Meze Liric shop-links.co/cgJ5OWpxlIj --AKG K361amzn.to/3HJTAxO WIIM Mini Streamer amzn.to/3tuRU6l ----Dan Clark Aeon X Closed Dan Clark X Closed massdrop.7eer.net/QObGqa ----Tidal Deal bit.ly/3siuqSF -----Crutchfield shop-links.co/cguPK8XEGmt -------Best Buy Deals shop-links.co/cf9yDZeYtUH --------amzn.to/3GkNaop ----CAM Store (New Products!) bit.ly/30Lgu4K ----apos.audio?sca_ref=552340.TY98BPcZ6P ---massdrop.7eer.net/qnOye5 -----Amazon Unlimited Music and Disney Plus Free Trial amzn.to/3DRAVj9 -------www.patreon.com/cheapaudioman

Randy it might be possible that you have mistaken magnesium for plastic. Due to the low density of magnesium it is easy to mistake it for plastic. The best way to tell the difference without taking it apart is, magnesium feels cold at room temperature or significantly colder than plastic.

I'm pretty sure that "plastic" is actually magnesium... I am betting the leather on the cups is actually leather too.

Randy Thank You for mentioning more affordable alternatives! Not all reviewers do that. Much appreciated.

love the precision measuring of the cables. it's this type of detail that keeps me coming back for more.

Even though the headphones cost $2,000, most people have probably spent about that much on headphones, going through the upgrade process from one to another. I am not even a headphone connoisseur, even though I like headphones, and I have bought well more than a dozen (serious) headphones over the many years. If you add up all the money you've spent on getting a noticeable improvement, step by step, you could have owned a state of the art headphone for that amount of expenditure. The lesson, is probably to save up for something really nice, instead of upgrading in small increments. You'll actually save money in the long run. A lot of higher end cable companies are making headphone cables. There's a guy somewhere who has a headphone for sale used, which usually goes for a little over $200 used, but he's asking about double the price because it has a $300 after market headphone cable that goes with it that he bought. It's been on quite a while without selling. Could it be that most headphone users are not cable improvement believers? Or believers in $300 headphone cables? Is a $300 headphone cable the equal of a $1,000 speaker cable? If its isn't, it should be, in that the length and thickness of the cabled is less and unlike stereo speaker cables, which require 2 cables, it only requires one that is split at the top. A lot of headphones have the 1/8 inch jack and your have to go to Best Buy or somewhere to buy a 1/4 inch adapter. So far, I have not seen any adapters with silly prices. But eventually some will come along I'm sure. Maybe from one of those companies that make $200 audiophile fuses or something. Maybe even Sith Audio. At least so far it seems that upgrading headphone cables have not gotten crazy like the expensive speaker cable and interconnect faze that's going on. I have bought very expensive interconnects and speaker cables in the past; which I'm happy with. But one cheap cable that equals them or bests them, would change me from an advocate to a dissenter concerning expensive cables. When buying anything audio that's expensive, including software like special pressing audiophile lp's, one should always ask, just how important and how much more enjoyment am I going to get out of this? Also, how often am I going to play it? I'm sure there are people who've bought $5,000 speakers and have played them less than 100 times, before getting rid of them. Were they worth over $50 a listen? As far as headphones, just how much difference can a cable make? Can it change a Hifiman 400 into sounding as good as a Hifiman Arya? If so, then the expensive $300 headphone cable is cheap. It all depends on how much of an improvement is gained. Probably less than 1% of us are making the absolute best decisions. We are pretty much all in the dark concerning all the possible variables. What is the connection between the vintage JBL 100 speaker, which was the subject of a previous question, and the Wagner classical composition from the 1800s; Ride Of The Valkyries? Another toughie.

Randy, you read my mind. Was going to suggest a change to "The Sometimes Not So chepaudioman". LOL

Sometimes you're just too darn silly 🤣. LOVE IT.... you and The Recovering Audiophile (AND his wife, I might add!) have brought FUN back into the hobby.

i LOVE how they look. the design is stunning, my heart)))

Their not made of plastic bruh their made of magnesium and steel 😕

I think it's important if you are reviewing cheap gear to listen to expensive gear to judge what cheap items match up the best with the higher cost. Gotta know which cheap item is best bang for your buck... and also good to do these reviews so everyone knows your opinion of the high end gear to know where you're coming from... ppl will complain if their ice cream is too cold so oh well lol. Great vid!

Randy. Thank you for supporting Andrew

My man loves Nina Simone, my dad had a few of her albums. I listened to them in high school. I was impressed he recommended them.

I'm sure someone mentioned this but no plastic on housing and hardware, it is magnesium.

The ear pads on the Liric are part of how they deliver the music. There is a hollow channel in the pad. It is why they are glued on. They are not a reference headphone, but lots of detail and are a real enjoyable listen.

