I think there is a lot in the old adage of buy once, buy right. However I also think headphones are subject to a law of diminishing returns and that no single headphone is ideal for every use case. I have several headphones, the three that get the most use are my Nighthawk Carbon, Denon D7200 and Adam SP-5, all of which are very different and meet different preferences/needs. And beyond headphones my Etymotic ER4 SR IEMs get very heavily used. Rather than spend several thousand dollars on a single headphone I think you will get more value if the same budget was used to get 2 or 3 excellent headphones which bring something different to the table.
I would skip the HD600 and go for the 650/6xx
I wouldnt. I thought the 650 was boring
1 Like
Have you had any experience with the returns? I read through Headphones.com policies and it seems that if I return a headphone back undamaged, with the full packaging and accessories, its for free(aside from shipping fee). Btw, I live in Hong Kong, how do I estimate the shipping fee? Should I contact their customer care and ask
Rip, I just found out they don’t ship to Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a massive city w/ a cult following of audiophiles and well established manufacturers with deep roots, i can’t imagine there aren’t stores where you can get a feel for some headphones and amps before you buy.
Personally I would skip the 600 series all together. The 58x is cheap and good value the 600 is boring same with the 650 the 660 imo is not well priced. Fory tastes there are just better things around at a higher price bracket
I guess it depends on what you mean by boring, one person’s boring is another’s accurate and neutral tuning.
Yea there should be… but how does going into a store to try headphones usually pan out. Do they provide you a dac? how does it work?
Ok, so i have been to a store which had a set-up to try headphones w/ sources material dacs and amps plugged into different headphones which you could swap to different combos. That was the exception to moat places and was good enough to at least give me a feel and understanding of what a $500 HP was like next to a $3000 unit. This was in Atlanta Georgia and not common across the board. Maybe a detailed internet search would give you something to start with?
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&channel=iphone_bm&sxsrf=ACYBGNTfjl6eqGaps6LhE7bM_esTEP4VIw%3A1580654637930&source=hp&ei=LeA2Xqu-Nfy0ytMP-fypwA4&q=hifi+audio%2C+hong+kong+stores&oq=hifi+audio%2C+hong+kong+stores&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i22i29i30.1870.12399..12952...2.0..0.91.1870.28…0…1…gws-wiz…10…35i362i39j0j0i131j35i39j0i22i30j0i13i30._f2SzTqkPtY&ved=0ahUKEwjriNCxjbPnAhV8mnIEHXl-CugQ4dUDCAs&uact=5
1 Like
Aggreed. I don’t go for accuracy or neutral or what the Artist intended personally it’s not my thing. I’m selfish I go for what my ears like paired with a specific song sometimes certain types of music do sound best with a headphone that happens to be neutral and accurate though.
3 Likes
Thanks! I’ll look into it
2 Likes
Listen, in my opinion you can’t go wrong buying 2 or 3 high end pieces, spending a few $$$K up front once and done. using peoples opinions to make your choice amd having an idea of what you like. I just asked for opinions on IEM’s in a different thread with the same intent. I’m familiar w/ the products, i know what i enjoy and just wanted opinions On where to start my search for an upgrade NOT a sidegrade. Also, i know myself, and i can’t just own one example of a sound signature in a price bracket, i will eventually desire more or move on to a different aspect of the hobby.
Seriously good luck in whatever choices you make. I would encourage you to build and start at the top but honestly i don’t have enough experience to spend your money that way and i already know my own character and tastes vary too greatly from yours to offer pertinent advice on spending that kind of money…
The 600 is just something to try, I much prefer it to the 58x and 660s on a tube later on, it’s just something that I think is worth trying for the sound
3 Likes
Where you live you should have tons of options, I would just go around and listen before buying anything just yet, narrow down the choices
I’ve had all 3, the HD600 sounds better than the 58x and the 650 or the 6xx. thats just the facts. many agree with me. I dont think its a matter of preference lol. I admit the 58x does sound good and is a great value. The HD600 went on sale at amazon for 250$ especially with the new one and its cheaper packaging i think it will go on sale a lot.
The emu teak or th610
The Denon d7200 is also a good choice
1 Like
The Denon D7200 is a superb headphone, it balances accuracy and engaging sound artfully to provide a rather compelling sound signature. Beautifully built too, the quality of materials, finish and tactile feel shame a few more expensive headphones.
Sure but when you say it could be better. You mean it isn’t as good as 500-800 headphones or it isn’t better than a very specific other high end headphone?
I hear this a lot in reviews and online. I don’t really understand other than a feeling I have had in the past with other products. “I get hyped, expect more than what is provided, then am disappointed even though the thing is working. Just now at the level I was expecting.”
So the real question I have is there something that is actually better at a lower cost no questions asked. At least for you. It wont be the same for everyone.
So I think it’s a good headphone yes and I can see the appeal, but I do think it really doesn’t live up to the performance compared to other headphones in it’s price range.
