[ThanatosVI]

The D8K Pro’s bass is more accurate, is not boosted nor is it over emphasized. If there’s bass in the song the D8K Pro’s will render it to perfection. On that same song, the Elites puts more emphasis on the bass simply because is has more bass volume and more sub bass energy. It’s also fast with very good definition and texture. It thumps harder than the D8K Pro’s bass and feels more visceral in comparison. The bass on the Elites is very well done.

That sounds exciting to me, can't wait

 

[vcoheda]

is there a version of that graph that also includes the harman target.

 

[Newsee]

On our first encounter, which happened unexpectedly, I became so excited that I do not even remember what I have heard. It was with the alcantra pads, beautiful, but no reference point remained.

On the second encounter I was still excited, but was mentally prepared. Here it comes:

1. Colour: the silver/black looks much better in live than on the pictures. I could live with it. If the Empyrean was the Queen of headphones, it is now old Queen, and the this colour fits the young pricessin. (Who did say this Queen thing in the Empy thread?)

2. Slim pads: I do not have big ears, but this was definitely touchy. It was a strange feeling at the beginning not to have the soft embracing feeling of the Empy, but it disappeared after an hour. Somehow the height of the cup position became more important with it.

3. Sound:
3.1 stage: If the Empy is in 4th row, this one is first row, or even stand up and go to the edge of the stage. Or even lean in.

3.2 Highs: The fist is strikes, it is sharp - no, not sharp in the ear piercing way, it is more pointy. If the Empy sounds like a glas hit by a spoon, it sounds like crystal glas hit.

3.3 Bass: Clean, deep. Not as deep and voluminous as Solitaire P. I would say same deep as Empy, but not as thick. I am missing the elevated bass for certain genres.

All this on a Burson Conductor 3XR feed from coax input, using Forza Noir cable.

Summary: I have the Empy, love how it sounds. The Elite is not a replacement, it is so different. I suppose it is a brand new unit, very few hours on it, to early to judge.

I would agree with @Ichos , it will be much better than the Empy for classical music lovers.

 

[Edosan227]

1. Colour: the silver/black looks much better in live than on the pictures. I could live with it. If the Empyrean was the Queen of headphones, it is now old Queen, and the this colour fits the young pricessin. (Who did say this Queen thing in the Empy thread?)

I never thought it look bad on pictures, but I think it is every bit as gorgeous as any version of the empy.

3.1 stage: If the Empy is in 4th row, this one is first row, or even stand up and go to the edge of the stage. Or even lean in.

Great analogy, except I will add that, I found that the empy's soundstage was a bit disappointing, not bad, but definitely wished it's better. But now, since you're "closer" to the stage, the relative width definitely becomes decidedly wider, a lot wider in fact. The sound also becomes huge/tall, both of these qualities are often attributed to the arya, but in this instance, the arya is dwarfed compared to the elite. Also, since you're "closer", the image becomes clearer, placement becomes more obvious. I don't know how it's possible, but it can be both intimate, but huge at the same time, the layering is truly special for this headphone.

3.3 Bass: Clean, deep. Not as deep and voluminous as Solitaire P. I would say same deep as Empy, but not as thick. I am missing the elevated bass for certain genres.

You might be right that it might have the same depth as the empy, but because it is cleaner, to me it FEELS deeper, sometime when I listen to an acapella group, I can feel the bass part in my chest, it's glorious.

 

[Dalmonegrig]

I have been following this topic since its opening.
I have not had the opportunity to listen to the Elite.

Based on the feedback on the Elite forum she has the following improvements in comparison with the Empy (correct me if I am wrong):
1) improved timbre accuracy.
2) even tonal balance (less bass mass and more restrained high frequencies).
3) 3D space (the sound stage is larger and wider, holographic).
4) localization (a clear definition of the location of the instrument in such genres and styles where it is possible to determine).
5) microdynamics (detail):
a) all instruments are clearly audible;
b) you can fully trace the entire musical part of an individual instrument in the track;
c) overtones are heard better (reverberation);
d) quiet sounds are better heard against the background of loud ones.
6) macrodynamics (attack, impact force):
a) the bass is faster;
b) bass is deeper, structuring,
c) bass in the Elite is not as massive as in Empy and in some genres it lacks weight (body).
7) musicality (musical handwriting, character, presentation):
a) perfect for classical and instrumental music;
b) worse for rock, pop, etc.

