[project86]

I have a question not directly related to Meze Empyrean but with planar drivers.
I never owned any Planar drivers previously.
I always had Sennhesier or Sony with me. As dynamic drivers i know that Output impedance of amplifiers has impact on the Damping factor etc. Also the impedance of dynamic drivers vary with frequency range.
Does the output impedance of Amp have similar impact on Planar drivers. Do i need to worry about 1:8 rule for Planars as well like that of dynamic.
I am asking this since I have HD 800s and 600 and I plan to own good Tube amp in future which may have higher impedance. So can i use Meze with those tube amp or it will be total mismatch.
currently i have Liquid Platinum which is hybrid and hence no issue with impedance and same with Chord Mojo. But i also have Schiit Valhalla 2, which has output impedance around 10 in high gain.
sorry I don't know how Planar Magnetic drivers work

Most planars have essentially ruler-flat impedance, so output impedance isn't important. Damping factor seems less of an issue as well, though not completely irrelevant. Basically I hear tighter, more "accurate" bass when driving planars from an amp with low OI... but high OI tube amps can still sound good enough in other ways where I don't mind their slightly less tight bass.

I will be trying Empyrean with my Cayin HA-1A mk2 as soon as I find the time. It has selectable OI but the lowest setting is 8 ohms, so we'll see how that does. Unfortunately I just sent back my review unit of Cayin's monstrous HA-300 right before my Empyrean arrived, so I never got to use that pair together.... I bet it would be magical.

Thank you.
By the way, I also want to thank you for all that reviews, you have made. I`ve read a lot of them, very interesting and useful reading.

You are welcome! Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it.

+1

+1 to you too!

 

[Dobrescu George]

Hugo 2 is better than the mytek brooklyn IMHO

I only have Brooklyn DAC+, not the original brooklyn, and I am in love with this one

It surely is better as a Desktop-Class DAC for connectivity and overall versatility, but I need more time to test it against Hugo2 to say for sure how they compare in terms of sonics

 

[kumar402]

Finally after a wait of almost a week, I received my Empyrean today. It was shipped all the way from Romania and hence was stuck in Customs for 1 day and then UPS did some mistake in sorting and sent it to wrong warehouse causing further delay but happy to finally receive it.

 

[Monsterzero]

am asking this since I have HD 800s and 600 and I plan to own good Tube amp in future which may have higher impedance. So can i use Meze with those tube amp or it will be total mismatch.

I own the Glenn OTL and have the Meze Empyrean here on loan. Glenn suggested running a pair of 6336b tubes in the power slot for planars,and can confirm with these monstrous tubes in place the Empyrean sounds fantastic thru my GOTL. A huge upgrade in SQ over my Gilmore Lite MK 2.

I cant comment on other OTLs,but from my understanding the GOTL is one of the few OTLs out there that can use 6336 tubes...Glenn is a bit of mad scientist and designs his amps to use a plethora of tubes.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

Need a recommendation for a 4 pin xlr balanced empyrean cable.
Is the following cable any good:

EMPYREAN BALANCED 4PIN XLR SILVER PLATED PCUHD UPGRADE CABLE


https://www.mezeaudio.com/collectio...-balanced-4pin-xlr-silver-pcuhd-upgrade-cable

Well, it is for sure super attractive, light weight and very flexible. SQ wise ... who knows.

 

[kumar402]

Do planars need any burn in or they are good to go out of box?

 

[TSAVAlan]

Do planars need any burn in or they are good to go out of box?

Preferable to burn it in for a few hours right in the beginning.

 

[ken6217]

It will sound even better after 100 hours

 

[kumar402]

Preferable to burn it in for a few hours right in the beginning.

Hey Alan, Thanks
And also thanks for helping me in getting these. You guys are really nice and easy to work with.
I wish you guys were closer to NY, not in NY otherwise had to pay lot of sales tax, so that I can visit in person and demo some amps and DACs

 

[Currawong]

I just received the Empyrean in for review. I couldn't make out much at the Tokyo show last year, so I'm happy to be able to listen to them in my own environment.
They are pretty soft-sounding with the stock cable, so I switched in an ALO Audeze cable I had on hand which has livened things up a bit.
What is most interesting is that they are the first pair of headphones I've had (from memory) that I can turn the volume up and they maintain complete competence. Everything else I've owned or had here seemed to just become shouty and irritating.
It has been rather like going from a regular DAC to a Chord DAC, with a similar What factor of instruments coming exactly as they are, from their exact position in the stereo space, down to the individual notes, regardless of what else is going on.

