[ThanatosVI]

Hey All,

Well, my time with the Elite is over and I have slightly mixed feelings towards it... First, let me breakdown what I used with the Elite, and what I had for comparisons.

Gear Used

DACs
1. Schiit Gungnir Multibit
2. ifi iDSD Black Label
3. ifi xCANN
4. ifi Zen DAC
5. Topping D30 pro

Amps
1. Schiit Mjolnir (Gen 1)
2. Topping A30
3. ifi iDSD Black Label
4. ifi xCANN
5. ifi Zen DAC
6. Oriolus BA300S

Comparison Headphones
1. Abyss AB-1266 (OG)
2. Meze Empyrean (OG)

Build
As we all know... the Meze Empyrean is one of the nicest built headphones on the market, and the Elite is basically the same build in a different colorway. I will say that I personally prefer the aesthetics of the Elite over the Empyrean with the raw metal look and feel, but that's subjective. The Elite and the Empyrean are the same in terms of build quality. The Elite, like the Empyrean, is the most comfortable headphone that I have ever had the privilege of wearing, and that includes the AKG K1000. I never really understood why people lied the K1000 so much... Yes, it's comfortable, but it's also awkward as hell. I know... I know... I have the 1266, and yes it's also quite awkward, but at least it can deliver in impact. The K1000 just cannot without folding the drivers flush to your ears, and at that point... why even get the K1000?

The one area where I would like to see Meze improve is with the included cables. I will never understand why these elite (no pun intended) brands choose to include either awful, or meh cables with their TOTL headphones. Abyss, Focal, Meze and Hifiman... I am looking at all of you. While there is nothing sonically wrong with the Elite cable, it's memory for holding bends is just unacceptable at any price point, let alone the amount that the Elite is asking. Please Meze... fix your cables to be something more than what has become just a laughable joke in this industry of bad cables for all. Not everyone wants to get aftermarket cables.

What I did notice with the Elite that differs slightly from the Empyrean is that the leather ear pads are slightly narrower. The suede pads are exactly the same, but the leather pads are about a 1/4 inch thinner than either the Empyrean earpads, or the suede pads. I will get to how this impacts the sound a little later, but that is a difference that I noticed pretty quickly.

Overall, the Meze Elite is built exactly the same as the Empyrean... which is perfectly fine and good in my book. It's hard to improve over the comfort king that was/is the Empyrean, so good on you all for not messing around too much with it.

Sound
I am going to cause a bit of controversy here by saying that there is very little difference between the Elite and the Empyrean with the suede pads. The pads included with both headphones are identical, and they both do the same thing. Suede pads on the Elite/Empyrean remove a lot of the impact and allow for a more airy presentation. I don't mean airy in the sense of a larger soundstage, just in the fact that the low end is rolled off more than with the leather, and that the highs are given more focus.

The leather pads that are included with the Elite does make a difference compared to the stock leather pads on the Empyrean... but there's a catch. As I stated previously... the leather ear pads on the Elite are about a 1/4 inch thinner than the stock leather pads on the Empyrean. What this does is makes the Elite more impactful than using the Empyrean stock leather pads. Now, I wondered what would happen if I put the Elite leather earpads on the Empyrean... so I did. Guess what? Nearly identical again. I mean, there is a bit more clarity on the Elite vs. the Empyrean, so I don't think that Meze just changed the colorway and shipped out a different Empyrean with thinner leather pads... but what they changed in the driver must have been super... super minimal. That's not to say that the Elite is a copy of the Empyrean... what I am saying is that I was not able to tell a truly noticeable difference between the two headphones. Now, I am 41 years old and the time it takes to remove the earpads from one headphone, unplug it and change everything over to another headphone does impact my ability to do quick switching, but the point... at least for me remains. If you had the Empyrean, and were wondering if the Elite was a substantial upgrade, no... they're not. Realistically all you would need is a pair of the Elite leather pads and you would be very close to have the same ability.

Desktop Setup
The Elites really do shine with better quality, and higher voltage gear. They tend to take on more of a detailed presentation when run from the Mjolnir/Gungnir MB setup. I don't get that laid-back presentation that I do with some of the other headphones that I have, but the Elite are just detail, detail, detail.

Overall I would say that the Meze Elite (with leather pads) reminds me of a more Utopia presentation... almost glassy depending on the music that you are wanting.


Comparison

Meze Empyrean (OG)
So... here is a bit of a unpopular opinion... with the suede pads on the Elite and the Empyrean I hear 0 difference between them. That's right. I checked on my desktop setup and on my portable. There was no discernible difference between the headphones to my ear with the suede pads. Now, with the leather pads... there's quite a difference.

The Elite leather pads changes things to be more aggressive and impactful. Now, again... unpopular opinion here, but the Elite leather pads are different than the Empyrean leather pads by about a 1/4 of an inch. What happens when you place the Elite pads on the Empyrean? They sound nearly identical again. The same aggressive impact translates over to the Empyrean. I cannot imagine that these are the same headphone, and I am certain that it's just my old ears that are unable to hear the difference between the two headphones. All I can say is that I will happily purchase a pair of the Elite leather pads and keep my OG Empyrean.

Abyss AB-1266 (OG)
Here is a comparison that likely doesn't need to take place, as the only thing these two headphones have in common is their driver type. The Elite is far better built than the 1266. That's not to say the 1266 is poorly built, it's not, just a deign difference. The 1266 is industrial and utilitarian, while the Elite is designed to be not only beautiful, but also functional. The Elite wipes the floor with design, comfort and build compared to the 1266.

Where the 1266 makes it back is in dynamics and slam. The 1266 has no other equal in this field for planar drivers, and the Elite cannot compete here either. What the Elite can do is provide a lovely and accurate soundstage with great imaging. However, the 1266 can do this as well... and on a larger stage. The 1266 just kicks the chair out from under the Elite in terms of slam and dynamics as well. It's not even fair to the Elite here.

