$3,999.00
Canadian Shipping Details
We offer free shipping in Canada on most items when an order totals $99 or more before tax. Some exceptions apply; click here for our full shipping policy.
Estimated free shipping transit time:
- Greater Toronto Area: 1-2 business days
- Rest of Ontario: 1-3 business days
- Quebec: 2-3 business days
- Maritimes, Manitoba: 3-4 business days
- Alberta & Saskatchewan: 3-5 business days
- British Columbia: 4-6 business days
- Territories: 6-10 business days
Express options available at checkout. Orders dispatch next business day. Delivery times may be extended for remote areas.
Toronto Store Pickup
Select in-store pickup at checkout and collect your order from our store in Toronto.
Find our entrance on Bay Street, near Charles Street West. We also have a pickup area in the Manulife Centre parking garage. Click here for directions. Before coming to the store, please wait for a confirmation email indicating your order is ready for pickup.
⚠️ No Returns on Headphones Once Opened
Buy with confidence, backed by Price Protection: if our advertised price goes down within 30 days of your purchase, contact us and we'll refund the difference.
For hygienic reasons, there are no returns on headphones and earphones once opened.
All in-stock headphones are available for personal demonstration in-store. We encourage you to try before buying to ensure satisfactory sound, fit, and functionality.
Click here for our full return policy.
If an item is defective upon receipt, please notify us within 30 days of purchase so we can arrange an exchange. For issues following 30 days, we will work with you and the manufacturer within the scope of each brand’s warranty and service policies.
Description
Empyrean Elite
Passion brought us here.
Technology made it happen.
Combining an exclusive aesthetic with state-of-the-art engineering, ELITE Tungsten delivers an accurate, authentic listening experience ready to meet the highest expectations of the proficient audiophile.
"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
MEZE X RINARO
COLLABORATION
Meze Audio and Rinaro Isodynamics continue their collaboration for the release of the new ELITE Isodynamic Hybrid Array headphone. Combining the outstanding mechanical design and ergonomics from Meze Audio with the signature technology and acoustic engineering of Rinaro, ELITE is here to set a new standard in top-of-the-line headphone performance.
Meze Audio
For the past 10 years, Meze Audio has been developing audiophile headphones and earphones renowned for their timeless design, pure comfort and engaging, vivid sound. From looks to technology, Meze Audio products are designed to surpass all short-living trends and become heirlooms, rather than just headphones. Today, founder Antonio Meze and his skilled team design and develop their products in Baia Mare, Romania, in the spirit of their original ‘no-compromise’ vision.
Rinaro Isodynamics
Rinaro originated in the USSR (today’s Ukraine) during the Cold War as part of a state-funded acoustic technology research program. With government backing and access to advanced testing facilities, the team was able to focus all of its efforts on planar magnetics. A field they have continued to innovate in for the last 30 years, since the collapse of the USSR. In the last decade, Rinaro have expanded their capabilities and capacity with the development of state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing facilities in Ukraine and Poland. The new facilities have been a driving force in the creation of the revolutionary Isodynamic Hybrid Array technology found in Meze Empyrean and ELITE headphones.
BEAUTIFUL AESTHETICS
TAILORED FOR LONG LISTENING SESSIONS
A core belief of Meze Audio is to create products that last through years and years of industry changes, bringing long-lasting value to the customer. Elite is no different.
From looks to technology, this headphone was designed to surpass all short-living trends and become a true heirloom.
On the ELITE Tungsten, admire the smooth, stone-like texture of the hand-applied paint. A deep black grill with intricate carvings completes the look, turning ELITE into a futuristic take on personal audio design. Materials were chosen not just for the exciting sensory experience their raw texture provides, but also for comfort and durability. A carbon fiber headband with a real leather headrest were added to the frame, for an ultra-light feel and maximum durability.
TUNGSTEN-INSPIRED RESILIENCE.
Naturally found on various mineral deposits, tungsten ore becomes one of the toughest metals on earth, when processed. The color we chose for this headphone is similar to what tungsten looks in its final form, and we chose it as a visual metaphor for our commitment to making things that are reliable, things that last well through the years. We achieved this stone-like texture by coating each piece of the frame with Cerakote®, one of the best types of finishes out there.
