Meze Audio ARTA Flagship Open-Back Planar Magnetic Headphones

The Meze Audio ARTA represents a new flagship for Meze—an open-back planar magnetic headphone created to push beyond the traditional headphone listening experience and deliver something closer to music occupying a real acoustic space around the listener.

At the center of ARTA is an entirely new driver developed with Rinaro Isodynamics: the MZ5 HΩ High Impedance Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver.

With a nominal impedance of 225 ohms, an ultra-light diaphragm, exceptionally low distortion and a frequency range extending from 3Hz to 115kHz, ARTA is a fundamentally different approach to planar magnetic headphone design.

This isn't simply another version of the Empyrean or Elite. ARTA introduces a new driver platform and sits at the summit of Meze's headphone lineup.

New Rinaro MZ5 HΩ Planar Magnetic Driver

ARTA uses the new Rinaro MZ5 HΩ High Impedance Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver.

Unlike conventional planar magnetic headphones that typically operate with low impedance and relatively high current, ARTA's 225-ohm impedance allows the driver to operate in a high-voltage, low-current configuration.

The design reduces heat and stress on the diaphragm while improving electrical linearity and maintaining exceptionally low distortion and dynamic compression across different listening levels.

New Parus ARTA Diaphragm

The MZ5 HΩ uses Rinaro's new Parus ARTA membrane, constructed from a lightweight composite material engineered for thermal stability.

The diaphragm itself weighs just:

0.10 grams

Its ability to resist thermal drift helps ARTA maintain consistent timbre and transient performance during extended listening sessions.

Dual-Shaped Voice Coil Array

ARTA continues Rinaro's distinctive approach of using different coil geometries for different portions of the frequency range.

The switchback coil handles lower frequencies from the upper portion of the driver.

A separate spiral coil reproduces the mid and high frequencies and is positioned to direct sound toward the ear canal.

The objective is precise timing, low distortion and a more natural spatial presentation.

A More Speaker-Like Presentation

Meze designed ARTA around a presentation that feels less confined to the listener's head.

The open-back architecture and new driver are engineered to create a large, naturally expanding soundstage where instruments occupy distinct positions within a three-dimensional acoustic space.

Bass is intended to retain real physical weight while imaging extends beyond the physical boundaries of the earcups.

It's an approach aimed at listeners who want the intimacy and resolution of headphones without the feeling that the music is trapped between two drivers.

225-Ohm High-Impedance Design

ARTA's 225-ohm nominal impedance also makes it less sensitive to variations in an amplifier's output impedance.

That means the headphone's fundamental tonal character remains more consistent across different amplification designs.

Tube and solid-state amplifiers can still bring their own character to the system, but the electrical interaction between headphone and amplifier has less influence over ARTA's intended tuning.

ARTA is designed primarily for capable desktop headphone amplifiers and DAC/amplifier systems, particularly those capable of delivering strong voltage output.

Two Different Ear Pad Tunings

Meze includes two ear pad designs that allow the listener to subtly change ARTA's presentation.

Duo Angled

The Duo Angled pads combine perforated lambskin leather and Alcantara and are shaped to produce a richer, more impactful presentation.

Slim Alcantara

The Slim Alcantara pads use two types of Alcantara with perforations inside the chamber.

They're designed for a more neutral presentation with a smoother, rounder upper-frequency balance.

Changing pads gives ARTA owners a simple way to tailor the headphone around their system, music and personal preference.

Angled Open-Back Acoustic Grille

ARTA's open-back grille uses a series of angled acoustic blades.

The structure protects the driver while minimizing the acoustic influence of the enclosure itself.

The geometry works together with the MZ5 HΩ driver to allow the transducer to operate without unnecessary restriction from the earcup structure.

Carbon Fiber, Metal & Leather Construction

ARTA combines precision-machined metal, carbon fiber and leather into a design that is unmistakably Meze.

The sculpted chassis has a more organic, almost architectural appearance than a conventional headphone, blending modern engineering with the Art Nouveau influence that has become part of Meze's design language.

ARTA is designed, tuned, quality controlled and assembled at Meze Audio's headquarters in Baia Mare, Romania.

Built to Be Serviced

Meze continues its emphasis on long-term ownership.

ARTA is designed so that its major components—including the:

• Drivers
• Earpads
• Headband
• Earcups

can be disassembled, serviced or replaced.

For a headphone built at this level, that's important. ARTA is intended to be a long-term component in a reference audio system rather than a disposable piece of consumer electronics.

Two Premium Cables Included

ARTA includes two 2-meter / 6.6-foot cables.

Both use silver-plated Linear Crystal Oxygen-Free Copper (LC-OFC) conductors with 161 individual conductors per strand.

Included terminations are:

• 6.3mm Single-Ended
• 4-Pin XLR Balanced

The headphones themselves use dual 4-pin mini-XLR connectors.

Having both cables included makes it easy to use ARTA with either conventional single-ended or fully balanced desktop headphone amplifiers.

Key Specifications

• Type: Flagship Open-Back Headphones
• Operating Principle: Open-Back
• Ear Coupling: Circumaural
• Driver: Rinaro MZ5 HΩ High Impedance Isodynamic Hybrid Array
• Driver Type: Planar Magnetic
• Driver Shape: Ovoid
• Driver Size: 102 × 73mm
• Driver Weight: 84g
• Diaphragm: Rinaro Parus ARTA
• Diaphragm Weight: 0.10g
• Active Area: 4,650mm²
• Nominal Impedance: 225 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 98dB SPL/mW at 1kHz
• Frequency Range: 3Hz–115kHz
• Maximum SPL: >130dB SPL
• Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.05%
• Headphone Weight: 495g
• Input Connectors: Dual 4-Pin Mini-XLR
• Included Cable: 2m / 6.6ft 6.3mm Single-Ended
• Included Cable: 2m / 6.6ft 4-Pin XLR Balanced
• Included Earpads: Duo Angled & Slim Alcantara
• Designed & Assembled: Baia Mare, Romania

ARTA Is a Headphone That Deserves the Right Electronics

ARTA's 225-ohm architecture makes amplifier matching a little different from the typical planar magnetic headphone.

It doesn't need an amplifier simply capable of dumping huge amounts of current into a low-impedance load. Instead, ARTA is optimized for high-quality desktop amplification with strong voltage capability.

And that's where a headphone at this level gets interesting.

Change the DAC, headphone amplifier or even the amplification topology and ARTA is resolving enough to let you hear what changed.

A great tube amplifier can take the system in one direction. A highly transparent solid-state amplifier can take it somewhere else.

ARTA becomes part of a system rather than simply something you plug into a headphone jack.

Experience Meze Audio ARTA at The Grid HiFi

The Grid HiFi is your Meze Audio and high-performance personal audio expert in Houston, Texas.

At this level, choosing the headphone is only half of the equation.

The DAC, headphone amplifier, source and cabling all influence what you'll ultimately hear—and ARTA is transparent enough that those choices matter.

The Grid can help you properly match ARTA with the right DAC, tube or solid-state headphone amplifier, streamer and cabling to build a complete reference headphone system around the way you actually listen.

And if you're comparing ARTA against other flagship headphones, there's really only one good way to make that decision:

Listen to them.

Contact The Grid HiFi to experience the Meze Audio ARTA and let us help build the system around it.