I don’t think it’s supposed to “beat” the Elite, certainly from Meze’s perspective. The Elite remains in the line-up as their flagship headphone. I think the question is whether some will prefer the tuning of the Empy II over the Elite. Saving $1000 doesn’t hurt either. There are plenty out there that prefer the OG Empy to the Elite, so I’m sure it will be the same for the Empy II.
The interesting decision for prospective buyers in my opinion will be choosing between a used Elite or a new Empy II. It’s pretty common to find a near-perfect condition Elite for less than $3K at this point. As a satisfied Elite owner who has never heard the OG Empy or Empy II, I would say the safe bet is a used Elite. Obviously, I have very little real-world data for my recommendation!
I think your right. Beat isn’t really the right word to use here, but reaching to a new audience with its new presentation on music. Based on the reviewers review, it probably wont replace the Elite or even the OG Empy, but reaching out to a new audience. I think that’s a good choice to make so that the lineup won’t be redundant kinda like ZMF is with their lineup, the ZMF Caldera and Atrium lineup.
I will say that Zeo review on the new Empy II and him talking about the Elite got me interested in the Elite. He said when he interview the creator of the Elite, he ask what was the first genre he listen he use with the Elite. The creator replied 70s Jpop. I was like ”Wow, ok”. The next time I get the opportunity to listen to the Elite, I definitely want to try 70s Jpop on it.
Imo after watching the reviews and the elite reviews id still pick a he1000se, I see the meze as a tuning experience to see how fun they can make high end headphones, but that fun didnt work for me when I tried the 99 classic and neo, and the og empyrean
Dms and josh loved this thing, resolve put it in between the og and the elite, but with these kind of reviewers I do wonder if its an upgrade for everyone or just for their preference
A few people swear by the elite tho and I dont think their wrong, I think I cant hear what they do or I need it for a few hours to understand
The og empy wasn’t bad IMO. Stage was wide, not deep. Didn’t have the detail or clarity of totl headphones but was a fun headphone. Great for rock and lower quality music.
If you’re into a brighter signature or need more of that for whatever reason, that’s ok.
Funny how some liked the LCD 2.2 but didn’t like the Empy. They seemed to be going for the same signature in many ways.
I’m interested in hearing the Empy 2. Could be a solid option with a touch more detail and clarity.
And I think some of the Empys original cost was R&D and build obviously. Now we have the elite and the 2. Seems they’re making good strides.
All the empy2 content made me simply think about waiting and seeing what an elite2 will sound like. Better technical performance and a step in the right direction tuning wise while keeping the build quality and fun first approach sounds very enticing
Agreed, I’ll probably hold off on an Empy until they either release an Elite 2 or whatever their next flagship turns out to be. Maybe they’ll try making a flagship dynamic driver headphone next, since their highest end DD right now is the 109 Pro. I guess we’ll see what happens lol.
Passive aggressive? Not really how I roll lol, I’d just tell you you’re deaf, completely wrong or something.
Not sure how you’d take it personally. You act like you’re the only one here who has owned or heard the 2.2 and empy. Look at the FR of both, they’re close. The Empy was a scaled up version of it imo.
I never said I was attacked, the comment that one who likes a 2.2 should automatically like the Empy is what I was commenting on. It came across as if it was mutually exclusive when they are two completely different headphone designs.
Graphs tell part of the story, the Utopia and 2022 Utopia have similar graphs, yet sound quite different.
You said, passive aggressive dig. Seemed like you felt attacked. Many here have heard the 2.2. Honestly the first person I think of when I bring up the 2.2 is typically Hazi or Mon. Just from our past discussions.
As far as the two headphones, 2.2 and empy both have a similar FR, both are warm, both are thicker sounding, both are forgiving headphones. Again, seems like they’re going for the same signature and a customer who is looking for that.
As for the Utopias. They have close FRs and both sound similar. 22 leans warmer, tad increase in the low end and takes off some of the peaks of the OG. I personally think the 22 has a touch better clarity. Both are still obviously a utopia and neither is horrible, especially off the right chain. Many go for OG because it’s more affordable atm and some may even prefer the touch of brightness it has, and that’s fine. IMO they’re still close and many would probably be happy with either. Kinda how I feel about empy and 2.2.
That is a fair opinion and perspective. At any rate, hope the new Empy is an improvement as it was the most comfortable headphone and quality build I have experienced.
Yeah I think they are somewhat similar goals to an extent, but I think a deviation is in texture where I feel as though the lcd on the right chain has a better representation of texture, but the most significant difference is the liquidity and flow that the lcd pf has that the meze just doesn’t. Personally would put them on a similar level technically, actually edge to the prefazor, and the audeze can scale more. Basically personally more partial and more impressed by the prefazor than the meze. The biggest offense I have against the meze is simply the price, it’s way too expensive for how it sounds, a clear outperforms it technically in most aspects for example. If the empy was a grand, I’d really have no gripes. At what they retail for and what they used to go for, it was a tough sell
Pretty much already had this discussion at some point lol
Yeah, empy was too expensive for its performance. One reason I sold it and tried some other things. Like I mentioned above, I think you’re obviously paying for the build but also the R&D which brought on the elite and now the 2.
I didn’t find the texture to be too bad off the Empy. They’re both smooth and I even felt some of that liquidity with the Empy. One of the reasons I felt they were similar. From memory I think the Empy had better clarity too but that’s been a bit. LCD is a much better buy for the money, but never felt the Empy was inferior.
And like Orr said, they’ll be even more affordable now.
But like everything in this hobby, different strokes for different folks.
That’s a much more reasonable ask all things considered for the build + comfort + sound
I wouldn’t but at the same time I wouldn’t judge someone for doing it at that price either lol
True, although from many reports it seems like the elite was only marginally better for a grand more which is still questionable in my mind lol, but never heard the elite. Hopefully the 2 brings it’s performance more up to the same standards of the other options at the price point
It’s not bad, but I think it’s better presented off the lcd
They’re both definitely smooth, but I never personally got that really liquid presentation out of the empy, but perhaps I just didn’t have the right pair up for it either
I could agree with that, the pf never was super strong in clarity, something that later fazored versions helped with (but hurt in other aspects lol). I’d honestly more compare the f to the empy rather than the pf
After a 5-day demo with the Caldera, on my chain (Yggy A2 > Mjolnir 3), I’d say the Elite and Caldera are on the same level from a technical standpoint. I liked them equally for almost everything I listened to.
There were a few things that stood out when comparing the two. The first thing was the incredible comfort of the Elite. I have owned many ZMF headphones, and they are all very comfortable, but I think Meze takes comfort to the next level. As far as sound differences between the two, I felt the Elite was overall more open and airy while the Caldera was a bit more “meaty” and dense in its presentation. They are very similar though, surprisingly so in my opinion. I know Zach from ZMF really likes the Elite, so that might explain it a little.
Both headphones seem to prioritize musicality and accurate timbre over wowing the listener with extreme levels of detail. Because of this they are both really easy to listen to for long stretches without a hint of listener fatigue. For me either of these offers as much technical proficiency as I would ever need from a headphone. I could be satisfied with either of them as my only headphone.
The reason the Elite wins for me is the insane comfort and the fact that I got my pair in an incredible trade deal that saved me a big chunk of change. I don’t think I could justify either headphone at their retail prices. I almost always buy my headphone gear used, so the retail prices don’t really factor into my valuation of a product.
This whole post is a bit off topic, so feel free to move it!
