In this video I’m back with Meze, and we’re looking at the Meze Audio Empyrean 2—very much a “for music lovers, not gear heads” kind of flagship. I unbox it, talk build, comfort, ergonomics, and then get straight into what actually matters: how it sounds, how it scales, and whether it’s a meaningful upgrade over the original Empyrean. Meze have kept what they nailed the first time—one of the best comfort designs in hi‑fi, period—while massively stepping up the driver performance and overall resolving ability. I ran the Empyrean 2 on my reference chain (Idian Absolute Meta + H1, plus pieces like Riviera AIC‑10, Rockna Reference Signature, and Ampen Sound DAC 4) and the big takeaway is this: Empyrean 2 is a proper flagship that demands good equipment to sound incredible. With the stock hybrid pads it’s warmer, thicker, and insanely easy to live with—armchair luxury, non‑fatiguing, and genre‑agnostic. Swap to the angled Alcantara pads and it turns into a wide, HD800S‑style “IMAX” presentation in planar form—excellent for film scores and gaming. Build quality and comfort are five tigers out of five; my only real gripe is Meze still using mini‑XLR when I want 3.5mm for easier cable swapping.