Conclusions
I cannot thank Todd enough for this opportunity to spend some time with the Meze Elite, and while it may not be on my list of gear to obtain in the future, it certainly impressed me with it's looks, build and design. Again, I have never had such a comfortable headphone than what the group at Meze has created with the Empyrean/Elite lineup, and I hope they never change it.

I feel really sorry for you as you seem to suffer from quite substantial hearing loss already at such a young age.

However your review about build quality and cabling Was spot on

 

[Olumm]

I feel really sorry for you as you seem to suffer from quite substantial hearing loss already at such a young age.

However your review about build quality and cabling Was spot on

I have done some terrible things to my ears in the past. At 41 I appreciate you saying 'at such a young age', but it could have been so much worse.

Thankfully, my wife is an audiologist and has me setup quite well from here on out. There will always be tinnitus that I will deal with, but the other issues have been addressed and supported.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I have done some terrible things to my ears in the past. At 41 I appreciate you saying 'at such a young age', but it could have been so much worse.

Thankfully, my wife is an audiologist and has me setup quite well from here on out. There will always be tinnitus that I will deal with, but the other issues have been addressed and supported.

Sorry to hear about your Tinnitus.
Good thing tho, that the other issues are taken care of.

Wish you all the best

 

[utdeep]

All,

My time with the Elite is almost done. TLDR - I think it's the most impressive headphone I've heard in 21 years of being on head-fi. My pattern in this hobby is to dive in for a year, grab the best headphones and equipment, and then take a 4-year hiatus. I've decided that the headphone I plan to spend the next four years with is the Meze Empyrean Elite.

Personal - History and Preferences
I am 42 years old. Surprisingly, I think my ability to listen critically has improved over my years of being in this hobby. I also know my preferences. I love bass - fast, powerful, lean bass. I am incredibly sensitive to treble spikes. My preferred sound signature are warmer detail-oriented headphones with a large sound stage.

Gear Used

1. Cayin N6ii with R01
2. WA7 3rd Gen
3. Lotoo S2
4. Chord Mojo

Other Headphones

• Audeze LCD-4Z
• Aeon Noire
• Sennheiser IE900
• Recent headphones that will come up here: DCA Aeon Stealth, Audeze LCD-5, Meze Liric

Build Quality and Design

The build quality of the Elite is excellent. It feels like a very durable headphone that is also very beautiful. It is extremely comfortable to wear (my favorite of all planar magnetics headphones I have used) and the presentation in the silver case makes for an awesome unboxing experience. The only other experience that felt similar was the Aeon Stealth and it's remarkable little case and design. However, the silver case is not very practical for any portable use, while the Aeon Stealth case is perfect for day to day transport. The hardest part of the Elite design is that it doesn't fit into any existing transport case that I could find like the Dekoni headphone case. It's just too wide! The Liric has a terrific transport case; I really wish Meze would come up with something like this for their Empyreans.

Sound Quality

I'm just going to focus on 3 characteristics here:

Sound Stage: Out of all the headphones I have used, these might have the 2nd best sound stage of all time. I always remember the first time I heard the Sennheiser HD800. Despite having almost no bass, I recall being blown away by how huge the sound stage felt. It made it very easy to picture the orchestra in front of me. The first time I wore the Elites, I felt like I was wearing the HD800 again. The sound stage wasn't as big, but there were no big compromises here. If I had to pick just one quality that makes this an incredible headphone, this would be it.

Bass: The bass is tight and powerful. It doesn't have the destructive pin point impact of the Audeze 4Z. However, I find that I don't miss it. What I enjoy about the Elite is that I can relax into all music - regardless of whether it has bass or not. This is a headphone that can worn for hours. It doesn't matter if it's reference listening or it's just for background music during work. Both the Aeon Stealth and the LCD-5 felt lacking in this area, and their treble felt peaky enough to cause sibilance. The Audeze LCD-5 was a real disappointment for me because it deviated too far away from the Audeze house sound. The Meze Elite is a natural extension of the lush bass from the early LCD series, and adds something new.

Detail Retrieval: I found the detail retrieval of the Elite to be extraordinary. With the Aeon Stealth, I felt like the headphone made every attempt to expose imperfections in the music which made the headphone difficult to use. The Audeze series has a smaller soundstage and it simply doesn't "care" to show the details. The Elite gives me IEM like details in the music and with the immense sound stage, it's easy to find what I'm looking for and see new details.

Another huge win for Meze is that the Elite doesn't require much power to sound absolutely amazing. It sounds great from any source. It scales to better amplification, but that isn't necessary. This is so much better than the Aeon Stealth or Noire which absolutely require a powerful source.

Conclusion
My time with the loaner is done, but I've ordered a Meze Elite. It was wonderful to experience the headphone, but all of a sudden, I'm no longer enjoying my old Audeze LCD-4Z and I'm spending less time with any of my other headphones. I thought maybe it was just the Meze sound that I liked a lot so I ordered the Liric to see if I could get most of the benefits at a substantially lower cost. I was wrong. The Meze Elite is the one. I'm looking forward to using it for the next four years!

 

[utdeep]

I didn’t mention this yesterday, but all of my testing was done with a balanced 4.4mm cable that I already had for my Audeze. I didn’t try using any of the cables that came with the Elite because most of my devices work best though their balanced jacks.

 

[awhinyheadphone]

My week with the Elite is officially over. Time for the review!

Introduction

After almost three years Meze has finally released the successor of the legendary Empyrean: the Meze Elite. Does the Elite surpass its older brother? How does it compete with the current TOTL market?

This review will include tons of comparisons to the Empyrean as it’s obviously the best baseline to describe the Elite. It will also include direct comparisons to the Hifiman Arya Stealth and Hifiman Susvara.

I’ve heard most of the current TOTL open-back market and I’m happy to provide other comparisons if requested. Obviously those comparisons will be based on memory and thus more unreliable than the direct comparisons in this review.

