[Noobzilla]

Oh no! Looks like I just put myself in hot water! I'm gonna have to retrace back a bit on the BHA1.

 

[340519]

Makes sense if budget is one of your primary factors. I was just curious mainly because BHA1 is on my radar for next purchase and I've only seen raving reviews about it. I crossed HPA4 off my list (for a dumb reason) of it being less aesthetically pleasing versus the BHA1, lol.



YES! I hope to get one soon.

Yes I liked the first one I have so much I bought a second one!

 

[LCMusicLover]

I've been spending too much time reading and shopping for headphone amp for the Empy...

>$900
Monoprice Liquid Platinum modded
Topping A90
Cayin iHA-6
Mjolnir 2 (LP seems better from what I gathered)

I own an LP, so I'm not biased against it by any means (in fact, it's out for modding right now). But I've seen a number of opinions preferring the MJ2 over the LP for 'clarity/detail/impact' reasons. The two are definitely in the same ballpark. MJ2 is probably a little brighter and a little 'crisper', which might really be a good thing w/ Empy. If you do end up w/ LP, I recommend Brimar CV-2492 tubes w/ Empyrean.

...
>$1800
Holo Audio Azure
Audio DG Master 9 (too big)
Wells Milo
Headamp DX Mini
Soundaware P1 (not finding enough reviews)

I participated in the P1 tour back when I had BHA-1 & Violectric V280. Frankly, I could barely tell the three apart and thought the P1 was very good. Maybe just a tad more neutral than BHA-1 & V280 which had nearly identical, slightly warm, tonality.

...
<$2000
Benchmark HPA4
Bryston BHA1
...

Agree regarding diminishing returns. Note that used BHA-1s are going for under $1k, so if you're willing to do that ...

Anyway, GLTY!

 

[Noobzilla]

I crossed HPA4 off my list (for a dumb reason) of it being less aesthetically pleasing versus the BHA1, lol.

Nah that's not dumb at all. I suppose it depends where you'll place it. In my case it'll be in front of me for 10+hrs so I prefer something not too visually obtrusive.

The two are definitely in the same ballpark. MJ2 is probably a little brighter and a little 'crisper', which might really be a good thing w/ Empy.

I'm aiming for neutral or slightly warm amps. I like my sound warm and bassy. I also prefer the comfort of the alcantara pads, which makes the headphones a little brighter already plus I will be trying out silver cables soon so that'll likely make the Empy a bit brighter too. Plus I've been reading extremely positive reviews of modded LP. I'll definitely have it modded if I go that route. Rolling tubes sounds fun too. Looking forward to reading your impressions once you get it!

Agree regarding diminishing returns. Note that used BHA-1s are going for under $1k, so if you're willing to do that ...

Will be tough for me to get one at that price since @dmdm will likely grab it as his/her 3rd one.

 

[Ichos]

I am listening now with FiiO M11pro and honestly I don't need anything else!

 

[340519]

Nah that's not dumb at all. I suppose it depends where you'll place it. In my case it'll be in front of me for 10+hrs so I prefer something not too visually obtrusive.





I'm aiming for neutral or slightly warm amps. I like my sound warm and bassy. I also prefer the comfort of the alcantara pads, which makes the headphones a little brighter already plus I will be trying out silver cables soon so that'll likely make the Empy a bit brighter too. Plus I've been reading extremely positive reviews of modded LP. I'll definitely have it modded if I go that route. Rolling tubes sounds fun too. Looking forward to reading your impressions once you get it!


Will be tough for me to get one at that price since @dmdm will likely grab it as his/her 3rd one.

Yes sir.

 

[LCMusicLover]

...Will be tough for me to get one at that price since @dmdm will likely grab it as his/her 3rd one.

The greed of some people, sheesh!

Seriously, I sold my BHA-1 for $950, and I've seen a couple others come up under $1100. Unfortunately they don't come up for sale that often though. I really do think you'd like the sound of the V280 just as well -- not that they come up much more often. Plus, the BHA-1 dual balanced out is nice Front panel switchable gain is nice, but I really liked the pre-gain feature on the Violectric.

