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The Empyrean is tuned for hours upon hour of listening enjoyment independent of the genre or quality of the music you listen to. It’s warm, smooth and laid back, but with plenty sparkle and air up top. Overall it’s a well-balanced, neutral sound signature.
The Empyrean is a jack of all trade’s kind of versatile headphone that has superb bass and vocals. Timbre is on point, and very natural sounding. With the suede pads the soundstage is very wide (not HD800 wide but not too far off either) with acceptable imaging.
- Tech Highlights
- Design
- Cables & Connectors
- Comfort & Fit
- Accessories & Packaging
New Driver
At the heart of the Empyrean is an isodynamic hybrid array driver. The diaphragm design is incredibly unique with a specific purpose in the shape and flow. This is a continuous trace but with two unique shapes. At the top, is a curved line switchback trace which focuses on the low-end delivery (bass), and the circular pattern at the bottom, is designed to focus on the mids and highs. Now the positioning of the trace is such to get that circular pattern directly over your ear. In doing so ther...
Technology On The Outside
The Empyrean also has a few tricks up its sleeve beyond the core driver design that has a huge effect on its core signature. For example, the detachable pads on the Empyrean, in both leather and Alcantara contain an isodynamic magnetic alignment system that forms part of the final tuning and performance of the hybrid diaphragm rather than just providing the usual seal and comfort. The Rinaro CEO, Pavlo Shymanovych, explained to me during CanJam Singapore 2018 that patented ferromagnetic plate...
Form Factor
The Empyrean is a full-sized circumaural open-back headphone design. It weighs in at 430g so not the lightest of planar magnetic headphones on the market today but its form factor has an amazing level of pressure distribution making it one of the comfiest to wear. More about that later. The most dominating aspect of this boutique form factor is those beautiful ovoid cups adorned with an almost Persian-flavored intricate dark grill pattern housed in a slightly lighter gunmetal housing. Close u...
Materials & Finishing
The shape is technically not a million miles away from Meze’s favored elongated twin-rod and pressure-adjusting leather-strap headband system used on the 99 Classics and the Neo. However, the finish and materials used on the Empyrean are a big step up from its smaller siblings. For a start, the headband arch is constructed from a lightweight carbon fiber material as opposed to spring steel to keep it supple yet very light at the same time. The leather strap is also a ‘patented suspension wing...
Gimbal & Pivot 360
The cup gunmetal ring is also cleverly extended on the outside to incorporate the gimbal and pivot system which is one of my favorite aspects of the Empyrean design. The gimbal is actually shaped much like the triangular cuts on the grill and feels quite integrated rather than sticking out in a jarring dysfunctional fashion. It is also very solidly built and very unlikely to crack or give way. This is just as well as the entire pivot system can quietly swing 360 degrees on a steel rod at the...
Connectors
The Empyrean uses a mini-XLR cable connection system. The sweeping and forward-facing integration of the connectors into the Empyrean cups is both stylish and practical for a number of reasons. Stylish in the sense they do not stick out as awkwardly as Audeze’s LCD mini-XLR equivalent. Instead, it is molded right into the Empyrean cup housing design itself. As a result, it is unlikely you will have any stress points or cracking issues with the Empyrean sockets through repeated use. They also...
Stock Cable
You actually get a number of stock cable options at the checkout when buying the Empyrean. They are as follows: 1. 3m OFC cable, 4pin mini XLR plugs ending with 6.3 jack connector 2. 1.3m OFC cable, 4pin mini XLR plugs ending with 3.5 jack connector 3. 3m OFC cable, 4pin mini XLR plugs ending with 4 pin XLR connector You can also optionally upgrade to a Furukawa copper cables alternative which includes a balanced 4-pin XLR, 2.5mm, and 4.4mm connection option. Meze has also added silver-plated...
Furukawa Upgrades
We received the 1.2M 4-pin Furukawa PCUHD XLR option which uses 0.04 mm x 140 conductors in an 8-wire to 4-wire continuous braid inside a TPD sleeve build. The cable has a darker aesthetic than the silver-plated alternative but they should be handled in much the same manner given their similar strand counts and TPD jacketing. I really like the build of this cable. I normally prefer PVC over TPE but the cable is not at all stiff or memory-retentive during daily use. They are certainly a lot li...
The Empyrean is ‘imperiously comfortable’ with just the right blend of lateral and vertical pressure for really long listening sessions. For a double-sided magnet design and for its relatively large size Meze can be very proud of just how easy the Empyrean sits on your head. As mentioned earlier the contoured headband dissipates unwanted small vert...
I know Anton spent a lot of time with public feedback on this in mid-2018. I think it was around July that Meze first floated the idea of a proper travel case but it was not until the HK AV Show in August that I got a first peek at it. The final production version is the same save for the accessory listing which now includes additional stock cable ...
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Apr 7, 2019 · The Meze Empyrean is the most comfortable set of headphones I’ve tried so far (at least in this multi-kilobuck range). It has the ability to almost feel as light as a pair of Bose QC’s, and I was able to wear them for many hours on end without any discomfort at the top of my head or on my temple.
Nov 8, 2023 · We review the Meze Audio Empyrean 2 flagship Headphone. Find out how the new Meze Empyrean 2 performs and sounds, now on Headfonia!
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Mar 17, 2019 · In this review we cover the Meze Empyrean which is the company's new flagship isodynamic hybrid array open-back headphone priced at $2999.
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What is the Meze Empyrean?
Oct 25, 2020 · Meze Empyrean headphones are high-end audiophile headphones made for the music lover. This is where natural sound meets beautiful design. Honest reviews of the best audiophile headphones, speakers, amplifiers, preamplifiers, DACs, and cables.
