[mixman]

I think Empyrean doesn't really excel over other flagships in any aspect of sound. Neutral, Utopia does it better. Treble, Hifiman does it better. Mids, Verite does it better. Bass, LCD4/Abyss does it better. Resolution, they all do it better. Not sure where that leaves Empy. It sounds fine but no wow factor anywhere. It's like the missionary position of headphones.

There are issues with ALL headphones!!! Some might call the Utopia bright, some might call the Verite too warm(not me) some might say the Susvara are too laid back and some might say the LCD4 is too dark sounding and dull. Name a TOTL HP and they all have their issues and detractors.

 

[Sonic Defender]

I think Empyrean doesn't really excel over other flagships in any aspect of sound. Neutral, Utopia does it better. Treble, Hifiman does it better. Mids, Verite does it better. Bass, LCD4/Abyss does it better. Resolution, they all do it better. Not sure where that leaves Empy. It sounds fine but no wow factor anywhere. It's like the missionary position of headphones.

No offense, if you can't make the missionary the best thing she has ever been involved with you're doing it wrong. Just sayin.

 

[Arcamera]

There are issues with ALL headphones!!! Some might call the Utopia bright, some might call the Verite too warm(not me) some might say the Susvara are too laid back and some might say the LCD4 is too dark sounding and dull. Name a TOTL HP and they all have their issues and detractors.

True, that. Even the mighty Stax and Abyss I could quibble with. These are all really excellent, but I haven't heard pure perfection yet.

 

[jlbrach]

I can answer this. I loved the empyrean since last April when I first listened to it at a meet here in DC, ever since I been wanting to get one. I finally got one beginning of April and was quiet disappointed. I had my HE1000se for a long time now (maybe closed to 7-9 months) and listen side by side, I feel like the music has been muffled, it just sound like there is a foam pad between my ears and the cans, the clarity between the HE1000se and the Meze is just vastly different, the soundstage and imaging is greater on the HE1000se, I felt I was sitting further back in the stadium and have the singer directly singing at eyes level rather than me looking up at the singer (if that makes any sense). Compare to the Susvara is not even a real match up, the Susvara really is king, even though I have a Susvara now, I will really miss the HE1000se if I let it go but it just does everything that much better.

Meze also had this annoying mid bass that I cant seem to shake off, its quiet annoying and distracting even swapping out to the Moon Audio silver Dragon cable, I cant seem to remedy that Mid bass hump. Overall I was really sad that I couldn't get into the sound, the headphone ecstatically look really good and construction is top notch!

so who is the meze for? if you love the Audeze and Dan Audio Ether 2 headphone then you will love the meze. If you are in the Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic and Hifiman camp, this is not for you. If you can get a Susvara for the price of a new Meze, I would advise you to at least give it a try, because it does deserve that.

IMHO it is unfair to comapre anything to the susvara and the abyss TC they are simply a cut above...the LCD-4 is not too far behind again IMHO

 

[LCMusicLover]

I continue to watch this thread, and the same stuff seems to keep coming up:

- Empy is great/Empy is really well built/Empy is not TOTL/Empy is not as good as ...
- Empy bass is wonderful/Empy bass is bloated/Empy has a mid-bass hump
- Empy is very detailed/Empy is not as detailed as Utopia or Susvara or Abyss or ...

I could go on and on. But the thing is, Empy is NOT any of those other cans. They have a pretty unique (among TOTL cans) sound with a more musical, 'fun' than reference tuning and a very enveloping, relatively (compared to say HEK or HD-800) small headstage.

Some folks will love them, while others will not.

But, the bottom line is they are unique enough that no amount of discussion is going to get you to an agreement on them. And if you haven't had the opportunity to thoroughly audition them you just can't know which of the myriad of opinions will match what your ears hear.

I did this by buying them (at a 10% discount) listening to them for a couple months. I was trialing the RAD-0 simultaneously and, while I enjoyed them, I ended up deciding Empy was too far from 'reference' for my tastes -- so I sold them to another HeadFi'er. Since then, I've made some significant changes to my system (especially adding my DSHA-3F amp) and I'm wondering if I'd like them more now. Eventually I'll probably try to get another audition, hopefully more cheaply

So maybe the tl;dr here is:

Empy are unique. No amount of 'thought experimenting' will allow you to know if they are right for you. Sorry!

