Great review John! I really like how you explain sound quality so well without using too much jargon. Your videos are so good I've stopped really reading the articles. I think all the non-verbal cues, like timing and expression, that you get across with video really help me understand your experience with a product better than text, especially when it comes to describing sound and listing signal paths. You're doing a damn good job of bringing audiophila to the mass market. Keep up the good work and good luck with the channel! Cheers Pete ps I'd also be interested to hear your thoughts on where focal's utopias sit in this line up if you ever get a chance to review a pair
Your reviews are excellent and I love your approach to reviewing, you don't bore people, it's always interesting with you, measurements have their place, but the way you do what you do they really don't matter. You tell us what you hear and how they make you feel, oh and John, I absolutely love "Dire Straits". The Prefab Sprouts albums is very good. The Autechre Amber is great. The DJ Hell, not so much and the Idels Brutalism is too edgy for me. Great stuff as always John.
Your coffee and wine analogies are bloody spot on 🤣 “Peace Orchestra” highly recommended album BTW especially if you like morphology- traveller 👌🏼 (thank you for introducing that to me, it’s Stella!)
John, as a first-timer on your channel, I have to say that everything about this channel - the camerawork, the editing, the sound, the script - is extremely good. It helps that you have a very sophisticated accent coupled with a soothing, slightly textured voice (you should really consider doing voice work for adverts). It's obvious a lot of effort has gone into its making, and I hope you continue to release more great content. You have a new subscriber :)
“Never trust a review that doesn’t have comparisons with other gear” - Yes! Truer words have never been said. Without comparisons your left with no real conclusions.
The only fault I could find is its design. Admirable but definitely not to most people's tastes me included. It's like Opera vs commercial music if you like.
Please do more headphone reviews I can second your opinion on the Empyrean - best Allrounder - not for mobile use but could be - also works brilliant with a Cayin N8 in Tube mode
Great review! I've been searching for multiple reviews on this great new headphone for quite some time already and yours comes across as very informative in terms of what i'm personally looking for.
I like your review style and flow. My Meze Empyreans will be delivered Friday to go along with my Chord TT 2 and Mscaler that I got last month. So far I've been using the Sony Z1R's with the Chord gear and have been blown away. I can't wait to hear the Empyreans.
Totally. No one likes them: "It charted at number one worldwide, spending 10 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart (between 18 January and 22 March 1986), nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States and 34 weeks at number one on the Australian Albums Chart. Brothers in Arms was the first album certified 10-times platinum in the UK[2] and is the eighth-best-selling album in UK chart history, is certified nine-times platinum in the United States, and is one of the world's best-selling albums, having sold more than 30 million copies worldwide."
I have watched many of your videos John, I really like you and your videos. It's really great content you bring to the hi-fi world. And you have a nice wide range of taste in music I think. But I must say, I got a very huge shock when you all of a sudden said you can't stand Dire Straits. Dire Straits is my favourite band, and I too, have a very wide range of music taste. But Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler just makes music with a guitar that touches my soul and heart in a way I have never heard before from other music artists. So it makes me really sad to hear you can't stand Dire Straits. Isn't there just one song you like from Dire Straits?
Seven and a half minutes in, and I'm really enjoying this review. And then he says, "I cannot stand Dire Straits." Ok, so this must be an opposite-day review, and everything he says is actually the opposite of what he means, right?
Thanks to you I think this is my next pair of planars 👍🏼... It’s time for the LCD-X’s to go. I definitely don’t desire a squeaky clean reproduction of my music, or “squeegee clean” as you say 🧐 (never heard it said that way before) so I look forward to tryin these out for myself. Thanks for the informed review! The attention to detail when focusing on a particular nuance is really helpful 👍🏼 This review had so much knowledge conveyed in a way that was easy to digest. Thanks again
I never met a planar I really liked a lot, although the MrSpeakers T50rp mod called Mad Dog was very decent for the price. Not so the Alpha Dog. Now that their prices are pushing $2000 or more perhaps they've gotten better. The classic HD800 set the standard for upper harmonics resolution, soundstage etc., and probably (if I still had it) would EQ to something enjoyable. The NightHawk and the Focal Elear had great potential, but were deficient in presence. The Shure SRH-1840 I had long ago was slightly shy on presence, but its biggest fault was a bass tone that broke up badly. I've had several Beyers - latest the DT1770, but never could listen to a wide variety of music with them. I've made good comments about a few Grados, but my EQ curves say a lot about those issues. By and large, I recommend getting a headphone that's appealing in looks and comfort, agreeable in sound, and then tuning it up with a good equalizer - not to "personal taste", but to a more natural sound like live music.
I have Shure SRH1840 too and while it is true that they are a bit bass shy - the quality of bass is really good. Overall - not as good as Focal Clear that I bought a few months ago, but with bass boosted a bit in EQ and they still sound awesome. I had them for 3 years now and no problems for me. Love them both.
