[bunnygal23]

As I've said in the past, for me Elites have a particular synergy with tubes, much better than solid state.

Another great pairing I heard was my Elites on the Felix Envy, also did really well on the Woo WA33, for some reason the Elites seem to do well on big tube amps. I also got great synergy with the Violectric amps too though especially the V222 and V281.

 

[AntonRisto]

Anyone got a chance to try the Elite with the Duo pads of the Empyrean II at CanJam?

 

[jlbrach]

Surprised that this thread is so quiet lately. I was stagnant in my set up for a while and was considering moving the Elites out maybe for something new, but decided to try and swap out my Ferrum stack with the WA23 Luna (after lushing over it at CanJam) and man, the synergy here is incredible. Elites already are stunningly musical by default, but by adding the WA23's technically romantic sound, you get a boost in dynamics, out-of-head staging with just an addicting timbre---musical bliss.

Don't think these will be going anywhere anytime soon now

the wa23 is a beautiful amp for sure

 

[bunnygal23]

Anyone got a chance to try the Elite with the Duo pads of the Empyrean II at CanJam?

I did, similar to CJ Dallas it was pretty loud so it was a little hard to hear any significant differences, it was also tough to do a lot of A/B pad swaps because people were waiting behind me. Managed to do a couple and the main thing that stood out to me was that the Duo pads had a bit more bass than the AA and similar to the Hybrids. Mids and treble seemed similar to the AA, maybe slightly more forward in the upper mids, definitely less warm than the Hybrids. Couldn't really notice any soundstage differences.

I talked to the rep and he said they plan to release them in a few weeks. Honestly I've really been enjoying my Elites with the AA pads recently but it's always nice to have more options for pad swapping.

 

[arielext]

Elite; the headphone that makes we wonder on which island I rather be stranded on with the Elite instead of the other way around

 

[AntonRisto]

I did, similar to CJ Dallas it was pretty loud so it was a little hard to hear any significant differences, it was also tough to do a lot of A/B pad swaps because people were waiting behind me. Managed to do a couple and the main thing that stood out to me was that the Duo pads had a bit more bass than the AA and similar to the Hybrids. Mids and treble seemed similar to the AA, maybe slightly more forward in the upper mids, definitely less warm than the Hybrids. Couldn't really notice any soundstage differences.

I talked to the rep and he said they plan to release them in a few weeks. Honestly I've really been enjoying my Elites with the AA pads recently but it's always nice to have more options for pad swapping.

Thanks for the impressions! The Duo pads sound very promising to me, since I quite enjoy the AA pads for their added clarity, but the reduced bass makes me go back to the Hybrid pads with most of my listening.

 

[Quarzer]

The Elite had to leave after I loved them for the last 6 months? But what happened? Empy II happened!
For my taste it is so much more fun with only a tiny loss in details. You want a bit of fun and V shape? Don't force the Elite doing so with the DuoPads of the Empy, just take the Empy and never look back.

If you need the comfort of Meze and liking details? --> Elite / Fun and Punch --> Empy II

 

[AntonRisto]

The Elite had to leave after I loved them for the last 6 months? But what happened? Empy II happened!
For my taste it is so much more fun with only a tiny loss in details. You want a bit of fun and V shape? Don't force the Elite doing so with the DuoPads of the Empy, just take the Empy and never look back.

If you need the comfort of Meze and liking details? --> Elite / Fun and Punch --> Empy II

Maybe I should try out the Empy II, but I mostly own the Elite for their airy and big planar sound, and, at least from what I've read, the Elite seems to have a bigger stage than the Empy II. So the Duo pads could give the Elite that big and airy sound with added clarity but without sacrificing on the bass.

I already own a ZMF Caldera and a ZMF Atrium for more engaging and punchy sound.

 

[bunnygal23]

Maybe I should try out the Empy II, but I mostly own the Elite for their airy and big planar sound, and, at least from what I've read, the Elite seems to have a bigger stage than the Empy II. So the Duo pads could give the Elite that big and airy sound with added clarity but without sacrificing on the bass.

I already own a ZMF Caldera and a ZMF Atrium for more engaging and punchy sound.

I also own the Atrium, it's a great headphone, I love them for when I want a more fun sound, the technicalities are not as good as the Elites imo but they are very enjoyable. I was also looking at the Duo pads for the same reasons you listed but honestly I am perfectly happy with the AA pads right now. I'll still try them out of curiosity if they come out though, it's like 5 seconds to swap pads so why not?

If you want a big airy sound stage with depth then I don't think the Empy 2 will top the Elites in my opinion. I have demoed both at shows and at Audio46 side by side at least 4 times and every time I have come away thinking the Elites are more resolving, detailed and more natural sounding with slightly more warmth in the mids. I also found the sound stage to be wider and deeper. The bass to me is also better on the Elites even with the AA pads.

To me the Empy 2 initially comes across as slightly more detailed beacuse of that upper mid/ lower treble emphasis, but after a while it gets fatiguing and I couldn't really get on with them because that peak around 3/4k bothered me and made vocals a little too forward and more prone to harshness and sibilance. I have discovered I am especially very sensitive to that area.

The Elites also have a peak in the treble but it's all the way in the upper treble, like around 17k and it doesn't bother me as much. I guess it really depends on what presentation you prefer and where you are most sensitive in the frequency response. It wouldn't hurt to try both and see what you prefer, I am glad I did because now I know the Elites is what I prefer .

