Meze Audio Strada — A New Closed-Back Headphone from Meze
The Meze Audio Strada is a newly announced closed-back headphone that expands Meze’s carefully structured lineup of premium personal audio products. Meze Audio has built a strong reputation for combining industrial design, long-term comfort, and thoughtful engineering into products designed to be owned and enjoyed for many years, and Strada continues that philosophy in a form intended for more private listening environments.
Strada is designed for listeners who want a beautifully made, comfortable, and easy-to-integrate closed-back headphone suitable for home offices, shared spaces, and late-night listening, while maintaining the materials quality and design language Meze is known for.
What the Meze Strada Is
The Meze Strada is a closed-back dynamic driver headphone built around a newly refined 50mm dynamic driver platform derived from the technology first introduced in the 109 Pro. For Strada, this driver has been specifically adapted for use in a sealed acoustic enclosure.
According to Meze, the driver uses a carbon fibre-reinforced cellulose composite dome, a beryllium-coated torus, and a copper-zinc stabiliser ring. These design choices are intended to improve rigidity, control resonance, and reduce unwanted distortion in a closed-back environment.
Strada is positioned as a premium but accessible closed-back headphone that sits between Meze’s lifestyle-oriented models and their flagship closed-back planar designs.
Design, Materials, and Construction
Strada follows Meze’s established industrial design language. The ear cups are finished in Macassar ebony wood, each pair featuring a unique natural grain pattern, and the frame is constructed from lightweight magnesium to help keep overall weight low for extended wearing comfort.
The ear pads attach magnetically for easy replacement and use memory foam with a soft inner lining to provide a consistent seal and comfort. As with other Meze products, Strada is designed to be modular and serviceable, with replaceable parts intended to extend the product’s lifespan.
At 330 grams, Strada is designed to remain comfortable for long sessions while offering the isolation benefits of a closed-back headphone.
Comfort and Everyday Use
Meze places strong emphasis on ergonomics, and Strada uses a self-adjusting headband system designed to distribute weight evenly across the head. Combined with its relatively light weight and closed-back design, Strada is intended for environments where sound leakage or external noise may be a concern.
How Strada Fits in the Meze Lineup
Strada occupies a new and clearly defined position in Meze’s headphone range.
It sits alongside:
• The 99 series, which focuses on lifestyle listening and portability
• The 109 Pro, which introduced Meze’s modern dynamic driver platform in an open-back design
• The LIRIC 2, which is Meze’s flagship closed-back planar magnetic headphone
Strada is not a replacement for any of these models. Instead, it adds a dynamic-driver closed-back option that focuses on comfort, materials, and everyday usability while retaining Meze’s premium construction standards.
Meze Strada vs Meze LIRIC 2 (Technology and Positioning)
This is not a sound quality comparison, but a factual comparison of design approach and market positioning.
The Meze LIRIC 2 is a closed-back headphone built around a planar magnetic driver developed in collaboration with Rinaro. It represents Meze’s flagship closed-back offering and is positioned at the top of the range.
The Meze Strada, by contrast, uses a 50mm dynamic driver and is positioned as a more accessible premium closed-back headphone. It targets a different price bracket and a different audience, focusing on everyday usability, comfort, and ease of integration into a wide range of systems.
In short:
LIRIC 2 is Meze’s top-tier closed-back planar flagship.
Strada is Meze’s premium closed-back dynamic model designed for broader accessibility and daily use.
They serve different roles in the lineup and are not direct replacements for one another.
Meze Strada vs Meze 109 (Technology and Purpose)
Again, this is a factual, non-subjective comparison.
The Meze 109 Pro is an open-back dynamic headphone built around the same core driver platform that Strada is derived from. It is designed for open listening environments and does not provide isolation.
The Meze Strada takes that evolved driver technology and adapts it specifically for a closed-back enclosure, with different acoustic goals and a different use case.
Key differences:
The 109 Pro is open-back and intended for home listening in quiet environments.
Strada is closed-back and intended for private listening where isolation is needed.
Both use dynamic driver technology, but Strada’s driver and enclosure are optimised specifically for sealed operation.
Strada also introduces a different material construction approach, including a magnesium frame and Macassar ebony wood ear cups.
Strada does not replace the 109 Pro. Instead, it complements it by offering a closed-back alternative built on the same design lineage.
Ease of Drive and System Compatibility
With an impedance of 40 ohms and high sensitivity, Strada is designed to be easy to drive from a wide range of equipment, including portable players, desktop DAC/amps, and integrated amplifiers. This makes it suitable for users who want flexibility without needing specialist high-power amplification.
Technical Specifications
Driver type: 50mm dynamic
Frequency response: 5Hz – 30kHz
Impedance: 40 ohms
Sensitivity: 111 dB SPL/mW
Weight: 330g
Frame: Magnesium
Ear cup covers: Macassar ebony wood
Input connectors: Dual 3.5mm
Final Thoughts
The Meze Audio Strada represents a thoughtful expansion of Meze’s closed-back headphone lineup. It introduces a dynamic-driver closed-back option that sits clearly between Meze’s lifestyle models and their flagship planar offerings, focusing on comfort, materials, long-term usability, and practical integration into everyday listening setups.
As more information becomes available and more people spend time with the product, we will update our coverage. For now, Strada should be understood as a carefully positioned new addition to the Meze ecosystem, aimed at listeners who want a beautifully made, easy-to-live-with closed-back headphone from one of the most design-focused brands in high-end audio.