[emorrison33]

when I extended the cups on the rods to where I thought might be too long

I agree, I have them way longer than I would with other headphones. I do think wearing them over a period of time has helped as well (pads softening, leather, etc.) I would never try to bend the distribution wings. These are $3000, and quite honestly, I can wear them for hours straight, so that is acceptable to me.

 

[Andykong]

I just bought one ... maybe should have waited to see if prices drop ... nah! So so glad I got one. I was debating between Diana V2 vs. Meze. And after reading a lot of reviews and comments, something drew me towards the Meze. I think it was the fullness bass, musicality, and comfort comments of the Meze. I was worried about some of the bad Meze YT reviews around lack of details. I still want to try a Diana v2 at some point -- hopefully I can find a place to demo as I can only afford one TOTL headphone at a time.

After a few hours of listening, I'm enjoying them immensely. I find them detailed "enough"*, refined, and smooth (aka musical). I can understand the comments around lack of details* (at this price range) but I think what is missing from those reviews is an acknowledgement of the intentional tuning by Meze. I've previously owned the RAAL SR1A which is probably on the other spectrum of detail and space; but for me it lacked the refinement and musicality of the Meze. When I had the SR1a, I do admit that lack of refinement was due to the quality of the 100watt amp - I got the impression the SR1A would just continue to scale up, but gave up on that race (and too much money).

* That said, I find that level of detail** to astonishing for the level of smoothness/refinement and inline with a $3k headphone. I hear things that I haven't before. And for me, I prefer the Meze sound over the SR1a as a "system" (because amplification which was a limit for my budget). And to mention the convenience and comfort trade-offs for the SR1a.

** as I listen more and more as I write this, the level of detail is really good. What were those YT reviewers thinking? It goes to say, you just have to listen for yourself...

Thank you very much for your sharing. You have highlighted a very important concept here that I want to emphasised: detailed enough.

This reminded me of a discussion I had with several reviewers in a tour previously. I described detail/resolution as a necessity in our hobby, along side with other "technicality" factors such as dynamic, frequency extension etc. On the other hand, I put refinement, empathy, emotional involvement , ... (or musicality in general) as satisfaction factors in our hobby.

If we put these arguments into the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I'll put technicality in the middle layer, and musicality on the top of the pyramid.

We are in the hobby of high fidelity, so we can't neglect detail and resolution. There is no point to talk about fidelity if the detail and resolution fall below certain par. On the other hand, improving detail and resolution don't always enhance my listening experience. Form what I experienced, pursing technicality is the most effective approach to upgrade my sound system from low-fi or entrance level setup into "HiFi" performance. However, once we reached certain level, further improvement on detail or technicality will not enhance my music enjoyment because I start to look for "satisfaction" that technicality won't deliver. Maybe this in similar to the term you used here: detail enough. And maybe this explained why you prefer Empyrean over SR1a even the latter offer better detail when compare to Empyrean.

 

[PopZeus]

Very well put, @Andykong. This is I think what separates a lot of Empy (Meze) fans from the rest of the hobby. I could chase after more detail but there's no guarantee that if I fulfill that directive, that I will enjoy the music any more than I do with the Empyrean. To others, chasing after maximum detail IS the goal, and that's fine for them. But for me, I am not interested in that chase. I've been ambivalent about enough high-end headphones to know down that path lies "be careful what you wish for."

 

[Frankie D]

Thank you very much for your sharing. You have highlighted a very important concept here that I want to emphasised: detailed enough.

This reminded me of a discussion I had with several reviewers in a tour previously. I described detail/resolution as a necessity in our hobby, along side with other "technicality" factors such as dynamic, frequency extension etc. On the other hand, I put refinement, empathy, emotional involvement , ... (or musicality in general) as satisfaction factors in our hobby.

If we put these arguments into the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, I'll put technicality in the middle layer, and musicality on the top of the pyramid.

We are in the hobby of high fidelity, so we can't neglect detail and resolution. There is no point to talk about fidelity if the detail and resolution fall below certain par. On the other hand, improving detail and resolution don't always enhance my listening experience. Form what I experienced, pursing technicality is the most effective approach to upgrade my sound system from low-fi or entrance level setup into "HiFi" performance. However, once we reached certain level, further improvement on detail or technicality will not enhance my music enjoyment because I start to look for "satisfaction" that technicality won't deliver. Maybe this in similar to the term you used here: detail enough. And maybe this explained why you prefer Empyrean over SR1a even the latter offer better detail when compare to Empyrean.

Hi Andy. When did you begin working with Meze Audio? I know you from Cayin. Tks.

 

[atya35mm]

I agree, I have them way longer than I would with other headphones. I do think wearing them over a period of time has helped as well (pads softening, leather, etc.) I would never try to bend the distribution wings. These are $3000, and quite honestly, I can wear them for hours straight, so that is acceptable to me.

