Meze Audio - Empyrean II

Empyrean 2 is not only worth it, it is the best headphone in the world imo. I bought it after trying all the kilobuck headphones back to back in a hifi shop. Bought it for 3000. 2000 is a steal even if that is hard to imagine

Krk kns84. The sound signature is still nostalgic though I have an empyrean 2 now

Laughs in empyrean 2.

It is subjective in the end. I was lucky enough to have a hifistore near me that has all the famous kilobuck headphones to test. I went there after already having had a 15 year audiophile journey. They were all amazing except for utopia which sounded genuinely mediocre to me. Then the meze empyrean 2 literally made me cry in the store and made me suddenly realize I have been listening for 45 minutes. It is by a legitimate margin the best headphone I have ever heard. That being said I would obviously enjoy switching up if I had the money to spare. They are all worth it except for Focal utopia which I would pay 400 bucks for max.

Oh, and it looks like you might not be distinguishing between the OG Meze Empyrean and the Empyrean II? Both great headphones but diffferent tunes.

At $1000 I’m buying the Focal Clear, and at $2,000 the Meze Empyrean II. Both are examples of the rare headphones where I put them on and said “oh. That’s why they cost this much. I get it now.” I listen to a pretty eclectic mix; really everything except most modern country and that’s starting to shift, even. Probably more sad dad music than anything, but also a lot of R&B/jazz-inflected hip-hop and “classic” rock.

Of course! To be clear, at that price point the Empys are probably used, but so. Damn. Worth it.

I describe the Meze 109 Pro as warm buttery magic and the Empy II is ... that but more so? I have had very few oh shit moments in headfi, but the Empy II was one of them. Warm, full bass, clean and natural timbre in the mids, and clear and resolving treble. Detailed without being harsh, wide soundstaging with good layer seperation but not to the point of being distracting, etc. I wouldn't recommend most people drop that kind of cash on a pair of headphones, but I have exactly zero regrets about that choice. (full disclosure, they were my endgame goal for a couple of years so I am 1000% biased and totally subject to placebo but I also do a lot of critical listening as part of reviewing headphones and I like to think I'm pretty good at owning and adjusting for that.)

I waffled a bit on that; I've said for a year that the 109 Pro is my favorite headphone but the Empy II flat out beats them and the Clear is ... close. The one knock on the 109 Pro is that on some heads (but not mine) they have a little bit of a treble spike, so I'd probably point most people to the Clear at this point if they can't try them out in person. Mostly though I was thinking about this from a "I can buy one headphone in each price category" and the Empy fills the same niche as the 109 Pro, while the Clear offers a different tuning/profile. If I had to sell my entire collection except for one under $1000, I'm absolutely keeping the 109 Pro and it ain't close, as much as I love the Bokeh Closed, Clear, LCD-2.2 (pre-fazor), etc.

Meze Empyrean IIs are my go to for relaxing. I love the smooth treble and the bouncy bass

It's currently a tossup between my HE1000 Stealth and Empyrean II. Love them both for very different reasons

Hey wait a minute, I've got an Empyrean II and HE1000 too! No focal though, just a humble LCD-X. Such a well rounded collection! I support this amazing collection

Right now, I'm using Meze Empyrean IIs for 2022 COD MWII. Depending on the month and mood, I may be using my HE1000, LCD-X, Moondrop Dusk, or Letshuoer Z12. I have specific EQ settings for all of them so that I can boost my ability to hear footsteps. In the past, I used a set of Meze Liric 1s and they were my favorite FPS headphone. With my EQ, the sound stage would close in and texture would disappear (idk why it happens on the Liric bc it never happens on my other headphones). This made footsteps really really easy to find. I want another pair in my life but I can't justify having a headphone just for fps gaming atm. Planning to play BF6 in the future. The audio sounds really good from all the streams I've seen.

Ok so I have them and theyre great, but I also have the HD800s and for competitive shooters the 800s is still king. For immersion its a little complicated and subjective. Sound wise the Emp2 wins in this department, but the 800s is like a cloud you put over your head and you forget about them in seconds. 800s is more immersive in the meaning you forget youre wearing headphone and they dont trouble you with comfort, atleast me personally.

Also just a reminder, emp2 are much better for music, its imo literally just HD800s, but better and a little more flavourful (still tame for Meze though).

there are few things and Empyrean II fails at one of them and that is well defined cutoff in soundstage what you want is a very round and well defined soundstage, being able to tell in what direction sound is and being able to tell how far something is, you need to nail all three for it to be good for gaming in general there are games that are exception to this tho, for example Counter Strike and Valorant don't rly are about soundstage being round because there is not vast open space where enemy can come from, it's one way or the other so you just need to be able to tell how far someone is rly

Banger review! You’re spot on IMO. I think what blows my mind with this headphone is the soundstage. I don’t understand it, but for me, this headphone hits 800s levels of soundstage. There are times I listen to nicely recorded jazz and I’m sitting there legit feel like the instruments are 360 around me