Hey John, I love your reviews, but at 7:25 I´ve got a kind of ventricular fibrillation - If you know what I mean... Dire Straits is like my musical mother´s milk - So every time I´m in a bad mood - listening to any song from Mark cheers me up... Try it - You´ll love it, too... It is a question of repitition... Trust me. Greetings!
I have a lovely pair of Fostex headphones, but they will never replace speakers. As John says, there is the lack of an adequate soundstage and then there is the question of “air”, which doesn’t exist in any headphones I’ve used.
Just dipping my toe into audio after decades away. I am trying to reconcile my love of $8000.00 bicycles with a desire for some of this equally expensive sound equipment.
Always enjoy your thorough and comparative reviews John! Keep 'em coming! Given that you classified these new Meze flagship cans in the Goldilocks zone, I instantly thought about Hifiman. Would love to hear your thoughts on how these compare on your same scale to say something like the HE1000v2 or the Anandas (thinking of buying a pair) or probably perhaps a closer and fairer comparative would be against the Susqvara? I too found the LCD range overly buttery on many tracks... I found myself wanting a bit more upper end detail/clarity with Audeze while Hifiman seems to have offerings that are more in between. Thoughts??
John, the first tune with the sweet guitar intro, who is playing that? Love your channel, very nice music choice. The equipment is a bonus for me, music first! Thnx
Hi I still have a walkman Professional with capstan servo and amorphous head in fact it is a sonnyWM-D3 and can record as well.Beside that little note I congratulate John for he's fresh approach of how to listen to Music and keep it interesting. I follow John for quit a while and I must say the move to Berlin was the right way to go . Aim 70 years old hooked on music and the stereo bug since aim 17 yers old and read a lot of Magazine ,Books in regards of HIFI etc .So far John is the most interesting and honest person in regards of reporting on Equipment .Keep it up aim sure your following (on youTube)will grow.
SUBSCRIBED! I like your music taste. Not the typical audiophile that listen to shitty music only because the recording meets their standards. "Never trust a review that doesn't do comparisons with other gear" that's wisdom. You review the design and user experience. Sometimes that's more important than sound. Specially on headphones You have the turntable and speakers I'd have if I were single without kids. You look kind of blind so you probably have good ears he he he ;)
New subscriber comment: I'm enjoying all the videos and reviews regardless that all the components you review are way above my price points for casual audio listening experiences. But i was moved to ask this about these headphones. As expensive and well made as they are...aren't they really more suited to use by studio musicians crafting music rather than casual or audiophile listeners?.... you didn't mention that use/function at all. Thanks for all the fine content.
Forgive me for my ignorance in hi-fi systems - in the setup during the beginning, does the turntable have a built in phono pre-amp? Or is it located in the Schiit ?
First time watcher and I have to say that was not only one of the best headphone reviews I’ve seen, it’s simply one of the best reviews of anything I’ve ever seen. The Walkman was a great (low impedance) touch. You just gained another subscriber John.
Love the production value and care and attention you guys put into your reviews. The content is always spot on and the execution is way better than anyone else in the space.
I’ve bern following your channel for quite some time now. Along the way, I played many of your recommended album and song thru your video. Now this video is godsend. You even included a playlist in the discription. Thank you.
Awesome review. Thanks for the playlist. You had mentioned in an earlier episode that you don’t like LPs as much as digital for critical listening. Seeing a good change here. You might start liking dire straits if u listen on that TT setup!
The difference you heard in the 'cable' may not really be the cable, it may be the amp. For most amps that have both single ended and balanced outputs, the two outputs will sound slightly different. Because they are really designed for the balanced output. The single ended output is just an 'afterthought' that uses half of the electronics.
I don't know of any other reviewer that makes me watch a video till the end... you can explain the peculiarities of a product in such an enjoyable way. Can you review some Grado hesdphone? Thank you in advance, Greetings from Tehran
The balancing tecnology was created to eliminate external interferences over a long extended cable, so, basically, none really. The balancing just creates a duplicate signal and changes the fase 180° and sends them through the cable in order to eliminate any incident noise when re-phasing and reassembling the two signals. The balancing electronics, however, could create background noise if not good enough. But it is rare.
