Meze EMPYREAN - the First Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone
Aug 24, 2021 at 1:29 PM Post #10,801 of 12,975
Aug 24, 2021 at 5:02 PM Post #10,804 of 12,975
It has also been posted on facebook today

i looked on facebook's Meze page as well as Antonio Meze's page, but couldn't find any pictures or talk about new headphones.

i wonder why others have seen it on Instagram and facebook but i can't see it on either?
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 5:07 PM Post #10,805 of 12,975
i looked on facebook's Meze page as well as Antonio Meze's page, but couldn't find any pictures or talk about new headphones.

i wonder why others have seen it on Instagram and facebook but i can't see it on either?
Maybe a regional thing?
Do you Follow Meze on Facebook or just looked at their board.

It was shared as a story with every picture being less pixelated and the Last one containing the question "Who am I".
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 5:14 PM Post #10,806 of 12,975
Maybe a regional thing?
Do you Follow Meze on Facebook or just looked at their board.

It was shared as a story with every picture being less pixelated and the Last one containing the question "Who am I".
Thanks, @ThanatosVI. i did follow them earlier today and yes, now, i have that series of pictures you described above.

from what i can tell, it looks remarkably similar to the Empyreans based on the shape. in fact, if you showed me that picture without saying anything else, i'd say it is a silhouette shot of my Empyreans!

what are the nuances that are different, may i ask? thanks.
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 5:15 PM Post #10,807 of 12,975
A few days ago I mentioned that I was going to demo the Empyrean and the Hifiman HE1000SE at my place, thanks to a couple of nice dealers.
During the weekend I listened to the Hifiman and posted some impressions in their thread (in a nutshell, they are great with timbre flaws) and today I received the Empyren…and OMG, I’m speechless. I’ll try to write something in the next few days, but all I can say I’m very very impressed so far.
I even managed to listen to some orchestral music…I never really enjoyed orchestra on headphones, despite loving it live. It never sounded right to me, but tonight I put this and got goosebumps

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Aug 24, 2021 at 6:00 PM Post #10,808 of 12,975
i looked on facebook's Meze page as well as Antonio Meze's page, but couldn't find any pictures or talk about new headphones.

i wonder why others have seen it on Instagram and facebook but i can't see it on either?

It's not on their posts, but in their stories. Click the profile picture on the main meze audio instagram, with the red circle around it.
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 6:19 PM Post #10,809 of 12,975
What's with the ripples in the picture?
kKQYDZF.png


What's the part in the lower left below?

K2glDi7.png


Looks kind of like an earcup, but these are both linked to the open-back "EE" ("Empyrean Elite?") headphone.
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 6:43 PM Post #10,810 of 12,975
These teases are killin' me. Unless they're gonna announce something soon, I wish Meze would just give us a date.

And I do hope this is a notably different headphone from the empy or 99s in terms of function but not sound. I personally like their house sound. They're not like most other companies, and that's a feature not a bug, as they say.
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 6:59 PM Post #10,811 of 12,975
What's with the ripples in the picture?
kKQYDZF.png


What's the part in the lower left below?

K2glDi7.png


Looks kind of like an earcup, but these are both linked to the open-back "EE" ("Empyrean Elite?") headphone.
may i ask if this looks almost identical to our Empyreans please?

i can't tell much difference between what's showing in these pictures and my own Empyreans, except of the change in my copper rod's color to black, and a stainless steel or aluminum curved piece where the rod is inserted into for headphones' height adjustment.

it looks virtually identical to our Empyreans, right?

if not, what am i missing please?
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 7:00 PM Post #10,812 of 12,975
Some facts/reasonable assumptions:
  • We can read "Elite" on the headband, it's a new product that will join Meze's lineup (thus not replacing a current product), dubbed "EE". Likely meaning "Empyrean Elite"
  • Teaser photographs show the same overall design as the Empyrean, with minor aesthetic alterations
  • Teaser photographs appear to use the same perforated grill, suggesting it will also be an open-back
  • Meze reps have previously clarified that what was rumored to be a "Baby Empy" in the making, will not be intended as such, but will get its own identity in the Meze lineup as to not create a dumbed down version of their more expensive headphone for the sake of saturating price brackets
  • This looks unmistakably like an Empyrean, but now with the "Elite" suffix, suggesting it will cost more than the Empyrean
  • There has been a rapidly increasing demand over the past 2 years for a "better performing" Empyrean in the same package
  • It's on track for being announced in a period when lots of high-end brands are introducing (or intending to release) new flagship products, potentially making the Empyrean less competitive in the market
All things considered, it just seems to make the most sense that the Elite will be a more expensive headphone than the Empyrean, addressing recurring criticisms regarding the sound of the Empyrean while maintaining the universally praised build/design/comfort aspects of it.
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 7:03 PM Post #10,813 of 12,975
Some facts/reasonable assumptions:
  • We can read "Elite" on the headband, it's a new product that will join Meze's lineup (thus not replacing a current product), dubbed "EE". Likely meaning "Empyrean Elite"
  • Teaser photographs show the same overall design as the Empyrean, with minor aesthetic alterations
  • Teaser photographs appear to use the same perforated grill, suggesting it will also be an open-back
  • Meze reps have previously clarified that what was rumored to be a "Baby Empy" in the making, will not be intended as such, but will get its own identity in the Meze lineup as to not create a dumbed down version of their more expensive headphone for the sake of saturating price brackets
  • This looks unmistakably like an Empyrean, but now with the "Elite" suffix, suggesting it will cost more than the Empyrean
  • There has been a rapidly increasing demand over the past 2 years for a "better performing" Empyrean in the same package
  • It's on track for being announced in a period when lots of high-end brands are introducing (or intending to release) new flagship products, potentially making the Empyrean less competitive in the market
All things considered, it just seems to make the most sense that the Elite will be a more expensive headphone than the Empyrean, addressing recurring criticisms regarding the sound of the Empyrean while maintaining the universally praised build/design/comfort aspects of it.
like you, i also speculated that the name Elite implies it is the top-of-the-line model. however, others poo poo'd my suggestion and told me, as i knew already, that Empyrean already means top of the top due to it meaning top of the heavens.

so now, are we all agreeing that the Elite is a higher end model than our current Empyreans?
 
Aug 24, 2021 at 7:33 PM Post #10,814 of 12,975
with regards to the announcement, I saw a question posted 4 weeks ago on instagram asking about a release date, and Antonio Meze said 35 days. I guess we will find out soon enough :)

It also appears that this is not the more affordable mid line model that has been talked about, but that is coming "eventually."

Screen Shot 2021-08-24 at 4.35.51 PM.png
Screen Shot 2021-08-24 at 4.35.58 PM.png
 
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Aug 24, 2021 at 8:47 PM Post #10,815 of 12,975
A slightly heavier, hungrier version of the Empyrean with improved performance would be a huge win. (Per metal571's review) The original is so comfortable and easy to drive that Meze could add some extra magnets to the design and not really lose out on much in that arena, though whether or not that would necessarily yield higher sound quality is another question....
 

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