The Meze Empyrean are exotic, open-back headphones for audiophiles. They're the first 'Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Array' planar magnetic headphones, and this design is advertised to reduce their driver weight, provide ultra-high-resolution audio, and reduce total harmonic distortion. In addition to this unique driver, they're outstandingly well-built with geometric aluminum grilles, leather padding, and a carbon fiber headband. Despite looking large and bulky, their fit is lightweight and comfortable. However, some users may be disappointed by their warm sound profile and dark, veiled treble. They also lack a thumpy low-bass, although this is to be somewhat expected from open-back headphones.
Our Verdict
The Meze Empyrean are good for neutral sound. Thanks to their open-back design, their passive soundstage seems wide, open, and spacious. That said, they have a warm sound profile that delivers a bit of extra boom to mixes. Their rolled-off treble veils vocals and lead instruments while sibilants like cymbals are dulled. Although planar magnetic drivers typically help bass accuracy, these headphones also really lack low-bass. You need an amp to drive these headphones to their full potential, too.
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Spacious passive soundstage performance.
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Great frequency response consistency.
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Outstanding build quality and comfortable fit.
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Very underemphasized treble response.
The Meze Empyrean are bad for commute and travel as this isn't their intended use. Although they're comfortable, well-built, and come with an outstanding hard case to help protect them when you're on the go, their open-back design means that they won't block out any noise around you. They also leak a lot of audio, which could bother other commuters around you, and you need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter if you want to use them with your smartphone.
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Outstanding build quality and comfortable fit.
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Bad noise isolation performance.
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Not very portable and bulky design.
The Meze Empyrean are poor for sports and fitness as they aren't intended for this use. They can fall off your head with moderate head movements, and their audio cable can snag on something and pull them off your head. To use them with your smartphone, you'll also need an 1/4" to 1/8" TRS adapter.
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Outstanding build quality and comfortable fit.
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Bad noise isolation performance.
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Mediocre stability.
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Not very portable and bulky design.
The Meze Empyrean are poor for office use. They have an open-back enclosure, so they aren't designed to block out noise like ambient chatter, and they leak audio, which can annoy others around you. They also use a 1/4" TRS connector, so if you want to use them with your PC's AUX port, you'll have to purchase an adapter separately. To get the most out of them, you'll also need an amplifier.
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Outstanding build quality and comfortable fit.
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Bad noise isolation performance.
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Not very portable and bulky design.
The Meze Empyrean are wired audiophile headphones, and you can't use them wirelessly.
The Meze Empyrean are just okay for wired gaming. If you don't need mic support, they offer a comfortable listening experience, and their open-back design helps create a spacious and wide passive soundstage for a more immersive gaming experience. Their warm sound profile also adds a bit of boom to your gameplay, which can help emphasize sound effects while you game. However, they don't have any controls and need an amp to power their drivers.
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Spacious passive soundstage performance.
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Outstanding build quality and comfortable fit.
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No mic.
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Very underemphasized treble response.
The Meze Empyrean are audiophile headphones and don't have a mic, so you can't use them for taking calls.
- 7.6 Neutral Sound
- 3.8 Commute/Travel
- 5.1 Sports/Fitness
- 4.5 Office
- 4.4 Wireless Gaming
- 6.5 Wired Gaming
- 1.4 Phone Calls
- Updated Jan 25, 2022: Review published.
- Updated Jan 18, 2022: Early access published.
- Updated Nov 26, 2021: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Nov 25, 2021: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Nov 23, 2021: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
- Updated Nov 22, 2021: The product has won our suggestion poll, so we'll buy and test it soon.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Meze Empyrean come in two color variants: 'Jet Black' and 'Black Copper'. We tested the Black Copper variant, and you can see our model's label here. Some retailers also offer these headphones with an OFC cable that has a 3.5 (1/8") TRS connector or XLR connector instead of the standard 6.3 (1/4") TRS connector. If you come across another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the discussion section below.
Compared To Other Headphones
The Meze Empyrean are very high-end headphones with outstanding build quality and a comfortable fit. They have a unique hybrid planar magnetic transducer advertised to lighten their weight, improve audio quality, and reduce total harmonic distortion. However, although planar magnetic headphones usually have better bass accuracy due to their thinner diaphragm, which can quickly respond to changes in the input signal, they lack a lot of low-bass. Their overall sound profile isn't as neutral as other open-back headphones like the Sennheiser HD 800 S or the Focal Clear Mg, and they have a dark treble that veils vocals and lead instruments. While their passive soundstage performance is great, they still fall a bit short compared to heavy-hitter planar magnetic headphones like the HiFiMan Arya.
