MEZE AUDIO ELITE - The New Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone - official thread

[Svperstar]

HiFiMan Shangri La Junior - On the contrary.. I was impressed by these. They sounded so engaging.

I heard these at a meetup out of a heavily modified Stax amp, I don't recall the model Stax amp. Coming from my Koss electrostats I expected to be blown away, I wasn't. I put on the Stax L700 mk2 and was impressed by the amount of bass the Stax put out compared to the Shang Jr. I have no idea if the L700 mk2 was modded or not.

Sennheiser HD650 - I already own HD600 so I was curious about how these compare. Meh. I like the HD600 more..

When I got into this hobby 20 years ago saying the 580/600 was as good as the 650 would get you labeled as not having expensive enough gear or just having bad ears. How times have changed. Love my 580 after all these years.

 

[LoryWiv]

Has anyone tried Duo pads on Elite in comparison to Angled Alcantara?

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Behold, an EQed Meze Elite playing back a 1/12 octave multitone at 92.3 dBA with virtually no intermodulation distortion above the noise floor:

More details in https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hifiman-he1000-se.886228/post-17865104 (post #4,789).

 

[Mr X]

Has anyone tried Duo pads on Elite in comparison to Angled Alcantara?

Nope not yet but I will be able to next week when my Empy2 arrive.

 

[LoryWiv]

Nope not yet but I will be able to next week when my Empy2 arrive.

Great! I will look forward to your comparative impressions. Thanks @Mr X!

 

[bunnygal23]

Nope not yet but I will be able to next week when my Empy2 arrive.

Looking forward to your impressions!

 

[x7007]

I'm planning on buying them. are they 100% different than Sennheiser HD800s and Focal Utopia 2022?

 

[MrHaelscheir]

I'm planning on buying them. are they 100% different than Sennheiser HD800s and Focal Utopia 2022?

Tonally, absolutely, as can be heard as well as seen in frequency response measurements, and as I had measured in the HE1000se thread, these headphones' distortion performance is ridiculously good. If you are willing to delve into fine-tuned EQ, I would highly recommend this model as being able to take EQ exceptionally well with a spaciousness competitive with the HE1000se. Some folks may complain about the relaxed upper midrange and lower midrange bloat for the stock hybrid pads, but you can really make these headphones sound exquisitely clear and detailed with EQ. The exceptional sub-bass extension and distortion performance is something you will likely miss with the HD 800 S and 2022 Focal Utopia. The build quality is also exceptional.

 

[x7007]

Tonally, absolutely, as can be heard as well as seen in frequency response measurements, and as I had measured in the HE1000se thread, these headphones' distortion performance is ridiculously good. If you are willing to delve into fine-tuned EQ, I would highly recommend this model as being able to take EQ exceptionally well with a spaciousness competitive with the HE1000se. Some folks may complain about the relaxed upper midrange and lower midrange bloat for the stock hybrid pads, but you can really make these headphones sound exquisitely clear and detailed with EQ. The exceptional sub-bass extension and distortion performance is something you will likely miss with the HD 800 S and 2022 Focal Utopia. The build quality is also exceptional.

It's so hard to decide, I heard now there are the ELITE vs Focal Utopia 2022 vs Dennon 9200. How will I able to choose straight from specification alone? There are not many places I can actually go and hear them?

I am upgrading from HD800s with MayFlower AMP OBJ 2+Sennheiser GSX1000 USBSound Card to one of the Headphones with Eversolo DAC Z8 changing from 3.5 to Balanced XLR/TRS with a totally different sound chip compared to the GSX, which is ESS Sabre ES9038Pro.

I prefer to go over to the ELLITE because the Planar, but people say the Dennon 9200 is better than Focal, and some say Focal is unmatched. I am confused.

 

[betula]

It's so hard to decide, I heard now there are the ELITE vs Focal Utopia 2022 vs Dennon 9200. How will I able to choose straight from specification alone? There are not many places I can actually go and hear them?

