[musicday]

Better build then Diana MR, more comfortable, lighter and same price.

 

[Ravenor]

I love the og empyrean. Love the heavenly, warm and sweet sound of it. The Empyrean 2 and especially Elite seems to neutral for my taste but it’s good that we can choose!

 

[betula]

Joshua Valour would take the Empyrean II over a Sennheiser HE1.

The one to slay them all. Scary how uniformly positive the reviews are, even from Meze Haters.

Also scary considering I like the original Meze house sound and this seems to be quite the departure from it

Those Meze haters still have to sell Meze headphones. That perhaps explains it partially.

I find this whole thing confounding. Why would they discontinue headphone that had a very distinctive sound and that’s what drew people to it.

The new headphone might be better, or not quite as good as the Elite, but it certainly has to be closer to the Elite than the original Empyrean. So why spend $1000 more and get the Elite?

Maybe that departure from the OG sound is not that huge after all, just enough to satisfy people with different preferences. We can't judge without auditioning, but some more sane reviews actually say it is still the Empyrean sound just cleaner and clearer, especially in the bass. After all it is the same driver/diaphragm as the OG Empy probably with some tweaks. Elites advantage mostly comes from a thinner diaphragm. Many reviews actually say the Elite still has better overall resolution, detail retrieval and refinement, but you are right, it is even more difficult to justify +$1000 now.

 

[Alenotta]

Maybe, maybe not...

Well, I definitely respect anyone's opinion for their personal summit-fi. I honestly love the OG Empyrean and I think it would be a fantastic end game. Also, who the heck can afford an HE-1 anyway. I only heard it for 5min like 3 years ago and I was pretty blown away by the Elvis track I heard. Hard to compete with the Sennheiser midrange on a vocal track though. Empy is definitely worthy of TOTL status. People seemed to move off the OG once the Elite came out and I found that kind of odd. I think both are great.

So is there any reason to believe the driver has changed in any way? Looking at the post above saying they're the same. I admittedly haven't watched any of the Meze marketing videos if it's in there somewhere, but it just looks like a new aesthetic and we're getting rid of the old pads.

Impedance listed on their site goes from 31.6 to 32, which is something I guess, or they started rounding up.

I want to believe it's different somehow, but everything I read is vague. I do like the new look but I like the old look about as much and might just grab a used set and wait for them to sell the new pads.

I believe the new Empyrean II has a mesh screen over the driver now which will change the sound I'm sure. They probably have done some retuning to the driver because people keep commenting on how superior the bass quality is. However, like I mentioned earlier, changing to the thinner pads really does clean up the mid-bass bloat everyone complains about. I haven't watched all the reviews, but someone should take the new hybrid pads and silver cable and put them on an OG Empyrean to see how similar it is. I think it'll still be different since you're missing the new mesh they've tuned the pads to. Also the metal cut out cup design is a little different. I doubt it would make a huge difference, but the new one looks like it has a bit less venting due to that maybe? I'm excited to hear the new one.

 

[Alenotta]

Elites advantage mostly comes from a thinner diaphragm. Many reviews actually say the Elite still has better overall resolution, detail retrieval and refinement, but you are right, it is even more difficult to justify +$1000 now.

I'm with you. I think that both Elite and Empyrean should be co-flagship status in my opinion. Some people will definitely prefer the sound of the thicker diaphragm. I feel like with the race to the thinnest diaphragm planars we get a lot of micro detail, but sometimes at the expense of thickness of sound. Empyrean is a great headphone to just sit back and sink into music with. People who love that mid bass may prefer to sacrifice some of that TOTL micro detail. That being said, I really need to spend more time with a pair of elites on different chains to make such claims haha. I do really like them too.

 

[betula]

I'm with you. I think that both Elite and Empyrean should be co-flagship status in my opinion. Some people will definitely prefer the sound of the thicker diaphragm. I feel like with the race to the thinnest diaphragm planars we get a lot of micro detail, but sometimes at the expense of thickness of sound. Empyrean is a great headphone to just sit back and sink into music with. People who love that mid bass may prefer to sacrifice some of that TOTL micro detail. That being said, I really need to spend more time with a pair of elites on different chains to make such claims haha. I do really like them too.

I like both headphones too, but IMO the Elite is superior both subjectively and objectively. That $1K is debatable though.

 

[ckhirnigs113]

The real dilemma is you can pretty consistently get a used Elite in near-perfect condition for less than a new Empyrean II sells for. If I was in the market, it would be a tough decision without hearing both.

 

[Ravenor]

I like both headphones too, but IMO the Elite is superior both subjectively and objectively. That $1K is debatable.

Both subjectively and objectively….?
This is a very simplistic and primitive take on the subject and not relevant. There is more categories
not just pure technical atributes in the world of high-end headphones. What about the tuning, the musicality, the soul of the sound? In that regards, og empyrean is superior. (both subjectively and objectively….) which one is better? It’s depends man. Not a question of superiority. Or not just superiority.

 

[betula]

What are you trying to say?

 

[PixelSquish]

I'd like to hear impressions of these with the ZMF Caldera and LCD-X

 

[Alenotta]

I like both headphones too, but IMO the Elite is superior both subjectively and objectively. That $1K is debatable though.

Probably true. I too have a Caldera and I can’t help sometimes to listen to my 6xx or 660s2. They definitely are inferior headphones by all measurements.

 

[Alenotta]

I'd like to hear impressions of these with the ZMF Caldera and LCD-X

Caldera is special. Without hearing the new Empyreans I’m gonna say it is more linear and mid forward for sure. OG Empyreans have more V shape and an interesting fullness on top and bottom of the spectrum because of their unique split driver design. My only very VERY slight con for the empyrean OG is that the low and high end can feel a tad disconnected because of that dip in the vocal mids. But I also like a mid forward ZMF sound. Safe to say the new Empyrean will be fun and engaging if it keeps a lot of the OG soul alive.

 

[C_Lindbergh]

Any European dealer with the option for a great payment plan? Seems to be a lot less of those around compared to the US...:/

 

[csch92]

how would one compare the empys to the 109? the 109 impressed me actually way more after i tried the original empys.
i am not sure i could call the empys 3k good or the 109 is just an amazing value

 

[Dragonmilenario]

how would one compare the empys to the 109? the 109 impressed me actually way more after i tried the original empys.
i am not sure i could call the empys 3k good or the 109 is just an amazing value

I’ve got the 109 pro and I’ve had the chance to listen to the OG Empyrean and the Elite for quite a few hours.

In my view, both the OG Empyrean and the Elite have an extra touch of musicality that the 109 pro seems to miss. It’s like everything is more intertwined and you feel more immersed in the music.

The Elite are more detailed and seem more real. If I had to quantify it, I’d say they’re about 7-8% more so than the OG Empyrean and 10-15% more than the 109 pro.

With the angled alcantara pads, the Elite’s sound a lot like the 109 pro’s. The Empyrean’s, on the other hand, have a more laid-back and somewhat warm sound.

I reckon Meze has done something pretty impressive with the 109 pro. They’ve managed to get a sound that’s 10%-15% lower than any flagship for less than $1000/euros.

So, as a 109 pro owner, here’s how I see it:

- If you’re after a 10% boost in sharpness, clarity, and spatiality, you might want to consider the HifiMan HE1000SE.

- If you’re looking for a 10% increase in musicality, scene, and naturalness, the OG Empyrean, Elite, or possibly an Empyrean II could be the way to go.

- But if you’re happy without those extras and you’re content with 90% of both worlds, then just enjoy your 109 pro.