[thecrow]

Re the upgrade:

audeze doesn’t offer changing drivers

but
hifiman offers upgrade opportunities of their hek range

(which some members here have whinged about having developments and then offering these upgrade)

here in australia the empyrean (non elite) costs about $5000 aud and you can usually get just over $3000 if sold 2nd hand (with a bit of patience)

the elite i am guessing will sell for $6500-$7000 so it’s a big cost to upgrade through selling it yourself

then again hifiman has the upgrade program on the hek range looking after customers who have a possibility of later going to the susvaras. meze does not have that further step for their benefit. But they, from what i have experienced and read, have a healthy level of good customer service.

no obligation from them. But a bonus if they offer anything.

(honestly, i probably wouldn’t if i was them and i’m 100% ok with that)
ymmv
my 2c

we shall see

 

[ThanatosVI]

And the ability to drive from any DAP !! Just pick your poison and empty your wallet

While true, this has never been a point that has much value to me.
Either I am at my Main Setup or I won't use open backs anyways.

 

[bpiotrow13]

While true, this has never been a point that has much value to me.
Either I am at my Main Setup or I won't use open backs anyways.

True for high end headphones... pity so many top HPs are designed as low impedance to play with everything... this limits the choice of yube amps..

 

[SoundJedi]

Post in thread 'Empyrean elite' https://www.head-fi.org/threads/empyrean-elite.959281/post-16539166

Just thought I'd share it here.

 

[bpiotrow13]

Post in thread 'Empyrean elite' https://www.head-fi.org/threads/empyrean-elite.959281/post-16539166

Just thought I'd share it here.

The most appealing thing in Empyreans, at least to me, is musicality. If Elite is losing it i wonder what is the reason to pay 1k eur more..

 

[Lokiiami]

Deleted.

 

[branislav]

The most appealing thing in Empyreans, at least to me, is musicality. If Elite is losing it i wonder what is the reason to pay 1k eur more..

Improved technical performance. Some people may already have "musical" dac and/or amp, so added warmth of Empyreans can be too much. I wouldnt be surprised if most of those who didn't like the Empyreans had a situation like that.

 

[LCMusicLover]

...Some people may already have "musical" dac and/or amp, so added warmth of Empyreans can be too much. I wouldnt be surprised if most of those who didn't like the Empyreans had a situation like that.

Partially true in my case. When I owned Empyrean, my primary DACs were Denafrips Pontus and Oppo Sonica, and my amps were Violectric V280 & Bryston BHA-1. Both amps are 'slightly warm' and the Pontus wasn't a detail monster, and also had a warmer tone. The Oppo is Sabre 9038-based, and so a better source for Empyrean to my ears.

Since selling Empyrean, I lament that I had not been able to pair it with my DSHA-3F (with Amorphous Core Transformers) which was still 'under construction' at that point. I suspect that might have been a significant improvement. Since then, I've picked up a mScaler/TT2 stack which might be an end-game source chain for Empy. I've also added an Allo Digione streamer, which would help as well.

But for me it was a bit like my Utopia odyssey -- swapping parts of my chain in order to 'fix' what I didn't like about Utopia. Amusingly, all those 'fixes' were pretty much the exact opposite of what would be needed for Empy (again, to my ears).

Unfortunately (for Empy), RAD-0 showed up and was preferred with the chain I had, so Empy went. Then Hedd came along and displaced RAD-0.

I should make it clear that I didn't 'dislike' Empyrean. I just preferred RAD-0 (at the time).

While the Elite intrigues me, I suspect it would be very close to the flavor of Utopia, HEKse, Blackwood Auteur. I suppose it could replace one of those -- I'll definitely be reading impressions and reviews carefully. I'll also be on the lookout for a deal on a set of Empyrean to try them again.

 

[bpiotrow13]

Improved technical performance. Some people may already have "musical" dac and/or amp, so added warmth of Empyreans can be too much. I wouldnt be surprised if most of those who didn't like the Empyreans had a situation like that.

Possible. I paired Empyreans with Burson cv2+, which is a wanderful amp (especially with Audeze) and the result was poor (muddy, boring sound).

But that means that by pairing Empys with technical source You achieve the same as pairing Elite with musical source. That leads to a question why pay eur/usd 1k more?

 

[realmassy]

But that means that by pairing Empys with technical source You achieve the same as pairing Elite with musical source

Unfortunately (or maybe I should say, thankfully) audio and music are not an exact science…1+1 is rarely 2

 

[LCMusicLover]

...But that means that by pairing Empys with technical source You achieve the same as pairing Elite with musical source. That leads to a question why pay eur/usd 1k more?

Yep, that's the question. If they're just two different 'tunings' then sure, you can probably make them sound similar with different source chains. But I'm guessing (hoping) there's more to differentiate them. In any case, we'll have a much better idea in a few weeks as a bunch more review and impressions appear.

Unfortunately (or maybe I should say, thankfully) audio and music are not an exact science…1+1 is rarely 2

Ain't that the truth

 

[bpiotrow13]

Yep, that's the question. If they're just two different 'tunings' then sure, you can probably make them sound similar with different source chains. But I'm guessing (hoping) there's more to differentiate them. In any case, we'll have a much better idea in a few weeks as a bunch more review and impressions appear.

Ain't that the truth

True. I am really interested. Audio is indeed not simple...

 

[SoundJedi]

I am not a basshead and I am actually quite averse to bass bloat.

The Empyrean bass puzzles me. It's big, rumbles deep and clearly spills a tiny bit into lower mids but it never feels out of control. It's round and abundant but it's also "correct" at the same time. It's very special.

Empy is also not trying to be technical and resolution could be better but somehow the experience is very coherent and feels very satisfying.

I was just doing a quick A/B with Verite Closed. They are different and are both exceptional but Empyrean put a bigger smile on my face with that impact tonight.

 

[lumdicks]

I am not a basshead and I am actually quite averse to bass bloat.

The Empyrean bass puzzles me. It's big, rumbles deep and clearly spills a tiny bit into lower mids but it never feels out of control. It's round and abundant but it's also "correct" at the same time. It's very special.

Empy is also not trying to be technical and resolution could be better but somehow the experience is very coherent and feels very satisfying.

I was just doing a quick A/B with Verite Closed. They are different and are both exceptional but Empyrean put a bigger smile on my face with that impact tonight.

Agreed and that's why I am not that interested in a more technical and higher resolution "upgrade" of the Empyrean.

Comfortability, both for wearing and the sound, together with its musicality are what make Empyrean special and complementary to my other flagship CANS.

 

[thecrow]

Agreed and that's why I am not that interested in a more technical and higher resolution "upgrade" of the Empyrean.

Comfortability, both for wearing and the sound, together with its musicality are what make Empyrean special and complementary to my other flagship CANS.

I agree with where the empys sit in my current collection too

but i am somewhat curious to hear the elite to see what they bring. Though i have no major fear of missing out and am not itching to hear the elite asap

but that’s where i am in my journey/setup and I appreciate others mileage will vary