[Rowethren]

Closed-back Emperean, a near-future possibility, anyone? And if not, any existing close-back headphone that belongs to the same realm, or just a level below it, as of now?

ZMF Verite Closed would be a good contender in my books. I actually recently sold my Meze Empyrean as I never used them in preference to the Verite Closed.

 

[MezeTeam]

The best performance I had was 10 watts of dynamic power on Woo WA33. Of course I asked Woo how much power at 50 ohms and got no real answer. But the Empyrean sub bass was rumble time. So much scale. I sold them but would buy again in the future but this pandemic has to end but there is no expiration on this virus.

The pandemic has affected our life seriously, but on the other hands, a lot of users feedback they have more time to enjoy their music system in past few months.

WA33 is one of the best ever headphone amplifiers out there, no doubt about that. It is wonderful to know that our Empyrean can scale from a Hugo2 to a WA33 setup. You can always enjoy your Empyrean from portable to TOTL desktop system.

 

[CDJ123]

I was thinking of pick up the Meze. Since no one around here sells them, and with the CORONA virus limiting access, it will be a totally blind choice. I currently have Hifiman 560s. I went to https://crinacle.com/ and looked at corrected measurements (adjusted for something close to the Harman curve) and the Meze seem very accurate especially compared to many well acclaimed headphones. I see discussion about a bass hump which I am not seeing in these curves. I am also wondering if some of the comments regarding transparency is really elevated high end in other models. Can this all be just be frequency response preferences between users or are there other factors going on?

 

[pataburd]

"Transparency" does not equal "elevated high end" [I am interpreting "end" as "frequencies"], at least for not me. It means, literally, a "see-through" quality to the high frequency response without hardness, bluntness or sharpness. For my tastes, the Empyrean are just a bit blunt at the extreme HF, and seem to lack just that little modicum of ultimate extension that I, personally, prefer.

 

[yyzSB]

I was thinking of pick up the Meze. Since no one around here sells them, and with the CORONA virus limiting access, it will be a totally blind choice. I currently have Hifiman 560s. I went to https://crinacle.com/ and looked at corrected measurements (adjusted for something close to the Harman curve) and the Meze seem very accurate especially compared to many well acclaimed headphones. I see discussion about a bass hump which I am not seeing in these curves. I am also wondering if some of the comments regarding transparency is really elevated high end in other models. Can this all be just be frequency response preferences between users or are there other factors going on?

Yesterday, I received the Benchmark HPA4, DAC3B, and the Meze Empy. I bought the Meze without audition due to Corona. I only listened for about 10 minutes so far while it is being burned in, but I think I am going to like this a lot. I never was a headphone fan but I bought these out of necessity since I have a toddler that goes to sleep around 9PM.

This burn is going to be very easy since the HPA4 preamp can output to both lineout and headphone out at the same time. Look forward to next Saturday when I have my first real listen.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Yesterday, I received the Benchmark HPA4, DAC3B, and the Meze Empy...

That rig should be ... adequate

Seriously, look forward to your impressions.

 

[yyzSB]

That rig should be ... adequate

Seriously, look forward to your impressions.

The Benchmark designers have posted on this forum that their gear does not need burn-in. So as I am burning in the Meze and I am also playing my KEF LS50s at the same time. It is hooked up to the amp section of my old Peachtree Nova (headphone sounded surprising OK on this too).

The 2 Benchmark pieces are giant slayers. I was looking at buying one of the following preamps, the Benchmark HPA4, Luxman c900u, or Mola Mola Makua and took a chance on the HPA4 which is 7X less in cost. The HPA4 is incredible, just beautiful fatigue free sound. I am listening to Zeppelin at the moment and my feet are hurting from the toe tapping and and head banging. It looks like the HPA4 will be my gateway drug into this new headphone world for me.

https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7605

 

[Roasty]

The vocal jazz killer combo.

 

[ThanatosVI]

The vocal jazz killer combo.

Which DAC are you using?

 

[Roasty]

Which DAC are you using?

Holo Spring 2 Wild Edition

 

[glogulus]

Do the Empy's accentuate when songs may have distortion, or static like sound, in the source? I hear distortion, or a static like sound, on a good number of mp3s and flacs that I don't ever recall hearing. They always happen in the same place in the song. I'm hoping that it's the source material and not something with my headphones and wanted to see if others had the same experience. For example, if you are on Qobuz, listen to the 24/96 version of Miles Davis' - "So What" at time 00:45 - 00:60. There's what sounds like distortion on the trumpet on both the right and left. Am I hearing things that are on the recording or is there something going on with my headphones?

 

[nwavesailor]

Do the Empy's accentuate when songs may have distortion, or static like sound, in the source? I hear distortion, or a static like sound, on a good number of mp3s and flacs that I don't ever recall hearing. They always happen in the same place in the song. I'm hoping that it's the source material and not something with my headphones and wanted to see if others had the same experience. For example, if you are on Qobuz, listen to the 24/96 version of Miles Davis' - "So What" at time 00:45 - 00:60. There's what sounds like distortion on the trumpet on both the right and left. Am I hearing things that are on the recording or is there something going on with my headphones?

I just listened to the segment of 'So What' on my compter (w/o my Empy's) and I hear the distortion at about 45-60 seconds as well.

 

[glogulus]

I just listened to the segment of 'So What' on my compter (w/o my Empy's) and I hear the distortion at about 45-60 seconds as well.

Thanks for checking! I guess it’s just something to get used too. It’s shocking how many songs have that kind of distortion!

 

[ThanatosVI]

Let's talk pairings.

How does the empyrean pair with the following?

- Schiit Mjolnir 2
- Schiit Gungnir Multibit
- Woo Audio WA6-SE
- Holo Spring 2 Level 1

Would be nice if someone who has experience with any of these pairings could share them.

 

[jay2406]

I think the Meze Empyrean is going to be my next headphone. Do any of you guys use it for rock and metal? Is it a strong performer for both?