[Slackaveli]

Thanks, Fellaz.

 

[csch92]

So, for House and trance and rap music, Empy I, Empy II, or Elite?

would you really need to to that far up for that genre? have you tried the 109? to me they are fantastic for trance

 

[Slackaveli]

Yes I own 109. And I listen to all manner of genres. It was just a specific question as the answer to that question tells me what I want to know about the tuning. Aka tight punchy bass translates to other genres, especially many of my favorite niche genres.

My chain is decent. I still espire for better like everyone else here though lol.

Neutron Player (PC) > Fiio K9 Pro ESS > Meze 109 Pro / Sennheiser HD650 / HD58x

 

[csch92]

if you want tight punch bass i think you will have to look somewhere else.

i loved the fast attack on of the emphys but it is no where near a basshead headphone.

maybe try to eq the sub bass of the 109

 

[Slackaveli]

i dont like eq'd bass, but im also not looking for a bass head headphone; I am merely interested in the Meze upgrade path. I've heard Elite and Empy 1, i love them both. I just didnt have my music on hand at the time.

 

[ThanatosVI]

i dont like eq'd bass, but im also not looking for a bass head headphone; I am merely interested in the Meze upgrade path.

Right now all of them have their place.
You might want to Audition the Empyrean before it gets replaced in the lineup

 

[Toonartist]

i dont like eq'd bass, but im also not looking for a bass head headphone; I am merely interested in the Meze upgrade path.

Sometimes bass quality, pace and stage / imaging matter more for some electronic than pure bass quantity

 

[Slackaveli]

Sometimes bass quality, pace and stage / imaging matter more for some electronic than pure bass quantity

yes, exactly. I love imaged, clean with good, tight bass. Not overly bassed or bloated. The 109 Pros are great for their price. Pace matters a ton in the music i like as you said.

 

[razoredge]

With that, I guess Empyrean (sound) has left the building with the 2. Which is more and more looking like a Liric-like tuning but optimized for open back. This move would be an easy sell to Meze diehards but would be a bit tougher for the OG Empy fans and even more so to Elite owners. Plus if Meze did dabble into the more neutral presentation, there's going to be competition in that category, the (super hyped) Composer is one and could be a lot in the 1k and under.

I think this is a good observation. The II doesn't have as much slam in the bass. It's more even for music where that doesn't matter, but when you want more dynamic impact from notes, it feels somewhat behind. I think where it does well is when you want to relax listening, and enjoy the nuances, rather than rock out.

Would you agree that the empy II tuning is actually closer to the 109 In the meze line up?

 

[razoredge]

would you really need to to that far up for that genre? have you tried the 109? to me they are fantastic for trance

Interesting comment. Do You think some genres are more deserving of high end equipment than others?

 

[ThEvil0nE]

Would you agree that the empy II tuning is actually closer to the 109 In the meze line up?

I still have to audition the Empy II. All speculations for me atm and taking notes on other that have already auditioned it.

 

[bneiderman]

When are these shipping? I preordered but have heard nothing yet.

 

[DP42]

I was able to test the three top Meze models back to back at CanJam Dallas: Empy I, Empy II, and Elite, all on the Woo W8, I believe they all had suede type pads. I listened using the same type copper cable, and was focusing on the Diana Krall album 'Girl in the other room', of which I am very familiar. I listened closely to the same tracks and rotated all 3 models numerous times.

Takeaways:

Empy I - warm and enjoyable, but did not have the clarity and detail of Empy II and Elite, it took no time to determine the real test would be between Empy II and Elite.
Empy II - compared to the Empy I, the FR seemed much more linear, with a good balance between instruments and vocals. DK's voice sounded so good, and was the focus of the listening, however the instruments were a bit less interesting, and had a somewhat average sound in comparison to her voice.
Elite - compared to Empy II, I actually thought DK's voice was less interesting and a bit flatter sounding, however the spatial effects were better and cymbals had shimmer/sizzle like real cymbals. The Elite sounded more live and real in the instruments for sure.

If I had to choose between Empy II and Elite, I would go Elite if they were the same price. But given the $1000 price difference, I would go Empy II. But man, those cymbals on the Elite sure sounded nice, I think owning both models could make sense if you had unlimited funds. In the end, I am sure I would be happy with either, but would definitely not get Empy I even if on sale, now that I was able to compare it to the other 2 models.

 

[gammi]

I was able to test the three top Meze models back to back at CanJam Dallas: Empy I, Empy II, and Elite, all on the Woo W8, I believe they all had suede type pads. I listened using the same type copper cable, and was focusing on the Diana Krall album 'Girl in the other room', of which I am very familiar. I listened closely to the same tracks and rotated all 3 models numerous times.

Takeaways:

Empy I - warm and enjoyable, but did not have the clarity and detail of Empy II and Elite, it took no time to determine the real test would be between Empy II and Elite.
Empy II - compared to the Empy I, the FR seemed much more linear, with a good balance between instruments and vocals. DK's voice sounded so good, and was the focus of the listening, however the instruments were a bit less interesting, and had a somewhat average sound in comparison to her voice.
Elite - compared to Empy II, I actually thought DK's voice was less interesting and a bit flatter sounding, however the spatial effects were better and cymbals had shimmer/sizzle like real cymbals. The Elite sounded more live and real in the instruments for sure.

If I had to choose between Empy II and Elite, I would go Elite if they were the same price. But given the $1000 price difference, I would go Empy II. But man, those cymbals on the Elite sure sounded nice, I think owning both models could make sense if you had unlimited funds. In the end, I am sure I would be happy with either, but would definitely not get Empy I even if on sale, now that I was able to compare it to the other 2 models.

Now consider that the Elite sells used for a few hundred less than the Empy 2 and things get pretty complicated...

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I was able to test the three top Meze models back to back at CanJam Dallas: Empy I, Empy II, and Elite, all on the Woo W8, I believe they all had suede type pads. I listened using the same type copper cable, and was focusing on the Diana Krall album 'Girl in the other room', of which I am very familiar. I listened closely to the same tracks and rotated all 3 models numerous times.

Takeaways:

Empy I - warm and enjoyable, but did not have the clarity and detail of Empy II and Elite, it took no time to determine the real test would be between Empy II and Elite.
Empy II - compared to the Empy I, the FR seemed much more linear, with a good balance between instruments and vocals. DK's voice sounded so good, and was the focus of the listening, however the instruments were a bit less interesting, and had a somewhat average sound in comparison to her voice.
Elite - compared to Empy II, I actually thought DK's voice was less interesting and a bit flatter sounding, however the spatial effects were better and cymbals had shimmer/sizzle like real cymbals. The Elite sounded more live and real in the instruments for sure.

If I had to choose between Empy II and Elite, I would go Elite if they were the same price. But given the $1000 price difference, I would go Empy II. But man, those cymbals on the Elite sure sounded nice, I think owning both models could make sense if you had unlimited funds. In the end, I am sure I would be happy with either, but would definitely not get Empy I even if on sale, now that I was able to compare it to the other 2 models.

Thanks for the nice write-up. I can tell you that vocals sound incredible on the Elite once you get the chain dialed in. I’m not sure how good a match the Woo W8 is for these three headphones, but I can tell you the Elite will scale significantly with better equipment even though you can drive it adequately with almost anything.