The Meze Audio Liric II is a good improvement over the original with a smoother, more coherent, and relaxed sound signature making it a more competitive closed-back planar headphone for a wider range of musical genres.

In terms of premium closed-back headphones, I rate the Liric highly. The Liric II pointed at the few faults it had, and completely flipped them around, all while adding new technology that expanded its abilities for a better sound. Meze didn’t have to change much about its build, but the Liric II adds a new character to its design in a way that’s more understated and artistic. All of these attributes combined make the Meze Liric II nothing short of one of the best closed-back headphones around.

Meze has added some quality of life improvements here, be it with the included premium cable as part of the accessories, a total of two cables of different lengths for different applications, easily detachable ear pads and, more importantly in my books, by using an updated driver setup that addresses the potentially fatiguing and sibilant sound the original LIRIC displayed. I also dig the new ear cups too with the Macassar ebony adding a touch of class while still retaining the overall clean aesthetics. The mids on the LIRIC 2nd Gen are also improved from before, although the overly emphasized upper treble relative to the low/mid-treble can be a dealbreaker for some—I had to apply EQ filters to get around it.

With the LIRIC 2, Meze Audio have built a far better tuned version of the original LIRIC. LIRIC 2 now is warmer, more spacious, more refined, controlled and a lot easier on the ear. That said, some of you still might find the treble tuning on the edgy side.

The Liric 2nd Generation make the sort of sound that never gets old. As long as you can afford them, and as long as you have the sort of head that won't get swamped by them, they absolutely demand your attention. These are sublime wired headphones.