[Newsee]

I just traded a pair of Verite Opens for a pair of Empyreans 1. Got them yesterday but haven't been able to properly listen to them until now.

Anybody got any song recommendations that would really show off the Empyreans? Preferably not EDM or country as I don't really listen to those genres much. I will be using them on a Zahl HM1. Will try them also on my N30LE if I do have a 4.4mm cable that I can use with them.

Do you have Qobuz access?

 

[unfitstew]

Do you have Qobuz access?

No! Right now Apple music and Spotify. Once my Apple Music free 5 month period ends I will probably switch to Tidal or Qbuz for lossless.

But right now I can always search for any song on apple music.

Thank you for the suggestions!

 

[Ravenor]

I just traded a pair of Verite Opens for a pair of Empyreans 1. Got them yesterday but haven't been able to properly listen to them until now.

Anybody got any song recommendations that would really show off the Empyreans? Preferably not EDM or country as I don't really listen to those genres much. I will be using them on a Zahl HM1. Will try them also on my N30LE if I do have a 4.4mm cable that I can use with them.

Hi!
Dave Brubeck Far More Drums
Elvis Fever
Boom Tube Pink Panther Theme
Zóra Iszom a bort
Hoff ensemble Dronning Fjellrose
Béla Fleck Flight of the Cosmic Hippo
Musica Nuda Bach Aire
Buena Vista Social Club Chan Chan
Depeche Mode Ghost Again
Steffany Gretzinger Open Our Eyes
Seatbelts Tank!
The Clash London Calling (Remastered) Album
Dave Brubeck St.Louis Blues (live)
Regina Spector Fidelity
The Rapture Come Back To Me
Billie Eilish Getting Older
Pink Floyd Speak To Me (remastered version)
Nick Cave&The Bad Seeds: God is in the hause

 

[Neweymatt]

I just traded a pair of Verite Opens for a pair of Empyreans 1. Got them yesterday but haven't been able to properly listen to them until now.

Anybody got any song recommendations that would really show off the Empyreans? Preferably not EDM or country as I don't really listen to those genres much. I will be using them on a Zahl HM1. Will try them also on my N30LE if I do have a 4.4mm cable that I can use with them.

If ever a piece of gear sounds “off” to me I’ll often listen to this to remind me that it’s probably the recording, not the gear:

 

[dbull12]

I just traded a pair of Verite Opens for a pair of Empyreans 1. Got them yesterday but haven't been able to properly listen to them until now.

Anybody got any song recommendations that would really show off the Empyreans? Preferably not EDM or country as I don't really listen to those genres much. I will be using them on a Zahl HM1. Will try them also on my N30LE if I do have a 4.4mm cable that I can use with them.

I'd be interested in any impressions you have about VO vs Empy, although I know that can be difficult to do from aural memory without both headphones in front of you

 

[unfitstew]

I'd be interested in any impressions you have about VO vs Empy, although I know that can be difficult to do from aural memory without both headphones in front of you

Will do. I am still getting used to Empy! Also need more time with it! I usually try to give new equipment a week so I can get fully used to their sound and also try different music and pairings.

 

[Wladimir]

Will do. I am still getting used to Empy! Also need more time with it! I usually try to give new equipment a week so I can get fully used to their sound and also try different music and pairings.

What ever you do, just make sure NOT to use the stock cable, as that is a criminal blunder from Meze to ever bundle Empy with..

 

[Ravenor]

What ever you do, just make sure NOT to use the stock cable, as that is a criminal blunder from Meze to ever bundle Empy with..

Do you have specific cable recommandation?

 

[unfitstew]

What ever you do, just make sure NOT to use the stock cable, as that is a criminal blunder from Meze to ever bundle Empy with..

I am using the ZMF stock cable currently with it.

Haven't tried its stock cable? Does it have a terrible feel or something?

 

[turbofeet]

Do you have specific cable recommandation?

I used the Lavricable Grand and it was a wonderful improvement. It's a full silver cable and the price is quite steep. I think I paid quite a bit less than the current prices. I have one terminated with 4.4mm and one XLR.

It's all about the quality of the metal though and so i'm sure you can find options just as good cheaper!

 

[turbofeet]

I am using the ZMF stock cable currently with it.

Haven't tried its stock cable? Does it have a terrible feel or something?

It's a copper cable. It's not that bad sounding tbh it's just more about the "feel".

 

[Wladimir]

Ok so I made a quick shoot-out between Lavri Grand, Code 23 and ZMF stock XLR cables, which I have at hand right now. Tested both on Empy and Atrium Closed.