Traditionally used for the automotive, aerospace, defence, and healthcare industries, Cerakote® coatings are renowned for their high resistance, unmatched hardness and outstanding UV resistance. The unique structure of Cerakote® not only offers a beautiful finish and a significant increase in durability, but does so without adding any unnecessary weight to the headphone chassis.
PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION WINGS
PATENT PENDING
The patent-pending suspension wings support system is elongated and curved at both ends, descending further on the side of the head and distributing the weight of the headphone evenly, for an utmost comfortable listening experience.
PATIENCE
MAKES PERFECT
Creating a flagship headphone takes time and patience to do well, and it’s that kind of craftsmanship that separates the average from the great. ELITE is hand assembled with care and painstaking attention to detail in Baia Mare, Romania.
The process of making a single frame for ELITE takes about 20 hours. Then, it takes Rinaro 100 hours to manufacture and test each of the drivers. To that, we add days of inspecting each part of the headphone, assembling the parts and making sure the final product rises up to our high standards. This can’t be achieved through mass-production and that means delivery times can be longer, but we guarantee it’s worth it.
RINARO ISODYNAMIC HYBRID ARRAY DRIVER®
THE PROGRESSION OF THE FLAGSHIP
With a custom, newly designed driver, created by Rinaro Isodynamics, ELITE is the result of 3 years of research and development through which we strived to create a powerful, lifelike, and immersive experience that awakens the senses of the listener.
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.
ULTRA LOW DISTORTION
Total harmonic distortion (THD) measures under 0.05% in the whole frequency range.
LIGHTWEIGHT
75g combined driver weight designed to create a headphone that offers prolonged listening sessions.
ULTRA HIGH RESOLUTION AUDIO
Upper frequency limit of audio reproduction is 112,000 Hz.
RINARO PARUS® DIAPHRAGM
An innovative low mass acoustic diaphragm constructed on an ultrathin biaxially oriented semi-crystalline film.
EASY TO DRIVE
101db@1mw/1kHz; 32Ohm; can be driven by almost any source without the need for amplification.
PATENTED ISODYNAMIC HYBRID ARRAY TECHNOLOGY
One of the most sophisticated and advanced planar magnetic technologies in the world.
|
CASING Reinforced polymer housing designed to withstand the demanding 12,7N load generated by the Hybrid Magnet Array. |
RINARO PARUS® DIAPHRAGM A new low mass diaphragm material, weighing only 0.11g with a large active area of 4650 sq mm. |
HYBRID MAGNET ARRAY Symmetrically placed on either side of the diaphragm our neodymium magnets are arranged into a Hybrid Array to create a 0.35 Tesla Isodynamic magnetic field required for a uniform activation across the whole diaphragm surface. |
RINARO PARUS
A NEW LOW MASS DIAPHRAGM MATERIAL
The new driver behind ELITE features Rinaro Parus®, an innovative low mass acoustic diaphragm built on an ultra-thin biaxially oriented semi-crystalline polymer film. This, combined with the signature Isodynamic Hybrid Array Driver technology, allows sound waves to flow freely past the ears and out, producing a natural sound transparency and a wide, articulate soundstage. This results in improved definition and speed over the entire frequency range.
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 result is a complex semi-crystalline micro structure developing in the material, which exhibits remarkable strength, stiffness, and stability, combined with an extremely low acoustic mass.
DUAL DRIVEN SYSTEM
SONIC ADVANTAGES
The use of different voice coil configurations found in the Isodynamic Hybrid Array creates the opportunity to improve the sound intensity distribution at high frequencies when directed at the auricle and ear canal.
This solves a common problem with conventional planar magnetic arrays whereby reflected signals enter the ear canal with different time delays, thereby worsening the focus of 3D sound imaging.
The use of dual coil arrays not only creates a balanced frequency response around the whole range, it also allows for better frequency targeting within different areas of the ear, improving acoustical perception on the upper frequency range.