 

[Noobzilla]

Seriously, I sold my BHA-1 for $950, and I've seen a couple others come up under $1100. Unfortunately they don't come up for sale that often though. I really do think you'd like the sound of the V280 just as well -- not that they come up much more often. Plus, the BHA-1 dual balanced out is nice Front panel switchable gain is nice, but I really liked the pre-gain feature on the Violectric.

Why did you sell the BHA-1 and V280? Now that I think of it maybe you're the reason why I crossed out BHA-1 lol! "This person had BHA-1 but kept the Liquid Platinum!"

 

[Newsee]

Hi all,

Ive been on the hunt for the Empyrean for a few weeks and have been to audition them at the only store I can find in Sydney (AU) 3 times..

Long story short, there seems to be something wrong with the demo unit they have at my local store. It's distorting all over the place on EDM and the issue is easily replicated, but also intermittent. I was really scratching my head today.

This was my third visit to try the Empyrean and on my first visit I had zero issues. I only had about 30 minutes with the Empyrean on that day, and mostly I was listening to a set list of acoustic music they had on Roon. I did play a couple acoustic tracks that I knew from Foo Fighters, etc. as well as a couple of random EDM tracks just to see how they went with EDM. I was smitten - over and over and over.

The second visit I begin listening to and I’m thinking something is wrong. I’d been testing some tracks from Billie Eilish and could hear this busyness and distortion on certain parts of some tracks. I put it down to the song and came away with another particular track (Lane 8 - The Rope) which I have found distorting on all sorts of other equipment gear. Note this song doesn't distort on any of my Focal headphones or RME/Audio GD stack.

Going back today for my third listen, I focused primarily on EDM and a bunch of songs from Lane 8 and OTR (artists). Initially I only heard distortion on that track I mentioned earlier, Lane 8 - The Rope - but all of a sudden it was happening on most of the tracks I was listening to from OTR. Tracks like Get Out, Heart, Lost/Intro, lots of tracks in-fact.

While one of the tracks from Lane 8 (The Rope) is an issue on other setups, I am confused as to why so many EDM tracks were distorting, regardless of volume. The craziest part was that sometimes i'd go back and get another 2-3 songs in without the distortion - the same songs! I don't know what to make of it but I think the actual unit I am testing has issues. I was running off a Hugo TT2 from a streamer. I don’t believe it was the streamer.

I want the Empyrean, but this makes me quite concerned with buying new or used. I am sure this is a one off issue with this unit, but I can’t confirm that. I'm unsure about this headphone now.

I listened to the D8000 Pro on a Schiit stack today also and really liked it, it's less bloated than the Empyrean, but it's not an Empyrean at the end of the day.

I’d love to hear the forums thoughts on all of the above, test those tracks I mention and see if you can hear ANY issues at all.

Keep in mind that the Empy was perfect for all vocals, acoustic music and in general. It was just mid and low bass tracks where it seemed to implode on itself.

Thanks.

Oh man, thanks to You!

I like head-fi. This way some beautiful music finds me that I wouldn't have found otherwise.

Someone on this thread mentioned long time ago that proper feeding is needed for these wonderful headphones to really push them to the limit, bring the the best out of them - referring to some music which I did not really appreciate, but this one (Lane 8 - The Rope) shows how right he was.

I wish I still had the Burson Conductor 3 or the Violectric 280 that was driving the Empy even deeper than the Kann Cube, but it still sounds fantastic.

No resonance, clipping or distorsion, even if I increase the volume to near painful level.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Why did you sell the BHA-1 and V280? Now that I think of it maybe you're the reason why I crossed out BHA-1 lol! "This person had BHA-1 but kept the Liquid Platinum!"

Sold both after I got the LP, liked it, wanted something 'further away', and ordered my DSHA-3F. Proceeds from BHA-1 and V280 sales covered about 2/3 of the 3F cost.