Honestly, looking at and handling the ZMF stock cable, I was expecting it to perform poorly as the AWG24 suggests, but was pleasantly surprised, so I agree with @turbofeet that it sounds pretty well for its appearance. If I didn't know any better, I'd be quite happy with it. Good bass, average detail, nice timbre and overall tonal balance, the only serious negative that it's sounding flat. But until someone hits its performance as the bottleneck of a system, it might take a while, so no problem of keeping it in an entry-mid level system.

Lavri Grand offers more details, precision/focus, more pronounced higher frequencies (might be good or bad thing - depending on the rest of the chain), bass digs deeeeper, opens up space, longer decays (you name it..). But none of those were night & differences, just the space was the most obvious one - not flattish anymore

Code 23 (AWG16,5 pure copper) - all of the above applies to it as well, just somewhat less energetic up top and bass turned to "11,5".

Disclaimer - those are observation in my system, in yours might be (and probably will be) different.

 

[Ravenor]

I used the Lavricable Grand and it was a wonderful improvement. It's a full silver cable and the price is quite steep. I think I paid quite a bit less than the current prices. I have one terminated with 4.4mm and one XLR.

It's all about the quality of the metal though and so i'm sure you can find options just as good cheaper!X I use the elite lavricable grand

I used the Lavricable Grand and it was a wonderful improvement. It's a full silver cable and the price is quite steep. I think I paid quite a bit less than the current prices. I have one terminated with 4.4mm and one XLR.

It's all about the quality of the metal though and so i'm sure you can find options just as good cheaper!

Can I use the meze elite lavricable grand silver cable on og empyrean?

 

[turbofeet]

Can I use the meze elite lavricable grand silver cable on og empyrean?

Yes indeed the OG Empy, Empy 2 and Elite all have the same Mini-XLR connections on the Headphone side.

 

[hypnos1]

Totally with @hypnos1 on the scalability of Empys. I've been in "ghost mode" for over a year, just full-time tweaking my system to the extreme (100+ components, each carefully chosen) and today I auditioned ZMF Atrium Closed, thinking I might at least get some proper bass if nothing else, as they're so overhyped these days for especially this.

Well, I'm sorry, but ZMF's sound is a joke compared to Empys in my system, even the bass is a disappointment. Total lack of dynamics, excitement, no variety of colors, missing space / atmosphere, just no juice there. Tested with both my Lavri Grand and Code 23 cables, still lacking in bass a LOT.

I always had my Empys in high regard, now they'll be praised upon, no better headphones ever made imo.

On 'tweaking' etc pushing OG Empy's performance to new heights (especially with AA pads!)... having thought I myself couldn't stretch it any further after forsaking streaming in favour of much superior performance (IMHO) via top class (SA)CD/DVD-R(hi-res) as source, these canny cans have bowled me yet another curved ball lol.

After years of following the endless debate re balanced vs unbalanced delivery and sufficiently impressed by the latter, I finally capitulated and re-wired my RCAs (with excellent value/quality Switchcraft XLRs) to try balanced from my TT2 to the Ferrum OOR/Hypsos PSU combo...having already wired my Empys with a mix of Neotech UP-OCC (solid) silver and copper wires, using separate ones to EACH pair of hot & colds per channel, not single for hot/cold as is often done simply because most 'balanced' hp amp outs aren't truly balanced at all of course, with only 4 pins total and not 8!!...but that's by the by...

Anyway, suffice to say I'm now well and truly a balanced convert...the difference wasn't slight, to say the least - improvements across the board, from detail resolution (top to bottom) to distinction between different instruments and voice I never expected. And something I've never heard since my initial impression from a very short encounter with some Utopias a good few years back now - ie enchantingly smooth, crystal clear sounds emerging from the Abyss like some alluring siren calling you to your (eventual) doom! Luckily, I'm happy to take this chance, given what it has done for my Empys...and me! Can they get any better lol?!

I just traded a pair of Verite Opens for a pair of Empyreans 1. Got them yesterday but haven't been able to properly listen to them until now.

Anybody got any song recommendations that would really show off the Empyreans? Preferably not EDM or country as I don't really listen to those genres much. I will be using them on a Zahl HM1. Will try them also on my N30LE if I do have a 4.4mm cable that I can use with them.

Well, more instrumental than songs, my own system is blowing me away with works particularly from 1 : the amazing multi-instrumentalist Andreas Vollenweider's 'The Grand Ball of the Duljas'; 'The Glass Hall/The Play of the Five Balls'; 'Jugglers in Obsidian', just for starters. 2 : The Alan Parsons Project - 'Turn of a Friendly Card'. They showcase Empy's credentials to perfection IMHO

Given how my OOR/Hypsos combo, fed by a Denon DCD A110 (SA)CD/DVD-R player and TT2/mscaler combo trounces streaming from my Antipodes DX, surely your lovely Zahl must be WAY underused with streaming as source lol?!!