Meze EMPYREAN - the First Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone

[Bompah]

Human bias and tribal error? So only those who post a critical review can be afflicted with those qualities? First of all, ALL reviews are SUBJECTIVE so human bias is inherent at all times, whether you praise or pan something.
How about we start putting a microscope on all positive reviews and see if they can stand up to such intense scrutiny as well? Let’s delve into your background and motivations and see whether your opinion can be trusted? You can be the magistrate over the authenticity of driftingbunnies and I’ll be the magistrate over you!

OR how about everyone just chills the hell out and let people express their opinions in peace? How about just say you disagree, express your differing opinion, and then move on? Live and let live.

I think we're all having a good ol' day of miss-communication today, and if I was unclear in my concerns that is on me. I think from the follow-ups that it may have been cleared up, and we can all go back to talking about cables endlessly

 

[adydula]

Compared to my Focal Clear MG Pros the soundstage is much wider and more front and back depth. The Hedds I have are very very good with soundstage from left to right but a tad shallow from front to back....

 

[Mattvox]

This was a really disappointing read-through today. Watching a forum that encourages discussion between fellow hobbyists devolve into personal attacks and conspiracy theories is truly ridiculous, childish, and unbelievable. We’re talking about headphones here.

 

[adydula]

This was a really disappointing read-through today. Watching a forum that encourages discussion between fellow hobbyists devolve into personal attacks and conspiracy theories is truly ridiculous, childish, and unbelievable. We’re talking about headphones here.

So what brings you to the Empy thread? Do you have them or listen with them??

 

[driftingbunnies]

I have no issue with your review or where it was posted, I took an issue with you writing a list of publications and insinuating that they are untrustworthy because they are reliant on advertising and footfall. I may have read that wrong (sorry), but that was the impression I was given. That was what I took issue with, that is what I responded to.

I agree with the sentiment that all reviews should be taken with a generous helping of salt, be they negative or positive, affirming or detracting, professional or hobbyist. And I think some of the Empyrean hype is overblown, they are great headphones, but they aren't the second coming.

I have no sympathy for people belittling the reviews and experiences of others, or people attacking experiences which are contrary to their own. If that is what you have been subjected to here (I mostly skim-read these threads so don't have a coherent picture), then on behalf of sensible Empy owners I apologise, I don't support that type of behaviour. Especially when someone has taken the time to write up a comprehensive review.

So no piling on, thank you for taking the time to write up a review of your experience and sharing your findings with us. I'm sorry if some Empy owners have taken to attacking you for that rather than welcoming a discussion about a difference in experience.

I appreciate your response and I don't think you should need to apologize. You sir, bring hope that there are more level headed audiophiles out there who don't take reviews as personal attacks to their children.

 

[adydula]

So drift when you did your listening and commented on the soundstage what particular music and gear were you using?

Soundstage and Layering – The soundstage of the Empyreans is average when it comes to headphones. It’s not quite as round and compact as the Utopia but it isn’t that wide either. I found that the layering of the Empyreans needed some work. During busier sections, the headphone felt congested and stuffy. Certain instruments got lost in the mix or details weren’t as present.

Alex

 

[betula]

I appreciate your response and I don't think you should need to apologize. You sir, bring hope that there are more level headed audiophiles out there who don't take reviews as personal attacks to their children.

As I already said a few times I don't think the problem was with one particular review. It was that 2-3 negative reviews came from the same source which was unusual compared to the majority of positive reviews out there.

 

[MajorMajorMajor]

So what brings you to the Empy thread? Do you have them or listen with them??

What's with the gatekeeping in a public forum. Are only people who own empy allowed to talk in? What if someone wanted to ask questions about the headphone are they going to be kicked out because they didn't just blind buy a $3k can? I don't care what people here think about this whole debacle about one guys review but this gatekeeping bull disgusts me regardless of your opinion on a headphone.

 

[adydula]

Nope just trying to be friendly and welcoming and being positive!

No gate keeping, its a public forum on a private entity...and public does include " me and YOU"...

So whats your questions??

Others will respond I am sure!

 

[betula]

What's with the gatekeeping in a public forum. Are only people who own empy allowed to talk in? What if someone wanted to ask questions about the headphone are they going to be kicked out because they didn't just blind buy a $3k can? I don't care what people here think about this whole debacle about one guys review but this gatekeeping bull disgusts me regardless of your opinion on a headphone.

@adydula might be a bit more defensive than necessary when it comes to the Empyrean but did you think your tone will trigger a helpful turn of conversation?

 

[MajorMajorMajor]

@adydula might be a bit more defensive than necessary when it comes to the Empyrean but did you think your tone will trigger a helpful turn of conversation?