I guess one more review to this world will never hurt anyone. I spiced it up with song examples, which I hope are more useful than pros/cons and list of adjectives. Hence a really long review. See also my update 30hrs later: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/s/gyhJI1T6KV Pros: * You get amazing high-end hifi sound with mere 3k instead of 100k speaker setup. * You won't realize how good they actually are until you swap right away to something in 1-2k price range * Clarity, soundstage, bass/mid/treble balance, bass quality and quantity, it's a solid package with all areas ticked on the excellent box. Despite bright tuning, the sound stays away from extremes and doesn't cause immediate repulsion * There's very little to complain sound wise, and the end result will always be more on the record than the headphone * Epic build quality. Though almost totally black, really cool looking * You'll end up listening more music all night along * Works on low'ish volumes. Works on high'ish volumes. The volume will alter the emphasize, crank it up for stronger bass and more low highs. If you like it loud, then you'll probably find fatigue over longer time. * Works on all kinds of music, which is rare on high-end gear (except with the very extreme of mastering FU's but those won't work on anything) * There's something macigal to be able to hear the slightest rasps, distortions, string imperfections etc on well made records. With these even a noob like me can separate basic violin from Stradivari. In betweens: • The treble/brigthness is there on surface like on most high level gear. It's high quality and doesn't annoy or cause fatigue, but it's likely something darker tonality fans won't enjoy. I have been darker tonality fan, but the implementation of brightness on Empyrean 2 revealed to me that it has been simply due bad implementations. I like this brigthness 99% of time, and the 1% goes for albums with FU'd mastering Cons: * There's bit extra energy on certain highs that can in some rare instances have a bit too much zzsssh sibilance. Not annoying but attention drawing when it hits the spot. Those who like EQing, this is probably only thing to try fix * So amazing level of clarity that it can reveal stuff from recordings that the mixers and masters of the record do not even know about. From 100 or so songs, I have found two that have something definitely unintentional that they simply didn't hear while making the record * The storage box doesn't allow storing them with the cable attached * I'd prefer single pads and lower price. The duos are my choice, but I'd rather buy second set of them instead of paying for unnecessary sound altering pads. Highly recommended and at least for me a unique headphone and hifi gear experience worth the money. You buy excellent sound headphones with 500 EUR/USD, above that and you better get an experience like no other. Empyrean 2 delivers that to the highest degrees. Genre based notes with song examples: EDM/electronic: Hard to believe on paper, but this is probably The Genre for Empyrean 2. The bass is correctly plentiful, precise and feels even at moderate volumes. The highs are precise and natural. The sound is fast to a degree that sometimes it feels like the song is too slow. Cj Bolland - Electro Power: the song starts with wide spread electric hihats together with strong centralized bass which slowly build nice modulation. The song is not easiest, and can cause fatigue. But on Empyrean 2 the soundstage takes the fatigueing elements around you making it pleasent, exhiliarating experience. An addictive track. Massive Attack - Unfinished Sympathy. A bass extension test track. The song starts with sub 20 Hz reaching thumbs and Empyrean 2 brings them in full width and sensation of deep tumbh. The rest of the song is so well made it will work on all gear and Empy2 is no exception. The brightness gives occasional ear piercing sibilance on vocals, but that's how it should be. I get to used to it during the song, but be warned, it's not to everybody's taste. Sin Cos Tan - Trust: very pleasant presentation. The bass has good strength, the details sound correct and the vocals are superb. One of those songs that just gets better the higher the volume is. Röyksopp - Feel it: now we hit the brigthness test tracks. If something will annoy you, it will be this song. It's fatigueing on all gear I have, Empys no exception. But I feel the wide soundstage makes it easier to tolerate than my warmer gear with worse soundstage. Rock/stoner/proge: Another The Genre, especially when the record is well made. You can throw songs from High on Fire to Genesis and get enjoyable presentation. Sometimes you may encounter extra energy at highs, but you can always resolve it with adjusting volume - turn it down to tame highs, or turn it up to lift everything else to surround them. High on Fire - Bastard Samurai: rough hard hitting guitar riff that penetrates from left to right. It's beautiful experience how guitars are mixed on this song. Excellent, enganging sound. It's hard to imagine this sort of music to be used on hifi tests, but I think this one of the best test songs. Empyrean 2 deserves high appraisal on how precisely it presents the drums and drum and guitar solo while keeping the rough continuous riff to the sides. Me like. Pure Reason Revolution - Ghost and Typhoons: a track again with high energy test. The intro part has one of the most fatigueing male vocals. I am fine, someone else may struggle with the intro part. But once you get to the drum driven shift for the 2nd part, you'll be sold the fast paced drive that the song takes you to with Empyrean 2. Indukti - Ninth wave: my absolute favorite test track. This is do or die for the gear. If this song doesn't work, the gear simply fails on my book. Needless to say Empyrean 2 has no difficulties. The way it manages to present even the slight double edge hits on those fast drum pieces is superb, while keeping the song pleasant even the hard part in first minutes where (artificial?) wind instruments present ear piercing mess. If you think tuning is causing listening fatigue, try this track with Empyrean 2 against some warm and lush headphones and you'll understand that it's more on the soundstage and ability separate sound sources than the tuning. Empyrean 2 has been the only set ever that manages to pull through all the details from the fastest and most filled sections in this song. Stoned Jesus - I'm the mountain: the opposite in material to previous tracks. A vocal and instrumental jam that builds to 16min long experience. Empys give you all the details of the guitar strings and their slight distortions in a way that you really learn to appreaciate detail digging gear. Some say such details are not important for the music, but I disagree in sense that the details bring that touch of living feel to music that's been played and recorded from real instruments. There's also interesting effect in this song where drums and vocals are mixed in the middle, but vocalist seems to be higher. This is my first gear to notice such up/down soundstage separation. I probably need to check this with my speakers too. Kadavar - Die Baby Die: a not so well made record but super fast delivery. I use this to see that does the gear fail with no high quality records. No problems here, infact Empyrean 2 actually works great when the track is not exceptionally well made as long as there's no serious flaws like Metallica Death Magnetic. Empy2 manages to blow some extra energy and living feel to this song. Definitely one of the aspects that