Meze EMPYREAN - the First Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone

[bpiotrow13]

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.

+1

 

[paradoxper]

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

This is agreeable. A nominal strength of the Empyrean.
Where most find the Empyrean falls apart is the mid-bass emphasis which is bloat central. The overall character of the Empyrean is also more relaxed which takes away from a strong technical trait such as treble extension.
The contrary rhetoric is this magical ease to listen to -- a sort of balance or more so a sort of crutch-balance.

You'll take note most disagreement of the Empyrean's overall performance or aptitude comes from those whom favor either 1266 AB TC, Susvara, SR1a or a combination thereof.

The Empyrean is such of a less-average Susvara > it doesn't do anything particularly special as to be its pony-trick, but the Empyrean as a whole isn't quite that cohesive package.

But if you enjoy them, so much the better.

 

[adydula]

Where most find the Empyrean falls apart is the mid-bass emphasis which is bloat central.

Are there any particular instruments that exhibit this characteristic that we can actually look at??
or combination of instruments....if you have a particular recording that shows this I would appreciate this.

Alex

 

[JM1979]

Imagine spending so much time nitpicking the empyreans? Meanwhile, mine are just covering me in amazing music via MScaler>TT2>THX887.

It’s not that complex of a hobby.

 

[betula]

Where most find the Empyrean falls apart is the mid-bass emphasis which is bloat central.

'Falling apart' might be a slight exaggeration here. The Empyrean does have a slight upper bass emphasis compared to its competition but it is done tastefully. Nothing is falling apart to my ears. Sure, the Empyrean is not the headphone for ultimate linearity or neutrality; but for a fun and relaxing experience without the need to EQ that bass up by 2-3dB.

 

[paradoxper]

Are there any particular instruments that exhibit this characteristic that we can actually look at??
or combination of instruments....if you have a particular recording that shows this I would appreciate this.

Alex

It is present with responsive electronic, pop. metal. This is a consequence of bass quantity over quality.

'Falling apart' might be a slight exaggeration here. The Empyrean does have a slight upper bass emphasis compared to its competition but it is done tastefully. Nothing is falling apart to my ears. Sure, the Empyrean is not the headphone for ultimate linearity or neutrality; but for a fun and relaxing experience without the need to EQ that bass up by 2-3dB.

Perhaps we will beat up the Empyrean too much now.

The Empyrean priced itself into a TOTL Summit category and does not perform to that category in regards to technical performance.

Yes, a warmish, fun, relaxed tuning.
Concessions perhaps for enjoyment.

It is, by comparison, bloated compared to the Abyss.

Of course the hobby is subjective and preference is king, I am only spotlighting what a large elitist crowd points to when they say why don't you consider the Empyrean xyz.

It's a bit denigrating but I do personally feel the Empyrean is in the realm of Verite, RAD-0, LCD-4. It has been hashed to death but at $2k no one would have ever blinked at the Empyrean's shortcoming. Shrugs.

I may be a snob although welcoming criticisms, trolling, cheek and differential opinions, I always own the gear and speak from experience, at the least.
.

 

[betula]

It is present with responsive electronic, pop. metal. This is a consequence of bass quantity over quality.




Perhaps we will beat up the Empyrean too much now.

The Empyrean priced itself into a TOTL Summit category and does not perform to that category in regards to technical performance.

Yes, a warmish, fun, relaxed tuning.
Concessions perhaps for enjoyment.

It is, by comparison, bloated compared to the Abyss.

Of course the hobby is subjective and preference is king, I am only spotlighting what a large elitist crowd points to when they say why don't you consider the Empyrean xyz.

It's a bit denigrating but I do personally feel the Empyrean is in the realm of Verite, RAD-0, LCD-4. It has been hashed to death but at $2k no one would have ever blinked at the Empyrean's shortcoming. Shrugs.

I may be a snob although welcoming criticisms, trolling, cheek and differential opinions, I always own the gear and speak from experience, at the least.
.

Abyss 1266, Susvara both pretty much cost two Empyreans. How fair is that comparison? Also, it is not impossible to get a new Empyrean closer to 2K than 3K if someone knows how. As I said earlier: entry level summit-fi. If such thing exists.

