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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want the most musically engaging, serviceable wired headphone for focused listening at home, choose MEZE Audio; if you need wireless freedom, serious active noise cancellation and all-day battery, choose Sony WH-1000XM6. These two are not really rivals — they solve completely different problems. One is a wooden, open-back, wired instrument. The other is a travel-and-office tool with a battery. Let me break down exactly where each one wins, and where each one will frustrate you.
• MEZE Audio 105 Silva, biggest strength: an open-back, wired, walnut-and-zinc build with a detachable Kevlar-wrapped OFC cable and a fully serviceable, glue-free design — every part, from earcups to drivers, is replaceable.
• MEZE Audio 105 Silva, biggest trade-off: no noise cancellation, no Bluetooth, no battery. It's wired only, so it leaks sound in and out and needs a source with a headphone jack (or the bundled USB-C adapter).
• Sony WH-1000XM6, biggest strength: top-tier active noise cancellation with the QN3 HD processor and 12 microphones, plus a 30-hour battery with ANC on and a 3-minute quick charge for 3 hours of playback.
• Sony WH-1000XM6, biggest trade-off: it's a Bluetooth-first headphone with no headphone jack, so it depends on a charged battery, and its plastic/carbon-fiber build isn't user-serviceable the way the Meze is.
• Who each is for: pick MEZE if you listen critically at a desk or couch and value repairability and materials; pick Sony if you commute, fly, take calls and want the world switched off.
The 105 Silva is a wired, open-back, over-ear headphone. That single sentence tells you almost everything. Open-back means the ear cups aren't sealed, so sound escapes outward and the outside world drifts in — which is exactly why the soundstage feels airy and alive rather than boxed in. If you've only used sealed Bluetooth headphones, this is the part that will surprise you: instruments sit in space instead of on top of each other.
The build is the other story. Walnut wood and polycarbonate ear cups, cast zinc alloy hardware with PVD coating, a stamped manganese spring steel headband, velour pads and a PU leather headband. The design leans mid-century modern, and the radial grille weaving into the walnut is genuinely distinctive. More importantly, it's fully serviceable — no glue, just nuts and bolts. Earcups, headband, cables and drivers are all replaceable, so this is a headphone you can keep running for years instead of replacing.
The velour pads matter for long sessions. Velour is softer and more breathable than leather, so it resists sweat and heat over multi-hour listening. The 42 ohm impedance and 5 Hz–30 kHz frequency range make it easy enough to drive from most sources, and Meze includes a 1.8 m detachable Kevlar OFC twisted cable, a 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm gold-plated adapter, and a 3.5 mm to USB-C adapter with an integrated DAC/amp for phones and laptops without a jack. A hard pouch and cable pouch round it out.
Sony WH-1000XM6: Who It's For
The WH-1000XM6 is the opposite philosophy: a wireless, sealed, active-noise-cancelling travel headphone designed to disappear into your day. The headline feature is the QN3 HD processor paired with 12 microphones, plus an Auto NC Optimizer that adjusts cancellation in real time to your environment. Airplane engines, office chatter, café noise — that's the target. If your listening happens in loud places, this is the whole point.
Battery is the second pillar. You get 30 hours with ANC on and 40 hours with it off, and three minutes of USB-C charging buys about three hours of playback. You can even charge while listening with a separate cable. For long-haul flights and back-to-back meeting days, that's the difference between a tool and a toy.
Sound-wise, Sony leans on carbon-fiber drivers, LDAC codec support, Hi-Res Audio certification and DSEE Extreme upscaling for compressed files, with a 10-band EQ in the Sony Headphones app if you want to tune it yourself. Connectivity is modern: Bluetooth 5.3, multipoint pairing so you can hop between laptop and phone, LE Audio and LC3 support, and touch controls on the ear cups plus voice control. The 48 ohm impedance is nominal here — this is a battery-powered, self-amplified design.
The trade-offs are real. There's no headphone jack at all, so wired listening isn't an option the way it is on the Meze. Noise cancellation, touch controls and multipoint all live or die by the battery and the app. And the enclosure is carbon fiber, plastic and fabric — practical and light at 1.6 pounds, but not the repairable, materials-first object the Meze is. The bundle adds a USB wall charger and a microfiber cloth, and the box includes a connection cable, USB-C cable and a compact carry case.
Who should buy it: commuters, frequent flyers, remote workers on calls, and anyone who wants one headphone to do everything without wires. Who should skip it: purists who want a wired, open, serviceable headphone and don't care about ANC at all.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for critical, at-home listening → MEZE Audio. Open-back, wired, 42 ohm, 5 Hz–30 kHz — designed for a quiet room and a good source, not a noisy commute.
• Best for battery life and travel → Sony WH-1000XM6. 30 hours with ANC on, 40 with it off, and a 3-minute quick charge for 3 hours of playback.
• Best for repairability and longevity → MEZE Audio. No glue, just nuts and bolts; earcups, headband, cables and drivers are all replaceable.
• Best for calls and multitasking → Sony WH-1000XM6. Multipoint Bluetooth, Bluetooth 5.3, LE Audio, touch and voice controls make switching between laptop and phone effortless.
• Best for materials and design character → MEZE Audio. Walnut wood, zinc alloy with PVD coating, manganese spring steel and velour pads — a mid-century-modern object rather than a plastic gadget.
• Best for wired flexibility → MEZE Audio. A detachable 1.8 m Kevlar OFC cable, a 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter and a USB-C adapter with a built-in DAC/amp. The Sony has no jack at all.
• Best for one-headphone simplicity → Sony WH-1000XM6. If you don't want to think about cables, sources or amps, the Sony just works out of the case.
For most people reading this, I'd recommend the Sony WH-1000XM6. It's the more versatile headphone by a wide margin: noise cancellation, 30-hour battery, multipoint Bluetooth and touch controls cover commuting, flights, calls and casual listening without asking you to change your habits. In my opinion, if you own one headphone and use it everywhere, this is the one.
But I'd genuinely recommend the MEZE Audio 105 Silva to a specific buyer: someone who listens deliberately, in a quiet room, from a proper source, and wants a wired, open-back, serviceable headphone built from wood and metal. If that's you, the Sony's features are noise you don't need. If you're still weighing it up, check the current price on Amazon for both before you commit — the gap between them may make the decision for you.
FAQ
Sony, without question. The WH-1000XM6 uses the QN3 HD processor and 12 microphones with Auto NC Optimizer for active noise cancellation. The Meze 105 Silva has no noise control feature and is open-back, so it neither blocks nor isolates outside sound.
Depends where you listen. The Meze's velour pads are breathable and resistant to sweat and heat, which suits long sessions at a desk. The Sony's 30-hour ANC-on battery and 3-minute quick charge suit long sessions on the move. Different strengths for different rooms.
Yes — that's a core design feature. It's fully serviceable with no glue, just nuts and bolts, and the earcups, headband, cables and drivers are all replaceable. The Sony WH-1000XM6 isn't presented as user-serviceable in the same way.
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