[Louisiana]

After listening over one week to my Empy's, all i can say, for me, this chain is actually my audio nirvana.
Raspberry Pi4 Volumio (Tidal & Qobouz) -> Schiit Bifrost 2 -> ifi Pro iCAN -> Empys.
I listening to my music like never before

The only thing i want to try is the Allo USBridge, to replace my RasPi, in except for cleaner USB out, as i read in some Forums.

 

[Ichos]

No headphone is perfect and that applies to the Empyrean as well.

Amp pairing as with everything is of crucial importance.

Listen to the Empyrean with Erzetich Perfidus and then we can talk about detail...

 

[Louisiana]

No headphone is perfect and that applies to the Empyrean as well.

Never said, the Empys are perfect headphones, but for ME(!) they are

In the last months, i had a lot of so called "Endgame" headphones at home, they all go away, but my Empty still stay - uhh, its poetic, isn't it?

 

[ThanatosVI]

Never said, the Empys are perfect headphones, but for ME(!) they are

In the last months, i had a lot of so called "Endgame" headphones at home, they all go away, but my Empty still stay - uhh, its poetic, isn't it?

Did you try the LCD-4 ?

 

[Ichos]

Never said, the Empys are perfect headphones, but for ME(!) they are

In the last months, i had a lot of so called "Endgame" headphones at home, they all go away, but my Empty still stay - uhh, its poetic, isn't it?

Same here.
Tested , bought and sold , various big boys.
Empyrean never left the house.

 

[k3kz]

I am not analyzing either, not an audio purist, not an analyser, but I am just surprised that I notice such a difference, and opposite to what i expected from reading about the empyreans. They clearly convey less detail and are a bit flatter, i do not mind this, i expected this and it makes for somewhat easier listening. Just the fact that bass is delivered more powerful on my utopia surprises me. I dont think they are broken (how can they sound so good while being broken, i am not an expert, so if this is possible let me know ?) because they sound balanced. Anyways I am just trying to get an idea if this is what is to be expected or not. Not critisizing one or the other headphone, or preferences. Thanks

Some dynamic HPs (dunno if that applies to the Utopia) make up for less bass extension by emphasizing upper and mid-bass. Maybe that is part of the deal here? Very few tracks actually have sub-bass (say, below 40-30hz), and the strong point of planars is that they can be strictly linear down to the sub-bass region. That can make them sound less "bouncy" as well.

Still, to put the musings to rest - do you have the opportunity to listen to a different Empyrean (perhaps a demo unit at a retailer) or to yours with a different amp? That would explain if it's your HP/amp or if it is down to hearing preferences. The drivers don't even have to be "broken", they could just have some variance in frequency response (I mean it's been said that Audeze HPs have had HUGE variances in the past, so much so that 2 units of the same model could sound completely different)...

No headphone is perfect and that applies to the Empyrean as well.

Amp pairing as with everything is of crucial importance.

Listen to the Empyrean with Erzetich Perfidus and then we can talk about detail...

Agreed. Never heard of this amp, would love to give it a try if it's so detailed - the only amps i ran the Empy with have been Moon Neo 230HAD and the TT2...

 

[Louisiana]

Did you try the LCD-4 ?

This was the only one, i don't.
But tried all the others, at least kept the LCD 2 C.
LCD 4 is on my list, but in this times, is hard to find a place to listen.

 

[k3kz]

This was the only one, i don't.
But tried all the others, at least kept the LCD 2 C.
LCD 4 is on my list, but in this times, is hard to find a place to listen.

I did like the LCD-4 for it's bass and transparency, the mid-range is a bit strange though and I somehow didnt find them very exciting or involving
Which sucked, because I LOVE the LCD-i4 and had hoped for the 4 to just be a bigger version of those.

 

[Razza1974]

Some dynamic HPs (dunno if that applies to the Utopia) make up for less bass extension by emphasizing upper and mid-bass. Maybe that is part of the deal here? Very few tracks actually have sub-bass (say, below 40-30hz), and the strong point of planars is that they can be strictly linear down to the sub-bass region. That can make them sound less "bouncy" as well.

Still, to put the musings to rest - do you have the opportunity to listen to a different Empyrean (perhaps a demo unit at a retailer) or to yours with a different amp? That would explain if it's your HP/amp or if it is down to hearing preferences. The drivers don't even have to be "broken", they could just have some variance in frequency response (I mean it's been said that Audeze HPs have had HUGE variances in the past, so much so that 2 units of the same model could sound completely different)...



Agreed. Never heard of this amp, would love to give it a try if it's so detailed - the only amps i ran the Empy with have been Moon Neo 230HAD and the TT2...

Still, to put the musings to rest - do you have the opportunity to listen to a different Empyrean (perhaps a demo unit at a retailer) or to yours with a different amp? That would explain if it's your HP/amp or if it is down to hearing preferences. The drivers don't even have to be "broken", they could just have some variance in frequency response (I mean it's been said that Audeze HPs have had HUGE variances in the past, so much so that 2 units of the same model could sound completely different)...

This is exactly what I will do, thanks for the suggestion. Limit to your love from James Blake tested and again Utopia is a lot better, way more powerful bass, in some parts it is hard to hear (in comparison to Utopia) it with Empy, unless boosting volume. I think I will have to test them and compare to another

 

[Ichos]

@k3kz
https://www.erzetich-audio.com/products-perfidus/

Detailed and fast without being bright or harsh.
Lighting fast transient response and leading edges may not suit all headphones / tastes.

 

[PortableMusic]

@Razza1974: may I ask what you mean by "flatter" please? That might help me understand what you are trying to express
Thanks.

 

[paradoxper]

@k3kz
https://www.erzetich-audio.com/products-perfidus/

Detailed and fast without being bright or harsh.
Lighting fast transient response and leading edges may not suit all headphones / tastes.

A fairly simple circuit but kind of solid, really.

I love how they do not have a dealer network, so you know they're, erm, honest.

Or didn't. At least you can grab this bugger far cheaper now.

 

[Ichos]

Sometimes the truth lies into simplicity...

 

[paradoxper]

Sometimes the truth lies into simplicity...

Or more the sum of its parts.

 

[Razza1974]

@Razza1974: may I ask what you mean by "flatter" please? That might help me understand what you are trying to express
Thanks.

Yeah sure, i mean the feeling that youre listening to speakers, without being in the music. For me the utopias deliver such a kind of liveliness and space between the instruments that it really puts you in the music. When i was looking for headphones more than a year ago i wanted to be sure that bass was presented well. So naturally i started to listen to audeze. I was wary of too much high tones (i liked sennheisers but they tire me because of too much brightness in the sound). Then i decided to listen to utopia versus the audeze line up and there was no doubt that i liked utopia better. Still i miss the lows of audeze. Audeze for me was flatter in that it missed some energy in the sound because of the lack of energy in the higher spectrum. I maybe think that too get the good lows you have to lose some of the highs ( a bit like fender vsgibson)?