 

[paradoxper]

Abyss 1266, Susvara both pretty much cost two Empyreans. How fair is that comparison? Also, it is not impossible to get a new Empyrean closer to 2K than 3K if someone knows how. As I said earlier: entry level summit-fi. If such thing exists.

That is obfuscation. They priced the release at $3k. You can obtain every single headphone on the planet for less than its MSRP.

Could we devolve this into much more than just simple sound evaluation or sound proposition? Yes.
For example, I will never buy another HiFiMan product regardless as their business practices are abominable.
They are, in part, responsible for the price wars and, in part, responsible for killing the spirit of this hobby and importantly its community.

Would I ever buy an Audeze again? Not a chance. Since 2000-whatever now these hacks can't figure out quality control like a big boy company.

Sticking to pure sound quality is a bit of a more polite approach.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Wow 9h without head fi and a 7 Page Discussion in the Empyrean thread.

It is present with responsive electronic, pop. metal. This is a consequence of bass quantity over quality.




Perhaps we will beat up the Empyrean too much now.

The Empyrean priced itself into a TOTL Summit category and does not perform to that category in regards to technical performance.

Yes, a warmish, fun, relaxed tuning.
Concessions perhaps for enjoyment.

It is, by comparison, bloated compared to the Abyss.

Of course the hobby is subjective and preference is king, I am only spotlighting what a large elitist crowd points to when they say why don't you consider the Empyrean xyz.

It's a bit denigrating but I do personally feel the Empyrean is in the realm of Verite, RAD-0, LCD-4. It has been hashed to death but at $2k no one would have ever blinked at the Empyrean's shortcoming. Shrugs.

I may be a snob although welcoming criticisms, trolling, cheek and differential opinions, I always own the gear and speak from experience, at the least.
.

I personally like the bass emphasis and that Meze had the balls to not deliver a straight flat bass response on a flagship headphone. It is something I read about in early reviews which made me even more interested, and when I finally received them, did not dissappoint me.

It is a ToTL can and imo performs great at the asking price of 3000€ even in technicalities. The summit fi cans like Susvara and Solitaire P have certainly better detail retrieval and technicalities, but they also roughly double the price. Since they couldn’t improve on build quality, comfort or straight musicality they had to have something to excell at in comparison.

Sure the tuning is something one either likes or does not. People who generally like treble emphasis are better off with an Utopia.
People who prefer Micro detail retrieval are better off with a Susvara, Solitaire P or if we want to give a financially fair alternative the Solitaire P-SE.

Imo the stock cable is sonically really bad and holds the Empyrean back in most of the common denoted shortcomings by quite a margin.
Yet I consider it performing great at 3k.
At 2k it would crush everything imo. (Sort of like the Arya does now)

 

[paradoxper]

Wow 9h without head fi and a 7 Page Discussion in the Empyrean thread.


I personally like the bass emphasis and that Meze had the balls to not deliver a straight flat bass response on a flagship headphone. It is something I read about in early reviews which made me even more interested, and when I finally received them, did not dissappoint me.

It is a ToTL can and imo performs great at the asking price of 3000€ even in technicalities. The summit fi cans like Susvara and Solitaire P have certainly better detail retrieval and technicalities, but they also roughly double the price. Since they couldn’t improve on build quality, comfort or straight musicality they had to have something to excell at in comparison.

Sure the tuning is something one either likes or does not. People who generally like treble emphasis are better off with an Utopia.
People who prefer Micro detail retrieval are better off with a Susvara, Solitaire P or if we want to give a financially fair alternative the Solitaire P-SE.

Imo the stock cable is sonically really bad and holds the Empyrean back in most of the common denoted shortcomings by quite a margin.
Yet I consider it performing great at 3k.
At 2k it would crush everything imo. (Sort of like the Arya does now)

I am glad they haven't disappointed you. It doesn't surprise me they haven't disappointed everybody.

I really dislike this price crutch. The SR1a is also a $3k nominal can and wipes the ****ing floor with everything in regards to technical prowess. Shrugs.

Your tuning coverage is relatively logical as well.

