[Sunset1982]

Thank you! Such impressions are always welcome!

 

[eddie3vino]

I’ve had my Empyrean 2s for about two months now. They do sound better with more power. The Cayin C9 really makes them sing.

 

[SkippyBE]

Indeed, the soundstage opens up paired with the Cayin C9. Perfect combination.

 

[Lucikun]

Joined the Empy II club today. Giving them a first listen today. Caldera in tomorrow!

 

[eddie3vino]

Congratulations. They do require some break in so they will sound better after some time.

 

[sparkofinsanity]

A few notes after four months and hundreds of hours of listening.

I’m still as excited to put them on as day one, they truly are amazing. For Soul & RnB they are in a league of their own. Both old school like Solomon Burke, Syl Johnson and modern stuff like Cleo Sol and Greentea Peng. That music really plays at the strengths of this headphone, it sounds lush with a rich bottom end and full of details. It's of course true for all well recorded music but most consistently true here.

Some of the brick walled stuff are the weak spot, when everything is equally loud it becomes too much to handle and I have to turn down the volume. Especially in combination with certain female vocalists with peaks within certain frequencies. If you use EQ, Resolves preset helps a lot with this. Not prevalent in what I listen to so pretty much not an issue for me.

I've been thinking about high end headphones and detail retrieval, on these the details are here but not pushed as high in the mix as with with other headphones that are "leaders" in detail. I think I prefer it this way, I can go looking for it but what the mastering engineer meant to be heard is in full focus. I have other headphones to scratch that itch if I feel like it.

Amplification really does change things with these as others have written about.

All in all, these are king of the hill for me. Exceptional comfort, design and sound.

A few tracks that stand out on these:
Ben Harper - Where Did We Go Wrong
Solomon Burke - None of Us are Free
Timbuktu - It'll All Be Over
Little Simz - Introvert
Nils Landgren - Killing Me Softly
Puscifer - Mama Said

 

[Dragonmilenario]

A few notes after four months and hundreds of hours of listening.

I’m still as excited to put them on as day one, they truly are amazing. For Soul & RnB they are in a league of their own. Both old school like Solomon Burke, Syl Johnson and modern stuff like Cleo Sol and Greentea Peng. That music really plays at the strengths of this headphone, it sounds lush with a rich bottom end and full of details. It's of course true for all well recorded music but most consistently true here.

Some of the brick walled stuff are the weak spot, when everything is equally loud it becomes too much to handle and I have to turn down the volume. Especially in combination with certain female vocalists with peaks within certain frequencies. If you use EQ, Resolves preset helps a lot with this. Not prevalent in what I listen to so pretty much not an issue for me.

I've been thinking about high end headphones and detail retrieval, on these the details are here but not pushed as high in the mix as with with other headphones that are "leaders" in detail. I think I prefer it this way, I can go looking for it but what the mastering engineer meant to be heard is in full focus. I have other headphones to scratch that itch if I feel like it.

Amplification really does change things with these as others have written about.

All in all, these are king of the hill for me. Exceptional comfort, design and sound.

A few tracks that stand out on these:
Ben Harper - Where Did We Go Wrong
Solomon Burke - None of Us are Free
Timbuktu - It'll All Be Over
Little Simz - Introvert
Nils Landgren - Killing Me Softly
Puscifer - Mama Said

Many thanks for these tracks; the Liric 2 also shines on this.

 

[Lucikun]

Any comparisons on these and the D8000 pro or D8000 pro LE?

 

[Puroplatino]

Thanks for the impressions! It's strange but it seems to me that those who liked the OG Empy would like the Elites and those that were not huge fans of OG Empy would like Empy 2 more. During my short demo, if I had no idea which headphone was which and I had listened to the OG Empy first and was told that there was an Empy 2, I would have blindly picked the Elites because I could hear the similarities. And if I was then told there was a different model called the Elites I would have blindly picked the Empy 2 cause to me it sounded like its own thing, still somewhat similar but different enough. Idk, just a thought I had.

I own all 3 and I also like all 3

 

[listen4joy]

Review

 

[up late]

just watched it - it's damning. @WaveTheory's ears don't get along with the meze sound.

 

[betula]

just watched it - it's damning. @WaveTheory's ears don't get along with the meze sound.

No, they don't. He is in camp HiFiMan.

 

[up late]

No, they don't. He is in camp HiFiMan.

i think that's a simplistic assessment

 

[betula]

i think that's a simplistic assessment

I wasn't really assessing anything, his strong preference towards oval HiFiMan headphones is well known. And those offer a radically different sound tuning.

 

[infinity3914]

Having listened to both the Empyrean 2 and HE1000SE and sold the HE1000SE a week later, I agree with most of his review.

I was in the market for fun, engaging, and neutral-bright but not sibilant headphones, easy to drive and available (cough cough Modhouse Tungsten) to accompany my lush and superb Atrium. The HE1000SE somewhat fulfilled that niche, but the infamous Hifiman treble bothered me a lot, even with the Dekoni Hybrid pads. I also bought a subscription to Last.FM pro to help inform my purchase (picture below), and it was evident that I just couldn't stand using the HE1000SE for more energetic genres like electronic (DnB, EDM, trap) and pop. On top of this, the HE1000SE was unengaging (very impersonal and "cold" sounding) and uncomfortable (the bottom of the egg-shape pads kept digging into my jaw), had a "meh" build quality, and had the reputation of breaking down easily (Hifiman QC lol). The last issue was confirmed when it was DOA to a buyer, and if I hadn't been so lucky to track down the original owner for the receipt, I'd have had a $1500 pile of garbage returned to me.

None of this is to diminish WaveTheory's review (IMO his reviews are the best right now), but our music preference (he tends to use orchestral music in his evaluation) and what we wanted out of the headphones. I kept the Empyrean 2 due to its superior comfort, versatility, and engagement, while not being a complete slouch in technicalities (with the AA pads). If I exclusively listened to orchestra music and prioritized analytical listening, I'd have kept the HE1000SE. Also, I've been listening to the Empyrean 2 daily for about ~ 2 months now and haven't noticed any pressure build up in my ears with the Duo pads, but this is a YMMV, different in head-shape thing. As for the price tag, I could see how the MSRP is high given the "objective", but I kept the Empyrean 2 purely on the "subjective".

Nevertheless, when it comes to these kilo-bucks (or any) headphones, you need to listen to them yourself. I demoed the Empyrean 2 on an SS amp at my local store and knew that I'd love them on tubes. Reviews are helpful but they can only provide so much insight since the reviewer's sound preferences and head shape might be different from your own. I dislike the 6XX, the Focal Clear OG, and the Arya Stealth, and I'm about to sell the HD8000S, even though these are the reviewers' favorites.