[WDitters]

Thanks for that.
If I remember correctly you had the R8. Did it worth the change to n8ii?

Absolutely!!

 

[phillevy]

We are obviously stretching limits with the Hugo 2 when we talk about portable gear. Sure, the Hugo 2 sounds fabulous regardless portability and beats many desktop solutions for the price. Yet, I would argue that the Qutest with a good secondhand amp for 2 grand altogether might sound better.

No doubt, but paired with the 2go and Roon, it would take something significantly better to sway me. It is so useful to be able to choose listening locations in the home on the fly according to proximity of other people. Even the garden at the moment. It certainly isn't a DAP for me on the move however.

 

[tradyblix]

Hugo 2 is absolutely a lovely sounding device. It's got RCA outs and a monstrous 3V line out mode so you can pipe it through desktop amps no problem if you want a bit more power. It still sounds fantastic on it's own. Especially with the rather warm empyrean. Can you spend 6,000 dollars and get a better setup ? yes. Can you spend 12,000 dollars and get a better setup ? Yes. but who cares. It sounds great if you don't have or can't afford those. If you're reading this and getting worried by comments that a Hugo2 somehow isn't enough for a setup so you can listen to the Empyrean in bed, or on the couch, don't be. "stretching the limit" my ass. Hell even a Mojo 2 can power the Empyrean. it's not a hard to drive headphone that requires something even more boutique than the Hugo 2 already is. It's not a Susvara.

I don't think the Empyrean sounds bad with the Elite pads or disjointed. It just sounds different. Maybe not better, though, to be fair, because I do like the original leathers with it even tho you lose detail and gain back that crazy lush bass instead of a more punchy one. Part of that is why in fact, the empys are keepers for me. In fact the only pads I don't think sound good with the Empy are the Alcantaras. They're just so muffled and absorb so much sound.. it's just not good. Esp. after you get those hybrids and realize just how... HUGE... the original Empyrean pad depth was. Too bad they don't have a "half deep" all alcantara option. It's the depth that matters alot I am sure of it. Wonder what those would be like. With the hybrids that are more normal, the Empys are certainly more detailed, there isn't any question.

They're trying to sell a revised headphone with a different tuning for ANOTHER grand, so of course they're not going to recommend a 200 dollar product instead and potentially lose out on a 4,000 dollar sale. Just purely looking at it from a mechanical point of view. the chassis is exactly the same. Exactly. I even noticed the Elite is always all the way down the bottom of the sliders due to the pad size, since it was designed originally for those thick pads. It's amusing. Meze has not once told anyone "Do not use these on Empyrean". They had no problem selling me a pair for 200 bucks at any rate. They also know I have an Empyrean, so there's that. There isn't any question it's more detailed with a silver upgrade cable either, which Meze sells for either one. Meze realized they screwed up their design, they fixed it, we can take advantage of at least part of it. No brainer.

My experiences with "detail monsters" - all bright. Sometimes it's good to enjoy some warmth in a headphone. Nothing worse than that "Oooh that's a little unpleasant" stuff that happens. Even the Arya Stealth still gets a bit of that. Can only imagine how bad the V2 or HEK were. I never have that issue with the Empy. that's a worthwhile trade off IMO. When my Utopia died I wasn't even that mad. It was just so unpleasantly bright at times. Esp off the Hugo 2. bad synergy there. The hugo 2 also made it clip once which shocked me... worked for years after that tho.

My opinion, this far into the hobby ? All the top headphones are way overpriced. After you hear the Arya Stealth and realize what 1300 bucks gets you... compared to things from the past like the LCD-3 and LCD-4 and Utopia and AB1266. and many more...the Diana at 4k ??? LOL don't make me laugh. What about people that bought a Stax SR-009 (non S) for 5k and a 10k Blue Hawaii just to drive it - did those people make a smart choice ? Prolly not ! Ah well at least they've enjoyed it for years at this point, even tho they have no bass, lol. Holy smokes.... I'd be hard pressed to spend over 2k ever again. I still remember the names of people and their posts from the past talking about equipment that now we'd all, well. laugh at. only 5 years ago in many cases !

This is the Empyrean thread. The Elite thread is over there for the elitists....

