Audiophilepure

Switching to the Elite from the Liric is a bigger shock. The Elite is the more neutral, fast and energetic brother of the Empyrean and as such the difference with the Liric is quite big. The Elite here is far more neutral and precise with a much higher level of technicalities. It has a much lower amount of bass, and lighter body overall. The Elite sounds wider as well and logically more open. The Liric is softer in delivery and that’s mostly audible in the mids, vocals and lower treble. Bass in the Liric has better sub rumble but both reach down very low. Vocals in the Elite are also more to the front like in the Liric, but they are thicker in the open back Elite. The Elite has a higher level of refinement and the micro details and note extension is better. Same goes for the clarity. As you can see the difference between the Elite and the Liric are more important than with the Empyrean, but hats only normal.

Meze made its mark with the Empyrean and the Elite has built on that successful headphone. The sound of the new Elite is a continuation of that design and offers more refinement over the Empyrean. Meze was able to get more bass with the new driver and more midrange transparency.

Listening to vocal recordings the Elite always captured the artist without sibilance and delivered everything you expect from a reference headphone and delivered performance that was among the best for planar designs and rivaled many electrostatic designs as well.

Rinaro, a progressive audio engineering company, has been at the forefront of planar magnetic development since the 1980s. From its Cold War origins to today’s state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing facilities, Rinaro have continued to innovate for the last 30 years, creating the revolutionary Isodynamic Hybrid Array found exclusively in Meze Empyrean, Elite and Liric headphones.

The sole accessory that Beyerdynamic has bundled with the T1.3 is a 3-metre detachable cable, terminated in a 3.5mm single-ended jack with Beyerdynamic’s standard 6.3mm screw-on adapter included. The cable is covered with a woven synthetic cloth finish that makes it more than a little microphonic when rubbed on shirt collars. Like the T1.2, it attaches to both cups with forward-angled 3.5mm mono connections, which makes finding after-market cables a pretty easy prospect. And you’re probably going to want to find one – firstly because it’s fairly microphonic, and also because it’s fairly light-weight and prone to twisting/tangling. I know what you’re about to ask: “Why no balanced cable?”. Good question – with many other manufacturers offering a range of cable options with the flagship headphones to pair with a range of amplifier outputs, Beyerdynamic has offered just one single-ended variety with the T1.3. On one hand, the T1.3 is pretty sensitive and doesn’t need much by way of power to perform well. On the other hand, Beyerdynamic also manufactures their own headphone amplifiers, none of which are balanced designs nor offer balanced outputs. I did muse that it might be a house engineering philosophy thing, but then again, Beyerdynamic does offer a balanced XKR cable as an aftermarket option for a not-inconsiderable $145 USD.

The Audeze CRBN Electrostatic Headphones are not only groundbreaking technology, an understatement for sure, but mightily push the envelope for reproducing recorded music in the home. Eclipsing all other electrostatics I have ever heard, the CRBN made my 009 headphones sound grainy and not particularly musical. With unprecedented elegance in construction, 21st-century carbon drivers, and weighing only 300 grams, the CRBN are the equivalent of $35,000 loudspeakers for your ears. The CRBN sounds like they are plugged into the studio as the performance is recorded. The experience of listening with these truly innovative electrostatics is immersive and magical. In my opinion, the CRBN from Audeze are the best electrostatics ever produced on our planet, and rival any other luxury, state-of-the-art headphone design, dynamic or planar, that I have auditioned in my half-century as an audiophile.