[DuncanDirkDick]

I "upgraded" from the Empyrean and I'll be totally honest with you I'll be trying to find another set for my collection at some point this year. I've since had four other headphones with my gear and none of them can do what the Empy's can. That being said I just got a ZMF Aeolus and these are the best I've tried with the smooth ease of listening like the Empyrean.

For my ears I think the Focal Clear has better sparkle and perceived resolution and detail than the Empyrean but i'm sure saying that in this thread is pretty taboo and not many others would agree with me here.

I owned the Aeolus as well. In my ear they sound lush in comparison. I didn't like them at all. Similar thing with Clears but for other reasons. I think Focal Clear and Utopia implement that kind of Focal house sound which many of their speakers with beryllium tweeter do as well. I just don't like it and find it rather tinny. I've probably slagged off a huge amount of people by now I'm not saying that any of those cans are bad, they are just not to my taste and I don't know if I'll find one that is.

 

[PortableMusic]

fatiguing, or harshness or brightness in the highs is a personal pet peeve for a very long time.

in all my time as an audiophile, i can't stand fatiguing speakers or headphones. they simply make me not want to listen anymore or much at all.

i want to listen to my music and thus, fatiguing or bright speakers/headphones are disqualified.

 

[ThanatosVI]

fatiguing, or harshness or brightness in the highs is a personal pet peeve for a very long time.

in all my time as an audiophile, i can't stand fatiguing speakers or headphones. they simply make me not want to listen anymore or much at all.

i want to listen to my music and thus, fatiguing or bright speakers/headphones are disqualified.

I feel the same. With the Empyrean I guess I hit the Jackpot in this regard.

However the rather New T+A Solitaire P (und upcoming SE Version) are also said to have non fatiguing treble but with susvara like detail and clarity. So I will give them a shot, maybe they complement my Empyrean.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Did anyone upgrade from the Empyrean? The muddy mids are a downer indeed. When I say muddy, I mean muddy for a headphone in the 3000$ ballpark. Happy for suggestions. Really like the treble, bass could be faster and mids more structured. It's hard to find the balance between structure and meat I'd like to hear.

I think I understand a bit of your problem. While I never really had problem with this kind of warmness, but I knew some person who also felt a bit annoyed.

My suggestion for "upgrade" is not necessary in term of price, but more for "character upgrade": Hifiman HE1000 SE, Abyss Diana V2, and ZMF Verite.

A little story about me, I was using ZMF Aeolus when saving up to get Empyrean. However, after extensive test and listening time, I decided to went Diana and Verite routes. HE1000 SE still a bit too lean sounding for my taste.

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

I think I understand a bit of your problem. While I never really had problem with this kind of warmness, but I knew some person who also felt a bit annoyed.

My suggestion for "upgrade" is not necessary in term of price, but more for "character upgrade": Hifiman HE1000 SE, Abyss Diana V2, and ZMF Verite.

A little story about me, I was using ZMF Aeolus when saving up to get Empyrean. However, after extensive test and listening time, I decided to went Diana and Verite routes. HE1000 SE still a bit too lean sounding for my taste.

Thank you. What was your experience regarding Aeolus, Empyrean and Verite? Since I've owned two of them I'm intrigued if the Verite or Diana might be an option for me. I don't see me spending that kind of cash for a Hifiman, especially since you mentioned a lean sounding characteristic.

 

[tret]

I just received a brand new pair of Meze Empyrean and I think I have a problem. There is a very pronounced rattle/knocking in the right ear cup that reacts to the slightest head movement. If I'm perfectly still, all is well but even the slight jaw movements that occur when swallowing causes a tick/tock knocking effect. I can induce a similar (although greatly reduced) sound in the left ear cup if I compress the ear pad against my head but not from normal head movements. So I think this is just a really bad case of the well known Planar Magnetic transducer rattle.

I was fortunate enough to have a loaner unit for an extended period and those didn't have any issues so I'm wondering if this is something that happens during break in or if this is a defect. Anyone experience something similar?

Update: I reached out to the dealer and Meze Support for input/guidance. We'll see what Meze has to say. Interestingly, I thought for a moment this evening that the issue had cleared up. When I put them on after ~24 hours of non-use I couldn't cause the rattle/knocking with the same minimal head/jaw movements. I started playing a track and then paused it after a minute or two and the rattle/knocking was back, almost as if something loosened up again. Who knows.

 

[bpiotrow13]

Hi, has anyone tried Empyrians with Woo Audio wa6 se? Inwas considering Wa 2, but it seems not to be the best choice as it is OTL, but wa6 se may be a good match?

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Thank you. What was your experience regarding Aeolus, Empyrean and Verite? Since I've owned two of them I'm intrigued if the Verite or Diana might be an option for me. I don't see me spending that kind of cash for a Hifiman, especially since you mentioned a lean sounding characteristic.

Aeolus has the most lush sounding, darkest treble, and less resolution than more expensive options here. Empyrean is all about warm and sweet sounding character, while still has bite at upper mid, that may annoy some people but great for other people. I'd say, Empyrean is not all-round headphone, but more a special headphone. If you like it you will love it, and vice versa.