The Empyrean has been unfairly and annoyingly maligned for years. At least let us enjoy it in our own. damn. thread. Pad roll your empys folks ! Don't be afraid, you just gain more flexibility and sound options. Worried you've got some muffled, soft, detail-less failure of a headphone ? Just pad roll. Or ignore the upgraders. Or Both.

 

[The1Signature]

Hugo 2 is absolutely a lovely sounding device. It's got RCA outs and a monstrous 3V line out mode so you can pipe it through desktop amps no problem if you want a bit more power. It still sounds fantastic on it's own. Especially with the rather warm empyrean. Can you spend 6,000 dollars and get a better setup ? yes. Can you spend 12,000 dollars and get a better setup ? Yes. but who cares. It sounds great if you don't have or can't afford those. If you're reading this and getting worried by comments that a Hugo2 somehow isn't enough for a setup so you can listen to the Empyrean in bed, or on the couch, don't be. "stretching the limit" my ass. Hell even a Mojo 2 can power the Empyrean. it's not a hard to drive headphone that requires something even more boutique than the Hugo 2 already is. It's not a Susvara.

I don't think the Empyrean sounds bad with the Elite pads or disjointed. It just sounds different. Maybe not better, though, to be fair, because I do like the original leathers with it even tho you lose detail and gain back that crazy lush bass instead of a more punchy one. Part of that is why in fact, the empys are keepers for me. In fact the only pads I don't think sound good with the Empy are the Alcantaras. They're just so muffled and absorb so much sound.. it's just not good. Esp. after you get those hybrids and realize just how... HUGE... the original Empyrean pad depth was. Too bad they don't have a "half deep" all alcantara option. It's the depth that matters alot I am sure of it. Wonder what those would be like. With the hybrids that are more normal, the Empys are certainly more detailed, there isn't any question.

They're trying to sell a revised headphone with a different tuning for ANOTHER grand, so of course they're not going to recommend a 200 dollar product instead and potentially lose out on a 4,000 dollar sale. Just purely looking at it from a mechanical point of view. the chassis is exactly the same. Exactly. I even noticed the Elite is always all the way down the bottom of the sliders due to the pad size, since it was designed originally for those thick pads. It's amusing. Meze has not once told anyone "Do not use these on Empyrean". They had no problem selling me a pair for 200 bucks at any rate. They also know I have an Empyrean, so there's that. There isn't any question it's more detailed with a silver upgrade cable either, which Meze sells for either one. Meze realized they screwed up their design, they fixed it, we can take advantage of at least part of it. No brainer.

My experiences with "detail monsters" - all bright. Sometimes it's good to enjoy some warmth in a headphone. Nothing worse than that "Oooh that's a little unpleasant" stuff that happens. Even the Arya Stealth still gets a bit of that. Can only imagine how bad the V2 or HEK were. I never have that issue with the Empy. that's a worthwhile trade off IMO. When my Utopia died I wasn't even that mad. It was just so unpleasantly bright at times. Esp off the Hugo 2. bad synergy there. The hugo 2 also made it clip once which shocked me... worked for years after that tho.

My opinion, this far into the hobby ? All the top headphones are way overpriced. After you hear the Arya Stealth and realize what 1300 bucks gets you... compared to things from the past like the LCD-3 and LCD-4 and Utopia and AB1266. and many more...the Diana at 4k ??? LOL don't make me laugh. What about people that bought a Stax SR-009 (non S) for 5k and a 10k Blue Hawaii just to drive it - did those people make a smart choice ? Prolly not ! Holy smokes.... I'd be hard pressed to spend over 2k ever again. I still remember the names of people and their posts from the past talking about equipment that now we'd all, well. laugh at. only 5 years ago in many cases !

This is the Empyrean thread. The Elite thread is over there for the elitists....

The Empyrean has been unfairly and annoyingly maligned for years. At least let us enjoy it in our own. damn. thread. Pad roll your empys folks ! Don't be afraid, you just gain more flexibility and sound options. Worried you've got some muffled, soft, detail-less failure of a headphone ? Just pad roll. Or ignore the upgraders. Both.

What a great post! You must get 1000 likes for that!

 

[tradyblix]

What a great post! You must get 1000 likes for that!

At least it had content unlike your one liner.

