[betula]

Elites sound fairly TOTL to me for whatever that is worth. LOL

I think those reviewers who do not recognise the Elite as TOTL headphones should probably stop publishing reviews.

 

[srkbear]

I think those reviewers who do not recognise the Elite as TOTL headphones should probably stop publishing reviews.

And miss the opportunity to flash the size of their wallets? OMG I did not just say that, that was terrible!

 

[commtrd]

Plus in addition to the great SQ, is the exemplary design and build quality. Covered many times before I know, but when I look at these the design and build quality just endear them to me that much more. I love these things. Like an exotic beautiful woman, so beguiling so alluring. OMG that is getting deep huh? Must be the artist in me I guess.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I’m not sure if it’s helpful to post my impressions of a discontinued headphone cable, but I’m really digging the Wireworld Nano-Platinum Eclipse with my Elite. I’m only on day two with the cable, but it’s already growing on me. Without doing any quick A/B comparisons, the most obvious thing I seem to be noticing versus the ZMF 2K Copper cable I’ve been using is slightly less low end energy. Along with that, the bass seems a bit tighter and more articulate with the Wireworld cable. Clarity and separation is excellent throughout. I didn’t have many complaints with the 2K Copper cable, but I was curious to see what an all silver cable could bring to the table.

Physically, the WWNPE is much lighter than the 2K Copper. Its design is pretty much the opposite from all the super-thick stranded cables that a lot of manufacturers are selling now. I joke that it looks like an old flat landline phone cable. It seems very well designed for its intended purpose, but it certainly isn’t exciting to look at like some of the audio jewelry cables out there.

P.S. I’m on team hybrid pads. I only tried the Alcantara pads briefly and quickly went back to the hybrids. To me everything sounded muffled with the Alcantara pads with less-precise imaging.

 

[turbofeet]

I am actually astounded by how well the Elites scales with better gear or tweaks.

I have recently added pure silver headphone cables and a SR Purple fuse to the Bartok and detail retrieval has gone through the roof on the Elites.

The Envy extends the excellent soundstage out even further creating more air around each note/instrument.

For me it's now like a Susvara but with better low end might. Its very impressive.

On the other end of the scale I also love the Elites (or Empyrean) from the £199 iFi GoBlu from my Android tablet via Bluetooth! So great you can use them on anything and music is still wonderfully enjoyable.

Disclaimer: I only tried the Susvara for about 30 mins with the Feliks Envy so take that comparison with a pinch of salt. I liked them too but not as much as the Elites. YMMV

 

[betula]

I am actually astounded by how well the Elites scales with better gear or tweaks.

I have recently added pure silver headphone cables and a SR Purple fuse to the Bartok and detail retrieval has gone through the roof on the Elites.

The Envy extends the excellent soundstage out even further creating more air around each note/instrument.

For me it's now like a Susvara but with better low end might. Its very impressive.

On the other end of the scale I also love the Elites (or Empyrean) from the £199 iFi GoBlu from my Android tablet via Bluetooth! So great you can use them on anything and music is still wonderfully enjoyable.

Disclaimer: I only tried the Susvara for about 30 mins with the Feliks Envy so take that comparison with a pinch of salt. I liked them too but not as much as the Elites. YMMV

I concur, that the Elite scales very, very well. Spaciousness, detail retrieval, instrument separation and especially bass control and impact can improve a lot with better audio chain.

 

[Toonartist]

I've just added the Auris Nirvana to my system and the detail retrieval from the Elites is very impressive, certainly seems to have scaled up with the amp. I'm also using a silver cable (Lavricable Grand) and extremely happy. With the right tube pairing it is very 3d holographic.

 

[adrianm]

I am actually astounded by how well the Elites scales with better gear or tweaks.

I have recently added pure silver headphone cables and a SR Purple fuse to the Bartok and detail retrieval has gone through the roof on the Elites.

The Envy extends the excellent soundstage out even further creating more air around each note/instrument.

For me it's now like a Susvara but with better low end might. Its very impressive.

On the other end of the scale I also love the Elites (or Empyrean) from the £199 iFi GoBlu from my Android tablet via Bluetooth! So great you can use them on anything and music is still wonderfully enjoyable.

Disclaimer: I only tried the Susvara for about 30 mins with the Feliks Envy so take that comparison with a pinch of salt. I liked them too but not as much as the Elites. YMMV

Judging by your setup I also know you from the dCS forum. I agree on the silver cable. Curious, are you using any mains filter or a dedicated power line with the Bartok?
Soundstage with the Dave and Oor when properly isolated from noise is so big that part of the sound feels like is coming from behind . It's crazy.
I also liked the Susvara. Had 2 days of comparisons with the Elite using my setup, and came to the same conclusion...deeper soundstage, not as wide, same level of detail, but Elites have much better bass. Had a bit less density to the notes.

