[PeteSTRADAMUS]

haha, another funny Jersey guy. I hope you end up with them. They are truly great and compared to Utopias and the LCD-4 they are fairly priced. Pete, i have heard from others that with the stock cable they can sound a tad dark. I never tried the stock cable and went with the new silver Meze cable using Furakawa OFC

When is that one going on their site? The silver option that you have.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

haha, another funny Jersey guy. I hope you end up with them. They are truly great and compared to Utopias and the LCD-4 they are fairly priced. Pete, i have heard from others that with the stock cable they can sound a tad dark. I never tried the stock cable and went with the new silver Meze cable using Furakawa OFC

I'm not joking. Hand them over, partner! lol haha

 

[RickY B]

Only they know that. Gonna sell my HiFiMan HE1000V2 if you know anyone

 

[jlbrach]

is it correct to assume that cables used with the LCD-4 will work with the Empyrean?

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

is it correct to assume that cables used with the LCD-4 will work with the Empyrean?

Yes, mini-xlr.

 

[jlbrach]

thanks!

 

[koven]

Empyrean in the house..

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Empyrean in the house..

Shootout!!!! Verite vs Empyrean!.

 

[jlbrach]

surely is a first class presentation

 

[TheDuke990]

I never tried the stock cable and went with the new silver Meze cable using Furakawa OFC

New silver cable incoming ? That could be great for the Empyrean. Some extra juice in the upper frequencies is appreciated

 

[PJDubyaM]

Didn’t know about these until I saw Darko’s Video. I’d been umming and ahhing over a pair of Focal Clears for god-knows-how-long, but along come these and even though they’re twice the price, I pulled the trigger this afternoon without hesitation (and have just now finished reading this whole thread!). Got them from Hifi Headphones just near me in Shoreham (south coast UK). Had a listen in their listening room for about an hour, and they did something that pretty much guarantees I’ll buy a headphone: they made me grin. I don’t have the vocabulary or critical listening skills to tell you exactly why they made me grin, but they made me grin, and that meant I had to give a man a lot of money.

To me, they sound great out of the box (Synology NAS -> Roon -> Chord Mojo+Poly). First test for me was Beirut’s new LP, ‘Gallipoli’. I don’t think this is a well-made album. I’ve listened to it in a few different ways (Bluesound Node -> Peachtree Deepblue 2, Bluesound Powernode 2 -> Kef LS50 (on Kef’s Performance Stands - which really make one hell of a difference!), Sony WH1000XM3 or whatever they’re called), and the Empyreans are the first time the album’s not sounded congested and murky. LS50s got close, but this is ‘different ballgame’ stuff.

Also thrown Marie Davidson’s ‘Working Class Woman’, Tirzah’s ‘Devotion’, Jon Hopkins’ ‘Immunity’, Beth Orton’s ‘Central Reservation’, and a few other bits and pieces at them. Sounded fantastic, the lot of them. Really looking forward to more listening.

Oh, and somewhere many many pages back, someone criticised the look of ZMF’s headphones. I didn’t know about them either, but now I do, and I’m lusting after a pair of Verites! Both beautiful beautiful headphones. And what this stuff looks like does matter. Maybe not to everyone, but to many, and it’s completely okay for it to matter.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Didn’t know about these until I saw Darko’s Video. I’d been umming and ahhing over a pair of Focal Clears for god-knows-how-long, but along come these and even though they’re twice the price, I pulled the trigger this afternoon without hesitation (and have just now finished reading this whole thread!). Got them from Hifi Headphones just near me in Shoreham (south coast UK). Had a listen in their listening room for about an hour, and they did something that pretty much guarantees I’ll buy a headphone: they made me grin. I don’t have the vocabulary or critical listening skills to tell you exactly why they made me grin, but they made me grin, and that meant I had to give a man a lot of money.

To me, they sound great out of the box (Synology NAS -> Roon -> Chord Mojo+Poly). First test for me was Beirut’s new LP, ‘Gallipoli’. I don’t think this is a well-made album. I’ve listened to it in a few different ways (Bluesound Node -> Peachtree Deepblue 2, Bluesound Powernode 2 -> Kef LS50 (on Kef’s Performance Stands - which really make one hell of a difference!), Sony WH1000XM3 or whatever they’re called), and the Empyreans are the first time the album’s not sounded congested and murky. LS50s got close, but this is ‘different ballgame’ stuff.