Better to defuse myths and slander from elitists than post stuff for 'likes' anyways.

 

[nick97]

Hugo 2 is absolutely a lovely sounding device. It's got RCA outs and a monstrous 3V line out mode so you can pipe it through desktop amps no problem if you want a bit more power. It still sounds fantastic on it's own. Especially with the rather warm empyrean. Can you spend 6,000 dollars and get a better setup ? yes. Can you spend 12,000 dollars and get a better setup ? Yes. but who cares. It sounds great if you don't have or can't afford those. If you're reading this and getting worried by comments that a Hugo2 somehow isn't enough for a setup so you can listen to the Empyrean in bed, or on the couch, don't be. "stretching the limit" my ass. Hell even a Mojo 2 can power the Empyrean. it's not a hard to drive headphone that requires something even more boutique than the Hugo 2 already is. It's not a Susvara.

I don't think the Empyrean sounds bad with the Elite pads or disjointed. It just sounds different. Maybe not better, though, to be fair, because I do like the original leathers with it even tho you lose detail and gain back that crazy lush bass instead of a more punchy one. Part of that is why in fact, the empys are keepers for me. In fact the only pads I don't think sound good with the Empy are the Alcantaras. They're just so muffled and absorb so much sound.. it's just not good. Esp. after you get those hybrids and realize just how... HUGE... the original Empyrean pad depth was. Too bad they don't have a "half deep" all alcantara option. It's the depth that matters alot I am sure of it. Wonder what those would be like. With the hybrids that are more normal, the Empys are certainly more detailed, there isn't any question.

They're trying to sell a revised headphone with a different tuning for ANOTHER grand, so of course they're not going to recommend a 200 dollar product instead and potentially lose out on a 4,000 dollar sale. Just purely looking at it from a mechanical point of view. the chassis is exactly the same. Exactly. I even noticed the Elite is always all the way down the bottom of the sliders due to the pad size, since it was designed originally for those thick pads. It's amusing. Meze has not once told anyone "Do not use these on Empyrean". They had no problem selling me a pair for 200 bucks at any rate. They also know I have an Empyrean, so there's that. There isn't any question it's more detailed with a silver upgrade cable either, which Meze sells for either one. Meze realized they screwed up their design, they fixed it, we can take advantage of at least part of it. No brainer.

My experiences with "detail monsters" - all bright. Sometimes it's good to enjoy some warmth in a headphone. Nothing worse than that "Oooh that's a little unpleasant" stuff that happens. Even the Arya Stealth still gets a bit of that. Can only imagine how bad the V2 or HEK were. I never have that issue with the Empy. that's a worthwhile trade off IMO. When my Utopia died I wasn't even that mad. It was just so unpleasantly bright at times. Esp off the Hugo 2. bad synergy there. The hugo 2 also made it clip once which shocked me... worked for years after that tho.

My opinion, this far into the hobby ? All the top headphones are way overpriced. After you hear the Arya Stealth and realize what 1300 bucks gets you... compared to things from the past like the LCD-3 and LCD-4 and Utopia and AB1266. and many more...the Diana at 4k ??? LOL don't make me laugh. What about people that bought a Stax SR-009 (non S) for 5k and a 10k Blue Hawaii just to drive it - did those people make a smart choice ? Prolly not ! Ah well at least they've enjoyed it for years at this point, even tho they have no bass, lol. Holy smokes.... I'd be hard pressed to spend over 2k ever again. I still remember the names of people and their posts from the past talking about equipment that now we'd all, well. laugh at. only 5 years ago in many cases !

This is the Empyrean thread. The Elite thread is over there for the elitists....

The Empyrean has been unfairly and annoyingly maligned for years. At least let us enjoy it in our own. damn. thread. Pad roll your empys folks ! Don't be afraid, you just gain more flexibility and sound options. Worried you've got some muffled, soft, detail-less failure of a headphone ? Just pad roll. Or ignore the upgraders. Or Both.

