[Quadfather]

I get to demo the Empyreans! Has anyone used Lotoo Paw Gold or Questyle QP1R?

 

[Bern2]

I get to demo the Empyreans! Has anyone used Lotoo Paw Gold or Questyle QP1R?

Now you'll have to get a dac and an amp. You should kept the NightHawks.....

 

[ken6217]

Now you'll have to get a dac and an amp. You should kept the NightHawks.....

LOL. I'll sell them back to him. They're on a shelf since I purchased the Empyreans in January.

 

[Quadfather]

I'm thinking LPG should be plenty powerful enough

 

[raymogi]

I'm thinking LPG should be plenty powerful enough

My LPGT drives them brilliantly

 

[Quadfather]

My LPGT drives them brilliantly

One of these days I would like to try the Touch, but I just couldn't get myself off the beauty of the original with that cool gold wheel.

 

[azeral]

Just picked these up.
Very surprised by how good these sound out of damn near everything I try them with, as had been noted by the previous owner. I listened for a good while today off of a *smartphone* and it was completely fine. Brought a laptop to a local dealer, and strangely found that they sounded 95% as good out of a Mojo or a Schiit Fulla 2 as they did with a Chord DAVE. I also had access to a Utopia, which I heard improve all the way up to the DAVE. Still, even with the TOTL Focal/Chord combo, I didn't like it as much as the Empyrean with modest amplification.

Went home incredibly pleased that I probably wasn't missing too much with my Mojo. As a strange side-note, I had a very similar experience with my preferred IEM (Campfire Audio Solaris) and the DAVE; maybe it just didn't have the synergy for either, but I found this intriguing that both these top-range products didn't need prestige electronics to sound fantastic. I'll take it.

 

[naynay]

AVB 2004 Empy's

 

[naynay]

I had these people re terminate my cable to 4pin XLR https://oidiosound.co.uk/ was a fast turn around and a reasonable price.

Just had my cable back from oidiosound after having it re-terminated using Furutech 4pin XLR.

The guy commented on the quality, said he has fitted many brands but none match the Furutech.

 

[Andrew DiMarcangelo]

Just picked these up.
Very surprised by how good these sound out of damn near everything I try them with, as had been noted by the previous owner. I listened for a good while today off of a *smartphone* and it was completely fine. Brought a laptop to a local dealer, and strangely found that they sounded 95% as good out of a Mojo or a Schiit Fulla 2 as they did with a Chord DAVE. I also had access to a Utopia, which I heard improve all the way up to the DAVE. Still, even with the TOTL Focal/Chord combo, I didn't like it as much as the Empyrean with modest amplification.

Went home incredibly pleased that I probably wasn't missing too much with my Mojo. As a strange side-note, I had a very similar experience with my preferred IEM (Campfire Audio Solaris) and the DAVE; maybe it just didn't have the synergy for either, but I found this intriguing that both these top-range products didn't need prestige electronics to sound fantastic. I'll take it.

Yes, this is is indeed a very real characteristic of the Empyrean. They sound GREAT even on "low end" gear.

 

[Quadfather]

The Empyreans with the leather pads are really heating up my ears. Does anyone else experience this? I just switched to AKG K812, and no heat...

 

[raymogi]

The Empyreans with the leather pads are really heating up my ears. Does anyone else experience this?

To the contrary, I find the velour pads are doing that to me. I started with velour and don't even bother touching the leather ones. But one day I was experimenting with the leather and I surprisingly stuck with it.

In general I know velour is supposed to be cooler to the ears compared to the leather but I'm not sure that's the case for me with this cans

 

[Quadfather]

To the contrary, I find the velour pads are doing that to me. I started with velour and don't even bother touching the leather ones. But one day I was experimenting with the leather and I surprisingly stuck with it.

In general I know velour is supposed to be cooler to the ears compared to the leather but I'm not sure that's the case for me with this cans

How are these headphones stacking up to the others you own?

 

[raymogi]

How are these headphones stacking up to the others you own?

Truly the king. Comfort, sound, everything.

I can’t even force store owners to recommend me another pair to buy cause there’s nothing out there that will fit my criteria that is better than the Empys.

 

[azeral]

Yes, this is is indeed a very real characteristic of the Empyrean. They sound GREAT even on "low end" gear.

Glad there's some consistency between my impression here and what's seen elsewhere. I've only heard the Empyrean with solid state gear so far, and I've been encouraged elsewhere to explore OTL tube amplification, which I found really interesting. Is it possible to generalize about what your customers select/prefer on amplification for this headphone? Of the gear you've heard with it (assuming you have access to a lot of good options), what do you find most enjoyable?

I'm still happy with the Mojo for now, but I'm compiling a set of places to look/amplifier shortlist for when I want to move beyond a minimalist setup.