sold Empy2 to me.. I guess it's the "more fun" aspect. Jazz/acoustical/classics Once again a genre that Empyrean 2 simply works on. Expect to get those smallest string details, vocal distortions etc given you on a plate. Knower - Overtime: we step to the fatigueing songs from get-go. The vocals and the mix has deliberate high hard hitting energy that I would say is customary to anything Louis Cole does. Empy2s deal it well. I do not feel fatigued even though some of those hits penetrate to a nerve. It's weird sensation as usually I would throw headphones out of my head at that point but not with Empy2s. No. In fact I want more of it! Weird, but I think it's all about the ability to separate everything to packets my brains are able to process without overwhelming. Manu Katche - November 99: this is songs that all gear will do well, but great gear will make you find nuances that make it an experience. No surpises here, works like a charm. I especially like how excellent the hihats work on this song and how you can almost see the drum sticks hitting the diagram. Lizz Wright - Coming Home: a beautiful vocals test. I'd say Empyrean 2 does better with male vocals than female, or I have heard better female vocal rendering systems. But that said, Empyrean 2 does really good both, which is rare. I usually find that vocals do not work, or that either male/female work. But here we have top notch males and great females. I wonder if Elites or old Empys would do both? Lizz Wright voice is deep for a female, which makes this song extraordinary in female vocals on Empyrean 2. Again, an experience to have listen this song with Empyrean 2. Kari Bremnes - Kanskje: a second female vocal track to compliment with epic bass sections. I may have heard better take on the bass, but by not large margin. Mainly some best bass machines have stronger lowest end that will elevate this track a bit more. But then Empyrean 2 highlights its bass quality and tightness to compensate - quality over quantity. Metal/industrial/heavy Probably the hardest genre for Empyrean 2, but in my experience so it is for all high tier hifi. Empyrean 2 does good, and even the worst records can still be listened. Ministry Hero is an example of songs that is hard for most high tier gear, but Empyrean 2 mananges to make it enjoyable. It's not necessarily a good side, but Empyrean 2 makes you search for these kinda gems where it lifts the medicore or bad recording quality to new kinda level. Special mention on male vocals on metal music - Empy2 does something amazing to them. Metal causes most easily listening fatigue, but it's the same with every gear for me. Swallow the Sun - Through Her Silvery Body: a fantastic song with bad mixing and mastering that can rule gear out of question for me. On most gear this sounds terrible as it feels like they cut everything below 100 Hz away. Empyrean 2 does semi ok, which I considered a plus. Audeze MM-500 was unusable for this song. Meze Poet did ok, but Empyrean 2 a bit better as it separates the highs better. Also, Empyrean 2 presents the roaring vocals so that it creeps your spine in a good way. Man, if only this song would be remastered. If you like to play such metal at loud volumes, don't buy Empyrean 2 without trying (well you never should buy without trying). Ministry - Hero: as said, hard song for high end, but Empyrean 2 make this interesting and enjoyable. The clarity and the super speed make up the song, a bit harsh on vocals. The sudden silent pauses at the end can be felt physically. Sabaton - Primo Victoria: works very well, although there's funky distorted gazoo like sounding mixing/mastering error on choruses that Empyrean 2 highlights to front. It feels bit funny and requires getting used to it. My other gear is not able to separate to this degree, which shows the good/bad side of extreme separation capabilities. But otherwise extremely enjoyable. Amon Amaranth - Raise Your Horns: better made metal song. You'll raise your horns while listening this with Empyrean 2 for sure! The vocals, man, I can't describe them, they simply sound so good for male metal vocals. I think this is the reason for metal heads to give Empyrean 2 a shot. Pop/Indie: Not my genres and the songs I tested play by rules like everything else - energy at highs and with poor mixing/mastering won't do best with Empyrean 2s. But majority of music will stay enjoyable, one just needs to get customed to new sound. The Black Keys - Tighten Up: probably the best bass presentation from Empyrean 2 that I have heard. This is not my typcical test songs, I remember considering this a bit fatigueing song, in that regard Empyrean 2 is borderline - with tired ears and brains it will feel so. Mando Diao - Dance with Somebody: again the details poured on compared yo typical cheaper hifi is mesmerizing. Once you get customed to how songs sound on Empyrean 2 it will be hard to go back to those less detailed, sluggish, darker views. There's a lot of energy on tamburines, which may take a second to get used to. And that's probably the reason why Empyrean 2 may be "hard to take" headphone after warmer older Mezes - one needs to recalibrate ears and brains to listen the higher registers again. Calexico - Black Heart: definitely not an easy song to listen on any gear. Empyrean 2 continues here as usual, aka top notch. The highs will be present but with clear separation. The soundstage is amazing, and paints the song right across your face. The song has way more new details, new tantalizing experiences to have. I have heard this song on various systems, and Empyrean 2 is the most detailed and top 2 in beauty ranks as well. A song to sell these headphones to me. Rap/hiphop: These genres will heavily depend on what the background is - EDM works, jazz works. I said in general Empyrean 2 are great gear for rap with asterix that some songs won't work that great. But then some will feel like new songs. A Tribe Called Quest - Check the Rhime: the hard hitting percussion is here a bit for distraction. But it's interesting as one cannot even separate them with bad gear. Otherwise plesant presentation, nothing to write home about in good nor bad. Wu-tang Clan - Tearz: I know this song like my pockets. It sounds totally new with Empyrean 2. First I wasn't sure about it, but I think I like the way Empy2s present this. I haven't mentioned it before but Empyrean 2 as super fast has really dark/empty pauses - I mean if there's a only percussion, the Empy 2 doesn't add anything to it, the intermittens are dead silent. It's super apparent on this song. I like this. Xzibit - LAX: distortion bass. Man, I know this song too very well, and it sounds completely new. The bass distortions are more clear than ever, Empys keep them tight. I super like this, addictive presentation. 2Pac - It's me against the world: the percussions hits hard. I guess it was the way songs were mixed in early 90s as mostly songs were played over FM radio or from casette/LP, and those did mushy stuff from percussions. It's not bad though, it's not annoying but may limit volume levels for the most sensistive. Otherwise beautiful rendering. The vocals are epic If you got this far and read all my toughts, kudos. I did this review for myself more than anyone else to justify my investment to myself. So it's obviously far from objective take. I compared them to Audeze LCD-2, MM-500, and Meze Poet. I ruled out immediately Liric2 and Stax. I have AKG K712 Pro and B&W Px7 2e as my dailys. My speaker setups have been in 5-10k region since 2010. I run Naim Atom Uniti Headphone Edition as source

