The Silva comes in a nice box, with a case and the headphone inside. The outer packaging is nearly identical to the 105 AER, just with the Silva design. It comes with the headphones, a decent cable terminated in 3.5mm, with a 6.3mm adapter, and a USB C dongle DAC. The cable feels nice and performs well, not as nice as the premium cable but I already have quite a few of those. As per normal I would have liked a 4.4mm option – the way that Abyss do it with the JOAL is a great idea (4.4mm terminated with optional termination add-ons).
The dongle DAC is a nice inclusion however I don’t think that it does the headphone justice. It’s OK in a pinch however I much preferred the Silva from a dongle DAC like the LP W4, or out of a dedicated source.
I’ve spent quite a lot of time with the Silva now and I think it fits into the Meze lineup perfectly. I’m not 100% sure on Meze’s design philosophy, but I think it’s focussed around making headphones that you live with. They look beautiful and always work for extended listening sessions from a comfort and sound point of view. The Silva fits this philosophy.
My listening impressions are based mainly on the Hifiman EF500 as I use my full-size cans while working from home a lot and the EF500 is on my work desk. It’s a great little DAC/AMP and drives these with ease. The Silva also scales well, it sounds fantastic from the AK SP4k, or my Sony TA-ZH1ES, with everything just elevating a bit as you step up. The impressions below are based on the EF500. For music I’ve listened to anything and everything on them.
Onto the sound!
TL;DR would be that the Silva is musical, cohesive, and easy going. They sound balanced and deliver music that you just sink into.
Bass:
The bass on the Silva is excellent. It’s quite punchy and quick but doesn’t overtake anything else. I have quite a few open backs around the same price and I think the Silva does bass better than any of them. The bass is well textured, has impact when required, gets your foot tapping at the right time, but leaves the mids alone. If you like a lot of bass this probably isn’t the headphone for you, but for everyone else I don’t think you’re going to get better bass at this price point in a headphone.
Mids:
My favourite part of the Silva. The mids here are natural, slightly warm leaning, and very listenable/effortless. Vocals sit front and centre and have good weight (at least out of the EF500), and there’s a nice sense of body to guitars, piano, and string instrumetns. Male and female vocals both sound convincing and accurate, with nothing that bugs me at all. I often reach for these when I want to listen to a large range of vocalists as they work well with everyone – set and forget! It doesn’t go for crazy amounts of detail, but it does engage you. I find myself just listening to albums rather than skipping tracks to analyse sections, even writing this review I’ve just ended up listening to the music when I intended to try and analyse some specific things. I think it’s a good thing!!
Treble:
The treble here is smooth and inoffensive, leaning towards the relaxed side rather than being energetic. There’s enough extension to avoid sounding dull, nothing about the Silva sounds dull, but it does prioritise comfort of listening over sparkle and hitting your ears with lots of detail. Cymbals and percussion have a soft edge to them, which means you can listen for a long time without fatigue, but on some tracks I do prefer to have something a little crisper. That said, I appreciate what they were going for here and I think they hit the mark well.
Technical performance:
The soundstage is a little smaller than I would expect for an open-back, it’s more natural than expansive. You don’t get that big “out of head” effect that you do with some open backs, but there’s good width and depth, and imaging is solid enough to place instruments convincingly for my ears. Separation and layering is decent although on some extremely dense tracks it does end up blending together a little, it’s not a bad listen when this happens, it just leans into the fact that this is a headphone designed to play music in an enjoyable way, rather than being a technical instrument for you to dissect tracks on. There are plenty of those around if that’s what you’re after.
Subjective thoughts:
The Silva is an effortlessly musical headphone which fits snugly into the slot between the AER and 109 Pro. I reach for them a few times a week, generally when I’m working, want to listen to some music and have a headphone which I don’t need to think about. They’re extremely comfortable and disappear on my head when I’m listening. The AER’s are now used for gaming for me (with the excellent boom mic), and the Silva and 109 Pro remain in rotation for listening. I’d still take the 109 Pro if I could only have one however some ears may prefer the Silva.
Overall:
Meze don’t miss and the Silva is another example of them refining their craft. The fact that I have the Poet, the 109 Pro, and many other expensive headphones but still reach for the Silva is a testament to what they’ve achieved. Great job as always and look forward to seeing what we get from Meze in 2026!
Scorecard at $499:
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | 4.6/5 | Punchy, well-textured, and controlled. Outstanding bass performance for an open-back at this price, without bleeding into the mids. |
| Mids | 4.6/5 | Natural, slightly warm, and effortless. Vocals are front and centre with excellent weight and realism. |
| Treble | 4.3/5 | Smooth, extended enough, and very fatigue-free. Prioritises comfort over sparkle, which will suit many but not all listeners. |
| Technicalities | 4/5 | Good imaging and natural staging, but not class-leading. Designed more for enjoyment than analytical listening. |
| Build/Design | 4.8/5 | Extremely comfortable, disappears on the head. Typical high-quality Meze fit, finish, and long-term wearability. |
| Value | 4.5/5 | Strong value for those seeking musicality, comfort, and ease of use over pure technical flex. |
| Overall | 4.5/5 | An effortlessly musical headphone that fits perfectly between the AER and 109 Pro. Easy to live with and easy to recommend. |
Aussie Audiophile 
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