The Schitt Jotunheim will always sound better balanced because that's just how they made it. So it's not entirely accurate to attribute the balanced cable making the Empyreans sound better when balanced will sound better with that particular amp anyway. =
Thank you for the review, these cans absolutely are one of best. I have verite, adx5k, E2, 009, voce, he6. Meze are beast on its own. Open box sound was not impresive with bloated bass and too warm, burned in for 50 hours (target 200 hours) with white noise, now meze sound more tight and delicious. No more boomy and too much bass. Use balanced from bartok or wa5 for desktop. Hugo2 or wa11 for portable. The fitting also very comfy with alcatra pads. Can not wait until 200hours breakin. Cheers
Hi, I think the Dire Straits are not for me. The Meze though I think is for me. (To complete the Feliks Audio Euforia.) I have the Stax L700 mk1 now and the yoke broke twice and I do not have the cash for the SR-009, so Meze seems high quality stuff enough. I will first listen of course, and I think I could buy Meze also second hand, whereas Hifiman I could not, due to its so so built-quality.
What if you have a headphone amplifier with balanced cable for each channel ? LUXMAN P-705u and BRYSTON BHA-1 have the single ended a balanced stereo and a balanced for each channel. I guess you have to do custom order for such a cable. Of course these 2 amplifiers are very expencive especially the LUXMAN. You ever heard of these 2? I mean their sound quality.
Darko has bizzare musical tastes, listened to WP:Great Jumbo-spotify...couldn't even get past 1st min on any of them> I can listen to low-fi YT> DS:live '85 SOS w/lovely sax solo, on continuous loop. Bro In Arms...on big ass speaker systems is deep, deep rumbling awesome
I directly compared them the other day. Overall the meze sounds way better. There is two things I really didn’t like about the meze though. The feel a bit loose fitting under the ears and voices sound a little „metal“ like, they tend to be missing „fullness“ somehow...
Not really! Tried Meze 99 Classics vs Empyrean and I actually loved 99's better. Gear attached to was dCS DAC, a beast with a ridiculous price of £12.000! Meze 99 Classics with 6.25 jack & Empyrean balanced out. CanJam London 2019 (today!). While Empyrean has more detailed and cleaner sound, stage sounded rather "boxed" and dull with a rolled-off treble. 99 Classics were more wide, transparent and easier to wear for extended period of time. Empyrean are not bad cans at all - just a far cry of this video title with absolutely unjustifiable price tag.
finally an Audiophiler that listens to Autechre; you should check out Richard Devine's new album Sort/Lave it's purely analog modular synthesizers, or his Bleep #49 Set on Bleep.com or his Soundcloud
HD800s got some distortion in bass. The stage is nice and wide but clarity isnt that good. Theres something with the bass that makes it muffled/hollow. How would you compare them with Meze Empyrean? Is the clarity better?
There’s no such thing as a too light headphone. I’m no fan of the HD800 sound signature but if I could wear any headphone and not feel it, that’s a good thing.
Thanks for a very informative review. I could not agree more on your evaluation of the Meze Empyrean. I've only had mine for a few days, but I love it (with the leather pads). I'm using it with a Sony NW-WM1A (digital) Walkman, and a Sony TAZH1ES headphone amp. It sounds fantastic with either one, but a bit more detailed with the TAZH1ES. So far, I've only used the balanced cable that came with it. I would say it is very neutral, yet detailed and refined, with exceptional bass and vocal clarity. The build quality and comfort are amazing.
Excellent Review!! Just the right amount of information and explanation, not to long and boring and not to short and confusing, just like the Empyrean. Will start watching your videos from now on. I got the chance to hear them, and this are by far the best headphones i ever heard. Those beautiful Headphones will be on my desk in two weeks, cant wait!
Yeah I agree with everything you said about the Empyrean HP.. I too have a Technics SL1200G with a Audio Technica ART 9 cart and a Manley Chinook Phono Preamp and it sounds amazing coming through Empyreans.. At first I found them a little too warm with no treble sparkle, then after about 2 weeks they finally started to show there stuff amazing detail and sound stage without compromising anything and the best thing about them is they play all music genres without losing anything. But I ordered a SILVER cable for them to try to pull more micro detail that I am use too with my other hp's. I can also say the Empyreans pair very well with the Felixs Euforia OTL, Sony NW-WM1Z Premium Walkman via 4.4mm balanced, and Audio Gd Master 9 amp.. My other HP's are Sony Z1R, and Focal Utopia's and I had to choose it would be the Empyreans because it does everything. Love your channel Darko
You mentioned this as a PLeather ear cups but Meze's website states it as Real leather? Also it is pretty easy to drive and was considering this with a WA11 for a more portable use.
John brilliant reviews. Irony is difficult enough with a live audience - on an internet review - this is sangfroid indeed. Expensive though as I can’t fault your case for either the Dave or the Empyreans. I need to buy both ASAP, and probably one of the Audeze’s. I’m in Melbourne - if you can direct me somewhere which will reward your efforts please let me know. Thanks.
Wish I had enough to get the Chord Dave. Are you familiar with the Questyle CMA twelve amp dac? If so, what do you think about using it with the Empyrean? I appreciate your feedback.
