[ThanatosVI]

What tube amp do You use with Empys?

An Octave V16 Single Ended with Super Black Box.

This thing has a crazy price Tag but the sound is amazing.

Until recently I used a Cayin HA-6A, which was also really nice.

 

[bpiotrow13]

An Octave V16 Single Ended with Super Black Box.

This thing has a crazy price Tag but the sound is amazing.

Until recently I used a Cayin HA-6A, which was also really nice.

Nice, out of my budget i am afraid. I have just bought Ayon ha 3 as i mentioned a couple of posts before. I am experimenting with DACs/cables/tubes now. Will post my impressions once i got the best sound but i think i am close. You did not like Cayin with Meze?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Nice, out of my budget i am afraid. I have just bought Ayon ha 3 as i mentioned a couple of posts before. I am experimenting with DACs/cables/tubes now. Will post my impressions once i got the best sound but i think i am close. You did not like Cayin with Meze?

I loved the Cayin with the Meze, great sinergy. For that price I'd get the same again.

However opportunity arised for an affordable Octave, and well that one doesn't normally cost 4x as much for no reason. It's simply better in every way, as it should be considering the price increase.

I truly Think I reached my absolute personal endgame, as soon as my ordered stuff arrives. Maybe try a few more tubes in the coming years, but the gear should now be final for a long time.

 

[bpiotrow13]

I loved the Cayin with the Meze, great sinergy. For that price I'd get the same again.

However opportunity arised for an affordable Octave, and well that one doesn't normally cost 4x as much for no reason. It's simply better in every way, as it should be considering the price increase.

I truly Think I reached my absolute personal endgame, as soon as my ordered stuff arrives. Maybe try a few more tubes in the coming years, but the gear should now be final for a long time.

Can You write a bit more why it is better with Meze? Better timbre, soundstage? I am trying to find warm but detailed sound. My expirience with Empys (only have them for 2 months) is that they upscale a lot with good amp/source.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Can You write a bit more why it is better with Meze? Better timbre, soundstage? I am trying to find warm but detailed sound. My expirience with Empys (only have the 2 months) is that they upscale a lot with good amp/source.

Yeah the Empyrean scales up extremely well with better source and amplification.

Well I can write about a few improvements when going from the Cayin to the Octave, but want to emphasize that it really is no fair comparison.

The Octave as a pure Single Ended Triode Design, gives more of the smooth tube Charme in the midrange, while simultaneously not losing ans extension in the sub Bass or treble.
Basically you could say it has more tube Charme than Ha-6a in Triode mode, while simultaneously offering better extension than the Ha-6a in Ultralinear mode.
On top of that the layering of Instruments and coherent Display of them playing together is the best I've ever heard. The amp certainly has better Detail retrieval than the Cayin.

@32 Ohm which is the Empyreans impedance it also offers even more Power, but to be honest both are total Overkill for the Empyrean in that regard.

I don't own it that long yet, therefore I keep the List at that for now, however I am sure that I am in for a treat when revisiting my music collection

 

[bpiotrow13]

Yeah the Empyrean scales up extremely well with better source and amplification.

Well I can write about a few improvements when going from the Cayin to the Octave, but want to emphasize that it really is no fair comparison.

The Octave as a pure Single Ended Triode Design, gives more of the smooth tube Charme in the midrange, while simultaneously not losing ans extension in the sub Bass or treble.
Basically you could say it has more tube Charme than Ha-6a in Triode mode, while simultaneously offering better extension than the Ha-6a in Ultralinear mode.
On top of that the layering of Instruments and coherent Display of them playing together is the best I've ever heard. The amp certainly has better Detail retrieval than the Cayin.

@32 Ohm which is the Empyreans impedance it also offers even more Power, but to be honest both are total Overkill for the Empyrean in that regard.

I don't own it that long yet, therefore I keep the List at that for now, however I am sure that I am in for a treat when revisiting my music collection

Interesting, Ayon is also SET design i guess and i have similar expirience. This is a smooth but dynamic and detailed sound. Will write more when i have a time for longer listen.

 

[nwavesailor]

I found the ZMF Pendant to pair nicely with the Empy as well as VO. This was using the Chord TT2 as a DAC. I am treble sensitive and sibilance killls my ears but I really liked this combo and it sounded fine to me with no harhness or glassy top end.

My ears, your ears and ymmv!

 

[bpiotrow13]

I found the ZMF Pendant to pair nicely with the Empy as well as VO. This was using the Chord TT2 as a DAC. I am treble sensitive and sibilance killls my ears but I really liked this combo and it sounded fine to me with no harhness or glassy top end.

My ears, your ears and ymmv!

Nice, what cables do You use? I use Cardas parsec and it is nicely warming the hights while keeping the details.