Check out our recommendations for the best audiophile headphones, the best headphones for music, and the best open-back headphones.
The Meze Empyrean and the Focal Stellia are high-end headphones, but the Meze offer a better overall sound performance. While both headphones are very comfortable and well-built, the Meze are open-back headphones with significantly better frequency response consistency and a wider, more immersive soundstage. They also come with a better carrying case to help protect them when you're not using them. The Focal are closed-back headphones with a more neutral sound profile, which some users may prefer. They also block out more ambient noise, and leak less audio at high volumes, which is good if you're listening to audio in a shared space.
The Sennheiser HD 600 represent better value for audiophiles than the Meze Empyrean, given they offer a similar sound at a comparatively very modest price. While both headphones struggle to reproduce a thumpy low-bass, the Meze features a recessed treble range that can cause sibilants to sound flat and lifeless. By contrast, the Sennheiser have a more prominent treble response that can be useful in catching imperfections in audio. They also feature a more stable fit. However, if you're an audiophile who prioritizes a more high-end design, the Meze are significantly more comfortable and better-built. They also come with a sleek and very sturdy hard case. Their passive soundstage seems wider and as if sound is coming from speakers placed in the room around you rather than inside your head.
The Sennheiser HD 800 S are better audiophile headphones than the Meze Empyrean for most people. While both headphones are comfortable, the Sennheiser have a more consistent sound delivery and a significantly more immersive passive soundstage. However, the Meze are better built and have a hard carrying case.
The HiFiMan Arya are better headphones for neutral sound than the Meze Empyrean. While both headphones are very comfortable, the HiFiMan have better frequency response consistency, a more neutral sound profile with better treble accuracy, and a wider, more immersive passive soundstage. However, the Meze have better build quality and come with a very sleek carrying case.
The Focal Clear Mg are better audiophile headphones than the Meze Empyrean. While both headphones are very comfortable and well-built, the Focal have a more neutral sound profile with better bass accuracy and have better frequency response consistency. However, the Meze have a larger, more immersive passive soundstage.
Test Results
Although the Meze Empyrean are very large and look bulky, each design element is thoughtful and detailed. They're made from premium materials, which shows from their aluminum frame with eye-catching geometric-patterned grilles to their copper hinges. Unlike many other headphones with a ski band headband design like the HiFiMan Arya, their carbon fiber headband and leather headrest has a wave-like look with 'pressure distribution wings', which are advertised to spread the weight of the headphones on your head. They also come with two different sets of earpads: one pair made of leather and another pair made of Alcantara, which is a synthetic fabric with a suede-like feel. They come in two color variants: 'Jet Black' and 'Black Copper'.
The Meze Empyrean are comfortable headphones. Despite looking very bulky, the headband feels good and can distribute the weight across your head, which is great for long listening sessions. The ear cups clamp well, while the plush padding feels nice against the skin. The ear cups have 360 degrees of motion, too, which can help fit a variety of different head shapes. However, some users may find the shape of the ear cups to be a bit big.
Like most audiophile headphones, the Meze Empyrean aren't very portable. While the ear cups can swivel to lay flat, they aren't designed to fold to conserve space. You can see a photo of the headphones' default position here.
These headphones have an outstanding case. It's more like a briefcase and is mostly made of plastic, which feels solid and durable. There are latches to help keep it closed and a handle to help you carry it from one place to another. There's padding inside the case to help protect the headphones, and there are dedicated spots to store the cable and extra pads.
These headphones have an outstanding build quality. They're made of high-end materials from the carbon fiber headband and leather headrest to their aluminum body with adjustable hinges and ear cup grilles. The headband have 'pressure distribution wings' to help spread the headphones' weight across your head. They also come with two pairs of ear pads: a pair of leather pads and another pair made of Alcantara, a synthetic microfiber textile, which allows you to choose which feels best to you. If you're switching the ear pads, there's a magnetic contact surface on each ear cup which makes it easy to align the padding to the isometric hybrid array driver. Overall, they feel very durable due to their premium build.
The Meze Empyrean have mediocre stability. While they should stay in place while you're seated, they can move around with small head movements and fall off your head with high-intensity shakes.