Thanks a lot for all your thourough reviews, do you think a small DAC like the DragonFly(s) or the EarMen Sparrow can move and be a good pairing with a Meze Empyrean headphones, have you tried the pairing?
Nice review as always. One thing I wonder: What do you mean with micro dynamics? The cups looks as if the ear would struggle to fit without touching the cups or just looks like that? Balanced vs single ended: In my opinion they are not “better” but might be different. Just as two single ended can sound slightly different. I like your transparent thoughts, can be a bit unusual in “audiophile” world. : ) Also agree about the Sennheisers, they do almost disappear on the head, being the most comfy headphones of all I tested and own. Surprisingly those very thin cups (as well as the headband) does a superb job and probably one reason why it fits so snug and effortless. I hear other complain though. One size fits all is just not possible with headphones I guess : ) And the Sennheiser has something not many headphones has: a very nice slim profile instead of those thick bulky cans.
They are PERFECT for electronic music. As a matter of fact, I was just playing "Kas:st - Reveries Of The Solitary Walker" with it, turned the volume up, and holy crap was I not ready for that. Thunderous and mesmerizing, nothing is left behind. Purchased my Empyrean 2 days ago, and now I'm still digging through all of my music, turning absolutely speechless time after time. If electronic music is your main thing, Empyrean is among the best of the best. Auditioned it against 20+ other headphones in the $1500-6000 range, only headphone I prefered over the Empyrean was the Susvara, but since I would also need to get a much better amp for that, it would get a lot more expensive. So the Empyrean came home with me, and it seems like I've not even scratched the surface of its potential in those auditioning sessions. Feels like the first time I got proper headphones all over again.
@@JSym92 Thank you for your impressions! I just ordered mine. I'm also into electronic music so your info was very helpful. Let us know what you think about your Empy's after all this time?
Meze did the design seriously and it's nice. Cz when I'm buying audio things , I always look at the design too. It's like buying food , the main is nutrition, but aesthetic,smells,taste is important too ;)
Great review John! I really like how you explain sound quality so well without using too much jargon. Your videos are so good I've stopped really reading the articles. I think all the non-verbal cues, like timing and expression, that you get across with video really help me understand your experience with a product better than text, especially when it comes to describing sound and listing signal paths. You're doing a damn good job of bringing audiophila to the mass market. Keep up the good work and good luck with the channel! Cheers Pete
ps I'd also be interested to hear your thoughts on where focal's utopias sit in this line up if you ever get a chance to review a pair
Yes we feel hi fi with this Powerful pro ❤️💪
The only comment I can make: my 2006 Renault Clio is now worth less than a pair of these Meze headphones.
my first car was worth less than a pair of hd660s at the msrp of 500€
Your reviews are excellent and I love your approach to reviewing, you don't bore people, it's always interesting with you, measurements have their place, but the way you do what you do they really don't matter. You tell us what you hear and how they make you feel, oh and John, I absolutely love "Dire Straits". The Prefab Sprouts albums is very good. The Autechre Amber is great. The DJ Hell, not so much and the Idels Brutalism is too edgy for me. Great stuff as always John.
You did justice to these headphones. Best review for the Meze Empyrean. Will be getting these for sure.
Your coffee and wine analogies are bloody spot on 🤣
“Peace Orchestra” highly recommended album BTW especially if you like morphology- traveller 👌🏼 (thank you for introducing that to me, it’s Stella!)
John, as a first-timer on your channel, I have to say that everything about this channel - the camerawork, the editing, the sound, the script - is extremely good. It helps that you have a very sophisticated accent coupled with a soothing, slightly textured voice (you should really consider doing voice work for adverts). It's obvious a lot of effort has gone into its making, and I hope you continue to release more great content. You have a new subscriber :)
“Never trust a review that doesn’t have comparisons with other gear” - Yes! Truer words have never been said. Without comparisons your left with no real conclusions.
I think I said "reviews" (not "reviewers") but the message is essentially the same. :)
John Darko sorry about that, I corrected my post.
the sony mdr-z1r would fit your listening profile very well from what I've heard in this video. You should try them out.
The only fault I could find is its design. Admirable but definitely not to most people's tastes me included. It's like Opera vs commercial music if you like.
as soon as you said you "I hate dire straits" I say to bite my American ass!mhh32452
"I cannot stand Dire Straits?"
Are you mad?
Did you really say that?
I cannot believe you’ve said that...
I said that.
1st album was great. All stolen off J. J. Cale. But still great.
Insanity!:)
I cant stand them either
@@DarkoAudio that's just not right... :-)
Please do more headphone reviews
I can second your opinion on the Empyrean - best Allrounder - not for mobile use but could be - also works brilliant with a Cayin N8 in Tube mode
Great review! I've been searching for multiple reviews on this great new headphone for quite some time already and yours comes across as very informative in terms of what i'm personally looking for.
