Our Take

A blend of premium materials, exquisite craftsmanship and detailing that’s unmistakably Meze, Empyrean is one of the most technologically innovative planar magnetic headphones in the world.

Over 30 years of research and development have led to the creation of the first Isodynamic Hybrid Array driver. Meze Audio have collaborated with Rinaro to create a new standard in planar magnetic audio, the resulting technology being one of the lightest and most advanced planar magnetic drivers on the market.

Hybrid Array Driver Advantages

The Empyrean Driver combines individual switchback and spiral-shaped voice coils, their unique shapes allowing sound to be targeted with more accuracy around the natural form of the ear. This unique combination generates an increased exposure of direct sound wave frequencies over the 10kHz range and improves imaging and localization by decreasing the impact of shortwave time delays caused by diffused field reflections.

• ACCURATE REPRODUCTION: Total harmonic distortion (THD) measures under 0.1% in the whole frequency range.
• LIGHTWEIGHT: Reduced driver weight designed to create a headphone that offers prolonged listening sessions
• ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO: Upper frequency limit of audio reproduction is 110,000 Hz.
• ERGONOMIC SHAPE: Ergonomically shaped driver structure with an increased active area.
• ULTRA EFFICIENT: 100db@1mw/1kHz High performance without needing amplification.

One of the problems with conventional planar magnetic arrays is coming 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.

To create an audiophile headphone that is powerful yet light the driver needed to maximize power output while reducing weight as much as possible. Weight was minimized by optimizing a magnet structure around an ovoid shape that fits the ear more closely. Power output was increased through the use of a completely bespoke coil and magnet array design that optimized the active usable area of the driver within its ovoid shape.

Design Details

High precision CNC sculpted chassis, milled from a single piece of solid aluminum, results in a sturdy but light weight headphone weighing only 430g. This combined with suspension wings which increase the leather headrest’s contact surface area with your head and relieve uncomfortable pressure points offer additional comfort even when used for longer periods of time.

A core belief of Meze is to create products that last. The Empyrean is no different: from the replaceable earpads to the high-performance materials used, every part on the headphone chassis is available to be serviced and disassembled by our skilled team.