[Alu]

Greetings Mezeites. Mezites?

I recently upgraded to a Feliks Euforia AE amp (awesome by the way) and read many great things about it in combination with the Empyrean.
In addition to that my Utopia seem to display a very minor driver failure on the right side after 5 years of enjoyment (not so awesome) - balance has shifted to the left ever so slightly - which means I'll have to send them in for diagnostic and repair - and this apparently can be quite a lengthy process (this seems to be a rather common occurrance, which makes me a bit wary about Focal in general, but I still love the sound too much to just leave them in the dust).

So now I'm looking to expand or potentially swap while I'm using ye olde faithful HD650 in the meantime.

My main question is: Does anyone know of a retailer in the UK that would ship out a set of these to demo on my home system?
I did read some impressions comparing the Focals and the Mezes, but I'd like to make up my own mind with these sorts of things.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Greetings Mezeites. Mezites?

I recently upgraded to a Feliks Euforia AE amp (awesome by the way) and read many great things about it in combination with the Empyrean.
In addition to that my Utopia seem to display a very minor driver failure on the right side after 5 years of enjoyment (not so awesome) - balance has shifted to the left ever so slightly - which means I'll have to send them in for diagnostic and repair - and this apparently can be quite a lengthy process (this seems to be a rather common occurrance, which makes me a bit wary about Focal in general, but I still love the sound too much to just leave them in the dust).

So now I'm looking to expand or potentially swap while I'm using ye olde faithful HD650 in the meantime.

My main question is: Does anyone know of a retailer in the UK that would ship out a set of these to demo on my home system?
I did read some impressions comparing the Focals and the Mezes, but I'd like to make up my own mind with these sorts of things.

The Utopia and Empyrean are VERY different.
You should definitely Audition them before you buy them, or get them from a Dealer with good return conditions

 

[TTRR]

Greetings Mezeites. Mezites?

I recently upgraded to a Feliks Euforia AE amp (awesome by the way) and read many great things about it in combination with the Empyrean.
In addition to that my Utopia seem to display a very minor driver failure on the right side after 5 years of enjoyment (not so awesome) - balance has shifted to the left ever so slightly - which means I'll have to send them in for diagnostic and repair - and this apparently can be quite a lengthy process (this seems to be a rather common occurrance, which makes me a bit wary about Focal in general, but I still love the sound too much to just leave them in the dust).

So now I'm looking to expand or potentially swap while I'm using ye olde faithful HD650 in the meantime.

My main question is: Does anyone know of a retailer in the UK that would ship out a set of these to demo on my home system?
I did read some impressions comparing the Focals and the Mezes, but I'd like to make up my own mind with these sorts of things.

Hi
You could try Audio-Philia in Edinburgh, they do home demos and Carlo the owner is a really knowledgeable and helpful guy.

 

[Mike C]

Greetings Mezeites. Mezites?

I recently upgraded to a Feliks Euforia AE amp (awesome by the way) and read many great things about it in combination with the Empyrean.
In addition to that my Utopia seem to display a very minor driver failure on the right side after 5 years of enjoyment (not so awesome) - balance has shifted to the left ever so slightly - which means I'll have to send them in for diagnostic and repair - and this apparently can be quite a lengthy process (this seems to be a rather common occurrance, which makes me a bit wary about Focal in general, but I still love the sound too much to just leave them in the dust).

So now I'm looking to expand or potentially swap while I'm using ye olde faithful HD650 in the meantime.

My main question is: Does anyone know of a retailer in the UK that would ship out a set of these to demo on my home system?
I did read some impressions comparing the Focals and the Mezes, but I'd like to make up my own mind with these sorts of things.

I had excellent service from Hifonix and can recommend them as a dealer.
But as said here, the Empyrean is very different to the Utopia and might not be to your taste. You might find Kennerton more to your taste, well worth discussing this with Hifonix as they deal with both. I'm sure you will be able to refine or confirm your choice and get a home demo.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Heh, I knew that part. To quote the Vision, "I request elaboration."