I had the shock of my life to find out that Meze are a Romanian company. I am happy and proud about that as I am Romanian myself 👍
I like your review style and flow. My Meze Empyreans will be delivered Friday to go along with my Chord TT 2 and Mscaler that I got last month. So far I've been using the Sony Z1R's with the Chord gear and have been blown away. I can't wait to hear the Empyreans.
Great video...except for the Dire Straits comment 😮
Ya "can't stand Dire Straits"... wtf was that
Seconded,,
Dire straits are shite, IMHO.
Totally. No one likes them: "It charted at number one worldwide, spending 10 weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart (between 18 January and 22 March 1986), nine weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States and 34 weeks at number one on the Australian Albums Chart. Brothers in Arms was the first album certified 10-times platinum in the UK[2] and is the eighth-best-selling album in UK chart history, is certified nine-times platinum in the United States, and is one of the world's best-selling albums, having sold more than 30 million copies worldwide."
That's okay, because I don't care about the opinions of people who wear cordaroy shirts.
I have watched many of your videos John, I really like you and your videos. It's really great content you bring to the hi-fi world. And you have a nice wide range of taste in music I think.
But I must say, I got a very huge shock when you all of a sudden said you can't stand Dire Straits. Dire Straits is my favourite band, and I too, have a very wide range of music taste. But Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler just makes music with a guitar that touches my soul and heart in a way I have never heard before from other music artists. So it makes me really sad to hear you can't stand Dire Straits. Isn't there just one song you like from Dire Straits?
Seven and a half minutes in, and I'm really enjoying this review. And then he says, "I cannot stand Dire Straits." Ok, so this must be an opposite-day review, and everything he says is actually the opposite of what he means, right?
That little bit of Autechre made me smile
This guy knows his shit & has done his homework. Unlike (Z)bitchski
Great review, JD. I confess, even though you do them occasionally, I would love to see your take on slightly more affordable audio kit. :)
Thanks to you I think this is my next pair of planars 👍🏼... It’s time for the LCD-X’s to go. I definitely don’t desire a squeaky clean reproduction of my music, or “squeegee clean” as you say 🧐 (never heard it said that way before) so I look forward to tryin these out for myself. Thanks for the informed review! The attention to detail when focusing on a particular nuance is really helpful 👍🏼 This review had so much knowledge conveyed in a way that was easy to digest. Thanks again
I never met a planar I really liked a lot, although the MrSpeakers T50rp mod called Mad Dog was very decent for the price. Not so the Alpha Dog. Now that their prices are pushing $2000 or more perhaps they've gotten better. The classic HD800 set the standard for upper harmonics resolution, soundstage etc., and probably (if I still had it) would EQ to something enjoyable. The NightHawk and the Focal Elear had great potential, but were deficient in presence. The Shure SRH-1840 I had long ago was slightly shy on presence, but its biggest fault was a bass tone that broke up badly. I've had several Beyers - latest the DT1770, but never could listen to a wide variety of music with them. I've made good comments about a few Grados, but my EQ curves say a lot about those issues. By and large, I recommend getting a headphone that's appealing in looks and comfort, agreeable in sound, and then tuning it up with a good equalizer - not to "personal taste", but to a more natural sound like live music.
I have Shure SRH1840 too and while it is true that they are a bit bass shy - the quality of bass is really good. Overall - not as good as Focal Clear that I bought a few months ago, but with bass boosted a bit in EQ and they still sound awesome. I had them for 3 years now and no problems for me. Love them both.
Hey John, I love your reviews, but at 7:25 I´ve got a kind of ventricular fibrillation - If you know what I mean... Dire Straits is like my musical mother´s milk - So every time I´m in a bad mood - listening to any song from Mark cheers me up... Try it - You´ll love it, too... It is a question of repitition... Trust me. Greetings!
I have a lovely pair of Fostex headphones, but they will never replace speakers. As John says, there is the lack of an adequate soundstage and then there is the question of “air”, which doesn’t exist in any headphones I’ve used.
Just dipping my toe into audio after decades away. I am trying to reconcile my love of $8000.00 bicycles with a desire for some of this equally expensive sound equipment.
Same first world problem for me too :-)
Always enjoy your thorough and comparative reviews John! Keep 'em coming! Given that you classified these new Meze flagship cans in the Goldilocks zone, I instantly thought about Hifiman. Would love to hear your thoughts on how these compare on your same scale to say something like the HE1000v2 or the Anandas (thinking of buying a pair) or probably perhaps a closer and fairer comparative would be against the Susqvara? I too found the LCD range overly buttery on many tracks... I found myself wanting a bit more upper end detail/clarity with Audeze while Hifiman seems to have offerings that are more in between. Thoughts??
