[bsiegler]

Listening my new Empyrean 2 with a Japanese jazz band, 3 Blind Mice, SACD is F amazing....
Another WOW factor similar to OG Utopia back in late 2016.....

Love the PrimaLuna!!

 

[Darcula]

Since I am now a proud owner of the Empyrean II, I wanted to share my initial experience with them.

As a fan of the OG Empy sound signature, these are definitely a big departure from the OG sound.
Definitely much clearer and brighter, OG Empyrean was a bit too dark compared to its siblings in the price range. On the other hand it is perhaps the most fun headphone I've heard at that price and that remains so even with the Empyrean II in my possession.

The Empyrean II are no question the more technically competent headphone and it's not just due to the new Duo pads. In fact while the Duo pads offer amazing clarity, bass is so lean that it doesn't offer any satisfaction whatsoever, especially with any heavier rock and metal tracks.

However it is possible to fix this while retaining much of the Empyrean II's clarity improvements over the OG and that is, (somewhat surprisingly), by using the OG Empy's full leather pads. These add the much needed slam and body to the II's bass while remaining much clearer than the OG. So far they're my favorite pads. (On the OG, I prefer the AA pads).

 

[bsiegler]

I'm looking for some recommendations for those who may be familiar with both the Empy II and any of the following cans: LCD 5, Susvara, 1266. I'm fairly set at this point on keeping my Empy II over my Diana MR largely due to comfort, soundstage, and bass impact. I loved some of the clarity and intimacy I got from the MR, especially in some Steely Dan guitar runs, but in the end I personally prefer the Empys.

With that said, I'm looking to go a bit higher in tier level with the three cans mentioned. I love soundstage (I feel this is such a hallmark of open-backed phones, which I'm admittedly very new to), bass depth + impact, and clarity is also very important to me. From what I understand, the Susvara is potentially the least bass-y of the three, although I'm curious if that can be remedied with some EQing? Anywho, any advice or comparisons would be much appreciated! I'm currently open to any amp setups depending on what is needed for what I have, although I'm currently eyeing the Wandla stack . I listen to practically every genre, but lean towards hip hop, modern jazz, classic rock, and anything acoustic that is well recorded.

Thanks in advance, you all have been wonderful to learn from!

 

[Slackaveli]

The 1266 is incredible for rock and rap, ill tell ya that much. But pretty uncomfortable and a bit fatiguing. For short sesh it is pretty hard to beat.

The Susvara is close to perfection. It's not lacking in bass at all to me, but, it also can take a ridiculous amount of EQ. Both are TOTL

The LCD-5 ... i preferred the lcd-4 and i prefer hifiman to the 5.

 

[betula]

I'm looking for some recommendations for those who may be familiar with both the Empy II and any of the following cans: LCD 5, Susvara, 1266. I'm fairly set at this point on keeping my Empy II over my Diana MR largely due to comfort, soundstage, and bass impact. I loved some of the clarity and intimacy I got from the MR, especially in some Steely Dan guitar runs, but in the end I personally prefer the Empys.

With that said, I'm looking to go a bit higher in tier level with the three cans mentioned. I love soundstage (I feel this is such a hallmark of open-backed phones, which I'm admittedly very new to), bass depth + impact, and clarity is also very important to me. From what I understand, the Susvara is potentially the least bass-y of the three, although I'm curious if that can be remedied with some EQing? Anywho, any advice or comparisons would be much appreciated! I'm currently open to any amp setups depending on what is needed for what I have, although I'm currently eyeing the Wandla stack . I listen to practically every genre, but lean towards hip hop, modern jazz, classic rock, and anything acoustic that is well recorded.

Thanks in advance, you all have been wonderful to learn from!

All three headphones you mention take EQ well.
LCD5 - soundstage is the smallest, smaller than Empy. Without EQ it is rather mid-focused. Neutral, not the most exciting to me personally.
1266 - amazing bass, huge and deep soundstage. Cumbersome and uncomfortable design. Mids are not the greatest lacking a bit of life compared to some other TOTLs.
Susvara - can sound faultless and pretty fantastic out of the right gear, but very picky. Tend to sound the best out of powerful and very expensive amps.

 

[cleg]

My video about Empyrean 2



IMO it's not a "sequel" to a first Empy, but more like new independent model with own unique tuning

 

[ThanatosVI]

IMO it's not a "sequel" to a first Empy, but more like new independent model with own unique tuning

I agree on that

 

[GiBGUN]

I'm looking for some recommendations for those who may be familiar with both the Empy II and any of the following cans: LCD 5, Susvara, 1266. I'm fairly set at this point on keeping my Empy II over my Diana MR largely due to comfort, soundstage, and bass impact. I loved some of the clarity and intimacy I got from the MR, especially in some Steely Dan guitar runs, but in the end I personally prefer the Empys.

