I just bought a pair of 99 classics after watching this...haven't owned a set of headphones in over 20 years...digging the look and hopefully the sound
One day I'm gonna get the Empyrians and blow away my friends when they find out something this special is made in our country 👍 Also would you consider making a top 10 or top 20 of your favorite albums of all time now that we are sitting at home doing nothing? I would love to listen to something new and different. Thanks
Once I got the Empyrean my headphone searched stopped, never had a set without some drawback before. Some sets will bring a feature to 11 but have to drop another to 9 to do so but the Empyrean just keeps everything at 10 and I can dig that.
I've had my Empyrean's for ~1 year and agree with you 100%. I've listened to the Abyss, but still feel the Empyrean's are the more overall satisfying listening experience.
@@cbpersel Everything i plug them into they sound great from a smartphone to high end amp and of course the better you feed the better the sound. That's another thing a lot of headphones can't do well but these have no issue.
@@wjadragon6782 Absolutely. I've tried them with multiples of my amps and they sound great with all of them. Also, every recording sounds great ... even those of low quality. A very forgiving headphone. I will say, however, that out of all my amps, including those in the $700 to $850 range, they easily sound best with the CI Audio headphone amp. Spectacular. Unfortunately, they no longer make headphone amps but the owner/engineer is my childhood friend so he let me buy one of his few remaining models that he was keeping in archive. He did say that in the near future he might start making them again, but with an even better design. Fingers crossed. ciaudio.com/ :-)
I'm with Dragon Rue below. The Empyrean is a breakthrough headphone, not fatiguing, fast and deep bass, great separation, and some hard-to-describe (subjective for me personally) great listenability. Voices/instruments of all kinds (winds, strings, cymbals and piano stand out for me) are very natural. The comments at 7:26 really say it all about the Empyrean; I had the same experience. (I am familiar with the original Abyss; I prefer the Empyrean sound.)
I bought the 99 Classic after not having headphones for more then 25 years & couldn't believe how good they were so I got the Empyreans & I think your review is spot on. I thought I didn't need to hear another set ever again but now I must hear the Abyss based on your praise. Headphones have never been so good, thanks to the young guys for the superb reboot! Stay well!
yep when I check out my old headphones they sound so bad that I immediately take them off, back in days they sounded right haha now they dont stand a chance vs my cheapest cans :) now music sound like magic
Steve! Awesome review. I have the 99 noir, which are basically the same thing as the classics. Loving them. I would love the opportunity to listen to the Empyreans at some point. Thanks for the comparison, it allows me to live vicariously through your experiences.
Dear Steve thanks for reminding me about Brian Eno. I just had open heart surgery and I've been listening to Apollo to fall asleep. it's very immersive and wonderful. Please please stay safe where you are. We don't want to lose you!
It seems Meze made a business decision to actually try to sell some headphones. The point is not so much how it compares to a headphone at ten times the price, but how it sounds in comparison to other $300 headphones.
I have the 99 classic and it is just as you describe: it's good and affordable. If I want to listen music I am not analysing but just enjoying it. There is always something better something new. And it mostly more expensive. Not my quest. So i enjoy the 99.
Ahahaha Now they do of sorts the Liric is supposedly incredible for Sound Stage and separation. I'd buy the Liric's in a heartbeat given the look which is a tad down played in the looks but similar in implementation of the Cup adjustment system like the Empyreans.
Hi. Don't know if this can help, but I have the Empyrean and the LCD-4 (not the 3, sorry). The Empyrean is a great contender to the LCD-4. The LCD-4 has more refined treble and bottom, and bit more depth. It is a little more neutral. The Empyrean is a bit more fun, more bass, treble is more forgiving, midrange is also a little fuller (whereas the LCD-4 already has a very full midrange). Empy is also slightly warmer. It's a bit coloured headphone. I listen to both of them very often. LCD-4 seems overall a better headphone, more refined and a little more capable, but the Empyrean is more fun when listening to rock, metal, electro for example and doesn't sound bad compared to it. I also think it has a bit more width than the Audeze. Great, great headphone. Very different character from the Abyss described by Steve (I own the first version of the Abyss). The Abyss has less body, is far less forgiving, has some kind of a V shaped sound, that the Empyrean has not. Actually, I don't use my Abyss very often. Hope this helps.
