[Jwakeford]

I just love the concept of an end game minimalist setup.
Hugo 2/Empyrean/Genelec active speakers, it speaks wonders to all the nomads as well.

 

[PJDubyaM]

This is absolutely worth it as I spend so much time with headphones in front of my computer.

My justification exactly. M Scaler + TT2 + Empys = zero fatigue. Can comfortably be headphones-on all day, no worries at all. I don't really 'do' holidays; I'm more than happy spending the money that normal people would spend on travel, on having best-in-the-world music reproduction every day for the rest of my life instead.

 

[kumar402]

Yep, absolutely. And everyone I've talked to at Meze agrees as well.

I feel I am odd one out but I went back to multibit DACs and sold Chord DACs after getting Empy.

 

[betula]

Any cheaky updates on the new pads?

I was wondering about this too. I have just spent more time with both pads. Allowing time to my ears to adjust as the pads sound quite different.

I still favour the leather ones but I started to like and appreciate the alcantaras too. Both have pros and cons, depending on the music you listen to.

To me the leather pads bring out treble shimmer and clarity and also bass lines in a much clearer way but on the expense of mid lushness. The leather pads are more precise with better sound stage depth: more punchy bass and more present treble but I find the mids to be much better on the alcantara pads.

The alcantara pads add a lot of sweetness and body to vocals. They sound fuller and more natural in this region. Right after changing from alcantara to leather vocals can almost sound hollow, although this is an obvious and shameless exaggeration in case of the Empyrean.
Treble and bass performance however are definitely subdued to this mid heaven when using the alcantara pads. Treble sounds too tamed even for a treble sensitive guy like me. Bass is also loosing some definition, clarity and punch. The sound is still very airy but the soundstage is now wider with less depth. The alcantara pads sound much softer and bass does suffer from this. While the mids are gorgeous and much better than on the leather pads, both bass and treble are just too soft and tame for really enjoying EDM on the alcantaras.

With vocal-centric music alcantara is the way to go. With pretty much everything else however I find the leather pads more accurate and more enjoyable.
Another scenario when I can imagine using the alcantara pads versus the leather ones is extremely long listening sessions. After 3-4-5-6 hours you might prefer the softer sound of the alcantara pads depending on the sensitivity of your hearing.

I was wondering whether the very mysterious upcoming third pads are trying to combine the strengths of the two existing pads?
The bass and treble performance of the leather pads and the sweet and full mids of the alcantara pads? @MezeTeam? That would be the winner for me.

 

[Jvincent]

I feel I am odd one out but I went back to multibit DACs and sold Chord DACs after getting Empy.

Agreed, Picked up a Yggdrasil and a Phonitor x from a friend and I couldn't be happier with sound quality! Its sublime, fatigue free and oh so smooth.

 

[betula]

Agreed, Picked up a Yggdrasil and a Phonitor x from a friend and I couldn't be happier with sound quality! Its sublime, fatigue free and oh so smooth.

That Phonitor X is a lovely amp and also looks gorgeous. I hope I will have the chance to hear it one day. It is great to have so many wonderful options these days to suit all individual needs and tastes.

I never had the chance to thoroughly audition a truly high-end R2R DAC but Chord DACs striked me from my first Mojo in 2015. Compared to all other DACs I have ever heard, Chord does micro-and macro dynamics, speed, soundstage depth and clarity like no other DACs in their respective price range. For a good while I have been running Qutest into good SS amps. (owned Taurus MKII, Questyle CMA600, and briefly tried CMA800, GSX-MKII, Violectric V281). To me the TT2 kills them all. Space, naturalness, clarity is not even in the same ball park.

I am still speaking from memory here, as I only (extensively) auditioned the TT2 with Empy. That experience however was audible bliss for me like never before. It took me an hour to recover and fully get back to 'reality' after hearing that audio perfection. I can't call it other than 'perfection': simply there was nothing in the sound that I was unhappy or unsatisfied with.

I am looking forward to re-live this experience in 2 weeks when I return from my holidays and open the box waiting for me with my brand new TT2.

Since this was already quite a financial stretch to me, MScaler won't be added to the combo in the foreseeable future.
In the budget/pleasure/audio quality triangle however I have maxed out my options right now. Absolutely high-end sound is waiting for me on my return for sure.

I might get a silver cable but no other upgrades for the next two years. Pictures to follow.

 

[kumar402]

I was wondering about this too. I have just spent more time with both pads. Allowing time to my ears to adjust as the pads sound quite different.

I still favour the leather ones but I started to like and appreciate the alcantaras too. Both have pros and cons, depending on the music you listen to.

To me the leather pads bring out treble shimmer and clarity and also bass lines in a much clearer way but on the expense of mid lushness. The leather pads are more precise with better sound stage depth: more punchy bass and more present treble but I find the mids to be much better on the alcantara pads.