Listening was done using my MacBook Pro with Spotify and local FLAC files through my RME ADI-2 Pro with balanced output.

Build Quality

The best in the entire industry. The carbon fiber headband decreases the overall weight for improved comfort. The molded leather strap is designed to give the top of your head a gentle hug. The height adjustment system is the smoothest and most precise in the game. Did I mention instant magnetic pad replacement and swapping? These features are simply sublime and, other than the carbon fiber headband, cannot be found anywhere else at any price bracket. Build quality, repairability, comfort, longevity and aesthetics all come together in the Elite. The Empyrean has been on the market for years, yet no TOTL headphone has even come close to Meze’s luxurious build. It’s embarrassing for the rest of the industry at this point.

Comfort

The molded headband perfectly distributes the weight. The spaciousness of the pads gives your ears plenty of room. The yoke system allows you to smoothly and perfectly adjust the height on each side of your head. It is the definition of luxury.

The Empyrean was already the most comfortable headphone ever made. Meze decided the Empyrean ain’t broke so don’t even try to fix the Elite. This was absolutely the correct choice. Most manufacturers make unnecessary changes that ruin build and/or sound quality (looking at the Hifiman HE-6 here…). Meze knew the driver needed improvement and the only thing that could possibly be added to the build was m o r e s h i n y.

Bass Response

No noticeable change in the response over the Empyrean but a noticeable step up in Detail.

Midrange Response

The original Empyrean mids are pleasantly warm but ultimately come across as muffled. The Elite fixes this issue presumably by decreasing the lower mids a few dB. This is the biggest contributor to the improved sound quality of the Elite, yet I can’t quite get the same effect EQing the lower mids out of the Empyrean. Rinaro has improved the midrange of the Elite without losing the classic Empyrean magic!

Treble Response

I felt that the original Empyrean had a bit too much upper air and I feel the same about the Elite. It gets fatiguing a bit too quickly. Susvara has nailed the upper treble response and every headphone’s frequency response should strive to match it.

Soundstage

Exactly the same as its older brother and it’s still not enough. It’s not quite as confined as the Focal Clear but it’s not expensive enough for my taste. It’s at my minimum acceptable tolerance and just a bit more depth and width would be the most desired improvement for me. For context my ideal soundstage is currently the Hifiman Arya which will be elaborated on further in the comparisons.

Detail

Despite both the Empyrean and Elite having the same amount of upper air I hear the decay of the guitar strings on Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again far more clearly. On the low end the bass guitar in the quieter parts of Soundgarden - Spoonman has much better texture on the Elite.

The Elite’s detail retrieval is a significant step up from the Empyrean. Great job on the driver Rinaro!

Comparisons to Meze Empyrean

Nothing to say here that wasn’t already said above. The Elite is a worthy upgrade to the Empyrean in aesthetics, build quality and overall sound. If you love the Empyrean do whatever you have to do to get your hands on an Elite.

Comparisons to Hifiman Arya Stealth

The latest iteration of one of the most famous high end planars. It is way cheaper than the Empyrean and way cheaper than the Elite. Build quality is miles behind the Elite but sound is unfortunately no contest.

7 Skies - ZAO is the definition of speed. It hits hard and has instant starts and stops in the overall volume as well as various sounds throughout the track. Meze can convey the booming bass but the Arya Stealth starts and stops on a dime. The Arya Stealth has a level of control that the Elite simply can’t match.

In Yosi Horikawa - Bubbles the Arya Stealth can place the binaural recorded elements anywhere you can think of. The Elite clearly has less regions to work with.

Of course the Arya is far behind the Elite in build quality, aesthetics and comfort. But the Elite is simply not 2.5 Arya Stealths better in sound quality. Elite needs to mop the floor with most kilobuck flagships to justify its current MSRP of $4000 and it’s definitely still having a tough time competing with Hifiman and Audeze’s planar quality.

Comparisons to Hifiman Susvara

The Arya is one of Hifiman’s top offerings so now let’s talk about Hifiman’s literal top offering. The Susvara is clearly one of the best sounding headphones ever made. It is the best tuned, highest detail headphone on Earth. Can the Elite still compete?

Panic! at the Disco - High Hopes is absolutely insufferable in every way. The most particularly annoying aspect of the track the scratchy and exaggerated treble in Brendon Urie’s vocals. The Susvara almost fixes it. The Elite makes the absurd treble boost even worse.

In Neil Davidge - Green and Blue the piano is recorded very intimately. The Susvara is smooth, precise and pleasant but the Empyrean and Elite convey the physical feeling of the hammer striking. This small detail makes the piece so much more emotionally powerful that despite the Susvara being “better” I’d choose Meze every time.

The Susvara is the greatest all-rounder. It presents everything well but sacrifices the engagement factor to achieve it. The Elite makes mistakes in the upper treble but it always pulls you back in with its enveloping, emotionally impactful presentation and comfort.

If I had to choose between the Susvara and Elite I’d take the Elite despite the Susvara's superior technical performance. In a perfect world I’d take both!

Conclusion

The Elite has surpassed it’s older brother in overall sound quality and continues to offer the same stellar build and comfort we’ve come to know and love. Unfortunately the sound quality continues to be surpassed by cheaper TOTL planars. Even so, the Elite still has its place. If you’re looking for the headphone with the highest comfort-to-performance ratio, and money is no object, look no further than the Meze Elite.

 

[utdeep]

Surprised by both the comments on the sound stage and the Hifiman Arya Stealth. Will need to check out that headphone

 

[fjlabs]

My wonderful time with the Elites are running low, so it's review time. First off, thanks Todd for letting me demo these, it's been a wonderful experience and has certainly put it on the list of gear I'm considering owning.

