[Kiats]

Some early morning listening to perk me up.

 

[Mike C]

Some early morning listening to perk me up.

What a coincidence! Last night I listened to Susan Wong, Close to Me. Beautiful on my headphone system, and was thinking about mentioning her to you as having some similarity to Sarah Alainn.

Thanks so much for telling about Sarah. I listened to a few songs on youtube, only via laptop and Sennheiser HD580, and was so amazed I immediately ordered two CDs.
I can fully believe she sounds superb on your system with the Empyrean and can't wait to hear her properly on my nice headphone system which does female vocals very well.

If your Empyreans are new, you are in for even more of a treat when they run in; enjoy!

 

[Kiats]

What a coincidence! Last night I listened to Susan Wong, Close to Me. Beautiful on my headphone system, and was thinking about mentioning her to you as having some similarity to Sarah Alainn.

Thanks so much for telling about Sarah. I listened to a few songs on youtube, only via laptop and Sennheiser HD580, and was so amazed I immediately ordered two CDs.
I can fully believe she sounds superb on your system with the Empyrean and can't wait to hear her properly on my nice headphone system which does female vocals very well.

If your Empyreans are new, you are in for even more of a treat when they run in; enjoy!

You are most welcome @Mike C ! Always happy to share. Indeed. I first came across Susan Wong in the HK Hifi Show a few years back, where there was a booth selling all these audiophile recording CDs. Never looked back since then. I am glad you liked Sarah Alainn.

Yes, the Empyreans are just into their second day. I am listening to them off the Liquid Gold cos last Thursday my Cayin C9 arrived DOA on the nutube side. Still waiting for the replacement C9 to come in. No issues since I am happy running the Empyrean out of the desktop rig.

So what does your headphone system comprise of? Sounds good if it can do female voices very well.

If you like Susan Wong, you may want to give Chlara a try. She does some really great acoustic music.

 

[Newsee]

In my opinion the Meze Empyrean is the ultimate package when it comes to the combination of comfort, build quality and sound. All the other flagships lack comfort or build quality in comparison or cost almost twice as much. The Empyrean has been out for two years now, but I still couldn't pick another headphone as a package, that excels in all of these three categories this well. Headphone comfort has become increasingly important for me and the Empyreans are hard to beat at comfort. Build quality is also second to none, and the sound overall is a sizable leap from mid-fi when it comes to refinement, cohesion and a detailed but smooth presentation.

The Empyrean is also a pretty great all-rounder when it comes to music genres: there is enough bass for EDM but can also eloquently represent orchestral music, which is a rare treat. Bass may not be as punchy as Audeze LCD4(z) but it is close. Resolution and detail is not as good as the HiFiMan flagships, but it is not far off. Not as spacious as the HD800S, but still has a great 3D space. They are easy to drive and super comfy to wear and listen to them all day long. The tonality is as easy on the ears as the weight is on the head.

I am not a detail or resolution hunter (anymore), I just want the best relaxed, overall headphone experience for the money, and for me the Empyrean offers just that. My ear sensitivity has also increased recently and even the Arya or the LCD-X can give me some listening fatigue after a few hours for different reasons. Arya: treble and details; LCD-X: extra dynamism (and weight). I doubt anyone has ever experienced listening fatigue with the laid back and smooth sounding Empyrean.

I think, some reviewers and audio enthusiasts just don't get what the Empyrean is about. They stuck deeply in the habit of over-analysing sound with frequency graphs and by doing so they miss the bigger picture, the essence of the Empyrean which is an outstanding and engaging, cohesive and smooth musical experience. Once I read a review where the writer drew a parallel between the Empyrean and impressionist paintings. He didn't go into details, but I think this is a great analogy which I will take a step further: if you start to analyse Van Gogh's or Monet's paint brush technique from 5 cm, you won't understand a thing of what these magnificent painters tried to convey. If you step back and embrace the whole painting, then you are giving art a chance to touch your soul. That is exactly what the Empyrean can do for me with music.

The black knight from Transylvania has landed:

I knew I was missing your writings. You are very talented finding the right words. And it looks also talented to find the right lights. It is extremely difficult to make a half that decent picture. Good that you are back.

 

[betula]

I new I was missing your writings. You are very talented finding the right words. And it looks also talented to find the right lights. It is extremely difficult to make a half that decent picture. Good that you are back.

Thanks a lot. I am a much more confident writer on my mother tongue, but my English is slowly improving as well.
Regarding the picture I only used my mobile phone and I got lucky with the sunshine coming through the window (I only chose the spot and angle). Natural lighting is the best one.

 

[Kiats]

This evening, I have moved from acoustic vocals to Christopher Cross’ classic Sailing to Charlie Puth’s The Way I am, to Pet Shop Boys‘ What Have I Done to Deserve This to now Depeche Mode’s Blasphemous Rumours. Love how the Empy that takes it all in its stride and its still so enjoyable.

 

[Newsee]

Have You compared Burson's balanced vs single ended output with Meze? I wonder if there is a difference, in particular with respect to imagining. Some say single ended is better here.

I have compared. I have to agree with some.
At least in this context:

I tried to minimise difference due to cable - only one adapter piece is different, and even that is from the same supplier. Of course the volume had to go back by 10 for balanced.

