James reviews the Meze Audio 105 SILVA, a new set of easy-to-drive open-back 50mm dynamic driver headphones with a Walnut Wood finish. They are currently priced at $499.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. I thank Meze Audio for their support.
You can click here to learn more about Meze Audio products previously reviewed on Headfonics.
This article follows our current scoring guidelines, which you can read in more detail here.
Today is all about Meze Audio’s new 105 SILVA open-back headphones priced at $499. This is a sibling of the 105 AER I reviewed earlier, but with a very different tuning and material design.
It’s worth noting that the name SILVA refers to “forest” in Romanian, as Meze Audio aims for a lively, balanced tuning, and probably that’s why walnut wood is brought into the design.
How does it compare to the previous 105 AER and similarly priced popular headphones, such as the FiiO FT5? I found out in my full review below.
Features
The 105 SILVA is an open-back dynamic driver headphone and comes equipped with a 50mm dynamic driver just like the 109 PRO.
This driver has cellulose composite materials for its driver dome, a titanium-coated semicrystalline polymer torus, and a copper-zinc Stabilizer positioned around the membrane. The driver is rated at 42Ω impedance with an SPL of 112 dB/mW at 1 kHz.
The 105 SILVA has an impedance and sensitivity rating that matches the 105 AER, so portable devices can easily drive it, though with stronger amplification, you can hear them scale.
I found that the perceived clarity at the same listening level is even stronger on the 105 SILVA with more solid bass and stronger treble clarity.
Design
The 105 SILVA is inspired by the mid-century Modern movement mixed with contemporary aesthetics.
It features a unique design that blends walnut wood and high-strength PC-ABS polymers in its housings. Radial patterns are intricately carved out, with filtering meshes positioned below.
Overall, the design language aligns with previous Meze Audio models, and the weight increases slightly to 354g from the 105 AER’s 336g, likely due to the use of wood, which still feels quite light on the head.
The design is well-built, sleek, elegant, and modern, featuring a blend of matte and glossy parts. Like its counterparts, it showcases beautiful curves on every component, and this new housing design fits seamlessly with the framework.
The auto-adjusting headband is a very handy feature. Despite this, if I had to find something to complain about, it would be the jacks on the headphone-side connectors, which have a rather small diameter and may limit upgrade possibilities.
Although this model feels slightly heftier than the 105 AER, the wood texture adds more depth to the touch, and the contrasting color, reminiscent of Tom Nook from Animal Crossing, is subtle yet premium-looking.
The wood grains are visible up close, and the wood is polished very smoothly with no machining marks.
Comfort
Meze designs are known for their comfort, and the 105 SILVA is no exception. There is sufficient clamping power in the frame, and the hinge in the middle allows the cups to tilt freely, promoting a better fit and seal.
The suede earpads also feel well-made and very soft, helping to seal around the ears effectively. There is no need to adjust anything when putting on the 105 SILVA, and it doesn’t put stress on the area around the ears even after hours of listening.
The auto-adjusting headband continues to be one of my favorite features, not only because you don’t need to adjust it when you put it on, but also because you don’t have to set it to a certain position when storing it in the supplied hard case, making it perfect for outdoor use.
Undoubtedly, there is reduced isolation power with this open design. However, when you turn up the volume, it easily covers the ambient noise.
There isn’t too much leakage to the surroundings, possibly due to the mesh damping at the back. This also helps offer a better sense of openness and contributes to a more natural sound tuning.
Stock Cable
The Meze 105 SILVA comes with a 1.8m thread Kelvar OFC twisted cable with dark grey anodized aluminum casings as standard.
Just to note, my review sample came with a standard version of this cable, but you can expect the cooler version in all production units. A 3.5mm to USB-C converter is also supplied, allowing you to connect to phones without headphone jacks.
While the design is very portable, the longer cable length is ideal for desktop setups, enabling you to lean back without worrying about the cable length.
My sample cable feels quite sturdy, although there is a slight amount of microphonics, which I presume will not be there with the retail version.
Packaging & Accessories
Aside from the headphone unit, you will notice the good effort that has gone into the peripherals and the packaging box, which is professionally designed with a consistent design language, fonts, and modern colors.
The key design features are imprinted on the top of the packaging box, and upon flipping it open, you will find a very well-made hard case.
Inside the hard case, there is a small pouch that houses a 6.3mm to 3.5mm converter, along with the USB-C to 3.5mm converter mentioned earlier. In addition to these, there are leaflets explaining how to swap out the earpads, as well as other technical information about the design.
On the back of the box, the design initiatives are described, and it is always fun to see and feel how Meze Audio connects the design with artistic themes and the Romanian language.
Sound Impressions
For my 105 SILVA sound impressions, I gave them roughly 100 hours of run-in, using the RME ADI-2 Pro, FiiO K17, the xDuoo XD05 Pro, and the USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor that comes with the package.