Сonclusion
Based on the above, I suggest that Elite has a different musical signature in comparison to Empy. Overall, I like Empy and would not like to change the musical presentation too much based on my musical preferences. At this stage, I'm improving my musical setup. I have a few more ideas, but a lot of described above in relation to the sound of Elite I am achieving in the sound of my Empy. So there are facts in favour that Empy can scale in sonic emphasis close to Elite, but can Elite come close to Empy's musical presentation?

 

[JM45]

Speaking as someone who has $10k invested in cans (Utopia 2.3k new, Auteur 1.8k new, HEKse 2.3k used, Ether2 1.7k used, Heddphone 1.3k used) I must say this is a very tough question — definitely hope nobody ever does

Although I’d probably say ‘Auteur, but I hate you!’ (My ‘Goldilocks’ headphones.)

I must say that impressions of the Elite really intrigue me — might be ‘Goldilocks II’.

How can I get the Utopia "new" for so cheap? I had to pay more than msrp last year for Clear and Meze Empyrean with warranty because there was no other way to import them from my country (in south asia). I would try to take risk for some non warranty import if the Utopia can be found for so cheap. I want to do A/B test with susvara and empyrean

 

[Ichos]

I have been following this topic since its opening.
I have not had the opportunity to listen to the Elite.

Based on the feedback on the Elite forum she has the following improvements in comparison with the Empy (correct me if I am wrong):
1) improved timbre accuracy.
2) even tonal balance (less bass mass and more restrained high frequencies).
3) 3D space (the sound stage is larger and wider, holographic).
4) localization (a clear definition of the location of the instrument in such genres and styles where it is possible to determine).
5) microdynamics (detail):
a) all instruments are clearly audible;
b) you can fully trace the entire musical part of an individual instrument in the track;
c) overtones are heard better (reverberation);
d) quiet sounds are better heard against the background of loud ones.
6) macrodynamics (attack, impact force):
a) the bass is faster;
b) bass is deeper, structuring,
c) bass in the Elite is not as massive as in Empy and in some genres it lacks weight (body).
7) musicality (musical handwriting, character, presentation):
a) perfect for classical and instrumental music;
b) worse for rock, pop, etc.

Сonclusion
Based on the above, I suggest that Elite has a different musical signature in comparison to Empy. Overall, I like Empy and would not like to change the musical presentation too much based on my musical preferences. At this stage, I'm improving my musical setup. I have a few more ideas, but a lot of described above in relation to the sound of Elite I am achieving in the sound of my Empy. So there are facts in favour that Empy can scale in sonic emphasis close to Elite, but can Elite come close to Empy's musical presentation?

If you equalize the Elite you can achieve Empyrean tuning.
You can also equalize Empyrean to Elite tuning but you cannot have the extra technicalities.
But I belong to the people who think that equalizing cannot reach the original tuning of a headphone and that it kills the unique traits of a specific headphone.

 

[SoundJedi]

If you equalize the Elite you can achieve Empyrean tuning.
You can also equalize Empyrean to Elite tuning but you cannot have the extra technicalities.
But I belong to the people who think that equalizing cannot reach the original tuning of a headphone and that it kills the unique traits of a specific headphone.

I agree with you that EQ can tweak the "character" of a headphone/iem but it won't change its personality. You're not going to make a warm HP bright with EQ, it won't sound good.

Small EQ tweaks made a big difference for me with the Final D8k for example. Out of the box bass is perhaps a touch too much. Reducing that by a couple of dbs made everything more balanced and sound opened up.

I look at it as exploration of what a HP/iem can do without twisting the identity of said Headphone. It's also more optionality if done well. And that's a big if...

 

[BassicScience]

A lot of people were asking about Elite vs. Susvara elsewhere, so this seemed like the proper place to post my impressions after hearing the Elite at CanJam SoCal today. I auditioned both the Elite and Empyrean at the Bloom Audio booth through an iFi DAC and amp (sorry, don't recall the exact product names). I started with the Elite, and my very first impression was that somebody had figured out how to clone the Susvara and added a dash of extra bass punch! I was definitely liking what I was hearing, but it was too noisy to have much confidence in my assessment. Fortunately, I was able to borrow an Elite from an acquaintance I bumped into at the show to listen to in my hotel room upstairs last evening for an hour or so.

