[Ichos]

^^^
Why is that orchestral music likes emphasized treble?
Classical music and as a matter of fact all music requires natural tonality.
I have had all the headphones that you mention and certain instruments was always off tone.

 

[Razza1974]

I asked already earlier, is there anybody using the empys with an arche? Want to get them but dont want to get a new dac/amplifier.
Anybody able to test them with an arche? (ofcourse i will test them myself before i purchase, just dont have the opportunity to test them easily). Many thanks

 

[moemoney]

The sound was very congested, lacking detail and instrument separation. These are common complaints of Empy detractors.

That sounds like a lack of break-in, they do require a long break-in. In my opinion longer then most headphones

 

[Mike C]

That sounds like a lack of break-in, they do require a long break-in. In my opinion longer then most headphones

You got there before me - that's exactly what I was about to say!

What surprises me a bit is the number of people who like them so much from the word go.

I have also found they seem to benefit from more 'drive' from the amp. It's not a matter of volume.
I have a good valve amp using 12SN7 output valve, paralleled; drives my Audio Zenith PMx2 and Mitchell&Johnson phones very well indeed (both are great!). But upgrading the output valve to the more powerful EL33, the Empys love it. I never had any real problem with the issues mentioned about the Empy, but with the better amp the issues have all just gone away; totally gorgeous sound. No lack of detail, it seems just right; really fine transparency and realism; bass tight and sounding right. Contrary to what some have said, these headphones *love* a valve amp.

 

[k3kz]

You got there before me - that's exactly what I was about to say!

What surprises me a bit is the number of people who like them so much from the word go.

I have also found they seem to benefit from more 'drive' from the amp. It's not a matter of volume.
I have a good valve amp using 12SN7 output valve, paralleled; drives my Audio Zenith PMx2 and Mitchell&Johnson phones very well indeed (both are great!). But upgrading the output valve to the more powerful EL33, the Empys love it. I never had any real problem with the issues mentioned about the Empy, but with the better amp the issues have all just gone away; totally gorgeous sound. No lack of detail, it seems just right; really fine transparency and realism; bass tight and sounding right. Contrary to what some have said, these headphones *love* a valve amp.

Well, I mean, we had at least 1 person in this thread who was describing EXACTLY that problem (congested wall of sound, super-stressful to listen to) and who did run them in without success, ultimately got another set and had no problems of this kind at all.
That does sound like a defect, especially if more people report this.

I myself on the other hand never had any "congested sound"-problems, though i do feel like mine benefitted from run-in (in other ways).

 

[ThanatosVI]

Well, I mean, we had at least 1 person in this thread who was describing EXACTLY that problem (congested wall of sound, super-stressful to listen to) and who did run them in without success, ultimately got another set and had no problems of this kind at all.
That does sound like a defect, especially if more people report this.

I myself on the other hand never had any "congested sound"-problems, though i do feel like mine benefitted from run-in (in other ways).

This certainly happened to a few people at some point.
However stuff like this happens to most of the competition on a bigger scale.
Therefore I doubt that these rare cases affect reviews of the Empyrean more than they affect Audeze, Hifiman etc.

 

[Zhang Enyuan]

Empyrean Is a pretty good headset Give rich emotions
I haven't heard too many comments so far Negative Ratings
But the new sound may not mean Empyrean Heyday
I also regret to say Face brand new Empyrean The sound is terrible
Need to give him time 1 year minimum

 

[PortableMusic]

Same thing happened to me. Purchased from Headphones.com a couple weeks back and they are price matching any deals from authorized dealers during the holidays. I reached out to customer service and they’ll be mailing me the case. Check with your distributor about getting the case.

Well, I mean, we had at least 1 person in this thread who was describing EXACTLY that problem (congested wall of sound, super-stressful to listen to) and who did run them in without success, ultimately got another set and had no problems of this kind at all.
That does sound like a defect, especially if more people report this.

I myself on the other hand never had any "congested sound"-problems, though i do feel like mine benefitted from run-in (in other ways).

well, "1 person" seems to be within a reasonable number of defects versus any brand that we know of, right?

what brand do we know that has never ever had "1 person" who wrote of issues?

 

[bagwell359]

^^^
Why is that orchestral music likes emphasized treble?
Classical music and as a matter of fact all music requires natural tonality.
I have had all the headphones that you mention and certain instruments was always off tone.

Whoa Nellie!

I've been lucky enough to hear symphonic music at the best Halls in the US, and I always especially loved the BSO home sound in the treble: soft, detailed, lots of decay

Then you hear the same piece on some DMM, Telarc, or DG recording with these howling and harsh trebles and you ask - What is that? Not music.

I do not associate elevated treble with good recordings of classical music.

 

[Ichos]

That is exactly what I am saying if you have read carefully my post.
Maybe you didn't understand the irony?
I have been to a lot of major halls in EU so I might know something myself...

 

[k3kz]

well, "1 person" seems to be within a reasonable number of defects versus any brand that we know of, right?

what brand do we know that has never ever had "1 person" who wrote of issues?

Absolutely correct. That's kinda not my point though, right? I pointed out that we read of this exact problem more than once.
I just meant to say that it is of course possible that a particular Empy is defective (and not just "not run in properly") and could be an explanation why some people (and some reviewers) seem to think that this headphone has terrible transparency and detail, and others think it's just right.

Fortunately, I haven't heard of many defects with the Empys either and my set seems just fine. Still makes you wonder how others' Empys sound like, right?

 

[Supermessi]

^^^
Why is that orchestral music likes emphasized treble?
Classical music and as a matter of fact all music requires natural tonality.
I have had all the headphones that you mention and certain instruments was always off tone.

I do agree with you that those brighter HPs are a little bit off tone in treble. That is another major reason why I love Empys over those. What I described in that post is what I have seen many of my friends or the people I know really enjoy listening classic music on those bright HPs. Empy is definitely too dark, not open enough for them.

 

[Ichos]

Well that is perfectly understandable as preferences are absolutely respected.

But because someone is used to a bright headphone with boosted detail he can't call the Empyrean as lacking details or transparency.
The Empyrean can resolve as good as the Utopia for example.

 

[smodtactical]

Well that is perfectly understandable as preferences are absolutely respected.

But because someone is used to a bright headphone with boosted detail he can't call the Empyrean as lacking details or transparency.
The Empyrean can resolve as good as the Utopia for example.

Really wow thats impressive given utopia is a benchmark for extreme detail retrieval.

 

[Ichos]

Yes as you pointed - extreme - and at your face.
With the Empyrean is everything you need at the background.
But it blends with the whole something that is not true with the Utopia.
With the Empyrean the truth is that if you want the last bit of detail you have to concentrate to hear.