My impressions of the Meze Empyrean:
I first want to first thank Todd of TTVJ for allowing me listen to these headphones for an extended period of time. Awesome loaner program!!!
Build Quality: There are probably the most well-made headphones out there. They are reasonably light at 430g and feel very comfortable on my head. They are well machined and feel very sturdy. A headphone you would want to baby but because of the build quality you do not have to do so or be afraid that they are too delicate to leave outside their case.
Equipment: I used several sources - Tidal, Qobuz and a few FLAC files. THX 789 AAA, IFI DSD Black Label RME ADI-2 DAC. Norne Draugur Silver cable. Hifiman HE-1000 SE and ZMF Zircote Verite for comparisons.
Empyrean Sound Quality:
Bass - I find the bass to be very full sounding with quite a bit of impact. The midbass is accentuated on these headphones which adds to that feeling of impact. You have to be careful with the pairing of the Empyrean to your DAC’s and Amps. They must be paired with source equipment that can maintain tight control of the bass frequencies or the bass will sound too loose and out of control, sloppy even. It was a good match with the THX, but I can imagine with some tube amps that sound might get out of control. There is ample subbass for hip hop trap bass, so no worries there. There were times in which I did wish the midbass was dialed back a bit as I got a slight feeling of muddy bass, but we are talking a small amount here. There is good bass detail but not on the level of the HEK or the Verite.
Midrange – The midrange is sweet and enjoyable. Nice fullness. If you like really forward vocals this headphone may not be for you. Not that the vocals are relaxed but they are not quite as out front as the Verite let’s say.
Treble – For me the Empyrean has the right amount of treble. It is not too much as in bright, it is slightly subdued, but it is enough to make the presentation exciting. This is why I can say that overall the Empyrean may have one of the best tonal balances I have heard on any headphone and I have heard most of the top contenders.
Sound Quality Comparisons:
Hifiman HE-1000 SE – First I would have to point out the very different tonal balances and overall sound. The HEK is thinner brighter and has an airy quality to its sound, with a very neutral to slightly bright balance. The Empyrean is a lot thicker sounding with less of an upper midrange, treble emphasis. As regards to resolution the HEK handily wins here. You will hear a lot more detail and even micro detail than with the Empyrean. Timbre slightly also goes to the HEK.
Soundstage and Imaging – The HEK SE wins here too. It is one of the top Soundstage and imaging headphones out there. It gives you a wide expanse both in width and depth. With very precise imaging. On EDM tracks with lots of effects you can precisely follow those sound effects around. With the Empyrean the width is decent, but not as wide and the depth is also good but not quite there as with the HEK. The images are larger but not as easy to locate as on the HEK. The soundstage is also more crowded on the Empyrean as opposed to the HEK.
Overall Sound – the differences are pretty large between these two. Almost opposite tonality. If you want a more analytical headphone with a big soundstage and a more precise sound, think HEK. If you are looking for a more relaxed, thicker sound and do not need that precision, think Empyrean. I would almost say the Empyrean is more of tubey sound vs the SS sound of the HEK. As to my opinion of which I would prefer…. I would have to cop out by saying it depends on what I want to listen to. Hip Hop, new metal…..Empyrean. Classic Rock, Pink Floyd, EDM….HEK. The HEK is a great complement to the Empyrean. If you could have only one think about which types of music you will mostly listen to and then think about whether you want a more analytical or a more fun headphone.
ZMF Verite Zircote – Now these are more like brothers from different mothers. Think the exact definition of planar vs dynamic but with similar tonality.
Resolution and Timbre – Here is where the Verite takes the lead. I think the Verite has better resolution and better timbre. It sounds more natural. A great way to test this is with acoustic guitars. They sounded more lively and real on the Verite. The Empyrean is not bad but it does not quite sound as natural especially with acoustic instruments. With vocals I can hear them more clearly with the Verite, as in more of a raspy tone of a female singers voice for instance.
