[yrstruly]

In the shop I compared the HE1000SE to the Elite and Empyrean 2, and the Elites, to my ears, sounded more life-like with acoustic music and I did not hear anything with the Elites that might induce listening fatigue.
Today I picked up my new set; in the first few hours the music sounded veiled, I was surprised to find out that after just a few hours the veil disappeared.
Until now, listening for over 5 hours straight, I think it is true that you can listen with Elites all night long till . I am also surprised how detailed these are, without forcing attention to it. And versatile as these do so well with all genres of music.

Just for balance - I actually had to return my Elite because I was getting sibilance/fatigue, and I tested for this on a number of set ups at mine and in store. There's a spike in the treble that caused issues for me, even though the sound is otherwise very smooth. I seem to be the only person ever who's had this response to the Elite though, so maybe I'm just weird. It's a damn shame cos the Elite is really quite special and does some things (vocals, soundstage, emotional engagement) extremely well.

 

[AntonRisto]

Just for balance - I actually had to return my Elite because I was getting sibilance/fatigue, and I tested for this on a number of set ups at mine and in store. There's a spike in the treble that caused issues for me, even though the sound is otherwise very smooth. I seem to be the only person ever who's had this response to the Elite though, so maybe I'm just weird. It's a damn shame cos the Elite is really quite special and does some things (vocals, soundstage, emotional engagement) extremely well.

I have had the same issue with my Elite. The sibilance isn't as aggressive sounding as with some Hifimans I used to own but it still is there more often than with my Atrium Open for example.

 

[Toonartist]

I'm sensitive to high frequencies but never experienced sibilance with the Elites ever since they were released when I bought them. Might it have something to do with the rest of the chain? It's not just about the headphone but the balance of the system... think about the power supply, DAC and amp as a combination.

 

[betula]

I have also never experienced sibilance or treble issues on the Elite. To me it is laid back and smooth as butter. I wonder folks who experienced treble problems could share what frequencies they had issues with? If it is above 16K I can't hear much of that.
Also, the chain is important too. Did you guys use SS amps or heard the problems on tubes as well? Cheers!

 

[AntonRisto]

I have also never experienced sibilance or treble issues on the Elite. To me it is laid back and smooth as butter. I wonder folks who experienced treble problems could share what frequencies they had issues with? If it is above 16K I can't hear much of that.
Also, the chain is important too. Did you guys use SS amps or heard the problems on tubes as well? Cheers!

I have used them with Trafomatic Head 2 as an amp and Gustard R26 as a DAC so I think my gear shouldn't be the problem. I used to have sibilance issues on the same gear with Susvara and sometimes slightly with my Caldera as well.

 

[betula]

I have used them with Trafomatic Head 2 as an amp and Gustard R26 as a DAC so I think my gear shouldn't be the problem. I used to have sibilance issues on the same gear with Susvara and sometimes slightly with my Caldera as well.

Yeah, the gear doesn't seem to be the culprit here. Perhaps you are just super sensitive to sibilance. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Mr X]

I also had an extended audition with the Empyrean II at home Vs my Elites.

The Empy 2 are good, in fact very good, but the Elites are just better IMO.
One thing I really liked was the Duo pads on the Elites. Can't wait for Meze to release those. Just gives the Elite a tad m ore fu when you need it.

On a separate note, the Liric II are turning out to be a great buy. Probably the best and most resolving closed back I have heard. They have replaced my Focal Stellia for closed back duties.

Meze really are making moves in this market.

 

[MrHaelscheir]

Just for balance - I actually had to return my Elite because I was getting sibilance/fatigue, and I tested for this on a number of set ups at mine and in store. There's a spike in the treble that caused issues for me, even though the sound is otherwise very smooth. I seem to be the only person ever who's had this response to the Elite though, so maybe I'm just weird. It's a damn shame cos the Elite is really quite special and does some things (vocals, soundstage, emotional engagement) extremely well.

