[TheDuke990]

First time (2 or 3 years ago) I heard the Empyrean I was so dissapointed. Coming from HD800S. After 1h I sent it back (demo from a dealer).
But some weeks ago I had the chance to get it for a nice price and it felt like night and day. This is my favorite headphones at the moment and I could listen to them all day long .

 

[Ichos]

I sold the HD800S for the Focal Clear and then the latter for the Meze Empyrean.

 

[iceofnine]

There is so much BS opinion out there about the Empy, disguised as review. I think, most of these guys just did not give enough time to the Empy. It can take days for the brain to fully adjust to a new sound signature.

I think there's some of that going on, for sure, not giving enough time to adjust. Also, I would admit while ideally you may not want a review to be made by some fanboy like me, who actually bought the product, it does seem quite fashionable in many audiophile circles to bash on the Empys and Meze house sound or whatnot, and controversy/hot takes draw views, don't they? Not to say that there aren't valid criticisms or preferences, of course.

Just to add to my previous post, after listening more today, I can say for a fact that there's quite a bit more treble and micro-details going on with the Conductor 3XP than I had with the DX7 Pro. At some point, I'll revisit the leather pads, see how I like them with the new setup.

 

[Unseen Aura]

There is so much BS opinion out there about the Empy, disguised as review. I think, most of these guys just did not give enough time to the Empy. It can take days for the brain to fully adjust to a new sound signature.

I think there's some of that going on, for sure, not giving enough time to adjust. Also, I would admit while ideally you may not want a review to be made by some fanboy like me, who actually bought the product, it does seem quite fashionable in many audiophile circles to bash on the Empys and Meze house sound or whatnot, and controversy/hot takes draw views, don't they? Not to say that there aren't valid criticisms or preferences, of course.

Anyone who gets their hands on xyz product and wants to go the extra league and share their take on it, there will be a market of/for. It could be someone (I recently came across & liked) as detailed and comprehensive as @austinpop or someone as incapable of conveying material even remotely close to that level as Unbox Therapy (former fan of). And the reasons could range from getting a free product to keep if shared & talked about positively, to wanting to share something experienced personally without getting anything out of it save for the satisfaction of sharing one's views, and so others can experience similar.

Which makes folks' lives looking for the respective product's reviews a tad aggravating (or worse) as it makes difficult separating the wheat from the chaff. I look forward to writing my first ever review, but high chance I fall low in desirability of reviews for the more hardcore audience members, however, won't ever learn or move up without that first step. And many folks never go past that style of reviewing. Obviously that results in a variety of reviews across the spectrum, most not being well articulated or phrased out. Ultimately being about so many subjective things though, coupled with human influences like looks, feel, clamping, sound taste, gear, cables, environment, mood, mental health, associations, strength, etc, and it's widely subjective across the board.

You have diehard Apple fans who won't step away from their ecosystem, and no matter the complaints will pay whatever to stay within it. And still justify it all accordingly. Then you have diehard humans like me who are wholly against a brand or company for variety of reasons and will not be associated with them even if provided their products and maintenance for free for life, such as Harley Davidson or Abyss. And you can guarantee if relatable, they will be brought up in accordance with my feelings and perspectives and experiences. But to any of you (humankind in general) it may be considered highly opinionated and not worthy of labeling under 'review' at all, because that's your perspective & approach to the matter, with possible/likely opposite experiences/observations/etc.

Ultimately, not liking one thing is at times sufficient to not like anything in association with it, like all those who have a hate-on for Dank Pods, in turn had a hate-on for all things Meze. At least one video comes to mind, with thousands others who follow and agree with them, and so on that side of the human population there's an ever-growing strong group of people who hate the brand and are preaching it left and right. While some like me are pushing to spread its love and uniqueness more, albeit nowhere near as strong in comparison. Filtering through reviews to find what is worthy of withholding and ditching the rest is the reality and curse of it all.


Knowledge is power and with great power comes responsibility, but sometimes also arrogance. And of course ignorance is bliss, but also a curse. Knowing more about audio can lead to having more problems but also more mindfulness and possibly less waste, but "better" quality. While being ignorant means a lot is being skimped/skipped over and misinformation is spread, such as those who don't know importance of gear and cable pairing, or simply can't hear it or don't believe in it. While some choose to not be so overly picky about it and so it all works out. Mind over Matter

 

[Unterstuffz]

Warning slightly drunk rant ahead ...
I got the Empyrean about a month ago as a gift (long story) i could never afford such a piece (even used) with a family and a sick mother to care for...
I listened to this song for pure coincidence and just cried because it sounded so screw*** beautiful and that did not happend a long time to me it was a moment where everything just clicks 4:50 min of my perfect Music moment.... Sry for the emotional outbreak ... I just wanted to share .. Im dreading the moment where this headphone will fail me and break and i will not be able to replace them .

