Meze EMPYREAN - the First Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone
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Couple reasons:
I purchased everything in August so I essentially had 2 1/2 long months waiting for these to ship from Romania, Spain and the UK. I've discovered that's far too long a period for me not to dwell on the the initial layout ($$). SO as spectacular as the whole thing sounds. I can't help from feeling a little guilty while listening. I'm sure every single one of us have been there at one point or another.
Also, I realized I just miss speakers. As beautiful as the imaging is with the Empyreans, headphones are simply not a substitute for a good ribbon tweeter.
Enter Raidho XT-1's, arriving in 2 weeks. I'd like to pair with a single box solution like the Lumin X1 to feed my Rogue Audio Medusa amp.
I purchased everything in August so I essentially had 2 1/2 long months waiting for these to ship from Romania, Spain and the UK. I've discovered that's far too long a period for me not to dwell on the the initial layout ($$). SO as spectacular as the whole thing sounds. I can't help from feeling a little guilty while listening. I'm sure every single one of us have been there at one point or another.
Also, I realized I just miss speakers. As beautiful as the imaging is with the Empyreans, headphones are simply not a substitute for a good ribbon tweeter.
Enter Raidho XT-1's, arriving in 2 weeks. I'd like to pair with a single box solution like the Lumin X1 to feed my Rogue Audio Medusa amp.
GreenBow
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That's something I could not figure out. How come an open back headphone apparently in some cases gets a little warm. I saw it mentioned in one review. It doesn't make sense.
GreenBow
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Yesterday I was notified by my local audiophile store that they finally received the Empyrean. I had told them a couple of months ago that I was very interested to hear it. So I went this morning and spent a couple of hours with it, far more than my previous, rather brief opportunity. I took with me for comparison the LCD MX-4 which I have owned and considered my end-game headphone for more than a year now. I listened to it on their Sennheiser amp/dac with the stock balanced cable. A few thoughts:
- Comfort: The LCD MX-4 is comfortable and "light" compared to other LCDs, but indeed the Empyrean is super comfortable and reminds me of the Nightowl level of comfort.
- Build: The Empyrean is without a doubt beautiful and well built, but I prefer the standard edition over the copper one.
- My own thoughts on the sound: I was amazed how much I now agree with the reviews of Metal571 and Resolve Reviews (on YT) = the sound is warm, lush even, it is a good, satisfying sound but there is detail missing. My examples, and this was obvious: a) the acoustic guitar in De Ushuaia a la Quiaca - Gustavo Santaolalla or in Never Going Back Again 2013 remaster - Fleetwood Mac was clearly more detailed on the MX4. It sounded good on the Empyrean, but it did not evoke the same feeling. This was my body telling me that, while the sound I was hearing was excellent and pleasant, it did not hit those details that provoke the physical emotion coming from the strings; b) the bass was more pronounced on the Empyrean, but not punchier; far more obvious it was missing the detail I was getting from the MX4 in the bass, for example there is a big difference between what I heard in the bass in the first 60 seconds of Let Go - Frou Frou on the MX4 compared to the Empyrean, this was obvious after one A/B. (Note that the LCD MX-4 has plenty of punchy bass and has a fun signature in my opinion, even though it is far more neutral than the LCD-4. It does not have a "sterile", neutral, for mixing only sound.)
So, I walked away thinking that this is a nice, premium headphone, but I no longer want to own it because the loss of detail is far too obvious. The added warmth, "lushness" is not something I need because the MX-4 already has a fun, exciting sound. I am usually not the person to agree with reviewers on many points, but here again I am amazed how much I have to agree that this is worth owning (and I would consider it) at a 1200 to 1500 eur price.
Apologies that this was so heavily Empyrean vs MX-4, I know the latter is not a model owned by many people and comparisons like LCD-4 vs Empyrean are more appreciated, but this is what I happen to have and know very well. Also, their retail prices brand new are identical. Also apologies for the poor quality of the photos. By the way, the dealer said that they just ordered the Empyrean and got this, they didn't specifically say that they wanted the copper edition. So has this become the new standard now?
Were the pair you demoed, run-in. It sounds like not. Reviews told me that the Emyrean while sounding well detailed at first. It reaps a lot of detail benefit from 100 hours running in.
racebit
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That´s not specific to Empyrean, it happens with all open back I think, at least it does with Focal Clear and Philips X2.
No surprise to me as none of them has a real opening at the back like the Sony MA900.
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it has nothing to do with open or closed. There is no air leaks your ear is sealed from the opposite side.
thecrow
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Maybe - depends on what amp and dac you have too (to an extent) imho
here’s another view of some headphones that i found useful
https://musicalhead.de/2018/11/20/t...meze-empyrean-audeze-lcd4z-mrspeakers-ether2/
Yes, they were fairly new, but they had done burn in because they said the balanced cable had been burned in but not the single ended.
GreenBow
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Focal Clear actually blocks some sound from apparently. I honestly don't know though.
I suppose it depends on the climate also.
I would have expected the Empyrean to be fairly cool in use. (Even the close back Stellia is only slightly warm, but then it does have a small vent.)
No problems with the Empyrean up to 25C (77F) Above that temperature most headphones get a bit warm anyway, especially closed backs or open backs with leather pads.
The Empy is not 'see through' level open back like the Focals but more open than some other open back headphones. I can't see this to be a real issue unless you live in a hot country, but then you'll have problems with all headphones.
Jvincent
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I've played with a few amps with the empyrean including the hdv 820 (had this from before with another headphone set up, ended up selling the hdv820) currently am using the SPL Phonitor X and this is the best SS amp i have found to date!
nwavesailor
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Before I pull the trigger on the ZMF Verite, would the ZMF be different enough in SQ from my beloved Empy's to make these 2 a nice complimentary pair of headphones?
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They sound different. Someone else can describe the difference better then I. I'll say the better detail with the Verite. What gear are you using? I just paired GS-X mini with the Denafrips Ares 2. This combo makes my Empy's sound amazing. Now Verite sounds awesome with all my setups in any configuration.
nwavesailor
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Thanks, Bonddam.
I also use the GS-X mini but with a Qutest DAC and I agree.......the Empy's sound simply stunning with that combo. If I buy another hp (the Verite) I want to be sure they are different enough that I can enjoy both! I am not looking to replace the Empy's, just have another fantastic sounding hp option. I do have the Ether 2 and it is just not for me.
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