[glpsace]

They are amazing on both Elite and Empyrean.
Especially on Empyrean though

That is very interesting. The question I have is how much these new pads brings the Empyrean closer to the Elite? Are 1000€ difference still justifiable? I'm leaning towards the Empyrean to my preferred genre of music (Progressive Instrumental Rock and Metal) but still not sure 100% compared to the Elite.

 

[Ichos]

I don't have the Empyrean ATM but I think that the angled pads are going to work wonders for people who like a less emphasized mid bass.

 

[Ichos]

Two hours continuously and counting with the angled pads.
All sorts of classical music, no listener fatigue at all.
Must go to sleep though....

 

[betula]

Two hours continuously and counting with the angled pads.
All sorts of classical music, no listener fatigue at all.
Must go to sleep though....

To me the og Alcantara pads always sounded better in mids/treble compared to leather on the Empyrean or hybrids on the Elites; more open, more natural with better texture and more natural spatial cues. Yet, bass was a deciding factor in both cases. With og Alcantara pads bass just disappears or becomes too thin, rolled off. For this reason I always preferred leather on the Empy and hybrid on the Elite. Bass is more tactile, more impactful and tangible with better low-end extension. This for me in the end overwrites a slightly less natural upper frequency presentation.

Bass blooming bothered many people on the Empy, and I can see how the new pads solve that issue. I can even see myself preferring the new angled pads on the Empy. Yet, the question for me remains, whether I will prefer the angled pads to the hybrids on the Elite. From 2kHz upwards probably I will, and I do prefer a more linear bass going down to subs (like the Liric) instead of the mid-bass blooming Empy. So sub-bass extension and a more linear bass with slightly less mid-bass on Elite with angled pads might be welcomed by me, but I don't want to loose out on 'fun factor', or loosing that impactful and weighty, tangible bass I find so satisfying.

I think I might sell my untouched og Alcantara pads to ease the financial burden of the outrageously expensive new angled pads going for 200 euros.

 

[turbofeet]

To me the og Alcantara pads always sounded better in mids/treble compared to leather on the Empyrean or hybrids on the Elites; more open, more natural with better texture and more natural spatial cues. Yet, bass was a deciding factor in both cases. With og Alcantara pads bass just disappears or becomes too thin, rolled off. For this reason I always preferred leather on the Empy and hybrid on the Elite. Bass is more tactile, more impactful and tangible with better low-end extension. This for me in the end overwrites a slightly less natural upper frequency presentation.

Bass blooming bothered many people on the Empy, and I can see how the new pads solve that issue. I can even see myself preferring the new angled pads on the Empy. Yet, the question for me remains, whether I will prefer the angled pads to the hybrids on the Elite. From 2kHz upwards probably I will, and I do prefer a more linear bass going down to subs (like the Liric) instead of the mid-bass blooming Empy. So sub-bass extension and a more linear bass with slightly less mid-bass on Elite with angled pads might be welcomed by me, but I don't want to loose out on 'fun factor', or loosing that impactful and weighty, tangible bass I find so satisfying.

I think I might sell my untouched og Alcantara pads to ease the financial burden of the outrageously expensive new angled pads going for 200 euros.

I have ordered them from Romania yesterday. They should arrive next Tuesday. £42 import tax to the UK on top of Euro cost just so you are aware.

I will try them on both Meze headphones but I suspect they'll stay on the Empyreans.

I always liked the Alcantara on the Empyreans for that more airy, wide open sound. They still had plenty of bass for me thanks to the mid bass bloat.

I'm using the Elite Hybrid pads on the Empy at the moment and it also tames the mid bass bloat and adds detail but I'm sure I still prefer the Alcantara. As such, I think these should hit the sweet spot on the Empy just as the Hybrid does on the Elites.

 

[Ichos]

To me the og Alcantara pads always sounded better in mids/treble compared to leather on the Empyrean or hybrids on the Elites; more open, more natural with better texture and more natural spatial cues. Yet, bass was a deciding factor in both cases. With og Alcantara pads bass just disappears or becomes too thin, rolled off. For this reason I always preferred leather on the Empy and hybrid on the Elite. Bass is more tactile, more impactful and tangible with better low-end extension. This for me in the end overwrites a slightly less natural upper frequency presentation.