 

[Arcamera]

I too recently acquired a Nirvana amp, and a Susvara. The amp is excellent, and the Susvara is pretty awesome, but-- I still love the Meze. If anything, my experience so far has only reinforced the excellence of the Elite. Given learning about all the Susvara experience out there, I know the Susvara can scale to great heights, when paired with 100watt speaker amps, etc. But just having them side by side through my Auris Nirvana-- I still prefer the Elite.

That said, I still prefer the Alcantara pads, so what do I know, ha

 

[turbofeet]

Judging by your setup I also know you from the dCS forum. I agree on the silver cable. Curious, are you using any mains filter or a dedicated power line with the Bartok?
Soundstage with the Dave and Oor when properly isolated from noise is so big that part of the sound feels like is coming from behind . It's crazy.
I also liked the Susvara. Had 2 days of comparisons with the Elite using my setup, and came to the same conclusion...deeper soundstage, not as wide, same level of detail, but Elites have much better bass. Had a bit less density to the notes.

I haven't gone too far down the rabbithole with power conditioning and such.

I just use PS Audio PerfectWave AC3 power cables which are sub £200 for both the Bartok and Envy.

My thought was that the power supply in the device itself should be good enough to filter the power but I'm not an electrical engineer so who knows.

I am still very surprised a fuse made a difference. I was quite the skeptic.

"An audiophile and their money are easily parted"

 

[turbofeet]

I say that but then I did also buy a £1750 Siltech 680i XLR cable with the Envy.

What can I say it sounded great.

 

[adrianm]

I say that but then I did also buy a £1750 Siltech 680i XLR cable with the Envy.

What can I say it sounded great.

I've also spent a bit on silver cables, but haven't gone that crazy. I have the Crystal Cable (Siltech sister company) entry level one at like 400 Euros and it sounds great. A/B'd against other cables, which I know should be the same or better (cheap starquad ) but just weren't to my ears. Might be bias, but I really was expecting the Starquads to be better.

My thought was that the power supply in the device itself should be good enough to filter the power but I'm not an electrical engineer so who knows.

I am still very surprised a fuse made a difference. I was quite the skeptic.

"An audiophile and their money are easily parted"

Well the fuse probably helps with noise, which is why I was asking about the power filters. Afaik you lose your warranty if you replace the standard one.
Power most definitely makes a huge difference. Especially with my Dave. It also did with the Lina stack I had here for a while though.

Given learning about all the Susvara experience out there, I know the Susvara can scale to great heights, when paired with 100watt speaker amps, etc. But just having them side by side through my Auris Nirvana-- I still prefer the Elite.

When I get my HM1 I plan on comparing them again, but I still don't expect them to dethrone the Elites.

 

[Toonartist]

I too recently acquired a Nirvana amp, and a Susvara. The amp is excellent, and the Susvara is pretty awesome, but-- I still love the Meze. If anything, my experience so far has only reinforced the excellence of the Elite. Given learning about all the Susvara experience out there, I know the Susvara can scale to great heights, when paired with 100watt speaker amps, etc. But just having them side by side through my Auris Nirvana-- I still prefer the Elite.

That said, I still prefer the Alcantara pads, so what do I know, ha

I'll have to give them a go with the Nirvana! The amp has amazing extension in terms of bass so it'll be interesting to see how that sounds with the Alcantara pads!

 

[turbofeet]

I've also spent a bit on silver cables, but haven't gone that crazy. I have the Crystal Cable (Siltech sister company) entry level one at like 400 Euros and it sounds great. A/B'd against other cables, which I know should be the same or better (cheap starquad ) but just weren't to my ears. Might be bias, but I really was expecting the Starquads to be better.

Well the fuse probably helps with noise, which is why I was asking about the power filters. Afaik you lose your warranty if you replace the standard one.
Power most definitely makes a huge difference. Especially with my Dave. It also did with the Lina stack I had here for a while though.

When I get my HM1 I plan on comparing them again, but I still don't expect them to dethrone the Elites.

Some good points there.

I actually didn't expect to buy that cable. It just happened to be what they had the Bartok and Envy connected with when I auditioned it.

I tried 3 XLR cables in total (as I did intend to buy one) and found that a £600 Chord one sounded less dynamic but a cheaper £300 Chord cable sounded decent as well.

Thing is I was very impressed with the set up as it was and so I thought if I wasn't as impressed when I listened at home I'd always be thinking "maybe I needed that cable as well".

I almost pulled the trigger on a Nirvana as well before I heard the Envy. I bet that's great with the Elites too.

 

[commtrd]

I say that but then I did also buy a £1750 Siltech 680i XLR cable with the Envy.

What can I say it sounded great.

Prolly sounds like 1750 pound worth?