@IMMO Lab LCD-4 and Empyrean are both very comfortable. I never feel tired of the weight of the LCD thanks to the very large headband which makes a good repartition of the weight around the head. But the Empyrean is also faultless and much lighter than the LCD-4. It's extremely light and provides good ergonomics with the pads/drivers that can swivel horizontally (like Audeze or Stax headphones). Yes, it's probably one of the most comfortable headphones I've ever used.
Really good review, now i'm curious how the classic compares with the neo, i know that neo will sound less warm do to the materials but they did promise the same Meze sound profile we used to love
Empyrean is more about scale than detail/transparency. These headphones are wide sounding and tall sounding. I liked the Empyrean very much. But for me these are not endgame headphones. At the hifi show I enjoyed other headphones a lot more.
I own the Empyrean and have the same kind of feeling. After 6 month using it. I think most top tier headphones are sounding very good, but for the 90s music, which I personally grew up with Sony earphones, to get back the same kind of feeling. You need a Sony...
I just looked up Yellow Shark, I enjoy all music but I am not sure how to react to that. Not sure the genre but to me it just sounded like noise, no rhythm, just noise. Not putting it down, if someone could explain the genre to me so I could understand it better that would be great.
I recently tried the Classics and I wasn’t impressed. My reference headphones are the Focal Clear MG. It’s a difference of night an day, with the Classics being Night. It lacks detail, character.. and the Wow factor.
Hey Steve, Thanks for the review, and thanks for the mention of the Abyss in comparison. I was kinda hoping for a mention of the Diana (not the Phi) in comparison as well. Any thoughts?
They’re a great headphone, however the price tag does not reflect sound quality. Consumers are paying more for the Empyrean’s exquisite design. Honestly the LCD XC’s are better headphones.
@@cableguy1949 I did that comparison, but not with the closed version, but the open LCD-X. If having NO HIGHS and a dark, mellow, close to muddy sound is your thing...than yes, Empyrean is better. Audeze are also dark, but LCD-X is not as dark as the others (lcd2,3) and more neutral. Empyrean is good with slower music, bass is meaty , but if you need fast transient response and clear highs for drum and bass, metal, electronics then LCD-X is better while LCD-4 obliterates it.
Cable Guy it can be a fair comparison because both headphones, at least to my ears, are very mid range centric. They’re both warm in tone while the empy is a bit more open sounding where as the XC has more body in its tone and sub bass. Xc basically has more slam. Both are great headphones, however I just feel the XC holds more weight, especially because of its price point. I also think the XC is an amazing achievement in a closed back design. I don’t agree with your comments about it being a failure. The reason some might say the XC is a failure is because they pair the XC with ordinary equipment. You gotta give the XC the goods. If you don’t then yeah I agree it sounds far too bland and ordinary. I know for sure. I’ve done the comparisons and of course compared before buying the xc and empy side by side. I’m no chump. :)
Hi Steve many thanks!! 👍👍I like those 99 classics. So do you think a Dragonfly Red will be enough to drive them? I have a 500-600€ budget for a new headphones should I go for the 99 with my Red or should I buy a better amp/dac for 200-300€? or buy another pair for 500-600€ to go with my Red? 😉🙏
I have the same configuration, DragonFly Red and 99 Classics. Dragonfly Red is more than enough to drive those headphones, in fact, you can even plug the 99classics to your mobile phone, you dont need an ampli (the sound gets a lot better with the dragonfly tho, so I recomend you to take also the dragonfly)
akg are really meant for studio use not much fun for normal listeners who wants to enjoy their music and not analyze it. generally brands like ath, senn and beyer are great examples of seriously engineered headphones that are tuned the wrong way for ages .take a look at the frequency response graphs of their models,you will never get decent bass out of those and the treble is always sibilant and harsh . what's decent bass? audeze lcd 2 classics. .meze ,audeze, audioquest and abyss represent a different modern approach(considered "darker sound" only because everything else is overly bright and sibilant) my guess is that a human (not a computer)actually listens.... .if you're after really good headphones buy the nighthawks at 250$ they have more clarity and will destroy your akg all over the spectrum and comfort wise.
