It's a difficult thing today to improve upon something that is already perceived as perfect or near-perfect. The necessity to always improve headphones and innovate with new technology can frequently come up short and lead to minimal generational improvements that can be considered negligible to the headphone audience. That's why back in 2019 when I reviewed the Meze Empyrean headphone it was considered the end-game: the stopping point for those looking for a headphone that will fulfill all their wants and desires when it comes to listening to their favorite music.

Well, I'm sorry to inform you that there is a new headphone champion.

Not just a champion, but an ELITE champion (see what I did there?). it might look like another Empyrean, but don't make the mistake of calling it the Empyrean Elite. No, it's just the Elite headphone. Meze Audio has produced yet more high-end sonic ear-magic, and the Elite headphone promises to make the Empyrean old news.

So if the Meze Empyrean is an end-game headphone, what do we call the Elite? End-end game headphones? REAL end-game headphones? I'll come up with something by the end of this review...

"With ELITE, we've created something that transcends all barriers of headphone design and engineering and moves to a new, artistic, graceful level. Following in the footsteps of a successful partnership, together with Rinaro Isodynamics we managed to exceed our expectations once again and create something for the ages. It’s not mass production; it’s the craftsmanship that sparks the magic and wonder in ELITE, what makes it exciting, and these are values that we choose over any shortcuts."

 

-Antonio Meze, Lead Designer and Founder of Meze Audio

Materials, Quality, & Comfort

Much like the Empyrean headphones, the Elite is stylized in a similar fashion. The materials and craftsmanship of the headphones are second to none. According to Meze, each sculpted Elite and Empyrean aluminum skeleton takes about 20 hours to mill. The design is intricate and precise, and it's these little details that I really come to appreciate from Meze Audio and their attention to the premium quality of their headphones. One thing I will note about the Elite is that although it is technically an open-back headphone, the sound bleed is not nearly as loud as other open-back headphones on the market. The design of the earcup allows for the spaciousness of an open atmosphere without the annoyance of sounding like mini speakers to anyone outside of the headphone.

The planar magnetic headphones aren't heavy, but they are bulky. The ear cups have thick pads that create a great seal and add to the overall comfort, as well as housing large planar magnetic drivers, so the larger size is understandable. The cups also pivot on a wider axis than any other headphone on the market. This isn't a bad thing, but a design choice that allows for the headphone to fit a larger number of heads to create that perfect fit. At times I wish the mechanism had more friction, realized when picking up the headphone from a table, both ear cups should be grabbed rather than just one. Of course, it's designed that way to be articulated enough to fit any size head, but it's worth mentioning regardless. This is easy for me to overlook however because once they're on my head it's easy to forget they're there if you're staying seated.

New to the Elite is the branding on the ear cup adjustment and the head rest. The silver and black color scheme really make the Elite stand out in a great way, looking indeed elite among the competition. The Elite also makes a small change to the size of the ear pads, making them slimmer which results in a sonic change from the Empyrean as well. Thinner ear pads result in a more immediate sound, with less room between your ear and driver (more on that in the comparison section). When it comes to overall comfort, the Elite headphones get it right. Strong seal, lightweight, even weight distribution, and a design that doesn't leave you doubting that it is a premium flagship headphone. The chrome color might be a turn-off for some, but it isn't as "fast-and-furious" in person. If you loved the Empyrean, then the Elite will tickle your fancy as well, with a similar design and overall styling. The small aesthetic improvements of the Elite however make it a supreme headphone, and deserving of the name. However, the true elite feature here is not the construction of the headphone, but how it sounds.

A TIMELESS STATEMENT OF HI-FI

 

“Empyrean was born from passion, curiosity, and innovation. 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.”

 

-Antonio Meze, Lead Designer, and Founder Meze Audio

This statement still stands - just revamp it for the Elite headphone. Meze Audio pushes the industry's standards with every iteration or creation.

Sound Quality

The Elite uses the same core driver technology as the Meze Empyrean, featuring the Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver, but Meze makes some substantial improvements on the original driver design. Let's first take a look at why this driver is so special:

One of the problems with conventional planar magnetic arrays comes from reflected signals entering the ear canal with different time delays, thereby worsening the focus of 3D sound imaging. Combining different voice coil configurations makes it possible to create a better sound intensity distribution across the sound wavefront at high frequencies when directed at the auricle and ear canal. The switchback coil is better at reproducing lower frequencies and the spiral coil is better at the mid-high frequencies.

The MZ3SE driver builds on the pioneering technology of the flagship MZ3 driver found in the Empyrean headphone. The innovative Isodynamic Hybrid Array technology delivers a more selective acoustic performance to the various areas within the structure of the ear. Advances in diaphragm materials have opened the doors to even higher resolution and accuracy of the sound reproduction, setting a new benchmark in headphone design.