Verite is like Aeolus, but with brighter, cleaner, faster, bigger soundstage and put significantly more definition into sound. Treble wise, Verite has more than Empyrean (with smoother upper mid on Verite), and definitely less treble than HE1000 SE or Focal Utopia. For me Verite is the most all-round high end headphone to date on the market right now. You can just play pop songs on spotify and able to enjoy it well, but when you play some good mastering songs Verite would reward you the high quality sound as well.

 

[PortableMusic]

Aeolus has the most lush sounding, darkest treble, and less resolution than more expensive options here. Empyrean is all about warm and sweet sounding character, while still has bite at upper mid, that may annoy some people but great for other people. I'd say, Empyrean is not all-round headphone, but more a special headphone. If you like it you will love it, and vice versa.

Verite is like Aeolus, but with brighter, cleaner, faster, bigger soundstage and put significantly more definition into sound. Treble wise, Verite has more than Empyrean (with smoother upper mid on Verite), and definitely less treble than HE1000 SE or Focal Utopia. For me Verite is the most all-round high end headphone to date on the market right now. You can just play pop songs on spotify and able to enjoy it well, but when you play some good mastering songs Verite would reward you the high quality sound as well.

@TheMiddleSky:

It's interesting that you consider the Empyreans to be NOT good all around headphones.

Most often, what i've read others say about the Empyreans is precisely that they ARE indeed excellent all around headphones. Me included.

of course, ymmv, a chacun son goût

PS: one example --
https://www.themasterswitch.com/best-high-end-headphones#Picks

 

[shafat777]

Of all the headphones that i currently own, I am the most critical of my Empys. But even then I would not call them "not good all round headphones". Honestly, they are. I dont think they are particular excellent at one single thing. Like how my He1000se is best at detail retrieval, the LCD-X has unmatched bass, or how the VC has instrument seperation and treble sparkle or Autuer with its ethereal mids and vocals. But the empy has a very pleasant over all sound. The bass is well extended, layered with tons of details. Granted the mids are not that special but the treble is very sweet with air and details. IMHO, its a very good headphone. The sound signature and tuning is a safe one. Unless you have a very specific type of sound in mind, chances are you will enjoy and migth even love the sound of the Empy.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

@TheMiddleSky:

It's interesting that you consider the Empyreans to be NOT good all around headphones.

Most often, what i've read others say about the Empyreans is precisely that they ARE indeed excellent all around headphones. Me included.

of course, ymmv, a chacun son goût

PS: one example --
https://www.themasterswitch.com/best-high-end-headphones#Picks

Nope, it is not about being GOOD or BAD. These are positive and negative words, I wouldn't go that far.

The main reason I wrote Empyrean is not all-round headphone has no mean as a bad thing at all. Could be the opposite actually.

Not all-round = strong character

Empyrean would make any songs like "empyrean", there are certain coloration on this headphone that constantly appear regardless it's metal song, or just a simple acoustic instrument being played. Regardless you plug it to a simple DAP, or at $15k set up.

Same thing happen to other headphones like Woodies from ATH (W11R, W2002, W1000, W3000, etc) and Grado (all of them are specialist headphone). The character is strong, that you simply can not compare these headphones to other brands.

For extreme example: You can not really compare Grado SR60e to any high end headphone market right now (apart from PS2000e). Sound tuning is simply sound too different to compare.

Same thing goes to Empyrean.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

I think build quality is exceptional and I didn't own anything that came even close. And I would agree that the Empyrean does way more right, than it does wrong. It is a very fine allrounder and a very good headphone overall. But I'm still missing a precise bass-to-mid region in combination with that beautiful treble. Maybe that's one reason I've built my own speakers years ago.

I don't want to blame someone by giving an advice.
But if you're seeking for a great allrounder with nearly perfect mid presentation, you can't go wrong with the Quad Era-1.

Will it be an upgrade to the empyrian?
When it comes to a mid centric sound presentation, definitly.
Not so in regard to built quality, ime.

Don't get me wrong, obviously there're a lot of high priced headphones out there which excels in different areas, but for its price tag, the Era-1 is hardly to beat in the mids.
But this, as usual, will differ from listener to listener.
For me, it's the closest headphone to speaker sound mids presentation i've heard so far.

While i liked the sound of the empyrian instantly,and want to get a pair one day, it isn't a real competitor in its mid presentation( out of box ).

This is just my opinion, so don't blame me for.

If you're livin close to Augsburg, you're very welcome for an audition.

All the best.
Chris

 

[PrTv]

Just got the Empyrean today... It's a nice complement to my Utopia.

By the way, how long does it take for the headphones to fully break in? I plan to feed it with various white/pink noise at normal listening level for 100 hours. Is this enough and is this a good way to break in the headphones?

 

[moemoney]

Just got the Empyrean today... It's a nice complement to my Utopia.

By the way, how long does it take for the headphones to fully break in? I plan to feed it with various white/pink noise at normal listening level for 100 hours. Is this enough and is this a good way to break in the headphones?

I did mind for around 300 hours, and that's when I stop noticing any more changes

 

[PrTv]

I did mind for around 300 hours, and that's when I stop noticing any more changes

Thanks! That's quite a long way to go haha.