@@yaniv-nos-tubes K712 sound fantastic with a good amp. Very neutral with a small bass boost, goes down deep to sub bass and really nice highs. Not for bassheads tho! I have LCD2's also and they don't have more bass, just different bass...planar bass that goes flat down to 20hz. Cheers.
@@yaniv-nos-tubes AKG have a range aimed at the pro market, sure, but they also make headphones aimed at the consumer. As for audio technica, Sennheiser and beyerdynamic being "tuned the wrong way", that's an entirely subjective viewpoint. The world would be a boring place if everything sounded the same.
Just wondering: After a lot of searching, I think I found my end game with Mr. Speakers (now Dan Clark) Ether Flow Cs. After two years, they still blow me away. If I lived alone I'd want open headphones. I'm curious, after seeing all these reviews of great headphones, has anyone else had the Ether Flows and moved on to something else, and if so, what and why? Thanks. PS: I also have Magnepan MG-iiis that I love and would upgrade someday to another Maggie. I like that open, well defined sound, like Advent speakers back in the day.
Beats was a marketing gimmick used by a high profile rapper to make money. Nothing against the success of it, but you're not getting the quality sound audiophiles look for.
@@thisismagacountry1318 i understand. You are absolutely right. Though i was amazed hearing a live concert. I really was there and couldn't stop listening to the big soundstage
Unfortunately, mezes pad suppliers went out of business, so they had to change the pads for the 99 classics and noir. However, Meze did not retune the headphones to sound good with the new pads, so they sound awful now. And there are no pads that I have found to make them sound better. I haven't bought the headphones yet, but if someone can tell me any pads that make the 99 classics sound like they originally did, please tell me. Thank you so much
hi. i think they are way better than the momentum not sure about 6xx depends what are you after? the meze will always have more bass than any senn and are not prone to sibilance
I have the 99 Noirs and an HD6xx. 99's are more "fun" and forgiving while the HD's have more analytical "wow" moments that will leave a smile on your face with the proper equipment chain. 99's for portable or office use and Senn's for home use imo.
I am not a fan of the headphones makers that include a very nice box or Carry case. Does make it look classy, but, you are paying for that nice case also.
Marketing is a big influence in sales. Better to sell more units than to go out of business by half assing the presentation. Nobody wins when they're unemployed.
I released the review for the empyrean A few days ago, it truly is the love child of art and music. For somebody who wants just one headphone, for somebody who doesn’t have money problems, they should consider it. Because it does everything well, it doesn’t really have weak points, but apart from the imaging and staging, it doesn’t do anything true 4K flagship style either.
18 months ago I bought and returned the MEZE 99 Classic Headphones. At first they sounded pretty good but after a while they were causing me ear canal pain and fatique. A little too sharp sounding.
I have the 99 Classic, use it equally with my Beyer T5.3. If I was told I could have the Empyrean @ full price or the 1266 @ half off, I’d take the Empyrean.
Trying to keep up with Jones is a never ended quest. Capitalism don't you love it. 3k for a headphones, wow I do don't care how good they are it's still wow. If I may suggest, if you have 3k to spend, forget the headphones invest in Meze stock. Now that's a smart move their laughing all the way to the bank.
I own the Meze 99 classics and my dealer allowed me to borrow the Meze Emphyreans. I agree with your assessment and I will answer your question right up front. Are the Emphyreans 10x better than the 99 Classic, yes. The bass on the 99 Classic can get bloated on some tracks, where the Emphyreans maintain composure pretty much all throughout the frequency range. The Emphyreans are like having a set of cushioned speakers on your head, because they do just about anything well and that case is great for keeping the headphones protected. I listened to them with rock, jazz and r&b. The Emphyreans filled in the gaps that the 99 just missed and in my opinion Meze hit a home run at both extremes. If I had to describe the difference in a simplistic term that everyone could relate to, it would be like switching on the mono switch to stereo and hearing all the missing information. For three hundred dollars, the 99 Classics are a good compromise for those who can’t make that jump to a higher end solution and they do a lot of things right. I got mine for 230.00 at my local dealer because the person that bought them didn’t like them. For me three grand is a none starter, but if they were 1500 to 1900 dollars, I would own them, they are that good and they mop up the floor with my Mr. Speakers Either, which are also planar magnetic. Steve you should do the top ten headphone that you own.