That's what I wanted to hear about the hugo and mojo powering them just fine

 

[LCMusicLover]

Hugo 2 is absolutely a lovely sounding device. It's got RCA outs and a monstrous 3V line out mode so you can pipe it through desktop amps no problem if you want a bit more power. It still sounds fantastic on it's own. Especially with the rather warm empyrean. Can you spend 6,000 dollars and get a better setup ? yes. Can you spend 12,000 dollars and get a better setup ? Yes. but who cares. It sounds great if you don't have or can't afford those. If you're reading this and getting worried by comments that a Hugo2 somehow isn't enough for a setup so you can listen to the Empyrean in bed, or on the couch, don't be. "stretching the limit" my ass. Hell even a Mojo 2 can power the Empyrean. it's not a hard to drive headphone that requires something even more boutique than the Hugo 2 already is. It's not a Susvara.

Agree with every word of this.

...My experiences with "detail monsters" - all bright. Sometimes it's good to enjoy some warmth in a headphone. Nothing worse than that "Oooh that's a little unpleasant" stuff that happens. Even the Arya Stealth still gets a bit of that. Can only imagine how bad the V2 or HEK were...

Hey now! HEK (well v2 and SE anyway, haven't hear v1) don't suffer from what you are referring to.

This is the Empyrean thread. The Elite thread is over there for the elitists....

I see what you did there ....

The Empyrean has been unfairly and annoyingly maligned for years. At least let us enjoy it in our own. damn. thread. Pad roll your empys folks ! Don't be afraid, you just gain more flexibility and sound options. Worried you've got some muffled, soft, detail-less failure of a headphone ? Just pad roll. Or ignore the upgraders. Or Both.

You've got me wondering if I would have enjoyed Empy more with different pads -- I only had the two sets of Empy pads while I owned it (for about 10 months). But honestly, the biggest regret I have was never getting to try it with my DSHA-3F -- sold Empy before the 3F arrived.

In the interests of full disclosure, I sold Empy after picking up RAD-0, which then got replaced by Heddphone One. Empy was just a bit far from my preferences, while RAD-0 clustered a bit close to other cans I owned -- sort of ironic I guess.

Also, I'm quite pleased with my Elite -- wondering which can will win the Atrium/Elite battle -- can't really afford to keep both. It's possible that both will win and other cans will leave.

Of course all of this is Your ears/My ears

 

[tradyblix]

Hey now! HEK (well v2 and SE anyway, haven't hear v1) don't suffer from what you are referring to.

Well, I mean.. I hear it on the Arya Stealth (not using the term SE here to avoid confusion) sometimes...which is in the same family as the HEK, except it has the stealth magnets. I had an idea in my head about how the Hifiman's in the HEK family would sound based on descriptions and it wasn't far off. Just assuming the HEK also gets a bit like that. I was talking about primarily the about the HEK v1/v2 tho, I hadn't considered how the HEK SE would sound. I heard it's quite different from the V2. End of the day Arya Stealth is still a fantastic headphone, esp considering it's price, just not as forgiving as Empyrean on some tracks.

I'm not even sure with Hifiman because like Audeze, they have a habit of revising their headphones a lot. Not to mention the dreaded per-unit variance. The Arya only came out in what, 2019 and they have 3 revisons of it already. Holy smokes. And a ton of people still want the Arya V2 because they compare it favorably with Susvara (don't get me started on how this affects Susvara's bang for buck, lol.) And there may even be some silent revisions, like how there was back in the days of the LCD-2. So who really knows what anyone's listening to, especially considering how diverse the dacs and amps people are using out there are.

It's not a deal breaker, and honestly, when I use the a tube amp with it for me much of that goes away, so it might just be that it's the Hifiman sound signature with certain sources where that happens... It happens out of the Hugo2 mainly. Could be that I just like stuff warm. But I love the Hugo 2 which isn't warm so it can't just be that... But you know after listening to the Empyreans where it seems like you're trading that top level of detail (and, to my ears... brightness) for not having that... it bothers me occasionally.

Knowing Head-fi this is just going to tempt people to suggest that detail retrieval or resolution and tonality (ie, brightness) isn't the same thing, but I have been noticing a real correlation with that.

You've got me wondering if I would have enjoyed Empy more with different pads -- I only had the two sets of Empy pads while I owned it (for about 10 months). But honestly, the biggest regret I have was never getting to try it with my DSHA-3F -- sold Empy before the 3F arrived.