On SE I am one step back from the stage compared to balanced. It sounds more natural. Maybe I just like the third row on concerts more than the first row. The rest is imagining

 

[bpiotrow13]

I have compared. I have to agree with some.
At least in this context:

I tried to minimise difference due to cable - only one adapter piece is different, and even that is from the same supplier. Of course the volume had to go back by 10 for balanced.

On SE I am one step back from the stage compared to balanced. It sounds more natural. Maybe I just like the third row on concerts more than the first row. The rest is imagining

Thanks very valuable information. So this is not uncommon that SE may be a bit better if has enough power to run HPs.

 

[Kiats]

I am listening to Alison Moyet on the Empy. It really suits her vocals and this album. Even though it is a red book album. Very lovely.

 

[betula]

I am just wondering if there has been any cosmetic changes to the driver or is it just my camera?

 

[ThanatosVI]

I am just wondering if there has been any cosmetic changes to the driver or is it just my camera?

Looks like camera to me

 

[bpiotrow13]

Looks like camera to me

Seems so. The second picture is just bigger and the light seems also a bit different. I would say it is really not possible to judge based on this photo.

 

[Mike C]

You are most welcome @Mike C ! Always happy to share. Indeed. I first came across Susan Wong in the HK Hifi Show a few years back, where there was a booth selling all these audiophile recording CDs. Never looked back since then. I am glad you liked Sarah Alainn.

So what does your headphone system comprise of? Sounds good if it can do female voices very well.

If you like Susan Wong, you may want to give Chlara a try. She does some really great acoustic music.

The headphone system is CD only, but I have now found CD gear that comes very close to high end LP, and I love it:
Pro-ject RS2T transport (their top line); sounds better than a CD player used as transport, I know bits are bits but it seems how well they are presented matters.
Lector Digicode dac, R2R with full valve output stage; or ANK (Audionote based) DAC 4.1x, also R2R and valve.
High Fidelity Cables CT-1U interconnect; ridiculous price (more than the Empyrean) - ridiculously good though.
DIY valve amp, resulting from some years of experimenting! Now EL33 pentode in triode mode, single stage, single ended with output transformer. Very simple indeed, but with a high quality power supply, and stepped attenuator volume control, sound is good, very like a good SET. I like this a lot as it has detail with sweetness, drive and dynamics, fast clean leading edges; this is not slow or lazy. Above all it's natural sounding, adds to the Empyrean's strengths.
Plussound silver/copper palladium cable which I find improves just about everything.

Me and female vocals, a funny story. A few friends who know my system well were here for a listen to my speaker system. We tried many kinds of music, from Stravinsky to Dire Straits, jazz, rock. I offered to try some female vocals, getting the answer; No need, we know you Mike, if it doesn't do that fabulously it'll be out the door in no time flat.

A comment. A good few years ago at a folk club I heard Christine Collister perform (golden voiced), a bit disappointing. Through the PA system I could hear everything exact and clear and right, but didn't do that much for me. Then at the end as the PA system was being packed up she sang Fleetwood Mac's Songbird, unplugged, and it was pure magic, totally delightful!
Headphones like AKG's (I had K812) seem a bit like Christine via PA, whereas Empyrean sound more like Christine unplugged - just simple, pure, magical.

 

[turbofeet]

Hi Guys
I recently sold my Stellias as I found them a little too bright and they were also very unforgiving with poor recordings. They sounded delightful with good recordings but that took a lot of joy out of listening for me.
Moved on to the Empyreans and wow they just sound lovely.
They make you feel the emotion in the music.
I am also using Matrix Element X as an all in one (for convenience with Roon) and although this does sound very nice I even find a dragonfly cobalt from my Android tablet exceptional with these. Absolutely lovely portable setup and very inexpensive.
So, they don't seem to need much to achieve a lovely listening experience.
Since I listen in another room in the house (primary source is Qobuz and Tidal via Roon) I am considering getting a second listening setup.
I am looking at maybe a Schiit Bifrost 2 and Jotenheim 2 in a balanced format.
I did upgrade to the Meze PCUHD Copper XLR cables as well.
I am curious if anyone else has tried this combination?
Alternatively I could switch to maybe a Second hand TT2 with the Jotenheim as well.
I would use a Pi as a Roon Endpoint.
For reference I enjoy a natural analogue sound while still retaining clarity and bass. Something these cans seem capable of.
I EQ these already based on Oratory EQ with just the bass elevated a bit.
Sound great.
Any Amp/DAC combo recommendations are welcome but this Shiit has me curious. May even throw in the Phono stage to the Jotenheim for a bit of Vinyl fun later down the line...

 

[betula]

Music is more than sound, just like a painting is more than colours and shapes.
Good headphones can perfectly recreate sound. Exceptional headphones can connect us to music, to the artist's inspirational source.

Some brilliantly engineered headphones simply lack soul. The Empyrean has a delicate, refined and smooth soul which always shines through its full and luscious yet sophisticated sound in a sweet way.
This is an immeasurable quality. Many cars can take you from A to B, some can even do it in a fun way, but the same journey in a Pagani will be an experience. The Empyrean is the Pagani of headphones, and I am loving the experience.