[ThanatosVI]

Do the Duopads sound good on the Elite? I might get a pair if they will sell it.

Yes, good for sure, a matter of taste wether you prefer Duo or Hybrid Pads.

However it's not like they are better and everyone should get them like it has been the case with angled Alcantara versus old Alcantara

 

[AntonRisto]

They sound very good on the Elite. Adds a little bit more fun when you need it.

I found the Empyrean II too similar to the Elite for my taste and decided to keep my OG Empyrean to compliment my Elites with a different sound when I want it.

What do you mean when you say the Duo pads add "a little bit more fun"? Do you mean that the bass gets lifted compared to the Hybrid pads or that the treble gets more energetic or something else?

 

[Sunset1982]

They sound very good on the Elite. Adds a little bit more fun when you need it.

Yes, good for sure, a matter of taste wether you prefer Duo or Hybrid Pads.

Thanks for your opinions guys!

 

[mgmvegas]

Just grabbed a set of ELITE's today so I'm in the club .... Soundstage is awesome on these things

 

[ThanatosVI]

Just grabbed a set of ELITE's today so I'm in the club .... Soundstage is awesome on these things

Welcome to the Club, and yes it is!

 

[idairyou]

Just grabbed a set of ELITE's today so I'm in the club .... Soundstage is awesome on these things

Soundstage is top notch.

The Elites replaced my 800S for classical and live performances.

 

[Newsee]

Just grabbed a set of ELITE's today so I'm in the club .... Soundstage is awesome on these things

Welcome. You have chosen a really worthy companion to your new RS8. They pair very well.

 

[Rudivanb]

Welcome to the Club, and yes it is!

When I was auditioning headphones the other week, it boiled down to the Empyrean 2 and the Elite's, switching back and forth. At one point I was under the impression that I was listening to the Empyreans 2, telling the dealer I like these more than the other the previous set, the more expensive Elite's.
Then I put them off and the dealer told me to look at the headband, it clearly showed Elite.
So I had the wong impression, it turned out it was the Elite's, which I liked more.

But, matter of taste, I did not like the looks of black and chrome. I was happy when the dealer showed me other available versions of the Elite's, like the Sunset Boulevard, which looks beautiful on screen, I hope it will be a insta-like match with my new Ferrum Erco. Soundwise I think, from what I heard, they will do very well together.

Tomorrow it is back to the shop to pick them up. They will be replacing my 14 years old slightly modified HD800 (original).
May I join the club as well?

 

[centuriones]

Tomorrow it is back to the shop to pick them up. They will be replacing my 14 years old slightly modified HD800 (original).
May I join the club as well?

welcome among friends

 

[MrHaelscheir]

When I was auditioning headphones the other week, it boiled down to the Empyrean 2 and the Elite's, switching back and forth. At one point I was under the impression that I was listening to the Empyreans 2, telling the dealer I like these more than the other the previous set, the more expensive Elite's.
Then I put them off and the dealer told me to look at the headband, it clearly showed Elite.
So I had the wong impression, it turned out it was the Elite's, which I liked more.

But, matter of taste, I did not like the looks of black and chrome. I was happy when the dealer showed me other available versions of the Elite's, like the Sunset Boulevard, which looks beautiful on screen, I hope it will be a insta-like match with my new Ferrum Erco. Soundwise I think, from what I heard, they will do very well together.

Tomorrow it is back to the shop to pick them up. They will be replacing my 14 years old slightly modified HD800 (original).
May I join the club as well?