The new driver behind the Elite features Rinaro Parus, in an innovative low mass acoustic diaphragm build on an ultra-thin biaxially oriented semi-crystalline polymer film. This, combined with the signature Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver technology, allows sound waves to be targets with more accuracy around the shape of the ear, producing natural sound transparency as a wide, articulate soundstage. The polymer is produced with bespoke sequential biaxial lengthening technology, a process that involves stretching the polymer in transverse directions at elevated temperatures to improve structural performance. This results in a complex semi-crystalline micro-structure developing in the material, which exhibits remarkable strength, stiffness, and stability, combined with an extremely low acoustic mass.

So how does that translate into the sound quality and performance of the Meze Audio Elite headphone? The tuning of the Meze Elite is what you would expect from a flagship reference sound: tight and accurate bass response for an open-back headphone and clear and detailed high-mids and high frequencies which add a great amount of definition to the overall sound. The headphones are quite balanced, but what stands out to me most is the amount of detail that is present despite the Elite not being analytical. Usually more forward sounding headphones are tuned to bring out more detail in your music, and even though the Elite is not forward sounding, details and clarity are ever-present. We'll get into direct comparisons of how the Elite differs from the Empyrean in the next section, but the tuning combined with the quintessential Meze soundstage make for one of the best open-back headphones I've heard.

Due to the incredibly wide soundstage, classical and jazz are going to sound expansive and expressive. Full separation of the orchestra sections is clearly defined and the imaging puts you fully inside the action; French horns in the back left, stand-up basses on the far right, woodwinds in the middle - it's impressive, to say the least. Mahler's Symphony #2 in C Minor is a perfect example of how the low-frequency response of the headphone is tight and refined, but the headphone has enough "space" in it so that the other sections are clearly heard even in loud and bombastic parts. The Elite puts you on the conductor's podium. It gives you the 180+ degrees of total orchestral spread, but clear enough that you can hear each row of instruments, giving you an impressive depth with the wide soundstage. The opening of the symphony really makes the headphones shine. The strings start off with a sudden fortissimo note then decrescendo-ing to a whisper while the low strings take over with their staccato lines. The fact that I can hear both these louder staccato parts AND the almost inaudible sustained high strings simultaneously is incredible. Other headphones just don't have the separation to be able to do this effectively without experiencing it firsthand in the concert hall. I can hear where the Elite's drivers are a substantial improvement in tuning over the original Empyrean especially in this kind of genre. It's night and day.

Even in rock music, you can feel the power behind the Elite headphones. U2's Where the Streets Have No Name is an anthem to my soul. One of my favorite tones of the song is the delayed guitars and synth in the intro - the soundscape they create is an ethereal amalgamation of building intensity and emotion that gets any listener excited about what's to come. The bass drives the song with eighth notes pretty much the entire time and I can hear the intonation of each stroke through the Elite headphones. Again, the separation here makes the music sound bigger and livelier than other setups I've listened to. Sigur Ros' live Inni album is also an experience. Sigur Ros is a band from Iceland and if you haven't heard them do yourself a favor and go ahead and put them in the queue. I don't know what it about their music but with songs like Hoppipolla and Vid Spilum Endalaust they capture the wonder and amazement of being a child again. Their music can be simple like a lullaby at times whilst still having complex and multiple layers to their instrumentation. The vocals are put in the forefront despite it being big on rhythm and loud choruses. The vocals are falsetto half the time, but having them balanced or not buried in the other instrumentation is nice for a change. Other headphones cover up the falsetto quite easily albeit unintentionally due to the vocal change in softness and intonation. The Elite headphones handle this with ease with lots of help from the great soundstage and large, accurate drivers.

Dervish is one of Ireland's best bands, and their The Great Irish Songbook is a moving album bringing in a lot of guest talent for some more traditional Irish tunes. The Galway Shawl brings on Steve Earle and Vince Gill for a solid rendition of the classic song. The Elite shows off the great low end accuracy on the stand up bass here, along with the intimacy of the picking on the mandolin and guitar. The three part harmonies are spread beautifully on top here like seasoning on a fine steak. All instrumentation and layers coming on the final chorus isn't chaotic and claustrophobic as I've heard it before, but full and lively, as it was meant to be. The separation and soundstage were already elite from Meze Audio, but now the drivers are truly something to experience and create for a special listening experience that doesn't compare to other flagship headphones on the market. Great job Meze.                

Albums/Tracks:

Mahler - Symphony #2 in C Minor

U2 - The Joshua Tree - Where the Streets Have No Name

Sigur Ros - Inni - Vio spilum endalaust

Dervish - The Great Irish Songbook - The Galway Shawl