I am upgrading from HD800s with MayFlower AMP OBJ 2+Sennheiser GSX1000 USBSound Card to one of the Headphones with Eversolo DAC Z8 changing from 3.5 to Balanced XLR/TRS with a totally different sound chip compared to the GSX, which is ESS Sabre ES9038Pro.

I prefer to go over to the ELLITE because the Planar, but people say the Dennon 9200 is better than Focal, and some say Focal is unmatched. I am confused.

The d9200 is not on the same level as the Elite and the Utopia. It is a decent little closed back, but sounds small, boxy and flat compared to those open back flagships.
Between the Elite and Utopia it comes down to whether you prefer a smooth and laid back sound or a punchy and dynamic one.

 

[x7007]

The d9200 is not on the same level as the Elite and the Utopia. It is a decent little closed back, but sounds small, boxy and flat compared to those open back flagships.
Between the Elite and Utopia it comes down to whether you prefer a smooth and laid back sound or a punchy and dynamic one.

Thanks for clearing that up. if you had to choose, more Gaming bounded to Movies using DTSX in windows to get Atmos spatial ( music is not specific because music we have in games and movies, and many times the music in games and movies change their direction for the soundstage making it more realistic than just 2 stereo music) I aim more for the surround realistic and the broadband of all sound I could get from it . Which headphones would you take? including the possibility to replace the ELITE with another ear pads to be able to maybe get different sound that I like better. I never hear anything else than HD800s and Beyer dynamic DT990 600 ohms.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I imagine the larger soundstage of the Elite would work better for movies and games. Then again, I wouldn’t personally get such nice headphones if music wasn’t a priority.

 

[bunnygal23]

Which headphones would you take? including the possibility to replace the ELITE with another ear pads to be able to maybe get different sound that I like better. I never hear anything else than HD800s and Beyer dynamic DT990 600 ohms.

I found the Elites to have the larger stage compared to the Utopia from a brief demo. I only use my Elites for music but they have a special way of staging not only in front of you and on the side but also behind you? I have observed this 3D staging on several tracks. Like ckhirnigs said this could make gaming and movies more immersive but I am sure there might be more specific gaming/movie HPs out there, a planar would be a good choice though.

 

[krude]

Thanks for clearing that up. if you had to choose, more Gaming bounded to Movies using DTSX in windows to get Atmos spatial ( music is not specific because music we have in games and movies, and many times the music in games and movies change their direction for the soundstage making it more realistic than just 2 stereo music) I aim more for the surround realistic and the broadband of all sound I could get from it . Which headphones would you take? including the possibility to replace the ELITE with another ear pads to be able to maybe get different sound that I like better. I never hear anything else than HD800s and Beyer dynamic DT990 600 ohms.

I would probably ask what is wrong with the HD800s to make you spend this amount of money?

Utopia imo is more of an audiophile music headphone and it requires a better chain to get the most out of it. Elite should be a lot more forgiving in that regard. But not sure if it will be a lot better than HD800s which is a terrific headphone and great value. I would also consider something like Arya, HE1000 variants etc.

 

[betula]

Thanks for clearing that up. if you had to choose, more Gaming bounded to Movies using DTSX in windows to get Atmos spatial ( music is not specific because music we have in games and movies, and many times the music in games and movies change their direction for the soundstage making it more realistic than just 2 stereo music) I aim more for the surround realistic and the broadband of all sound I could get from it . Which headphones would you take? including the possibility to replace the ELITE with another ear pads to be able to maybe get different sound that I like better. I never hear anything else than HD800s and Beyer dynamic DT990 600 ohms.

Out of these probably the Elite, as that has the biggest soundstage and excellent imaging with the angled pads. These TOTL headphones were developed with music in mind though, so for gaming as a priority they feel a bit overkill to me. But if you have the dough, go for it and enjoy! I briefly tried a couple of games with the Elite (I am not a gamer) and the spacious, natural sound and accurate sound placing/positioning creates a fun experience, but it feels a bit like not using the headphones to their full potential (aka music listening).