Arguably their best: Meze Alba REVIEW!

You probably know Meze Audio for their high-priced over-ear headphones, but their new Alba is an IEM coming in at under $200. And as best I can tell, in addition to being their most affordable product, the Meze Alba is also arguably one of their best sounding. Let's talk about why.
See the Meze Alba on Squiglink: squig.link/?share=Harman_Adju...
00:00 Intro
01:40 What's in the box
03:45 Build quality
05:45 Fit & Comfort
07:30 Sound quality
11:45 vs. Simgot & Sennheiser
14:40 Conclusion & Rating
See it on Meze Audio: mezeaudio.com/products/alba
FYI: I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
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Disclosure: This video is NOT sponsored, but Meze Audio did send these headphones to me free for review. Check them out at mezeaudio.com/
AI music via Udio (www.udio.com/)
#Meze #Alba #IEMs #earphones #headphones #audio #audiophile #SuperReview

[@SuperReview]

What's the best-fitting IEM you've tried? Join the community and share your thoughts 👉 social.squig.link/

[@TheVeganVicar]

By FAR, the Dita Project M. I'm planning to get these Meze, but it will be a minor miracle if they fit me better.

[@adilsonnogueira6468]

Final Audio A5000 and Sennheiser IE series

[@JohnClarkW]

The Mangird Tea and Tea2 almost feel like they were customs, so that is tough to beat. I still think my favorite for fit is probably either those, or the Tripowin Mele and Olina. I really like the Aful Explorer too.

[@boneyrigatoni5805]

Meze Rai Penta and Meze Rai Solo

[@noxalbus]

I've never just watched the fit and comfort part for so long...... comfort is just such an underrated metric for iems

[@TheVeganVicar]

A proper fit and seal is PARAMOUNT!

[@matreviewlab]

Meze went hard on marketing for that one. It looks like everyone is reviewing it. Even people that don’t usually do iems.

[@Silence-and-Violence]

Yeah, I'm worried about how obvious the marketing scheme is. I'll be waiting at least 6 months for the dust to settle to see what normal, unpaid people think after the hype is gone.

[@TheVeganVicar]

@@Silence-and-Violence, I'll wait a couple of months myself.

[@smolbo1]

@@Silence-and-Violencei saw a random munich high end clip and noticed how beautiful it was and instantly started digging into it and back then there was very little known about it and now it's everywhere. i think it is so cheap compared to normal meze stuff because they expect to sell huge volume of this so is doing extremely large manufacturing batches which reduce costs significantly and banking on giving away a pair to any audio guy since it's so cheap to manufacture

[@juanblanco7898]

One more size option for the tips is such a welcome addition! Thank you for the review, a great pleasure to watch as usual.

[@jymylin2605]

I'm almost order one for myself after watching lots of other reviews. The size and looks really deceive me well. After your review of three stars rating, I guess I've to try first at a local store. Since fit and comfort is critically important for me, I might get one. Your honest review is really priceless. Thank you.

[@audio_tron]

Definitely want to demo these and man are they tempting me with this pearl white look. Based on your Alba take, I’d probably still want to aim for the sweet midrange of the Advar. Advar had Z1R caliber vocals, which shocked me. Best fitting IEM ever for me is probably a tie between B2 and Advar.

[@GadZookz]

Thanks Mr. Ryan! These look very conchable. Can’t wait to try them.

[@SuperReview]

Slips right in!

[@sidesaladaudio]

I love the fit of these, but yeah the one thing I wasn’t a big fan of is how the vocals have a slight unnatural sound or rough edge to them. Didn’t see many others talking about that, so it’s nice to see someone else mention it as well. Otherwise, it’s probably one of Meze’s best IEMs

[@SuperReview]

It's a solid set, but agree. One thing I feel about Alba that I should've mentioned is that it is an "immediately impressive" set. First listen is like dayam. It's more on the extended listening and comparisons where little extra edginess starts to push me toward other sets.

[@StarBuccaneers168]

Thanks Mark, great affordable set from Meze. if this IEM came with a picture of Jessica, it could easily be a 4 star.