Very soon my friend. Very soon.

 

[Missha1981]

This sound, warm and detailed, feels close and impeccably comfortable from the first minutes, as if you have always known it. At the same time, high resolution, excellent control over the entire range and a scattering of micro-nuances make you listen to the music with bated breath. The model is not over-emotional, not aggressive and not enchantingly bright, but moderate accents still involve in the plot of the composition, vividly conveying her mood.

 

[emorrison33]

I'm a new Empy owner. Purchased about 6 weeks ago and have been truly enjoying them since. I have barely touched the other phones in my collection 1) because the Empy's sound so good 2) I'm trying to break them in. Whether I believe in break-in or not, these are $3000 headphones so I didn't want to pass judgement before some break-in for the naysayers LOL So some thoughts so far. Empy's do have detail, you just have to look for it. Travel through the spaces and it's there. The soundstage may not be very wide, but there's plenty of "space". There's just so much coming at me... I can take it in as a whole, or go looking for what I want to listen to in a particular song. It's like Halloween. Some people leave a bowl of candy out and you just grab it and go (other headphones). Sometimes you have to walk up to the door and ask for it, but you still get the candy (The Empy).
My only complaint so far is that they aren't that comfortable for me. I can find the sweet spot where I can agree with lots of the people saying they are the most comfortable headphone they ever wore, but it I'm still fooling around with the positioning on my head, and the length at this point. I think I have a small head, but who knows. My other issue is one of my ears is lower than the other...just a tad, but it's noticeable when wearing headphones. I prefer the leather pads over the alcantara so far. I feel the alcantara's are slightly veiled when listening to them, but that could be due to the soundstage being wider, so things seem more distant, slightly.
Anyway, I've been listening through a Bifrost 2, into a Lokuis (balanced), into a Jot 2 (balanced). I purchased the Moon Audio Silver Dragon Cable XLR when I bought the Empy's. I haven't tried the single ended cable yet, that came with the headphones. I rarely use the Lokius with the Empy's. Just sometimes, when listening to classical or jazz, I'll lower the 20Hz knob slightly, but that's it.
I do not regret spending so much money on these AT ALL. Totally worth the money, in my opinion. I've never spent that much on anything audio equipment related. I've heard some higher priced headphones before, briefly, but no real comparison can be made. But I'm happy with my purchase and that's all that matters

 

[j0val]

Wow cool photo and that tube looks huge on the Lyr. Looking forward to your impressions

So far, they’re pretty close in terms of being able to complement the Empyreans. Each amp does have its strengths, but the differences are minuscule at a high level.

The Soloist has a slightly bigger soundstage and smoother sound. My only gripe is the volume control, while smooth, doesn’t have the immediate change in volume that the Lyr has (which could also be seen as a benefit). Overall, it’s an amazing amp for the Empy.

The Lyr doesn’t have as big of a soundstage as the Soloist, but it does add slightly more weight to the instruments at all layers (benefit of tube?). However, the Empys already give music a slightly boomy sound, so too much can be a little fatiguing. The Lyr is a great amp overall though and holds its own at the price point.

The real treat for me was using the Lyr as a pre-amp to the Soloist. It was like the best of both worlds and sounded great. Kind of wish I hadn’t done that because now I’m thinking about keeping both…..

 

[IZONE]

This sound, warm and detailed, feels close and impeccably comfortable from the first minutes, as if you have always known it. At the same time, high resolution, excellent control over the entire range and a scattering of micro-nuances make you listen to the music with bated breath. The model is not over-emotional, not aggressive and not enchantingly bright, but moderate accents still involve in the plot of the composition, vividly conveying her mood.