To be clear, I was wandering around, trying to find a 'better' amp for Utopia when I bought BHA-1 after already owning V280. Turned out they were much closer together than I expected. When the LP showed up, I was very happy with it paired w/ Utopia, so didn't need the other two. Of course, I didn't need the 3F either

 

[Army-Firedawg]

I was blessed enough to be able to experience this headphone for 2 week period and I can honestly say that've became my new favorite headphone, even objectively being better than my beloved Oppo PM-1's. If you'll humor me, below is my complete thoughts on the Meze Empyrean headphones as well as how they compare, IMO, to my Oppo PM-1. My YouTube video is also linked in my review if you'd prefer a verbal style of thought exchange.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/meze-audio-empyrean.23675/reviews

 

[Zurv]

So i spent the day tube rolling with the Empyrean and i think i found what i liked best with it. (With the Schiit MJ2)
Siemens E88CC 6922 - MINT NOS NIB 1974 A-Frame Gold Pin with Metal Stamp Date Code A6 4E
(which i got here) https://www.tubemonger.com/Siemens_1974_E88CC_6922_A_Frame_Gold_Pin_NOS_NIB_p/1197.htm

some things to note:
I don't love these headphones, so maybe what these tubes are doing for me, might not be what people, that already love these headphones, are going to like.
Tube -anything will change the sound (like EQ in glass) - so you aren't getting the most pure reproduction of the music. That said, the newer/fancy amps are pretty much in solidstate level of reproduction. (Then what is the point of using a tube then if not to flavor? well, they still look cool. Some like the PrimaLuna have a button that can switch between ultra-linear and tube funk.)
Tube rolling is for crazy people.. and a general tube suggestion, if you have a headphone tube amp that uses 6922 just get the Golden Lion tubes. Done. They are good quality. Money saved. Note, these are Russians tubes, and Russians will sell you junk. So get the tubes (any tubes) from a place you trust AND that they are tested. (and matched, if needed.)

why do i like these Simens? short version, they rain in some of the bass (which these headphones are biased toward but to their credit aren't boomy.) bass is nice and dynamic still, cleans up the mids/more vivid and opens some more on the top.
The down side it microphonic. It will pick up any vibration. That said, anyone screwing with tubes should have isolated / detached the amp from what it is sitting on. (a speaker system with these tubes might be a problem if the music shakes them, but not a problem with headphones.)
I'd suggest not using socket savers unless they are high quality. The el-cheapo ones will make everything sound worse. Having problems getting the tubes out (which can be a problem with the mj2) put on a latex glove. Those really help getting a grip on the tubes to pull them out.

 

[LCMusicLover]

So i spent the day tube rolling with the Empyrean and i think i found what i liked best with it...

Sorry, rolling tubes in your MJ2, correct?

Thanks!

 

[Zurv]

Sorry, rolling tubes in your MJ2, correct?

Thanks!

yep, thanks for pointing that i'll. i'll update the post. But it should be mostly valid for amps using 6922 in the gain stage. ( so the LP too which the kids these days seems to like.

 

[Noobzilla]

Update on my amp search.

<$900
Monoprice Liquid Platinum (modded review and info starting here)
Topping A90
Cayin iHA-6 (seen users upgrade to other amps on this list)
Mjolnir 2 (LP)

<$1800
Holo Audio Azure (neutral; comparison vs Master 9 by Currawong)
Headamp GS-X Mini (neutral; comparison vs Master 9 from The Headphone Experience)
Violectric V280 (warmer. smaller version of V281, V200 x2?)
Audio DG Master 9 (neutral; my first pick but too big and requires long warm up period)
Wells Milo (warmer; just found out it's not fully balanced)
Soundaware P1 (not finding enough reviews)


$2200+
Benchmark HPA4 (expensive, better/on-par amps at lower price)
Violectric V281 (warmer. don't need all the features so I prefer V280. review here vs Master 9)
Bryston BHA1 (review here vs Master 9; beats V200)


notes:
Lucky87 prefers THX887 over Master 9? Lucky87 recently ordered the Topping A90
also his comparison between Feliks Euforia, THX887, Violectric HPA V281

LCMusicLover sold BHA-1 and V280, but kept Liquid Platinum (not for Empy though). Prefers BHA-1 on Empy vs LP. Sold V280 as it's similar to BHA-1.

Roasty prefers Benchmark HPA4 over GS-X Mini

dmdm likes BHA-1 so much s/he owns two!