[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Well, I just completed my review of these very impressive headphones. It is now in for final editing and scheduling for publication. They also certainly passed the "put your money where your mouth is" test as I bought the review pair as I couldn't bare to send them back. These are seriously good flagship headphones...congratulations Meze!

They were great out of my Hugo2, and stepped it up when I moved up to my Chord DAVE and a tad more when I added the Benchmark HPA4 into the mix. So the drivers are able to scale quite well too.

Sweet! once it's up I'll make sure to read it.

 

[Tekunda]

Finally got mine in yesterday. Very noticeable differences from my Focal Clear which I love. Super light, extremely well built and incredibly well packaged. Both the leather and alcantara pads are extremely supple and soft. Still testing them out so no immediate thoughts yet.

Freesole, since I also own the Clear and was only able to audition the Empyrean at the Munich show for a few minutes, I would appreciate, if you could come back with what you feel are the main differences in sound between the two headphones?

 

[freesole]

Freesole, since I also own the Clear and was only able to audition the Empyrean at the Munich show for a few minutes, I would appreciate, if you could come back with what you feel are the main differences in sound between the two headphones?

Absolutely, I will try to. I want to give my ears some time to adjust to the Meze and also for them to burn in a bit. Once this happens, I will be better able to compare.

 

[Tekunda]

Finally got mine in yesterday. Very noticeable differences from my Focal Clear which I love. Super light, extremely well built and incredibly well packaged. Both the leather and alcantara pads are extremely supple and soft. Still testing them out so no immediate thoughts yet.

Freesole, since I also own the Clear and was only able to audition the Empyrean at the Munich show for a few minutes, I would appreciate if you could come back with what you feel are the main differences in sound between the two headphones.

Absolutely, I will try to. I want to give my ears some time to adjust to the Meze and also for them to burn in a bit. Once this happens, I will be better able to compare.

Great! I am looking forward to your review.

 

[koover]

Freesole, since I also own the Clear and was only able to audition the Empyrean at the Munich show for a few minutes, I would appreciate, if you could come back with what you feel are the main differences in sound between the two headphones?

I did a review back in April and part of it was comparisons. The Clear was one of them.

vs- Focal Clear
Can you say night and day? If ever there was a perfect compliment of 2 headphones, this would be it. The Focal house sound has always been in your face. They are extremely energetic, in your face, fatiguing for long listening sessions with excellent detail retrieval. The Clear has energetic treble with not nearly the bass slam and emphasis as the Empyrean. It's clean, tight and punchy, but doesn't have that full body flavor (not the same level of mid bass) as the Empyrean. The mids are noticeably recessed versus the Emp but they're still no slouch in their own right. I just love this headphone and based off my preference, I like it "almost" as much as the Utopia. The reason? The price. I get most of what the Utopia offers at a third of the price. But versus the Empyrean, it doesn't offer the same attributes that I'm looking for in an endgame headphone, if there is such a thing. It's bright, overall more neutral, bass response doesn't have the body/texture and slam and has slightly recessed mids. The soundstage is very polite and intimate where the Empyrean is huge comparatively speaking. The Empyrean excels in each of those areas but I still love the Clear as It's a perfect compliment.

 

[hypnos1]

I did a review back in April and part of it was comparisons. The Clear was one of them.

vs- Focal Clear
Can you say night and day? If ever there was a perfect compliment of 2 headphones, this would be it. The Focal house sound has always been in your face. They are extremely energetic, in your face, fatiguing for long listening sessions with excellent detail retrieval. The Clear has energetic treble with not nearly the bass slam and emphasis as the Empyrean. It's clean, tight and punchy, but doesn't have that full body flavor (not the same level of mid bass) as the Empyrean. The mids are noticeably recessed versus the Emp but they're still no slouch in their own right. I just love this headphone and based off my preference, I like it "almost" as much as the Utopia. The reason? The price. I get most of what the Utopia offers at a third of the price. But versus the Empyrean, it doesn't offer the same attributes that I'm looking for in an endgame headphone, if there is such a thing. It's bright, overall more neutral, bass response doesn't have the body/texture and slam and has slightly recessed mids. The soundstage is very polite and intimate where the Empyrean is huge comparatively speaking. The Empyrean excels in each of those areas but I still love the Clear as It's a perfect compliment.

When a good friend and 'retired' head-fi member brought over his HD800s (transformed by a cable made using Neotech UP-OCC silver with added gold wire) to compare with my Empys, he also brought along some Clears. Well, to cut a long story short, after gloriously long sessions with the Mezes, then on with the Focals, I'm afraid the points you mention became so glaringly obvious - to my ears - that I didn't even bother to continue beyond a couple of minutes. No comparison IMHO...and in my system, of course. But to each his own lol...

 

[LCMusicLover]

When a good friend and 'retired' head-fi member brought over his HD800s (transformed by a cable made using Neotech UP-OCC silver with added gold wire) to compare with my Empys, he also brought along some Clears. Well, to cut a long story short, after gloriously long sessions with the Mezes, then on with the Focals, I'm afraid the points you mention became so glaringly obvious - to my ears - that I didn't even bother to continue beyond a couple of minutes. No comparison IMHO...and in my system, of course. But to each his own lol...

Not surprising. Clear and Empy are fairly far apart. Since Empy seems like a bulls-eye for you, I can't imagine Clear being nearly as interesting.

 

[up late]

Not surprising. Clear and Empy are fairly far apart. Since Empy seems like a bulls-eye for you, I can't imagine Clear being nearly as interesting.

that's putting it mildly

 

[hypnos1]

Not surprising. Clear and Empy are fairly far apart. Since Empy seems like a bulls-eye for you, I can't imagine Clear being nearly as interesting.