Systems

• iPad Pro -> [USB] Burson Conductor 3XR + 4x SparkOS SS3602 Dual Opamps -> XLR Low Gain -> Vol @ 50 – 55
• Macbook Pro -> [USB] RME ADI-2 DAC FS -> 6.35mm High Power -> Vol @ -26dB – -30dB
• Macbook Pro -> [USB] Khadas Tone 2 Pro -> 4.4mm Pentaconn to XLR Adapter High Gain -> Vol @ unspecified

Most comments reference the Conductor 3XR system unless otherwise specified. The Meze Elite ("Elite") was competent across all three systems tried. I found that while the Elites were not a difficult headphone to drive, the significantly increased headroom of the Conductor 3XR allowed the Elites to have marginally better impulse response, resulting in slightly more clear notes, namely in messy drum sections and complex guitar riffs (This Ain't No Place for Animals, Hands Like Houses, 1:27). All three systems drove the Elite to more than acceptable listening levels with plenty of room to spare. Using the RME on normal power though, felt somewhat lackluster, with the Elite lacking in punch and clarity, despite being driven loud enough (a general problem with the RME and planars anyways).

The Elite certainly benefits from any systems with increased clarity and resolution, as its technicalities (infra) while decent, are not exception compared to others in my roster.

Background
Since my last formal review, I've gotten much more into over-ear open backs, daily driving the Rosson RAD-0 (with stock tuning) and the Focal Clear Mg. Listening tastes range from "Progressive Post-Hardcore," "Pixie," general "K-Pop," and "Melodic Dubstep" and my test tracks reflect these genres primarily. For a full picture of listening habits, see my Last.FM [doesn't reflect all listening, since some playback sources don't scrobble into it].

I'm going to skip the build/design/comfort side of the review, since the other reviews pretty much covered everything I had to say. These are one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever tried and are completely non-fatiguing to wear for long periods of time, even with my massive head. Both the hybrid and alcantara felt wonderful, with my comfort preference leaning to the Hybrid. The stock cables are a mess—easy to kink, stiff, etc... Not a fan of those, so I would recommend switching to an aftermarket cable immediately.

Sound
As a baseline, all comments are using the Hybrid pads and differences between pads are noted explicitly.

Bass
The bass on the Elite is what I would describe as "tight" and "restrained." It is missing some of the punch that I've received on other sets such as Focal's Clear Mg and Celestee. Bass-heavy tracks such as Initialization Sequence (INF1N1TE remix), I See Stars feel a tad "dry" compared to the thundering rumbles of others in my lineup. At the same time though, the bass is extraordinarily well controlled and the energy is delivered with pinpoint precision. The kickdrum of Enemy, Imagine Dragons is powerful but tight, without any trailing resonances or oddities in the impulse response. The bass of the Elite blends smoothly into the rest of the frequencies without bleeding into the midrange or sounding like there is a sharp drop-off (Tears of Gold, Faouzia).

Personally, I would have preferred Meze to gone a few dB louder below 125Hz to add a bit more of a rumble. Thankfully, the Elite responds favorably to EQ using the ADI-2 to add a bit more more "oomph" to the bass (added a +2.5dB, 72Hz, Q=0.6).

Midrange
The midrange on the Elite takes on a bit of a "honey" quality where it feels thick but vocals and instruments are clear and sweet. Remember, WE ARE FURY has Emlyn's voicing through extremely clearly despite being pushed back a hair from what I'm used to on the RAD-0. There is certainly a high amount of detail present in the vocals and are, in general, very airy with wispiness accentuated if present (Be a Witness, UNSECRET). More delicate tracks like I Wanna Cry, Seori sing with a thick resonant quality that are on par with the RAD-0 with clear separation between the vocal layer and the rest of the picture. Even with more potentially challenging tracks like Trigger, Seori, the midrange did not faulter—there was no bleed from the booming bass and the hi-hats did not cause the mids to behaving weirdly.

Treble
The treble on the Elites are very detailed, but not the most crisp I've heard. Overall, they are a little bit recessed for my tastes but this certainly makes them less fatiguing. I could stand very long listening sessions (5+hrs) without feeling that the treble was excessive or painful, unlike perhaps the Shuoer EJ09 (CIEM). Tracks that I've found extremely prone to sibilance like Never Let You Go, AleXa and KIDDING ME, ITZY were significantly tamed by the Elite and actually became very enjoyable to listen to. At the same time though, some tracks felt lacking in liveliness like Wildfire, Against the Current and You And I, PVRIS. While they didn't sound flat, they were simply not as engaging as I am used to in my other systems.

Even though the treble has a very relaxed signature, it still remains detailed, with cymbal crashes sounding crisp (Colors, Coheed and Cambria). The Alcantara pads seemed to bring the treble slightly more upfront though, and bring out even more detail in the hi-hats and upper harmonics. (Warbringer, TheFatRate ft. Lindsey Stirling).

Soundstage
The Meze's are a medium-depth and medium-width headphone. It doesn't parallel something like the HD800s, but it certainly has more space laterally and outwards than the RAD-0's and any of Focal's lineup. My Toys (intro), Dreamcatcher takes on almost a binaural quality that my other open backs can't match and the resulting instrument separation and placement is stellar. Atmospheric sounds form almost a 360 degree image around the head and lateral separation is maintained throughout even the most technically complex tracks (This Ain't No Place for Animals, Hands Like Houses). Forwards/backwards layering is not the clearest I've seen but it's not a slouch either. Positioning can be easily pinpointed, but forwards/backwards depth isn't handled as gracefully as the HD800s. A Fire on a Hill, Hands Like Houses places the vocals and drum kit on the same forward plane and the Elites separate them by only a few feet, whereas the 800s push them much farther apart. Lateral positioning is where the Elite excels at, placing individual elements super clearly between the left and right fields (A Samurai's Death, Ricko James).