I'm a new Empy owner. Purchased about 6 weeks ago and have been truly enjoying them since. I have barely touched the other phones in my collection 1) because the Empy's sound so good 2) I'm trying to break them in. Whether I believe in break-in or not, these are $3000 headphones so I didn't want to pass judgement before some break-in for the naysayers LOL So some thoughts so far. Empy's do have detail, you just have to look for it. Travel through the spaces and it's there. The soundstage may not be very wide, but there's plenty of "space". There's just so much coming at me... I can take it in as a whole, or go looking for what I want to listen to in a particular song. It's like Halloween. Some people leave a bowl of candy out and you just grab it and go (other headphones). Sometimes you have to walk up to the door and ask for it, but you still get the candy (The Empy).
My only complaint so far is that they aren't that comfortable for me. I can find the sweet spot where I can agree with lots of the people saying they are the most comfortable headphone they ever wore, but it I'm still fooling around with the positioning on my head, and the length at this point. I think I have a small head, but who knows. My other issue is one of my ears is lower than the other...just a tad, but it's noticeable when wearing headphones. I prefer the leather pads over the alcantara so far. I feel the alcantara's are slightly veiled when listening to them, but that could be due to the soundstage being wider, so things seem more distant, slightly.
Anyway, I've been listening through a Bifrost 2, into a Lokuis (balanced), into a Jot 2 (balanced). I purchased the Moon Audio Silver Dragon Cable XLR when I bought the Empy's. I haven't tried the single ended cable yet, that came with the headphones. I rarely use the Lokius with the Empy's. Just sometimes, when listening to classical or jazz, I'll lower the 20Hz knob slightly, but that's it.
I do not regret spending so much money on these AT ALL. Totally worth the money, in my opinion. I've never spent that much on anything audio equipment related. I've heard some higher priced headphones before, briefly, but no real comparison can be made. But I'm happy with my purchase and that's all that matters

I echo your thoughts as well. I was very hesitant to purchase the Empys because of people saying it has a $6K build with a $1K sound. I'm happy to report that this is not the case. It has a $3K sound if you know what to listen for. Given that I have and have had all of the $1.5K champions, including Arya V3, LCD-X 2021, HD800S (sold the Clears), I can say the Empy are a cut above. On initial listen there is a sense of refinement and "rightness", "correctness" about the sound that I only experience at the next level above $2K headphones that I also own. A lot of people have described this as sounding "natural" or "real". They were right.

After listening for a while I think I know what tripped up the "experienced" reviewers on YT. Let's be real these guys are a few years into the hobby and pretend like they know it all. I don't know of anyone with more than ten years who experienced the re-birth of planers with Audeze and Hifiman in real time other than Currawong who loves the Empys. Long ago when headphone tech was in it's infancy it was transient response that trumped all for most people, as that led to more details and more realism. Thus the frenzy for thinner & stiffer diaphragms, tracing material, and stronger magnets, better voice coils etc. etc.. The $1.5K champions that I own are lauded as good values because they all have great transient speeds/resolutions at their price, but what the Empys have is better control of the same transients and better timing of those transients which leads to the realism and more finesse/refinement. If you are just looking for blazing fast electrostatic-like transients even if it's uncontrolled pedal-to-the-metal then certainly you can find headphones that have the same transient speed of the Empy at lower cost, but if you want timing, control, finesse and refinement of those same technicalities that lead to 'realism' and 'naturalness' then the Empys are for you. I think this realism helps people connect to the music. It's like a really good DAC that as zero jitter/pre-ringing/timing errors. Admittedly if the Empys had even thinner diaphragms and lighter tracing with the exact same control it could take things to a whole new level... wait did they release something like that recently? Take my money Meze!

Also, I know people have gushed over the build quality too much but it's real. Beautiful piece of art. And just knowing human behavior, a man this obsessive about every tiny aspect of the build of his headphones will not release a product that has sub-par sonics. My guess is every aspect of the tuning was painstaking considered before release

 

[Ichos]

Very well said.