SWITCHBACK COIL
The switchback coil is more efficient at reproducing lower frequencies and is positioned in the upper part of the driver.
SPIRAL COIL
The spiral coil is more efficient at reproducing middle-high frequencies and is positioned directly over the ear canal, enabling more direct sound waves to enter the ear without any time delays.
At frequencies above 10kHz, where sound wave length is smaller than the cushions' inner cavity, the sound field becomes diffused with an amount of direct and reflected sound waves within the ear canal.
A significant increase of direct sound waves can be achieved by positioning the most efficient part of the diaphragm in mid-high frequencies directly over the ear canal, resulting in improved 3D imaging and spatial localization.
ISOMAGNETIC EARPAD ATTACHMENT
BY RINARO
An innovative design feature developed by Rinaro is the Isomagnetic® earpad attachment, which utilises the demagnetizing field generated by the driver to hold the earpad in place whilst also redirecting the magnetic field back into the driver and improving driver efficiency.
95% Magnetic field shielding
Ferromagnetic earpads decrease the magnetic stray field affecting the listeners head by 95%
Invisible locking system
Innovative use of the magnetic field of the drivers to keep the earpads in place
12% Increase in driver power
Patented ferromagnetic plates channel the magnetic field back into the driver increasing output by 1db or 12%
CALIBRATE
YOUR SOUND
The Meze Elite headphone comes with two uniquely shaped earpads developed by Rinaro to allow for personal calibration of the sound signature.
01. ANGLED ALCANTARA®
These earpads are designed to enhance the acoustic personality of your Elite, revealing new, exciting sound nuances. The angled shape creates more space inside the ear pad, which translates to an airier sound signature, with cleaner bass and improved presence in the mid-range frequency. Made of soft foam coated with Alcantara, with a fine protective mesh on the grille, the angled ear pads provide increased wearing comfort for most ear shapes.
02. HYBRID (Perforated Alcantara® Interior + Real Leather Exterior)
With a soft, yet durable outer finish, the HYBRID ear cushions perfectly balance the qualities of Alcantara® and leather into a single design. Besides the high wearing comfort, this unique combo delivers an airy sound signature, in which sound waves appear to trancend the space around you to create an immersive experience.
DESIGNED
FOR LIFE
Taking long-term sustainability to a new level, Elite is also fully serviceable: from the replaceable earpads to the high-performance materials used, every part on the headphone chassis is available to be easily disassembled and serviced.
ACCESSORIES
IN THE BOX
- High-strength ABS plastic suitcase with foam inserts and leather handle
- Angled Alcantara Ear Pads
- Hybrid (Perforated Alcantara Interior + Real Leather Exterior) Ear Pads
- Mini XLR to 6.3 mm silver-plated PCUHD premium cable
SPECIFICATIONS
MEZE ELITE
OVERVIEW
Driver Type
Rinaro Isodynamic Hybrid Array®
Operating Principle
Open
Ear Coupling
Circumaural
Frequency Response
3-112,000 Hz
Impedance
32 Ω
Nominal SPL
101 dB (1 mW / 1 kHz)
Maximum SPL
> 130 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
<0.05%
Weight
~ 420 g
MZ3SE DRIVER SPECIFICATIONS
Geometrical Shape
Ovoid
Size
102 mm x 73 mm
Weight
75 g
Casing
Fibreglass reinforced polymer
Type
Rinaro Parus® [MZ3SE]
Active Area
4650 mm2
Weight
0.011 g
Acoustic Mass
7.5 kg/m4
Lower Frequency Limit
3 Hz
Upper-Frequency Limit
112,000 Hz
For hygienic reasons, there are no returns on headphones once opened.
All in-stock headphones are available for personal demonstration in-store. We encourage you to try before buying to ensure satisfactory sound, fit, and functionality.
If an item is defective upon receipt, please notify us within 30 days of purchase so we can arrange an exchange. For issues following 30 days, we will work with you and the manufacturer within the scope of each brand’s warranty and service policies.
Specs
Dimensions
About Meze Audio
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