One that comes to mind to me is the diana v2 which imo with a quality amp and dac goes for a similar sonic goal of the empyrean but offers better refinement and further technicalities, I think it’s greatly more resolving without having harshness, more depth and space in stage with very precise placement and lots of room information, imo more accurate and real dynamics and impact, timbre to me sounds more realistic and accurate to the recording, and generally imo more impressive, the only thing I might prefer on the empyrean would potentially be a greater sense of largeness (but if I wanted the greater grandness I would go with like a he1k v2 or se but that’s a bit different signature wise). The diana is a bit more warmer neutral leaning so not as fun leaning as the meze but I think they can be equally fun for what else the diana can provide. I would also say the diana has equally good build but perhaps slightly worse comfort than the empyrean but personally both are just fine comfort wise to me. It generally just feels much higher tier when I have put them next to the meze. The main drawback of the diana is the source gear here as if you get the wrong pairing or skimp out it really can sound somewhat dull where the meze isn’t as picky.
Another headphone I would mention is the LCD 24 which new would be similar or higher price, but in reality if you keep your eye out used or look for special deals can be had for less than a new empyrean (around 2k used 2.5k new), which also goes for a similar sound of the empyrean to an extent for a warmer more thick planar sound. I would say the lcd 24 is easily more resolving and quick, has similar impact and slam, has more accurate dynamics, the midrange has better timbre and richness without sounding overly smooth or dulled, treble is a bit more recessed and less fun than the empyrean but ends up being more accurate without being harsh imo, I do think both headphones may have similar soundstage width but perhaps the lcd has a bit more depth and better placement imo. The 24 is also somewhat more forgiving of source gear like the empyrean, but also doesn’t seem to sacrifice scaling as much as the empyrean does as well. I do think the meze is better build and a bit more comfy but the 24 build and comfort isn’t really lacking to me either. Sound wise imo they end up being both more fun and enjoyable leaning but the 24 just has more to offer imo.
A cheaper option that trades a lot of blows and also goes for a bit similar but smoother relaxed sound is the ether 2, which imo while it doesn’t have the slam, impact, and linearity of the meze in the bass, it does have a more organic midrange and imo a more refined (but a bit less prominent) treble response, along with being speedier, more resolving, and also a bit higher scaling headphone. The meze does have a more spacious stage but I think the ether 2 has sharper more defined imaging imo. The empyrean is more energetic and fun where the ether 2 is more chill, but I would say that there is a good chance that if someone likes one they might like the other and are on a similar tier of performance imo (but this one is pretty preference here I wouldn’t say one greatly leads in overall performance). The ether 2 is a bit more amp picky but it’s not as picky as the diana imo, also while the meze feels more solid in the build the ether 2 is really more comfortable to me, they really nailed that.
The empyrean is a step above the sub 1k options but it also imo doesn’t preform on the same level as other ~3k options (I could go into more detail with other options if needed), I do think that a more fair price for it would be 2k or under, I feel like you end up overpaying for the build it has to offer (but the build and comfort are pretty great to give them credit but also imo not class leading) and that ends up putting it in competition with headphones that imo sonically end up being higher tier than it. The empyrean is a bit more forgiving for source gear pairing (while other options require more attention to source gear pairings, but that doesn’t mean you should skimp on source gear for the meze either) and has a more consumer tuning that some might like, but even used they tend to be more than I would want to pay for that level of performance imo.
There is hype around it yes, but I personally ignored that (as I do with most hype) so this really isn’t accounting for that. I simply think it’s just priced like a grand too high that puts it in competition with higher preforming options. I do think you could have similar performance (but most likely not similar build quality) for less, but it won’t be a super similar tuning. If you are someone who greatly values build and looks you might be able to justify the empyrean but personally to me it presents a poor value compared to other higher end cans.
I think it’s specialty is it’s tuning and ability to sound solid with cheaper source gear, but compared to competing options it just feels handicapped and personally sacrificing capability for a signature and easy driveability in the high end space isn’t something I’m personally a fan of. I also dislike the aeolus for this reason but that being said I do still enjoy the empyrean in isolation where I really don’t like the aeolus in most respects. The aeolus trades way too much capability and technicalities for something that while is never an offensive sound is overly dull, technically lacking, and really not competitive to other options in the price range, just go with an auteur/eikon or higher if you want zmf imo. Also to be honest here, at this price range, I could really care less about frequency response as mostly anything in this range will have a competent and well done frequency response, and it’s all the other aspects of the headphones, specifically the intangibles, that color the sound more to me at least. So while the meze does have a generally pleasant more consumer fun warmer tuning, it also can sound dull or just lacking at times to me imo in comparison to other options in the market
If this is your first foray into higher end headphones I highly doubt anyone would really have many complaints, but after hearing many other options in this range or higher the empyrean kinda just doesn’t stand out to me as an overly compelling option for what it’s priced at unless you can find a used one under 1.6k which in that case I think it could be possibly worthwhile imo, but for now I think they are still priced too high for what they sell for used since they typically go for around 2.2-2.3k ish used which I feel like you can find much better at that price range used
11 Likes