[JinTam]

Nah, my ears are good. I love both these 2 headphones and enjoy them very much. That's just my experiences with them going back and forth. Do you own both of these headphones ? Do you want to post about what you think the differences are ? Certainly would be interested in hearing your impressions if they differ from mine.

I have both and I think they are very similar. I find the Empyreans more comfortable because of the ability to twist the cups though they do fall off more easily. They sound more muffled and the bass is fatiguing after a while and a little exaggerated. I don't find any of the faults in the Utopias that many people talk about but I think that's mainly because I pair them with tubes. I've been switching back and forth for a few weeks now between the 2.

I've been building speakers and subwoofers for a couple of decades now and just starting to get in to headphones. I have a LG FP14,000 Watt clone amp powering my dual 18" subs so I am used to bass.

My comment wasn't meant in a negative way. It's the adjusting that's messed up just what I do when I swap them back and forth.

 

[mixman]

I have both and I think they are very similar. I find the Empyreans more comfortable because of the ability to twist the cups though they do fall off more easily. They sound more muffled and the bass is fatiguing after a while and a little exaggerated. I don't find any of the faults in the Utopias that many people talk about but I think that's mainly because I pair them with tubes. I've been switching back and forth for a few weeks now between the 2.

I've been building speakers and subwoofers for a couple of decades now and just starting to get in to headphones. I have a LG FP14,000 Watt clone amp powering my dual 18" subs so I am used to bass.

My comment wasn't meant in a negative way. It's the adjusting that's messed up just what I do when I swap them back and forth.

Ha, I am another basshead. I also have a LG Clone amp doing 10,000 on 2 TC Sounds LMS Ultra 18 and an Aurasound NS18. I tend to much prefer the Empyrean over the Utopia and would tend to think most bassheads would too.

 

[JinTam]

Ha, I am another basshead. I also have a LG Clone amp doing 10,000 on 2 TC Sounds LMS Ultra 18 and an Aurasound NS18. I tend to much prefer the Empyrean over the Utopia and would tend to think most bassheads would too.

I been trying to get my speakers to have this kind of resolution, clarity, and focus. It's been a real pain, bought and sold many speakers over the years. With subs, you feel the pressure from the subs. With these, they are pumped in to your ears. After a couple of hours, I am ready to take them off.

I have not listened to any of my gear before purchasing, so I go strictly on reviews. I was just expecting a lot from the Empyreans. I do like them but they didn't live up to the reviews. I had to buy them just because of how they were made, the dang ad that keeps popping up on top and side of head-fi, and their looks.

 

[kid vic]

well the empyrean is a relatively recent release compared to the utopia, which has been around since 2016. who knows, you might see dealers discounting and bundling the empyrean before too long.

Probably not, because Meze has stated they want the Empys to be limited. The LCD-4s are about the same age as the Utopias, have had (arguably) more failures, are definitively less comfortable AND are notorious for having a significant variation in sound signature between models yet are sold far less often than the Utopias (used) and haven't taken the same price hit.

I think that Focals worst enemy was the fact that the have a very good distribution network already and strong brand recognition (for studio monitors and hi-fi speakers). I wonder how many people who don't usually like headphones but swear by Focal speakers bought the Utopias from their dealers at a discount to try them out and just reconfirmed that headphones aren't for them? Would explain some of the proliferation of used Utopias versus other headphones of similar age and expense (LCD4, Susvara, Abyss, Stax).

Though I am on the anti Utopia team I'll be the first to say that bashing people for not liking the same headphone as you (infinitive you, speaking to everyone in this thread) is an exercise in futility. Your trying to use text on a screen to convince someone that their ears are wrong; it'll never work. We are better served by making a companion hater thread for every headphone upon release.

 

[up late]

Probably not, because Meze has stated they want the Empys to be limited. The LCD-4s are about the same age as the Utopias, have had (arguably) more failures, are definitively less comfortable AND are notorious for having a significant variation in sound signature between models yet are sold far less often than the Utopias (used) and haven't taken the same price hit.

I think that Focals worst enemy was the fact that the have a very good distribution network already and strong brand recognition (for studio monitors and hi-fi speakers). I wonder how many people who don't usually like headphones but swear by Focal speakers bought the Utopias from their dealers at a discount to try them out and just reconfirmed that headphones aren't for them? Would explain some of the proliferation of used Utopias versus other headphones of similar age and expense (LCD4, Susvara, Abyss, Stax).