The HE1000V2 or Arya are harder to drive maybe better to compare the HE1000SE. Built by Hifiman is less good I think than Meze.
i think you can love Prefab Sprout and Dire Straits both. ; )
Not if you can't stand Prefab Sprout ; )
Stunning headphone. I'll pick it up if I ever win the lottery.
John, the first tune with the sweet guitar intro, who is playing that?
Love your channel, very nice music choice. The equipment is a bonus for me, music first!
Thnx
search for .... "sin luz sir flansi instrumental"
Wow! A working Walkman! 😮
Yeah, that’s what I thought too!
Hello John !
I’ve tried it today, This heaphone is unbelievable. Thanks for tour rewiew 👍
Much respect for playing Prefab Sprout! great review, keep up the good work!!
Hi I still have a walkman Professional with capstan servo and amorphous head in fact it is a sonnyWM-D3 and can record as well.Beside that little note I congratulate John for he's fresh approach of how to listen to Music and keep it interesting.
I follow John for quit a while and I must say the move to Berlin was the right way to go . Aim 70 years old hooked on music and the stereo bug since aim 17 yers old and read a lot of Magazine ,Books in regards of HIFI etc .So far John is the most interesting and honest person in regards of reporting on Equipment .Keep it up aim sure your following (on youTube)will grow.
Just stunning! These reviews are so perfect. Thank you!
Have a go on Audio Techica ADX5000 headphone, you might like it, not as cold as HD800s.
Your videos are top notch quality. I have a feeling your channel will be big later on.
This pairing was terrible. Empy and the Dave.
They sound great , unfortunately the price is obscene...
SUBSCRIBED!
I like your music taste. Not the typical audiophile that listen to shitty music only because the recording meets their standards.
"Never trust a review that doesn't do comparisons with other gear" that's wisdom.
You review the design and user experience. Sometimes that's more important than sound. Specially on headphones
You have the turntable and speakers I'd have if I were single without kids.
You look kind of blind so you probably have good ears he he he ;)
I'm a Music-First Audiophile: darko.audio/2017/06/what-is-a-music-first-audiophile/
Hey john!
Really appreciate your review in general they are really well layout.
Can you please share your observations regarding MEZE AUDIO RAI PENTA!
New subscriber comment: I'm enjoying all the videos and reviews regardless that all the components you review are way above my price points for casual audio listening experiences. But i was moved to ask this about these headphones. As expensive and well made as they are...aren't they really more suited to use by studio musicians crafting music rather than casual or audiophile listeners?.... you didn't mention that use/function at all. Thanks for all the fine content.
You have the best audio reviews on youtube!
Forgive me for my ignorance in hi-fi systems - in the setup during the beginning, does the turntable have a built in phono pre-amp? Or is it located in the Schiit ?
First time watcher and I have to say that was not only one of the best headphone reviews I’ve seen, it’s simply one of the best reviews of anything I’ve ever seen. The Walkman was a great (low impedance) touch. You just gained another subscriber John.
I dont know if I can watch your videos anymore... doesn't like dire straits... Jaw dropped
Love the production value and care and attention you guys put into your reviews.
The content is always spot on and the execution is way better than anyone else in the space.
Check out Hifiman HE1000se or Susvara. You might change your mind about the most comfortable headphones ;)
You spelled Philips Fidelio X2 wrong.
Add Sony Z7'S and Z1R's to that list. Not on the level of the Empyreans for SQ but I appreciate companies who put comfort as paramount
I've been out of the headphone game for a while. This video brought me back in. What a review.
I’ve bern following your channel for quite some time now. Along the way, I played many of your recommended album and song thru your video. Now this video is godsend. You even included a playlist in the discription. Thank you.
I love the red speakers behind you. great video.
Nice review, when I first saw 18.11 I thought ok, that's going to be long, but it wasn't at all, sound track is amazing quality (for You Tube)
I loved this review! Thanks for doing this.
Awesome review. Thanks for the playlist. You had mentioned in an earlier episode that you don’t like LPs as much as digital for critical listening. Seeing a good change here. You might start liking dire straits if u listen on that TT setup!
Always these wierd trade-offs . Just make it flat and real. Then allow people to enhance what they need.
cant stand dire straits? lol love it. the audacity!
John’s most hated bands of all time: NUMBER ONE Red Hot Chili Peppers and a close second Dire Straits.
i was going to subscribe till you said you can't stand dire straits. your videos are great nonetheless
nice autechre song for test!
Hi
I would like to ask U, is this headphones Bass enough ?
Thanks
The difference you heard in the 'cable' may not really be the cable, it may be the amp. For most amps that have both single ended and balanced outputs, the two outputs will sound slightly different. Because they are really designed for the balanced output. The single ended output is just an 'afterthought' that uses half of the electronics.
Good point!
