Silver Audio and Sound Equipment Design · 2022
Liric Headphone
by Antonio Meze
- A' Design Award 2022 Silver Winner in Audio and Sound Equipment Design
- Awarded April 15, 2022
- CLIENT: Meze Audio
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 28,844
- Verification code DCBD147060 · Verify this award
About Liric Headphone
Liric aims to deliver the perfect balance between cutting edge technology and well thought design. On the outside, the headphone blends materials like magnesium, leather, stainless steel and aluminum in an ergonomic design with a sleek, modern finish. The union of black leather and gloss matte spatters is a subtle nod to the textures found on magnesium parts of professional photo cameras. Metallic copper accents compliment the all black elements, maintaining an elegant, contemporary design language.
Antonio Meze's Liric Headphone emerges from a distinguished tradition of audio instrument design where technical performance and aesthetic consideration achieve equal standing, representing a contemporary interpretation of the premium listening device that honors both the ceremonial aspects of dedicated music appreciation and the practical demands of portable personal audio. The work demonstrates remarkable compositional intelligence in its resolution of competing design imperatives: the substantial ear cups required for acoustic isolation and driver accommodation achieve visual lightness through carefully proportioned negative spaces and the graceful arc of the connecting headband, while the integration of rose gold metallic elements introduces material warmth that tempers the potential severity of the dominant black surfaces. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless transitions between disparate materials—the precise meeting of leather cushion to polymer housing, the crisp articulation of metal adjustment mechanisms against matte surfaces—suggesting manufacturing processes of considerable sophistication and quality control rigor. The headband's interior mesh reveals a thoughtful approach to comfort engineering, where functional ventilation requirements become opportunities for textural interest and visual differentiation. Thematically, the design engages with enduring questions of how we create dedicated spaces for aesthetic experience within daily life, proposing the headphone as a portable architecture of attention, a personal chamber for musical encounter that accompanies its user through varied environments while maintaining consistent acoustic character. The rose gold accents, positioned at pivot points and adjustment mechanisms, may reference traditions of fine watchmaking and precision instrumentation where decorative metalwork signals both craft investment and mechanical sophistication. This synthesis of technical capability and aesthetic refinement invites contemplation of how objects designed for sensory experience might themselves become worthy of careful visual attention, suggesting that the vessel for art might appropriately aspire to artfulness in its own right.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Combining a contemporary aesthetic with state-of-the-art engineering, LIRIC is the first closed-back headphone powered by the Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver. A blend of magnesium, leather, stainless steel and aluminum in an ergonomic, ovoid design, LIRIC is one of the very few high-end closed-back planar magnetic headphones available.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Dimensions: W 93 mm x H 204 mm
- Tags
- headphones, magnesium, industrial, product design, audio, technology, electronics
- Production Technology
- The main priority was to make these headphones compact, light and comfortable, and they had to work seamlessly with the Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver inside. After experimenting with various materials, magnesium turned out to be the best solution for creating a lightweight, yet reliable frame. A stainless-steel headband and aluminum rods on the side were added for easy adjustment while ensuring the proper pressure needed to keep the headphone in place while moving around.
- Design Challenge
- Meze Audio's goal was to create an audiophile portable headphone that true connoisseurs can enjoy on the go. Everything needed to be scaled down: the driver had to be re-designed to comply with the new, smaller shape; the weight of the headphone had to be adjusted by use of lightweight premium materials, the packaging had to be thought for easy transportation and maneuvering. The use of magnesium for the frame of the headphone ensures that they stay flexible, shock-resistant and oxidation free.
- Project Duration
- Meze Audio started working on Liric in 2019, and it took nearly 2 years until completion. The result is a blend of high build quality, excellent comfort, and a natural, immersive sound.
- Operation Flow
- The headphone is powered by the innovative Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver created by Rinaro Isodynamics. Combined with the closed-back design, the driver helps preserve the original clarity and emotion of your favorite music through enhanced sound and minimize external noise.
It can be driven by almost any portable source without needing amplification and, when paired with your device of choice, it delivers natural, detailed sound, with impressive transparency and an undeniable feeling of space that goes beyond anything you can expect from a closed-back headphone. - Research
- In a world where everything is fast-paced, even the life span of the products that we use most in our day-to-day life, Meze Audio aims to create a long-lasting audiophile headphone, that preserves the qualities of true hi-fi and pairs them admirably with an ergonomic design approach and a sleek, modern finish. After 2 years of intense research and thousands of iterations, the result is a no-compromise audiophile-grade portable headphone.
- Inspiration
- At Meze Audio, products are created from pure passion for great aesthetics, good craftsmanship and breakthrough engineering. With few exceptions, audio gear is rarely considered a work of art, and design often comes second to performance. Our ultimate goal is to change that perspective and find the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality. We wanted LIRIC to embody that vision and deliver all the benefits of an open-back, planar magnetic design, in a portable frame.
Colors of Liric Headphone
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