NEW Meze Strada Headphone Finally Released!

Joe@GadgetryTech · January 22, 2026

Meze is known for beautiful, well-made headphones. They make a variety of headphones at different price points, ranging from close to $200 to upwards of $4,000. When it comes to closed-back headphones however, the price jumped from $300 straight to almost $2,000. This left a sizeable gap in a highly desired space. That’s where the Strada comes in.

The Meze Strada is a closed-back, Dynamic-driver headphone, with a launch MSRP of $799. Using the dynamic driver found in the Meze 109 Pro (an open-back headphone for a similar price), the Strada aims to create something special. Perhaps my favorite choice is the use of their $2000 Liric II chassis. That’s right, for $800, you get the same builld quality and comfort as their flagship closed back planar-magentic headphone.

If anything, I would say the Strada is the more comfortable headphone. It uses the same magneticly-attached pad design as the Liric II, but weighs only 330 grams. This is almost a 100g reduction from the 427g Liric II.

When it comes to looks, the Strada opted for a different asthetic over the more reserved Liric II. Instead, the Strada uses Macassar Ebony wooden cups with a rich emerald green sparkly paint job. It’s a stunner, but the lighter wood color may be a little too bold for some. Beautify is in the eye of the beholder though, so we’ll leave it there.

The Strada has a unique sound signature, that I think will result in different experiences for different listeners.

The Strada has an elevated sub bass output with a small dip around the 140hz mark. This makes the bass sound relatively thick and rich, but it doesn’t sound as punchy or snappy as the FiiO FT1 for example. By comparison, the Liric II offers even more sub bass extension, with more tactility and bass texture overall. The Strada still has wonderful bass, with good impact, whether I’m watching movies or listening to mixed music genres. If I had to EQ the bass at all, I would lift that 140hz area just a touch, but only by a couple dB. Aside from that, it works great for my EDM/hip-hop, but also for movie scores and most of my rock music.

The mid range is fantastic. Vocals, to me, have good weight to them. Piano notes have great impact, and bass guitars still have a surprising amount of depth. Nothing sounds anemic, but if you are looking for more breathy/airy female vocal production, I think other Meze models are more forward in that regard (109 Pro/Liric II/Empyrean 2).
The entire treble region is where many of us will have different experiences on the Strada. There is a small resonance at 4khz that adds a bit of snappiness to the treble, and does color voices slightly. It’s not too egregious to me, but it will sound more forward here than other typical closed back sound profiles from models such as the MDR-M1 from Sony, the Aune SR7000, and the Audeze LCD-S20, for example.

I enjoy the more filled in low to mid treble, and the Strada does it with less forwardness than the Dan Clark E3, another headphone that sounds incredible. The E3 is more vocal forward as a whole, but with less narrowband peaks. On the Strada, there are a couple additional treble peaks that vary by ear, and there is also a general emphasis on the air region from 12Khz and up.

Aside from unit to unit variance, and choice of music content, these peaks will vary among different listeners. My measuring rig (KB006x clone) shows a peak closer to 8 KHz for example, but on my ear it’s recessed there, followed by a peak closer to 9 KHz.

If you are concerned with this and have the ability to use parametric EQ, use a tone generator at low volume, and slowly sweep higher frequencies to see where your peaks are, and adjust accordingly (High Q factor for a narrow cut).

The good news is the Strada has exceptionally low placement variance and wonderful driver matching. That means the peaks/dips should be nearly identical for the left and right channel, making any form of EQ a breeze. Imaging performance is wonderful as well, thanks to this balance.

Getting back on track here, I really enjoy the Strada. The peaks aren’t much of an issue at all for me, and I like the overall bass and voicing profile. It does enough to justify the price increase over the 99 Classic 2nd generation when it comes to overall micro-dynamics and clarity, while not being overly analytical or fatiguing for long listening sessions. I never felt I needed to EQ these to enjoy them, but the pursuit of “seasoning the sound” with PEQ is something I’ll always play with to see what else I can get from any audio product.

I may do a comparative review against some other ~$700-1200 closed back headphones down the road to dive into this more. I think the only other closed back in the $1000 range I enjoyed as much as this is the SJY Horizon Closed Carbon. Both are quite exceptional, but take a different tuning and design approach. If you are chasing a more noticeable coloration, the ZMF Bokeh closed provides a warm hug in everything you listen to. It has an emphasis in the low mids with relaxed low treble, and I think pairs well with their suede pads and tube amps. The Strada is happy with basically any amp, and does not demand much power at all.

Overall I really enjoy the Strada. The Liric II has been my most preferred chassis for a closed back headphone on my head (thanks to comfort and ergonomics), and now the Strada provides an even tamer high treble delivery with good warmth and a significant cost reduction. I lose some of the resolution and tactility of the Liric II, but the Strada is incredibly light (only 330g) while providing me with a great listening experience for a variety of genres. Plus I dig the unique look!

Video review here if you want a longer ramble: