[Andykong]

I get this. Personally I have to find these things out for myself. I recently bought the Elite pads for my Empy. They are not quite right. The bass loses a lot of its signature Empy character. The weaker clamp force is also not ideal.

A friend of mine on this thread bought the Empy leather pads for his Elite and feels the same. We’ve agreed to swop with each other so we’ll each have a spare set of pads in that case.

I guess it’s a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The Elite has a shorter leather headband to compensate for the thinner hybrid pad, so using the hybrid pad on Empyrean definitely reduces the clamping force. Likewise, using the Empyrean leather pad on Elite will increase the clamping force marginally, this is similar to pushing the earcup towards your ear, it will change the tonality slightly, and a little more bass if I remember it correctly ( I tried this a long time ago, ...)

 

[Andykong]

Elites purchased! Looking forward to comparing against EQ'd LCD5 to see which better complements the Susvara. Also looking forward to how the DHC Complement C15 cable pairs with Elite

Very initial impressions but you lot weren't kidding-these are musical. They don't match the precision, speed and attack of the LCD5s but for just listening to the whole picture, it is a lot easier to get lost in the music. Timbre is great for a planar, with a wet, rich midrange.

I quickly swapped out the stock cable for the DHL Complement C15 and although it's not a night-n-day difference, the added realism, smoothness and sense of space really brings the headphone together.

Patiently waiting for my Hypnos to return to me so I can better explore this headphone over the next couple of weeks .

Edit: Any favorite EQ profiles?

Looks like the Elite has landed on the right ground, congratulation. Please come back and share your impression when your ‎HYPSOS headphone amplifier is returned to you. We are quite confident that the Ferrum Audio stack will work well with Elite, but we don't have a lot of impression on this combo, your sharing will fill the gap.

 

[Andykong]

They do scale well with better equipment and better cable, for sure.
Advertised as 'easy to drive', but come on. You don't fill 95 fuel to your high-end supercar.

Yes, the Elite (and Empyrean) are "easy to drive", but they are also very scalable.

 

[Andykong]

What I've noticed with the Elite is I put them on and I just get into the music. I'm not thinking about anything the headphones are doing, just instantly toe-tapping, moving around, and getting into the music. There are headphones that I've put on and inevitably I start tweaking stuff, thinking about how to tame something, or the opposite - they sound so amazing in certain aspects that it actually detracts from the music and again brings my focus on the headphones instead of the music. The Elite just do everything well and get out of the way. I was resisting adding them to my favorite list after just less than a week, but they were instantly a hit with me.

There are headphones that I've put on and inevitably I start tweaking stuff, thinking about how to tame something, or the opposite - they sound so amazing in certain aspects that it actually detracts from the music and again brings my focus on the headphones instead of the music. This is a new perspective to me, but I shared a similar experience when I heard HD800 for the first time, alongside the HS650 (yes, a long long time ago). I think audiophiles, at the bottom of their heart, have a special passion for hardware on top of music appreciation.

 

[Andykong]

Actually I think the difference between both is generally really well conveyed.

The thing that is totally off, is the General impression of the Empyrean.

So in other terms, the Empyrean is not nearly that far behind the Totl headphones, like Susvara as many make it out to be, while the Elite is just on that level of the top flagships

The Elite is great, and definitely the more refined of the two, butYou I still think the Empyrean is pretty great as well. I'm still using both.

This is well put. There are a lot of choices for natural reference headphones that can retrieve amazing detail, but the Empyrean is pretty unique IMHO. So let's hope Empyrean will find it place and provide a lot of music fun to the users who appreciate their value.

 

[betula]

This is why good businesses make every effort to satisfy their customers. One bad customer story negates ten good stories.

Personally, I have two Lavricables cables (always funny to write that) and haven't had any problems with them, so have never interacted with their after-sales customer support.

For that reason I have been giving them unqualified recommendations. Your story makes me wonder how many folks I've steered into bad experiences ~~ mea culpa.

I guess this is a different take on my ears/your ears:

My customer experience/Your customer service experience

This was around a couple of years ago, so hopefully they improved on their attitude. I won't test it though.

 

[TheAttorney]

I'm using a Toxic Cables Silver Widow, silver+gold, and the pairing with the Elites is superb. The gold mixture contributes to improving the bass texture, midrange body, and bringing out more nuances in the sound. This added with the benefits of silver makes it a very ideal pairing with the Elites.

Agreed. The Toxic SW worked as well with the Elites as it previously did with my HEKse. It's a very neutral, universal cable.

Regarding broken XLR connections and Lavricables, I re-terminated my Toxic SW myself, from 3.5mm plug for HEKse, to Furutech 4-pin mini xlr for the Elites.
I'm very much an amateur WRT soldering, and the results are often not pretty, even if the connections test fine. But soldering the mini XLR was the biggest PITA ever because...

