Meze EMPYREAN - the First Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphone

[hypnos1]

I mean you and @Ichos sold me (except for the DIY part )

https://mezeaudio.com/collections/accessories/products/angled-alcantara-ear-pads

Not a bad price for a noticeable/welcome change to the sound profile, even if to add some variety in your listening. I may just wait to see if black Friday will bump the price down a smidge.

Glad you too have been sold R...as am I to all those who sold me! But the cost?...hmmm...shame! Hopefully the price will be reviewed at sale time, but given the suspected high demand for them now the cat is out, I wouldn't hold my breath!!...GOOD LUCK!

I love Meze but would not say £200 for a pair of earpads is a good price. Most of the competition sells quality leather earpads for significantly less money: ZMF £70, LCD5 £100, Susvara £130, D8000Pro £130. Only Abyss is more shameless with £350 for a pair of 1266 pads.
That said, the angled pads are the best sounding Meze pads to me.

Audio Sanctuary here in the UK have them at 'just' £165!...which I myself feel is indeed still rather OTT. Hence my decision to burn my bridges with DIY!

And I must admit I do query the valuation, given (good) leather must surely be more expensive than the Alcantara material...not to mention the foam in my OG pads at least is nothing special at all lol!...with any luck perhaps Meze will do the decent thing(?!).

But despite these niggles, as far as I'm concerned the changes they bring are such that one must simply bite one's lip and hit that wallet!....unless you're like me and take to the knife (and I'm not even a Yorkshire man lol!!) . I myself can (or, could) no longer go back to the sound of old, even though for some strange reason I miss the feel of those gigantic OGs on my head/face! Just the sound of Dmitri Hvorostovsky's 'Caro Mio Ben' justifies the alteration all by itself...all the more so as I've only just discovered that this bass/baritone, whom I actually rated above good ol' Bryn Terfel, died tragically in 2017 at just 55 .

Edit...ps. Mind you, that magnetic attachment function will bump the price up somewhat of course...

 

[Ravenor]

I love Meze but would not say £200 for a pair of earpads is a good price. Most of the competition sells quality leather earpads for significantly less money: ZMF £70, LCD5 £100, Susvara £130, D8000Pro £130. Only Abyss is more shameless with £350 for a pair of 1266 pads.
That said, the angled pads are the best sounding Meze pads to me.

Yep, I agree. Expensive but very good. I just bought it last week and use them. Still I like better the og alcantara(for fun) for 1999 progressive trance and techno. For gaming I use the angled pads. Great resulotion, and soundstage!
By the way, I can’t find your empyrean review. Can you send a link for me please? Thank you!

 

[betula]

Yep, I agree. Expensive but very good. I just bought it last week and use them. Still I like better the og alcantara(for fun) for 1999 progressive trance and techno. For gaming I use the angled pads. Great resulotion, and soundstage!
By the way, I can’t find your empyrean review. Can you send a link for me please? Thank you!

I don't think I have ever reviewed the Empyrean, despite owning it for a few years. I did review my Elite out of fun and Meze sent me the Liric and their two IEMs to review but never got to writing about the Empy, at least not in a review format. You can find all my reviews on my profile page.

 

[hypnos1]

Further to my last post in praise of the AA pads' effect on well recorded voices, @Ravenor's reflection on "great resolution and soundstage" hit home big time this afternoon, with one of my all time favourite pieces used especially for assessing dynamic presentation and delineation of complex orchestral composition. That old chestnut : "never heard that detail before" reared its (lovely) head in Hans Zimmer's music score for 'Gladiator' - especially in the track "Battle". Although much will also depend on the resolution of the rest of the system of course, I wasn't expecting even more clever extraction and stage positioning of so much dramatic acoustic and electronic music plus sound effects. And all delivered with the sort of dynamic, energetic, effortless power that defies the opinions to the contrary of a good few Empy detractors. Now I can't wait to hear Holst's 'Mars' from his Planets suite - in 24/192kHz (upscaled by mscaler to 768kHz)...lovely!...

 

[Natarian]

I will be so curious of the comparison between Empyrean 1 with Angled Alcantara vs Empyrean 2

 

[Nomax]

NOMAX

PS.lol

 

[hypnos1]

I will be so curious of the comparison between Empyrean 1 with Angled Alcantara vs Empyrean 2

Ditto Natarian. But for me, I would need to be convinced that the reviewer has lived with both for a very long time...which happens only too rarely alas. Short periods/early impressions can only ever give a hint of superficial differences...true capabilities, with a host of variable (important) nuances will only become fully apparent much later on. Even fairly rapid A/Bing can be misleading, given the brain's complex way of interpreting the sound(s) it's being fed with...we can be fooled only too easily! And that's even without personal preference/bias.