Thanks! The soundstage is definitely immersive and big part of their high tier performance. That said, I can see why some may not like them with their brighter tuning. But at this very moment I have listened them 5 hours in a row, and I have no fatigue whatsoever.

hopefully you do and don't go down the same path I have, for finding a system you wish not to upgrade, and then not spend $5,000 on it. my first serious headphone was the dt 990 pro. sounded great coming from a $40 logitech. turns out it was incredibly bright, lacked bass, and a sibilance mid range, all of which I now despise. I've heard the new 900 pro x tamed the high end, hopefully they've done the same for the other two regions. A decade later, I've upgraded multiple times and I'm currently using a $4700 headphone setup. Geshelli Labs Jnog 3 Dac with Sparkos ss2590 on all outputs, into the hifiman goldenwave prelude amp, into the hifiman arya organic headphones. I am at the point where no headphone competes with this setup. I've had the Susvara, Meze Empyrean 2, Mod house tungsten dual sided driver. None of these competes to my ears. Though, this is all purely subjective, please do not copy my system and ask why you don't like it. I've curated this system over a decade of trying to find the right products for my listening conditions and tastes.

I recently auditioned the Empyrean 2s alongside the Poets, Focal Stelias,  and Sony MDR-Z7M2. The Meze Empyrean 2 were very good, like the 109s but turned up to 11. Their build quality is amazing and they seem like a great headphone to just kind of get lost in the music. Very comfortable as well. More resolution and maybe a bit more mid forward than the 109s. As for the Poets, nothing special stood out to me, but I think it’s just because back to back with the Stelias the contrast was huge. The Steilas are very dynamic and bright compared to the Poet so I think I’d have to try the Poets again to give a better impression. The Sonys left such an impression because of their unique signature, I wanted to give their big brother a try and ordered the MDR-Z1R. As for the source, I think you’re going to only gain some resolution up to a point of diminishing returns with solid state amps and dacs. It really should be just about a clean transformation for digital to analog and a bump up in the signal to power the headphones. I wanted to try a tube amp because of the pleasant distortion they can offer, but finding a setup to match the different impedance of all my headphones seemed impossible. It was clear in my auditioning experience that tubes very much color the sound. I found I enjoyed it. The Pietus Maximus is a really interesting experiment is trying to add tube like character to a solid state amps, and I’d say it works. It also has the perks of not having to worry about all the little tube issues like channel mismatch, warming up, powering it down, burning out the tubes, etc. 

