[RobbieBear]

RobbieBear - for clarity - you fixed your issue by grounding the amp?

Yes, simply attach a wire to ground the amp casing to a mains plug. No cost and works. Like you, touching the amp removed the hum so I knew it was a grounding issue.
If I had spent £250 on a Russ Andrews RF router, that would have had the same effect and I would have thought it money well spent but the wire and plug cost nothing, achieved the same effect and is easily moved to a different location so all good.

 

[venturer123]

I have been using my Elite with the Meze copper upgrade cable for almost a year. I have recently acquired the Meze silver plated upgrade cable.

Both of these cables are clear step up from the stock version with immediately noticeable increase in clarity. The stock cable sounds mushy and hazy compared to these.

I was curious to hear how much of an improvement the silver-plated cable is compared to the already nice copper upgrade cable.
In certain areas it is a clear improvement, but I am not sure if I like it better than the copper upgrade cable. The difference between the two Meze upgrade cables is smaller than the difference between the stock cable and the copper upgrade cable; but present.

The silver-plated cable sounds even clearer and more balanced. The extra clarity is most apparent in the treble region. This enhanced clarity contributes to the perception of a bigger space. The downside of the silver-plated cable is a slightly thinner sound which can be a little disappointing in the bass department depending on your amp/system. Nothing a little EQ couldn't solve though.
The copper upgrade cable is still a lot clearer than the stock one, but not as clear and airy as the silver-plated. The advantage of the copper upgrade cable over the silver-plated one is a slightly warmer sound with more bass quantity and impact, also a little sweeter and more forward vocals. Treble is not as crystal clear and detailed as it is on the silver-plated cable.

I can see now why Meze is offering two different upgrade cables. One is for ultimate clarity and details, while the other one is still clearer than the stock but maintains a bit more warmth and soul.

Anyone complaining about the Empyrean or the Elite that they are not detailed enough I would give them a silver-plated cable. It is a definite improvement even compared to the copper upgrade cable, although it comes at the price of a couple small compromises like a slightly thinner bass.

Early days, so I have to put more listening hours into the silver-plated cable, but I don't really want to keep both so eventually one of them will go.
I like the extra clarity of the silver-plated but also like the copper's warmth and bass body.

(Sorry guys, but I will never spend $1000+ on a cable, looking at the recommendations above. Or $3000+ on a single cable... That is straight out scary and outrageous! )

I reached a similar conclusion to you with regards to the 2 Meze upgrade cables. Silver-plated was definitely clearer (particularly in the treble region) and more balanced, although I overall preferred the Copper for the bottom end.

A shout out to @incredulousity who I believe earlier in the thread suggested the Wywires platinum upgrade cable. I took a punt and ordered blind a few months back, and was\am seriously impressed. It's clearly a step up from both Meze upgrade cables in the sound department, though undoubtedly not as nice looking (apologies for the not great pics).

To me it combines the strength of both the bottom end & body of the Meze Copper whilst retaining and perhaps even surpassing the clarity provided by the silver-plated. Also, not crazy money (I believe there's a 40% off sale at the moment). I don't post much but found your contributions to this thread really helpful in making a decision to pick up the Elites, so hopefully this is useful.

At the moment, really enjoying the combination with my Sony NW-WM1A, but am looking for a better portable\transportable solution for around the house use. Really keen to try the Elites on the HiBy RS8 or the A&ultima SP3000. Any other suggestions for a potentially high-end portable pairing for the Elites?

 

[The1Signature]

Any other suggestions for a potentially high-end portable pairing for the Elites?

wm1z = amazing. wm1zm2 should be even better.

 

[Arcamera]

To me it combines the strength of both the bottom end & body of the Meze Copper whilst retaining and perhaps even surpassing the clarity provided by the silver-plated. Also, not crazy money (I believe there's a 40% off sale at the moment).

Thanks for the heads up. Went and ordered. I don't usually go in for silver/silver plate/platinum? but I'm open to experimenting with a different flavor. The price seems good.

 

[venturer123]

wm1z = amazing. wm1zm2 should be even better.

Love the Sony sound, but the European regulations on maximum sound pressure levels is an issue. The EU version seems unreasonably volume capped (and I'm not keen to buy one from Asia\US and then have to deal with any potential warranty issues).

Sony has apparently interpreted these rules more strictly than other vendors, and it appears they have the lowest sound level of all DAP manufacturers. On the EU version, Sony has removed the High Gain function on the m2, which I'd consider a must-have for driving full-size headphones, although the Elites are relatively easy to drive.

 

[oniel459]

Love the Sony sound, but the European regulations on maximum sound pressure levels is an issue. The EU version seems unreasonably volume capped

How enforced is this in Europe in general?

 

[The1Signature]

Love the Sony sound, but the European regulations on maximum sound pressure levels is an issue. The EU version seems unreasonably volume capped (and I'm not keen to buy one from Asia\US and then have to deal with any potential warranty issues).

Sony has apparently interpreted these rules more strictly than other vendors, and it appears they have the lowest sound level of all DAP manufacturers. On the EU version, Sony has removed the High Gain function on the m2, which I'd consider a must-have for driving full-size headphones, although the Elites are relatively easy to drive.

Of course you would need a non EU version to enjoy the Elite.

 

[srkbear]

Request for ideas / suggestions.

I recently headed back to music and treated myself to headphone system. Meze Elite, TT2 and MScaler.