Got it one, LCML!... and even more so now I've a nice mid-bass( !) boost simply by changing one of the 2 power (output) tubes in my Euforia...ie. a very early Mullard large bottle version of the EL38 which has more extended bass than other versions, and which worked wonders for my Beyer T1s (also with UP-OCC solid silver and copper-wired cable). And with just one partnering an also early silver-banded Philips (France) 38 I was liking the bass boost to the already bass rich Empys.
However, your mention of mid-bass falling short of 'reference' territory (for you) has had me scrutinising my system's performance and had me wondering if I could indeed be getting a tad more in this part of the FR. Anyway, to cut a long story short(er!), serendipity smiled on me when I tried another of my moth-balled early silver-banded EL38s, and my Empys slavered almost as much as I did lol! I hadn't realised just how much the previous greater quantity of bass had been masking frequencies higher up the chain...now I can hear more detail in the entire bass range and feels much more controlled, but still with plenty of solid impact (there was a slight softness before). Luckily, this tube (with its almost identical partner) has also brought even greater overall clarity; cleaner attack; more precise treble, with delicious decay; even wider stage (actually better in all dimensions, still retaining precision in separation/placement)...amongst other nice extras.

And so this confirms for me just how these headphones will reward you for whatever 'tweaking' one wishes to employ, even though they don't actually demand it lol. But I will say with conviction that one's Empys will definitely say thank you for spoiling them with as much OCC silver wire (preferably combined with OCC copper also!) that can be managed wherever possible throughout the system .

Just a quick pic of the tubes in question, for anyone interested :



The usurper RT (Philips, France) EL38 on the left...LARGE bottle early Mullard EL38 to the right.

ps. The RT version (with dual getters) brings that extra bit of magic to my Empys even more so than its single getter (otherwise identical) sibling...an example of the versatility that tube amps proffer in 'fine tuning' one's sound...

 

[ken6217]

Looks like they are coming out with a hybrid earned for our Emp's. Cut and pasted from CA below from the Munich Show:

"I ran into Mircea Fanatan, managing director of Meze at their cabin. He told me they are developing a third earpad for the Empyrean headphones I reviewed recently, that falls between the Alcantara and leather earpads that came with my review sample. I’m looking forward to trying them out!"

 

[LCMusicLover]

Cross posted from somewhere else:

I guess my ears are burning in....

Burn-in continues. I’ve discovered a love affair with Empy & Cowboy Junkies. ‘Blue Guitar’ & ‘Darkling Days’ from ‘Miles From Our Home’ are truly captivating. Mix is very wrap-around/immersive. Overall effect highlights the lush sound Empy produces. Really compliments Margot’s voice.

I’m gonna put it out there: These cans are very musical. I hear details from songs I hadn’t noticed on other cans. But it isn’t like Utopia detail retrieval: ‘Wow, I never noticed that ...whatever... before, interesting.’ Instead, it’s ‘Wow, listen to that ...whatever... sounds great!’

 

[nwavesailor]

I’m gonna put it out there: These cans are very musical. I hear details from songs I hadn’t noticed on other cans. But it isn’t like Utopia detail retrieval: ‘Wow, I never noticed that ...whatever... before, interesting.’ Instead, it’s ‘Wow, listen to that ...whatever... sounds great!’

LCMusicLover, you have me very close to snagging the Empy!
I currently use E2's with a new LP and Gilmore lite ss amp. I also have the HeadAmp GS-X mini on pre-order that is supposed to pair nicely with both the E2 and Empy.
If I do buy (or order) the Empy, my ears will likely thank you while my wallet may not.

Too bad the stock cable is 3 meters. I think I will need to buy a 1 meter balanced XLR cable as my table is only a foot or 2 away from my listening chair.

 

[LCMusicLover]

LCMusicLover, you have me very close to snagging the Empy!
I currently use E2's with a new LP and Gilmore lite ss amp. I also have the HeadAmp GS-X mini on pre-order that is supposed to pair nicely with both the E2 and Empy.
If I do buy (or order) the Empy, my ears will likely thank you while my wallet may not.

Too bad the stock cable is 3 meters. I think I will need to buy a 1 meter balanced XLR cable as my table is only a foot or 2 away from my listening chair.

Hey now!!! NOT my fault

E2 & Empy are pretty close — probably about the same ‘sonic distance’ apart as Utopia and Blackwood Auteur, although E2/Empy difference is mostly about tonality with a little headspace thrown in while Utopia/Auteur is more about rhythm/impact/detail/headspace, with a little tonality on the side.

BTW, we all do this to each other. I’m gonna blow big bucks on a DSHA-3F because of info posted about it over there.

 

[nwavesailor]

Hey now!!! NOT my fault

BTW, we all do this to each other. I’m gonna blow big bucks on a DSHA-3F because of info posted about it over there.

I was looking at their T-4 amp, but not sure it would be enough to drive the E-2's.

 

[kumar402]

Hey now!!! NOT my fault

E2 & Empy are pretty close — probably about the same ‘sonic distance’ apart as Utopia and Blackwood Auteur, although E2/Empy difference is mostly about tonality with a little headspace thrown in while Utopia/Auteur is more about rhythm/impact/detail/headspace, with a little tonality on the side.

BTW, we all do this to each other. I’m gonna blow big bucks on a DSHA-3F because of info posted about it over there.

I have also invested in DSHA-3F. I heard so many good things about this amp that I couldn't resist myself.Now I am waiting for 2 amps. Invested in Massdrop THX as well in Feb and waiting for it since then. However I will sell it once I get my DSHA. When I got Chord Qutest I thought I m done with DAC but DSHA has changed it for me as it is with balanced input only so have started auditioning Gumby and Onyx. Oh so many moving pieces.

Atleast my headphones are done for time being