- Meze Empyrean headphones
- Alcantara paddings
- 2.5m OFC cable (4-pin mini XLR plugs ending with 6.3 jack connector)
- Carrying case
- Manual
Using the leather ear pads, the Meze Empyrean have a warm sound profile. They lack low-bass, which is expected from open-back headphones but have a bit of extra high-bass to add a touch of boom to mixes. That said, their recessed treble weakens and veils vocals and lead instruments. Sibilants like cymbals are also dull. Although all of our sound tests are conducted with the leather ear pads, you can see a comparison of the frequency response when using the leather versus Alcantara ear pads here.
These headphones have great frequency response consistency. Although they're prone to inconsistencies in bass delivery due to the ear cup's fit and seal against your head, as long as you take the time to adjust their fit to your head, you should experience more consistent audio delivery each time you use them.
The Meze Empyrean have good bass accuracy. They lack a thumpy low-bass, and although this is somewhat expected due to their open-back design, it's still less than what's produced by some high-end open-back dynamic headphones like the Focal Clear Mg. The underemphasis also continues into the mid-bass, and as a result, mixes lack rumble and a bit of body. That said, a bump in the high-bass adds a bit of extra warmth and fullness.
The Meze Empyrean's mid accuracy is great. The range is well-balanced, ensuring that vocals and lead instruments are present and clear. There's a small dip in the high-mids, though, which slightly weakens the clarity and intensity of vocals and lead instruments.
The treble accuracy is sub-par. The response is recessed across the range, which results in very veiled vocals and lead instruments. Sibilants like S and T sounds are also very dull and lispy. If you're looking for planar magnetic headphones with better treble accuracy, check out the HiFiMan Arya.
The Meze Empyrean's peaks and dips performance is very good. A peak in the high-bass adds extra boom and warmth to mixes. Another peak between the mid to high-treble pushes vocals and lead instruments forward and makes them a bit honky. A dip throughout the low-treble slightly veils the upper harmonics of vocals and lead instruments, while an uneven mid-treble makes sibilants like cymbals alternatingly dull and piercing.
The Meze Empyrean have an outstanding imaging performance. The entire group delay response falls below the audibility threshold, ensuring tight bass and transparent treble reproduction. The L/R drivers of our unit are also well-matched when it comes to amplitude, frequency, and phase response, which helps ensure the accurate placement and localization of objects like voices in the stereo image. While there are small peaks in the phase response graph, they shouldn't be audible with real-life content. That said, our results are only valid for our unit, and yours may perform differently.
The Meze Empyrean's passive soundstage performance is great. While the soundstage doesn't feel as wide as that created by the HiFiMan Arya, it's still perceived as natural and as if sound is coming from speakers placed in the room around you. Thanks to their open-back design, their soundstage also seems open and spacious.
The weighted harmonic distortion performance is satisfactory. There are a couple of peaks at moderate volumes between the high-mid to mid-treble. This can be hard to hear with real-life content, though.
These are the settings used to test the Meze Empyrean. Our results are only valid when using them in this configuration.
The Meze Empyrean have bad noise isolation, which is expected from open-back headphones. Although it's highly unlikely that you'll use these headphones outside of your home or studio, they don't block out the low rumble of bus engines coming from an open window. They also won't cut down ambient chatter and struggle to reduce high-pitched noise like the hum of an AC unit.
The Meze Empyrean's leakage performance is bad, but this is by design, as their open-back design helps create a more natural and spacious passive soundstage. That said, if you're listening to audio at a high volume near others, they can hear it.
These headphones come with a balanced 2.5mm OFC cable. This cable has two 4-pin mini XLR plugs to connect to the ear cups while the end connection is a 1/4" TRS connector. The manufacturer doesn't include a 1/4" to 1/8" TRS adapter in the box though. That said, if you prefer a different connector, the manufacturer offers you the option of swapping out the 1/4" TRS connector cable for an OFC cable that has a 1/8" TRS end connector or XLR end connector when you purchase them.
The Meze Empyrean can only connect to PCs via their analog connection. However, since they don't have a mic, you can only receive audio. If you're not using equipment like an audio interface or an amp/DAC, you'll need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter. The manufacturer doesn't include this accessory in the box, though.
The Meze Empyrean are audio-only compatible with PlayStation consoles when using their OFC cable with 1/4" TRS end connector. However, you need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to plug their cable in your control's AUX port, and this accessory isn't included in the box.
These headphones can only receive audio when connected via analog to your Xbox console's AUX port. However, since their audio cable has a 1/4" TRS connector, you need a 1/4" to 1/8" adapter to plug it in, which isn't included.