 

[mixman]

I continue to watch this thread, and the same stuff seems to keep coming up:

- Empy is great/Empy is really well built/Empy is not TOTL/Empy is not as good as ...
- Empy bass is wonderful/Empy bass is bloated/Empy has a mid-bass hump
- Empy is very detailed/Empy is not as detailed as Utopia or Susvara or Abyss or ...

I could go on and on. But the thing is, Empy is NOT any of those other cans. They have a pretty unique (among TOTL cans) sound with a more musical, 'fun' than reference tuning and a very enveloping, relatively (compared to say HEK or HD-800) small headstage.

Some folks will love them, while others will not.

But, the bottom line is they are unique enough that no amount of discussion is going to get you to an agreement on them. And if you haven't had the opportunity to thoroughly audition them you just can't know which of the myriad of opinions will match what your ears hear.

I did this by buying them (at a 10% discount) listening to them for a couple months. I was trialing the RAD-0 simultaneously and, while I enjoyed them, I ended up deciding Empy was too far from 'reference' for my tastes -- so I sold them to another HeadFi'er. Since then, I've made some significant changes to my system (especially adding my DSHA-3F amp) and I'm wondering if I'd like them more now. Eventually I'll probably try to get another audition, hopefully more cheaply

So maybe the tl;dr here is:

Empy are unique. No amount of 'thought experimenting' will allow you to know if they are right for you. Sorry!

Ha, that's what brought me back to them also, getting them at a significant discount(JK). Also, after hearing and/or owning most of the TOTL cans.....they really are good. Not for everyone, but for those that like their sonic signature, they will be great.

 

[Law87]

Can't comment as I haven't heard them.
But graphs doesn't support the midbass hump on the contrary it is a very even response almost flat.
So I guess other users might disagree.
Anyway just was wondering.

cant argue with graph but from HEKse to emp and susvara (and several other I remember including HD800s), that is what I hear. Combination with sometime a shouty treble, I just couldn't bear it.

If graph says it all then the debate for cables wouldn't go on and on.

 

[Kevintj604]

Just bought the Empyrean and i'm thinking of cable swapping. I was looking at both the Copper or Silver upgrade cables from Meze. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I'm looking for 4.4mm balanced.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Just bought the Empyrean and i'm thinking of cable swapping. I was looking at both the Copper or Silver upgrade cables from Meze. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I'm looking for 4.4mm balanced.

Norne audio is excellent for aftermarket cables of all kinds

 

[Mike C]

I now have an Empyrean but I'm not sure about them; I got these as lightly used from a dealer on Ebay (UK) so I have the option to return them, but I have a lot to try first.

The sound seems thin in the midrange, so vocals are not good. They seem a touch less sensitive than the Audio Zenith PMx2 (Oppo based). Don't seem smooth and sophisticated, and I would expect a degree of this character; the PMx2 are better in this way. The Empy do have a touch more transparency, which is nice, but perhaps at the cost of some of the tonality of the PMx2 (which is superb). In many ways the sound is very similar; good tonality, for example. They are good headphones, but I have issues.
I also tried the Mitchell & Johnson JP1, which are electret so have a degree of electrostat transparency, but also have cones for the bass. I like these a lot, with only a slight preference for the PMx2. I'd say these are really good by any standards, and exceptional at the price.
It was close between the JP1 and Empy; as I find the JP1 very enjoyable, this is not a severe criticism. Transparency is very similar, perhaps a touch more with the JP1.

Now for some possibly good news.
My general impression of the Empy was that it sounded like it wasn't run in. This might just be the case; perhaps they were returned to the dealer after a short trial and are not run in. So I have run them all day (carefully, at a normal volume) and they seem to have improved. Laurie Allyn giving just a few tingles down the spine and showing a bit more transparency which was nice.
Also, they came with the short cable to 3.5mm jack. Suggests they were used with phone or DAP etc, which may have made it hard for the owner to run them in?
I'm having to run this short cable via a 3.5 to 6.3 adaptor and a 6.3 to XLR 4 adaptor, far from ideal!