Forgive me if this has already been mentioned, but if anyone is looking, Hart Audio will do a cable with long 3.5mm connectors for the 99 Classic. Just make sure you note that the cable is for the 99’s.

The LIric's are the best closed back's you can buy. The Style, the comfort, the sound.......there is nothing better, currently offered..

It's important to look closely at items from all price points in order to gain a sense of perspective and apply that to the budget gear you mostly feature.

How do these compare to the Sennheiser HD820? And doesn't Focal have closed back cans in this price range, too?

I can’t imagine spending that much on headphones. I am happy with my Drop 6XX and Qudelix 5k DAC amp. I prefer to spend that on my stereo.

Great job, the video quality is amazing

Watched this to see what the alternatives were. You didn’t disappoint. Keep up the good work. FWIW, I have the AKG 361 and although I really like them, I’m looking to take a step up. When I got a Geshelli amp, it took the AKGs to the next level. Now, I want to see what stepping up the headphones will do.

Love the channel so much I'm gonna send you my Wilson audio Wamm speakers for review. I think it"s the best deal in audio.

You mentioned the Dan Clark RT, would the AEON 2 Noire get close to the performance of the Meze? It's half the cost of the Meze.

$2000 headphones or $10 headphones. Randy, I'm so proud of the fact that you have worked so hard to get to this point where you are offered higher dollar gear to review. For me, I am looking forward to your continued reviews of truly affordable sub $200 gear. Thanks again for your efforts!

I do love AKG headphones. So much width in the soundstage. Excellent with movies, and salads.

The best alternative would be mrspeakers aeon noire.

Another great review Randy. I’m loving my SMSL s 9n thanks to your review. The frame is magnesium, but $2000 is A LOT of money. You can buy a great fridge for that.

I don't think any of it is made of plastic. I thought the parts that are light are made of magnesium

Don't you dare say i must buy those, LOL... Oh well you sold them. Going to order them hehe.

Nearly cut you off right away. Very glad I didn't. Another top-drawer review. Concise, humorous, and personal. A question, if you please... you mentioned that they were closed-back 'phones, and gave me the impression you preferred open-back units. As someone with a significant hearing loss, assuming that I heard that correctly, I wonder if you could flesh that out a little. Do open-backed 'phones sound better? Is that something that has eluded me for 40+ years? Thanks in advance Randy, don't ever change, and please carry on!

its magnesium

Hey a great thx for the review :D I am curious about the comparison with the focal elegia :o

Answer to what is the connection between the vintage JBL 100 speaker and the 1800s composition Ride Of The Valkyries by Wagner. Think 1983, the compact disc was here, but $1200 for those early cd players! You might have wondered and said to yourself "Are these things ever going to be incorporated into new automobiles, and will new car prices be more expensive?" "At least we have our trusty cassettes until and if that day comes." Maxell tape did a TV commercial that became one of the most famous audio commercials of all time. A guy in a brown leather jacket with a scarf is slumped back in a chair. His butler comes over to him with white gloves on and puts a Maxwell cassette up to his face and asks "The usual sir?" The butler them puts the tape into the player and through the JBL 100 speaker comes the opening chords of Wagners Ride Of The Valkyries. The sound blasting from the speakers is so loud that it flaps the seated guys pants, blows both his scarf and a lamp shade backward, along with his drink which he catches just in time before the sound blows it off the edge of a table. Another fun aspect of the commercial is that the long haired hippie looking guy in the chair wearing sunglasses hardly looked the classical music type. They played the TV commercial during shows with younger viewers like SNL. They did the commercial in the U.K. also, but used a different piece of music coming out of the JBL 100 speakers. For the non-jet setters, what music do you think it was? Clue: No glare time. The Rock and Rickles.

way to go helping a fellow audio youtuber . urdaman God Bless

Randy, funny I had thought shortly after you reviewed the High Priced Spread Meze that you should give the Liric's a d go, lol love the scream. And now that you mention the AKG's maybe run them through the Cayin R-2R Dac and give us a thought.

I think it's cool that you got a chance to listen to a pair of two thousand dollar headphones. Yeah they are way out of my budget, but I'd test drive them if given the chance. I like AKG's, they don't break the bank and they hold thier own. Great review. Can wait till you get to the Parasound. Have a good weekend!

So there will be no more meze as renaro was based in Ukraine? Right? Hopefully their factory isn't damaged 😭

I think the Meze Neo might be the most underrated thing Meze makes. I have a Stellia and I have an Aeon Noire. I legitimately love both for different reasons, but I still find a reason to use the Neo. Sometimes my brain doesn't want all the detail, sometimes I just want to vibe out effortlessly to the music. The 6XX and Meze Neo have been the two best headphones for that sort of experience. Would love to see you review the ZMF line as well Randy, they're not cheap, but they're a value compared to current flagship costs.

Magnesium not plastic.

2 Grand mate ❓ I'll stick with my cheapo AKGs 💯 love your videos ... 🇬🇧🇺🇸

I wanna see a comparison with this to the denon ah-d9200.

