Meze Audio Rai Penta Review

Meze Audio Rai Penta

$1099
8.7

Sound Signature

9.0/10

Build Quality/Design/Accessories

9.0/10

Value

8.2/10

Pros

  • Fantastic Build and Shells Design Quality
  • Organic natural coherent sound signature
  • Non fatiguing immersive listening sessions

Cons

  • MMCX connection, some people don't like this type of connector
  • Some Genres better aligned than others

We have been aware of Meze Audio’s products for the last few years but have not had the opportunity to experience them to date.

So were delighted to get the opportunity to experience their flagship earphone, the Rai Penta earphone.

The Meze brand was built out of a journey of passion by founder Antonio Meze to find a way to connect to headphone technology in the same way he developed a bond with his Fender Stratocaster guitar.

In our view, the music first approach is an honourable endeavour that keeps the soul and heart at the forefront of the brands evolution.

Making the quest for audio excellence that much more enriching.

Founded in 2011 in Baia Mare, Romania, the journey of Meze Audio was structured and very selective in the passionate pursuit for audio excellence.

If the components tested didn’t cut the grade they were not used. After 4 years of intense research, development and experimentation, Meze Audio reached a breakthrough moment that clearly put their brand on the map with the 99 Classics range.

Since then, the Meze Audio Brand has been taking their ‘no compromise’ approach to audio product development from strength to strength releasing many critically acclaimed products, making some of the other well established audiophile brands turn their heads and take serious notice.

Resulting in the culmination as they moved from strength to strength over the years, creating the beautiful looking 5 driver Rai-Penta universal earphone.

Now you know a little about the Meze Audio journey, lets have a look at the Rai Penta package.

Packaging/Accessories/Cables

The packaging is elegant looking with a matt and gloss black design style. Inside the box there is a balanced presentation with carry case drawing immediate attention due to its metal recessed logo plate and leather style surface.

The shells are held securely in place with the precise top foam section, this also shows the 8 sets of tips included:

  • 4 pairs of soft silicone eartips XS, S, M, L.
  • 1 double flanged eartips
  • 2 deep insertion double flanged eartips
  • 1 pair of comply foam eartips

This selection of tips covers a decent range of styles that should suite most people’s personal preferences.

Also included in the package are more accessories:

  • 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter
  • Airplane 2 pin adapter
  • Cleaning tool

Along with the MMCX braided cable made of silver plated copper custom wires, ending in high quality 3.5mm jack.

The case is a hard shell, ‘leather style’ in its design with a premium well machined Meze metal plate recessed at the top.

The case is just about pocket sized and holds its shape when pressed, so should be good enough to protect the Rai Penta shells and cable while on the go.

The cable is made of high purity silver-plated copper, with a solid branded Meze Audio rhodium plated 3.5mm single ended jack.

MMCX is the connector type and no other options are currently available for cable connectivity, as the Rai Penta is configured for MMCX only.

The cable is durable and feels well made so should maintain reliability. The 4 wire composition uses 20 Litz strands which is well respected industry wide for audio cables.  The MMCX plugs feel solid and when connected are secure, there is a memory flex aspect at the top of the cables to retain their curved shape for a comfy ergonomic fit around the back of the ear when being worn. A plastic chin slider is also present on the cable for those wanting a more personal set up.

We experienced no microphonics or unwanted vibrational anomalies while using the beautiful looking stock cable.

At the time of writing (Feb 2021) there is a limited special off were you get one balanced 2.5mm or 4.4mm upgrade cable worth $149. We did not receive one as part of the review unit, so cannot provide impressions on this currently. If we receive one in future we will add to this review.

Overall, the accessories are decent and are to be expected for this price tier of earphones.