 

[ThanatosVI]

Warning slightly drunk rant ahead ...
I got the Empyrean about a month ago as a gift (long story) i could never afford such a piece (even used) with a family and a sick mother to care for...
I listened to this song for pure coincidence and just cried because it sounded so screw*** beautiful and that did not happend a long time to me it was a moment where everything just clicks 4:50 min of my perfect Music moment.... Sry for the emotional outbreak ... I just wanted to share .. Im dreading the moment where this headphone will fail me and break and i will not be able to replace them .

Don't worry they are built to last

 

[Unseen Aura]

Warning slightly drunk rant ahead ...
I got the Empyrean about a month ago as a gift (long story) i could never afford such a piece (even used) with a family and a sick mother to care for...
I listened to this song for pure coincidence and just cried because it sounded so screw*** beautiful and that did not happend a long time to me it was a moment where everything just clicks 4:50 min of my perfect Music moment.... Sry for the emotional outbreak ... I just wanted to share .. Im dreading the moment where this headphone will fail me and break and i will not be able to replace them .

Hey mate, glad it was gifted and worked out for you, I know the feeling, I was only able to afford my pair because of the settlement money from my accident that's left longer-term damage, my first ever purchase of anything this pricey not a vehicle, and even then it was only ever motorcycles all under $4K.

I don't know if you have looked into the history or website of the company (I urge you to do so), but Meze are known for their quality and durability (plus maintenance, modding and more) and will last you a lifetime. All parts are serviceable and replaceable, and can message them directly for further possible options. As an example I once had to replace one of the Solo iem's and they were very helpful and accommodating, plus speedy response.

Rest assured, you're in good hands

 

[Unterstuffz]

Hey mate, glad it was gifted and worked out for you, I know the feeling, I was only able to afford my pair because of the settlement money from my accident that's left longer-term damage, my first ever purchase of anything this pricey not a vehicle, and even then it was only ever motorcycles all under $4K.

I don't know if you have looked into the history or website of the company (I urge you to do so), but Meze are known for their quality and durability (plus maintenance, modding and more) and will last you a lifetime. All parts are serviceable and replaceable, and can message them directly for further possible options. As an example I once had to replace one of the Solo iem's and they were very helpful and accommodating, plus speedy response.

Rest assured, you're in good hands

That's very good to hear!! I will look into it! I'm already saving up for a new pair of Pads.
A friend of mine who is working for H&K was commenting that the style of the machining was reminding him of that used in military hardware so maybe you are right and they will last a long time!

P. S and I'm very sorry about you're incident some wounds can only be healed by music.

 

[Neweymatt]

There is so much BS opinion out there about the Empy, disguised as review. I think, most of these guys just did not give enough time to the Empy. It can take days for the brain to fully adjust to a new sound signature.

I must have missed all of those 'BS' reviews when I was doing my research on Empyrean.

I could only find glowing reviews and impressions from 4 or 5 of my most trusted YT reviewers, based what I know of their sound and music preferences.

This made it fairly easy for me to justify the blind purchase of a second-hand set, and I’ve had exactly 0 regrets since.

 

[Ninja Theory]

I must have missed all of those 'BS' reviews when I was doing my research on Empyrean.

I could only find glowing reviews and impressions from 4 or 5 of my most trusted YT reviewers, based what I know of their sound and music preferences.

This made it fairly easy for me to justify the blind purchase of a second-hand set, and I’ve had exactly 0 regrets since.

There are plenty BS reviews knocking the Empy for being a $3k aesthetic and $1k SQ headphone. When I got my Empy I went back and re-watched some reviews as I like to compare my experience vs the opinion out there in the interweb wildlands. Let me just say my experience could not be further from that of some of the more biased reviews I watched. It's not that I'm an Empy fanboy either. If it was a crap headphone I'd sell it. I don't hold on to gear that is not feeding my soul in some way - thankfully the Empy does this in spades.

 

[Ninja Theory]

That's very good to hear!! I will look into it! I'm already saving up for a new pair of Pads.
A friend of mine who is working for H&K was commenting that the style of the machining was reminding him of that used in military hardware so maybe you are right and they will last a long time!

P. S and I'm very sorry about you're incident some wounds can only be healed by music.

Think about saving for the upgraded Meze copper cable first. It will be money VERY well spent. The Empy will show you your music in new ways that you would not have imagined before.

 

[Unseen Aura]

I must have missed all of those 'BS' reviews when I was doing my research on Empyrean.

I could only find glowing reviews and impressions from 4 or 5 of my most trusted YT reviewers, based what I know of their sound and music preferences.

This made it fairly easy for me to justify the blind purchase of a second-hand set, and I’ve had exactly 0 regrets since.

Same actually, I got my set off Bloom 4th December 2020, and all reviews up until then were very much positive. My favorite, in spite of not going over anything outside of basic description, is that one by the two Romanian fellas, one of them who is there for the emotional and enjoyable aspect only, but that's what moves me, and what I rewatch most. I recommend it too, as for a change is not focused on typical aspects. It's only in the last year that many opposing ones have popped up, like that sunglasses dude or I believe the Headphone Show bloke, and many others.

It's dead easy to be negatively biased towards a product, just as it is dead simple to be positively biased towards it, as long as there is something to compare about/to. And with all our experiences in life, quite impossible not to. Even for those who have never experienced open backs before (me with Empyrean) can find things to nitpick (forced example: crappy stock cable).

