SIMPLE, NATURAL BEAUTY | MEZE ALBA REVIEW 2024

SIMPLE, NATURAL BEAUTY | MEZE ALBA REVIEW INTRODUCTION

Meze Audio is perhaps best known for the combination of incredible sound quality and craftsmanship that their high end headphones deliver, and they’ve been working to apply the same principles that drive excellence in their headphones to IEMs. With Advar, they created an IEM with the sort of materials and detailed, musical sound that we’ve come to expect from Meze, and now with Alba, they’re taking a similar design and bringing it down to a very accessible $159 price point. Can Alba deliver Meze’s distinctive sound and design for more budget conscious audiophiles?

BUILD AND DESIGN

Alba takes its fundamental form from the Meze Advar but uses white aluminium and zinc instead of black stainless steel, making it much lighter in colour and weight. Although it offers a better fit, the reduced weight diminishes some of the high-end feel. Although the insertion is smooth and painless, you might have to try on a few different eartips or order a size larger than usual to find the one that works best with Alba’s unusual form.

Instead of MMCX, Alba has a 2-pin socket, and the cable is patterned after the Rai Series cables that came with earlier Meze in-ear monitors; both are silver-plated copper. A USB-C to 3.5mm adaptor dongle, a pair of silicone eartips, and a carrying case are all part of Alba. The entire set is attractive for the price, but I had issues with microphonics on certain sources and, although the eartips worked perfectly, I think most customers would prefer a different, higher-quality set. While you can easily change the eartips and cables, how is the sound quality?

SOUND

Alba is easily recognisable by her incredibly natural delivery. The sound has a little warmth and a silky smoothness to it, yet the tuning is mostly neutral, and it feels like every aspect of the sound is designed to accentuate the incredibly natural timbre.

Alba’s bass is mostly linear, with decent subbass extension and a physical punch that is easily brought to the surface without being overdone. A pleasant emphasis with pop and vocal music is provided by the mids, which have decent fullness and a slightly forward voice presentation that does not become sibilant. The higher reaches are elegantly rolled off by the highs, which extend upwards with a decent quantity of air.

Having a well-balanced soundstage in terms of both width and depth, Alba produces an incredibly three-dimensional image. The imaging’s two strongest points are its three-dimensionality and its cohesiveness. Alba lacks genuinely holographic separation, and the picture highlights the blurring in the space between instruments, even though the instruments are clearly situated in the area with a lifelike sensation.

“I Am the Moon” by Tedeschi Trucks Band and “Alive” by Hiromi are two tracks that showcase Alba’s strengths. Both faithfully reproduce Alba’s signature sound while drawing attention to other important features. In “I Am the Moon,” the lines are sung by several women and men, while the chorus is characterised by lush harmonies.

Hiromi’s Alive album shows Alba’s natural presentation, clear articulation, and strong dynamics. It focuses on her piano playing and the small jazz group that plays with her.On the other hand, “Wanderer” has some of the most lifelike timbre and imaging I heard from Alba during my time with it.

COMPARISON: MOONDROP KATO

Alba is a terrific choice for a clean, articulate sound and above-average build quality for less than $200, but the Moondrop Kato provides some interesting novelties. Should you opt with Alba’s simple design or Moondrop’s take on the single Dynamic Driver IEM?

In terms of build design and accessory package, I would give Kato a slight advantage. The Kato IEMs are a touch more solid, and the cable feels more expensive.In terms of fit, I felt that the Kato’s weight presented some issues, and the thicker cable feels nicer in the hand, but when combined with the hefty IEM shells, it made it more difficult to achieve a secure fit.

Kato has a tiny advantage in technical aspects of the sound, being somewhat more resolving and providing more separation in the image, but I felt its timbre to be more on the bright side and the treble to fatigue more quickly than Alba.

THE BOTTOM LINE

While Alba isn’t going to alter the world or cause a major shakeup in the affordable IEM sector, it is a good all-around option. For $159, you get a design and overall package that live up to the Meze history, as well as a sound that captures a blend of accuracy and musicality that will be ideal for anyone who is concerned with both pricing and sound.