I don't know of any other reviewer that makes me watch a video till the end... you can explain the peculiarities of a product in such an enjoyable way.
Can you review some Grado hesdphone?
Thank you in advance,
Greetings from Tehran
That's my aim here: to make hi-fi more relatable to a wider audience.
great review John!! A audio reviewer who listens to Autechre! :-) I do love my Meze Classics!
Does the cable make more difference or electronics that are balanced? Food for thought
The balancing tecnology was created to eliminate external interferences over a long extended cable, so, basically, none really. The balancing just creates a duplicate signal and changes the fase 180° and sends them through the cable in order to eliminate any incident noise when re-phasing and reassembling the two signals. The balancing electronics, however, could create background noise if not good enough. But it is rare.
The Schitt Jotunheim will always sound better balanced because that's just how they made it. So it's not entirely accurate to attribute the balanced cable making the Empyreans sound better when balanced will sound better with that particular amp anyway. =
ur apartment is better than some hi fi store . willy wonka of music . another excellent in sight
Have you tried the Hifiman Arya? They’re so good
For all the fans out there who have a beef with John...it is ok to not like Dire Straits ya know...it was after all just a throw away comment.
I don't see a beef. Just a bit of friendly banter following, as you say, a throwaway comment.
John Darko I guess we have differing opinions...What happened to the Bartók mate? I was looking forward to that vid...
The dCS box is yet to arrive. As always, any review will be ready when it's ready.
For $3k I expect a nicer silica gel packet...
This is an awesome review, John. You are easily one of the best.
Meze are the best!
I've had the chance to audition these headphones in an exposition, the sound was absolutely superb.
No coffee?
I have to tell you thank you for audio that doesn't hurt your ears on youtube love the channel keep it up :)
Good🌹🌹🤗🎉👌👍🇵🇰
Thank you for the review, these cans absolutely are one of best.
I have verite, adx5k, E2, 009, voce, he6. Meze are beast on its own. Open box sound was not impresive with bloated bass and too warm, burned in for 50 hours (target 200 hours) with white noise, now meze sound more tight and delicious. No more boomy and too much bass. Use balanced from bartok or wa5 for desktop. Hugo2 or wa11 for portable. The fitting also very comfy with alcatra pads. Can not wait until 200hours breakin. Cheers
Love your reviews, this one is fantastically fun to watch and hear! Keep it going!
Man those things look odd on the head.
Hi, I think the Dire Straits are not for me. The Meze though I think is for me. (To complete the Feliks Audio Euforia.) I have the Stax L700 mk1 now and the yoke broke twice and I do not have the cash for the SR-009, so Meze seems high quality stuff enough. I will first listen of course, and I think I could buy Meze also second hand, whereas Hifiman I could not, due to its so so built-quality.
What if you have a headphone amplifier with balanced cable for each channel ? LUXMAN P-705u and BRYSTON BHA-1 have the single ended a balanced stereo and a balanced for each channel. I guess you have to do custom order for such a cable. Of course these 2 amplifiers are very expencive especially the LUXMAN. You ever heard of these 2? I mean their sound quality.
Darko has bizzare musical tastes, listened to WP:Great Jumbo-spotify...couldn't even get past 1st min on any of them> I can listen to low-fi YT> DS:live '85 SOS w/lovely sax solo, on continuous loop. Bro In Arms...on big ass speaker systems is deep, deep rumbling awesome
I’d like to see you compare the focal utopia
So would I.
I directly compared them the other day. Overall the meze sounds way better. There is two things I really didn’t like about the meze though. The feel a bit loose fitting under the ears and voices sound a little „metal“ like, they tend to be missing „fullness“ somehow...
I’m using the Siltech Dutches Crown cable with my Meze Audio Elite. And I swear it made night and day difference to the sound quality!
What amp and dac do you have?
should be a hit at sennheiser hq
Not really! Tried Meze 99 Classics vs Empyrean and I actually loved 99's better. Gear attached to was dCS DAC, a beast with a ridiculous price of £12.000! Meze 99 Classics with 6.25 jack & Empyrean balanced out. CanJam London 2019 (today!). While Empyrean has more detailed and cleaner sound, stage sounded rather "boxed" and dull with a rolled-off treble. 99 Classics were more wide, transparent and easier to wear for extended period of time. Empyrean are not bad cans at all - just a far cry of this video title with absolutely unjustifiable price tag.
finally an Audiophiler that listens to Autechre;
you should check out Richard Devine's new album Sort/Lave
it's purely analog modular synthesizers, or his Bleep #49 Set
on Bleep.com or his Soundcloud
To Hell With Good Intentions! You sir, have excellent taste 👌
Quite possibly the greatest song of all time.
HD800s got some distortion in bass. The stage is nice and wide but clarity isnt that good. Theres something with the bass that makes it muffled/hollow. How would you compare them with Meze Empyrean? Is the clarity better?
