appreciate how things were separated out and given a lot of attention to detail. The midrange was very revealing, making the Arta good for listening analytically just as much as you could listen for entertainment. The vocal reproduction was very natural, and it was a focal point for many tracks. The depth of the soundstage was most prominent here, and I could appreciate how things were evenly balanced in this range. While everything was very analytical, I wouldn't quite put this in the reference sound category. The midrange was produced with a lot of detail and color to make the Arta entertaining and fun to listen to rather than just a reference tool.

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

At the very top of the signature, we have the treble reproduction. The Arta reproduced treble with clarity and brightness, bringing in a welcome balance between the lows and highs. The treble frequencies extend up to give the Arta a lot of height, and the open-back design helps the frequencies dissipate naturally in the upper register. The clarity in the treble makes the Arta very lightweight, and the instruments that fall in this range get reproduced sharply and with precision. The instruments never feel too piercing or shrill; it strikes a balance between airy and open, and also forward in detail. I liked that this range opened up the height in the Arta's sound signature, and it kept the Arta from sounding too heavy. Without this brightness, I could definitely see the Arta being too heavy and bassy with the strength of the low end. Instead, the treble sits just behind the midrange and makes the detail of each range stand out more. 

The Arta is the highest-priced pair of headphones Meze has on the market right now; $6,000 puts the Arta in a select class of flagship headphones. How does the Arta compete with Meze's past flagships? We can look at the Meze Empyrean II and the Meze Elite, both excellent headphones that audiophiles strive to add to their collections. The Meze Empyrean II and the Elite share a similar physical style to the Arta, though they differ in sound profile, making them different listening experiences. Meze has a notably warm signature across their high-end headphones, and we see that in the relaxed bass response of the Empyrean II. The Elite also has a warm tonality, coming in with a little more punch than the Empyrean II. The Arta has the most forward and full bass response of the three, and while the other two headphones can sound more laid-back and relaxed, the Arta is punchier with more detail. Additionally, you have a notably larger soundstage on the Arta that the Empyrean II and Elite don't quite match. The Elite and Empyrean are also a bit easier to drive, with the Arta being the most difficult of the three. 

If you're wondering if the Arta is a good upgrade from the Elite or Empyrean II, I would give a resounding yes. You'll be able to appreciate the warmth of the bass and have that carry through from one headphone to the next, but you can appreciate the level-up in detail and clarity as you move from the Empyrean II to the Elite to the Arta. Below is a helpful chart that lists some more technical differences between the headphones for your reference: 

The Meze Arta is a beautifully constructed headphone that will definitely have audiophiles interested for years to come. Not only are the aesthetics pleasing to the eye, but the sound is engaging and entertaining in all genres. If you're a fan of warmer signatures and forward detail, the Meze Arta will definitely be a nice addition to your setup. Keep in mind that having proper amplification and power is the best way to listen to these headphones, so having a good amplifier is a necessary prerequisite to owning these headphones. No matter what genre of music you like the most, be it slow jazz or high-energy hip hop, the Arta is a good match for your music taste.  

You can get the Meze Arta today at Audio46.