 

[thecrow]

I'm a new Empy owner. Purchased about 6 weeks ago and have been truly enjoying them since. I have barely touched the other phones in my collection 1) because the Empy's sound so good 2) I'm trying to break them in. Whether I believe in break-in or not, these are $3000 headphones so I didn't want to pass judgement before some break-in for the naysayers LOL So some thoughts so far. Empy's do have detail, you just have to look for it. Travel through the spaces and it's there. The soundstage may not be very wide, but there's plenty of "space". There's just so much coming at me... I can take it in as a whole, or go looking for what I want to listen to in a particular song. It's like Halloween. Some people leave a bowl of candy out and you just grab it and go (other headphones). Sometimes you have to walk up to the door and ask for it, but you still get the candy (The Empy).
My only complaint so far is that they aren't that comfortable for me. I can find the sweet spot where I can agree with lots of the people saying they are the most comfortable headphone they ever wore, but it I'm still fooling around with the positioning on my head, and the length at this point. I think I have a small head, but who knows. My other issue is one of my ears is lower than the other...just a tad, but it's noticeable when wearing headphones. I prefer the leather pads over the alcantara so far. I feel the alcantara's are slightly veiled when listening to them, but that could be due to the soundstage being wider, so things seem more distant, slightly.
Anyway, I've been listening through a Bifrost 2, into a Lokuis (balanced), into a Jot 2 (balanced). I purchased the Moon Audio Silver Dragon Cable XLR when I bought the Empy's. I haven't tried the single ended cable yet, that came with the headphones. I rarely use the Lokius with the Empy's. Just sometimes, when listening to classical or jazz, I'll lower the 20Hz knob slightly, but that's it.
I do not regret spending so much money on these AT ALL. Totally worth the money, in my opinion. I've never spent that much on anything audio equipment related. I've heard some higher priced headphones before, briefly, but no real comparison can be made. But I'm happy with my purchase and that's all that matters

I never thought they were the most comfortable headphones either. They’re not uncomfortable, so they are fine and good for comfort but nothing exceptional imho

 

[emorrison33]

I never thought they were the most comfortable headphones either. They’re not uncomfortable, so they are fine and good for comfort but nothing exceptional imho

Good to know I'm not the only one. I can listen to them for 3 to 4 hours, but I can feel it when I take them off. Like sore spots on the sndife if my head, kind of, if that makes sense. Now some headphones I own, I can't wear for more than an hour or two (Grado Hemp) Some, like the 99 Classics, I can't even tell I'm wearing them. I can wear them for a whole work day without issue. So if the Empys are a 3 hour wear, that's pretty good still. And the build is just top notch.

 

[emorrison33]

A lot of people have described this as sounding "natural" or "real". They were right.

That's my feeling too. A very real sound. They can sound both like your sitting in the studio, but also like in a small venue hearing it live. You don't get this wide concert type of soundstage, but even with classical music, where it's recorded in a concert hall, you still get that ambience from the Empy.
They are well balanced across the board. A jack of all trades, master of nothing. Well, except maybe the build.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Good to know I'm not the only one. I can listen to them for 3 to 4 hours, but I can feel it when I take them off. Like sore spots on the sndife if my head, kind of, if that makes sense. Now some headphones I own, I can't wear for more than an hour or two (Grado Hemp) Some, like the 99 Classics, I can't even tell I'm wearing them. I can wear them for a whole work day without issue. So if the Empys are a 3 hour wear, that's pretty good still. And the build is just top notch.

Guess for most they are very comfortable, there are always exceptions.

I never had Comfort issues with headphones, but the Empyrean ruined me for most others.
They are simply a lot more comfortable for me, even though I have a tiny head.

 

[Unseen Aura]

Heh, I knew that part. To quote the Vision, "I request elaboration."

To be released sometime nexx month. Only information I could find, from the same post of course (in the comments). I like Antonio and his ability to keep things under wraps until he's truly ready, for the most part.