Technicalities
While the Elite has very competent technicalities overall, with excellent micro- and macro-dynamic shifts, (Warbringer, TheFatRate ft. Lindsey Stirling), it's more relaxed treble makes it appear lacking in micro-detail. Sia's vocals in Breathe Me, Sia and Alive, Sia feel somewhat smoother and less "strained" than they "should" be as revealed by other sets. This Ain't No Place for Animals, Hands Like Houses's drum passages played with exceptional airiness and impulse response (unmatched by anything in my collection), allowing me to actually feel the breaks between the drum hits. While it's not the most detailed set I've ever encountered, it's certainly sufficient and it's incredible transient/impulse response makes it excellent for fast and messy passages. The alcantara pads seemingly brought some more detail back but not to any significant extent.

 

[dukeskd]

Firstly, want to thank Todd for the awesome loaner program for the community.

This is my first time with a Meze product and I must say I am impressed. Specifically, the build quality and aesthetics + packaging are on a different level. I cannot think of any other product that comes close to it in that regard perhaps barring the Sony MDR-R10 that oozed absolute opulence back in the 80s/90s.

I have been running the Elites out of my Pathos InPol amp via RME ADI-2 DAC.

What properties this headphone does best are the following: soundstage and tone. It has that characteristic planar sound and the separation between the frequencies is quite evident due to the driver technology and how the circuit diaphragm is printed.

I have tried and own some of the TOTL headphones and own the 1266 + Susvaras. The 1266 + Susvaras are to my ears still a tier above the Meze Elites. They do detail extraction much better and in the case of the Abyss, it has a colder sound in comparison to the Elites. The Elites I would say has equivalent warmth tonality to the Susvaras but the plankton extraction is not at the same level. Susvaras are very neutral across the spectrum but the Elites have some bloat, especially in the sub-bass region to my ears. The impact is also better from the other 2 compared to the Elites.

Comfort wise, the Elites are heads and shoulders above the rest and I am a huge huge fan of the design and engineering. The sound needs to catch up to the competitors in my opinion though, and at this price it's really tough competition.

That said, I can see the Elites as a comfortable, warm sounding headphone that can suit many head-fiers. Meze did a great job here.

 

[szore]

Hi szore,

Don't feel bad - I won't see them for even longer! I miss them already.

Todd

And here we are 7 months later! Worth the wait. Can't wait to hear these suckers!

 

[gc335]

Pros: Quality build. Comfort. Detailed yet fun sound.
Cons: None

Introduction:

First of all, a huge thanks to Todd over at Todd the Vinyl Junkie for setting up this tour. I really appreciate the opportunity to spend some time with the Elite!

Sources used:

Schiit Gungnir MB w/unison and Schiit Mjulnir 2 and iBasso DX248.2 (DX240 w/AMP8 mk2).

Packaging:

The Elite comes in the same packaging/case as the Empyrean except the case is silver instead of black. The case is not as sturdy looking as some of the TOTL flagship Pelican style cases but it is also smaller and easier to carry but still provides a great deal of protection.

Build:

Every part of the Elite screams quality. They are easy to adjust and stay where you set them. The carbon headband is very attractive and fits the rest of the headphone really well. I have zero issues with the build.

Comfort:

These are the most comfortable headphones that I’ve ever used. There are no pressure points and the clamp is just right to keep them on my head. They are extremely light. I can wear these all day with zero issues.

Overall sound impressions:

I’m just going to come out and start with the fact these, for my taste in music and signature preferences, are best overall headphones that I have ever used. Period! These are truly amazing. I think they are the first headphone that I have tried where I cannot find a noteworthy fault. Clarity… check. Bass…check. Comfort… check. Quality… Check. They literally check all the boxes for me. I felt like I need to point something out that I didn’t like because I was worried about losing credibility. I thought about price as a con but for one headphone that checks all my must have it seems the price is justified. The cherry on top is that no matter what type of music I threw at them they sounded great. Even YouTube videos sounded stellar. Too bad I let my wife know what they cost already because I have lost any plausibility deniability if they show up in my collection.

Bass:

Tight yet with nice punch when called for. For an open headphone, they punch really well. I don’t think I recall a track where I felt like I needed more bass or felt that the bass was overpowering other parts of the track.

Mids:

Just right. I never felt like vocals where too recessed or forward even tracks that are known for one or the other. Natural and smooth.

Treble:

For me, I think this was one of my favorite aspects of the headphone. The treble is so good on these. So much texture while never sounding hard or sibilant. I’m not a treble head but I might be after these headphones.

Soundstage:

This is a tough one for me. Nothing ever felt too in your head and nothing sounded disjointed. Just right in my opinion. This is probably the way it should be with a headphone so they don’t become too genre specific. Hard to explain and I hope that makes sense.

Test Tracks

I borrowed an Empyrean and LCD4 from a friend for a shoot out. I think these might be some of the other headphones that people will look at.

Keith Don’t Go (Live) - Nils Lofgren
Elite: Very balanced sound. Some planners can sound too aggressive on this track and have a metallic sheen that can be fatiguing. Not the Elite. Very pleasant sound.
LCD-4: The LCD-4 is a little more aggressive. The start of a puck of the guitar strings is more defined and metallic sounding. Not a bad thing but could be a little much if you were to listen to a few tracks like this back to back. I also noted the LCD-4 also required a bit more power.
Empyrean: More warmth with a bit less clarity over the LCD-4 and Elite. Still very good sound.
Winner: Can’t pick one for this track. All sounded awesome for various reasons.

Yellow Brick Road - Angus and Julia Stone
Elite: The Empyrean and Elite sound similar on this track with the Elite having a bit more neutral sound and more clarity.
LCD-4: I notice a more narrow sound stage on this track. Not a bad thing for this track. The sound is a bit more organic with the LCD-4.
Empyrean: Again, similar to the Elite but missing some of the clarity.
Winner: I think with this track the winner is the Audeze.

Elements (Orchestral Version) - Lindsey Stirling
Elite: Very immersive sound. Great sparkle in the treble. Wow this sounds good. Instrument placement is spot on.
LCD-4: Less immersive. Less sub bass rumble. Sound is more in-front than around. It still sounds really good but this track really played to the strengths of the Elite and Empyrean.
Empyrean: Very similar sound with a touch less clarity versus the Elite.
Winner: Empyrean and Elite tie


Two days later…

Today i wanted to just listen to the Elite by itself to avoid any brain bias.

