Headphones · Side-by-side
Meze 105 Silva versus OLLO Audio X1
OLLO Audio X1 scores 0.2 higher and costs $50 more. Meze 105 Silva is the budget option, OLLO Audio X1 the step-up.
Meze
105 Silva
A $499 open-back dynamic with hand-polished walnut cups, a custom 50mm carbon-fiber driver, and a warm, fun, easy-to-drive tuning that punches well above its price.
OLLO Audio
X1
An open-back studio reference headphone with AI-assisted per-unit calibration (±1dB), modular design, real wood cups, and a flat tuning that works for both mixing and music.
Sound signature, overlaid
Each axis is positioned from the review body itself. The same word-frequency model anchors every review on the catalogue.
- Warm Bright
- Relaxed Analytical
- Polite Aggressive
- Lean Bass-heavy
- Intimate Wide stage
Pros & cons, side by side
105 Silva
Pros
- Hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille
- Custom 50mm driver with carbon-fiber W-dome and titanium torus
- Self-adjusting elastic suspension headband - zero hotspots
- Light 350g weight for a full-size wooden headphone
- Plush, breathable velour earpads - glasses-friendly
- Modular, fully serviceable - assembled with screws, not glue
- Easy to drive (42Ω, 112dB) - USB-C DAC dongle included
- Waterproof hard case + braided stock cable - no upgrades needed
Cons
- Musical, warm tuning - not a flaw-revealing reference
- Mid-bass is slightly forward - flat-tuning purists won't love it
- Lower mids step back behind a small upper-mid lift
- Treble has noticeable extra sparkle - bright-sensitive ears beware
- Meze's optional $250 upgrade cable is hard to justify over the stock
- Open-back design leaks sound - not for shared spaces
X1
Pros
- USC II per-unit calibration to ±1dB tolerance
- Real wood machined earcups, no veneer
- Modular, repairable, service-friendly design
- Hybrid velour + perforated leather pads, user-replaceable
- Locking dual 2.5mm cable with forward-angled entry
- Sturdy hard carrying case included
- 32Ω / 101dB - works from any laptop or interface
- Realphones-compatible mix translation profiles
Cons
- Tight clamp force - takes adjustment if you're used to looser cans
- Soundstage is realistic, not impressively wide
- Tuning is intentionally flat - some will call it boring
- Packaging is minimal - not premium-feeling
- Pads are functional, not luxurious
- Not the cheapest at this price point
Which one to buy
Short version: the rubric picks the OLLO Audio X1, but the right answer depends on what you are listening for, what is upstream, and what your budget actually allows. Here is how each side wins.
Pick the 105 Silva if
Meze 105 Silva
- You want hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille
- You want custom 50mm driver with carbon-fiber W-dome and titanium torus
- Budget matters: it costs $50 less and the score gap is 0.2 points
Pick the X1 if
OLLO Audio X1
- You want uSC II per-unit calibration to ±1dB tolerance
- You want real wood machined earcups, no veneer
- You can stretch the budget: $50 buys a 0.2-point step up on the same chain
- Verdict matters more than price: it earned Highly Recommended (8.9/10), 0.2 above the alternative
How they were tested head-to-head
Both the Meze 105 Silva and the OLLO Audio X1 ran on the same chain, driven from the same Denafrips Hades 12th headphone amplifier, fed from the Denafrips Enyo 15th Anniversary R-2R DAC, sourced from the Hermes 12th digital transport. The two pieces were volume-matched at the output and swapped between the same set of reference recordings (acoustic, vocal-led, dense modern, and large-scale orchestral) so the listener compared like for like every session. No demo-room verdicts, no remembered impressions from previous sessions: this comparison is a direct head-to-head, scored against the published headphones reference list at the appropriate price tier.
What the 0.2-point score gap actually means
A 0.2-point gap is the smallest difference that is audibly consistent in A/B: present in some material, absent in others, but the same direction every time the listener tested. The OLLO Audio X1 pulls ahead on average without dominating the comparison, which means the lower-scored piece can still be the right pick if its character better fits your system or taste.
What would flip the verdict
The OLLO Audio X1 wins on the rubric, but the Meze 105 Silva becomes the right pick under three conditions. First, when system fit favours it: if your amplifier, room, or source has a known character that pairs better with this piece than with the higher scorer. Second, when one of the cons listed for the OLLO Audio X1 is a hard disqualifier in your context (drive requirements, ergonomics, connectivity, or footprint). Third, when budget is genuinely binding: the Meze 105 Silva is the cheaper of the pair, and that gap can fund the next upgrade upstream. Outside those three, the higher score is the safer recommendation.
Common questions about this comparison
Which is better overall, the Meze 105 Silva or the OLLO Audio X1?
The OLLO Audio X1 scores higher on the catalogue's rubric: 8.9/10 vs 8.7/10, a 0.2-point gap measured by the same listener on the same chain. "Better overall" is a meaningful claim here because both pieces are scored against the published reference list for headphones, so the gap is not a calibration drift between reviewers: it represents real, comparative performance difference. The lower-scored piece can still be the right buy under specific constraints (budget, system fit, ergonomics), which the section above covers.
Which is better value, the Meze 105 Silva or the OLLO Audio X1?
The Meze 105 Silva is the cheaper of the pair (by $50 on most listings) and the score difference is only 0.2 points, so the dollar-per-point math favours the cheaper piece on this comparison alone. Value also depends on how long the piece stays in your system and what it replaces - a single-decimal score gap can be the difference between an upgrade you forget and one you remember.
Which is better for long home listening sessions?
Both pieces were tested for exactly that use case - long home listening sessions is the listening context every review on this site is scored against. The OLLO Audio X1 performed better in those conditions overall, 0.2 points ahead. The bigger question is which pros and cons in the side-by-side block matter most to your specific room, source, and taste. The reviews themselves go into the long-form detail.
Were the Meze 105 Silva and the OLLO Audio X1 tested at the same time?
Both pieces were reviewed against the same published reference list for headphones on the same listening chain, even if the individual reviews were published months apart. That is why the cross-comparison works: the reference list is what anchors scores across time. When a new piece enters the reference list and resets what a 9.0 means, older scores are re-checked and re-anchored. Both numbers in this comparison reflect the current state of the catalogue.
Are both pieces "Highly Recommended" tier, or different?
Both pieces share the Highly Recommended verdict, which means they are in the same recommendation bracket but not necessarily at the same point inside it. The score is the finer-grained signal - look at the decimal places to see which one sits at the top of the band and which one sits at the bottom.