[ken6217]

The magnets sort of allow for them to line up on their own. And believe the pads are same from left to right with their ovoid shape it just needs to be correct as the bottom is thinner than the top. I really like this design as it closely follows the shape of an average ear.
If you look at their website you can see the ovoid shape and understand from that how they should be aligned. Link below from mezeaudio’s Site.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1238/0038/files/emp-13.png?990158748974938441

The magnets are very strong and assist in getting the alignment correct. A little extra push is what I have found to help make sure the seal is correct and complete all the way around the driver. The leather pads seem just a touch snug compared to the Alcantara ones.

Thanks!

 

[Beagle]

I have owned and have heard a few different LCD-4's and there isn't a lot of consistency from headphone to headphone

All at the same time?

 

[bimmer100]

Sorry for double post. Darn phone

 

[bimmer100]

I said they were hand made from their own designs. Nothing else.

Doesn't really matter how they are made, how pretty they look and how long it took to make. It's the sound that counts, followed by durability. It wouldn't matter if it took 50 years and 50 million dollars and parts made from pure gold, rhodium and diamonds if they don't sound spectacular, are virtually distortion-free, and sound more neutral and accurate than any other headphone, and stay together. Otherwise it would be a wasted effort. That would be the key, to go where no headphone has gone before, by eliminating distortions and frequency inaccuracies that could not be eliminated prior, without creating new ones. If Meze have done this, I applaud them. But this remains to be seen. I'll probably have to buy one to find out and then the sound would have to appeal to my tastes.

Oh ok!! I thought you were talking about Cnc machining. As that is what I was originally talking about when I said I don’t think I’ve ever seen this done in production side of things. The level of detail is impeccable.
And believe it’s commensurate to the level of sound quality imo. As I own too many high end flagships, and the empyreans certainly check more boxes for my preference. So at least for me, I’m happy.
As other headphones I own that cost much more are not as enjoyable, nor as finely finished. Both sound quality and fit and finish are important to me, sound quality being the very most important, so we can agree on the obvious at least. It’s just a bonus that they happen to be so well made. Some of this I believe contributes to its excellent sound quality. Ie: isodynamic drivers
I brought up the Cnc work as a reason for the limitation of production, likely the reason they are sold out, and the reason not many are in the USA. They can’t just bang em out and sell em rough around the edges. It’s like a supercar, lots of passion goes into the craftsmanship. Nothing wrong with that.


It comes down to these being a niche product that are definelty not going be a good match for everyone.
Star Trek - “ to go where no man has gone before!”

Meze Audio Empyrean - “to go where no headphones have gone before “

 

[Beagle]

And if it just becomes ostentatious for its own sake and a game for the rich, with no real improvement in sonic accuracy, I bow out.

 

[up late]

Of course my view is my own, and depending on ancillary gear, preferences and musical tastes, we all have different perceptions on what we want to hear. I agree that we should read reviews with the ideal being that we share a reviewer's biases but all reviews are worthy and can offer something to anyone. When I say I like the LCD-4s loud but find they have an upper midrange haze or glare, that might be what you refer to as "shouty". Descriptions can mean different things to different people as well.

Just for reference, my listening tastes run from acoustic small scale jazz to bombastic layered progressive music, so my preferred cans will alternate depending on what I want to hear. I am also a professional guitar player with my own studio and use my headphones for mixing every day (hence the large collection) so I take that into account as well.

i can relate to your review based on my short audition of the empyrean, tho i found the treble shelved-down relative to the mid-range and bass. both the abyss diana and utopia bested the empyrean for clarity to my ears.

 

[ken6217]

All at the same time?

Oh yea, I have a shelf of them in my house. Just joking.

Not at the same time. However the differences were enough that I could tell from memory. Btw, this is not a news shocker. I'm not the only one that says this about Audeze.

 

[ken6217]

And if it just becomes ostentatious for its own sake and a game for the rich, with no real improvement in sonic accuracy, I bow out.

Unfortunately though the headphone doesn't play all by itself. Does your DAC, Amp, and all of the cables have since accuracy too?

Of course if you read a review on any component regardless of cost, they all say they are neutral. That is some wide definition of neutral I guess.

 

[Pharmaboy]

This part of the thread is all about subjective responses to this headphone. As such, there's no right or wrong way to react.

Still, in reply to "ostentation," I must say that Meze's aspirations for this design are not solely focused on innovative driver design & best possible sonics. There's also an unusually deep aesthetic component in the design, which IMO attempts more visual innovation than any headphone I know of. The Empyrean's striking appearance was obviously influenced by certain architectural & visual design trends.

I know all that matters is sound, but sometimes the purely aesthetic aspect of design matters, as well. I regard this headphone as an artistic as well as sonic statement. Admittedly, not everyone cares about the appearance of an audio product. But for this headphone IMO, "Attention must be paid."

 

[bimmer100]

This part of the thread is all about subjective responses to this headphone. As such, there's no right or wrong way to react.

Still, in reply to "ostentation," I must say that Meze's aspirations for this design are not solely focused on innovative driver design & best possible sonics. There's also an unusually deep aesthetic component in the design, which IMO attempts more visual innovation than any headphone I know of. The Empyrean's striking appearance was obviously influenced by certain architectural & visual design trends.

I know all that matters is sound, but sometimes the purely aesthetic aspect of design matters, as well. I regard this headphone as an artistic as well as sonic statement. Admittedly, not everyone cares about the appearance of an audio product. But for this headphone IMO, "Attention must be paid."

Well said Pharmaboy! I agree. Mircea has a background in design and you can tell he has an attention to detail and incredible eye for making the product appealing as well as sounding excellent at the same time. So you summed this up in a short elegant way.

 

[Beagle]

Oh yea, I have a shelf of them in my house. Just joking.

Not at the same time. However the differences were enough that I could tell from memory. Btw, this is not a news shocker. I'm not the only one that says this about Audeze.

I was wondering, because significant differences in $4000 headphones would be shocking. I've been fortunate I guess. I've owned the LCD-2, 2C, Closed, X, 3 and now the MX4 and nary a problem. I also had the EL8 and that one was a bit of a mess.

 

[Beagle]

Unfortunately though the headphone doesn't play all by itself. Does your DAC, Amp, and all of the cables have since accuracy too?

Nothing is accurate.

 

[rockytopwiz]

Every time I check this thread:

*lukewarm review-or a negative of the headphones

Followed by

*Well at least they look purdy

 

[Hoegaardener70]

I have an ifi pro iCAN which i use together with the HD800s. Since I use the ican‘s XBass function, my HD800s sounds great.

But I am now thinking: Worth trading for a Meze Empyrean?

 

[up late]

This part of the thread is all about subjective responses to this headphone. As such, there's no right or wrong way to react.

Still, in reply to "ostentation," I must say that Meze's aspirations for this design are not solely focused on innovative driver design & best possible sonics. There's also an unusually deep aesthetic component in the design, which IMO attempts more visual innovation than any headphone I know of. The Empyrean's striking appearance was obviously influenced by certain architectural & visual design trends.

I know all that matters is sound, but sometimes the purely aesthetic aspect of design matters, as well. I regard this headphone as an artistic as well as sonic statement. Admittedly, not everyone cares about the appearance of an audio product. But for this headphone IMO, "Attention must be paid."

subjective responses fuel the discussion at this forum for the most part. this thread is like any other in that respect. what differentiates it is the thread topic, which is about the empyrean headphone in this instance.

i value headphones as objects as well as sound transducers. while i can appreciate the design and execution of the empyrean, its aesthetic didn't speak to me as it obviously does to you. that too is a subjective response and "As such, there's no right or wrong way to react".