Went to the recent CAF for 3 days to observe, listen, and document with written notes of the many high end and flagship headphones on offer. Had some really cool conversations with reps and con-goers, opinions on e-stats, cable sound, solid state and tube amp differences, forward vocals vs laid back vocal preferences, air pressure movement to create low sub bass, the finesse and intricacies of pad production for a headphone, Tungsten v1 vs Tungsten v2, audio technica 7000 and pad difference distortion, headphone tuning choice for a product, on and on—truly an enlightening time that made this trip an unique experience. First time at audio con so I really wanted to know how high is the ceiling for great headphone sound and what were my personal preferences to source gear and the different brands of headphones. I brought my own personal HE1000 Unveiled to act as reference as it is the most familiar sound for me and wanted to compare difference and improvements to sound I heard in other cans. I hope the formatting of this post comes out readable and okay on reddit. Onto the headphone impressions: This following batch of headphone impressions was with the Europa headphone amp, "premium tube design", hosted by moon audio in a mostly quiet, separate room on the 8th floor. MSRP of the amp: $8,495 with a lower price for the con, into the $7k range I think. WARNING: THIS AMP / SETUP WAS COOKED. Something was clearly off with the sound the negatively affected the headphones in slight ways to all the way to unlistenable for a couple. Later, I brought my HEKU to confirm what was happening with the sound from their setup and I will get to that later in the post. Kay, here we go: * Sennheiser 820 Started with soft acoustical music where the acoustical guitar was highly resolving; maybe the best I heard of this all weekend. Bass of the music was controlled, seemed fine. Good width in the soundstage. The mids were relaxed. Tried an aggressive track by the band Disturbed, and everything about the sound collapsed: too much piercing lower treble and the low mids of the drums and electric guitars felt tight and unnatural. Onto another technical rock song and the higher guitar notes I heard as tinny and unnatural—OVERALL: PIERCING TREBLE ON DIFFERENT MUSICAL GENRES. NOT RECOMMENDED * Utopia 2022 With a Disturbed rock song, immediately noticed a darker sound, not just in comparison to 820 but dark from the usual planar sound I'm familiar with. Good bass presence, good dynamics. Closed in soundstage. Tried next an acoustical song. Relaxed and subdued is how I would describe the overall sound signature; pleasant sounding. Next song is where I really got to hear the strong imaging of guitars to the left and right, precise separation and there was elevated detail retrieval to the echo of instruments in the recording. Vocals are nicely imaged but too narrowly reproduced into the center soundstage than I'd like. Some decent layering of sounds happening. The overall sound on some music isn't tightly coherent, or to say, not knitted together - neither a bad or good thing to my ears, just different. Next song and I found that cymbals were fading more quick than I'm used to—OVERALL: I CAN SEE THE APPEAL - DYNAMISM AND IMAGING * Meze Poet From meh sound to "omg what is wrong with that treble?!" Good kick to drums from what I could cleanly hear, but otherwise... a disaster of sound. I blame the amp / setup—OVERALL: SEEK OTHER OPINIONS - SORRY * Meze Empyrean 2 Fun fun fun in its sound! The most comfortable thing I put on my head all weekend. Thank god for that light clamp, as later into the con I found the most uncomfortable thing to headphone wear is a tight clamp for me, personally. So, went with older punk rock song and noticed the forward vocals. Somewhat narrow soundstage. Good low end bass through the range to the lower mids; no other headphone is doing this. Emp 2 shines uniquely for this sound signature while still maintaining some technical qualities for audiophile ears. Treble is darker but still of quality timbre and resolution. Prog rock with bass guitars is peak. In other music I heard the vocals spread better in the soundstage in comparison to Utopia 2022. Balanced mids and heard good separation in the width of the soundstage—OVERALL: FUN WHILE HAVING ENOUGH TECHNICAL ABILITY. SUPREME COMFORT. NO OTHER HEADPHONE IS DOING IT QUITE LIKE THE EMP 2. RECOMMENDED * Grado 100 SE A Hindenburg level disaster of sound. "Oh, the humanity! 7k for this amp sound?!" It's the amp as I got to hear this grado on other gear and will opine about it in that section—KEEP READING FOR THE ACTUAL GRADO IMPRESSION * HE1000 Unveiled Stronger sub and mid bass presence than what I'm used to hearing on other gear. Treble is noticeable more controlled in comparison to the CFA 3 headamp. Bass started distorting as I raised the volume on Moon Song by America. I could hear a fuzziness, some kind of distortion happening in the mids. All of this definitely not the norm for the HEKU—EUROPA AMP NEEDS INVESTIGATION FOR WHAT SPECIFICALLY IS GOING WRONG WITH IT'S SOUND. I doubt it was one particular unit that may have been damaged because I demo'd my HEKU on a different Europa amp as there were 3 of them in the room. Done with the Europa amp. All else will have been demo'd on different gear. These next two were at the same table: * Fosi i5 R&B music from a CD source. Soft, typical planar bass. Smooth mids that I found a bit too recessed. Some left and right width to the soundstage. Little to no depth in the layering of sounds. Smooth treble. Another song came on and mids this time were too shouty this time—OVERALL: JUST BRIEF TAKES WITH NOT MY MUSIC. SEEK OTHER OPINIONS - MAYBE OKAY FOR THE PRICE? * Shangling HW600 Strong clamp on my head that I didn't like the comfort of. CD source was playing some soft rock. Better soundstage than the Fosi i5. Decent resolution in the bass, an overall balanced sound. Smooth treble. Sounded average to my ears. Safe tuning I think—OVERALL: THERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS AT ITS $1K PRICE POINT. NOT RECOMMENDED SJY Audio with LTA z10e amp: Before I get to the impressions, on the last day of CAF I happen to come around where a Dekoni Audio rep was at the SJY table with the SJY headphone creator. Had a convo that went like this: apparently there was an imperfect seal of the housing near the headphone driver which decreased the sub bass capabilities on one of the cups for the demo pair for the SJY open black planar. This will be fixed and not affect the public production when it releases, but this is to say my follow impressions for the open black planar was made a day previously before I learn this. Kay, here we go: * SJY open back planar - releasing soon Shimmering cymbals. Good bass presence especially for such a thin planar design. Good technical abilities and nice layering of instruments in the soundstage. Justin, the creator, explained that he went for a linear low end tuning with a 1-2khz dip and a deliberate 10khz peak. These headphones are a definite tuning difference from most else I heard at the show: and they sound great