Hope by the Chainsmokers: I have heard this track probably 100+ tunes and never noticed the rain in the background at the start of the track. Really impressive.

Old Love (MTV Live Version) by Eric Clapton: In my opinion, planars reproduce stringed instruments better than anything else. The Elite does not disappoint. Instrument placement is pinpoint accurate. The treble is handled really well. The high hat sound awesome. The piano can sound a bit harsh at 6:15 on this track bit not with the Elite even at higher listening volume.

Rise by Dominique Fils-Aime: Wow the vocals are good. Cymbals are crispy and enjoyable.

The Sound of Silence by Disturbed: Some high end headphones have trouble with this track. The LCD-5 was terrible with this track. The Elite is better but still not great. I’m convinced it’s the recording and not the headphones. High-end headphones just seem to show the flaws.

Colour to the Moon by Allan Taylor: Here we go. Back to well records music. Vocals can be a bit too forward on this track. No issues with the Elite. Very pleasant.

Sub Bass Excursion by Bassotronics: The sub bass reached really deep with this track. Really impressive for an open can.

Portability:

I tried this with the DX240 (Amp8 mk2) and was very impressed. The drop in sound quality was less that I thought it would be. They are much easier to drive then the LCD-4. They scale a bit with my desktop rig but not much.


Summary:

These are probably the best overall headphone I’ve tried. It’s so hard to find a flaw. I really enjoyed the Empyrean but I always felt there was something just a but off with their signature. The Elite seems to be a more cohesive headphone with fewer flaws in its signature. Yes, they are expensive but worth it in my options. Great job Meze!

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Here are my impressions from my time with the Empyrean Elites:

I'd like to start off this review by thanking Todd at TTVJ for sponsoring this review tour. I was able to spend a week with the Meze Empyrean Elite in my home with my system with the only expectation that I present a review of my experiences.

On a personal note I have been in the market for a new upgrade for a TOTL headphone, and this one was in the running along with the other new flagships. I had never had the opportunity to listen to a Meze headphone before (other than a pair of Rai Solo IEMs) but I'd always heard good things.

Associated Equipment:

Source: Bluesound Node 2i Streamer (sources being Apple Music Lossless and FLAC CD rips on USB stick)

DAC: RME ADI-2 DAC

Amp: Schiit Ragnarok 2

Build and Comfort:

The Meze Empyrean Elite lives up to its reputation for excellent build quality. It's much lighter than expected, but made predominantly of metal, leather, and other high quality materials. The unit comes in a very slick looking aluminum case that reminded me of something a diamond merchant might wear handcuffed to his wrists on the streets of NYC in a heist movie (though unfortunately the handle of the case is made of rather cheap-feeling plastic that degrades the experience when picking it up the first time, an aluminum or at least leather-wrapped handle would go a long way towards making the unboxing experience feel more premium).




The headphones themselves feature a quite pretty metal lattice design in black with silver aluminum supporting structure. The adjustment rods are of the infinitely-adjustable variety (as opposed to notched) with a friction hold mechanism. It would be nice if Meze would offer this in additional coloways as they have with the regular Empyrean. I've always found the black and copper version of the Empyrean particularly handsome, with the gunmetal version also being quite sharp.

While I enjoyed the ability to adjust the fit without pre-set notches, it also upset my innate desire to have both sides set exactly the same as there were no notches to reference, so I found myself taking them off and on to measure just how far each rod was poking out to make sure I had them even on both sides. People who are less neurotic about such things probably won't have an issue.



The headband is a suspension strap design with cool looking carbon-fiber printing on the support arcs and a real leather strap that smells great.




The default pads are a new leather hybrid exclusive to the Empyrean Elite. They are soft and comfortable with plenty of space so that my ears never rubbed the insides of the pads.



An alternative set of velour pads are included. As you can see these are much thicker than the leather hybrid pads, and the ear opening is smaller. On my face these felt very similar to the velour Auteur or Eikon pads from ZMF. With the thicker pads the headphone does have more clamp force.



One of the cleverest things Meze has come up with is their magnetic pad attachment mechanism. Switching pads is as simple as pulling one set off and popping another one on. Since they're not angled there's no wrong-way to do it. As I'll mention in my sound section, being able to switch pads quickly is very useful here.



Finally, a little touch I really love about the way Meze does things is that they color code right and left channels on their cables. With angled cables as on the Empyrean Elite this isn't strictly necessary, but it's amazingly convenient for their IEMs, and doing it on their headphones gives a nice big of uniform brand design. It's also nice for being able to quickly attach them correctly without trying to squint and see tiny R and L markings.

The cable itself is thick, covered with fabric, and feels very nice in the hands. However, I didn't use it in my testing because it's too short to reach my system from my seat, opting for my 3 meter ZMF OFC balanced cable instead. Making their mini-XLR jacks compatible with the ZMF and Audeze pin-outs opens the door for plenty of replacement cable options.

Sound:

Bass - The Empyrean Elites have a rise above neutral in the bass region (somewhat rare in open back planars) that gives them a full and rich sound. The rise extends up through the mid and upper bass into the lower midrange some, which does give them a bit of a thick sound signature. Bass texture and detail are about average across all of the planars I've listened to, which IMO is an underperformance for the price point, for example losing some of the string texture in Bela Fleck's Flight of the Cosmic Hippo. However, they are capable of some actual slam, and gave satisfying performance during the big bass drops in HA:TFELT's Ain't Nobody. Switching to the velour pads instead of the leather hybrid does result in a significant drop-off in bass.