Soundstage and Imaging – This is about a tie between them. The Verite with most pads has a wider soundstage and the Empyrean tends to have a less wide soundstage but it tends to be deeper. I feel the Empyrean has slightly more accurate pinpoint imaging. The Verite has better layering and a more 3D image within it soundstage but sometimes that image gets a little fuzzy compared to the Empyrean. This of course depends on which pads are in use between either headphone.
Dynamics – With macrodynamics I feel the Empyrean has the edge. It also has more slam. I can feel more a difference between those quiet and loud passages. This is helped by its better midbass presence. Now with micro dynamics I believe the Verite does the subtleties better. Back to the acoustic guitars…..You can hear more differences in the strumming and picking with the Verite.
Overall Sound – They share a similar tonality of being warm, inviting headphones with a pleasant amount of treble, midrange and ample bass. The Empyrean has more of a midbass presence and thus sounds thicker. Neither headphone could be considered harsh or strident, actually far from it. The tonality thing is a tough thing to exactly nail down between these two because they both have interchangeable pads…..Empyrean has two set of pads and the Verite has up to five sets to choose from. I have the Verite, Universe and Verite Suede pads. I mostly use the Verite Lambskin and Verite Suede pads.
Conclusion:
In wrapping this up I would say that the Verite is the more accurate headphone, the Empyrean has more slam and depending on the track, might be considered just as much fun despite not being the last word in accuracy. If you are looking for that more natural timbre, go for the Verite. With the Empyrean you are getting more of a package…..great comfort, great durable build quality and good not great resolution. That lack of TOTL resolution has been mentioned in other reviews. Yes, it could/should be better, especially for the asking price. If Meze could add that extra resolve and keep that great tonal balance, this could very well be the best all-around set of headphones on the market. As it is, the Empyrean is still a great package missing an element or two that prevents it from being ranked among the very best.
I first want to first thank Todd of TTVJ for allowing me listen to these headphones for an extended period of time. Awesome loaner program!!!
Build Quality: There are probably the most well-made headphones out there. They are reasonably light at 430g and feel very comfortable on my head. They are well machined and feel very sturdy. A headphone you would want to baby but because of the build quality you do not have to do so or be afraid that they are too delicate to leave outside their case.
Equipment: I used several sources - Tidal, Qobuz and a few FLAC files. THX 789 AAA, IFI DSD Black Label RME ADI-2 DAC. Norne Draugur Silver cable. Hifiman HE-1000 SE and ZMF Zircote Verite for comparisons.
Empyrean Sound Quality:
Bass - I find the bass to be very full sounding with quite a bit of impact. The midbass is accentuated on these headphones which adds to that feeling of impact. You have to be careful with the pairing of the Empyrean to your DAC’s and Amps. They must be paired with source equipment that can maintain tight control of the bass frequencies or the bass will sound too loose and out of control, sloppy even. It was a good match with the THX, but I can imagine with some tube amps that sound might get out of control. There is ample subbass for hip hop trap bass, so no worries there. There were times in which I did wish the midbass was dialed back a bit as I got a slight feeling of muddy bass, but we are talking a small amount here. There is good bass detail but not on the level of the HEK or the Verite.
Midrange – The midrange is sweet and enjoyable. Nice fullness. If you like really forward vocals this headphone may not be for you. Not that the vocals are relaxed but they are not quite as out front as the Verite let’s say.
Treble – For me the Empyrean has the right amount of treble. It is not too much as in bright, it is slightly subdued, but it is enough to make the presentation exciting. This is why I can say that overall the Empyrean may have one of the best tonal balances I have heard on any headphone and I have heard most of the top contenders.
Sound Quality Comparisons:
Hifiman HE-1000 SE – First I would have to point out the very different tonal balances and overall sound. The HEK is thinner brighter and has an airy quality to its sound, with a very neutral to slightly bright balance. The Empyrean is a lot thicker sounding with less of an upper midrange, treble emphasis. As regards to resolution the HEK handily wins here. You will hear a lot more detail and even micro detail than with the Empyrean. Timbre slightly also goes to the HEK.
