Its the Ring in the middle of drivers. Its designed to project the treble directly to ear. In this case it might be too strong.
If you compare build quality susvara vs elite the elite wins hands down. Better build, and quality materials. The ability to drive them using a portable dac/amp is a huge plus to me.
1 Like
I noted the same treble issue with the original Empyrean, the treble seemed separate, always noticeable (ādetachedā as was mentioned) from the rest of the frequency range.
Recently got the Elite, treble issue doesnāt seem as pronounced, at least not enough to bother me. Iām wondering if the angled alcantara pads have to do with this though, compared to all the other pads which are flat. I wish they had an angled leather pad though, as Iāve always preferred leather to alcantara or suede.
I just ordered the angled alcantara pads for my Elite. I think Meze should definitely develop some angled hybrid pads as well. It seems like an obvious thing to do.
I think the general consensus is that Elite is a great headphone as long as you understand that you are paying $1000 too much for the sound performance in favor of a superior build quality and comfort. Thatās not to say it sounds bad at all, just that it doesnāt sound any/much better than Arya - itās just built WAY better.
2 Likes
Please give us your feedback on the elite with alcantra pads. My impression of the Elite headphones, is they are the Rolex of headphones, in terms of quality, and beauty.
I canāt think of any other headphones that exude
such quality of craftsmanship.
The ability of these headphones to be driven by just about any source, is a huge plus.
I should get the angled Alcantara pads on Saturday, so Iāll post some impressions after I have a few days with them. I donāt have any comfort issues with the Hybrid pads, so Iām purely looking for sound changes. I have no doubt theyāll be very comfortable though.
They should make a difference. You might also try the upgrade cable meze offers. Headphones probably already sound amazing. 
I use a balanced ZMF 2K Copper cable with my Elite already. I also have a single-ended full-silver cable that I used as well (Wireworld Nano-Platinum Eclipse), but I preferred the 2K Copper.
1 Like
Just received my new Alcantara Angled pads today. Iām still so impressed with the pad swapping on these headphones. Itās ingenious and takes 5 seconds max to complete the swap.
Fist impressions from someone with rather large ears is that these are perfect. My ears donāt touch anything at all. With the hybrids, my ears touched a little bit, but it was not a big issue. These just up the comfort another notch, which is amazing. There was barely any room for improvement since these were already the most comfortable high-end headphones Iād ever used.
Iāll have to report back on the sound differences after I get more time with them, but so far everything sounds at least as good as it did with the hybrids. Iām told these have a little less mid-bass emphasis, and that may be true, but the mid-bass is still very well represented. I was a bit afraid these pads might dial back the bass a bit too much, but that is not the case at all in my opinion.
4 Likes
I am really impressed with how they design ear pads, where all you need to remove is a gentle pull. Magnetic ear pads, genius, so many vendors earpad removal is a chore requiring special tools, and are a pain to install and remove.
4 Likes
Have any of yall detected a certain āquirkā for lack of a better word with the bass response of the Meze Elites? Love the sound stage, fit-n-finish, the earpad adherence system (wish other mfgās would adopt that) and generally they just sound awesome except for the bass and cannot quite put my finger on it. My LCD-4z sounds complete and full all the way through (new updated style pads FYI) so that is what I listen to 100% of the time. And the Elites are much more comfortable to wear extended time, but I well tolerate the 4z for hours on end and they just sound complete compared to the Elites. Which really do sound gorgeous too but that bass just pushes the 4z over the top to my ears. Even though the Elites do have a little better sound stage presentation.
What exactly is this āquirkā in the bass youāre hearing? I love the bass on the Elite and think it has great extension, detail and punch when called for. I think the new Angled pads dial back the mid-bass a little, but in doing so allow more bass detail to come through. What amp are you using with them? With either my Cayin iHA-6, Quicksilver, or Little Silver Fox, these are easily my favorite headphones and their bass is always satisfying to my ears.
1 Like
My dac is a DENAFRIPS Ares II and my amp is a GSX Mini by Headamp. Generally running FLAC from my hard drive files or streaming Tidal. USB data transmission from PC to dac. The quirk is it just does not sound the same as my LCD-4z in that it does not have the same satisfying punch like maybe the bass is rolled off a little or something? I know this is a lame description but it is what I am hearing with my ears. Note that the Elites still sound wonderful and overall nothing to complain about until really digging into many genres of songs over a lot of time and when doing that the bass response of the Elites can be questioned.
I did email Meze asking them about the possibility of new leather thicker pads thinking maybe that would help the bass delivery some but they said they had no plans to make thinker leather pads available for the Elites.
Remember that this in no way is dissing the Elites. They are indeed some awesome headphones. I just end up always using the LCD-4z all the time; I need to pull out the Elites and listen to them for a while.
I assume youāre using the Hybrid pads. I wouldnāt recommend the Angled Alcantara pads if you find the bass lacking with the Hybrids. The Angled pads dial back the mid-bass a bit and make for clearer/more-detailed bass, but it might be too lean for your tastes. I think I remember seeing a few people that liked the thicker Empyrean leather pads on their Elite. You could try those, or perhaps try and warmer amp. Have you tried a tube amp with the Elite yet?
2 Likes
I would absolutely like to test a really good tube amp someday like Feliks Audio or similar. But no I have never listened to a tube amp. May have to try a set of the original Empyrean leather pads good suggestion. Swapped out my 4z to the Elites and they do indeed sound sublime. Just seems like the 4z have that sultry smoky ambiance I crave so much for the blues currently onto Maria Daines and sounding really nice. Splitting hairs really to be honestā¦ The Elites are a class act, no problems with these. If someone asked me if I would sell them, well the answer would be a resounding āNOā. So thereās that.
1 Like
Just occurred to me that the mids are a bit more forward also on the Elites vs the LCD-4z. I think maybe that is why they have a really nice soundstage. Certainly the mids are a bit more forward than the slight recession on the 4z. Could be the main difference now that I really think about it. Listened to Candy Dulfer sax and that was really cool. Will rock 'em some tomorrow as well. One thing for sure the Elites are so darn comfortable to wear it is hard to take them off LOL.
1 Like
Elites sound great on solid-state or tube amps. I have a Quicksilver tube amp that drives them very well. They are so easy to drive that there are lots of options for amplifiers. I donāt think OTL tube amps would be the best choice, but a good transformer-coupled tube amp is definitely a good match.
2 Likes
This is my favorite combo for the LCD-5. Really sum is greater than the parts combo. Perhaps that helps with your 4z as wellā¦
1 Like
Have you played with EQ at all? I found the Elite (and Empyrean) to have too much bass bloom throughout the upper bass, which bled into the mids and made things sound chesty and wooly in that area. This was with the leather pads on both. Dropping that down a bit with EQ will likely improve bass clarity and the lower midrange.
BTW - totally agree about comfort. Nothing Iāve tried have come close to the comfort the Empy and Elite offer.
1 Like