Best Headphones for Audiophiles 2024 - Robb Report
Editor's Choice Award - Inner Fidelity
Headphone of the Year - The Absolute Sound
Reviewers' Choice - Hi-fi Choice
"One of the Greats of Headphone Design and Manufacture"
Empyrean is one of the most technologically innovative planar magnetic headphones in the world. Its blend of premium materials, exquisite craftsmanship, and detailing is unmistakably Meze Audio.
"The Empyrean is built to last as one of the greats of headphone design and manufacture," raves Rafe Arnott at innerfidelity.com. which honored the Empyrean with an Editor's Choice Award. "Few headphones have made such an instantaneous sonic impression upon me as the Meze Empyrean did at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest this fall and once I’d received a production model for review here at home, it was déjà vu all over again when I slipped them on with their accuracy, tonal and timbral cloud, 3D-spatial imaging and huge sound stage."
"How Much Better Can Headphones Get?"
"While hardly inexpensive, these Romanian-designed-and-built headphones are as satisfying to listen to as they are comfortable for long listening sessions," raves Robb Report, March 20, 2024, which handed the Clear Mg the magazine's Best Headphones for Audiophiles 2024 award.
"The frequency response is, almost literally, off the charts, extending from a subterranean eight Hz and spiraling to a (literally) unheard of 110,000 Hz. Altogether, the Empyreans hit the headphone sweet spot and beg the question, 'How much better can headphones get?'"
"Gripping, You-Are-There Realism"
"Stated simply, the Empyrean creates large, believable soundstages and the sort of gripping, you-are-there realism that’s hard to find in any transducer, regardless of type," reports Chris Martens in The Absolute Sound, which honored the Empyrean as Headphone of the Year, 2018. "If you give the Empyrean time to become all it can be, it will reward you with a rare combination of balance, finesse, and all-around expressiveness."
"The Empyreans clearly rank among the very best headphones you can buy," notes Brent Butterworth, Hi-fi Choice, April 1, 2019, which gave the Empyreans a Reviewers' Choice award. "They deliver loads of detail and a wonderful sense of space, all without skewing the tonal balance toward the treble as so many audiophile headphones do, and they have no quirks or anomalies that would make me warn certain listeners away from them. No matter what kind of music you love, you’ll love hearing it through the Empyreans."
Born from Passion, Curiosity, and Innovation
"Empyrean was born from passion, curiosity, and innovation," says Meze Audio's Head Designer and Founder Antonio Meze. "As a business, we have allowed ourselves the freedom to experiment and take risks in search of the perfect sound. To generate something truly remarkable, one must dare to explore, and that’s what we did with Empyrean. We pushed and refined industry standards and achieved a true game changer for audiophiles."
Empyrean is the product of two passionate companies coming together to explore what is possible beyond their individual capabilities. The result is a no-compromise headphone embodying Meze’s daring aesthetic and user-centered design approach and Rinaro’s experience in research and development within the field of planar magnetics.
Rinaro, a progressive audio company, has at the heart of its technology an R&D team that has been at the forefront of planar magnetic development since the 1980s. What originally started as a state-funded initiative with a focus on innovation has now entered into a new chapter of audio progression with the opening of a cutting-edge industrial facility in Ukraine.
Isodynamic® Hybrid Array Driver
Over thirty years of research and development has led to the creation of the first Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver, creating a new standard in planar magnetic audio. The technology has resulted in one of the lightest and most advanced planar magnetic drivers on the market.
One of the problems with conventional planar magnetic arrays arises from reflected signals entering the ear canal with different time delays, thereby worsening the focus of 3D sound imaging.
The Empyrean's driver combines individual switchback and spiral-shaped voice coils whose unique shapes allows sound to be targeted with more accuracy around the natural form of the ear. This unique combination generates an increased exposure of direct sound wave frequencies over the 10kHz range and improves imaging and localization by decreasing the impact of time delays caused by diffused field reflections.
Hybrid Array Driver Advantages
Combining two independently shaped voice coils within the same diaphragm delivering more selective acoustic performance to the various areas within the structure of the ear.
The switchback coil is more efficient at reproducing lower frequencies and is positioned in the upper part of the driver. The spiral coil is more efficient at reproducing middle-high frequencies and is positioned directly over the ear canal enabling more direct sound waves to enter the ear without any time delays.
The Isoplanar® diaphragm is manufactured from a custom developed isotropic thermally stabilized polymer with a conductive layer. Through unique processing methods, an ultralight yet rigid diaphragm has been achieved.
Results of this technology include total harmonic distortion (THD) measuring under 0.1% in the whole frequency range and ultra-high-resolution audio with an upper-frequency limit of 110,000 Hz.
An Ergonomic Approach
To create an audiophile headphone that is powerful yet light, Meze Audio needed the driver to maximize power output while reducing weight as much as possible. Weight was minimized by optimizing a magnet structure around an ovoid shape that fits the ear more closely. Power output was increased through the use of a completely bespoke coil and magnet array design that optimized the active usable area of the driver within its ovoid shape.
Comfort is supreme with Empyrean. For audiophiles who want to hear what thirty years of design evolution sounds like, Empyrean pairs the advances in audio reproduction with a headphone chassis that delivers extended hours of listening pleasure.
The high-precision CNC sculpted chassis, milled from a single piece of solid aluminum, weighs only 15 ounces. A carbon fiber headband and leather headrest form an extremely comfortable support for listening pleasure. Suspension wings increase the leather headrest’s contact surface area with your head, eliminating uncomfortable pressure points.
Isomagnetic® Ear Cup to Ear Pad Coupling Technology
An innovative feature is the Isomagnetic® ear cup attachment, which utilizes the demagnetizing field generated by the driver to hold the ear cup in place while also redirecting the magnetic field back into the driver and improving driver efficiency.
Magnetic field shielding is one benefit. The ferromagnetic ear pads decrease the magnetic stray field affecting the listeners head. Another benefit is an increase in driver efficiency. Patented ferromagnetic plates channel the magnetic field back into the driver, increasing output. The Hybrid Array Driver achieves 100db @ 1mw / 1kHz high performance without the need for amplification.
An invisible locking system is an added benefit. The Empyrean features an innovative use of the magnetic field of the drivers to fix the headphone ear cups in place.
Hand Assembled and Fully Serviceable
Meze Audio carefully hand assembles each headphone in its facilities in Baia Mare, Romania. One of Meze Audio's core beliefs is to create products that last. From the Empyrean's replaceable earpads to the high-performance materials used, every part on the headphone chassis is available to be serviced if any parts ever need to be replaced. Meze Audio also provides a two-year warranty.
Cable Options and Other Accessories
Three cable options include your choice of an 8-ft. (2.5m) cable with 4-pin mini XLR plugs and 6.3mm plug; or a 4-ft. (1.2m) cable with 4pin mini XLR plugs and 3.5mm plug; or an 8-ft. (2.5m) cable with 4-pin mini XLR plugs and a 4-pin XLR connector. All three cables use premium signal conductors made from OFC copper and a Kevlar jacket.
Accessories included with the headphone consist of a high-strength aluminum suitcase carrying case with foam inserts and two sets of earpads: one real leather, one Alcantara.