I did plug the Empy 2 into the Felix Envy tube amp at Canjam and it did help relax some of that upper mid/ treble emphasis, so it might be better suited for a tube amp or just a generally warmer source chain esp if you have the similar sensitivities as me. However, when I plugged the Elites into that same tube amp and also the Woo WA23 it was amazing and still sounded like a step above the Empy 2 to me. Both are still fantastic and the build quality and comfort is unmatched so just go with whatever sound signature you like and I don't think you will be disappointed either way.

 

[AntonRisto]

I also own the Atrium, it's a great headphone, I love them for when I want a more fun sound, the technicalities are not as good as the Elites imo but they are very enjoyable. I was also looking at the Duo pads for the same reasons you listed but honestly I am perfectly happy with the AA pads right now. I'll still try them out of curiosity if they come out though, it's like 5 seconds to swap pads so why not?

If you want a big airy sound stage with depth then I don't think the Empy 2 will top the Elites in my opinion. I have demoed both at shows and at Audio46 side by side at least 4 times and every time I have come away thinking the Elites are more resolving, detailed and more natural sounding with slightly more warmth in the mids. I also found the sound stage to be wider and deeper. The bass to me is also better on the Elites even with the AA pads.

To me the Empy 2 initially comes across as slightly more detailed beacuse of that upper mid/ lower treble emphasis, but after a while it gets fatiguing and I couldn't really get on with them because that peak around 3/4k bothered me and made vocals a little too forward and more prone to harshness and sibilance. I have discovered I am especially very sensitive to that area.

The Elites also have a peak in the treble but it's all the way in the upper treble, like around 17k and it doesn't bother me as much. I guess it really depends on what presentation you prefer and where you are most sensitive in the frequency response. It wouldn't hurt to try both and see what you prefer, I am glad I did because now I know the Elites is what I prefer .

I did plug the Empy 2 into the Felix Envy tube amp at Canjam and it did help relax some of that upper mid/ treble emphasis, so it might be better suited for a tube amp or just a generally warmer source chain esp if you have the similar sensitivities as me. However, when I plugged the Elites into that same tube amp and also the Woo WA23 it was amazing and still sounded like a step above the Empy 2 to me. Both are still fantastic and the build quality and comfort is unmatched so just go with whatever sound signature you like and I don't think you will be disappointed either way.

I haven’t had a chance to try out the Empy II yet, but based on the graphs I’ve seen and my previous experiences with headphones, I also believe that the upper midrange/lower treble emphasis would bother me just like you described it bothered you. So that’s why I’m perfectly happy with my Elite, but the Duo pads are intriguing to maybe find the perfect middle ground between the tuning of the Empy II with them and the Elite with the Hybrid pads.

 

[Mr X]

I've had a fun weekend testing out my Elites and OG Empyrean against the Empyrean II loan unit.

Quick summary...

The Empy II are exceptionally good and I was quite surprised how similar they sounded to my Elites, to my ears at least.

But ultimately the Elites took the win. Just a bit more resolution and detail.
I had originally toyed with selling my OG Empy to fund the II - I'm so glad I waited for the shoot out. Yes the originals Empyrean has its issues but when I want a different flavour from my favourite headphones (The Elite) and fancy some bass heavy tracks, the OG Empy gives me that variation to the Elites that the Empy II doesn't.

I have all the various pads so today the last thing left to test is whether the Duo pads are worth getting for the Elites should they become available in the near future.

 

[LoryWiv]

Looking forward to your impressions of Duo vs. AA pads on Elite!

 

[Mr X]

Looking forward to your impressions of Duo vs. AA pads on Elite!

Whilst I may not be buying the Empyrean II, I will certainly be buying the Duo pads should Meze release them.

I did a fair amount of testing of them on the Elites and it gave me a lot of the OG Empy fun. Bass hits hard and compared to the Angled Alcantara, whilst there is sacrifice of some resolution it’s very very small to my ears.

I also compared them to the Hybrids which were once my “go to” but again the Duo was preferred for tracks that you want to hear the bass with great presentation of mids. I would easily now choose the Duo over the Hybrids

For me a mixture of AA for absolute resolution and vocal/accoustic listening along with the Duo for fun and all round performance is as good as a headphone gets. All combined in pads that can be swapped in a blink of an eye and giving you the ability to have many headphones in one without resorting to digital EQ.

Just hope that Meze do actually release them. It’s actually making me question my need to keep the OG Empy once more!

 

[AntonRisto]

Whilst I may not be buying the Empyrean II, I will certainly be buying the Duo pads should Meze release them.

I did a fair amount of testing of them on the Elites and it gave me a lot of the OG Empy fun. Bass hits hard and compared to the Angled Alcantara, whilst there is sacrifice of some resolution it’s very very small to my ears.

I also compared them to the Hybrids which were once my “go to” but again the Duo was preferred for tracks that you want to hear the bass with great presentation of mids. I would easily now choose the Duo over the Hybrids

For me a mixture of AA for absolute resolution and vocal/accoustic listening along with the Duo for fun and all round performance is as good as a headphone gets. All combined in pads that can be swapped in a blink of an eye and giving you the ability to have many headphones in one without resorting to digital EQ.

Just hope that Meze do actually release them. It’s actually making me question my need to keep the OG Empy once more!

Thanks for the impressions! The Duo pads sound like a must buy!

I think someone mentioned before that a Meze representative said at CanJam that they would be releasing them in a few weeks.

 

[FinHifi]

Thanks for the impressions! The Duo pads sound like a must buy!

I think someone mentioned before that a Meze representative said at CanJam that they would be releasing them in a few weeks.

I will also buy those, just for giggles. Already got AA, hybrid and alcantara pads. OG alcantaras are my favourite, but I occasionally switch to AA to get a different sound for a while. Should probably also rotate hybrids, as those have the least time with me.