[ken6217]

I am going to blow Ken's whole Head Fi persona. When you meet him or talk to him he is one of the nicest guys.

That was $50 I owe you, right?

 

[Coffee Music]

I'm a bit puzzled here. If a headphone is 'telling the truth' (which I guess it should at $3000), then it should bring out the actual sound of the amp and DAC it is being used with, no? The comments here seem to infer that all "affordable" amps and DAC's are warm and not so clear when used with the Empyrean. What about tube amps? Would not even expensive ones sound warm and rich with the Empyrean? I realize that scaling up should happen (given the cash outlay to make it happen) but I get the impression that it takes a sharply detailed SS amp/DAC to get the Meze out of its 'warm zone'. Is this accurate?

This is my speculation with a bit of personal experience so take it with salt. The Empyrean leans slightly toward warmth and it also has this uncanny ability to lessen some harshness and unpleasant sound but at the same time the headphone is very detailed. Some lesser gears pretend to be more detailed than it actually is and this usually involves the higher frequency and the Empyrean say "nuh uh, not on my watch". So the Empyrean sort of take and give you the details from your source but partially negate the "fake" stuff. This is why people say Empyrean shines with high-end gears because this usually means a very detailed setup. It seems like the best way to unwarm the Empyrean is to give it as much details as possible, You will also commonly hear the Empyrean really shine with the upgraded silver related cable.

When you say a headphone should tell the truth at $3000 and show the sound of the amp/dac. I think you meant an expensive headphone should be dead neutral. But some amps and dacs are extremely neutral. It's just a mix n match world and the Empyrean is trying to fill in a slot.

 

[Coffee Music]

I bought some of those microfiber cleaning cloth and wrapped up the strap. It stays good as new and the comfort is all there.

 

[Afsa]

I've had my Empyreans for a while now. First I used the 6.3 on my RME dac but the Euforia is just that bit better. I am absolutely in love!!.

I dont think i will get a new full sized headphone any time soon. Maybe if there is a refresh by Meze.
Well time to work on IEMs...... it never stops

 

[Coffee Music]

I've had my Empyreans for a while now. First I used the 6.3 on my RME dac but the Euforia is just that bit better. I am absolutely in love!!.

I dont think i will get a new full sized headphone any time soon. Maybe if there is a refresh by Meze.
Well time to work on IEMs...... it never stops

Euforia + Empyrean seem to be the talk of the town for a while now. From now on we should call this setup the Emphoria

 

[Rowethren]

Is that a Forza cable? Looks nice.

 

[Afsa]

Is that a Forza cable? Looks nice.

Na its from Custom cans Uk. A rather cheap one but high grade copper. At some point i want to get a silver one. Maybe from
Toxic Cables. But 400 Euro on a cable is a lot of money.

The original cable was just to bothersome.....

 

[Rowethren]

Na its from Custom cans Uk. A rather cheap one but high grade copper. At some point i want to get a silver one. Maybe from
Toxic Cables. But 400 Euro on a cable is a lot of money.

The original cable was just to bothersome.....

Ah fair enough, I would give Forza a look before Toxic personally, much more reasonable prices: https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=72

 

[Afsa]

Ah fair enough, I would give Forza a look before Toxic personally, much more reasonable prices: https://forzaaudioworks.com/en/product.php?id_product=72

Hmmm yea i am aware of Forza. Would i get similar improvements from a hybrid cable? Do you have any experience with the quality?

 

[Rowethren]

I have had both Forza and Toxic cables and I would say the sound and quality is on par with each other.

 

[Afsa]

I have had both Forza and Toxic cables and I would say the sound and quality is on par with each other.

well that is nice to hear. Saves money. Thats always a good thing. Maybe i will order a Hybrid HPC after Christmas.... Lets see how expensive the festivities will turn out to be

 

[Beagle]

This is my speculation with a bit of personal experience so take it with salt. The Empyrean leans slightly toward warmth and it also has this uncanny ability to lessen some harshness and unpleasant sound but at the same time the headphone is very detailed. Some lesser gears pretend to be more detailed than it actually is and this usually involves the higher frequency and the Empyrean say "nuh uh, not on my watch". So the Empyrean sort of take and give you the details from your source but partially negate the "fake" stuff. This is why people say Empyrean shines with high-end gears because this usually means a very detailed setup. It seems like the best way to unwarm the Empyrean is to give it as much details as possible, You will also commonly hear the Empyrean really shine with the upgraded silver related cable.

