Meze 105 SILVA

HiFi, OpenBack
Meze 105 SILVA — Warmth Carved From Walnut

Meze Audio built its reputation on walnut cups and boutique flagship electrostatics, and the 105 SILVA is the moment that DNA trickles down to a genuinely attainable open-back. At around £469 it undercuts most of the planar open-back pack while sounding like a hand-made instrument rather than a lab exercise. This is Meze proving the 99 Classics formula scales up as well as it scaled down.

Build & Design

The SILVA — Romanian for “forest,” a nod to the Maramureș woodlands around Meze’s HQ — pairs real walnut cups with a newly developed 50mm dynamic driver, sitting alongside rather than replacing the lighter 105 AER. At 354g it’s noticeably heavier, and the clamping force is firmer too, but the trade is stability: where the AER occasionally needed adjusting mid-listen, the SILVA just sits there, and long sessions stay fatigue-free despite the firmer grip. Meze bundles a USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter with its own small DAC and amp, so the SILVA is genuinely phone-ready out of the box, and with 42Ω impedance and 112dB sensitivity it barely needs anything more.

Sound

Bass

Articulate rather than boosted — there’s real weight and texture down low, but the dynamic driver keeps it tight instead of letting it bloom into the mids. It’s a musical, engaging low end rather than a measured, neutral one.

Mids

This is where the SILVA earns its keep. Rich and expressive, with vocals and acoustic instruments given real body — the warm, inviting timbre reviewers keep reaching for is the walnut cabinet doing its job.

Treble

Natural and smooth rather than etched or analytical. It eases off just enough to stay listenable for hours without ever feeling dull or closed-in — a deliberately different choice from the brighter house sound of most flagship planars.

Soundstage & Imaging

Open, airy and well-layered for a dynamic driver, though it doesn’t chase the outright scale of a planar like the Hifiman Sundara or Arya. What it does instead is image with real precision inside a stage that feels proportionate rather than cavernous.

Comparisons

Against the Hifiman Sundara — similar money, similar open-back promise — the SILVA trades outright resolution and stage size for warmth, timbre and a far easier amping story; the Sundara wants real current, the SILVA is happy off a phone. Against my Sennheiser HD600, the family resemblance is obvious: both prize natural mids over hype, though the SILVA’s wood cups add low-end body and a friendlier fit. Headfonics and the wider Head-Fi crowd agree — class-leading design and comfort under £500, and a headphone that keeps scaling once you put a proper amp behind it, my RME ADI-2 included.

Verdict

Pros

  • Genuine walnut cups and a build that feels bespoke at this price
  • Warm, natural, deeply musical tuning that never fatigues
  • Bundled USB-C dongle makes it usable straight from a phone
  • Comfortable despite a firmer clamp than the 105 AER

Cons

  • Heavier than the AER, and the clamp won’t suit everyone
  • Soundstage is good, not flagship-planar huge
  • Bass-heads wanting sub-bass slam should look elsewhere
  • Scales further with better amplification, so budget for one eventually

Ratings:

  • Build & Design: 9 / 10
  • Sound: 8.5 / 10
  • Comfort: 8 / 10
  • Value: 9 / 10

The 105 SILVA is proof that Meze’s walnut magic isn’t a flagship-only trick — under £500 it’s one of the most characterful open-backs I’ve heard.