[krude]

In my initial impressions I stated that Elites are maybe not the best for complex mixes like extreme symphonic metal, but ... after getting more experience I have to retract that.

In fact Symphonic Metal is exceptional on Elites. Just enough speed to get all the details, coherent sense of space so it's not disjointed, very good texture and timbre for acoustic parts, good dynamics and full bodied sound. I have to say that Elites excel for this type of music for me.

For electronica it would be : Utopia | TC > Elites (for pure slam Utopia takes it)
For rock / metal : Elites > TC > Utopia
For Jazz etc : Elites > TC | Utopia

Worth mentioning that I use purely top level tube amps for those comparisons and comparing absolute TOTL sets, so all of them do everything amazingly well. This is just splitting hair for the sake of comparisons. So to sum it up, Elites excel at anything that needs good midrange.

 

[yrstruly]

In my initial impressions I stated that Elites are maybe not the best for complex mixes like extreme symphonic metal, but ... after getting more experience I have to retract that.

In fact Symphonic Metal is exceptional on Elites. Just enough speed to get all the details, coherent sense of space so it's not disjointed, very good texture and timbre for acoustic parts, good dynamics and full bodied sound. I have to say that Elites excel for this type of music for me.

For electronica it would be : Utopia | TC > Elites (for pure slam Utopia takes it)
For rock / metal : Elites > TC > Utopia
For Jazz etc : Elites > TC | Utopia

Worth mentioning that I use purely top level tube amps for those comparisons and comparing absolute TOTL sets, so all of them do everything amazingly well. This is just splitting hair for the sake of comparisons. So to sum it up, Elites excel at anything that needs good midrange.

Yeah I've tried the Elites with some technical death metal and math metal stuff and was surprised at how amazingly it handled it. Was able to pick apart all the nuances in the mix and experience the impact and dynamics without my ears being torn to shreds.

 

[hurstnova350]

Yeah I've tried the Elites with some technical death metal and math metal stuff and was surprised at how amazingly it handled it. Was able to pick apart all the nuances in the mix and experience the impact and dynamics without my ears being torn to shreds.

I pretty much only listen to metal and my first test track when I auditioned the Elites at CanJam was The Sub-Orbital Blues by Rivers of Nihil….I purchased the Elites an hour later and have been loving them ever since. The Meze silver upgrade cable really elevated them as well to get the most from them. They are so good in fact now I have to upgrade my chain lol (currently Qutest and going to TT2 eventually)

 

[yrstruly]

Just on this topic - surprised at how good Jane Doe by Converge sounds on the Elites. One of the best albums of all time but often nearly unlistenable on high end headphones due to abrasive and quirky production. Give it a go (not for the faint hearted, mind)!

 

[dbull12]

Just on this topic - surprised at how good Jane Doe by Converge sounds on the Elites. One of the best albums of all time but often nearly unlistenable on high end headphones due to abrasive and quirky production. Give it a go (not for the faint hearted, mind)!

Great album! Out of curiosity, how does it fare on your VC? I've heard people say the VO and VC are pretty unforgiving due to their speed and detail, but I've also seen people disagree with that

 

[yrstruly]

Great album! Out of curiosity, how does it fare on your VC? I've heard people say the VO and VC are pretty unforgiving due to their speed and detail, but I've also seen people disagree with that

Will have a go tomorrow as can’t specifically recall but I generally find the VC pretty forgiving whilst preserving a good amount of detail - I enjoy it a lot for metal/heavy stuff as there’s a lot of weight and body to the sound and allows me to crank the volume without getting ear fatigue.

 

[bunnygal23]

I went into my local store the other day just to demo some more headphones, an opportunity came up for a good deal and...yeah. They didn't have the Empy 2's yet so it came down between these and the HE1000SE. I will be giving more detailed sound impressions soon as I am still burning them in. A quick note is that on newer Elites the cases have the same foam insert cut out as the new Empy 2's, I was surprised to see the extra pads on the side as opposed to the middle, works out cause now I can pop the new pads in the middle!

 

[MrHaelscheir]

I went into my local store the other day just to demo some more headphones, an opportunity came up for a good deal and...yeah. They didn't have the Empy 2's yet so it came down between these and the HE1000SE. I will be giving more detailed sound impressions soon as I am still burning them in. A quick note is that on newer Elites the cases have the same foam insert cut out as the new Empy 2's, I was surprised to see the extra pads on the side as opposed to the middle, works out cause now I can pop the new pads in the middle!

Interesting to see a change in the inner foam style.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Thank you! Actually have only used the Hybrid pads so far. Will give the stock Alcantara a go but can't see myself wanting to give up any of this sumptuous bass response. In terms of cable, just running off my ZMF 2K Copper for now.

Angled pads have been ordered and are on their way too!

ZMF 2K Copper sounds totally fine with Elite. If you truly like Pure Copper sound, I recommend Effect Audio Code 23 for Elite. A bit more lively sounding, better inner detail and definitely throw larger soundstage (width, depth and height) than ZMF 2K.

Personally I prefer hybrid copper/silver cable for Elite, but we all hear differently (and also different set up).

 

[Roybenz]

HA300MK2 is a great amp. You do need to set aside some cash for totl 300b. The cheapest way is to grab 2nd hand Psvane WE replica or Acme, but if you have deeper pockets then Elrog and new production WE await

How does the WE compare to Elrog? Which one has the warmest sound?

 

[krude]

How does the WE compare to Elrog? Which one has the warmest sound?

Psvane WE300B replica is a sharp and technical tube. Elrog is a lot sweeter. I've heard that new production WE could even smoother, I would try to find people who owned both on HA300 and Envy threads. You could also try Psvane Acme as I've heard it's quite a musical tube.

Im on Elrog but I also own Psvane WE300B. I will definitely add both Acme and WE to my collection at some point.

 

[duas2noites]

I'm thinking about buying Topping Dx7 Pro Plus, will pair it with Meze Elite. The reason is because topping dx7 is more transportable, I travel a lot and will use the combo with my laptop.
Need some feedback, topping will drive Elite?

 

[gilency]

Elite is very easy to drive. The Topping should work perfectly well.

 

[idairyou]

I'm thinking about buying Topping Dx7 Pro Plus, will pair it with Meze Elite. The reason is because topping dx7 is more transportable, I travel a lot and will use the combo with my laptop.
Need some feedback, topping will drive Elite?

If this is for travel, I would add the Fiio Q15 to your short list. 1600mw when plugged into the wall. Plus when you're at the airport or on a train you can hook it up to your phone and use your streaming service of choice, or if your phone has expandable storage load up a bunch of FLAC files.

For $400 the unit punches above its price point.

 

[bunnygal23]

The Elites are a keeper. I will give more impressions why later if folks are interested but just wanted to ask what SS amps they would recommend for them synergy wise. I am currently running them off the Vio V222 and I want something of a similar sound signature (punchy, lively dynamic and wide) but with more refinement. Obvious choices are the bigger Vio's like the V281 and V550 but I wanted to know if I should consider anything else to add my Christmas wishlist, looking at the sub 3k category, I'll make sure to browse the thread too.

As I write this I am dying of thirst but I refuse to take them off and get a glass of water lol