I brought my Questyle DAC and ran it into the analog inputs of my Benchmark DAC2. I also have my Apollon Purifi Mini with me which I can drive from the DAC2's XLR outputs. Long story short, the Elite is definitely in the vein of the Susvara, but with a notable midbass hump, smaller soundstage, and slightly less resolution. It's also $2k less than Susvara. For my tastes, Susvara is still the very clear choice, even for the additional scratch, but the Elite is no slouch and its tuning could very well be preferable to many folks. It's a fun headphone, and perhaps the closest thing I've yet heard to a Susvara. Notably, it's also somewhat more efficient than a Susvara. I did like it more out of the Apollon than from the Benchmark, but the gap was much smaller than when moving the Susvara between those components. If you want to avoid a separate power amp, I'd probably lean to the Elite.

BTW, I auditioned the Empyrean for the first time ever. Somewhat similar tonal profile to the Elite, but clearly lacking in resolution by comparison, especially in the critical midrange. The Elite is a no-brainer upgrade from Empyrean for an extra grand to these ears!

 

[ThanatosVI]

A lot of people were asking about Elite vs. Susvara elsewhere, so this seemed like the proper place to post my impressions after hearing the Elite at CanJam SoCal today. I auditioned both the Elite and Empyrean at the Bloom Audio booth through an iFi DAC and amp (sorry, don't recall the exact product names). I started with the Elite, and my very first impression was that somebody had figured out how to clone the Susvara and added a dash of extra bass punch! I was definitely liking what I was hearing, but it was too noisy to have much confidence in my assessment. Fortunately, I was able to borrow an Elite from an acquaintance I bumped into at the show to listen to in my hotel room upstairs last evening for an hour or so.

I brought my Questyle DAC and ran it into the analog inputs of my Benchmark DAC2. I also have my Apollon Purifi Mini with me which I can drive from the DAC2's XLR outputs. Long story short, the Elite is definitely in the vein of the Susvara, but with a notable midbass hump, smaller soundstage, and slightly less resolution. It's also $2k less than Susvara. For my tastes, Susvara is still the very clear choice, even for the additional scratch, but the Elite is no slouch and its tuning could very well be preferable to many folks. It's a fun headphone, and perhaps the closest thing I've yet heard to a Susvara. Notably, it's also somewhat more efficient than a Susvara. I did like it more out of the Apollon than from the Benchmark, but the gap was much smaller than when moving the Susvara between those components. If you want to avoid a separate power amp, I'd probably lean to the Elite.

BTW, I auditioned the Empyrean for the first time ever. Somewhat similar tonal profile to the Elite, but clearly lacking in resolution by comparison, especially in the critical midrange. The Elite is a no-brainer upgrade from Empyrean for an extra grand to these ears!

That's some mighty praise. Seems Meze has done a glorious job once again

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

After my 3 week update I can conclude that after receiving my danacable yesterday I can safely say it made these Elites super addictive to my ears now. Fixed the ssst sound in the vocals. Made everything clearer and cleaner. When I can't put a headphone down is when I officially know i love it. I still need to get an lcd5 here to compare and see what I'll build my chain around. But I can happily live with the Elite now. It's a turn around of 360 degrees from when I first bought them.

 

[hawk13]

… Notably, it's also somewhat more efficient than a Susvara.

It is MUCH more efficient.

 

[Slim1970]

After my 3 week update I can conclude that after receiving my danacable yesterday I can safely say it made these Elites super addictive to my ears now. Fixed the ssst sound in the vocals. Made everything clearer and cleaner. When I can't put a headphone down is when I officially know i love it. I still need to get an lcd5 here to compare and see what I'll build my chain around. But I can happily live with the Elite now. It's a turn around of 360 degrees from when I first bought them.

I like what my Audio Sensibility Statement silver cable is bringing to the table with the Elites. No lose of detail or clarity, but further refinement of its sound. I want to hear the LCD-5's but not as an Elite replacement. These will be with me for some time.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I like what my Audio Sensibility Statement silver cable is bringing to the table with the Elites. No lose of detail or clarity, but further refinement of its sound. I want to hear the LCD-5's but not as an Elite replacement. These will be with me for some time.

Yes, the danacable Lazuli Reference plus with the silver definitely makes everything better. Top to bottom. It morphed it from something I enjoyed here and there to something I can't quite put down and want the next song to start or put stuff on repeat.

 

[Slim1970]

Yes, the danacable Lazuli Reference plus with the silver definitely makes everything better. Top to bottom. It morphed it from something I enjoyed here and there to something I can't quite put down and want the next song to start or put stuff on repeat.

Love Danacable Lazuli Reference cable on my Utopia's