If all these negative reviews had popped up back then while I was still researching through reviews & all, would have certainly made my decision a tad more difficult, I was entering this audiophile market looking for an "endgame" to permanently replace my previous thought OneForAll V-Moda's. Because all headphones of all markets are fighting for the spotlight. And had to fare against all qualities overall rather than exceeding/shining in one or few areas.

Think about saving for the upgraded Meze copper cable first. It will be money VERY well spent. The Empy will show you your music in new ways that you would not have imagined before.

I myself was planning a pure silver upgrade. Well, one pure silver & one pure copper & one mixture of both, in that order of priority. For sonic differences as well as personal curiosity. It's a big chunk to invest, so starting with one at a time. I'm specifically curious as to how it works in my system chain, and whether they are worthy of keeping when/if I upgrade my entire system with an all-in-one & if I'm better off with what I have currently. And if the possible desirable upgrade will reduce need to spend more on fancy cables & therefore should not go down that path at allSo many questions


Edit: I never did like the stock cable, but had things gone differently, would have worked with it. It just so happens that I only had a guitar amplifier at the time, & after briefly using it with that, attempted to separate the internal two wires so it's not so annoying when twisted. Not knowing schitt about the cables as first time ever touching something like this, accidentally cut through the wires themselves, instantly making them useless. I tried that a few days after receiving the cans, then didn't touch them until I got Eletech Prudence to replace with days/weeks later. Didn't have a proper DAC/amp until after I got Prudence, so big cable upgrade in comparison, & practically zero experience with stock.

 

[Ninja Theory]

I myself was planning a pure silver upgrade. Well, one pure silver & one pure copper & one mixture of both, in that order of priority. For sonic differences as well as personal curiosity. It's a big chunk to invest, so starting with one at a time. I'm specifically curious as to how it works in my system chain, and whether they are worthy of keeping when/if I upgrade my entire system with an all-in-one & if I'm better off with what I have currently. And if the possible desirable upgrade will reduce need to spend more on fancy cables & therefore should not go down that path at allSo many questions

I wanted the Meze silver cable leading up to my purchase of the upgraded copper cable but the price was just too much to justify (for me). I was also concerned it would change the Empy's sound too much even though I have read good feedback about the silver cable in this thread - I plan to buy it in the future for sure. However, once I heard the copper cable all my fears were set aside. It is just fantastic.

I have not heard the silver cable yet, but that said, I don't think the copper cable is given enough love. It is easy to get caught up in the thinking that silver and more expensive must be better, and in so doing, forget that each cable has a characteristic sound that should be considered against not only the headphone it will be used with, but also our individual preferences.

So I'll just add some extra love for the Meze copper cable while I'm at it because it is quite exceptional. I plan to buy the Meze silver cable in the future, but for now I must look the other way as just last week I ordered an Arctic Magnus S copper cable for my Susvara ($400 excluding shipping).

 

[betula]

The Meze 'silver cable' is silver plated copper, just to be clear.

Also, it is worth keeping an eye on the second-hand cable market as they often loose 40-50% of their RRP second-hand.
I really don't like the Meze stock cables (thick, stiff and sounds a bit hazy/unrefined).
I wanted to get either the copper or the silver plated copper upgrade cable second-hand, the copper turned up sooner. I paid less than half of RRP.

The difference compared to the stock cable is quite big. It is much lighter and non-tangling, and the sound is a lot cleaner. This enhanced clarity leads to increased spatial depth and better perception of micro-details, a much cleaner bass performance.

I might get the silver plated copper one day out of curiosity, but I doubt the difference is huge between these two.

 

[Neweymatt]

The Meze 'silver cable' is silver plated copper, just to be clear.

Also, it is worth keeping an eye on the second-hand cable market as they often loose 40-50% of their RRP second-hand.
I really don't like the Meze stock cables (thick, stiff and sounds a bit hazy/unrefined).
I wanted to get either the copper or the silver plated copper upgrade cable second-hand, the copper turned up sooner. I paid less than half of RRP.

The difference compared to the stock cable is quite big. It is much lighter and non-tangling, and the sound is a lot cleaner. This enhanced clarity leads to increased spatial depth and better perception of micro-details, a much cleaner bass performance.

I might get the silver plated copper one day out of curiosity, but I doubt the difference is huge between these two.

When I got my Empyrean second hand, the seller included a balanced XLR Sliver Dragon cable instead of the stock one, so I've no experience with the Meze cables.

I can say that using this cable sourced from BF2/Jot2 is an absolutely magical listen. I do also have the stock Audeze 6.3 cable that came with the LCD-2C, and I use it sometimes with the Asgard3 which is also very nice, but I don't really have a way to directly compare the cables. At some stage I might pick up that Meze copper cable just to have the option.

While I'm loathe to declare 'end game', since getting the Empy and Jot2 my focus has shifted entirely back to IEMs and portable gear. I feel I've reached the point of diminishing returns with desktop gear/headphones, and it's mostly side-grades from here.