Midrange - Midrange performance can best be expressed as inoffensive and safe. The lower midrange can be a bit thick, but that works well with male vocals such as in Leonard Cohen's You Want It Darker. Female vocals on the other hand feel a bit too reserved for my lacking, mainly due to an upper mid-range rise that doesn't rise far enough for my personal tastes. Switching to the velour pads helps here, adding some upper-midrange emphasis and smoothing out the upper-midrange to treble transition. With the velour pads acoustic music in particular really comes alive, such as Alison Krauss and Union Station's Gravity.

Treble - I'll again go with 'inoffensive' which is a good thing IMO, there's plenty of air, and the treble overall feels accurate and enhances songs as it should without ever drawing attention to itself. Once again there is a difference in pads. I'd tentatively call the hybrid pads "Pop Pads" that are great for pop, rock, EDM, and other similar genres, while the velour pads are "Acoustic Pads" which are great for acoustic genres and classical. With the hybrid pads there's a bit of a rockier transition between the upper midrange and treble which (in addition to the extra bass they provide) can add some excitement. With the velour pads these headphones become more mid and treble centric while smoothing the frequency response up top making more more natural timbre of real instruments.

Soundstage and Imaging - Soundstage feels wider than average, while imaging is a bit less precise than average. Listening to orchestral recordings I could imagine the orchestra in front of me when closing my eyes, but I couldn't pin-point exact areas where each section or musician was like I can with the Beyerdynamic T1.2 or the Audeze LCD-5.

Overall Sound Signature and Technicalities - Overall sound signature is very pleasant and 'easy-going'. I didn't feel the need to reach for EQ during my time with these, so in my opinion they're well-tuned for the folks who prefer not to use EQ. They're consumer-friendly with a moderate bass boost and a relaxed upper midrange that will play well with many genres of music and not expose flaws or sibilance in poor recordings. Depending on your personal preferences the technicalities and resolution may be the Achilles Heel of these headphones. Detail retrieval and resolution seem sub-par for the price. I'd rank them similarly to my DCA Aeon Open X in that regard, which is a much more affordable headphone (though the Mezes do have them beat hands down in terms of build and luxurious feel). On the other hand that does make them rather relaxing to listen to, so if you're the type who just wants to lean back and enjoy the music without worrying about hearing every tiny detail and analyzing every element of the production, you may prefer this.

Comparisons:

Audeze LCD-5

This may be the most natural headphone to compare them to as they came out at about the same time and go for very similar prices. I was lucky enough to have the TTVJ LCD-5 tour loaner at the same time as the Meze Empyrean Elites so I was able to do direct comparisons.

Putting on the LCD-5s after listening to the Empyrean Elites gives the impression of a veil being lifted from off of the music. Details suddenly pop out that were missing before, female vocals come alive with rich harmonics and sparkle, bass develops surgical levels of detail and accuracy, and imaging goes from amorphous to razor-sharp.
On the other hand you do lose bass quantity and some slam (without taking EQ into account) going to the LCD-5 from the Empyrean Elite, and comfort takes a major nosedive as well.

For my personal tastes the sound signature and quality of the LCD-5 is overwhelmingly preferable to the Empyrean Elite, but the Empyrean Elite is overwhelmingly more comfortable to actually wear.

Audeze LCD-3

A pair I own, mine are 2015 vintage that received new pads and new drivers from Audeze in 2020. Stock to stock the Empyrean Elite is a much more rounded sound signature, as the Audeze memory foam pads kill the upper midrange response. With EQ the LCD-3s can hold their and even surpass the Empyrean Elites in technicalities, and are about on par in terms of comfort. The EQ'd LCD-3 can also trump the stock sound of the Empyrean Elite in terms of bass slam and detail. It's difficult to talk to much about an EQ'd sound signature vs an EQ'd one, as the Empyrean Elite does absolutely sound better 'out of the box' compared to the LCD-3 before EQ is applied.

Build quality wise the Empyrean Elite does have the edge again, as my LCD-3s, like many other wood-ring Audeze headphones, have developed the small cracks around the area where the wood rings meet the mini-XLR jacks.

Hifiman HE6se V2

Another pair I own, and the pair I purchased the Rag 2 to power, these fall to the Empyreans in Stock sound signature, sounding much leaner and a bit anemic without EQ present.

The Empyrean Elite is also much more comfortable than the HE6se (which has cups that are just a smidge too small) and has much better built quality than the plastic-fantastic Hifiman.

In terms of sound EQ'd the HE6se can hold its own well, offering worlds more slam when blessed with 11db of bass boost below 100hz, and can offer a great amount of zing and edge when boosting up the upper midrange beak to be a broader plateau. In terms of technicalities overall I'd rank them fairly close, with the HE6se pulling ahead by a bit.

Conclusions

Opening, holding, and wearing the Meze Empyrean Elite is a pleasure. It feels as expensive as it is, and it's clear that Meze are masters when it comes to industrial design. In terms of sound quality they're easy to listen to, with no glaring faults. Unfortunately they're also not particularly exciting and don't bring the level of detail to the table that I'd expect from a $4,000 headphone. Listening to them back to back with the LCD-5 brought both the strengths and weaknesses of the Empyrean Elite to the forefront. If someone could design a headphone that's as comfortable as the Empyrean but sounds like the LCD-5 they'd be able to take the industry by storm.

As it is I'm going to call the Meze Empyrean Elite the "Lifestyle Flagship". It's the perfect headphone for anyone who prioritizes design, comfort, and an easy-going relaxed sound signature that sounds great out of the box with no need for EQ.

 

[szore]

Took receipt of the Elite today. Initial impression is great clarity and resolution.

 

[Todd]

Hi Folks,

Looking for reviews! These have been on the road now for quite a while and I am missing them. Please make sure to keep them moving in a timely manner and get your reviews in this thread. We have the Elite in stock for those who are interested in purchasing one!