I'm still waiting for the meze penta iem........
Nice review!
There’s no such thing as a too light headphone. I’m no fan of the HD800 sound signature but if I could wear any headphone and not feel it, that’s a good thing.
Thanks for a very informative review. I could not agree more on your evaluation of the Meze Empyrean. I've only had mine for a few days, but I love it (with the leather pads). I'm using it with a Sony NW-WM1A (digital) Walkman, and a Sony TAZH1ES headphone amp. It sounds fantastic with either one, but a bit more detailed with the TAZH1ES. So far, I've only used the balanced cable that came with it. I would say it is very neutral, yet detailed and refined, with exceptional bass and vocal clarity. The build quality and comfort are amazing.
Excellent Review!! Just the right amount of information and explanation, not to long and boring and not to short and confusing, just like the Empyrean. Will start watching your videos from now on. I got the chance to hear them, and this are by far the best headphones i ever heard. Those beautiful Headphones will be on my desk in two weeks, cant wait!
Yeah I agree with everything you said about the Empyrean HP.. I too have a Technics SL1200G with a Audio Technica ART 9 cart and a Manley Chinook Phono Preamp and it sounds amazing coming through Empyreans..
At first I found them a little too warm with no treble sparkle, then after about 2 weeks they finally started to show there stuff amazing detail and sound stage without compromising anything and the best thing about them is they play all music genres without losing anything. But I ordered a SILVER cable for them to try to pull more micro detail that I am use too with my other hp's. I can also say the Empyreans pair very well with the Felixs Euforia OTL, Sony NW-WM1Z Premium Walkman via 4.4mm balanced, and Audio Gd Master 9 amp.. My other HP's are Sony Z1R, and Focal Utopia's and I had to choose it would be the Empyreans because it does everything. Love your channel Darko
Sony z1r is better
You mentioned this as a PLeather ear cups but Meze's website states it as Real leather? Also it is pretty easy to drive and was considering this with a WA11 for a more portable use.
First head Phone with 4 speker i stand long time to see this !!! you are best hi-fi Master ✌️❤️💪👍thank you
John brilliant reviews. Irony is difficult enough with a live audience - on an internet review - this is sangfroid indeed. Expensive though as I can’t fault your case for either the Dave or the Empyreans. I need to buy both ASAP, and probably one of the Audeze’s. I’m in Melbourne - if you can direct me somewhere which will reward your efforts please let me know. Thanks.
I'll run right out an get a pair of those $3,000 headphones. Oh shit I can't, I have to make my mortgage payment.
Wish I had enough to get the Chord Dave. Are you familiar with the Questyle CMA twelve amp dac? If so, what do you think about using it with the Empyrean? I appreciate your feedback.
Thanks a lot for all your thourough reviews, do you think a small DAC like the DragonFly(s) or the EarMen Sparrow can move and be a good pairing with a Meze Empyrean headphones, have you tried the pairing?
Nice review as always.
One thing I wonder: What do you mean with micro dynamics?
The cups looks as if the ear would struggle to fit without touching the cups or just looks like that?
Balanced vs single ended: In my opinion they are not “better” but might be different. Just as two single ended can sound slightly different. I like your transparent thoughts, can be a bit unusual in “audiophile” world. : )
Also agree about the Sennheisers, they do almost disappear on the head, being the most comfy headphones of all I tested and own.
Surprisingly those very thin cups (as well as the headband) does a superb job and probably one reason why it fits so snug and effortless. I hear other complain though. One size fits all is just not possible with headphones I guess : )
And the Sennheiser has something not many headphones has: a very nice slim profile instead of those thick bulky cans.
How do these do with electronic music!?
They are PERFECT for electronic music. As a matter of fact, I was just playing "Kas:st - Reveries Of The Solitary Walker" with it, turned the volume up, and holy crap was I not ready for that. Thunderous and mesmerizing, nothing is left behind. Purchased my Empyrean 2 days ago, and now I'm still digging through all of my music, turning absolutely speechless time after time. If electronic music is your main thing, Empyrean is among the best of the best.
Auditioned it against 20+ other headphones in the $1500-6000 range, only headphone I prefered over the Empyrean was the Susvara, but since I would also need to get a much better amp for that, it would get a lot more expensive. So the Empyrean came home with me, and it seems like I've not even scratched the surface of its potential in those auditioning sessions. Feels like the first time I got proper headphones all over again.
@@JSym92 Thank you for your impressions! I just ordered mine. I'm also into electronic music so your info was very helpful. Let us know what you think about your Empy's after all this time?
Meze did the design seriously and it's nice. Cz when I'm buying audio things , I always look at the design too. It's like buying food , the main is nutrition, but aesthetic,smells,taste is important too ;)