Whilst generally exceedingly happy, I have been plagued with an irritating hum / buzz that occurs if my ears touch the inner grill of the phones. After discussion with Chord, this is some sort of ground loop that can happen with phones that have not insulated / isolated the inner grill. There are a number of ways I can remove the hum:

• lift the phones slightly from my head (ear no longer contacting the inner grill)
• gound myself by touching the amp case
• Use the alcantara ear pads (deeper so ear no longer touching)
• ground myself by touching anything earthed

None of the above seem like an ideal solution, so thought I would enquire here to see if there are any other suggestions.

PS - Chord have been very helpful in narrowing this down, and indeed stated this has been seen before, in early audeze phones, but that was addressed. I have contacted meze but as yet have not had a response.

PPS - same issue with a Hugo 2, no issue with other phones

The simple way to sort this out is to go buy a basic, inexpensive multimeter at Home Depot. Set it on the lowest scale voltage setting. Touch one end to a metal surface on the chassis of your Chord, and the other to the sleeve of any of the outputs—preferably all of them if you want to know where the problem is coming from.

If you get a voltage across these two contact points, even a small voltage, your Chord has a faulty, or “lifted” ground—in other words a loop. It isn’t an issue with the headphones in this case. It means Chord owes you a new unit, or a repair.

It isn’t especially dangerous to operate the unit in these circumstances (although depending on the amp’s output voltage, it can be). But it’s going to introduce noise and hum into your circuit along with gifting you those nippy “zaps”.

I had this issue after opening up my iFi Pro iCAN Signature to roll the tubes, and discovered that I hadn’t secured the ground terminal that attaches to one of the internal screws on the chassis enclosure. Pain in the ass. And beware to the uninitiated opening up your amps to fiddle—there’s filter caps in there that hold a whopping charge that can indeed do you in if you touch them without discharging them first.

With guitar amps (which I build as a hobby), it’s easy to discharge the filter caps—you just leave your guitar plugged in, keep the volume pot open as you unplug it, and keep playing until you hear the sound decay and spittle out. But with digital DAC/amps, once you pull the plug, the signal chain is shut off from the amplifier, so you can’t easily discharge the caps. Just a friendly warning to tread cautiously when opening up your gear—it’s important for safety reasons to know your way around under the hood!

 

[betula]

EISA award best high-end headphone 2022/2023.

Absolute Sound Golden Ear awards 2022: best headphones.

 

[srkbear]

EISA award best high-end headphone 2022/2023.

Absolute Sound Golden Ear awards 2022: best headphones.

Mine are scheduled to arrive tomorrow!

Can’t wait to hear these compared to the HiFiMan HEKse and HEKV2 I’ve been auditioning for the last week or so, both of which have phenomenal detail and excitingly physical low end but some brightness that I’m concerned might get fatiguing. Everything I’ve heard suggests that these Elites are the farthest thing from fatiguing there is…

 

[turbofeet]

Mine are scheduled to arrive tomorrow!

Can’t wait to hear these compared to the HiFiMan HEKse and HEKV2 I’ve been auditioning for the last week or so, both of which have phenomenal detail and excitingly physical low end but some brightness that I’m concerned might get fatiguing. Everything I’ve heard suggests that these Elites are the farthest thing from fatiguing there is…

Yes these continue to impress me.

I recently moved to full silver cables and whilst it gives even more detail the brightness is still well tamed.

They really are excellent.

A few people have mentioned this track...the bass really kicks and the the soundstage is really superb:


Listen to Jazz Variants by O-Zone Percussion Group on Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/track/2367658

Works very well on the Elite

 

[Contrails]

Anyone own the D8000/D8000 pro along with the Elites?

 

[betula]

Anyone own the D8000/D8000 pro along with the Elites?

Not anymore, but I used to own the D8000, Empyrean and Elite at the same time.

I haven't heard the D8000pro, which said to be better balanced and a little more resolving than the D8000. The D8000 has big and great bass, but the soundstage is not huge and runs out of air in the upper mids/treble. Great and fun sounding headphone but I couldn't get used to the comfort. Pads feel flimsy and move around. The 600g+ LCD-X feels comfier than the 523g D8000 as it sits better on the head.
IMO the Elite is a far superior headphone to the original D8000. More resolving, a lot more spacious, I find it better in pretty much everything. The pro version probably would be a closer comparison, but I haven't heard that one. Comfort alone could be a huge decisive factor here.

 

[Contrails]

Not anymore, but I used to own the D8000, Empyrean and Elite at the same time.

I haven't heard the D8000pro, which said to be better balanced and a little more resolving than the D8000. The D8000 has big and great bass, but the soundstage is not huge and runs out of air in the upper mids/treble. Great and fun sounding headphone but I couldn't get used to the comfort. Pads feel flimsy and move around. The 600g+ LCD-X feels comfier than the 523g D8000 as it sits better on the head.
IMO the Elite is a far superior headphone to the original D8000. More resolving, a lot more spacious, I find it better in pretty much everything. The pro version probably would be a closer comparison, but I haven't heard that one. Comfort alone could be a huge decisive factor here.

Thank you!!

 

[srkbear]

Elites arrived late last night. Haven’t had much opportunity to audition them yet, but they’re up against HFM HEKse/HEKV2s which I’m also checking out.

At first glance the build quality and presentation is nothing short of insane. Comfort is a draw between the three—they all float weightlessly on your head. The HFMs may have the slight edge on comfort in that the pads don’t touch your ears at all—there is a zero sweat factor.

The Elites definitely earn their zero fatigue reputation thus far. The HEKse is likely going to win in detail retrieval. For me it’ll come down to tuning, particularly the physicality of the bass. More to come…