[betula]

If you do a search on the Elite thread, you’ll find quite a few opinions on the Empy leather pads on the Elite. For example, here’s post #4,292:

“Just got the Empyrean leather pads in for my Elite. Holy s_$t do they open them up and add just enough lushness to be the best of both worlds.”

Just to add my two cents to the earpad conversation, to me the full leather Empy pads on the Elite and the Elite hybrid pads on the Empy just both sound weird and unbalanced. That said, before the new angled Alcantara pads came out, I used to prefer the leather pads on the Empy and the hybrids on the Elite. The new angled pads IMO are by far the best pads for both the Empy and Elite so far. I would be curious to try the new Empy 2 pads, but based on my previous experience I see little chance that it would work on the Elite.

 

[klaus2325]

If you do a search on the Elite thread, you’ll find quite a few opinions on the Empy leather pads on the Elite. For example, here’s post #4,292:

“Just got the Empyrean leather pads in for my Elite. Holy s_$t do they open them up and add just enough lushness to be the best of both worlds.”

Same for me. Empy leather pads on my Elite

 

[ThanatosVI]

Same for me. Empy leather pads on my Elite

Hybrid Pads on Elite.
Full leather or Angled Alcantara on Empyrean (seriously, it's like 2 different headphones)

Regular Alcantara is rotting in the case... simply the worst among the Pads.
Angled Alcantara on Elite lacks a little Bass for my taste

 

[gammi]

I live near Bloom Audio and they've been nice enough to let me compare Empy 2 and Elite at their shop this upcoming week.
Great guys, I highly recommend ordering through them!

 

[ckhirnigs113]

I live near Bloom Audio and they've been nice enough to let me compare Empy 2 and Elite at their shop this upcoming week.
Great guys, I highly recommend ordering through them!

Make sure you do a lot of pad swapping while you have the opportunity!

 

[betula]

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.

I have just seen you edited your post with an explanation.
Please do not try to educate me as a newbie. I have been in this hobby for 15 years and regularly write reviews that are appreciated by the community. I probably owned more headphones that you have ever seen.

 

[Alenotta]

I have just seen you edited your post with an explanation.
Please do not try to educate me as a newbie. I have been in this hobby for 15 years and regularly write reviews that are appreciated by the community. I probably owned more headphones that you have ever seen.

I think tone of people's responses gets lost in translation when we talk on forums. I'm sure we'd all have a grand old time listening to headphones together. I started it by being controversial in saying I preferred the Empyrean tuning. I have no hate toward the Elite. Meze always turns out solid stuff.

 

[betula]

I think tone of people's responses gets lost in translation when we talk on forums. I'm sure we'd all have a grand old time listening to headphones together. I started it by being controversial in saying I preferred the Empyrean tuning. I have no hate toward the Elite. Meze always turns out solid stuff.

Exactly. And personal preference overwrites everything. There are people who prefer their $300 headphones to some $6000 pairs and that is perfectly fine.

 

[Ravenor]

I have just seen you edited your post with an explanation.
Please do not try to educate me as a newbie. I have been in this hobby for 15 years and regularly write reviews that are appreciated by the community. I probably owned more headphones that you have ever seen.

I’m not educate you. I just wrote my opinion. I’m a teacher maybe thats my netural tone but I appreciated your experience with headphones. I offered a different take on the subject. You can open about it or not. Not everything is narrow. That’s it. I wish you enjoy your headphones man.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Exactly. And personal preference overwrites everything. There are people who prefer their $300 headphones to some $6000 pairs and that is perfectly fine.

True, I take an Empyrean over Susvara any day of the week

 

[betula]

I’m not educate you. I just wrote my opinion. I’m a teacher maybe thats my netural tone but I appreciated your experience with headphones. I offered a different take on the subject. You can open about it or not. Not everything is narrow. That’s it. I wish you enjoy your headphones man.

That is fine, but what is your point?

 

[Ravenor]

That is fine, but what is your point?

You already said it yourself.”personal preference overwrites ”
So subjectively the elite is not a better headphone. Objectively maybe but I’m still not sure. On the other side the elite is the better headphone if we speak about technical improvments. I just feel I find my all time favorite in the og empy. Honestly before I bought it I dreamed how it sounds (literally) and when I first heard it… yeah. It was a dream come true to me. Hard to explain. I feel the heart, the soul of it. It was made with care and love. Meze favorite for a reason. I love to listening 70’s japanese pop and funk with it. It’s just the best.

 

[betula]

You already said it yourself.”personal preference overwrites ”
So subjectively the elite is not a better headphone. Objectively maybe but I’m still not sure. On the other side the elite is the better headphone if we speak about technical improvments. I just feel I find my all time favorite in the og empy. Honestly before I bought it I dreamed how it sounds (literally) and when I first heard it… yeah. It was a dream come true to me. Hard to explain. I feel the heart, the soul of it. It was made with care and love. Meze favorite for a reason. I love to listening 70’s japanese pop and funk with it. It’s just the best.

That is how I felt when I first heard the og Empy in 2018. They are still great, but a lot has happened in the industry in the past 5 years.

 

[razoredge]

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 heard the Empy II as well as the OG Empy and the 109 yesterday at CAF. (Disclaimer: It was in a crowded show floor setting with speakers blaring nearby). I absolutely loved the Empy II. It’s the perfect headphone for my tastes. Amazing industrial design and comfort. Great sound stage (deep and layered), balanced tonality that still has great bass (quantity) but doesn’t get too syrupy (which was apparent on the OG as I flipped back and forth). The thing that stuck me the most is how realistic it sounded. On Radiohead’s “Reckoner”, I felt like I was in a studio with with Thom when he starts crooning the opening lines. Startlingly so. The crash of cymbals in the first few seconds is as jarring as the musicians intended - owing to the elevated treble on the Empy II relative to the OG. Overall I was very impressed by the immersive and “in the room” atmosphere that these headphones can produce (the opening guitar fingerings on Kings of Convenience’s “Mrs Cold” sound so sweet, warm, and resonant, as if it was played in-room on a $100K guitar).
As an owner of the 109 Pro, it’s a headphone I already love and enjoy on an almost daily basis (with a slight EQ to boost sub-bass). I was able to plug the 109 into the same source electronics and compare. Given the price difference, I felt like the 109 really proves an incredible value. Granted it was not the deepest comparison test, but I honestly felt the 109 can get you > 90% of the way to the Empy II. You’d have to really split hairs to spot the sonic difference.
I’m very impressed by the Empy II and hope to be able to afford them someday, although the performance of the 109 Pro makes the Empy II more of a luxury purchase than a true $2K sonic upgrade.

 

[razoredge]

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

What are good options in the US for this?