With that said, I'm looking to go a bit higher in tier level with the three cans mentioned. I love soundstage (I feel this is such a hallmark of open-backed phones, which I'm admittedly very new to), bass depth + impact, and clarity is also very important to me. From what I understand, the Susvara is potentially the least bass-y of the three, although I'm curious if that can be remedied with some EQing? Anywho, any advice or comparisons would be much appreciated! I'm currently open to any amp setups depending on what is needed for what I have, although I'm currently eyeing the Wandla stack . I listen to practically every genre, but lean towards hip hop, modern jazz, classic rock, and anything acoustic that is well recorded.

Thanks in advance, you all have been wonderful to learn from!

As an LCD-5 owner I'm also interested in how the Empy 2 compares. I think I'm one of the few that actually enjoys the LCD-5! (subject to Mitch's convolver).

 

[Newsee]

I'm looking for some recommendations for those who may be familiar with both the Empy II and any of the following cans: LCD 5, Susvara, 1266. I'm fairly set at this point on keeping my Empy II over my Diana MR largely due to comfort, soundstage, and bass impact. I loved some of the clarity and intimacy I got from the MR, especially in some Steely Dan guitar runs, but in the end I personally prefer the Empys.

With that said, I'm looking to go a bit higher in tier level with the three cans mentioned. I love soundstage (I feel this is such a hallmark of open-backed phones, which I'm admittedly very new to), bass depth + impact, and clarity is also very important to me. From what I understand, the Susvara is potentially the least bass-y of the three, although I'm curious if that can be remedied with some EQing? Anywho, any advice or comparisons would be much appreciated! I'm currently open to any amp setups depending on what is needed for what I have, although I'm currently eyeing the Wandla stack . I listen to practically every genre, but lean towards hip hop, modern jazz, classic rock, and anything acoustic that is well recorded.

Thanks in advance, you all have been wonderful to learn from!

Take the Elite (known comfort, wide stage, airy presentation, deep bass, clarity) or a T+A SolitaireP (more reference tuned, but can produce deeeep bass, can be expensive in the US) or take Susvara, but be prepared for another 10k for proper amping.

 

[Slackaveli]

As an LCD-5 owner I'm also interested in how the Empy 2 compares. I think I'm one of the few that actually enjoys the LCD-5! (subject to Mitch's convolver).

I like it myself, it's just kind of disappointing to those who rocked LCD-4 imo (still pissed i sold mine. that was my first 'TOTL' set of cans). It's pretty good at everything and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Slackaveli]

Take the Elite (known comfort, wide stage, airy presentation, deep bass, clarity) or a T+A SolitaireP (more reference tuned, but can produce deeeep bass, can be expensive in the US) or take Susvara, but be prepared for another 10k for proper amping.

Yeah the Elite and Soli P definitely are worthy of consideration in this conversation. I'd add one more (besides Tungsten; that's unobtanium), the Final Audio D8000 Pro. To my ears that was the best ive ever heard music. It was out of a Macintosh with two blue VU screens. I want to say it was a number similar to the 8000, but i dont remember. It was simply sublime.

I kinda disagree that you'd have to spend 10k for the Sus, though. It is pretty great out of a few cheaper solutions like Schiit Ragnarok. I bet it does scale up with better gear though.

 

[Aetherhole]

Yeah the Elite and Soli P definitely are worthy of consideration in this conversation. I'd add one more (besides Tungsten; that's unobtanium), the Final Audio D8000 Pro. To my ears that was the best ive ever heard music. It was out of a Macintosh with two blue VU screens. I want to say it was a number similar to the 8000, but i dont remember. It was simply sublime.

I kinda disagree that you'd have to spend 10k for the Sus, though. It is pretty great out of a few cheaper solutions like Schiit Ragnarok. I bet it does scale up with better gear though.

The difficulty with the Susvara is that they can be very underwhelming on many chains. It’s not that there aren’t affordable options to drive them, it’s just that it is picky. It can sound anemic across the frequencies, whether that’s with sibilant treble or with lackluster bass response. Other headphones require a lot less and work with a wider range of products to sound optimal. You don’t have to spend a 10K to get it sounding impressive, but you’re exactly right, it‘s one of those headphones that scales, nearly infinitely, with better gear.

Not saying that you didn’t know all this yourself, but just putting this out there for bsiegler.

 

[bsiegler]

For clarity, I currently am running a WA7 and Topping A/D70 stack. I'm also receiving the Xd05 today. My thought process is that, if I were to give the Sus (or any other hard-to-drive/picky can) a try, I'd probably talk myself into upgrading to the full Ferrum Wandla stack, which I would hope drives the Sus or an equivalent.

The 1266s are SO tempting because I'm into weird products (I have a Cybetruck coming), but the idea that they are more of a party trick and a 20-minute listen sort of animal gives me a lot of caution.

 

[Newsee]

nothing wrong with that.

Except the unbearable clamping force and upper midrange - for me. Of course YMMV.

 

[GiBGUN]

Except the unbearable clamping force and upper midrange - for me. Of course YMMV.

Did you have the first headband before they changed it? I tried both and the first one hurt my head, the second is very comfy.

And yeah I really didn't like the stock tuning especially with the razor blade upper-mids. I found it unbearable. Funny enough Audeze were planning a second preset that was less for studio, and more for enjoyable listening. It never got finished in the end, but would've been cool to hear.