especially at it's planned release price. I was actually wondering if they sounded even better than my HEKU and had to bring my HEKU later to directly A/B test it. And that's saying a lot for a headphone that costs much less than the HEKU. SJY open back synergizes so well with acoustical guitars. Good imaging and there is just an overall exciting presence to guitars while having an authoritative low end for bass. However that 10khz can be sharp on incisive drum strikes as I was using a Disturbed band song for a part of my testing. Good presence to low electric guitar strums. Aggressive rock music gets fatiguing to my ears the longer I listen. Light clamp is a plus for me and some decent comfort on the unique pads. The vocals are more centered in the soundstage than I'd like, similar to Utopia 2022. Kept trying other tracks like Zora's Domain by Super Guitar Bros and the acoustical guitars sounded great, very resolving in detail, but then - except for the sudden, staccato guitar strums: too sharp sounding in the treble region. Next song I used was Soviet Connection by Luke Pickman. Great detail retrieval, good low end presence especially for the bass cellos and that sub bass beat in the song. The low violin notes sounded excellent with strong timbre. Mids and lows are balanced that can be described as smooth some of the time—OVERALL: THIS MAY BE THE NEW STANDARD AT ITS PRICE POINT. NOT FOR HARMAN TUNING ENTHUSIASTS. RECOMMENDED * SJY electro-static headphone - not released yet Light but quality bass with a rock song I put on. Overall sound signature is more balanced than the SJY open black planar - not to say this tuning is better, just more typical of the headphone market. Good resolution as expected from an e-stat. Vocals aren't as tightly centered as the SJY open back. No treble peak—OVERALL: IF THIS E-STAT IS PRICED SIMILIARLY TO OTHER SJY PRODUCTS, THIS COULD BE A GOOD OPTION TO LOOK OUT FOR. RECOMMENDED TO KEEP TRACK OF. The SJY closed back was there too which I briefly listened to when I wasn't taking notes. Don't want to say much about it, sounded wonky but many closed backs sound wonky to me. Check other opinions. Next up, I moseyed on over to the Stax table as I was really curious to try out those rectangle earspeakers, the L700 MK2 * L700 MK2 Was using a provided for DAP so not my music. Running of official STAX energizer amplifier. On listen, there is an immediate clarity of sound that is super resolving. Great imaging and separation of instruments. Tracks of music I was using: Don't Stop Believing and Separate Ways World's Apart. Bass is light but still present. Lower treble sounds a little tinny to me. Sudden vocals and treble instruments can get too hot and I had to lower the volume. Vocals were able to spread nicely in the soundstage. Hot "SSST" sound came in too sharp on some staccato notes—OVERALL: LIKE LIFTING A VEIL OFF OF MUSIC YOU DIDN'T KNOW WAS THERE. VERY CLEAR. RECOMMENDED * STAX 007s On this particular energizer amp, I had to max the volume knob to get to a normal listening volume. The Stax table had two earspeakers plugged into both connects of ener/amp, don't know if only the 007s was plugged in it would receive more volume or what. Anyway... Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Better low bass presence than the L700. Some more layering and precise imaging of the music happening here. Clarity of sound is here will all those micro details. Treble is smooth but still sounded a bit off in its quality to my ear. Fast, accurate transients when the song got more busy. Cymbals decayed pretty quickly. It handled the crescendo of Bohemian Rhapsody well. Really love that, "nothing really matters" lyric at the end of the song—OVERALL: SOUNDED GOOD WITH FEWER DRAWBACKS THAN THE L700. DON'T KNOW THE PRICE. RECOMMENDED Went to another table near the Headamp company setup. I was really on a Queen BR song kick and started using that particular song for the testing rotation here on: * Audeze mm500 on GSX MK2 headamp Some clamp to my head, didn't like, with an angled sort of pad resting on the head that I thought was a bit more comfortable than the norm. I was told the the rep at the table that this headphone is more for studio use. As I listened I did hear that was pretty well balanced overall in the sound signature. Some good weight to the mid bass. Able to have intimate staging and aggressive electric guitar solos was kept in control. I heard some width to the sound stage which I personally find exciting in headphone sound. Good resolution to go along with that balanced sound—OVERALL: I CAN SEE THE APPEAL. MAY HAVE TOO MUCH BASS OR FORWARD VOCALS FOR SOME LISTENERS * LCD 5 on a 4 tube woo audio amp. may have been the wa24 Balanced sound, hard to say much else. Sounds correct but not standout in any particular way. Tried another song and got stronger mids with subdued treble, still a balanced sound. I played A Horse With No Name and the drums were slightly softer than what I'm used to, I think it's because that treble reduction takes off some of the starting impact to the hit of the drum. Used a more aggressive rock song and felt the sub bass was rolled off, everything else about it was well controlled and balanced sounding—OVERALL: JACK OF ALL TRADES KIND OF HIGH END SOUND, BUT NOT MY PREFERENCE. SEEK OTHER OPINIONS Briefly tried the next headphone at the HeadAmp table, but emphasis on "brief" as you are about to read... * Abyss 1266 God did not want me to try this headphone. My head is too damn big and it's not adjustable friendly for me. I did, sorta, get it over my ears and started listening to some music. Bass... was fine, not a killer like I expected from its reputation but also can't get a proper fit. What I did hear from the mids was... terrible. Like, lol? at that price what is up with that tonality? I suspect if the headphone fitted perfectly on my head I wouldn't like its sound for one nanosecond—OVERALL: A DISAPPOINTING TIME FOR WHAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE A LEGENDARY HEADPHONE. THE PROBLEM OF FIT PROBABLY EXTENDS TO MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST ME AND THOSE MIDS... OOOF. NOT RECOMMENDED Okay now it's time for some serious s\*\*\*. For placebo and controversy and brain f\*\*\*ery and magic infused into my perception and maybe even the gear I heard this next headphone through. * Susvara OG with Lazuli Symphony cable on the DanaTone headspace amp + cyan audio 2 dac End game. How can it get better than this? This next bit was early in the con before I was taking notes, and I've only briefly heard the Susvara OG once before. Although I'm not new to hifiman sound as I lived with He1000SE and He1000Unveiled for months before CAF. Right, well, I got to listen to one track and it was Polyphia Playing God - my choice. Mega resolving. Mega aggressive. A sphere of a soundstage that pinpoint precisely imaged this aggressive electric guitar song with gobs of sub bass with such precision. I was experiencing music, probably not in a natural way, but in some type of realm beyond that I couldn't possibly imagine before this day—OVERALL: HEAR IT FOR