I already ordered a reasonable cable (Mavismodz OFC copper) which should be comparable to the cables used with the other 2 phones. The latter are DIY chinese 8 core copper OFC and they are not bad. With the PMx2, I prefer this to both the original cable, and (shock, horror!) to a Toxic Cables silver widow.
So at present I'm comparing a sub optimal cable with the Empy to an optimised choice of cable with the others; this may be enough to invalidate the evaluation.

Don't get me wrong; I like the Empy a lot; in many ways they are between two favourite phones of mine.But I'm hoping for more.
Perhaps running in, and a change of cable, may give me what I'm after.

If the cable does make a good improvement I'll be tempted to get an Invictus cable high end silver one. I have some connectors on order to convert other cables of mine to fit the Empy, might be interesting.

More news later.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I now have an Empyrean but I'm not sure about them; I got these as lightly used from a dealer on Ebay (UK) so I have the option to return them, but I have a lot to try first.

The sound seems thin in the midrange, so vocals are not good. They seem a touch less sensitive than the Audio Zenith PMx2 (Oppo based). Don't seem smooth and sophisticated, and I would expect a degree of this character; the PMx2 are better in this way. The Empy do have a touch more transparency, which is nice, but perhaps at the cost of some of the tonality of the PMx2 (which is superb). In many ways the sound is very similar; good tonality, for example. They are good headphones, but I have issues.
I also tried the Mitchell & Johnson JP1, which are electret so have a degree of electrostat transparency, but also have cones for the bass. I like these a lot, with only a slight preference for the PMx2. I'd say these are really good by any standards, and exceptional at the price.
It was close between the JP1 and Empy; as I find the JP1 very enjoyable, this is not a severe criticism. Transparency is very similar, perhaps a touch more with the JP1.

Now for some possibly good news.
My general impression of the Empy was that it sounded like it wasn't run in. This might just be the case; perhaps they were returned to the dealer after a short trial and are not run in. So I have run them all day (carefully, at a normal volume) and they seem to have improved. Laurie Allyn giving just a few tingles down the spine and showing a bit more transparency which was nice.
Also, they came with the short cable to 3.5mm jack. Suggests they were used with phone or DAP etc, which may have made it hard for the owner to run them in?
I'm having to run this short cable via a 3.5 to 6.3 adaptor and a 6.3 to XLR 4 adaptor, far from ideal!

I already ordered a reasonable cable (Mavismodz OFC copper) which should be comparable to the cables used with the other 2 phones. The latter are DIY chinese 8 core copper OFC and they are not bad. With the PMx2, I prefer this to both the original cable, and (shock, horror!) to a Toxic Cables silver widow.
So at present I'm comparing a sub optimal cable with the Empy to an optimised choice of cable with the others; this may be enough to invalidate the evaluation.

Don't get me wrong; I like the Empy a lot; in many ways they are between two favourite phones of mine.But I'm hoping for more.
Perhaps running in, and a change of cable, may give me what I'm after.

If the cable does make a good improvement I'll be tempted to get an Invictus cable high end silver one. I have some connectors on order to convert other cables of mine to fit the Empy, might be interesting.

More news later.

Did I read that correctly you use a single ended cable via Adapter on the balanced out of your amp?

Afaik this could cause damage to phones or amp.

Using and XLR cable via Adapter on a single ended out of an amp is fine tho

 

[Mike C]

Yes, I use adaptor. I built the amp, outputs are via transformers so I know it's OK and doesn't damage phones.
Thanks for your concern and good advice though.
Regards, Mike

 

[Paul at Z-axis]

Mike,
Certainly I would persevere and fit a better suited cable set to the Empyrean, and give it all at least 100hrs to settle down. I had early reservations as you are experiencing but most of these have evaporated now, leaving an enjoyable sound albeit on a slightly thick level. This may improve over more time but it doesn't stop me wanting to use them in any way, and as my reference is a pair of Franco Serblin Ktema loudspeakers there will always be some trade off in comparison.

Also just to understand your connection set up, you are running from a 4 pin XLR (so 2ch of + & - ) into a single ended adapter, thus joining the 2 channels - phase to gnd?

Best Regards,
Paul

 

[Focux]

Does anyone here run their empyrean through a chord dac (preferably mojo) and THX789?

v curious how this setup performs and if the empyrean is less “lush” sounding

 

[Slim1970]

I just received the Empyrean’s today as part of the loaner program. Initial impressions are very, very positive.