 

[macx]

I just received the Empyrean in for review. I couldn't make out much at the Tokyo show last year, so I'm happy to be able to listen to them in my own environment.
They are pretty soft-sounding with the stock cable, so I switched in an ALO Audeze cable I had on hand which has livened things up a bit.
What is most interesting is that they are the first pair of headphones I've had (from memory) that I can turn the volume up and they maintain complete competence. Everything else I've owned or had here seemed to just become shouty and irritating.
It has been rather like going from a regular DAC to a Chord DAC, with a similar What factor of instruments coming exactly as they are, from their exact position in the stereo space, down to the individual notes, regardless of what else is going on.

They are remarkable headphones, my other cans don’t see much use anymore

 

[Hoegaardener70]

I just received the Empyrean in for review. I couldn't make out much at the Tokyo show last year, so I'm happy to be able to listen to them in my own environment.
They are pretty soft-sounding with the stock cable, so I switched in an ALO Audeze cable I had on hand which has livened things up a bit.
What is most interesting is that they are the first pair of headphones I've had (from memory) that I can turn the volume up and they maintain complete competence. Everything else I've owned or had here seemed to just become shouty and irritating.
It has been rather like going from a regular DAC to a Chord DAC, with a similar What factor of instruments coming exactly as they are, from their exact position in the stereo space, down to the individual notes, regardless of what else is going on.

Am looking forward to your complete impressions. But for me ... they lack a standout feature but are completely pleasant in their entirety. What I mean, they lack the crazy dynamics of the Utopias, the phenomenal soundstage of the HD800, the great bass of the LCD-4. But they combine most of all of these features to a nice package. No immediate wow factor for quick impressions, but a coherent sound which grows on you. Still think that they miss some treble/spark. Find them a perfect counterpart to the Utopias.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

I just received the Empyrean in for review. I couldn't make out much at the Tokyo show last year, so I'm happy to be able to listen to them in my own environment.
They are pretty soft-sounding with the stock cable, so I switched in an ALO Audeze cable I had on hand which has livened things up a bit.
What is most interesting is that they are the first pair of headphones I've had (from memory) that I can turn the volume up and they maintain complete competence. Everything else I've owned or had here seemed to just become shouty and irritating.
It has been rather like going from a regular DAC to a Chord DAC, with a similar What factor of instruments coming exactly as they are, from their exact position in the stereo space, down to the individual notes, regardless of what else is going on.

You finally got a hold of a pair, video review???

 

[Pharmaboy]

I just received the Empyrean in for review. I couldn't make out much at the Tokyo show last year, so I'm happy to be able to listen to them in my own environment.
They are pretty soft-sounding with the stock cable, so I switched in an ALO Audeze cable I had on hand which has livened things up a bit.
What is most interesting is that they are the first pair of headphones I've had (from memory) that I can turn the volume up and they maintain complete competence. Everything else I've owned or had here seemed to just become shouty and irritating.
It has been rather like going from a regular DAC to a Chord DAC, with a similar What factor of instruments coming exactly as they are, from their exact position in the stereo space, down to the individual notes, regardless of what else is going on.

"maintain complete competence" is an inspired way to express a quality I heard in various pairs at shows & now in my own IMS. The Empyrean sounds consistently like itself not only at differing volumes (true), but also on many different amps. I've heard them driven by all kinds of amps (SS, tube, hybrid), small to large, and not once was the sound less than very good. In my experience planars do this more readily than dynamics, but still, the Empyrean stands out in this regard.

When mine finishes burning in, I'll find out if it scales w/bigger amps. Especially w/balanced cable, my guess is it will (at least somewhat).

 

[project86]

When mine finishes burning in, I'll find out if it scales w/bigger amps. Especially w/balanced cable, my guess is it will (at least somewhat).

It does.

Though I totally agree with your other comment as well. I've tried, and failed, to make the Empyrean actually sound bad from any amp I own.