[DaYooper]

One needs to check the credentials of those so called reviewers

And where would one obtain these credentials?

 

[PopZeus]

Aw man, all this talk about the Burson Soloist is giving me fomo. I like the Jot 2 a lot but I'd love to hear something that's almost perfectly paired with the Empyrean.

 

[Loquah]

Hi folks, just thought I'd share my impressions with the SA-1 and Empyreans. I agree with a lot of what's been said here on both sides.

The SA-1 does a nice job of driving the Empyreans and it's a really solid combo, but those saying that spending more money is worthwhile are also correct. The Empys sound great from pretty much anything, but to sound like the true TOTL headphone that they are, I believe the Soloist is about where you want to aim as a minimum (TT2 is noticeably better).

Specifically, the SA-1 is good in terms of smoothness/refinement and soundstage size, but overall transparency and resolution prevents it from extracting the most from.the Empys

 

[iceofnine]

Hi folks, just thought I'd share my impressions with the SA-1 and Empyreans. I agree with a lot of what's been said here on both sides.

The SA-1 does a nice job of driving the Empyreans and it's a really solid combo, but those saying that spending more money is worthwhile are also correct. The Empys sound great from pretty much anything, but to sound like the true TOTL headphone that they are, I believe the Soloist is about where you want to aim as a minimum (TT2 is noticeably better).

Specifically, the SA-1 is good in terms of smoothness/refinement and soundstage size, but overall transparency and resolution prevents it from extracting the most from.the Empys

Thanks for the input, and I do think your channel is great, very well thought out, even-handed and reasonable. Your review definitely helped persuade me to buy the Empyrean, and in retrospect, I think you represented the Empyrean very accurately.

 

[ThanatosVI]

The Empyrean sounds amazing on mid fi gear.
When I started out, I had my Meier Audio Corda Classic FF and an Oppo Sonica as streamer/DAC unit.
Those are roughly equivalent to a Topping D90 + A90 stack.

All the comparisons with my other gear (several Audeze and Hifiman up to Arya level), were on said equipment.
It was easily noticeable that the Empyrean is the more refined and technically more capable headphone and deserves his place among the flagships.
It wasn't even close and I sold all the other headphones after getting the Empyrean.

The money from the sales went into the chain, and boy was I surprised how much the Empyrean keeps scaling with it.

I am now curious, how far the rest would have scaled, but this never ending curiosity is part of the hobby...

 

[Ichos]

The Empyrean with the Vioelectric V550 and the Denafrips Venus is a mind blowing experience.

 

[bvhme]

At the time the Empyrean were powered by Sony TA-ZH1ES. It’s a great amp but not top of the line. The results that it produced were great in that price range but one can do so much better if funds allow it.

I love the Empy out of my Sony TA-ZH1ES or Sennheiser HDVD 820 which I guess are a similar level. So what would be between these and the to me incredible 10k+ area in your view? What would be an upgrade without going to DAVE/Bartok levels?

 

[ThanatosVI]

I love the Empy out of my Sony TA-ZH1ES or Sennheiser HDVD 820 which I guess are a similar level. So what would be between these and the to me incredible 10k+ area in your view? What would be an upgrade without going to DAVE/Bartok levels?

Are you only looking for DAC/Amps in one device or also for separate units?

 

[ocramida]

I personally picked up the Empyrean because I was tired of chasing headphones and wanted to see if the Meze would satisfy my ears and enable me to just enjoy music.
I only recently (~ 2 years) decided to go the headphone route. After ~30 years in this audiophile hobby my personal reference for good stereo/surround sound had been a system comprised of Thiel speakers, Audio Research amps, analysis plus cables and an Esoteric universal player that I assembled after years of trial, error and audiophile neurosis .
The system was so good, to my ear, that I would wake up early (or listening into the night) to get my fill of what I considered the most liquid, balanced and dynamic sound I'd heard. As the audiophile cliche' goes: Worst decision I ever made was selling it. But life and responsibilities change.
Now, I'm older and, hopefully wiser, and had to catch myself from going down this rabbit hole again and lose track of the real goal: IMO musical enjoyment.
It took me quite a while to reach my audio nirvana with that older speaker set up and now I hope to learn from experience and get to something musically enjoyable with less audiophile OCD.
Right now, I'm sitting in my listening chair taking in Daniel Lanois Belladonna via Empyrean (Alcantara pads) fed by a Woo Audio WA11 and LG V30+ and while the Woo/LG may not be the last word in resolution or dynamics, it is certainly going in the direction of what I remember of the Thiel/AR/Esoteric system. And at this moment, I'm fairly confident I made the right choice with the Meze. And, if what is to said of the Empyrean ability to scale is true, and if future funds allow, then I have a great foundation from which to grow. Right now at 4am I'm doing fine just enjoying the music.

IMO.

Good day to all

 

[ThanatosVI]

I personally picked up the Empyrean because I was tired of chasing headphones and wanted to see if the Meze would satisfy my ears and enable me to just enjoy music.
I only recently (~ 2 years) decided to go the headphone route. After ~30 years in this audiophile hobby my personal reference for good stereo/surround sound had been a system comprised of Thiel speakers, Audio Research amps, analysis plus cables and an Esoteric universal player that I assembled after years of trial, error and audiophile neurosis .
The system was so good, to my ear, that I would wake up early (or listening into the night) to get my fill of what I considered the most liquid, balanced and dynamic sound I'd heard. As the audiophile cliche' goes: Worst decision I ever made was selling it. But life and responsibilities change.
Now, I'm older and, hopefully wiser, and had to catch myself from going down this rabbit hole again and lose track of the real goal: IMO musical enjoyment.
It took me quite a while to reach my audio nirvana with that older speaker set up and now I hope to learn from experience and get to something musically enjoyable with less audiophile OCD.
Right now, I'm sitting in my listening chair taking in Daniel Lanois Belladonna via Empyrean (Alcantara pads) fed by a Woo Audio WA11 and LG V30+ and while the Woo/LG may not be the last word in resolution or dynamics, it is certainly going in the direction of what I remember of the Thiel/AR/Esoteric system. And at this moment, I'm fairly confident I made the right choice with the Meze. And, if what is to said of the Empyrean ability to scale is true, and if future funds allow, then I have a great foundation from which to grow. Right now at 4am I'm doing fine just enjoying the music.