YOURSELF. I KNOW THIS ISN'T OBJECTIVE * HE1000 Unveiled with Lazuli Symphony cable on the DanaTone headspace amp + cyan audio 2 dac I had to do it with my own can, didn't I? And I'm glad I did. The HEKU can't resolve as well as the Sus OG could, but it could cast a crazy soundstage that didn't seem to have a limit. To infinite and beyond, as they say. Early on in the song there is a low drum beat that felt like it was from a meter's length away, underneath the table in front of me. Like woah, I live for moments like that. The naturalness of the HEKU was super charged by this source chain as notes could decay to the left and right, going further away from my sat position, while maintaining it's clarity to hear it with all the other instruments still carrying on in the mix—OVERALL: UMM... HARD TO PUT IT INTO WORDS. AND IN SHOW CONDITIONS. PEAK AUDIO. RECOMMENDED * Tungsten v2 on a Linsoul amp / dac + comparison to HEKU same source chain The source was able to get Tungsten to loud levels, nothing bad about that as the v2 is easier to drive than the v1. Just don't have the particular name of the amp dac; it is silver with greek lettering on top and about the size of a thick book from Linsoul company. And this is someone's personal Tungsten that he was letting people use at the Linsoul table. Big props to James of Linsoul audio for this opportunity to hear a rare, hard sought after headphone. So with Tungsten v2 I tried a number of songs and had varying notes during my time with it. Started with Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and got the impression of a balanced sound but not in a boring way like I thought with some (not all) Audeze headphones. There is a good, lively mid bass presence that is well controlled and clean. Technicalities of details and layering of instruments are maintained overall with such a mid bass presence that I found impressive. Sub bass was present too, not the emphasis though nor do I think it should be. Mids are well balanced, vocals aren't forward which I like as that kind of sound gets fatiguing in my ears from other cans that did it. I tried some songs from the America band, featuring softer tones and brilliant acoustical guitars to my liking, and Tungsten v2 had detailed treble while not overdoing it. I think a hard balancing act to pull off. I got a sense of finesse to the overall sound signature, and good percussion on drum hits from it's well done treble. Roundup conclusions to come soon... HEKU direct comparison: More reverb in the low guitar strums. Diminished mid bass (not bad just less so in comparison). HEKU emphasizes well done, present but never bloated sub bass extension that is a difference, neither better or worse, than the Tungsten v2. Just depends what you're after. I suspect the lower mid bass on the HEKU is a deliberate tuning choice in order for the following: better timbre and vocal quality on the HEKU. Without swapping, I think the majority of listeners wouldn't have a problem with timbre and vocals on Tung v2, and I especially appreciate the Tung v2 doesn't fatigue my ears in this region, but the nature of the unveiled system lets the overall sounds just decay naturally on the HEKU that is almost impossible to find on other headphone system. Stronger treble presence on the HEKU that I like for drum strikes, percussive clackers and rattlers, and plucked and played string instruments. Tung v2: +mid bass +resolving layering sound +non fatiguing mids +resolving yet non fatiguing treble HEKU: +sub bass extension +extra sauce to treble instrument sparkle +better transient and decays +also layers and soundstages very well +overall combination of sound signature = better timbre by a small amount OVERALL: TUNGSTEN V2 IS REALLY GOOD. TECHNICAL YET MID BASS PRESENCE WITH SMOOTH TREBLE THAT IS HARD TO FIND ON OTHER CANS. RECOMMENDED * Abyss Joal on CFA3 HeadAmp Balanced sound with decent sub and mid bass presence. I thought the resolution and timbre is good for the price of a sub $2k planar. Soundstage is too small for my liking, but it's not tiny. Mids and treble smeared a little, but maybe not noticeable to other ears—OVERALL: A SAFE TUNING CHOICE THAT DELIVERS GOOD SOUND. NOT MY PREFERENCE. RECOMMENDED * LCD-4z on LTA Velo amp and LTA Aero dac Headphone is heavier than I like, and it has unconventional angled pads similar to the mm500. I started with some vocalist music and thought it was very smooth with great timbre to singers. There is some forwardness to the vocals and mids while maintaining a smoothness that impresses me. Resolving while having satisfying bass. The treble is controlled similar to the LCD 5. The soundstage is somewhat large but has a definite limit to it, and I found that decaying notes and trails of sound would stop short than I'd prefer. On some other songs with acoustical guitars I noted that the imaging was precise and satisfying in it's ability to separate from other instruments in the mix. However it's not all positives, I came back the next day and tried it again and the fit and weight of the headphone just bothered me more that morning. And the sound wasn't as exciting on the first listen—OVERALL: HARD TO DRAW A CONCLUSION JUST YET. I WILL TRY TO DEMO AGAIN IN THE FUTURE ALONG WITH OTHER AUDEZE PRODUCTS Okay back to the HeadAmp table with their CFA3. I'm going to start with the Audio Technica 7000 as the first time I heard it on day 1, it was using the stock pads and there is a large difference between sound from that vs the alcantera pads that also come with the AT7K. * AT7K with stock pads on CFA3 amp Wasn't taking notes at this time. I remember it sounding pretty good with a smaller soundstage than my HEKU. Not much else difference in overall tone when I swapped between it and the HEKU. Okay bass, better than HEKU I think. An overall decent sound. No overall just yet, keep reading... * AT7K with alcantera pads on CFA3 amp Flat out, sounds better and worth it's higher price than the HEKU with this alcantera pad. High resolution to guitars with a controlled, smooth, clear trebley sound. Like, combining smoothness with high resolution makes this headphone, along with the CFA3 amp, super f\*\*\*ing nice sounding. Very holographic layering of sounds with precise imaging. Everything sounded powerful because of the sub bass and mid bass was just well resolved and present, but through that, precise drum strikes came in clean and sounded true to real life sound. There was layering with strong vocals and good space for cymbals to ring out and sustain in the space because of micro detail capabilities of the headphone + CFA3. Precise imaging in a decently large soundstage, on other songs I felt like vocals were a bit too forward and it was fatiguing my ears, but that same trait really brought out the emotion that really connected me to the music - Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. I tried the Hans Zimmer, Mountains music track and I heard no mistakes at that epic crescendo part in the song from the AT7K, "perfect headphone sound?" is what I noted down on my pad. I think, there might be too much bass presence for some listeners, and quicker