[@morristaub3194]

I'm wondering if these would be an upgrade from the truthear hexa i've been using for a while now. Pretty happy with them. I see these alba iem's are twice the price. Totally different build. But is it possible to say anything about their sound? Better? Just different? I currently use the hexa with spinfit large tips. Also via computer directly plugged in sometimes. A macbook pro M3 max. Sometimes via an ifi zen dac v2. I also use boom 2 to equalize 'em a bit. I'm getting plenty bass out of the hexa's when i want even though i've read everywhere they are totally neutral, not great for bass. Just beginning to get interested in a second iem and wonder what spending 175 euros with shipping will bring me. Thanks for any advice. Oh, and Mark, thanks for all your great reviews. I've listened to a bunch of 'em.

[@aceofspades6667]

This thing is hotter than Jessica Alba with the number of reviewers covering this in a 24 hour period. Still looks the ie600 have yet to find a set I want to upgrade to.

[@SuperReview]

I guess that's what happens when you send it out months in advance and lift the embargo.

[@angelOcrisu]

I think my connationals from Meze won't keep up with the demand after all this hype.

[@jtm71]

She's not hot any longer

[@ANiCKiN]

@@jtm71 Speak for yourself.

[@michaelcorcoran8768]

That's what an embargo does. Looks a lot smaller to me than the ie600.

[@lacsativ1]

As a Romanian, I have to say that Meze really didn't try too hard coming up with a name for this IEM lmao.

[@Rakshit0076]

Ive the original moondrop blessing. Would the meze alba be an upgrade? Thank you!

[@Ducbloke]

Rob Peter to pay Paul on fit verse function. I really like the look of fit in your ear. Nice and recessed. I’d have to hear these for myself before making a decision to buy them. There’s a lot of great stuff in this price range. The Supermix 4 comes to mind.

[@bencherian]

Can you compare it with Artti T10 please even though both are different drivers ?

[@maninironmask7925]

Will you be reviewing the Dita Project M?

[@geraltnroach]

Maybe i missed the note, but how is alba compare to ea1000 and ie200 in term of detail and resolution?

[@AverieS820]

Would this be an upgrade to the moondrop LAN? As that is my current comfort-IEM and graphs really similarly to the Alba.

[@SuperReview]

I don't really agree with the concept of "upgrade," they're just different. LAN tuning I prefer, Alba is more exciting. Personally I'd probably take the LAN.

[@humanbass]

Fiio FD15 would be a good comparison, same price, fancy single DD.

[@FoolsVerse]

This vs the supermix 4?

[@theonlyegg]

What’s the live wallpaper you’re using on your Mac? I dig.

[@SuperReview]

It's a custom animation I made based on the Squiglink logo. I did find a hack to make it my MacOS screensaver, but not sure how to make it available to others easily.

[@Bodirevolution]

Do you have any input on how this compares to the Ultimate Ears Universal single driver 150 iem?

[@SuperReview]

Nope.

[@Gilliboy82]

How does it compare to the Tanchjim origin?

[@SuperReview]

I prefer the Origin, which has more precise imaging, more midrange focus, and no fatigue.

[@AliArghavan]

How would you compare Alba to Nova? Both at around 150$

[@Rorensuwl8]

I would say Nova+foam tips if your ears can handle it

[@MrBlackJava]

Looks to be close to the delci also

[@TWidXugA1]

The visual channel imbalance in the graph bothers me a little, though pehaps not noticible in practice. Also, some reviewers describe it as warm and bassier than the kato, while others say its bass shy, making me wonder if QC is an issue. Thanks for the review in any case!

[@SuperReview]

Yeah the channel imbalance isn't noticeable, they offered to send a replacement but I said it wasn't necessary.

[@kenjikodai]

I want one

[@SuperReview]

🤗 I imagine this emote means "gimme gimme"

[@miscwork-qb7pd]

If even treble liking mark finds the alba a bit sharp, then there's definitely a problem

[@coderintrovert]

How does it compare to Supermix 4?

[@FoolsVerse]

I just bought the supermix 4 and waiting for the ship but I saw this and feel like this may be better due to its open back design (I prefer open back headphones but I’m surprised they made iem open back.) but it could be depending on the genre aswell. I hear that supermix 4 is a good all rounder but this might be better for more airy music that may lose out on base.