Although I like crapping and sparring, it wasn't the intention.

Whatever brings you enjoyment, for whatever reason matters most.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I am glad they haven't disappointed you. It doesn't surprise me they haven't disappointed everybody.

I really dislike this price crutch. The SR1a is also a $3k nominal can and wipes the ****ing floor with everything in regards to technical prowess. Shrugs.

Your tuning coverage is relatively logical as well.

Although I like crapping and sparring, it wasn't the intention.

Whatever brings you enjoyment, for whatever reason matters most.

I wouldn't call it a price crutch, it still is as much of a price difference between the Empyrean(3k€) and Susvara(7k€) as there is between a LCD-2C(900€) and a LCD-4(5k€)
So I really would say those are different price categories yet again.

The SR1 is a real Monster in technicalities, wiping the floor with basically everything including the Susvara. However it has really dissappointing bass response for most.
Therefore I would consider it a clear recommendation for certain people and not recommendable to others.
(Coincidentally the other Camp would probably enjoy something like an Empyrean or LCD)
At 3k the SR1 isn't underperforming in my book (Personally not my cup of tea tho). If it were priced at 7k like the Susvara, the deficit in bass response would be unjustifiable tho. (Just like the Empyrean doesn't compete at 7k in technicalities, yet does fine at its asking price)

*all prices are official prices in Germany, probably also other european countries

 

[paradoxper]

I wouldn't call it a price crutch, it still is as much of a price difference between the Empyrean(3k€) and Susvara(7k€) as there is between a LCD-2C(900€) and a LCD-4(5k€)
So I really would say those are different price categories yet again.

The SR1 is a real Monster in technicalities, wiping the floor with basically everything including the Susvara. However it has really dissappointing bass response for most.
Therefore I would consider it a clear recommendation for certain people and not recommendable to others.
(Coincidentally the other Camp would probably enjoy something like an Empyrean or LCD)
At 3k the SR1 isn't underperforming in my book (Personally not my cup of tea tho). If it were priced at 7k like the Susvara, the deficit in bass response would be unjustifiable tho. (Just like the Empyrean doesn't compete at 7k in technicalities, yet does fine at its asking price)

*all prices are official prices in Germany, probably also other european countries

Perhaps the outlier speaks more volume to me.
A measly Jot R and SR1a pushes a DIY T2 and 009 to the limit and then some.
It's why the crutch is arbitrary. I do get why you lean on it.

There's always varying levels to the game.

 

[Hoegaardener70]

This discussion is very funny! People pick out various traits like a pick and chose which is fair enough, but it is the whole package that counts. There are so many high end (and highly priced) flawed constructions that it is mind blowing. For example:
- the Susvara with a build quality to cry and so hard to drive it is plainly embarrassing in 2021;
- the ab-1266tc which is a design disaster;
- the Raal, same again design disaster with speaker amp included;
- Audeze LCD-4 with what weight again ... 700 grams or so, and serious quality control issues.
So, yes, technical capacity is one aspect, but I really couldn't care less about TOTL headphones which tie me to a desk, require 12k worth of gear to "properly" drive it and so many other things.
For me, Empy is a flagship of the future: Easy, comfortable, undemanding and exceptionally well designed. I give up some (and not much, really) technical capability for all of that. The only thing Meze would have needed for perfection is a good stock cable.

 

[iceofnine]

It is present with responsive electronic, pop. metal. This is a consequence of bass quantity over quality.




Perhaps we will beat up the Empyrean too much now.

The Empyrean priced itself into a TOTL Summit category and does not perform to that category in regards to technical performance.

Yes, a warmish, fun, relaxed tuning.
Concessions perhaps for enjoyment.

It is, by comparison, bloated compared to the Abyss.

Of course the hobby is subjective and preference is king, I am only spotlighting what a large elitist crowd points to when they say why don't you consider the Empyrean xyz.

It's a bit denigrating but I do personally feel the Empyrean is in the realm of Verite, RAD-0, LCD-4. It has been hashed to death but at $2k no one would have ever blinked at the Empyrean's shortcoming. Shrugs.

