The Meze POET: A Planar Written for Pleasure
Some headphones announce themselves with spectacle. The Meze POET prefers persuasion. A compact open-back planar magnetic headphone from Meze Audio, the Meze POET carries the top-of-the-line diaphragm technology developed for the celebrated ELITE into a smaller, ovoid form — an instrument tuned less for laboratory bravado than for the quiet pleasure of an evening spent entirely inside the music.
The Sound: Lush, Airy, Unforced
Voices lead the performance. The Meze Audio POET renders vocals with a lush, airy quality that draws singers forward into the room, while bass arrives with genuine precision — a balanced low-end that supports rather than swamps. A natural tonality gains life from subtle hints of sparkle in the treble, keeping long sessions vivid without a trace of glare. Frequency response stretches from 4 Hz to 96 kHz and total harmonic distortion remains below 0.05% — figures worth noting, then setting aside, because the character of these audiophile headphones is anything but clinical. Warmth, resolution and easy musicality recur throughout independent coverage, and anyone compiling a shortlist of the best audiophile headphones in the current planar field will find the Meze POET argued for on feeling first.
Rinaro Engineering, Distilled
The driver is the Rinaro Isodynamic® Hybrid Array MZ6: an ovoid planar unit measuring 92 × 63 mm and weighing 73 g, shaped to follow the geometry of the ear. Across an active area of 3,507 mm² sits the Parus® diaphragm — 0.06 g of precisely tensioned film, the same senior technology found in the ELITE. Driven evenly across the entire surface, the diaphragm holds composure at levels beyond 130 dB, moving with a control that single-point dynamic drivers struggle to match. This evenness is why planar headphones command such loyalty among experienced collectors: speed, coherence, and the sense of nothing standing between signal and sound.
Why Open-Back Matters
Open back headphones trade isolation for honesty. With grilles open to the room, the Meze POET breathes — no boxed-in resonance, no pressure build-up, simply a soundstage that extends naturally beyond the ear cups. Planar magnetic headphones benefit doubly from that freedom, pairing spatial openness with the low distortion of the isodynamic principle. Those comparing the best open back headphones or the best planar magnetic headphones available today will notice how rarely the two disciplines are combined with this much grace in so compact a design.
Comfort, Measured in Hours
At 405 g, the Meze POET sits at the lighter end of serious planar construction. Ovoid, circumaural ear cups follow the shape of the ear; detachable magnetic ear pads make refreshing the fit a ten-second task; and a casing of fibreglass-reinforced polymer keeps the structure rigid without needless mass. Copper-finished detailing across the ear cups lends the design a visual warmth to match the sound — craftsmanship intended to be worn for hours and admired between records.
Partnering the Meze POET
With an impedance of 55 Ω and a sensitivity of 101 dB SPL/mW at 1 kHz, the Meze POET asks comparatively little of an amplifier by planar standards, yet repays every refinement placed upstream. Connection is via dual 3.5 mm TS jacks, and every pair arrives with a 2.5 m hand-braided Furukawa PCUHD copper cable terminated in a 6.3 mm jack, a PU leather cable pouch, and a high-strength ABS travel case lined with protective foam — properly equipped for both the listening room and the departure lounge.
Arrange an Audition
Specification tells only part of the story; the rest belongs to your own music. Contact our specialists to arrange a private demonstration of the Meze POET, explore partnering amplification and source components, or compare models across the wider Meze headphones range. Enquire today — the POET reads best aloud.
About Meze Audio
Meze Audio was founded in 2011 by industrial designer Antonio Meze in Baia Mare, Romania, on a simple conviction: headphones should be built to last, to be repaired, and to be loved. The 99 Classics brought the marque worldwide attention, and the partnership with driver specialists Rinaro Isodynamics produced the Empyrean, the ELITE and now the POET — establishing Meze headphones among the most respected names in high-end personal audio. Guided by the philosophy of “Sound. Comfort. Design. True High-End.”, Meze Audio continues to create instruments for music rather than devices for consumption.
