For those OGs out there, I had a pretty cool learning experience over the weekend. Using Alcantra pads, I added a very slight mid high shelf and then added a slight peak for presence. The resulting sound was tight and detailed and more resolving than anything I have heard. As time went on I...

I’ve been thinking about this kind of product. I love my C9, it’s fabulous. I listen to it mainly in class A solid state. I find the tube mode drains battery fairly quickly and while it does produce a bit more nuance and magic in the voice, it’s not quite enough to make me go to it every...

I spent time yesterday testing the hybrid pads on OG empyrean vs the stock leather and alcantra. The hybrids created more of a reference feeling to the music and brought out more detail and texture. In sounded amazing with classical music and in some voice tracks produced a nice distinct...

Hey there. This is my current favorite with leather pads: Low shelf at 250 hz, q=0.86, -2.2 db Peak 60 hz, q=1.38, 1.65 db Low shelf 50 hz, q=1, 0.45 db Peak 90 hz, q=1.62, 0.3 db What this does is reduces the upper bass and provides more separation for the voices and mids, while retaining...

Nothing beat spinfit W1 for me, including the crystals. The crystals sounded great but I couldn’t get a good seal due to their lengths. I know others didn’t have this issue and love the crystals.

I will add that the PEQ in the Hiby app on the N7 has made a huge difference for me, and has helped unlock amazing sound. To have that systemwide would be pretty cool.

I’ve gone from underwhelmed to overwhelmed. What an impressive piece of audio gear! Leather pads are back on. Did some surgical EQ across the spectrum and these bad boys are producing sound as good as six figure two channel systems. They thoroughly school my poor Mest 2 along every dimension...

Did some listening last night with the unit right out of the box (bought new). I listened to about three songs with the leather pads which I found too dark and immediately went to the Alcantara which were more balanced. Voice tracks in the tube setting were great, very 3D and no sibilance at...

Happy to join the Empyrean OG family today. It will be my first foray into full sized cans, moving up from the Mest 2. Using the Cayin N7 into the C9 amp which I adore. Ordered the Meze copper 4.4m cable just to get started. Using EQ, I’ve pushed the Mest 2 as far as I can take it and am now...

Thank you Andy! I do agree the N7 and C9 make a perfect match. I’ve since explored the various amplification types and can report the following: Class A tube: this setting works magic for voice music where there is a central vocal point like a singer. The tube makes the voices sound round...

Great seller. Met the seller locally for the transaction, and item was in exactly the condition described (excellent). He is very knowledgeable and I would happily purchase another item from him.

Hello all, I just picked up a C9 to pair with my N7 last night, and spent about 30 minutes listening in class A solid state. I thought I would share my initial impressions. First off the bat, the sounds opened up and became more natural, and voicing became more precise and emotional. The...

It’s probably bad form to reply to my own post, but i tested the Azla Sednafit light short tonight. I would place it somewhere in between the Azla xelastic and final audio E in performance. Vs the Spinfit W1 it doesn’t convey the same level of detail, emotion, or musicality across every...

I did a tip shoot out today with the Mest 2. Same three songs, one voice, on classical, one rock. Used same volume levels for each tip, here is how I rank them: Spinfit W1 > Azla Crystal > Azla X elastic > Final Type E. Some notes: Final type E - darker sound, nice mid bass, but mids...

I’ve never felt a vibration although I have read others claim to feel it. In fact, I can’t identify or “hear” the bone conduction contribution as I’ve read in other posts. At times I’ve speculated that the sense of realism in my Mest 2 or a sense of slam in the treble may be the BCD but I...

I posted this over in the Mest forum, but thought I would share here too. The N7 has brought me to a level of connection with the music which is event like, but it took some discover work to for me to find it. Specifically points 4 and 5. The PEQ in the Hiby app is spectacular. Here is the...

I’ve kind of moved away from the crystals because I find them too difficult to fit some days. The W1 is great fit every time and delivers the goods.

Brilliant response and info. I’ll put this on my list! Thank you for helping me learn.

I thought I would share some learnings on my DAP journey - what it has taken to achieve a sound where I can listen to a track I’ve heard 1000 times and be brought to tears and not have a desire to jump to the next track. This is hard to accomplish but I have managed it lately through the...

I had some travel time and vacation over the last week. Brought along the N7 and Mest2 and got a ton of hours on them. In particular I experimented with the PEQ in the Hiby app and have molded the sound on the Mest 2 to something I really enjoy more than the stock tuning. I’m using the...

I have the Ares 4 wire and found it worse than the Mest2 stock cable. So the Ares remains on my 3DT. I experienced a narrower soundstage and less dynamics with the Ares 4. YMMV

The biggest issue I have with the N7 is I can’t find enough time to enjoy it!

Amazon one day :). That was the spinfit w1 indeed, compared to the Azla Crystal. Embarrassing that I didn’t make that more clear - my apologies!

I only got about 30 minutes with my N7 and Mest 2, but initial impressions of the spinfits W1 are very good. The small size tip seals better than the crystal which can take some time to settle in. Definitely picked up on more detail and emotion on voices. The stage moves back a bit reminding...

Has anyone played with the PEQ in the latest Hiby software update? I was using it yesterday and think it’s such an improvement vs the stock EQ. Can really dial in specific frequencies and the shape of the curves and so forth. Well executed.