The alcantara pads add a lot of sweetness and body to vocals. They sound fuller and more natural in this region. Right after changing from alcantara to leather vocals can almost sound hollow, although this is an obvious and shameless exaggeration in case of the Empyrean.
Treble and bass performance however are definitely subdued to this mid heaven when using the alcantara pads. Treble sounds too tamed even for a treble sensitive guy like me. Bass is also loosing some definition, clarity and punch. The sound is still very airy but the soundstage is now wider with less depth. The alcantara pads sound much softer and bass does suffer from this. While the mids are gorgeous and much better than on the leather pads, both bass and treble are just too soft and tame for really enjoying EDM on the alcantaras.

With vocal-centric music alcantara is the way to go. With pretty much everything else however I find the leather pads more accurate and more enjoyable.
Another scenario when I can imagine using the alcantara pads versus the leather ones is extremely long listening sessions. After 3-4-5-6 hours you might prefer the softer sound of the alcantara pads depending on the sensitivity of your hearing.

I was wondering whether the very mysterious upcoming third pads are trying to combine the strengths of the two existing pads?
The bass and treble performance of the leather pads and the sweet and full mids of the alcantara pads? @MezeTeam? That would be the winner for me.

I second your opinion. I like leather pad more. The best is Imaging. With leather pad imaging is excellent and it is way easier to locate instruments. I feel with Alcantara pads, Imaging takes a hit.

 

[Jvincent]

That Phonitor X is a lovely amp and also looks gorgeous. I hope I will have the chance to hear it one day. It is great to have so many wonderful options these days to suit all individual needs and tastes.

I never had the chance to thoroughly audition a truly high-end R2R DAC but Chord DACs striked me from my first Mojo in 2015. Compared to all other DACs I have ever heard, Chord does micro-and macro dynamics, speed, soundstage depth and clarity like no other DACs in their respective price range. For a good while I have been running Qutest into good SS amps. (owned Taurus MKII, Questyle CMA600, and briefly tried CMA800, GSX-MKII, Violectric V281). To me the TT2 kills them all. Space, naturalness, clarity is not even in the same ball park.

I am still speaking from memory here, as I only (extensively) auditioned the TT2 with Empy. That experience however was audible bliss for me like never before. It took me an hour to recover and fully get back to 'reality' after hearing that audio perfection. I can't call it other than 'perfection': simply there was nothing in the sound that I was unhappy or unsatisfied with.

I am looking forward to re-live this experience in 2 weeks when I return from my holidays and open the box waiting for me with my brand new TT2.

Since this was already quite a financial stretch to me, MScaler won't be added to the combo in the foreseeable future.
In the budget/pleasure/audio quality triangle however I have maxed out my options right now. Absolutely high-end sound is waiting for me on my return for sure.

I might get a silver cable but no other upgrades for the next two years. Pictures to follow.

If you live in WA OR region feel free to PM me, we could meet up and listen to the Hugo/TT2 and the Phonitor/ Yggdrasil combo!

never mind, just looked and saw your from the UK, thats a bit far for a commute for me to to demo an amp/dac additionally im sure the Yggdrasil would cool down on the plane and need the 3 day warm up again lol

 

[betula]

If you live in WA OR region feel free to PM me, we could meet up and listen to the Hugo/TT2 and the Phonitor/ Yggdrasil combo!

That would be awesome but I am in the UK.

 

[Jvincent]

That would be awesome but I am in the UK.

lol just saw that and edited the above post.

 

[betula]

Music for the Empyreans. Obviously try to get it in higher quality. I am listening to it in high-res 24 bit at the moment. One of my favourite tracks these weeks.

 

[Giraku]

I decided to sell mine to fund my next purchase. Please PM me if you are interested.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Haha. Very true. I am pretty sure something in our brains work differently to most 'non-audiophile' people. Something like synesthesia. I think we experience music and sound in a much more sensitive and complex way, that's the reason we are ready to spend ungodly amount of money to enhance this experience.

Yes, When I try some really good or even great sounding headphone setups I'm literally in heaven. Goosebumps. And I want more and more and more. There is always that thought that something can make it a tiny bit better.

 

[racebit]

deleted

 

[betula]

Yes, When I try some really good or even great sounding headphone setups I'm literally in heaven. Goosebumps. And I want more and more and more. There is always that thought that something can make it a tiny bit better.

That's what moves the whole industry forward. That's why Meze created the Empyrean, Rob Watts came up with his DACs. That's why 'endgame' can only be reached for a few years at best. I am hoping in 3-5 years with my current setup.

Well, I never posted music link here in head-fi, but related to your link, here is some rythm, from a japanese band, the best band of the 21st century worldwide. A good test track for headphones.

Pretty intense, but not bad at all.