time to fatigue the ears with that powerful overall sound through the lows to the mids. But, like, this can be adjusted for by volume level in a private setting and by music selection—OVERALL: THIS CAN EASILY BE A LOT OF PEOPLE'S END GAME SOUND. ON ALCANTERA PADS - RECOMMENDED * HE1000 Unveiled on CFA3 amp CFA3 is a linear solid state amp source will let the HEKU treble run a little too hot depending on music selection. Other than that, HEKU sounds pretty great on this amp. Great sub bass, plenty of soundstage space for any kind of music to breath and move through the unveiled system. The naturalness of sound, that is a core strength of the HEKU, is stepped up more so on CFA3. I moved over to the Wandla dac setup, connected to the better transistor version of the CFA3, and the treble became slightly more controlled which improved the overall sonics. Some quick comparisons between alcantera AT7K and HEKU on this source chain: HEKU has a shimmering quality of treble I slightly prefer when it comes to my acoustical guitar music over the AT7K. HEKU just can epic stage bigger than AT7K. However, AT7K I think is just an overall better package of sound. That smooth treble and clarity of resolution is just immediately felt when switching between the two, and I don't just only listen to acoustical guitar music—OVERALL: COMPELLING AMP FOR MANY HEADPHONES BUT PERHAPS NOT HIFIMANS IF TREBLE FATIGUES YOUR EARS. RECOMMENDED Next I tried Susvara OG and noticed that rich characteristic to the mids. But also I was getting fatigued in the ears and didn't spend much time with it. Had a Meze Emp 2 nearby and got a much needed, relaxing sound to my ears. Top tier comfort and the Emp 2 performs well on this amp. A little near by there was the Stax 009 and the Stax 9000 at the Stax table but something must have been wrong with the amp energizer. Didn't sound right or loud enough so I had to skip analyzing them. Oh, and I couldn't tell the dude who runs the table because he went off on his lunch break right as I was discovering the issue, lol. Over on the LTA table, I happen to come there while one person had brought their own Verum 2 headphone to try with the Velo amp. He was generous enough for him to lend my headphone for a quick listen of a song: * Verum 2 on LTA Velo amp Good bass presence for a low priced planar. Some technicalities through the mids to the highs, and actually decent soundstage with separation and imaging of sounds. Vocals are too strong and forward for my liking, but it may be mitigated with a different source chain. The owner said he EQs down that 3 to 4khz region and the Verum 2 sound competes with 1K priced headphones. And, I think I'm inclined to agree. The Verum 2 is a sleeper in the sound if offers for it's price. Plus, the color options on this baby is really eye catching—OVERALL: LOOKS ASTEHTICALLY COOL AND WORTH CHECKING OUT. RECOMMENDED * Dan Clark Corina on LTA z10e The e-stat trying not to sound like an e-stat. And, I'm intrigued. There is a some decent soundstage width, but not more than the AT7K. There is a balanced overall characteristic of sound which kind of makes me forget it's an e-stat. The treble is controlled, and there is presence to the sub and mid bass. Acoustical guitar music strikes a correct balance of presence but not shimmering. I think this may be the bass-iest e-stat I've heard when I was listening to Moon Song by America. I love the automatic adjustment of the headphone band which is great for a big headed listener like myself. The Corina is probably the most balanced headphone I heard all weekend. I want to say it's technical for it's price point, but honestly I can't remember and maybe that's the point of such a balanced tuning—OVERALL: INTRIGUING DESIGN AND TUNING CHOICE FOR AN E-STAT. HARD TO RECOMMEND BECAUSE SUCH A TUNING CAN BE HAD ON A PLANAR FOR A CHEAPER PRICE. STILL, IM INTRIGUED BY SUCH A HEADPHONE AS THE CORINA. * Tungsten v1 on Valencia amp with Geshelli pre-amp This is a colored headphone sound. It's a unicorn in it's ability to acquire, in it's ability to drive it, and in it's sound signature being quite like nothing else. Yes, including the Tungsten v2; the v1 is different enough that I'm not sure their dedicated fanbase will automatically prefer the v2. So, the vocals are spaced out. The mids are relaxed and has a layering in front that may not be natural, like it's forced to be layered but it's hard to explain it. There is some kind of special quality to the whole sound, almost like music is recorded in a tiled room where sounds sustain themselves past a natural kind of decay. Is this what other people call, "wet" sound? Smooth and resolving overall sound. There is a rich warmth to low guitar strums and the smoothest, most buttery treble I've ever heard. I don't think it sounds natural but I don't care it's so interesting and different. There is quality of timbre to instruments, so it's not a complete weirdo in sound. The v2 has a smoothed, resolving treble, but like, not quite the same as the Tungsten v1. I went through a few more tracks of music and the richness to guitars is a real standout. Has pretty good width of soundstage for a non egg-shape headphone like Hifimans—OVERALL: TUNGSTEN V1 IS REALLY SPECIAL. RECOMMENDED * Tungsten v1 vs Tungsten v2 conclusions - wasn't able to directly A/B switch The Tungsten v2 is technically better overall. It has a bit less mid bass than v1 and I think the sound is more tailored to a wider listening audience. It is resolving, but with a smooth treble extension while having non-fatiguing vocals / mids and an enjoyable mid bass presence—I suspect this is a hard balancing act to pull off and Tungsten v2 is quite special to do it at it's price. Tungsten v1 is the most unique thing I've ever heard while still supplying enough technical ability to satisfy my audiophile ears. It would be a very weird thing if a person only had the v1 as their only headphone for years and then came out of that Plato's Cave to hear other types of headphones. This is to say, v1 fits best in a collection of other headphone sounds. And I want it in mine, especially since these are not being made anymore—OVERALL: I THINK IF SOMEONE WERE TO BLIND BUY A HEADPHONE, IT'S HARD TO GO WRONG WITH THE TUNGSTEN V2. HOWEVER, TUNGSTEN V1 IS A UNICORN WORTH LISTENING TO. * Grado 100 SE on Geshelli amp and dac The actual Grado impression. This thing is definitely not what I expected. Too. Much. Sub bass. The overall sound signature is warm because of the bass presence. I heard some distortion on Moon Song by America when it got busy and dense with instruments. Tried a Disturbed song and Grado 100 SE became bass monsters, but not really in a fun way. The higher treble electric guitars and bass strikes sounded too constrained to me with a fast decay—OVERALL: NOT RECOMMENDED And... I think that's it! Thanks for reading y'all. This was quite the journey for me. There are headphones I still want to demo that were not available at CAF, like the Susvara Unveiled. And so, NY Canjam in March 2026 looms in the distance. I will try to put together the money to get there as NY is not cheap. Later\~