Bass blooming bothered many people on the Empy, and I can see how the new pads solve that issue. I can even see myself preferring the new angled pads on the Empy. Yet, the question for me remains, whether I will prefer the angled pads to the hybrids on the Elite. From 2kHz upwards probably I will, and I do prefer a more linear bass going down to subs (like the Liric) instead of the mid-bass blooming Empy. So sub-bass extension and a more linear bass with slightly less mid-bass on Elite with angled pads might be welcomed by me, but I don't want to loose out on 'fun factor', or loosing that impactful and weighty, tangible bass I find so satisfying.

I think I might sell my untouched og Alcantara pads to ease the financial burden of the outrageously expensive new angled pads going for 200 euros.

Have you seen any frequency response graphs?
You have pretty nailed the frequency response of the angled pads without hearing them!
The Elite will always have that "fun" factor, no matter the pads, but yes the new angled are more linear, slightly less visceral and a touch drier than the hybrids which also win in sub-bass extension.
Differences are subtle though, good to have both pads for different moods and music.
Ah, did I mention the detail retrieval and the micro dynamics?
Who said that the Elite isn't detailed?
You should try the new pads, detail retrieval is phenomenal but of course without sounding analytical.

 

[betula]

I have ordered them from Romania yesterday. They should arrive next Tuesday. £42 import tax to the UK on top of Euro cost just so you are aware.

That's crazy. I might just wait until some UK retailers receive stock.

Have you seen any frequency response graphs?

I haven't. This is what I have figured out from different impressions I read here and there.

 

[Toonartist]

That's crazy. I might just wait until some UK retailers receive stock.

I haven't. This is what I have figured out from different impressions I read here and there.

Try SCV Distribution who are the distributors of Meze gear in the UK.

https://www.scvdistribution.co.uk/home-audio/meze-audio/empyrean-earpad-set?v=1000

They said they'd have stock in this week and their website seems to suggest it may have arrived now.

 

[TheAttorney]

I have ordered them from Romania yesterday. They should arrive next Tuesday. £42 import tax to the UK on top of Euro cost just so you are aware.

About a week ago, my UK dealer said the UK stocks would arrive in 2 weeks, so very soon now.
He didn't have a firm price, but the indication was that it would be quite similar to the og Alcantaras, i.e. well under £200. We shall see. With double-digit inflation, everyone is hiking up their prices.

Edit: The UK distributer is quoting £199 inc VAT (same as the hybrids. The og Alcantara is £139)..

 

[Toonartist]

I was talking to the UK distributor this morning and they do have them in stock (link above) so knock yourself out if you want to grab a pair from the distributors above £199

 

[turbofeet]

I should have exercised just a little patience I guess

 

[Toonartist]

SCV was where I bought my ex demo Nirvana from and my Elites also came from them so I know to go straight to them for anything to do with Meze now. Worth bookmarking them as they do provide excellent service!

 

[TheAttorney]

The price from any UK dealer should be exactly the same as that from the UK distributor (who in this case seems to be a dealer too).

I've previously wondered why there's such a big price difference between the £199 hybrid and the £139 leather/vegan/og alcantara. On the face of it, there shouldn't be much difference in cost-of -production, and why should part-leather cost more than full-leather?

I'm wondering even more why the angled alcantara has been aligned to the top model, not the lower models.
Apart from the angles, is there something more complex in the construction of both hybrid and angled alcantara?
Or maybe just a marketing/profit ploy to indicate which pads Meze think are superior?

 

[FinHifi]

I've said this earlier on my post and I think I'm alone here:

My preference: OG Pads > Angled > Hybrid

Hybrids would be better if the material touching my head would be alcantara
Angled are closer to neutral and do have air but are missing the fun factor
Alcantara are fun, but i wish those had more space for the ears

 

[betula]

Loving the Elite on tubes.
Such a lifelike connection to music. Thoroughly enjoyable.