MEZE AUDIO ELITE - The New Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone - official thread
Sep 4, 2021 at 4:38 PM Post #166 of 5,566
Found this linked in another Empyrean Elite thread that was closed..

da37546737bc19912640dbdad2c66613591a6c6a.jpeg
 
Sep 4, 2021 at 5:20 PM Post #168 of 5,566
This is the new Gold Standard for me for Headphone Test tracks to include all of the Cliche Words/Phrases minus Vocals and it shows the New Elite to be more refined and complete in its sound delivery albeit with less air up top and crispness in the sub bass than the Diana V2 to my ears.

Para One - Virtual Satori
 
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Sep 4, 2021 at 7:01 PM Post #171 of 5,566
I am very much enjoying the current arrival of initial impressions from several users!
A quick comfort question: for those who mentioned their ears touching the drivers, is it distracting? (I don't have the smallest ears)

I was thinking of getting Empyreans a few days ago, and am currently trying to see if I should bite the bullet and get an Elite instead. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a local dealer in my country with the Elite even listed yet. I heard about the hp.shop German website offering the "dark mystery" edition, but am a little worried about both the lack of mention in the official Meze site, and the lack of terms & conditions in the shop site. Well, otherwise, there's still the official Meze shop...
That touching inside wasn't very noticeable for me. And when I switch to the older Alcantara pads they don't touch at all. The hybrid pad is less deep than the Empyrean pads.
 
Sep 4, 2021 at 7:11 PM Post #172 of 5,566
Seems pretty consistent these miss the mark Meze might have ambitiously pursued.

With Empy falling into pretty mediocre categorization, I wonder how you feel Elite versus Solitaire vocals fair, as well, timbre quality comparatively.

It has always felt the D8000 executed the true targeted Empyrean sound.
I feel that the Solitaire Ps have better vocals and timbre. If it wasn’t for the sub-bass flaw with the Ps, I would have kept them, and think they beat the Elite at everything besides sub-bass and bass impact.

I listened to the Elites all day yesterday, and if I’m being honest, it was a bit of a choir. I’m still learning the headphones and have yet to find a “stand out” feature other than being extremely easy to drive.

I’m going to continue making myself more familiar with the Elites before I decide to keep them or sell them. If I was demoing them in person at an audio store, I think I would have put them aside relatively quickly. I felt the same way about the Susvaras when I first got them though. After familiarizing myself with them for a longer time, I stated to really like the Susvaras (they have become my 2nd or 3rd favorite pair of headphones since).
 
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Sep 4, 2021 at 9:58 PM Post #173 of 5,566
2022 Edit: I've been using the Elites for most of 2022 by plugging them directly into the rear XLR taps of a Chord TT2 on high gain. IMHO this combo is far superior to any other with the Elites

old post from 2021 below:
-----

After playing with it a bit, the Empyrean Elite is good it's just very different than the original. I think this is a more "audiophile tuned" headphone for people who didn't like the original Empyrean.

My favorite thing in this hobby is taking one headphone and finding the perfect amp pairing with it. Here's my personal findings with the Elite

So far I've tried it on the following amps:
- GS-X Mini
- Garage1217 Project Ember
- DIY Noire with custom PSU and Silmic caps
- "The Beast" tube amp (built by blair chapman, if you want to google it)
- Auralic Taurus Mk2
- Gilmore Lite Mk2 (silmic cap modded) with golden reference PSU
- Kicker KX200.4 from circa 2005 (using pre-amps: DIY Noire, Gilmore Lite Mk2)
- Pass ACA 1.8 (using pre-amps: DIY Noire, Gilmore Lite Mk2)

On most amps it sounds very boring especially if you loved the original Empyrean; by comparison the Elite lacks bass and sub-bass and the lower treble seems a bit more forward.

My third favorite amp was the Taurus Mk2: in fully balanced mode, it sounded extremely detailed and had good stage/depth - notes magically appeared out of nowhere

My second favorite amp (combo) was the DIY Noire as a preamp into the Kicker KX200.4 (this is also my favorite amp for original empyreans, when driven by the RME ADI-2). not much detail, but huge open concert hall and punchier bass (especially because I have a slight bass boost dialed into the amp)

My favorite amp (combo) was the DIY Noire as a preamp into the Pass ACA 1.8, it's extremely impressive, extremely punchy, and to my ears pretty detailed. The bass is very present and exciting!

Keep in mind all my impressions are when also using a Clark Transducer mounted to my chair to fill in sub-bass (using a Rockford Fosgate sub amp crossed over around 120hz) so I'm not as sensitive to headphones lacking sub-bass anymore... if you really love sub-bass you might be disappointed with the Elite
 
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Sep 5, 2021 at 1:01 AM Post #174 of 5,566
After playing with it a bit, the Empyrean Elite is good it's just very different than the original. I think this is a more "audiophile tuned" headphone for people who didn't like the original Empyrean.