I think going to new comers and demanding if they own or at the very least demoed a headphone is very off putting to people wanting to join in on the discussion and gain insight on gear. This does nothing but get more people to have a negative connotation towards this headphone that many of you feel so passionately about and in the end only hurts the community as a whole. Instead of intimating new comers or even people posting reviews we should be respectful of that, but it seems that @adydula has no intention of being welcoming to potential future empy owners in this board and that rubs me the wrong way.

 

[betula]

I think going to new comers and demanding if they own or at the very least demoed a headphone is very off putting to people wanting to join in on the discussion and gain insight on gear. This does nothing but get more people to have a negative connotation towards this headphone that many of you feel so passionately about and in the end only hurts the community as a whole. Instead of intimating new comers or even people posting reviews we should be respectful of that, but it seems that @adydula has no intention of being welcoming to potential future empy owners in this board and that rubs me the wrong way.

As @Ichos said, most of this discussion is going to be deleted tomorrow.
Passion sometimes overrides forum ethics. Enjoy your music guys. I am definitely in love with my Empyrean.

 

[adydula]

No one is demanding anyone own anything....

Asking someone if they own or have Empys is not an edict!!
Its not off putting to me at all.....its a simple question to start a discussion.

Trying to start an honest discussion etc is all that is implied.

If you read anything more into this, sorry...this is not the intent.

If your a newcomer "WELCOME!"....

Please join in, ask questions!!

I sent u a PM as well!
Alex

 

[iceofnine]

Just loving my Empyreans! Incredibly comfortable, exquisitely well-made, resolving without being harsh, just a full, versatile sound that quite frankly, has me selling both of my Focals, because I just don't want to listen to anything else.

As I said before, I would have never imagined that I would have spent this much money on a pair of headphones, but I have zero, zilch, nada, no regrets, even though I purchased these without listening first (although I had a good sense in what I wanted out of a pair of headphones, and the design language and description of sound signature seemed to fit the bill for me- and I was not wrong).

Some small quibbles to point out, and some specific and more general observations:

The stock XLR cable has been a thick, stiff mess for my desktop use case (no jokes please), so I purchased a 4' LQI Esprit, which is less money than many other options, is light, flexible and which really did seem to make the Empyreans noticably more resolving to my ears, even though it's merely a silver-plated copper design that some may turn their nose up at. I gotta be honest, I was somewhat inclined to believe that the cable thing was mainly hooey propagated by vested interests and neurotic audiophiles alike (present company excluded, of course), but I do feel that changing the cable has actually changed the sound enough for me to try out the Alcantara pads again, which I'm (so far) liking considerably more than than I did with the stock cable.

I'll give my 2c on the pads because we all hear things a little differently:

To me, the leather pads are just more engaging to me in general- more resolving, in general, slightly more treble forward, bass is also punchier. Volume is quite a bit higher with the leather pads. In terms of comfort, I must say that I have HATED leather pads in general in the past. However, low clamping force, the comfy nature of the pads, and central A/C may totally change my mind. These do feel wondrous to me.

The Alcantaras have definitely been made more viable for me by the LQI cable. A little less V-Shaped, perhaps, less resolving, but more neutral and also less fatiguing IMO. A nice, laid-back experience. Comfort-wise, I do prefer the more supple leather pads.

There is a VERY big difference between the 2 sets of pads, and I definitely see justification for a hybrid or fenestrated pad option for the Empyrean. I would be very interested. Meze?

The adjustment system is not nearly as stiff as some video reviews seem to show, and I haven't seen a ton mentioned about that. I wouldn't say that they're super loose, but I typically have to adjust them now and again. I do hope they don't loosen up more over time.

I found that overall, the praise for these headphones in reviews, while not universal, was pretty much accurate. The Empyreans are just straight up art, definitely a testament to great design, beautiful, simple and functional.

Those reviewers who didn't like the Empys wanted something brighter and more resolving, which I totally get, because simply hearing more out of the music has provided me the greatest joys when I first purchased nicer HP (Senn HD595), as well as far more recently when I finally got an AMP/DAC recently for my HD598 SE's in December, which really started me down this expensive rabbit hole, come to think of it.

Because I do love my Empys so much and would be interested in further gear to improve them, I have so far read 298 pages of the Empy thread. I would say the following-

It's in my signature: I do wholeheartedly agree that the nonstop pursuit of perfection is ultimately the thief of joy. While it's definitely fun to get new gear (and toys in general), I think we also need to remind ourselves of the cool stuff we already have. Just sayin'!

While many, many comments here that I've read so far are useful, I think it would do us well to remember how absolutely subjective opinions are in particular for this hobby. Others may have a better ear and vastly more experience with gear than myself, no doubt. But cripes, I would say that this forum not only gets in the weeds on the details at points (which can be very informative), but sadly, the convos often become pointless.