In my own case re. angling of the pads, the only reason I was so sure of the differences so quickly was by simulating the effect by pushing the fronts hard against my head/face. Given its instantaneous nature, the brain had no time to have to cope with any necessary readjustment and thereby confusing the process.

And so the gauntlet is thrown to he who is prepared to carry out such a comparison. An accepted challenge notwithstanding, what I personally am now receiving from my Empys (and setup) leaves me wishing/needing nothing more whatsoever in the entire sound performance arena...not to mention, comfort...

 

[ThanatosVI]

NOMAX

PS.lol

The Expression of an Epiphany!
Nomax in love

 

[DMITRIY R]

The Expression of an Epiphany!
Nomax in love

If the photo had been taken a second later, we would have seen a tear rolling down the cheek.
There is only one thing left to understand, is this a tear of happiness or disappointment?

 

[alekc]

Guys I need your advice, while I love my Empys (especially with AuroraSound HEADA and Feliks Envy paired with Rockna WL/Chord TT2) I'm on a quest for more dynamic and a bit less soft in sound headphones, preferably close backs. I do not consider Elite nor Empys II at this point since I believe I am looking for something different from Meze tuning and I'm so happy with Empys and Advars already

I'm thinking about Focal Stellias but I'm not sure this is the only right directorion. ZMF comes to my mind too. I would be grateful for your feedback and ideas. To recap: more dynamics and a bit of sharp edges but without loosing smoothness completely, with well places instruments in space, larger than modest sound stage, air - those are main characteristics I'm looking for.

Thank you in advance.

 

[betula]

Guys I need your advice, while I love my Empys (especially with AuroraSound HEADA and Feliks Envy paired with Rockna WL/Chord TT2) I'm on a quest for more dynamic and a bit less soft in sound headphones, preferably close backs. I do not consider Elite nor Empys II at this point since I believe I am looking for something different from Meze tuning and I'm so happy with Empys and Advars already

I'm thinking about Focal Stellias but I'm not sure this is the only right directorion. ZMF comes to my mind too. I would be grateful for your feedback and ideas. To recap: more dynamics and a bit of sharp edges but without loosing smoothness completely, with well places instruments in space, larger than modest sound stage, air - those are main characteristics I'm looking for.

Thank you in advance.

I would consider the ZMF Verité closed or open as it pretty much fits your description. Atrium could be an option too, but the Verité sounds a bit more dynamic, clearer due to the beryllium coating which is missing from Atrium. Personally, I am not too keen on the Stellia or Focal in general. They are good, just not for me. As someone who generally likes Meze, I think ZMF is different enough (thicker, weightier, warmer sound but not at the expense of clarity and speed), but also within the realm of personal preference.

 

[Mr X]

Guys I need your advice, while I love my Empys (especially with AuroraSound HEADA and Feliks Envy paired with Rockna WL/Chord TT2) I'm on a quest for more dynamic and a bit less soft in sound headphones, preferably close backs. I do not consider Elite nor Empys II at this point since I believe I am looking for something different from Meze tuning and I'm so happy with Empys and Advars already

I'm thinking about Focal Stellias but I'm not sure this is the only right directorion. ZMF comes to my mind too. I would be grateful for your feedback and ideas. To recap: more dynamics and a bit of sharp edges but without loosing smoothness completely, with well places instruments in space, larger than modest sound stage, air - those are main characteristics I'm looking for.

Thank you in advance.

I pair my favourite open back Elites with Focal Stellia and my ideal combo.

Mainly for when I need closed back the Stellia gives me the detail of open but with a more dynamics and improvements on mids with a touch more bass when needed. I pair them both with Chord Dave (Msacled) and Hugo2 and I find both work really well in harmony with Chord products

 

[Unterstuffz]

I would consider the ZMF Verité closed or open as it pretty much fits your description. Atrium could be an option too, but the Verité sounds a bit more dynamic, clearer due to the beryllium coating which is missing from Atrium. Personally, I am not too keen on the Stellia or Focal in general. They are good, just not for me. As someone who generally likes Meze, I think ZMF is different enough (thicker, weightier, warmer sound but not at the expense of clarity and speed), but also within the realm of personal preference.

Yes i can second this . Your description screams Verite Closed it is dynamic, fast and has a slight gain in upper mids for vocal present plus i think the combination with the Envy should be pretty fantastic...

 

[NOMOS]

NOMAX

PS.lol

Nomax sunk in thought,.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Nomax sunk in thought,.

This made my day!