Not really my forte I would say most reviews on the net get it about right. If your looking for transparency, forget it. These are about fun and musicality which they have it in spades. They pack plenty of bass, sometimes it might be too much. I have found pad rolling to Brainwavz Sheepskin pads helped tone the bass down without loosing too much of ther character YMMV. I find them a good all rounder but work best on Rock, indie, electronic etc where they really shine. Easy to drive and you can replace cables, pads with non Meze as your see fit as they are standard fittings. They look lovely and are comfortable to wear for long sittings , pretty much used them all day on Sunday. For the price they are very good value, excellent build and come with a good array of accessories.
And my feet tap a lot when I use them and they sound good on all my systems.
Digging through some boxes, packed so long ago I wasn’t sure what was in them, and I found a 'phone I’d forgotten about, in superb condition: Ultrasone Pro 750.
Giving them a quick run in - they have a very spacious (for closed cans, the ‘S Logic’ factor perhaps), very detailed sound. They need warming up a bit from storage, but I think they could be good!
Holiday system.
Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt into Sennheiser HD 700’s with custom e-bay cable (mainly for the 3.5mm termination). Qobuz from the laptop.
Did anyone here tested an Audioquest Nighthawk? They have been discontinued for some time, but in the Amazon there are some last units available for 280 €. Think it is an attractive price. (700€ rrp) Are they a good buy? And thoughts?
I had AKG K-501 for many years. Legendary transparency, but the problem nearly everyone had with them: No bass! AKG created 120 EUR headphones that only work with a 1000+ headphone amp, if at all.
Agreed with what has been said here. I replaced the stock earpads, which rotted and fell apart quickly, with the Brainwavz sheepskin pad as well. Improves sound and comfort plus I’m confident they will last a good while longer.
Although the HD 700 is more refined and transparent than the P7, the later is just more fun. Most experiments were done with the crappy 272 headphone amplifier however, even my iphone 6 sounds better.
Having said that, disconnecting the headphones and letting the music come out through the relatively cheap Dynaudio X38, everything gets so much better.
I was considering the Euforia Anniversary Edition to go with Meze Empyreans as it was recommended by the retailer. Since we were fully locked down at the time I couldn’t audition so I contacted Meze who they said they didn’t think there was much synergy with the Euforia.
@Sten got on really well with the Euforia with ZMF Verite and if I recall correctly, ZMF recommended them too.
So, two different headphone types resulting in two different recommendations…
I do indeed have the Feliks Euforia. It is a very capable amp and its build quality is excellent. It is, for a tube amp, (not that I have heard that many) very neutral and can handle pretty much anything I throw at it - vocal presentation is excellent and the mid to highs are just wonderful. It doesn’t slouch in the bass department either but I would say it is controlled and tight rather than “sub-sonic” but maybe that’s just the recordings I listen to. All in all I am very happy with it in combination with my ZMF Verite. Also Feliks are very approachable - I wrote to them with questions and they were more than happy to answer and make suggestions for set up.
Just added a Schiit Magni 3 Heresy to my mini rig for the bedroom. It’s tiny but intial listening shows it has more grip than the Ifi Nano on its own and it’s a bargain.
Hi Manled, I have been listing to the Empyreans via a loan DAVE, and I have to say I don’t find that a great match - it kind of makes the Empyreans sound a little artificial. However play via the Hugo, Hugo2 or TT2 and its a different proportion. It might be one needs an amp when using the DAVE.
However the DAVE with a HD650 is surprisingly brilliant - with a smidgen of EQ. It feels a bit of a mullet - but sounds mostly very natural and musical - with lovely emotional mids and covers orchestral, piano, opera, electronica, english folk and punk - which is most of my diet…
Hi SImon, thanks for the comments on the DAVE/Empyrean combo. Very interesting that you didnt think it was a particularly good match. The pre-supposed hifi enthusiast logic would say the DAVE “must” be better than the Hugos! Just goes to show it always pays to have a listen before you part with your cash.
I am not in the running at the moment for a DAC upgrade, but being a Chord fan the DAVE would have been top of my list. Perhaps now I need to rethink and cast the net wider if/when I go down this route.
I am still very much enjoying my Empyreans with both the NDX2/Hugo2 and NDX2/Hugo2/Violectric combinations.
Interestingly, a couple of weeks ago I went to stay at my daughters place and took the Hugo2 and my old faithful HD650s which have hardly been used since I got the Empyreans. I must say it was a very pleasurable experience using the 650s again. OK, the HD650s are not quite in the league of the Empyreans, but for the price they are superb value for money.
Noted you have an interesting musical diet…opera to punk! Unfortunately I am a bit more narrow minded, my main genres are the blues (old delta stuff), prog rock and female vocals with the odd bit a classical. Clearly I need to explore Qobuz a bit more and broaden my horizons!
cheers
Neil
It could be just the amp… rather than the DAC… and after all the TT2 has the most capable headphone amp of them all.
I am beginning to think it might be me and the DAVE, as I was not a fan with my 552. It’s only with my HD650s that DAVE seems to sound ‘right’ to me, albeit with the loss of much info.
Now what I haven’t tried is a seperate headphone amp from the DAVE into my Empyreans … it starts to feel all a bit much faff to try these things
Listening to my Empyreans now via my Hugo original… yes perhaps a smidgen veiled in the high treble/air dept, but boy it sounds gorgeous, oozing emotion and feel… it just sounds so spot on especially in the mids without being thin or syrupy and the dynamics feel more smooth and engaging rather than being overly punchy that can otherwise get a bit tiring after a while.
Funnily enough, I’m going to try out some headphones and headphone amps tomorrow too! (I’ve never actually owned a pair of decent 'phones and have done virtually no headphone listening over the past 30-odd years, apart from listening to podcasts and audiobooks on my mobile phone)…