Though I am on the anti Utopia team I'll be the first to say that bashing people for not liking the same headphone as you (infinitive you, speaking to everyone in this thread) is an exercise in futility. Your trying to use text on a screen to convince someone that their ears are wrong; it'll never work. We are better served by making a companion hater thread for every headphone upon release.

i wouldn't presume to know what meze's intentions are for the empyrean and could care less tbh. that was just a throwaway line made in response to what i regard as a spurious argument. i don't judge a headphone's merit based on the "headphones for sale/trade" forum, and i'm not on any anti-headphone team.

 

[kid vic]

i wouldn't presume to know what meze's intentions are for the empyrean and could care less tbh. that was just a throwaway line made in response to what i regard as a spurious argument. i don't judge a headphone's merit based on the "headphones for sale/trade" forum, and i'm not on any anti-headphone team.

Antonio Meze himself said that it's meant to be limited but if you don't care then its irrelevant. As to the rest, great.

 

[up late]

Antonio Meze himself said that it's meant to be limited but if you don't care then its irrelevant. As to the rest, great.

given the consumer demand for the empyrean, which appears to have taken meze by surprise, perhaps antonio might reconsider his position by producing more units than he had originally planned to do. calling a product "limited edition" without specifying the number of units to be produced from the outset leaves a lot of wriggle room. the grado hf2 was originally limited to 500 units until another run of 500 units was produced subsequently. anyway, i'll leave that for others here to speculate about.

 

[betula]

Antonio Meze himself said that it's meant to be limited but if you don't care then its irrelevant. As to the rest, great.

The initial intention was a limited run of 500 Empyreans. Seeing the unexpected popularity they decided to 'mass' produce.
Now I think they are getting close to 1000 based on the serial numbers.

 

[mixman]

Yeah the Empyrean is a limited edition model alright...........Limited by how many they can sell!

 

[up late]

guess there's no need to speculate after all

 

[518141]

I would bet that Meze will achieve their sales target with the "Black Copper" version and maybe after that they´ll decide to mass production. The "Black Copper" Empy looks to me more special. The contrast of the black frame and the copper grill looks very nice. Normally copper is not one of my favourite colours I would never buy a car in copper. As I´ve saw Astell&Kern sp1000 in copper in person, I started to realize that I like this colour. In comparison "Gunmetal" looks more understated and classic. Both are great.

 

[518141]

Furthermore, I should like to add that Meze is a small company. They have to calculate very carefully how much units of the empyrean they are going to produce. Calling the first run a "limited edition" is totally fine. I hope that they´ll find a niche with their products where they can be succesful. As a customer I would like to see more of the transparancy which meze gives us and I appreciate that.

 

[mixman]

I remember in the LP thread you struggled with getting the right balance for the Empy’s. I would try the Rad 0 out but IMHO they seemed to miss fixing the ergonomics. They perhaps fixed many of the tonal issues with Audeze high end cans, but they forgot to address the weight, high clamping pressure and added a new one with a different pin configuration for the 3.5mm connection..... In addition to making many already existing cables useless because of the cable fit.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I remember in the LP thread you struggled with getting the right balance for the Empy’s. I would try the Rad 0 out but IMHO they seemed to miss fixing the ergonomics. They perhaps fixed many of the tonal issues with Audeze high end cans, but they forgot to address the weight, high clamping pressure and added a new one with a different pin configuration for the 3.5mm connection..... In addition to making many already existing cables useless because of the cable fit.

re: RAD-0 ergonomics — All true, except clamping force. I don’t find that to be an issue. For me, the weight is noticeable, but, no worse than my Blackwood Auteur. Really, the only significant comfort issue I have w/ RAD-0 is the ‘hot spot’ on top of my head. That pad needs to be much larger to spread the weight more. Not a deal-breaker, but annoying.

The cable thing is bizarre — no idea why they would do that differently than ~everyone else~.

All that said, to my ears, the sound is very good.

 

[MacedonianHero]

re: RAD-0 ergonomics — All true, except clamping force. I don’t find that to be an issue. For me, the weight is noticeable, but, no worse than my Blackwood Auteur. Really, the only significant comfort issue I have w/ RAD-0 is the ‘hot spot’ on top of my head. That pad needs to be much larger to spread the weight more. Not a deal-breaker, but annoying.

The cable thing is bizarre — no idea why they would do that differently than ~everyone else~.

All that said, to my ears, the sound is very good.

Guys, orthos are heavy...they use large magnetic structures...its the nature of the beast if you want a strong magnetic field to control the drivers, its par for the course.