Well, it doesn't take it to the level of the Utopia detail wise to give some reference point to you. Although with your gear, who knows. But I doubt it. So you will still have a limit to the detail. The Elite probably covers that base for you, although it depends how much you miss the aspects of the Empy the Elite changes. I bet it's hard to go back tho once you have the resolution upped. And also, I feel there's a tradeoff. There's something about that laid back Meze sound with the original pads I like.

Sometimes the Empy gets talked about like it's detail is so bad it's on the level of a LCD-2 or HD600 or something, and that's not the case. I mean there is a minimum level of detail I need before it's just not good enough. And I know with a headphone as expensive as the Empyrean, you sell it and you have a lot of cash freed up for another choice that might suit you better, so it's understandable if people sell it.

Also, I'm quite pleased with my Elite -- wondering which can will win the Atrium/Elite battle -- can't really afford to keep both. It's possible that both will win and other cans will leave.

I have been considering getting a ZMF can for quite some time, because they're highly regarded, and they're not as crazily overpriced (although getting close) as some other cans. Also they have a different aesthetic. But on the other hand, I want to avoid the problem I had last time I had a large number of cans which is where I just use my favorite one all the time and the others get neglected. Also not sure if I'll like them. So I think I have the sounds covered I want out of these 2 atm and would like to get a different dac/amp, something like a Burson Conductor 3X GT or something different and exotic, preferably a smaller desk capable unit as I know where Chord is on their sound and Sony is on theirs (both have well defined "house" sounds that are different) and would like a third option.

Open to suggestions. DSHA-3F looks cool as well, but also seems more of a rack/living room sized unit. it's nice to have a choice between SE and balanced as well for flexibility.

/end offtopic

 

[mithiral67]

Adding my two cents, love my Empyreans, outlasted Focal Stelia, Focal clears, and ZMF Vertie opens

 

[The1Signature]

Adding my two cents, love my Empyreans, outlasted Focal Stelia, Focal clears, and ZMF Vertie opens

have you also compared them with meze elite?

 

[mithiral67]

have you also compared them with meze elite?

I have not yet. I was very curious to try, but being I am downsizing my audio gear for other hobbies I thought it best not too. I likely will nibble on their next set.

 

[Unseen Aura]

Coincidentally, I was reading reviews here of the Elite when I got the notification of your reply lol. As much as I really didn't want them to be the answer, I knew that's what I should be looking at. Probably going to have to find an extra grand somehow and get them eventually.

Might I recommend checking out the Chameleon edition of the Elite? Available from Headphone.shop for excellent price considering it's a limited version. My conversion put it at under 4 grand even after shipping. They have a Dark Mystery Elite as well but that's just over 4 thousand, albeit with a free upgrade cable

 

[tradyblix]

That's the nicest color combo I've seen on any Elite/Empy. Love that iridescent blue. Kinda sad they're so limited, that should be the normal color...

 

[Ninja Theory]

The Meze Silver upgrade cable I purchased a few weeks ago seems to have finally burnt in - or crossed an important milestone on its mission to audio nirvana. I did not burn it in per se, but rather just listened to music as I usually do, and in so doing did not give much thought to it being new and needing some burn in time. I thought its sound out the box was what I paid for, and for that it was worth the cost of entry.

... but something wonderful has transformed my listening experience with the Empy of late, and I could not quite put my finger on it until now. I found myself really looking forward to my time with it, moreso than usual. So while this information must be taken with a healthy dollop of whatever you want to call it - audio foolery, placebo, snake oil, cognitive dissonance (or even consonance), self-deception, delusion, fake news, wishful thinking, or just plain simple Jedi mind tricks - I can only attribute this transformation to the cable coming of age (for now).

I enjoyed this cable from day 1 - as I have shared here previously - but now I cannot think of spending time with the Empy without it. It has become an indispensable part of the Empy experience. Another veil is lifted, bringing with it a new sense of clarity and wonder to the music. This is the best I have heard the Empy sound.

 

[Tonza]

Has anyone here used Omega style headphone stands for longer with the Empyrean? I got one and it seems to be okay fit but I'm worried that since it is stretching the headband a bit will it make it looser. Empyrean already has pretty ideal and not too tight clamp for me so I wouldn't want it to change.