Was juuust about to ping you. 😁

Cheers Ye , thanks for watching ✌️

Definitely.

Thanks 🤙

Haven't used any Bluetooth headphones that I've liked even a little. There's one coming out in October-ish time that looks interesting.

@@SuperReview I have great things about Mark Levinson 5909

Given you've heard them all for yourself, how would you rank them? What are each's relative strengths? Cheers!

What're your thoughts on the differences?

@@SuperReview It's definitely a "bigger"/more immersive sound from the big drivers being used instead of something smaller in my ear (the Blessing 2, S12, and IER-M9 are the IEMs I rotate between). Comfort wise, I have no problems with headphones or IEMs. I haven't listened enough to compare the technicalities of Elegia to my IEMs yet. The sound is mid-focused though which I like. The Elegia was designed to be a closed-back Focal Clear which sounded intriguing since I needed a closed back and the Clear is highly regarded. I really wanted an open back but I just wouldn't be able to use it where I live. A downside is that the headphones are quite large so I would not travel with them. I've seen people say that they need a little EQing or a pad swap, but I quite like the sound stock. However, AutoEQ can "fix" certain parts of the tuning with a couple clicks. One important thing I was looking for is easy drivability as I didn't want to spend more on an amp, so Elegia checks all my boxes. Overall, IEMs will still be my choice though because of their ease of use and portability.

Of the four I tested here, the Noires do have the highest power requirements. For my listening levels, I ran them fine on my laptop, but I didn't test sources extensively with them.

They're planar bro...and planar always need power

@@DJ_BROBOT I have other Planars that perform fine without tons of power, even on daps

In your experience, did the dekoni pads fix the wonky tonality of elegia? If so what material?

@@akarinch Nothing is gonna fix the wonk of the Elegia but.. the Dekoni Hybrid pads did (imo) even out the leanness of the low end. It didn't make it warm by any stretch, but it gave a more body in the sub and midbass region. I have a Mojo 2 now and it'd of interesting to fiddle with the Elegia with the Mojo's EQ but I moved on from it before I got the chance. The stock pads on the Elegia are the worst I've encountered from Focal, I think really chonky suede pads, even if you need to glue them, would be the ticket to calm down the Elegia. Maybe the Xenon pads for the new t50/60 Argons.

It does not.

Brainwavz oval micro suedes: www.brainwavzaudio.com/collections/oval-memory-foam-earpds/products/headphone-memory-foam-earpads-oval-micro-suede I've tried a ton of different pads, that's the best on the 99C.

Very interested in the 109s.

Subjective. Trust Your Ears. In other words, give them a personal listen, opinions vary human to human. They did it for me, I wish I had the money to own these as well as my beloved Empyrean, but alas, c'est la vie. Enjoy the Music =)

I also find the Lyric to be a nice addition to the Empyrean acoustically. The warm and lush tone of the Empyrean meets a Lyric tuning more in line with the Elite, although not at the same level of detail. But that's not always a bad thing, depending on the source and music. Noise insulation is really good and with a low and comfortable profile it works well as a portable headphone. Right now I'm conflicted on which one to keep similar to you. Not an easy choice, both sound excellent, are comfortable, and have excellent workmanship. Due to the closed nature, the lyric is more versatile at the end though.I was able to buy the Lyric for 1200 EUR like new, so I'm currently more inclined to keep the lyric.

You know I wasn't too interested in hearing the HD820 given its reputation, but having spent more time with closed backs for myself, I am more interested.