Like I think Audeze, the Elites use 2 pins per wire connection to effectively double the contact area. So I had to split the Toxic SW's ultra fine multi strands into two and then solder the two halves to the two pins. The pins are tiny, there's not much room, and SW's ultra fine silver/gold strands become very fragile under heat - they can just crumble away. With the result I had to have several attempts, along with much cursing, before I successfully managed to get both pins soldered. I'm sure professionals wouldn't have as much trouble. Which leads me to my question...

Does anyone know if Lavricables solder both pins per wire for the Elite cable? Soldering just one pin will still work, but 2 pins will double the contact area and should increase the reliability of the connection.

 

[racebit]

Damn, that means one of my rings is missing. Also means that's probably what was making it tighter like you mentioned. And glad I could help, never thought you'd go as far as you did but also that it was only cosmetic damage. I've moved since the last time that happened so I've likely lost it, haha. Appreciate the detailed update, got to learn a bunch!

I was suggesting that the extra tightness you got could be due to the rubber tube been pushed to the inside of the second ring inside. The two plastic rings are not supposed to overlap with the rubber tube, just sit on each end. If the rubber tube is pressed hard against the ring, it could eventually get inside the ring, reducing the tube diameter, and then when inserting the rod in the tube it would be tighter. So that could mean the second ring was there deep inside.

 

[swissheadphonelover]

Actually I am very happy with ZMF VO and STAX X9000. For the next step I am torn between ZMF Atrium and Meze Elite. Which one would complement VO and X9000 better? Amps are Niimbus US 4+ and Euforia. Thanks for your hints and advice.

 

[Newsee]

Actually I am very happy with ZMF VO and STAX X9000. For the next step I am torn between ZMF Atrium and Meze Elite. Which one would complement VO and X9000 better? Amps are Niimbus US 4+ and Euforia. Thanks for your hints and advice.

Elite. You have to try the Elite. If you are lucky you can even compare the two in k55.ch. They have both Meze and ZMF line. Give them a call, it seems they have now Atrium on stock. They just do not have any tube amp.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Has anyone used the Elite with the Monoprice Liquid Gold X amp? I know it pairs well with Audeze headphones, but I’d like to know if it is a good match with the Elite.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I continue to really enjoy my Elite — literally every complaint I expressed about Empy (justified or not) addressed:

- Blurry, imprecise headstage — significantly more coherent and precise
- Overly relaxed/recessed highs — much improved without the sin of over-compensating and turning too bright/sharp
- Bloated, bloomy bass — gone, great bass

To be clear, those complaints are all to my ears, and I don’t want this post to seem like an Empy bash. Just saying that I don’t hear any of the things which made me sell Empy (after six or eight months IIRC) from Elite.

Enjoying from this chain:

Volumio Primo/Tidal Hifi ==> (via coax) mScaler ==> (Silver Dragon dual-BNC) TT2 ==> DSHA-3F ==> Elite (hybrid pads & silver cable)

Three months of Tidal Hifi cheap is certainly nice. Hate the UI direct on the Primo, but Tidal connect on my iPad is great.

 

[swissheadphonelover]

Elite. You have to try the Elite. If you are lucky you can even compare the two in k55.ch. They have both Meze and ZMF line. Give them a call, it seems they have now Atrium on stock. They just do not have any tube amp.

Order for Elite placed. Headphone company in Heidelberg gave me a very good offer for a demo model I could not resist.
Looking forward to listening to my favourite music with the Elite.

 

[KelFab]

I continue to really enjoy my Elite — literally every complaint I expressed about Empy (justified or not) addressed:

- Blurry, imprecise headstage — significantly more coherent and precise
- Overly relaxed/recessed highs — much improved without the sin of over-compensating and turning too bright/sharp
- Bloated, bloomy bass — gone, great bass

To be clear, those complaints are all to my ears, and I don’t want this post to seem like an Empy bash. Just saying that I don’t hear any of the things which made me sell Empy (after six or eight months IIRC) from Elite.

Enjoying from this chain:

Volumio Primo/Tidal Hifi ==> (via coax) mScaler ==> (Silver Dragon dual-BNC) TT2 ==> DSHA-3F ==> Elite (hybrid pads & silver cable)

Three months of Tidal Hifi cheap is certainly nice. Hate the UI direct on the Primo, but Tidal connect on my iPad is great.

Do you still use your other headphones as much as before having the Elites ?
By example your Utopia ? And how do you compare them vs Elites ?
(i'm in the same case, having the 2)

 

[LCMusicLover]

Do you still use your other headphones as much as before having the Elites ?
By example your Utopia ? And how do you compare them vs Elites ?
(i'm in the same case, having the 2)

Well, my Auteur is 'out for delivery' today, coming back from the 'Classic' upgrade, so haven't been listening to that for several weeks.

Ether 2 still gets bed listening time.
Spent some time with HEKse and classical last night -- I much prefer the HEK headstage with classical over any of my other cans.
Hedd haven't been on my Head for a while
Utopia have been a 'comparison listen' but haven't gotten much head-time during my 'honeymoon' w/ Elite.

Atrium due in a couple weeks -- that will be the real acid test.

As far as Elite/Utopia comparison -- fairly different in a number of ways. But if you have both, you don't need my opinion