It might be a similar issue to this 6.4 kHz peak that I measure with my own ears for blocked canal in-ear microphones (this example was a demo unit, quite consistent with my own unit; my measurements with my old in-ear mic mounts have less treble and have that peak at 6.25 kHz instead; it is best to find the exact frequency by listening to sine sweeps). I perhaps 11 months ago would have noticed it more, less so if the stock tuning is the first thing I hear during a listening session. This would be very easy to EQ down with a -6 dB peaking filter at 6.4 kHz with a Q factor of 7. It is also extremely unlikely for the gear to be responsible for such a peak rather than the coupling of the headphone with one's ears.

Here is my stock HE1000se with the same in-ear mic mounts:

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I have used them with Trafomatic Head 2 as an amp and Gustard R26 as a DAC so I think my gear shouldn't be the problem. I used to have sibilance issues on the same gear with Susvara and sometimes slightly with my Caldera as well.

do you get annoy from sibilance from all song or only certain song?

If only from certain song, can you let us know which one is it?

Elite is not dark sounding headphone, but so far it's the most butter smooth headphone for me (in TOTL realm).

 

[up late]

do you get annoy from sibilance from all song or only certain song?

If only from certain song, can you let us know which one is it?

Elite is not dark sounding headphone, but so far it's the most butter smooth headphone for me (in TOTL realm).

have you compared it to the susvara and do you have a preference?

 

[TheMiddleSky]

have you compared it to the susvara and do you have a preference?

In term of detail and soundstage, susvara take the lead. However susvara is too soft sounding for me. All percussion instrument seems "weak, not exciting enough. Very capable headphone, but nor for me.

 

[up late]

In term of detail and soundstage, susvara take the lead. However susvara is too soft sounding for me. All percussion instrument seems "weak, not exciting enough. Very capable headphone, but nor for me.

thanks for that

 

[AntonRisto]

do you get annoy from sibilance from all song or only certain song?

If only from certain song, can you let us know which one is it?

Elite is not dark sounding headphone, but so far it's the most butter smooth headphone for me (in TOTL realm).

There are many female artists whose voice usually has some sibilance in my system, for example PJ Harvey, Taylor Swift, Lorde and St. Vincent to name a few. Some male vocalists also have some sibilance, for example Nick Cave and Harry Wilkinson (from the band Maruja) come to mind.

 

[Rudivanb]

There are many female artists whose voice usually has some sibilance in my system, for example PJ Harvey, Taylor Swift, Lorde and St. Vincent to name a few. Some male vocalists also have some sibilance, for example Nick Cave and Harry Wilkinson (from the band Maruja) come to mind.

That is very unfortunate. You probably have gone already through all thoughts mentioned below, if so please excuse me.
Could it be that something is wrong with your specific Elite set? Have you, next to the ZMF's, had the possibility to try other headphones in your set? Or have you been able to try the Elite's on another amp, just to be sure?
Maybe I am just lucky that with my Ferrum Erco there is no sibilance at all, not in any track I have tried so far. Not even with Harry Wilkinson, Lorde, or with the other artists you mentioned.
And what about the source itself or the digital connection from the source to the DAC?
Last thing I could think of trying is different 6922 tubes in the Trafomatic?
When I was still using tube amps I found that some input tubes could cause sibilance, but of course YMMV.

Do the Elite's sound much brighter than your ZMF's?

 

[yrstruly]

That is very unfortunate. You probably have gone already through all thoughts mentioned below, if so please excuse me.
Could it be that something is wrong with your specific Elite set? Have you, next to the ZMF's, had the possibility to try other headphones in your set? Or have you been able to try the Elite's on another amp, just to be sure?
Maybe I am just lucky that with my Ferrum Erco there is no sibilance at all, not in any track I have tried so far. Not even with Harry Wilkinson, Lorde, or with the other artists you mentioned.
And what about the source itself or the digital connection from the source to the DAC?
Last thing I could think of trying is different 6922 tubes in the Trafomatic?
When I was still using tube amps I found that some input tubes could cause sibilance, but of course YMMV.

Do the Elite's sound much brighter than your ZMF's?

Highly unlikely there’s something wrong with their set - I had same issue and in my case was with various solid state amps (tried a few dacs including R2R (Metrum Onyx) which in the latter case helped but didn’t fully remove the sibilance).