Summary
The previous model, 105 AER, stands for “AIR”; however, the wood-infused design on 105 SILVA is closer to the 109 PRO and offers an alternative sound profile that strengthens the technicalities and enhances the transient response.
The tuning is equally punchy in the bass but gets a bit deeper and fuller while energizing the treble to offer more sparkle. This contributes to stronger, more definitive power, firmer attack,s and enhanced dynamics.
While it gets more V-shaped, it is still skillfully rounded from harshness and maintains sufficient dynamics even at louder volumes.
Like the 105 AER, the 105 SILVA can be driven to sound very loud even on the MacBook Air, and with the supplied USB-C adaptor, the resulting tuning is quite pleasant.
There is some room to scale. With stronger decoding and better amplification, the 105 SILVA sounds more naturally articulate in the vocal body, and the bass kicks deeper.
Bass
The 105 SILVA offers punchy and impactful bass on portable players. The bass instruments exhibit good agility, with subtly detectable sub-lows.
This results in a nicely layered and airy presentation with bass-intensive mixes. Fundamental vocal frequencies are presented cleanly and neutrally, with adequate body.
Darker voices have enhanced presence and sound quite prominent and up front. In contrast, thinner voices or mixes may come across as relatively distanced but not too far.
When listening to House, EDM, and R&B music, the responsive bass creates a rhythmic quality. Tracks from the 70s and 80s characterized by richer body are presented with playful bass attacks that highlight percussion instruments and vocal overtones. With trending pop music, it sounds dynamic and clean, which sounds quite upbeat.
At higher volumes, the bass remains controlled and punchy, with a fast, punchy decay that does not bleed into the relatively mild mids.
When powered by desktop decoders like the D&A Alpha PRO, the 105 SILVA effectively captures the deep resonant of cellos and double bass, providing sufficient air and texture.
The bass guitar is also presented clearly, being able to extract adequate richness while maintaining discernible notes in fast riffs.
Mids
The mids need some attention on pairing as the intensity in the mid-range frequencies, particularly around the 600-800 Hz area, feels relatively dipped compared to the two ends.
This is more noticeable with weaker voices and less powerful sources, but the 105 SILVA generally maintains a neutral and smooth presentation with average vocalists. You can feel the voices gaining more robustness when sufficiently powered.
The tuning allows a bit more energy around 6kHz, which gives voices a cleaner outline. As such, even when the body of vocals isn’t very intense, it still cuts through easily without sounding boxy.
You may find the 105 SILVA more expressive when paired with gear that has richer colorations in the mids, such as the Shanling M8T, which adds extra warmth, body, and boosts the overtones.
With a few pairings, I noticed the vocals on the 105 SILVA sounding slightly laid-back and in a soothing way.
There is always good smoothness and prominence in the upper midrange elevation that helps strengthen texture and gives a stronger sense of its speedy transient response. This shapes the stereo image strongly, even though the vocal imaging isn’t very intimate.
Treble
The open-back design with meshes offers slight dampening in the treble. The tuning maintains satisfactory airiness and space for instruments and multiple vocal lines to blend into the mix without sounding harsh or congested.
Upper-register strings and higher notes on guitars are discernible and textured, with the harmonics captured clearly. Instead of emphasizing the air beyond 10kHz, it chooses a more sweetened approach and effectively tames the sibilance zone, especially with warmer-sounding sources.
When the vocal or brass instruments get hotter, the gentle roll-off up the top helps contain harshness nicely without hampering dynamics and openness.
Cymbals and hi-hats are presented with good nuances but not overly sharpened, and transients are captured with good texture and speed without sounding overly sharp.
The treble intensity is on par, if not slightly stronger than the lower register, which together deliver good contrast even when listening outdoors under noisier surroundings.
The way it emphasizes the transients sounds a bit like planars, but focusing on the response in the bass with different gears reminds you it is based on a dynamic driver.
Soundstage
The 105 SILVA has ample energy at both ends of the spectrum, which improves the perceived air and depth. The resulting stage is moderately wide due to the treble roll-off. When listening outdoors, the ambience leaks in a bit to color it more natural.
The gently laid-back mid-range adds depth, positioning the vocalists further apart in the soundstage. However, you might find the image more dispersed, but at the same time more relaxed, which helps more backing instruments to go under the spotlight.
Despite this, there is sufficient penetration power in the upper-mids to keep it distinctively positioned and separated from the backing.
With most gears paired, the 105 SILVA sounds fairly open and has good layering as the tuning stretches the two ends. Superior sources with better decoding power and ample current supply keep the bass cleaner and more impactful, enhancing the depth and positioning.
Click on page 2 below for my recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