One thing I've thought repeatedly is that some folks ultimately need take it to a PM and stop polluting the thread. Empyrean lovers trying to defend your beloved product? Know that your identity does not reside with your headphones. I like my $3000 headphones just fine, and I don't have to justify the purchase to anyone (actually, come to think of it, I won't bother telling most people how much I paid for these things).

People who come into this thread to critique the product? Feel free to share your findings, compare to your favorites, etc- that's useful for all of us. Ultimately this is part of what forums are for. But please don't troll. You won't catch me jumping on the LCD4 thread making fun of people for strapping tanks to their head, etc. Catch my drift?

 

[betula]

Just loving my Empyreans! Incredibly comfortable, exquisitely well-made, resolving without being harsh, just a full, versatile sound that quite frankly, has me selling both of my Focals, because I just don't want to listen to anything else.

As I said before, I would have never imagined that I would have spent this much money on a pair of headphones, but I have zero, zilch, nada, no regrets, even though I purchased these without listening first (although I had a good sense in what I wanted out of a pair of headphones, and the design language and description of these spoke to me, and again- I was not wrong).

Some small quibbles to point out, and some specific and more general observations:

The stock XLR cable has been a thick, stiff mess for my desktop use case (no jokes please), so I purchased a 4' LQI Esprit, which is less money than many other options, is light, flexible and which really did seem to make the Empyreans noticably more resolving to my ears, even though it's merely a silver-plated copper design that some may turn their nose up at. I gotta be honest, I was somewhat inclined to believe that the cable thing was mainly hooey propagated by vested interests and neurotic audiophiles alike (present company excluded, of course), but I do feel that changing the cable has actually enough for me to try out the Alcantara pads again, which I'm (so far) liking considerably more than than I did with the stock cable.

I'll give my 2c on the pads because I think we all hear things a little differently:

To me, the leather pads are just more engaging to me in general- more resolving, in general, slightly more treble forward, bass is also punchier. Volume is quite a bit higher with the leather pads. In terms of comfort, I must say that I have HATED leather pads in general in the past. However, low clamping force, the comfy nature of the pads, and central A/C may totally change my mind. These do feel wondrous to me.

The Alcantaras have definitely been made more viable for me by the LQI cable. A little less V-Shaped, perhaps, less resolving, but more neutral and also less fatiguing IMO. A nice, laid-back experience. Comfort-wise, I do prefer the more supple leather pads.

There is a VERY big difference between the 2 sets of pads, and I definitely see justification for a hybrid or fenestrated pad option for the Empyrean. I would be very interested. Meze?

The adjustment system is not nearly as stiff as some video reviews seem to show, and I haven't seen a ton mentioned about that. I wouldn't say that they're super loose, but I typically have to adjust them now and again. I do hope they don't loosen up more over time.

I found that overall, the praise for these headphones in reviews, while not universal, was pretty much accurate. The Empyreans are just straight up art, definitely a testament to great design, beautiful, simple and functional.

Those reviewers who didn't like the Empys wanted something brighter and more resolving, which I totally get, because simply hearing more out of the music has provided me the greatest joys when I first purchased nicer HP (Senn HD595), as well as far more recently when I finally got an AMP/DAC recently for my HD598 SE's in December, which really started me down this expensive rabbit hole, come to think of it.

Because I do love my Empys so much and would be interested in further gear to improve them, I have so far read 298 pages of the Empy thread. I would say the following-

It's in my signature: I do wholeheartedly agree that the nonstop pursuit of perfection is ultimately the thief of joy. While it's definitely fun to get new gear (and toys in general), I think we also need to remind ourselves of the joy we have with what we already have. Just sayin'!

While many, many comments here that I've read so far are useful, I think it would do us well to remember how absolutely subjective opinions are in particular for this hobby. Others may have a better ear and vastly more experience with gear than myself, no doubt. But cripes, I would say that this forum not only gets in the weeds on the details at points (which can be very informative), but sadly, the convos often become pointless.

One thing I've thought repeatedly is that some folks ultimately need take it to a PM and stop polluting the thread. Empyrean lovers trying to defend your beloved product? Know that your identity does not reside with your headphones. I like my $3000 headphones just fine, and I don't have to justify the purchase to anyone (actually, come to think of it, I won't bother telling most people how much I paid for these things).

People who come into this thread to critique the product? That's useful for all of us. Ultimately this is part of what forums are for. But please don't troll. You won't catch me jumping on the LCD4 thread making fun of people for strapping tanks to their head, etc. Catch my drift?

Just what the thread needed. Enjoy your Empyreans. "pursuit of perfection is ultimately the thief of joy" Should be one of the mottos on Head-Fi. Brilliant second post. Well done.