Meze Empyrean measurements and thoughts

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by Vtory, Jan 26, 2019.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    FPC FR and distortion
    Bass is good, lower mids not so much so. D3 seems highish.

    Meze Empyrean Distortion - Leather Pads (FPC)
    upload_2019-3-21_13-12-3.png

    EARS/SBAF distortion
    (note higher noise floor because of decreased input gain necessary to account for the EARS concha canal resonance which can cause clipping). Note same SPL levels were used (above graph -10db = approx. 100db SPL)

    Meze Empyrean Distortion - Leather Pads (EARS) Lch
    upload_2019-3-31_15-28-22.png
    Meze Empyrean Distortion - Leather Pads (EARS) Rch
    upload_2019-3-21_13-16-25.png

    With the EARS, D2, D3, and D4 have a little rise near 4.5 kHz which is not present from the FPC. That's distortion products at 9kHz, 13.5kHz, and 18kHz respectively.
    It looks like this may be an artifact of the EARS.


    Note overall distortion, second harmonic seems kind of high.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2019
  2. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    This was the case. haha. I actually see some consistency considering pad-differences as well as slightly different sbaf-compensations (I used v1.0, I assume you're using v1.1..)

    PS. Heck, I nearly forgot how empy sounded.. Lost my interest too quickly.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Yes. I am using "v3.1" which is based on the screws removed in the EARS, this to get more consistent and repeatable results. Although the v3.1 with screws removed and v3.0 without should be extremely similar, although I did bump somewhere around 9kHz a single db.

    Will try with velvet pads.

    As an aside, the distortion characteristics are not "TOTL" worthy. And I am reading the price on these correctly? (I have not paid much attention to headphone-land much lately).
     
  4. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    You can pick up a gently used pair for the same price as a baseball bat + ski mask + CanJam ticket.
     
  5. brencho

    brencho Friend

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    Holy balls these are bassy. Like I don't even know what else they can do bassy. Also kinda u-shaped with some scooped out mids. A bit glarey on the SS amps at Marv's, less so on the 300b amp. Tried different pads and didn't matter. Too bassy and dark no matter how you slice it but ymmv horses for courses etc. Nice construction and magnetic pad mounting system.
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Meze Empyrean Frequency Response - Velvety pads
    EARS+ SBAF rig and compensation
    (flat line across ~= perceptive neutral)
    upload_2019-3-31_14-55-7.png

    Compare to Vtory (similar EARS rig - minor differences in upper mids expected):
    [​IMG]

    And @Hrodulf:
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2019
  7. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Leather vs. Velvety pads (EARS) Distortion

    See impressions here: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/meze-empyrean.5960/page-4#post-251212

    I thought the bass sounded more like ass with the soft pads compared to the leather pads which had a tighter sound. The measurements bear this out. Bass distortion below 60Hz is worse with the soft pads. We are talking dynamic driver bass distortion - keeping in mind that distortion is already on the higher side for a large ortho.

    NOTE: Overall distortion for L channel seems pretty high for an ortho. Investigating...

    Meze Empyrean Distortion - Veltvety Pads (EARS)
    upload_2019-3-31_15-41-2.png
    upload_2019-3-31_15-4-7.png

    Meze Empyrean Distortion - Leather Pads (EARS)
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2019
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Apples-to-apples FR comparison

    Meze Empyrean vs. HD800 (EARS)

    HD800 = PINK
    Meze Empyrean = GRAY
    upload_2019-3-31_15-20-3.png
     
  9. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Does the Empy not remind you of the HE1000, if someone were to take that and add a shit ton of bass to it?
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Would Natalie Portman look like Rosanne Barr if Natalie Portman gained a lot of weight?

    First of all the HE1000 is cleaner. If I remember correctly, lower distortion (comparing the flat plate coupler distortion measurements).

    Second, the timbre is also different. If the HE1000 tends toward a splashy or steely timbre, then the Empyrean exhibits Ultrasone-ic mosquito like zzz highs.

    Third, the lower-mid treble spike of the Empyrean is far worse than the lower treble bump of most samples of the HE1000s I have heard.

    Finally, the HE1000 has way better transient response - almost stat-like. Some drawbacks of the HE1000 can be overlooked because of this.

    In terms of ergonomics, it's a wash. They have shortcomings in different ways.
     
    Last edited: Mar 31, 2019
  11. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Hmmm, both of the HE1000s I heard sounded more like sandpaper than they did splashy or steely. Some zing, sure, but more the etch that got me. Low end was slightly warm and kind of fat but did not make up for the crunch crunch sound of the upper mids and treble.

    The Empy I heard at RMAF exhibited a very similar trait, but sounded slightly smoother. Then again, it also had quite a lot of bass, perhaps covering up nasties. Kind of slow and plodding like the HE1000 in the low end, but bumped up.

    But now I can’t recall which pads it used, what amp, etc, and maybe was a cherry picked unit if variation is a problem among them.

    Honestly I think they’re both just different forms of shit. Never got the HE1000 love.
     
  12. Ksaurav402

    Ksaurav402 Friend

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    Well everywhere except SBAF, I read that Empyrean has lot of bass and very good planar bass.
    I don’t have much experience with planar bass. Have heard Audeze and Susvara in Canjam but in very noisy environment but had Empyrean with me for long time. However I never enjoyed the bass of it. In fact I found Verite to have more sub bass and better quality bass then it. Verite bass has more slam and is something I enjoy. Yes, Empy has more mid bass but definitely I preferred bass coming out of dynamic driver in this case.
    So can someone who has experience with planar bass and has Empyrean shed some light if this is what planar bass sounds like? Or Empyrean doesn’t have that revered planar bass and is an outlier.

    Or may be I have preference for dynamic driver and is more to my taste.
     
  13. Elmer Danilovich

    Elmer Danilovich MOT:Earmen, HeadAmp, Bricasti; AKA:MShenay

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    I don't recall what pads I've heard it with, I can find pictures if need be but I'm in the "it's too bassy" camp

    @Vtory and @brencho both echo my sentiments

    And

    That said I've heard it on the Cayin 300B Flagship back when it was a prototype and a few times on Justin of HeadAmps systems, and no matter when or how or what pads I've listened with it's just too bassy. More recently I heard Empy on my own system and same issues, just too much bass ymmv and I hope those that have it are enjoying it but it's not for me
     
  14. Reyess126

    Reyess126 New

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    Hey there - sorry to necro this thread back to life... i signed up to ask this question -

    I am not sure if I am interpreting the results above properly... but is my conclusion that the Leather pads for the Empyrean are the better ones to use from a technical standpoint? (lower distortion, etc?) Or is the opposite true?

    Thanks!
     

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