I may be a snob although welcoming criticisms, trolling, cheek and differential opinions, I always own the gear and speak from experience, at the least.
.

Again, although my experience with other cans, especially TOTL cans, is limited, I do tend to agree with this somewhat. I do listen to A LOT of electronic music, much of which is fast paced, and also metal, and have found various tracks and situations where the bass on the Empyreans can become a little too much.

One use case that really hit home for me, as I said in my original mini-review, is playing Cyberpunk 2077, especially when driving vehicles while listening to music. Maybe nobody else cares, but the Empys get noticably more congested in that situation in comparison with my Elexes and HD598SE's. They really do fall apart a bit there, but that's a VERY specific situation.

While some may see this as an absolute indictment of the Empys, I merely see it as more of a consequence of Meze's choice to have a TOTL headphone that is a little on the warmer side. To me, it's an acceptable and worthwhile tradeoff. Also, the Alcantara pads do improve that in no small way and they are included.

Perhaps we will beat up the Empyrean too much now.

The Empyrean priced itself into a TOTL Summit category and does not perform to that category in regards to technical performance.

Yes, a warmish, fun, relaxed tuning.
Concessions perhaps for enjoyment.

It is, by comparison, bloated compared to the Abyss.

Of course the hobby is subjective and preference is king, I am only spotlighting what a large elitist crowd points to when they say why don't you consider the Empyrean xyz.

It's a bit denigrating but I do personally feel the Empyrean is in the realm of Verite, RAD-0, LCD-4. It has been hashed to death but at $2k no one would have ever blinked at the Empyrean's shortcoming. Shrugs.

I may be a snob although welcoming criticisms, trolling, cheek and differential opinions, I always own the gear and speak from experience, at the least.

I feel the overwhelming need to point something out. You'll readily compare the Empys to the $5k plus Abyss and Susvara (let alone what both need in amplification) and then disregard that huge price difference, but finally seem to take greatest issue with the Empyreans not being priced at $2k, even though you're not really comparing the Empy to 2k products. You can't have it both ways, sir.

In the final analysis of the Headphones.com reviews (Chronos and Resolve), I found that although I personally respect both reviewers, I determined that ultimately, both have different tastes than me, and that's just fine. I mean, c'mon, the handle is "Resolve"- he absolutely loves charts and graphs, and I've watched enough of his reviews to know that he looks at detail retrieval first and last.

 

[paradoxper]

Again, although my experience with other cans, especially TOTL cans, is limited, I do tend to agree with this somewhat. I do listen to A LOT of electronic music, a lot of which is fast paced, and also metal, and have found various tracks and situations where the bass on the Empyreans can become a little too much.

One use case that really hit home for me, as I said in my original mini-review, is playing Cyberpunk 2077, especially when driving vehicles while listening to music. Maybe nobody else cares, but the Empys get noticably more congested in that situation in comparison with my Elexes and HD598SE's. They really do fall apart a bit there, but that's a VERY specific situation.

While some may see this as an absolute indictment of the Empys, I merely see it as more of a consequence of Meze's choice to have a TOTL headphone that is a little on the warmer side. Also, the Alcantara pads do improve that in no small way and they are included.


I feel the overwhelming need to point this out. You'll readily compare the Empys to the $5k plus Abyss and Susvara (let alone what both need in amplification), but finally seem to take greatest issue with the Empyreans not being priced at $2k. You can't have it both ways, sir.

I will compare the HD650 to all as well. The fact they were priced into the echelon of the 1%-ish means fair game.
$3k headphones are ridiculous as are $5k headphones. A lot of $5k headphones sound darn good to what my established reference are. As such, DIY T2 / 009 is a pinnacle as is my TC for an overall, cohesive sound.

Do I think the TC is worth $5k. Meh. You can run it over with a car and the weak point o rings are now easily user-replaceable.
Is the sound worth $5k. I happily forked over $4k and honestly don't have a complaint.

Within the system, I only feel the Empyrean should have been classed lower to keep bitching to a minimum.
I will say it again, I have a hard time swallowing $3k for the worlds most comfortable headphone.

Hoegaardener70 has a contrary and valid ethos.