Let's go now with the EMPYs...
Let's go now with the EMPYs...
I start with a footnote. Of the ones I own, the EMPYREANs are the
most difficult headphones to adjust. And not because they are not comfortable with almost any adjustment, but because their "—those
low mids a little bit "unbendable" or often even
bleeding...— are minimized, not to say they disappear, with an adjustment....
to the millimeter. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but don't think I'm exaggerating too much. I imagine it has to do with the structure of Rinaro's hybrid controller. Obviously, the EMPY profile is what it is. But, after fine tuning, it is surprising the level of resolution or "clarity" they achieve... to the point that I don't know if they are
necessary the ELITEs. Or if they are really an
upgrade. In any case, this is my experience... and "conviction". It is true that the silver Meze cable helps. As do the alcantara pads... which are the ones that, in the end —and after some back and forth with leather,
hybrid and
angled pads— are the ones that best translate, in my opinion, the nuances, contrasts, timbres... of the music I usually listen to. But, be that as it may, the truth is that the EMPYs
adjusted to the millimeter have "little" to do with the EMPYs that some critics
put on the ropes out there. I say all this because if I hadn't come to this adjustment... I don't think I would have written what now follows. My listening was mainly conducted with the OOR + HYPSOS combo, but also with the EUFORIA, the DIABLO 2 and the ACRO.
Grosso modo —and maybe what I'm about to say may raise some eyebrows—, the CALDERA are more
delicate, but less
unwrapped than the EMPY. The CALDERAs present the music to you on a platter and with kid gloves —in fact, it's as if the notes were a feather that they drop...-, although that doesn't stop them from being able to hit the table when necessary. The EMPYs' punch is, however, more
frontal, to the point that, sometimes, you'd like to hit back....
. CALDERA's use Japanese brush strokes. The EMPYs use Rembrandt's or Van Gogh's brush: the oil is more
bodily (and maybe that's why the EMPYs invite you to look at the painting
up close). The scene on the EMPYs is wider, even if it certainly does not reach the level of the HD800s. On the other hand, the CALDERAs offer a bit more depth. The timbre on the EMPYs is more
dry, while the CALDERAs soften the end of the notes. I mean that timbrally the CALDERA
like more, but perhaps the EMPY's are more
realistic. If only by
half a body.
Clues used - and yes, there's a little bit of everything: from PJ Harvey to Eleonora Bianchini to, obviously, the usual suspects.
PJ Harvey,
Dress:
here —there's a higher relief tip with the CALDERAs, albeit at the expense of width; all in all, here I might prefer the EMPYs: the Harvey sounds more
tongue-in-cheek.
Carlo Gesualdo,
Tristis est anima mea:
here —the EMPYs control a bit better, to the point that the voices seem to come out of nowhere... as if out of nowhere.
Maude Gratton and Baptiste Lopez performing Beethoven with original instruments:
here —the CALDERAs translate the acoustics of the room better (and this is almost always the case... whatever the headphones you contrast the CALDERAs with); however, with the EMPYs the performers sound like they've had a couple of coffees before (and this is not a recrimination: on the contrary).
Morphine,
Honey white:
here —with the CALDERA you are in the club; with the EMPY you listen to a recording.
Jerusalem Quartet, playing Bártok:
here —the string
scratches more with the EMPYs; the CALDERAs, on the other hand, have added a few doses of
softener, although it doesn't bother either; in fact, it doesn't bother... what perhaps
should "bother".
Rolf Lisveland to the baroque lute:
here —the CALDERA, enchanting; the EMPY,
truthful.
Fischer-Dieskau and Jörg Demus playing Carl Loewe:
here —for voices perhaps prefer the CALDERA: these reach you better.
Joan Manén and his
sonata di concerto with Guiillermo Pastrana and Daniel Blanch:
here —the EMPYs are here more
open, while the CALDERAs prefer a more intimate presentation... perhaps at the price of reducing the air between instruments.
Great Sibelius, by a conductor of stature, Santtu-Matias Rouvali:
here —the EMPYs, simply majestic...(and you're in the amphitheater); with the CALDERAs, you listen through an
old-timey radio, which is not, however, a demerit.
A Winterreise, by Jan Van Elsacker and Tom Beghin:
here —with this recording I clearly prefer the CALDERAs to the EMPYs: better translation of the voice and the
strange resonances of the pianoforte.
A pure bass by Nenad Vasilic:
here —almost on par; perhaps the CALDERAs reveal the bass textures a bit better here. But wow...
And this liar never lies, Eleonora Bianchini with Enzo Pietropaoli:
here —I think if I had heard this recording with the CALDERAs at the time I would have fallen in love with the Bianchini...
In short, something like a give and take. Depending on which recordings, especially those in which the voice is involved, I prefer the CALDERA —even if I delay them a little bit. Also, because of how it focuses the scene. But for the rest of the
factors, maybe I'll go for the EMPYs
adjusted to the millimeter....
. Maybe the impressions would be a bit different with the
pads of the CALDERA's suede
pads. I'll see how it goes tomorrow... But I would say that the shots, in general, go that way. At least, the ones that my revolver shoots....
IMHO, obviously.
.