My favorite thing in this hobby is taking one headphone and finding the perfect amp pairing with it. Here's my personal findings with the Elite

So far I've tried it on the following amps:
- GS-X Mini
- Garage1217 Project Ember
- DIY Noire with custom PSU and Silmic caps
- "The Beast" tube amp (built by blair chapman, if you want to google it)
- Auralic Taurus Mk2
- Gilmore Lite Mk2 (silmic cap modded) with golden reference PSU
- Kicker KX200.4 from circa 2005 (using pre-amps: DIY Noire, Gilmore Lite Mk2)
- Pass ACA 1.8 (using pre-amps: DIY Noire, Gilmore Lite Mk2)

On most amps it sounds very boring especially if you loved the original Empyrean; by comparison the Elite lacks bass and sub-bass and the lower treble seems a bit more forward.

My third favorite amp was the Taurus Mk2: in fully balanced mode, it sounded extremely detailed and had good stage/depth - notes magically appeared out of nowhere

My second favorite amp (combo) was the DIY Noire as a preamp into the Kicker KX200.4 (this is also my favorite amp for original empyreans, when driven by the RME ADI-2). not much detail, but huge open concert hall and punchier bass (especially because I have a slight bass boost dialed into the amp)

My favorite amp (combo) was the DIY Noire as a preamp into the Pass ACA 1.8, it's extremely impressive, extremely punchy, and to my ears pretty detailed. The bass is very present and exciting!

Keep in mind all my impressions are when also using a Clark Transducer mounted to my chair to fill in sub-bass (using a Rockford Fosgate sub amp crossed over around 120hz) so I'm not as sensitive to headphones lacking sub-bass anymore... if you really love sub-bass you might be disappointed with the Elite
Where did the GS-X Mini land in that shootout if you don’t mind my asking?
 
Sep 5, 2021 at 4:02 AM Post #176 of 5,566
I think the best way to describe the Elite is as a less warm LCD-4z :thinking:
As a bass lover that's really looking for a great headphone that also has great build quality and isn't too picky or finicky, this doesn't sound like good news.

What's your feeling on keeping them so far? You've got a few headphones anyway, so are the EEs looking like they'll fit into that lineup anywhere so far or are they not exactly filling in any wants?

[Edit]: I just saw your comments above and they seem like what I was wondering. Hopefully they pull a Susvara on you :-/

Since you mentioned it, what are your top 5 headphones in order of preference?
 
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Sep 5, 2021 at 4:22 AM Post #177 of 5,566
After playing with it a bit, the Empyrean Elite is good it's just very different than the original. I think this is a more "audiophile tuned" headphone for people who didn't like the original Empyrean.

My favorite thing in this hobby is taking one headphone and finding the perfect amp pairing with it. Here's my personal findings with the Elite

So far I've tried it on the following amps:
- GS-X Mini
- Garage1217 Project Ember
- DIY Noire with custom PSU and Silmic caps
- "The Beast" tube amp (built by blair chapman, if you want to google it)
- Auralic Taurus Mk2
- Gilmore Lite Mk2 (silmic cap modded) with golden reference PSU
- Kicker KX200.4 from circa 2005 (using pre-amps: DIY Noire, Gilmore Lite Mk2)
- Pass ACA 1.8 (using pre-amps: DIY Noire, Gilmore Lite Mk2)

On most amps it sounds very boring especially if you loved the original Empyrean; by comparison the Elite lacks bass and sub-bass and the lower treble seems a bit more forward.

My third favorite amp was the Taurus Mk2: in fully balanced mode, it sounded extremely detailed and had good stage/depth - notes magically appeared out of nowhere

My second favorite amp (combo) was the DIY Noire as a preamp into the Kicker KX200.4 (this is also my favorite amp for original empyreans, when driven by the RME ADI-2). not much detail, but huge open concert hall and punchier bass (especially because I have a slight bass boost dialed into the amp)

My favorite amp (combo) was the DIY Noire as a preamp into the Pass ACA 1.8, it's extremely impressive, extremely punchy, and to my ears pretty detailed. The bass is very present and exciting!

Keep in mind all my impressions are when also using a Clark Transducer mounted to my chair to fill in sub-bass (using a Rockford Fosgate sub amp crossed over around 120hz) so I'm not as sensitive to headphones lacking sub-bass anymore... if you really love sub-bass you might be disappointed with the Elite
Your findings are pretty interesting for me because I also keep a stable of amps and headphone pairings.

Could you tell what your musical preferences are? Like which genres and which aspects you aim for in your gear, like soundstage, bass, etc. ? It'd let me get a better understanding of your feedback.

I also see that you sold the 1266 TC and LCD-4, can you share why?
 
Sep 5, 2021 at 5:08 AM Post #178 of 5,566
Pairs really well. The Elites are pretty efficient...much like the Empyreans. Haven't gotten into EQ yet. Will eventually do so.

Congrats on your new gear. It's a great piece of hardware.
Thanks! It's driving my LCD-X for now, hoping to get a Meze soonish!
 
Sep 5, 2021 at 5:43 AM Post #179 of 5,566
enjoying reading the impressions. love the pics of the two meze headphones side by side.

in terms of test tracks, anytime i have new gear, i listen to track 3 (Knee Play 2) of this recording by Mari Samuelsen. it is the most hard-hitting violin playing i have heard with outstanding sound. available in hi res (24-96).

cover.jpg
 
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Sep 5, 2021 at 7:03 AM Post #180 of 5,566
At this point I wonder if we have big unit variations on the Elite.

The impressions range from "more subbass but lesser midbass" to "significantly less sub bass" and everything in between.
 

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