When you say a headphone should tell the truth at $3000 and show the sound of the amp/dac. I think you meant an expensive headphone should be dead neutral. But some amps and dacs are extremely neutral. It's just a mix n match world and the Empyrean is trying to fill in a slot.

Very well articulated. Thank you.

 

[betula]

This is my speculation with a bit of personal experience so take it with salt. The Empyrean leans slightly toward warmth and it also has this uncanny ability to lessen some harshness and unpleasant sound but at the same time the headphone is very detailed. Some lesser gears pretend to be more detailed than it actually is and this usually involves the higher frequency and the Empyrean say "nuh uh, not on my watch". So the Empyrean sort of take and give you the details from your source but partially negate the "fake" stuff. This is why people say Empyrean shines with high-end gears because this usually means a very detailed setup. It seems like the best way to unwarm the Empyrean is to give it as much details as possible, You will also commonly hear the Empyrean really shine with the upgraded silver related cable.

When you say a headphone should tell the truth at $3000 and show the sound of the amp/dac. I think you meant an expensive headphone should be dead neutral. But some amps and dacs are extremely neutral. It's just a mix n match world and the Empyrean is trying to fill in a slot.

This is a great and true post that should get as much attention as possible.

 

[LCMusicLover]

This is my speculation with a bit of personal experience so take it with salt. The Empyrean leans slightly toward warmth and it also has this uncanny ability to lessen some harshness and unpleasant sound but at the same time the headphone is very detailed. Some lesser gears pretend to be more detailed than it actually is and this usually involves the higher frequency and the Empyrean say "nuh uh, not on my watch". So the Empyrean sort of take and give you the details from your source but partially negate the "fake" stuff. This is why people say Empyrean shines with high-end gears because this usually means a very detailed setup. It seems like the best way to unwarm the Empyrean is to give it as much details as possible, You will also commonly hear the Empyrean really shine with the upgraded silver related cable.

When you say a headphone should tell the truth at $3000 and show the sound of the amp/dac. I think you meant an expensive headphone should be dead neutral. But some amps and dacs are extremely neutral. It's just a mix n match world and the Empyrean is trying to fill in a slot.

This is a great and true post that should get as much attention as possible.

Absolutely!

Perhaps my favorite saying:

'Your ears/my ears'

should be ammended to:

'Your ears/your preferences, my ears/my preferences'

Note that I owned and sold Empyrean. It wasn't that I thought they were deficient in any way. They simply were 'too far' from my preferred signature, and I found myself using my RAD-0 a lot more. Amusingly, I could have said pretty much the same thing about Utopia. I ended up tweaking my chain quite a bit to 'fix' their signature. Did some of the same with Empy -- silver cables, brighter/more dynamic tubes in the LP, A2 Gumby as a source. However, I never got the sound to where I was comfortable with it, so decided to let them go.

It was hard to give up the Empy comfort factor though.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, Emp was gone before I received my DSHA-3F -- I had only been able to listen to them driven by my Bryston BHA-1 and my Liquid Platinum, both of which are somewhat warm amps. Hopefully someday I'll get to try the Empy/3F pairing. I'm guessing it'll be Amazballs!

 

[betula]

Absolutely!

Perhaps my favorite saying:

'Your ears/my ears'

should be ammended to:

'Your ears/your preferences, my ears/my preferences'

Note that I owned and sold Empyrean. It wasn't that I thought they were deficient in any way. They simply were 'too far' from my preferred signature, and I found myself using my RAD-0 a lot more. Amusingly, I could have said pretty much the same thing about Utopia. I ended up tweaking my chain quite a bit to 'fix' their signature. Did some of the same with Empy -- silver cables, brighter/more dynamic tubes in the LP, A2 Gumby as a source. However, I never got the sound to where I was comfortable with it, so decided to let them go.

It was hard to give up the Empy comfort factor though.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, Emp was gone before I received my DSHA-3F -- I had only been able to listen to them driven by my Bryston BHA-1 and my Liquid Platinum, both of which are somewhat warm amps. Hopefully someday I'll get to try the Empy/3F pairing. I'm guessing it'll be Amazballs!

You are right, it is all about personal preference. And our preference is changing as well by time.

"Ears" or "preference" are synonyms to me in this context. I always thought the BHA1 is a neutral if not a brighter amp. It definitely has a strong fan base. I owned the Liquid Platinum but wasn't as impressed as the majority seems to be... Some people will call me elitist again, but the TT2 for me overwrote any DAC/amp combos below 4K I have heard. The clarity, definition, life-likeness and head space is on another level compared to any of my previous combos including Qutest with CMA600i or Taurus MKII.