Aaron Rodgers loved it.
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I like to think of him as Greek Aaron Rodgers.
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@Rhodey the Empy 2 lasted how long? About a week? 
Given the polarity between YouTube reviews and some us regular folk, how did your experience stack up?
They’re not as bad as some claim, but not as good either. I like the MR more.
If they were a bit more coherent and not as peaky in some areas in the highs I wouldn’t mind them too much. Problem is I’m comparing them to the Caldera and MR. I think if I didn’t have those two here then I could potentially keep them. Maybe a copper cable would help with the peaks. Idk? They’re not terrible, but not a HE1 either.
And it’s not like it’s the only one being sold. I actually had the 3.1 for less time and pretty much made up my mind with it. FWIW, I’d take the Empy 2 over it.
HEKse is doing something to my ears post listening. It’s not too bad while using it, but my ears have some pain after I’m done. One time I had some pain the next day. The Caldera, Empy 2, and MR doesn’t have this problem.
This is obviously all subjective and my experience. People obviously love some of these headphones and I can understand why. I just like what I have atm. They were all worth the try. Not upset with the experience.
I think if I had to rank them from this experience it would be as follows…
Caldera- probably first. If HEKse didn’t give me the ear pain, it would be closer.
HEKse- I want to put this second, but it’s tough because of the after effects. But purely sound wise and not mentioning the issues, I will.
Empy 2- This one is really close for the 2 spot, and for me and long term use it would be.
Mysphere 3.1- It has pretty good mids. Problem is, the low end is missing a majority of the time. There are certain tracks where you can have the bass right and it doesn’t make the mids too hot but it’s not a lot for me. Beatles, Come together now is one of those tracks. Bass is good, mids are good and it works. Most of the time you have to raise the vol to get the low end where it should be, then the mids and highs are too hot. I noticed this on Muddy Waters, Folk Singer and a number of other albums and recordings.
For the trade off of the low end, you should have better mids, and stage and layering should be better. Detail too, since we’re missing the bottom area.
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Oh I realize that, was honing in the Empy 2 as several of us had similar experiences with it which countered what the reviews experienced.
This is nuts! I have zero experience with this headphone, let alone keep up with the variations it has gone through. Enduring ear pain the next day is unfortunate, I would be pushing those out the door too if that was my experience.
Forgive me for asking an obvious question; I know there are two models of the MySpehere, one of which is better suited with DNA amps, is the 3.1 that model?
Thank you for the above comparison and ranking
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Yeah, this HEKse is supposed to be the smoothest, next is sus. I’d take the sus all day. I’d take the sus off a BHA-1, it wasn’t awful and still pretty enjoyable. Obviously not the low end that it can have but still good enough and didn’t hurt my ears afterwards. Actually have considered trying the sus off the MJ3. Won’t give me ear pain and it’ll be close to what I was trying. We’ll see. Maybe I’ll land a tungsten DS.
I think it’s the HEKse air and upper treble. Again it’s pretty enjoyable during the listening session, just not good later on.
Yeah this is the correct one, 3.1 for the DNA. And it’s not bad, but I need a touch more body and low end. And if it doesn’t, I need other areas to really shine. I was hoping for better stage width and depth. And better layering. And something close to HD800S bass consistently. Understanding the design I knew it would be bass light but a little too much for me. The MSRP on them is wild imo.
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Yes it is, though have seen them list refurbished units for more reasonable prices. I’m less familiar with some of the accessories which can compensate for the low end, I may also be mixing it up with the Sr1a from Raal in terms of accessories.
You can get bass frames but I’m not sure how much that’ll help. And they don’t really fit my head as well as I’d like.
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It’s a pretty significant mid bass lift from the Bass Frames.
Nothing will give them sub bass.
You can increase bass by moving the flaps in, I run mine all the way out with the Bass Frames, but I’m not a big Bass person.
The fit just takes getting used to.
The wings need to touch your head at the front not float away from it, or you’ll get no Bass or mids for that matter.
There is also a big tonal difference in with the vertical positioning, which IMO is the hardest part to get right, make a note of the scale on the side when you get it right.