 

[nwavesailor]

Inexpensive Blue Jeans Cable LC-1,RCA

 

[Jonwch]

Hi all, was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the burson conductor 3 reference. I've read up quite a bit on the unit and know that it should output more than enough power to drive the empyreans pretty easily, but when auditioning the unit today, I was pushing close to maximum volume on high gain in order for me to hear what I would normal listen to on my ifi micro bl on mid gain at about 12 o clock. Is this normal?

PS I don't know if this makes a difference, but I was using my phone as a source via an rca to 3.5mm jack.

J

 

[ThanatosVI]

Hi all, was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the burson conductor 3 reference. I've read up quite a bit on the unit and know that it should output more than enough power to drive the empyreans pretty easily, but when auditioning the unit today, I was pushing close to maximum volume on high gain in order for me to hear what I would normal listen to on my ifi micro bl on mid gain at about 12 o clock. Is this normal?

PS I don't know if this makes a difference, but I was using my phone as a source via an rca to 3.5mm jack.

J

The phone jack as a source is incredibly bad, both from a quality and volume perspective.

You certainly should invest into a DAC, the Empyreans potential is totally wasted here

 

[Jonwch]

The phone jack as a source was only because forgot to bring my USB cables to the shop where I auditioned the unit and they didn't have any. If that's the case I'll make sure to test out the unit again and see if it makes a difference.

Thanks!!

 

[Mike C]

... test, i'm totally agreed with Mike C:

Thanks for that, it agrees with findings that I'm in a small minority; but not alone.

A bit more info about the brain.

You will have no problem reading this.
But the eye has *not* seen the letters as they are not there!
The brain has interpreted the image based on matching it to stored patterns. Letters of course have a very strong stored image and the brain is fully expert at interpreting and matching.
I hope you see that the brain can match something up, from a few minimal clues, if it has a strong stored image to match it to.

And I believe similar things can happen with sounds. In my case, quite strongly.

Why my long writeup?
It comes from my being educated as an engineer, working as a system analyst in R&D for a major car manufacturer; (now retired).

First, if there's a problem and you can't fix it, document it and make it a known problem; then people's actions can be modified to compensate.

Next, I like 'test plans'; when writing code or building a system, I always thought how to test it, often writing a plan.
I worked a lot in computer aided testing, adding data acquisition and analysis to test rigs. Where Test Ops had a written test plan, it really helped!
Also I worked a lot with Test Ops generally and at times helped look into problems with unexpected component failure under test; a properly documented test plan really helped.

So when doing the test on the palladium cable:
. I recognised that I might have problems with a comparative test
. I took steps to compensate for a known problem
. I came up with a test plan
. I documented all this.

Mental gymnastics? Perhaps, but I prefer to see it as a rigorous approach.

Note that, with care, I'm quite good at finding differences, such as the effect of even one capacitor change in my own amplifiers ..... yes, such things are audible, and there is no reason for wishful thinking. And before you ask, the most expensive is not always the best, and I like to find this out.

 

[iFi audio]

PS I don't know if this makes a difference, but I was using my phone as a source via an rca to 3.5mm jack.

That's the culprit most likely and a major bottleneck of your setup. Please try a different source and see where this gets you. Good luck and please keep us updated.

And yes, Empys are great cans

 

[JulianFP]

My Empys plus Chord Hugo 2 arrived today. My previous/other setup was/is Audeze LCD-XC driven from a Chord Mojo. The source for both is streaming from Roon to Chord 2Go/Poly respectively with source files either from my ripped-to-FLAC CDs or from Qobuz.

I’ve done less than an hour of listening so far so way too early for any firm conclusions but things that immediately strike me are...

1 - I was worried about taking a step down in terms of bass impact and slam vs my Audeze. I don’t think that’s a problem. Maybe there’s the teeny tiniest bit less slam but the Empys go deeper and overall the bass still feels totally present, impactful and nimble/articulate/bouncy to me.

2 - I was also worried that the Hugo might be too bright. On initial impressions that was a closer call, it’s a bit marginal but I think some of my first listens, old 1980s stuff, might have been quite bright. I’m listening to Spoon at the moment on filter 1 (the brightest I believe) and it’s fine.

3 - Comfort is my only disappointment at this point, surprisingly given that’s one thing that most reviews rave about. Maybe I’ll adjust but I actually find my 700 gram LCD-XC more comfortable. My problem is that as a 5’8” 135lb guy (i.e. quite small and slim) I find the clamping force on the Empys too weak so they feel less secure on my head than my Audeze which is a disappointment.

On balance there are more positives than negatives but the lack of clamping force (for me) is a shame. Maybe I can superglue a bit of velcro to the top of my head to make them more secure (I have a conveniently positioned bald patch where it can be attached) but should I glue the fluffy strip to my head and the bit with the hooks to the headphone band or is it better to do it the other way round - or will that not make any difference to the sound quality?