EMPYREAN II

Best I've ever had, not much else to say. Had it for almost two months now, hoping to carry it with me for life. It feels nice knowing that I'm not missing out on any details in the music and that it's faithful to the source.

For convenience, I pair it with a Fiio BTR5 so I can walk around the house since I'm pretty active when listening to some types of music :)

P.s.: At first, I thought bass was slightly stronger on the left side, but it seems like that's the case with all my headphones, so I guess the problem is me lol

The Empyrean II is certainly a TOTL headphone and is hyped around the globe ... and I truly follow this hype.

In 2023, I did not go for the original Empyrean. I had the chance to test it at the High End in Munich but I was not willing to put my cash on the table.
This year I did the same: same location but this time trying the Empyrean II ... and I was more than convinced and ordered one right away. And just saying, these guys are 100% Meze and very proud of what they are doing.

You can read a lot of professional reviews out there and I am sure you will get the clou about the Empyrean II. However, if I compare both cans (old vs new Empyrean) and if I need to discribe the difference, the Empyrean II delivers music in a more "enthusiastic" way. Yes, the sound signature differs and I prefer the more energetic way of the Empyrean II compared to the more maybe relaxed way the original Empyrean reproduces the music. It is true, both versions are cans you put on your head, start listening and easily 5-6 hours are just gone. This is what I would call "easy listening".

However, there are some more aspects besides the pure (more or less) "accurate" way to deliver music which are important to me.
First of all: the cans must be at least 'good' for all music genres. Classical, Opera, Jazz, Bluegrass, House, Pop, Rock ... and ... some people at the High End turned around their heads when I was listening to AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" and I did it loud, actually very loud ... and I was just smiling (yeah, we are at the High End, yeah, always listening to High End Tracks in minimum 24/96 Hi-Res quality, yeah, okay - smile) ... but in case the cans cannot reproduce it, I certainly wouldn't buy them ... but they can! I truly believe, this is the real "magic" around these headphones.
The second thing is built quality and comfort. Even they are pretty heavy (not really heavy) and the size is certainly not small, they are really comfy. The built quality is excellent and every part can be replaced. This is a big plus when you throw some money in the game and all of a sudden something breaks.

A wish list or downsides? Not really but yes, the Empyrean II could deliver with even more punch, the soundstage could be even deeper and I could imagine a slighty better sorted orchestra playing Beethoven "all in".

Overall these cans is a 9.5/10 but if you consider its price, especially if you don't forget the second pair of earpads and the excellent silver plated cable then I must admit the Empyrean II is nothing else than an excellent performer and an outstanding offer which is hard to beat.