Meze Empyrean Isodynamic Hybrid Array Headphones

[PHC1]

Romania is quite scenic. This is the Transylvania region... Yes, that infamous castle of the legendary Vlad the Impaler aka Count Dracula...

Some seriously fun roads too..

[crwilli]

Lmao!

[Mouse]

Originally Posted by Robert_Anderson

That's not too horrible. I wonder how they will stack up against my Abyss and SR-009's.

I'll describe some differences by focusing on micro details between two flagship priced headphones. Keep in mind, these comparisons are focusing on minor differences between the two.

I have the Abyss Diana V2 and the Empyrean.
Empyrean has a little softer/mushier but louder bass (but only by comparison),
and it's not as edgy bright on the highs. I prefer the tonal balance of the empyrean. The Empyrean will still need a headphone amp, but it sounds good on most headphone amps. This headphone is considered easy to drive. The Empyrean seems better built, but looks a little goofy on the head.

The Diana V2, has weak bass that is incredibly fast (by comparison). On a popular headphone forum, it's considered hard to drive which is the reason behind weak bass. Either get a more powerful amp, or get a more powerful amp and get the 6,000 flagship buy abyss AB-1266. With a 4-6 watt headphone amp. The Diana V2 is brighter, cleaner, clearer than the Empyrean at the expense of sounding a little bright. The Diana is hard to drive, so no portable battery powered headphone amps do it well. Diana is a hard fit, it fits me perfectly, while others don't fit so well. The pads are thinner, the pads don't articulate nearly as well for all head shapes. The paint they use is garbage. They should do a premium anodizing, but instead they use a paint the rubs of on the sharp edges.

[Masterlu]

[Poncha]

Originally Posted by Mouse

I'll describe some differences by focusing on micro details between two flagship priced headphones. Keep in mind, these comparisons are focusing on minor differences between the two.

I have the Abyss Diana V2 and the Empyrean.
Empyrean has a little softer/mushier but louder bass (but only by comparison),
and it's not as edgy bright on the highs. I prefer the tonal balance of the empyrean. The Empyrean will still need a headphone amp, but it sounds good on most headphone amps. This headphone is considered easy to drive. The Empyrean seems better built, but looks a little goofy on the head.

The Diana V2, has weak bass that is incredibly fast (by comparison). On a popular headphone forum, it's considered hard to drive which is the reason behind weak bass. Either get a more powerful amp, or get a more powerful amp and get the 6,000 flagship buy abyss AB-1266. With a 4-6 watt headphone amp. The Diana V2 is brighter, cleaner, clearer than the Empyrean at the expense of sounding a little bright. The Diana is hard to drive, so no portable battery powered headphone amps do it well. Diana is a hard fit, it fits me perfectly, while others don't fit so well. The pads are thinner, the pads don't articulate nearly as well for all head shapes. The paint they use is garbage. They should do a premium anodizing, but instead they use a paint the rubs of on the sharp edges.

I'm curious as to which set of ear pads you prefer for the Empyrean and which set you used to compare with the Diana V2.

[Mouse]

Empyrean: Stock leather, haven't tried the suede.
Abyss Diana V2: Stock leather, haven't bought anything aftermarket.

[gaboudreaux]

After weeks of research and youtube reviews I decided on 4 headphones I wanted to try:

Focal Stellia
Focal Clear
Abyss Diana V2
Meze Empyrean

Much to my surprise, I found a local dealer that had both Focal's and Empyrean on display as demos, so I went there today to give them all a listen. Right when I walked in, there was a guy in front of me asking to listen to the Empyrean's, so I took both Focal Stellia's and Clear's and went in another room. Plugged both into a McIntosh amp (can't remember which one) and compared each. Found the Stellia's very clear and precise, but just a tad on the bright side. The Clear's were slightly more laid back and preferred them slightly over the Stellia's, but slightly grainy. Could've lived with either, but probably would've chose the Clear of the two.

After 30 minutes of back and forth with the Focal's, the dealer brought in the Empyrean's. I played the first song on the Empyrean's and within 30 seconds, I took them off and said "I'll take them!"

I've been listening to the Empyrean's here at home for the last 3 hours without fatigue and still feels very comfortable on my head. I think I did great for my very first headphone purchase. These are very good!

I'm using my Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty headphone amp for now and sounds very clear, but think they might benefit from a little more power.

Now on to research for the perfect amp.

[Masterlu]

Good story!

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by gaboudreaux

After weeks of research and youtube reviews I decided on 4 headphones I wanted to try:

Focal Stellia
Focal Clear
Abyss Diana V2
Meze Empyrean

Much to my surprise, I found a local dealer that had both Focal's and Empyrean on display as demos, so I went there today to give them all a listen. Right when I walked in, there was a guy in front of me asking to listen to the Empyrean's, so I took both Focal Stellia's and Clear's and went in another room. Plugged both into a McIntosh amp (can't remember which one) and compared each. Found the Stellia's very clear and precise, but just a tad on the bright side. The Clear's were slightly more laid back and preferred them slightly over the Stellia's, but slightly grainy. Could've lived with either, but probably would've chose the Clear of the two.

After 30 minutes of back and forth with the Focal's, the dealer brought in the Empyrean's. I played the first song on the Empyrean's and within 30 seconds, I took them off and said "I'll take them!"

I've been listening to the Empyrean's here at home for the last 3 hours without fatigue and still feels very comfortable on my head. I think I did great for my very first headphone purchase. These are very good!

I'm using my Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty headphone amp for now and sounds very clear, but think they might benefit from a little more power.

Now on to research for the perfect amp.

I have tried them all, for me the Bryston BHA-1 is the winner. Don’t let the low price fool you; I own 6 BHA-1’s

[gaboudreaux]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

I have tried them all, for me the Bryston BHA-1 is the winner. Don’t let the low price fool you; I own 6 BHA-1’s

Thanks Ivan! Will check it out.

How does that Hugo 2 sound?