So recently I've been able to sit down and really take a listen to the new Meze Empyrean II's. I own a pair of Elites, but they are always been a little bit spicy in the high end (~10K) for some tracks, and I wanted to know how the new-commers would compare.
Stock impressions of the II's were not that great. You can definitely hear the increased treble, but it really feels like vocals are way too pronounced and close. If I had to describe it, it would be like if the vocalists were sitting a good 5-10ft closer to you than the rest of the band; they're starting to mask the other frequency. "Sibilance" and peakiness was very slightly cut down compared to the Elites, but still not enough imo. The bass was also reduced a bit compared to the Elites, but I kind of liked the Elite's bass so that really doesn't matter too much to me.
With the first impression being so disappointing, I decided to try the deep leather pads on the II's, and I have to say I prefer these pads much more. The treble emphasis is reduced greatly while retaining everything else. They pretty much sound the same as the Elites with a bit less bass and top-end "sparkle?" Makes me wonder how much of Meze's tuning changes can be attributed to the Duo pads. I did try them on the Elites, and they actually sounded similar to the stock II's with some small variations.
Overall, I'm kind of liking the II's after swapping pads, but I still want to do some more A/B on them before I decide to actually trade them for my Elites. Also might consider some dampening foam mods for the Elites to help with their spiciness. For those curious about my amp setup, I'm using a Topping E/L50 stack. These results will probably vary for others, especially since I listen at such low volumes. If there are any specific comparison requests for music feel free to ask.