[340519]

First listening sessions with the velour pads.
Let's find out....

I'm curious. I haven't tried them yet.

 

[ThanatosVI]

First listening sessions with the velour pads.
Let's find out....

I tried them earlier.
Also very comfy Feeling.
The Bass loses some presence but everything Sounds a little airier.
I recommend them to everyone who dislikes the midbass bump.

Overall it is still a very pleasant Sound, in an AB I prefer the leather pads though

 

[340519]

I tried them earlier.
Also very comfy Feeling.
The Bass loses some presence but everything Sounds a little airier.
I recommend them to everyone who dislikes the midbass bump.

Overall it is still a very pleasant Sound, in an AB I prefer the leather pads though

So more treble presence with the alacantra pads?

 

[Bompah]

This will be my first head-fi post, but I have been reading for a while. What better occassion could there be than to say that Empyreans have been orderd and should arrive by the 25th.

 

[ThanatosVI]

This will be my first head-fi post, but I have been reading for a while. What better occassion could there be than to say that Empyreans have been orderd and should arrive by the 25th.

Congratulations, they surely will bring you lots of Joy.

Also welcome to head-fi.
Hide your wallet we encourage purchases at will

 

[340519]

This will be my first head-fi post, but I have been reading for a while. What better occassion could there be than to say that Empyreans have been orderd and should arrive by the 25th.

Congrats!

 

[340519]

This will be my first head-fi post, but I have been reading for a while. What better occassion could there be than to say that Empyreans have been orderd and should arrive by the 25th.

Yes the poor wallet lol.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Yes the poor wallet lol.

Must .. resist.. ordering.. WA 33...

 

[340519]

Must .. resist.. ordering.. WA 33...

That's not cheap.

 

[ThanatosVI]

That's not cheap.

True, the empyrean deserves quality amplification.

 

[yyzSB]

I have both Empy and Utopia (well, had the empy. It just went to its new owner yesterday).

Utopia is commonly referred to as bright, but I don't find it bright as much as it is extremely transparent with amazing clarity and air. Presentation is more forward and intimate than the Empy, and combined with the crazy detail it offers, some may consider that bright.. I feel the Utopia has more impactful bass/slam down low, with better detail and texture to the lowest notes too. I feel it is a very balanced headphone without emphasis on any particular band.

In my system, my ears tell me the Utopia is just on the warmer side of neutral. I have bad tinnitus which acts up when the treble is too hot, and I never get any ringing in my ears when listening with Utopia. In fact, I think if anything, my abyss 1266 is "brighter" and has sharper highs than the Utopia.

If you have not yet tried the Utopia, you should. U might be surprised. Not saying empy is a bad headphone, just saying to give Utopia a demo and come to your own conclusions before writing it off because it was called bright based on what other people think.

Before I got my first headphone last month I was going to get the Focal Utopia, since I like detail. However, the dealer that sells both Focal and Empy steered me to the Empy because of warranty headaches he is having with Focal. Now I am extremely happy with the Empy. I use it for late night work sessions and it is brilliant in this situation. The Empy has made me a headphone convert after hating them a decade ago. Reading posts here, and sensing the enthusiasm of what seems like a younger demographic than the Audioogn crowd, is also more fun for me. Nice to see people into music.

I will be getting a Norne Silver cable for my Empys soon (from a recommendation a few pages before). Just need to sell my integrated amp to fund this. So I have a few more questions to ask to about headphones in general.

1) Are the Focal Utopias more fragile than it's competitors. I now considering buying a second headphone with a more detailed sound presentation to have some variety. What are some other headphone options in the detailed sound camp?

2) I am considering adding a 1 box headphone amp | streamer | DAC solution to a second room. I am willing to forego the streamer since I have a soon to be free Sonore microRendu that streams well. Would the Chord Hugo TT2 work well with the Empy and something more detailed like the Focal Utopia? I want to get a used model so I will listen for some advice here vs going to a dealer and demoing. Would I be better off getting a dedicated good headphone amp with a less costly DAC, maybe Benchmark DAC3B?

It is actually very nice to be able to research audio stuff here and buy rather quickly instead of having all these other factors such as, WAF, the room size, room treatments, and my toddler's curiosity, come into the decision process.

 

[340519]

True, the empyrean deserves quality amplification.

True. I dig my bryston.

 

[ls13coco]

Yep, those adjectives work, although my favorite was 'lush'.

Aside from comfort (which is obviously no contest) how would you compare Empy vs LCD4?

Thanks

Overall I feel like the LCD did just a little more something special for thick guitar tones, but the Empy is the only other headphone I’ve heard this on, just to a lesser extent.
Sub-bass was maybe a little deeper, but the Empy has more mid-bass which is to my preference.
Mids a little more forward on the Empy, both beautiful (impressions mainly with leather pads).
Treble feels more even, present but not sibilant.
Soundstage seems quite similar, though the lcd4 always felt like it was farther away at its closest.
My 789 and R2R might not have done the LCD “full justice”, though the comfort and sound of the Empy both win overall, especially for the dollar difference.

 

[Roasty]

Before I got my first headphone last month I was going to get the Focal Utopia, since I like detail. However, the dealer that sells both Focal and Empy steered me to the Empy because of warranty headaches he is having with Focal. Now I am extremely happy with the Empy. I use it for late night work sessions and it is brilliant in this situation. The Empy has made me a headphone convert after hating them a decade ago. Reading posts here, and sensing the enthusiasm of what seems like a younger demographic than the Audioogn crowd, is also more fun for me. Nice to see people into music.

I will be getting a Norne Silver cable for my Empys soon (from a recommendation a few pages before). Just need to sell my integrated amp to fund this. So I have a few more questions to ask to about headphones in general.

1) Are the Focal Utopias more fragile than it's competitors. I now considering buying a second headphone with a more detailed sound presentation to have some variety. What are some other headphone options in the detailed sound camp?

2) I am considering adding a 1 box headphone amp | streamer | DAC solution to a second room. I am willing to forego the streamer since I have a soon to be free Sonore microRendu that streams well. Would the Chord Hugo TT2 work well with the Empy and something more detailed like the Focal Utopia? I want to get a used model so I will listen for some advice here vs going to a dealer and demoing. Would I be better off getting a dedicated good headphone amp with a less costly DAC, maybe Benchmark DAC3B?

It is actually very nice to be able to research audio stuff here and buy rather quickly instead of having all these other factors such as, WAF, the room size, room treatments, and my toddler's curiosity, come into the decision process.

1) I've not heard of any Empys breaking down/driver failure yet. There have been quite a few driver failures (some of which were recurrent even after driver replacement) on the Utopia thread. An upside is Utopia has a 5 year warranty.

2) if you're looking at an all in one, I suggest the matrix audio element X. Check out its reviews, and measurements on AudioScienceReview forum (if are important to you).

TT2 sounds great and I think there are quite a few members here who are using it as a dac/amp with both empy and Utopia.

As for the Norne cable, it is a good cable, and looks fantastic, but be prepared for quite a wait..

 

[staffz93]

Ok, Empyrean people question time... which loudspeaker has a sound signature similar to the Empyreans? Obviously, speakers and headphones are different but I'm focusing on the overall sound signature here. Your input is appreciated!