If I'm spending $3k on headphones I think I would try and get a used Diana phi or first generation abyss 1066. And steve has already said the newer 1066 tc model is the best headphone. I could see the emporium being a more portable and practical from driving it headphone than the 1066. Would love to demo and try out either of these headphones some day just to see what top plannars can do. Thanks steve!
The impressions of the 99 Classic are not consistent, however they are mostly favorable. I read a comment stating that the stock pads have changed since they were first released.
Steve you just reviewed the Fostex headphones which are approx the same price. Any thoughts on how these two headphones compare to each other. Great reviews, love your channel and have bought several components upon your recomendations.
Hello steve, i'm writing to you from lisbon, portugal and i may say that i love your videos. I will need some help. I'm in the market for a new headphone, i have beyer dinamic dt 770 250 ohms, and i like them a lot, however i dont feel so much fun with them anymore. And i realIy want to have fun and a pleasure experience. I made my reserch and im looking for these meze 99 classic or ultrasone pro signature. I listen with a mojo dac with a hibryd headphone amp. I also listen a lot of vinil records. Some help will be very nice.
Let's see, I can buy the Empyrean for $2999 or the Classic for $309 and have nearly $2700 left over. With that I could buy a Schitt Ragnarok or a NAD C 658 music streamer, two products I'm interested in. Hard to justify the Empyrean's price when I consider alternatives, but I'm sure they're nice.
I have the 99 Noirs via drop.com and if you've heard anything else they'll definitely leave you wanting more. They're a great buy sure, but they also sound like $300 cans. If you want some refinement you unfortunately have to pay exponentially more. Same goes with most things in life.
So you don't see anything unreasonable about spending well over $3000 on a DAC/streamer and amp, but for a pair of headphones it's hard to justify? You can plug the Empyrean into your phone and it will sound an infinite amount better than the Classics on even the best source gear on the planet.
only my opinion. 99 classics for sure.10 years or more after nad started making headphones nobody ever talks about them for a reason try searching reviews online and see what i mean. i really dislike that anemic nad presentation ,the meze are much more fun but can get muddy sometimes. think audiophile beats.
yaniv Got it. I have Sennheiser Momentum 2 and they kinda sound fun but muddy at times also, the way you describe the 99 classics. I do enjoy my V Moda Crossfade 2 probably the most of my over ear “fun“ headphones.It is wireless, but to me it sounds better when I use the wire.
I’m in a similar situation I guess you can call it right now. I’m trying to upgrade from my VMODA M100s I’m looking at the 99s and the momentum’s I think I might go with the 99s not sure if you got them or not.
I tried the Meze 99 Classics and used it with iPhone 7 plus. Did not have a separate amp that time . Yes the mids and highs were really great 👍... but when I listened to Erykah Badu’s “ On and On “ that changed everything... bass was so bloated and lacked any sort of control without using EQ ... returned it for this reason. Maybe I was wrong for not giving it more chance of burn in time ... for those who have this headphone try this specific track
had the same experience at first with my noirs. break in helps(50 hours low sweeps). the meze silver plated upgrade cable helps more and solved the problem for me.proper break in usually reduces the lows and highs a few db so the bass is less muddy and the highs are smoother .
I was interested in these until I learned that they contained leather. No way will I purchase anything containing animal bi-products. Instead of leather, a synthetic or plant based material could have easily been used. No excuse in 2020!
Geo L I appreciate your reply. The “leather thing” may seem silly to you but it is a part of the universal indifference to senseless slaughter of animals. Many people think that leather is a byproduct of the beef industry and is what is left of an animal after it is killed for its meat. That is not true. Leather has to be harvested in whole by killing an animal for that purpose. Scraps of animal skin from slaughter are useless. Raising animals for the purpose of killing them for any reason is inhumane as much as doing so to humans would not be acceptable either. Humans don’t need animals for food or products.
