Oh yeah, they’re definitely a looker! It kinda reminds me of European hyper cars in its design.
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@Chrono Great review! It’s pretty much in line with what I felt when I tried the empyreans as well. Everything except for the sound was really great. I listen to a lot of music that emphasizes vocals which left me confused as to why the pricing was so high. I’d rather have almost any headphone at that price range over the Empyrean.
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That’s interesting because I think the vocals on the Empyrean are sweet. We all hear a little differently tho so it’s understandable.
When New Record Day reviewed the Empyrean he said the vocals were just about perfect and I couldn’t agree more. He was using the same amp as me as well.
I guess if you don’t like these you can save yourself some cash 
But seriously we all have a preference and I’d take these over the Rad-0 but others feel differently and thats ok. It’s all ok! 
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Yep, everyone has their own preferences and probably hear things a little differently so I can see why some people really enjoy the Empyrean. When I had it to test, I compared it with the Verite Open and the Arya. The timbre on the Empy wasn’t as off as the Arya but wasn’t quite as nice as the Verites. The vocal quality of females that are known to be smooth and laid back had just a bit of edge to them that didn’t exist with other headphones I listened to. I also found that while the bass was fun and impactful, it would often overpower or overemphasized that region which threw off the balance of some songs. If these quirks were in a cheaper headphone, I think most people would overlook it or view it as character. It’s also hard for me to recommend to people if you need to pair a $2,600 Euforia just to make sure that the Empyrean sounds good.
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I’d agree the timbre on the Verite is more natural than the Empyrean but the Empyrean offers a nice contrast/change up imo. I wouldnt want a planar thats close to the Verite. What would be the point. Just own one and be done. And I don’t think the bass muddied up the lower mids and some vocal regions. Again I feel it’s pretty enjoyable. I also think synergy comes into play with the Empyreans. I don’t feel you need a 2k amp, but you probably want to find the right pairing.
But, again this is a positive sign for you. As you can put your money towards something you like
It’s similar to food. Some people don’t like lobster. They think it’s too rich. Some don’t like certain full bodied wines, beer, etc. Get what you like.
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Yeah everyone had different preferences and expectations.
Check out Metal571’s review of it. I found that his impressions and Chrono’s line up with mine on it as well.
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Agreed. I don’t think it needs a Euforia but I’ve been told by others that if I didn’t pair it with a 2019 Euforia or later, then I wasn’t truly hearing the Empyrean.
I don’t have any issue with people liking what they like. I just don’t think it makes sense to tell someone that their experience with the headphone is wrong when clearly there are other examples of people experiencing the same thing. Everyone has their own take on things.
When I look at reviews of a headphone, I tend to try to find patterns from all the reviews. If a headphone has 50/50 positive/negative reviews, then it’s a polarizing headphone. If it’s predominately positive, then I would say most people will like it or consider it worth the money. If it’s predominately negative, I will tend to avoid the headphone or possibly try it to make sure it’s not for me.
I have plenty of gear that most people don’t have so I have no issue with people not agreeing with me. I think it’s futile to try to convince everyone that the headphone you like should be liked by everyone.
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Yeah I remember watching his and wondering what the hell he was listening to
I also don’t think his 789 and d50 did it any favors. But that’s OK because he knows what he likes and he enjoyed the lcd 4 much more.
This headphone is pretty unique in that some hear a different headphone completely. Kinda odd lol.
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Good review. I demoed the Empyrean with a Chord Hugo 2 DAC/amp and it wasn’t the ideal pairing; I intend to revisit with other amplification.
For these reviews, it would be helpful to include a $500 tube amp and a $2k tube amp to try to cover the range of amps for a given product’s likely consumers/buyers. SPL, Topping, and JDS Labs all seem to have the same neutral flavor, which is favorable as a baseline when evaluating cans, but additional alternative flavors are helpful to inform consumers of optimal gear pairings. Thanks.
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Yeah I’d say this headphone is on par with 50/50, like/dislike ratio. And some who have enjoyed it didn’t use a 2k amp.
And honestly, I never care what a reviewer thinks of a headphone or equipment if I find that I like or dislike it. Im not going to use something that I don’t like because a reviewer enjoys it. And I’m not going to attempt to change someones mind if they don’t enjoy what I like.
Did you listen to the Empyrean in your own environment or on your chain? I’ve heard some people say they didn’t like it at meets, etc. But when they had time with it in their environment, they liked it more. Probably wouldn’t matter with you, as you have a strong opinion of it, but I was just curious. If you disliked it they way you’re saying it’ll probably still be a hard no. And again, that’s cool!
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How a reviewer hears something informs me if we have similar sonic preferences. “I will likely like what X reviewer likes; I will likely like what Y reviewer doesn’t like.” This applies to libations and coffee also.
There are also some gear that are in your face, with a “look at me” presentation intended to be impressive which can get attention at shows/meets, but are not something you want to live with at home for the long term. And then vice versa, unimpressive at shows/meets, but then flourish like none other when brought home. This is similar to a big high alcohol cabernet wine or imperial stout beer that is “memorable” and impresses, but not something that you can enjoy beyond a few sips.
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Who told you that? I recall a conversation with you about there being a 2019 revision which you weren’t aware of at the time but the Empyrean wasn’t ever a part of that conversation.
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Just for anyone wondering about the Meze Empyrean frequency response, here are the measurements I’ve done on the GRAS:
Empyrean vs Harman Combined
Empyrean vs IEF Target
It’s interesting, I don’t think Chrono has seen these (I’m not sure if he has or not), but his analysis of the tonal balance is spot on. You can see the upper bass bleeding into the mids around 200hz. The rest of the tonal balance looks pretty darn good, warm but still with a good shape to the ear gain area, and then some upper treble intensity above 10khz. Note that it’s likely perceived more strange than it looks in part because of how generally warm the rest of the headphone is. So while the balance as a whole isn’t all that bad, that’s kind of where the cohesion issues come from.
The thing with the treble is that… I actually found it to have good detail despite being too ‘shimmery’ up there - and this I think is part of the isodynamic hybrid array aspect of the Empyrean.
But in general, the main drawback with this headphone is that it simply doesn’t compete for detail with similarly priced headphones, and that’s fine if you consider the comfort/build worth the extra money. It made it to the top of my “most comfortable headphones” list for that very reason.
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Nice review Chrono.
I’m really interested in hearing these as they’re so divisive it seems. Some love them, and other not so much.
I appreciate your honesty and efforts you put into your reviews. Keep up the good work! 
Edit: One thing I think we can all agree on is that in build and design the Empyrean are exemplary.
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Judging by the FR, would this be considered a “dark” headphone?
I’d say more ‘warm’ than dark, because it has appropriate ear gain, just a touch relaxed.
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I second this! It’s nice to see reviews covering the whole spectrum versus “it’s all good.”
My comments above weren’t intended to be a criticism, more constructive. These cans and this review happened to motivate general comments I’ve been intending to share.
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I actually listened to the Empyrean on my own chain. My opinion just aligns with what was said by chrono. If both my chain and Chrono’s chain didn’t synergize well with the Empyrean, then I’m up for trying them again. I actually listened to them on a Euforia as well but found myself not vibing with the sound.
My strong opinion is really just with people who like to make others feel bad or tell them they’re wrong just because they don’t agree when it comes to something relatively subjective like audio. If it’s not for you, then that’s fine. If it is, that’s ok as well. I do like to make sure that I’m not imagining things when I listen to stuff though so I do check to see if other people have heard the same or if I’m just way off when evaluating gear.
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Ahh, okay. That makes sense. These seem to be a very upscale ‘chill’ headphone.
I gotta get ears on them.
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