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Ok cool. Yeah I would hope the bass frames did a better job.
It’s the sides and bottom of the headband that gets me. Pressure above and behind the ears. No matter where you place it/shift it to, the clamp is there.
When I move them all the way in it does increase the mid bass but then you lose stage and depth, and imo the whole point of them. With them on your ears you may as well just wear a more comfortable headphone that reaches the sub level. That’s just how I see it. They’re cool, but I don’t think something I want to deal with to own. Too many trade offs.
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Thanks for posting your impressions and comparisons.
It seems like the Empyrean 2 is tuned more similar to the 109 Pro rather than the original Empyrean.
A look at the frequency response graphs confirms the similarities.
In contrast the Elite appears to follow the Empyrean more closely.
I really enjoyed the Elite when I had it on loan for a demo. It’s unfortunate that Meze decided to tune the Empyrean 2 with greater ear gain like the 109 Pro, but there’s still the Elite so that works out for those who enjoyed the original Meze ‘house sound’.
Thanks again.
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From the Head-Fi CanJam NYC 2024 preview video I posted here:
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/industry-news-rumors-new-releases/133/2211?u=valentineluke
Meze Liric II, with a “balanced and warm profile”. They’ve added a type of diffuser to the driver that smooths out the treble peak found in the Liric.
The Makassar Ebony looks really pretty, IMO.
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A review is live.
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These meze elite are lent from a friend in mexico
My first impression from 1 day, these are one of the best headphones ive heard, for sure the best planars ive heard thats including having had lcd5 and keeping lcd3pf instead, Im liking the elite a bit better for sure even tho they are different
these sound incredible and remarkable in the pass labs with the exogal comet plus as the dac, a bit better over the merason frerot + pow1 LPS
The only 2 other desktop amps I have right here and now are the yamamoto ha02 with WE408 and the audio technica BHA100 with 4 psvane t2 12au7-s both of which are superbly capable for lower impedance planars well over their price-
Those two give a very good sound to the elite but thats about it, its with the pass labs that they really sing and make something truly special
Also they look amazing in aluminum, the photos have no filter except for the second one with the open suitcase
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They remain my favorite headphones after a number of years now. They feel like coming home every time I put them on my head. Their sound along with their extremely comfortable design make it easy to just sit back and enjoy the music and stop thinking about the equipment.
I can’t tell from the picture if those are the original flat Alcantara pads or newer Angled Alcantara pads in the case. I’ve been using the Angled Alcantara pads instead of the stock Hybrid pads for almost 3 years now. I think they enhance the technical capabilities of the Elites. They improve the imaging and soundstage size. They also remove some of the mid-bass emphasis, which allows more detail to come through.
It’s quite satisfying to swap pads on the Elite, as it only takes about 3 seconds per pad. It’s amazing how simple and well-thought-out the magnetic pad-mounting system is on these compared to other brands. It makes you wonder why other companies haven’t taken a similar approach.
I listen to my Elites on a ZMF Aegis most of the time, but they manage to sound great even on something as simple as a Schiit Vestri USB dongle DAC/amp. They scale with better upstream components, but they don’t need anything fancy to sound good, which is another of their charms.
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Agree! Love the Elites. I use them on my Aegis (DIY) and sold just about all my other headphones and don’t really look for much else to try. Would love an Elite sound in a closed back. Doesn’t necessarily have to come from Meze tho, just want something similar.
Arta obviously caught my eye but I’ll wait a bit for more info.
Glad you’re still enjoying yours!
@MacDLaw glad you found these. Enjoy!
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Yeah precisely, im listening on my QPM Questyle DAP and still getting and amazing session of music out of them, again these headphones keep being remarkable
The alcantara pads sound quite good, non angled version and they sound surprisingly not far off from the leather ones. I tested it good and Im really liking leather more for non bass related reasons, more like even vocals sound better for me on the leathers.
