Headphones · Side-by-side
Meze 105 Silva vs OLLO Audio X1
The OLLO Audio X1 scores 0.2 higher and costs $50 more - the Meze 105 Silva is the budget pick, the OLLO Audio X1 the step up.
Our pick OLLO Audio X1 The X1 is 0.2 ahead on the rubric, tested on the same chain by the same listener.
See the case for eachThe short version
The Meze 105 Silva scores 8.7/10 (Highly Recommended) and the OLLO Audio X1 scores 8.9/10 (Highly Recommended), both headphones tested on the same reference chain. At $499 against $549, the Meze 105 Silva saves you $50. The 105 Silva's headline strength, per its review: Hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille. The X1's: USC II per-unit calibration to ±1dB tolerance. The OLLO Audio X1 is the stronger piece on the rubric.
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.
Higher score
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.
The overlap
Common ground & where they differ
What kind of thing each one is, before any question of which is better: driver, form factor, price bracket, origin, taken from each review's own tags.
Both share
Only the 105 Silva
Only the X1
The verdict
Which one to buy
Short version: the rubric leans OLLO Audio X1 - but what's upstream, what you listen for, and what your budget allows can each flip it. Here's the case for each.
The case for the 105 Silva
Meze 105 Silva
- Hand-polished walnut earcups with intricate radial grille
- Custom 50mm driver with carbon-fiber W-dome and titanium torus
- Cheaper by $50, and 0.2 behind on the rubric
The case for the X1
OLLO Audio X1
- USC II per-unit calibration to ±1dB tolerance
- Real wood machined earcups, no veneer
- Spending $50 more buys a 0.2-point step up on the same chain
- Higher score, plainly - Highly Recommended, 8.9/10, 0.2 clear of the Meze 105 Silva
Sound character
Sound signature, overlaid
Positions come from the language of each review, scored by the same word-frequency model used on every piece in the catalogue.
| Axis | Meze 105 Silva | OLLO Audio X1 |
|---|---|---|
| Warm to Bright | sits near neutral | leans bright |
| Relaxed to Analytical | sits near neutral | sits near neutral |
| Polite to Aggressive | leans aggressive | leans aggressive |
| Lean to Bass-heavy | leans bass-heavy | leans lean |
| Intimate to Wide stage | leans wide stage | leans wide stage |
The numbers
Specs, side by side
The 4 specs both reviews record come first, so the rows you can actually compare are at the top. Manufacturer figures unless a measured value is noted; N/A means we haven't recorded that spec yet.
| Spec | Meze 105 Silva | OLLO Audio X1 |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | 50 mm carbon-fiber dynamic | Dynamic |
| Impedance | 42 Ω | 32 Ω |
| Sensitivity | 112 dB | 101 dB |
| Frequency response | 5 Hz - 30 kHz | 5 Hz - 22 kHz |
| Weight | 350 g | N/A |
| Connector | N/A | Dual 2.5 mm (locking) |
Trade-offs
Pros & cons, side by side
105 Silva
Pros
- Waterproof hard case + braided stock cable - no upgrades needed
- 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
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
- Sturdy hard carrying case included
- 32Ω / 101dB - works from any laptop or interface
- Realphones-compatible mix translation profiles
- USC II per-unit calibration to ±1dB tolerance
- Real wood machined earcups, no veneer
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
Method
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 HIFIMAN Serenade amp/DAC (Himalaya Pro R2R), fed bit-perfect from the Hermes 12th digital transport over USB. Both were volume-matched at the output, then run through one unchanging set of reference tracks - acoustic, vocal-led, dense modern, and large-scale orchestral - so nothing in the comparison moved except the hardware. Neither score comes from a show floor or a memory of last year. Both were placed against the published headphones reference list at their own price tier, in the same room, in the same weeks.
What the 0.2-point score gap actually means
0.2 points is a real gap but a narrow one. It shows up on some tracks and disappears on others, and it never reverses: the OLLO Audio X1 is ahead whenever it is audible at all. That is small enough that fit, comfort, or price can legitimately outweigh it.
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 - your amplifier, room, or source has a character that pairs better with this piece than with the higher scorer. Second, when one of the cons listed against 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 saving can fund the next upgrade upstream. Outside those three, the higher score is the safer bet.
Full methodology and disclosure live on the about page. The reference chain and the scoring rubric behind both scores are published on the homepage, and each review carries its own head-to-head list and publication date, plus the date it was last re-checked against the rest of the catalogue.
Common questions
Common questions about this comparison
What's the real-world difference between the Meze 105 Silva and the OLLO Audio X1?
Scores first: the OLLO Audio X1 takes it 8.9 to 8.7, a 0.2 gap. Where they really split is voicing: the 105 Silva runs clearly more bass-forward, the X1 leaner. Each review flags something different - the 105 Silva's "Easy to drive (42Ω, 112dB) - USB-C DAC dongle included" against the X1's "32Ω / 101dB - works from any laptop or interface". Those, not the decimal, are the real decision.
Which should you buy, the Meze 105 Silva or the OLLO Audio X1?
Default to the OLLO Audio X1 - it's 0.2 ahead - but on a sympathetic system the Meze 105 Silva, $50 cheaper, closes most of it. Take the Meze 105 Silva if its character or your chain leans that way; otherwise the OLLO Audio X1.
The bigger picture
Where they rank
This page is the head-to-head - the buying guides put both of these up against the whole field.