Hi, I'm a little curious, would you actually say that the Dan Clark Aeon X Closed generally sound better than the Hifiman Edition XS? Both are on a par in terms of price.

I found these particular headphones to pair really well with cocaine 👍🏻

Forget headphone increments, go leaps with 250$ cayin 6u with your phone. It fing rivals my 3k desk rig.

I'm just not a headphone guy...I've got a set of Tascams that I use occasionally, but I just enjoy speakers so much more. Can't imagine spending 2 grand on a set! Lol...but a great review. Thanks, Randall!

We gotta figure out how to get you some ZMF headphones.

Plastic:-) It is magnesium…

Or if you're unemployed broke and homeless like me and want open back headphones get yourself a HE-X4 for $99. With a bit of EQ in the right places you can get it sounding quite well.

How come everybody else (almost) don't like it?

WHAT COFFEE does Randy drink? We always or nearly always are told to sit back and have a cup of coffee while enjoying the reviews. But as far as I know Randy has never revealed exactly what coffee is in his cup. Is it Maxwell House (a cheaply priced coffee, a fitting equivalent of cheap audio gear). Is he sipping Sith? Or is it something much more exotic? Coffee is very important to me and I won't settle for anything but the best. I drink Yauco Selecto; Puerto Rico's best coffee, and considered one of the finest coffees in the world. I have never had Kopi Luwak. It is made from partially digested cherry coffee beans excreted out the digestive tracts of an animal called a civet. It's around $100 a cup. Larry will drink it, (if someone gives him one, or on a bet whether he'll drink it). Now here are some phono cartridges that most people wouldn't use (unless someone gives them one), because of their high prices. They were all good cartridges in their day, but way high end; most in the $600 to the $3,000+ range. Many of these were dream cartridges, more often dreamed about than owned because of their high cost. All but a few are moving coil cartridges, known for their clarity, openness, depth imaging, speed and transparency. All except for one; which is not a legitimate phono cartridge model but an imposter! Can you you pick out the imposter model phono cartridge among the ones listed below? The rest are legitimate vintage cartridges, mostly from the 1980's to fairly recent. Argent Diamond Miyabi Ivory GAS Sleeping Beauty Sonus Blue/Gold Talisman Sapphire Shinon Red Garrett Brothers Indigo Maroon Transfiguration Temper Monster Cable Alpha 2 Kiseki Blue Van den Hul Grasshopper Sumiko Blackbird ANSWER: to what different music the famous Maxell tape commercial used in Great Britain. The commercial there used the classical piece A Night On Bald Mountain by Modest Mousorgski.

Cheap audio?!

Randy if you are reviewing portable options... Perhaps a review of the qudelix 5k and fiio btr5 would be good options for your channel.. Low $ and high performance for their use cases. Ifi go blu is similar but more expensive. Fiio and Qudelix have more features and perhaps better use case but lesser build quality. The 5k has an awesome preset catalog for EQing.

they are overpriced and most likely closer to closed back perfection is verite closed, bought mine used with 2 headbands and 4 pairs of zmf pads for 2k...in perfect condition

2k, no thanks!

2K isn’t cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

I got my Focal Celestee for $500 used the Stellia pop up for $1750 (rare) and the ZMF Verite Closed can be had for $2k used. I would personally save for VC as they are the wordwork is art along with a wonderful warm sound. VC + Tubes = heaven.

Coffee with an 2k headphone??? I think Champagne ist necessary in the mug. So the highs are higher, the lows are lower. I expect for the future with products above 1k a black jacket and a nice tie arround mr. cheapaudioman

As soon as you said a 2k dollar....I was out

4xradiotehcnia s-90speakers+old piooneer somethink amp, you got very ponchy bass, maybe some acdc or even motörhead.. Trust me.. 🤣🤣🤣

2k cans....nah i'll pass...

Randy… I always suspected that you were unusual, but now there is confirmation. With a stated distance between outstretched hands of 4 feet, you are either about 4 feet tall or you have very short arms for your height. There is, or coarse, a third possibility, but I will not elaborate.

Randy, I'm disappointed. And you know I love you, but....if you're gonna put in a scream, it should really be a Wilhelm scream. Just saying. 😘

Magnesium, not plastic, at least put 5 minutes into research before making a video. “Plastic” on meze, no

It would a KZfaq channel called "Priceyaudioman" 😂🤣

The Cheap Audio Man????? No so much. Very misleading!

Cheap is a relative term….

Are they worth 2000 dollars?.. "eeeeeeh".. "eeeeeh".. Aka.. No.. Hell no.

What value for money they are not, I bet you can still hear the wife . .

far too expensive

2k what a shame I could see 1k. Niche marketing for the Meze fan. Let me try a Meze 99 first.

vegan leather... disintegrates in a year and a half... and then you end up with cracked plastic over your ears...

Ah, another Meze shill who doesn't get audio quality.