Todd

 

[xmr0613]

My week with Elite is about to end, I'm very grateful for this opportunity and this pair really outperformed my expectation in many ways. Here's my impression:

Equipment Used to Drive/Compare:
Source: Schiit Yggdrasil 2 / Macbook Pro(14inch, m1pro)
Amplifier: GSX Mk2/ Kgsshv Carbon(for comparison with Estat headphones)
Headphones: Focal Utopia, ZMF Verite Closed, Hifiman Susvara, Stax X9000

Build and Comfort:

Elite, and its predecessor Empyrean has been so universally lauded for it's build and comfort, that it has become boilerplate to praise for it's stunningly beautiful appearance, friendly weight in headphones of this range, and great quality pads that are both extremely comfortable and convenient to swap. When I first got my hands on this pair, they are just as good as I expected. Here are some of the pictures for the size comparison with other headphones:

As you can see, it is slightly smaller than other pairs in the picture, with an amazing looking grill. It's the most luxurious looking pair in this set for sure.

In terms of comfort, it's indeed among the most comfortable headphones I've wore so far. The super soft leather pads make them one of the pairs that feels better wearing than not wearing anything at all. Unfortunately I have a very strangely shaped ear that almost always touch the grills for all types of headphones, so it's the velour pads that really give my ears the most space, but the sound is quite a bit worse on those pads(more on that later). But for most people it shouldn't be a concern (I have 4 other people tried this and I'm only one with comfort issue).

Pairing
The Elite is very easy to drive, almost requires no essential amount of power. On the GSX Mk2 it needs just a tiny bit more(around a step more) gain than the Utopia, and the new MacBook Pro can easily drive it to super loud volume. It does scale quite a bit with better sources, with much better details and clarity, but on a MacBook it's shockingly competent and pleasant sounding. I can totally see people traveling with the Elite just plugging into their laptops.

Sound

Tonality and Frequency Response: I hear the Elite as a slightly warm, mostly balanced pair with a focus on full sub-base and lower midrange, slightly thin upper midrange and some nice sparkle on top. The base quantity is between VC and Utopia/Susvara, with a lot more sub bass than mid bass. They don't deliver the most furious slam but the sub bass thump could be quite comfortable for albums like Endtroducing or The Soft Bulletin. Vocal wise, since it has more emphasis on lower-midrange, male vocals sound better than female vocals in my opinion. Female vocals could also sound sibilant at times. Treble wise it's a smooth and safe tuning, I like it a lot better than the relatively dark and veiled Empyrean (basing off my memory here).

Detail/Separation: It's quite an upgrade comparing to the original Empyrean (again basing off my memory). Although detail wise I don't think it's quite as sharp as the Utopia, the difference isn't very big and really could be due to Utopia's brighter more aggressive tuning. Separation wise I think it's even slightly better than the Utopia due to its planar nature. Comparing to the higher priced Susvara and X9000, you can immediately feel a step behind (a bit more so than the utopia), but that's only fair since they are both more expensive and considered as basically the ceiling of detail retrieval capabilities. In terms of technicality, the Elite is definitely better than the ones I've heard in the ~$2000 range like the Arya, Clear and the VC (although just a tad better). I know detail retrieval is the major thing that turned many people off on the original Empyrean, I think it's a great improvement here, at least to the point that making this pair not an immediate no-go for a treble/detail head like me.

Soundstage: The elite has a medium to large soundstage, especially with the leather hybrid pads. Slightly smaller than that of the Susvara, quite a bit smaller than X9000(very unfair comparison), and much bigger than the Utopia. It has sufficient room on orchestral pieces for instrument to have their own space to breath(a problem I had for the utopia for symphony work). Changing to velour pads makes the soundstage really strange to me as it almost became completely too blobs and the space in between the center and the left/right was largely missing. I would not recommend using the velour pads.

Dynamics: The Elite is a very soft pair of headphones and almost immediately reminded me of DCA and some Stax Estats, although tonally it's much smoother and with more ample bass. This to me is not necessarily a negative, though, as I stated before that I love the lightweight ethereal presentation of e-stats. Slower and more ambient albums really shines here, I really enjoyed the Elite with Victorialand and some ambient work of Brian Eno, although for some rock/dance music the empyrean could appear to lack the intensity sometimes.


Comparisons

Focal Utopia: This is the most relevant competitor in the list here, as they are priced similarly, both very easy to drive, and both have very good build and good comfort. I like the aesthetics of both but the elite is definitely the more comfortable here, as it's lighter and swivels easily.
Sound wise, the tonality/style difference is huge. The Utopia is super dynamic, intense, bright with a focus on vocal and mid bass, with its smaller soundstage (more intimate presentation), it pushes you to the music with strong forces. The Elite is almost at the other end of spectrum, it's very relaxed, mellower, and keeps a good balance of different parts of the frequency. They both have very comfy, agreeable tunings that don't make me feel like any EQ is necessary, even though their style was almost opposite. Technicality wise I'd still give a small edge to the Utopia but the difference is a lot less than the difference in their presentation.

Hifiman Susvara: They have relatively similar tonalities, both are balanced and comfortable for long listening sessions. Elite is slightly warmer with more sub bass, while Susvara has more clarity in general. Technically Susvara is indeed better in almost all regards, it has noticeably more detail, better separation, sharper image, more dynamics and a slightly bigger soundstage. Considering the susvara is 50% more expensive and has a weaker build quality in general, I won't say it's a fair comparison, but the differences is immediately noticeable.

Stax X9000: Another very unfair comparison. They have a similar smooth and mellow (some would call low dynamics) sound, the Elite obviously has a stronger bass presence while the x9000 is brighter and has more of that estat flavor. Other than that, the technical capabilities are again way stronger on the x9000. It has one of the biggest soundstage I've ever heard in a pair of headphones (almost rivaling the HD800) while the detail, speed and separation is really on a level of its own.


Other people's impressions
I've had a few friends coming over and tried them since I received them. Without much bias beforehand, they pretty much all think the Elite is a pair of smooth, inoffensive pair of headphones that's on a similar level of the Utopia. All of them slightly prefer the sound and aesthetics of the Elite, while I slightly leaning towards the presentation of the Utopia but can definitely see people prefer either one over the other.