IMO.

Good day to all

I wonder if Audio Research will also enter the headphone amp market soon.
Their speaker stuff is incredible

 

[VladYR]

I love the Empy out of my Sony TA-ZH1ES or Sennheiser HDVD 820 which I guess are a similar level. So what would be between these and the to me incredible 10k+ area in your view? What would be an upgrade without going to DAVE/Bartok levels?

I would have likely gone for Chord Hugo TT 2. It’s roughly half the price and a lot of people praise it highly. It’s performance can be boosted significantly by adding the M Scaler but that would bring it to about the same level as the Dave price wise.

 

[Fernando Goñi]

Thanks a lot for your feedback. It has been very enlightening!!
The reason I am looking to improve amplification is that, while I think the DX220 is still a wonderful device, I feel its amplification side does not make justice to the Empyreans. I have been looking at the Burson but this year I over spend too much (apart from the equipment on my signature I invested on a Rega Planar 6 + Hana ML + Audionet PAM G2). While I definitely want to see how the Empyreans improve, my wallet is almost empty...

Anyway, after doing some research and adding your suggestions, I think my final two options are:

• SINGXER SA-1: Several users have also the Empyreans and they seem very happy with the pairing. 500€
• Burson Soloist 3XP: An improvement over the SA-1. 1400€

Still undecided, though

 

[lumdicks]

Thanks a lot for your feedback. It has been very enlightening!!
The reason I am looking to improve amplification is that, while I think the DX220 is still a wonderful device, I feel its amplification side does not make justice to the Empyreans. I have been looking at the Burson but this year I over spend too much (apart from the equipment on my signature I invested on a Rega Planar 6 + Hana ML + Audionet PAM G2). While I definitely want to see how the Empyreans improve, my wallet is almost empty...

Anyway, after doing some research and adding your suggestions, I think my final two options are:

• SINGXER SA-1: Several users have also the Empyreans and they seem very happy with the pairing. 500€
• Burson Soloist 3XP: An improvement over the SA-1. 1400€

Still undecided, though

You may be interested on this review. Seems that The SA-1 is very good with low noise floor, neutral sound and strong output.

https://soundnews.net/amplifiers/headphone-amps/singxer-sa-1-class-a-headphone-amplifier-review/

 

[godmax]

Thanks a lot for your feedback. It has been very enlightening!!
The reason I am looking to improve amplification is that, while I think the DX220 is still a wonderful device, I feel its amplification side does not make justice to the Empyreans. I have been looking at the Burson but this year I over spend too much (apart from the equipment on my signature I invested on a Rega Planar 6 + Hana ML + Audionet PAM G2). While I definitely want to see how the Empyreans improve, my wallet is almost empty...

Anyway, after doing some research and adding your suggestions, I think my final two options are:

• SINGXER SA-1: Several users have also the Empyreans and they seem very happy with the pairing. 500€
• Burson Soloist 3XP: An improvement over the SA-1. 1400€

Still undecided, though

You can't go wrong with either option you have chosen as candidates. But as the price difference might already indicate, the Soloist 3XP could be a step-up to the SA-1.
I do personally like the Empyreans on both the Soloist 3XP (+ Composer 3XP) as well on the SA-1 (+ Musician Pegasus), but I would say the Soloist 3XP has the lead in comparison, especially in Headphone Power Amp Mode with the Empyreans, bypassing the internal volume control section completely.
The SA-1 has a better price-performance value for sure. The number of reviews on the SA-1 is growing every day and they are more than positive overall. If you want a new amp right now with kinda money restriction, the SA-1 could fit in very well. If you can wait some more month to save up for the Soloist 3XP, this could be the better long term investment.

 

[betula]

You can't go wrong with either option you have chosen as candidates. But as the price difference might already indicate, the Soloist 3XP could be a step-up to the SA-1.
I do personally like the Empyreans on both the Soloist 3XP (+ Composer 3XP) as well on the SA-1 (+ Musician Pegasus), but I would say the Soloist 3XP has the lead in comparison, especially in Headphone Power Amp Mode with the Empyreans, bypassing the internal volume control section completely.
The SA-1 has a better price-performance value for sure. The number of reviews on the SA-1 is growing every day and they are more than positive overall. If you want a new amp right now with kinda money restriction, the SA-1 could fit in very well. If you can wait some more month to save up for the Soloist 3XP, this could be the better long term investment.

Agreed. Or wait for a second-hand Soloist 3XP to pop up in the classifieds. Not a frequent ad, but also not impossible and you could save a few hundred euros.

To me the Soloist 3XP is the cleanest and most dynamic class A SS amp I have heard to date, but I remember the Taurus MKII was quite a good one as well. An older design and perhaps a bit warmer, at the same time thicker and maybe not quite as resolving, but a very enjoyable, powerful and full sound.
I have never heard the GSX Mini, but that would be another strong candidate.