These headphones were never ever on my radar and now they are for sure
Theyre a candidate for my “temporary endgame” planars to use with my pass labs, yamamoto and hopefully I can snag a trafomatic head 2 as well
Im thorn between meze elite, final d8000pro and diana dz… possibly going for the final audio for the pass labs synergy but the elite resulted in an amazing one as well
All this is for next year, the focal utopia are my last purchase this year, the planars will come next
Im very patient and I always have medical bills 
slowly and steady builds the road
Theyre just too comfy in sound for the level they offer, really took me off guard when I listened 6 hours super detailed and got no fatigue
Also THIS in closed back seems borderline impossible, I wouldnt know, closed backs naturally reflect more high frequencies and fatigue more, the sound signature could be similar though but not from meze yet, I dont like their closeds
I read 2 things: 225ohm and 6,500$ im out
I think id need a better/different setup to take advantage of them even if they were chesper
Yeah truly I low key hated the 99, 105, 109, and heard the empy on a terrible system, didnt expect anything of the elite and now here we are
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Yeah it would definitely be a tough ask to have the Elite or similar sound signature in a closed back. I tried meze’s first closed back that looks similar to the empy (can’t remember the name… Lyric?) and it wasn’t great lol. I’ve always wanted to try the Sony MDR-Z1R but never got around to it. If I ever find it in a nice condition at a reasonable price I’d try them for the heck of it.
And I definitely wouldn’t pay MSRP for the Arta. Definitely buy used or get a great deal after they’ve been out for some time.
I tried the Abyss DZ a bit ago. Had my DIY Aegis and the AIC10 at the time. Wasn’t a fan for the price. I’d pick the MR and Elite over the DZ. Haven’t heard the new TC signature but they’re a bit pricey. Again, like the Arta, I’d have to find them used at a good price to jump on those.
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Yeah the lyric and strada, mezes closed backs have had incredible hype and succes and I think theyre both just not very good for the price, or werent for me
I can maybe see the kind of vibe thats similar but its only the low fatigue and comfort, not the sound at all.
I didnt like them (lent) theyre like a 1 trick pony, get a massive soundstage and fill it with warmth, everything else is ok or good at best, denon d9200 destroy them lol, still denon very different
The closest I can think of is focal stellia specifically connected to my yamamoto ha02 amp shares quite a bit of similarities with the elite while also being different and great, just not as good
I think the owners will try to keep its used priced as high as possible and also id need to get an amp to drive them sadly
Same reason I would get Diana DZ but not diana TC signature which are only $500 more
Thats insane to think, id have to process why a lot, the elite I get perfectly but the MR were the ones I didnt like theyre more elite like than abyss/1266 like if that makes sense
And the DZ to me are supposed to go back to glorious vintage hard hitting bass thumping abyss, that also provide a huge stage with grest physicallity
That being said both MR and DZ’s MSRP seems over the line, ive seen some very good offers for the DZ when the TC Sig was dropping and there was a crazy one by one day
Mint condition, For 2k it had stock pads, 2 pairs of cables (short 4.4mm and long 3m 4xlr of the upgraded version) and extra bass ported 2 pads
The seller must have paid 6k for all of that given the crazy upgraded cables price (not JPS superconductor) and expensive pads
Honestly I dont think it will happen again, ill probably end up with an elite or a final d8000 as my “temporary endgame” planar
But because ive been lent these Elite for a long time and based on m0n lol Im feeling d8000pro more
…
Also my utopia OG arrive in 2 or 3 days I can make a small review comparison vs elite, but very different cans
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Good to know about the MDR-Z1R. So many mixed reviews on that one.
The stellia was solid for a closed back. A little odd at times but not bad. I’d probably go for the Radiance if I was going for a focal closed back tho. Radiance was very good, much more affordable and looked much better lol, if that matters.
I wouldn’t buy the MR at MSRP either tho. You can find a MR around 1.5k-1.7k easily.
Nice you’re enjoying the D8000P. I only tried the D8000P LE. They weren’t bad at all but would pick the Elite. I know the non LE is a bit different tho.
Utopia is so picky imo. Hopefully they work well with your gear. When they work, they work very well tho. And yes they’re very different vs elite.
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