the reviewer's subjective experience differs from your own. that's not unusual in this hobby. what i find puzzling is that you regard the replies to your posts as being confrontational.
If the review says that the Empyrean II has poor technical capabilities for it's price range then yes it's factually wrong.
Yes mate, I find the manner you compose your posts rather confrontational. But let's put this debate to rest or take it to PM as I doubt it interests too many readers.
the reviewer has expressed his opinion, which is subjective. asserting that it is 'factually wrong' does not make it so. i'd be interested in knowing how you would prove that.
well, seeing as you think that i 'take this too seriously', i am inclined to think that you are being overly sensitive about this. i do agree that we should move on from this discussion and i don't think there is any need to take it to PMs.
i am going to assume that those statements are accurate. but you are comparing your subjective perception and opinion of these headphones with his. the only fact here (apart from statement a and b) is that your opinion differs from his. is this really so difficult to comprehend?
"Someone else's impressions are subjective, my impressions are objective." -- basically every hobby, hahahaha
Agreed. But this is nothing new. Ever since the OG Empy came out, there has been a very specific critique of all Meze headphones (except maybe the 109) from the YouTube headphone review hive mind which can be paraphrased as “this headphone costs way too much for the technicalities it offers”. With the empy ii, a lot of reviewers seem to have come around but clearly wave theory is still parroting the old party line. The similarities bn the empy ii and other topline Mezes are pretty clear, so I’m very suspicious of the sudden change in tune from the likes of resolve, DMS, and Valour. How can we go from “this should cost half the price” to “this is the best headphone in the world”? I’ll never know. I’ve stopped watching wave theory as almost everything he says just seems suspect to me (like that time he said Beryllium was atomic number 3 one minute after saying he’s a physics professor lol).
My guess is changed frame of reference. They heard the Sennheiser HE 1, realised that it wasn’t crazy detailed and they reevaluated what high end audio can be.
the empyrean 2's sound signature differs significantly from the og empyrean and elite to my ears, which may explain why those reviewers 'have come around'. Resolve wasn't as fulsome in his praise of the empyrean 2 as DMS and Joshua Valour were but he does regard it as an improvement over its predecessors. as for WaveTheory, his review of the meze liric 2 was far more positive. it costs considerably less than the empyrean 2, however.
I was about to sell my HD800s as well though I changed my mind as they're perfect for gaming because of the wide soundstage/detail and for acoustic music.Having listened to both the Empyrean 2 and HE1000SE and sold the HE1000SE a week later, I agree with most of his review.
I was in the market for fun, engaging, and neutral-bright but not sibilant headphones, easy to drive and available (cough cough Modhouse Tungsten) to accompany my lush and superb Atrium. The HE1000SE somewhat fulfilled that niche, but the infamous Hifiman treble bothered me a lot, even with the Dekoni Hybrid pads. I also bought a subscription to Last.FM pro to help inform my purchase (picture below), and it was evident that I just couldn't stand using the HE1000SE for more energetic genres like electronic (DnB, EDM, trap) and pop. On top of this, the HE1000SE was unengaging (very impersonal and "cold" sounding) and uncomfortable (the bottom of the egg-shape pads kept digging into my jaw), had a "meh" build quality, and had the reputation of breaking down easily (Hifiman QC lol). The last issue was confirmed when it was DOA to a buyer, and if I hadn't been so lucky to track down the original owner for the receipt, I'd have had a $1500 pile of garbage returned to me.
None of this is to diminish WaveTheory's review (IMO his reviews are the best right now), but our music preference (he tends to use orchestral music in his evaluation) and what we wanted out of the headphones. I kept the Empyrean 2 due to its superior comfort, versatility, and engagement, while not being a complete slouch in technicalities (with the AA pads). If I exclusively listened to orchestra music and prioritized analytical listening, I'd have kept the HE1000SE. Also, I've been listening to the Empyrean 2 daily for about ~ 2 months now and haven't noticed any pressure build up in my ears with the Duo pads, but this is a YMMV, different in head-shape thing. As for the price tag, I could see how the MSRP is high given the "objective", but I kept the Empyrean 2 purely on the "subjective".
Nevertheless, when it comes to these kilo-bucks (or any) headphones, you need to listen to them yourself. I demoed the Empyrean 2 on an SS amp at my local store and knew that I'd love them on tubes. Reviews are helpful but they can only provide so much insight since the reviewer's sound preferences and head shape might be different from your own. I dislike the 6XX, the Focal Clear OG, and the Arya Stealth, and I'm about to sell the HD8000S, even though these are the reviewers' favorites.