@@SuperReview I finally went to a store and tested the Meze Liric but i was very disappointed. At least with the Music i have, its not able to listen to it with this Headphone. I started with the very first Song i always use which is "Let it die" from ReoNa and i already noticed in the very beginning that the cymbals sounded strange, but the second she starts singing, its just very painful. Every "S" she sings, feels like a razor in my ear. I tested other Meze and the Elite had the exact same issue however, the Empyrean did not have this issue. The opposite, they sounded very very good. It is 1000€ more expensive here in germany (3000 vs 2000) but other than that, it was better in every single aspect. But, however, the MDR-Z1R did sound better. Especially in terms of Soundstage and authenticity i liked the MDR-Z1R much more. The Empyrean sounded faster and more detailed so technically better than the Z1R, but it also sounded much more like an recording and less live. With Studio Recordings, thats okay for me, especially with modern music. But as soon i played something more acoustic like solo guitars or some Jazz stuff, it just started to sound off/wrong. The HD820 kinda sits in the middle between the Z1R and the Empyrean. They have a much bigger Soundstage and sound more authentic than the Empyrean, but still over than very detailed and analytic sound. So i'd personally say, the MDR-Z1R and HD820 both sounds better than the Empyrean. Not technically and not in measurements, but in terms of "Does my Music sound good" which is highly subjective and depends on the music collection. So the Meze Empyrean is rather different than better/worse, but the Meze Liric, for me, absolutely no. If i play a song and feel actual pain, its a no go for me. After the song finished, i heard that ringing in my ears, like this short-term tinnitus. I know, the Song "Let it Die" from ReoNa is very intense in terms of 'S' and harsh sounds, but if i buy something for more than 250, i has to sound good with every single track i have. All Earphone (Final E5000, Acoustune HS1300, Sony XBA-Z5, Sony IER-M9, Sony IER-Z1R) and Headphone (HD820, Z1R) i own and/or owned, could play this song without any pain. Also the Meze Empyrean (or the LCD-2C or the LCD-X or the Final D8000 which i also tested) could play this song just fine. So im blaming the Liric and not the Song.

@@Vamp898 Interesting. - Sounds like something in the high end of the lyric isn't getting along well with your ears. That is exactly what explains the completely different impressions of whichever headphones and what many do not want to understand. Add to that personal preferences in terms of sound signature and personal musical material and it's as subjective as it gets. Finally, the age, which in particular affects height perception and the personal form of the day. Far too many factors to be able to bring it even halfway into a justifiable objective basis. Back to the Lyric, I couldn't notice any sharpness in the highs that bothered me. It's lively / with flavor, yes, but I like that. Empyrean is great too, but sometimes sounds a bit veiled / muted in the highs and too thick around the bottom end with not enough definition, at least for 3000 EUR. Not a problem of the lyric with its more sub bass focused tuning. HD820 and Z1r were not my cup of tea at all. Strange tunings (especially HD820), bloated bass (ZR1) and not clean enough.

Open back, definitely. Closed back, still not sure.

@@SuperReview Its own set of pros that no openback can replace, if that falls under your priorities. They fit mine perfectly, I'm just short about 2 grand.

Focal is marmite, it’s amazingly fast and slam hard, great for EDM if you can overcome timbre. For me this is more comparable to Stellia than Celeste or Radiance. I haven’t tried Noire but familiar with DC house sound as I own Ether C. Great headphones and amazing folding mechanism for on the go but they could be little flat whereas Liric with right power is amazingly fun. I pair them with Mojo2 and synergy is divine. They do scale really well, with something like TT2 they will just get even better.

nice prices you got there if I could find celestee for 500 thats a buy even if Idont need it lol

@@soulfulfool I strongly suspect that he is talking about a used or returned item. Nothing wrong with that, indeed I'm always looking for those (audio) items because you save a ton of cash and If the worst comes to the worst, you can sell it again with almost no loss.I can't imagine these prices being for new items.

You've heard them all?

@@SuperReview I’ve heard most, but not all. It’s always super subjective but the Sony MDR 1r doesn’t even sound as a close back due to their wide sound stage. I have the Meze Elites and Sony MDR’s and the MDR’s sound like the closed back version of the Elites. The Meze Elites are AMAZING btw!

Haven't heard that one or much about it. What's it strongest at?

There are some pretty good burgers.

Verite closed are quite wonderful.

And they're not even the most expensive closed backs out there.