Also thrown Marie Davidson’s ‘Working Class Woman’, Tirzah’s ‘Devotion’, Jon Hopkins’ ‘Immunity’, Beth Orton’s ‘Central Reservation’, and a few other bits and pieces at them. Sounded fantastic, the lot of them. Really looking forward to more listening.

Oh, and somewhere many many pages back, someone criticised the look of ZMF’s headphones. I didn’t know about them either, but now I do, and I’m lusting after a pair of Verites! Both beautiful beautiful headphones. And what this stuff looks like does matter. Maybe not to everyone, but to many, and it’s completely okay for it to matter.

Absolutely! I find the look of the Verite's outstanding!. Especially with the gold looking brass grill on the cups. The Empyrean is a different style of headphone. I think both are beautiful for what they are. Equally.

 

[supervisor]

Also thrown Marie Davidson’s ‘Working Class Woman’, Tirzah’s ‘Devotion’, Jon Hopkins’ ‘Immunity’, Beth Orton’s ‘Central Reservation’, and a few other bits and pieces at them. Sounded fantastic, the lot of them. Really looking forward to more listening.

good taste. cheers!

 

[Pharmaboy]

Didn’t know about these until I saw Darko’s Video. I’d been umming and ahhing over a pair of Focal Clears for god-knows-how-long, but along come these and even though they’re twice the price, I pulled the trigger this afternoon without hesitation (and have just now finished reading this whole thread!). Got them from Hifi Headphones just near me in Shoreham (south coast UK). Had a listen in their listening room for about an hour, and they did something that pretty much guarantees I’ll buy a headphone: they made me grin. I don’t have the vocabulary or critical listening skills to tell you exactly why they made me grin, but they made me grin, and that meant I had to give a man a lot of money.

To me, they sound great out of the box (Synology NAS -> Roon -> Chord Mojo+Poly). First test for me was Beirut’s new LP, ‘Gallipoli’. I don’t think this is a well-made album. I’ve listened to it in a few different ways (Bluesound Node -> Peachtree Deepblue 2, Bluesound Powernode 2 -> Kef LS50 (on Kef’s Performance Stands - which really make one hell of a difference!), Sony WH1000XM3 or whatever they’re called), and the Empyreans are the first time the album’s not sounded congested and murky. LS50s got close, but this is ‘different ballgame’ stuff.

Also thrown Marie Davidson’s ‘Working Class Woman’, Tirzah’s ‘Devotion’, Jon Hopkins’ ‘Immunity’, Beth Orton’s ‘Central Reservation’, and a few other bits and pieces at them. Sounded fantastic, the lot of them. Really looking forward to more listening.

Oh, and somewhere many many pages back, someone criticised the look of ZMF’s headphones. I didn’t know about them either, but now I do, and I’m lusting after a pair of Verites! Both beautiful beautiful headphones. And what this stuff looks like does matter. Maybe not to everyone, but to many, and it’s completely okay for it to matter.

There are many ways for headphones to look beautiful. For example:

• Techno/Industrial: Big $$ Focals
• Sci-Fi/Futuristic: HD 800, Nighthawk Carbon
• Wood/Craftsman: ZMF everything, Kennerton, etc.

I find the ZMF headphones as a group to be the handsomest, best-crafted wooden designs of all. It's a sturdy, substantial, wood-centric look that greatly appeals to me. Sometimes I take out the padauk Eikon, put it under a bright light & marvel at that perfectly finished & facted exotic wood. It doesn't hurt one bit that ZMF headphones are at the top of their class in sonic terms, with new models coming out every year that subtly push the "ZMF sound" in new & interesting directions.

But the Empyrean is a whole other thing. I've posted about this before, so apologies for wearing it out--but this headphone strongly reflects 19th & 20 century art & architecture influences/aesthetics, more so than any other headphone I know of. Meze aimed high for the Empyrean as an expressive visual design, and IMO they totally succeeded.

If the Empyrean didn't sound so good, none of this would mean much. But they actually sound rather amazing, so IMO the headphone represents an aesthetic & sonic high-bar for the industry.

 

[Scorpion1611]

I too had not heard of the Empyreans until I saw Darko’s review of them. I am very torn at present, currently I am on a H2 with HD800S’s. I am thinking of upgrading to a Chord TT2 or the Empyreans. Can only afford 1 after selling some gear etc. What is going to be the best upgrade? Love the clarity and precision of the H2/HD800S combination but do want more low end and a fuller sound. Listening to everything from Radiohead to Pearl Jam, Led Zep etc. When laying down this kind of end game money any advice much appreciated.