That is a nice colour. I presently rock with the Tungsten model. Otherwise, rest assured that you are getting one of the best performing headphones for multi-tone distortion at least when EQed (my own measurements shared in https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...phone-measurements.18451/page-61#post-1956895 (post #1,210, Figure 15)); I can say they were also easily my preferred choice in build, looks, comfort, and presentation over the DCA Expanse and Stealth. I do admit as of late that the unEQed sound can also sound quite nice when I am not primed to another tonality, but for me, it works excellently with DSP and EQ for simulating neutral speakers, down to having excellent magnetic field containment and a carbon fiber headband that won't interfere with magnetometer-basted binaural head-tracking. The past year has only shown me more and more how wonderful if nigh "perfect" of a choice this headphone was even though my very first sonic impressions were due to an EQ profile inadvertently boosting 600 Hz for an impressively "sweeter" sound. That though I would have liked it to have been neutral from the get-go, there is a chance that the stock elevated bass to lower midrange betrayed an efficiency enabling exceptionally low harmonic and multi-tone distortion from the bass and up once EQed to neutral. An imminent endgame satisfying me beyond those DCAs or the Stax SR-X9000 or even Sennheiser HE-1, the HE1000se only being complementary.

 

[up late]

When I was auditioning headphones the other week, it boiled down to the Empyrean 2 and the Elite's, switching back and forth. At one point I was under the impression that I was listening to the Empyreans 2, telling the dealer I like these more than the other the previous set, the more expensive Elite's.
Then I put them off and the dealer told me to look at the headband, it clearly showed Elite.
So I had the wong impression, it turned out it was the Elite's, which I liked more.

But, matter of taste, I did not like the looks of black and chrome. I was happy when the dealer showed me other available versions of the Elite's, like the Sunset Boulevard, which looks beautiful on screen, I hope it will be a insta-like match with my new Ferrum Erco. Soundwise I think, from what I heard, they will do very well together.

Tomorrow it is back to the shop to pick them up. They will be replacing my 14 years old slightly modified HD800 (original).
May I join the club as well?

nice choice. i compared the elite and empyrean 2 a few weeks ago and found myself preferring the elite after initially being impressed by the empy 2's clarity (i posted my impressions in the empyrean 2 thread).

 

[mynamesjeff]

Has anyone compared the Elite to The ZMF Atrium Open?
Im curious to know how similar or different they are

 

[Solasuke]

Has anyone compared the Elite to The ZMF Atrium Open?
Im curious to know how similar or different they are

To my ears I find them relatively similar in what they accomplish from a type of sound perspective, to the extent that I would find it hard to justify owning both.

Elite has much better detail, immersive staging, instrument separation, imaging. Much more bass with hybrid pads - overall thicker sound.

Atrium has better/sweeter timbre, lower resolution, good stage width however I find it very side and forward, not much at the back. Atrium is also much punchier, and a little more natural sounding.

There are definitely people with a strong preference for Atrium over Elite, but I lean the other way. I also think Elite scales a lot more and is a bit pickier, so if you have a more budget/affordable chain, Atrium could be the better sound to go for. I know Elite is easy to drive, but I was considering letting it go until I really stepped up the investment in my chain, as I found it very brittle sounding and a bit plasticky in timbre.

 

[AntonRisto]

Has anyone compared the Elite to The ZMF Atrium Open?
Im curious to know how similar or different they are

I think they differ quite a lot in their presentation, although it's highly dependable what pads you use with them. Also with Atrium Open (AO), you can tweak the sound with different mesh options as well. I've been using my AO with Caldera Ultra Perforated Leather pads and the stock mesh. I've mostly used my Elite with Hybrid pads.

With my setup, they have a similar amount of bass to my ear. Elite sounds airier and softer with more sparkle in the treble, whereas AO sounds weightier and punchier with more forward mids. Elite separates instruments better and is a bit more detailed. AO brings vocals more forward. In my system, the soundstage width and depth is about on par with them but with AO the sound itself feels bigger. It's kinda hard to explain. Both are pretty easy/forgiving to listen to even with harsher recordings but the mids can sometimes get a bit aggressive with AO, whereas the increased upper treble of Elite may bother some listeners. If you switch to Angled Alcantara pads with Elite you get more clarity and details but bass quantity/impact takes quite a big hit after which they are a lot more softer sounding in the bass compared to AO.

I do think Elite and AO complement each other quite well but I am actually planning to sell my Elite because I prefer my Caldera Open to them nowadays. I feel that the Caldera Open with Caldera Thick Leather pads sound a lot like Elite with Hybrid pads but the sound is punchier and bigger/taller sounding and bass quality is better.

 

[Rudivanb]

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.