Soundstage and Imaging – The HEK SE wins here too. It is one of the top Soundstage and imaging headphones out there. It gives you a wide expanse both in width and depth. With very precise imaging. On EDM tracks with lots of effects you can precisely follow those sound effects around. With the Empyrean the width is decent, but not as wide and the depth is also good but not quite there as with the HEK. The images are larger but not as easy to locate as on the HEK. The soundstage is also more crowded on the Empyrean as opposed to the HEK.
Overall Sound – the differences are pretty large between these two. Almost opposite tonality. If you want a more analytical headphone with a big soundstage and a more precise sound, think HEK. If you are looking for a more relaxed, thicker sound and do not need that precision, think Empyrean. I would almost say the Empyrean is more of tubey sound vs the SS sound of the HEK. As to my opinion of which I would prefer…. I would have to cop out by saying it depends on what I want to listen to. Hip Hop, new metal…..Empyrean. Classic Rock, Pink Floyd, EDM….HEK. The HEK is a great complement to the Empyrean. If you could have only one think about which types of music you will mostly listen to and then think about whether you want a more analytical or a more fun headphone.
ZMF Verite Zircote – Now these are more like brothers from different mothers. Think the exact definition of planar vs dynamic but with similar tonality.
Resolution and Timbre – Here is where the Verite takes the lead. I think the Verite has better resolution and better timbre. It sounds more natural. A great way to test this is with acoustic guitars. They sounded more lively and real on the Verite. The Empyrean is not bad but it does not quite sound as natural especially with acoustic instruments. With vocals I can hear them more clearly with the Verite, as in more of a raspy tone of a female singers voice for instance.
Soundstage and Imaging – This is about a tie between them. The Verite with most pads has a wider soundstage and the Empyrean tends to have a less wide soundstage but it tends to be deeper. I feel the Empyrean has slightly more accurate pinpoint imaging. The Verite has better layering and a more 3D image within it soundstage but sometimes that image gets a little fuzzy compared to the Empyrean. This of course depends on which pads are in use between either headphone.
Dynamics – With macrodynamics I feel the Empyrean has the edge. It also has more slam. I can feel more a difference between those quiet and loud passages. This is helped by its better midbass presence. Now with micro dynamics I believe the Verite does the subtleties better. Back to the acoustic guitars…..You can hear more differences in the strumming and picking with the Verite.
Overall Sound – They share a similar tonality of being warm, inviting headphones with a pleasant amount of treble, midrange and ample bass. The Empyrean has more of a midbass presence and thus sounds thicker. Neither headphone could be considered harsh or strident, actually far from it. The tonality thing is a tough thing to exactly nail down between these two because they both have interchangeable pads…..Empyrean has two set of pads and the Verite has up to five sets to choose from. I have the Verite, Universe and Verite Suede pads. I mostly use the Verite Lambskin and Verite Suede pads.
Conclusion:
In wrapping this up I would say that the Verite is the more accurate headphone, the Empyrean has more slam and depending on the track, might be considered just as much fun despite not being the last word in accuracy. If you are looking for that more natural timbre, go for the Verite. With the Empyrean you are getting more of a package…..great comfort, great durable build quality and good not great resolution. That lack of TOTL resolution has been mentioned in other reviews. Yes, it could/should be better, especially for the asking price. If Meze could add that extra resolve and keep that great tonal balance, this could very well be the best all-around set of headphones on the market. As it is, the Empyrean is still a great package missing an element or two that prevents it from being ranked among the very best.
) but as a promise and thank you to Todd from TVVJ for loaning out these new reference headphones to me and Meze Audio for creating such a beast, I'm going to share what my impressions have been over the last two nights. I'm going to do things perhaps a little different than most so bare with me and let me know if this review was helpful.