[@gersongomez1876]

@@FoolsVersethese are not open back iems

[@residentzero]

Yeah I don't think that exists, the closest might be a flat earbud like VE Monk which by nature of not going inside the ear produce a somewhat open sound (and leak sound)

[@FoolsVerse]

@@gersongomez1876 could’ve fooled me with the big hole in the back of them.

[@user-te1bd5kq2b]

I dont get why do people praise cables as “thick/heavy” i prefer exactly the opposite lol. I want my cables to be pretty thin without being fragile and as light as possible.

[@SlavJerry]

because the weight gives the feel of quality, with that said it's a preference

[@2aalu]

if the cable is thin and not fragile then the cable will be stiff and hard which most of people does not prefer

[@Bovineicide]

I generally associate thin cables with being super microphonic which will make it ewaste to me lol

[@rem792]

Exactly, I like thin light, strong cables, Linsoul had some nice gold ones, very thin and light, bought a couple about 6 years ago and they still work. All the heavy, thick cables I have just stay in a box collecting dust.

[@magik97]

Yep, same. I don't like thick cables at all.

[@erictracy1630]

Meze also had the Rai Penta

[@SuperReview]

Yeah I think there was a Solo as well, both seem discontinued.

[@kyotoryo6569]

Coincidence these graph almost identically to Tanchjim 4U?

[@SuperReview]

They don't sound almost identical FWIW.

[@juanblanco7898]

I wouldn't say that.

[@AugustoRallo]

wondering if people would be that skeptical if moondrop had reviews popping up in many channels at once.. food for thought.

[@SuperReview]

What is the skepticism? They sent a bunch of review units to reviewers months ago with an embargo that lifted this week.

[@AugustoRallo]

@@SuperReview I'm not skeptical at all, huge fan of your work. I saw a few skeptics in the comments, sincerely it makes no sense to me. It's almost a "reverse xenophobia"? lol

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

Come on man! You didn't show the grill under the rubber sleeve. It's important long-term to see if it's serviceable/cleanable or not. Other than that, it looks interesting and the time has really come to replace my Fiio FH6's that I bought from your recommendation 3(?) years ago. Those served me really well and outlived ~5 cables.

[@SuperReview]

I've done like 400 reviews and never done that, are you surprised? WTF

[@Alexander_Sannikov]

@@SuperReview I'm surprised why you're not doing that yet!

[@garymalone547]

IEMs better than closed back cans? I must have missed the memo.

[@SlavJerry]

I would buy these just for aesthetic and build quality alone, which could be said with most if not all meze products

[@SuperReview]

They know what they're doing with industrial design!

[@gene_frenkle]

Mark. It's a Saturday and you want to relax and listen to music. You aren't reviewing anything. What IEM and device do you choose to listen to your music?

[@SuperReview]

Varies. This Saturday was IE 600 on Hiby R5II. Though it's always R5II.

[@Kawartha65]

Wow…..not really raving like most reviewers on the Alba. I think I’ve watched a good 20 reviews by now and no one really called it “aggressive”…. mostly just hearing a lot of “warm neutral” comments …and that it’s an easy presentation to listen to. There does seem to be a total consensus on the great fit though. Also surprised you didn’t mention you like to sleep with them in …as they are so small. Nice 👍 job.

[@SuperReview]

Oh they good for sleeping for sure.

[@okay4105]

Truthear Gate's white cable will go very well with this iem.

[@SuperReview]

But will you miss that round-on-round transition?

[@okay4105]

@@SuperReview oh yes

[@GuvoProd]

BMTH BOX

[@CJ-usa]

Dita project M

[@squidwerd1981]

first!...woo-hoo!

[@theonlyegg]

Who still does this?

[@jb678901]

Too many reviews...too much noise. I'll wait for the smoke to clear before pulling the trigger again. The winners will be left standing...everything else was just another PUMP & DUMP. Collabs galore...back scratching...access...marketing dollars...patience will be my strategy in navigating this mine field.

[@SuperReview]

I read this to the opening beat of Eminem's "Lose Yourself."

[@nikhilchandra3778]

@@SuperReview 😂

[@juanblanco7898]

Throughout FOMO and perpetual hype, he is alone the enlightened one.

[@JoelHernandez-tz3vk]

Meanwhile. I found like 2 written reviews of the ISN H60 and nothing else.