I was experimenting with the fit as well, and find they were comfortable when I had the rods quite long so the earpads extend lower and my ears touch the top, but after a while I have a habit of just wanting to try a different fit so I shorten up the rods quite a bit till my ears touch the bottom. Decided it’s not very comfortable now, but also learn that how you wear the headphone impacts sound quality quite a bit, where the soundstage is more cramp and compressed when my ears were touching the bottom. Prefer the ears touching the top for a more airy sound.

 

[Andykong]

Hi Andy. When did you begin working with Meze Audio? I know you from Cayin. Tks.

I resigned from Cayin after Munich 2019 and worked with several brands as consultant after that.

 

[Andykong]

I was experimenting with the fit as well, and find they were comfortable when I had the rods quite long so the earpads extend lower and my ears touch the top, but after a while I have a habit of just wanting to try a different fit so I shorten up the rods quite a bit till my ears touch the bottom. Decided it’s not very comfortable now, but also learn that how you wear the headphone impacts sound quality quite a bit, where the soundstage is more cramp and compressed when my ears were touching the bottom. Prefer the ears touching the top for a more airy sound.

Maybe you can adjust the slider to position the earcup as illustrated in this diagram, and then use this as the starting point to adjust up and down slightly to determine the preferred position of the earcup. Remember this is not a black on white rules. We do hear differently because of minor different of our ear canal, but we can use this as the starting point.

 

[Shane D]

I resigned from Cayin after Munich 2019 and worked with several brands as consultant after that.

I did not know that. I still thought you were Cayin. I always enjoy reading your posts.

 

[Andykong]

Very well put, @Andykong. This is I think what separates a lot of Empy (Meze) fans from the rest of the hobby. I could chase after more detail but there's no guarantee that if I fulfill that directive, that I will enjoy the music any more than I do with the Empyrean. To others, chasing after maximum detail IS the goal, and that's fine for them. But for me, I am not interested in that chase. I've been ambivalent about enough high-end headphones to know down that path lies "be careful what you wish for."

Good for you.
Let's hope we can enjoy our music the way we preferred, with the headphone we preferred. Its tiring when we need to argue or justify our preference.

 

[Unseen Aura]

I was experimenting with the fit as well, and find they were comfortable when I had the rods quite long so the earpads extend lower and my ears touch the top, but after a while I have a habit of just wanting to try a different fit so I shorten up the rods quite a bit till my ears touch the bottom. Decided it’s not very comfortable now, but also learn that how you wear the headphone impacts sound quality quite a bit, where the soundstage is more cramp and compressed when my ears were touching the bottom. Prefer the ears touching the top for a more airy sound.

I learned about fit and comfort reading a lot of HP stuff, and then the few folks who had troubles with the Empyrean's on comfort levels. I will have to experiment wearing them with ears on the high end instead of the lower. For maximum comfort I went a different route and keep my head hair shaved and some of the beard area so there's as good a seal as I can get. And because I wanted to make the cleaning sessions more efficient. But lack of hair means the rods aren't extended at all, so my ears always stay towards the bottom. Have you experienced sound difference being dead centre instead of touching top or bottom? I fiddle with mine a lot so they end up moving all over the place anyway throughout my listening sessions.

 

[Unseen Aura]

Good for you.
Let's hope we can enjoy our music the way we preferred, with the headphone we preferred. Its tiring when we need to argue or justify our preference.

Excellent point. 'I like it' is all we really need, pretty much how I go about with anything in my life (lately it's been stomach vacuums, haha).

 

[PopZeus]

I've been thinking this for the past few days but I was almost afraid to say it: The FD7 is a pretty great IEM if you love the Empyrean.

 

[Chris Kaoss]

I've been thinking this for the past few days but I was almost afraid to say it: The FD7 is a pretty great IEM if you love the Empyrean.

No no no no.
What have you done?
Stop it.
Lalalalala.

I'm still trying to be patient not to pull the trigger purchasing the FD7. ^^

Da** you.

 

[Ichos]

I've been thinking this for the past few days but I was almost afraid to say it: The FD7 is a pretty great IEM if you love the Empyrean.

And the Elite!

 

[atya35mm]

I learned about fit and comfort reading a lot of HP stuff, and then the few folks who had troubles with the Empyrean's on comfort levels. I will have to experiment wearing them with ears on the high end instead of the lower. For maximum comfort I went a different route and keep my head hair shaved and some of the beard area so there's as good a seal as I can get. And because I wanted to make the cleaning sessions more efficient. But lack of hair means the rods aren't extended at all, so my ears always stay towards the bottom. Have you experienced sound difference being dead centre instead of touching top or bottom? I fiddle with mine a lot so they end up moving all over the place anyway throughout my listening sessions.

im going to try @Andykong suggestion of lining up the ear canal at the start of the spiral. not sure whether that means ears touching top or bottom yet. will try tonight.