HiFiMan Arya vs Meze Empyrean: Which Headphones Are Better?

The HiFiMan Arya and Meze Empyrean are similar audiophile, open-back headphones. While both are very comfortable, the HiFiMan have better frequency response consistency. However, the Meze have better build quality and come with a very sleek carrying case.

Variants

Arya (Black)

Empyrean (Black Copper)
Empyrean (Jet Black)

Review

See HiFiMan Arya Review

See Meze Empyrean Review

Check Price

Black

Arya

Amazon.com

Black Copper

Empyrean

Amazon.com

Black

Arya

B&H

Jet Black

Empyrean

Amazon.com

Black

Arya

BestBuy.com

Black

Arya

Walmart.com

Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our headphones test methodology.

Threshold

0.10

Neutral Sound

7.6

No major differences between these headphones for neutral sound. See full list of tests below.

Full Comparison

Neutral Sound

7.6

Phone Calls

1.4

Sports And Fitness

5.7

5.1

Travel

4.5

3.8

Office Work

3.0

4.5

Wireless Gaming (In Development)

4.7

4.4

Wired Gaming (In Development)

6.7

6.5

Audio Reproduction Accuracy

7.6

Noise Isolation

0.8

Microphone (In Development)

0.0

Frequency Response Consistency

8.4

Sound

Sound Profile

See details

Normalization Frequency

1,150 Hz

Bass Amount

Slightly Underemphasized (-2 dB)

Bass Amount

-2.61 dB

Treble Amount

-4.24 dB

Treble Amount

Slightly Emphasized (1 dB)

Sound Signature

Bright

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Frequency Response Consistency

8.4

8.1

Consistency L

See details

Consistency R

See details

Std. Deviation

0.71 dB

0.38 dB

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Raw Frequency Response

Raw FR L

See details

Raw FR R

See details

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

9.0

7.4

Bass Profile: Target Compliance

See details

RMS Deviation From Target

2.9 dB

3.42 dB

Low-Frequency Extension

20 Hz

59.93 Hz

Low Bass

-4.16 dB

-6.68 dB

Mid Bass

-1.06 dB

-1.73 dB

High Bass

0.79 dB

1.6 dB

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Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

8.8

8.2

Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance

See details

RMS Deviation From Target

1.64 dB

2.36 dB

Low Mid

0.78 dB

0.92 dB

Mid-Mid

0.14 dB

0.8 dB

High Mid

-1.97 dB

-1.76 dB

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Treble Profile: Target Compliance

9.1

5.5

Treble Profile: Target Compliance

See details

RMS Deviation From Target

2.42 dB

6.4 dB

Low Treble

0.04 dB

-5.91 dB

Mid Treble

2.47 dB

-6.24 dB

High Treble

-4.45 dB

-7.44 dB

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Peaks/Dips

8.0

7.9

Peaks/Dips Graph

See details

Peaks

1.1 dB

1.39 dB

Dips

1.5 dB

0.99 dB

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Stereo Mismatch

7.0

Frequency Response Mismatch

See details

Phase Response Mismatch

See details

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.44 dB

1.02

Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch

1.43 dB

1.25

Weighted Phase Mismatch

3.5°

3.82

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Group Delay

4.7

Group Delay

See details

Weighted Group Delay

1.7 ms

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Cumulative Spectral Decay

CSD

PRTF

7.7

8.1

PRTF

See details

PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)

3.16 dB

2.81 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.)

6.56 dB

3.98 dB

PRTF Distance

15.53 dB

13.58 dB

Openness

9.4

Acoustic Space Excitation

8.1

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Harmonic Distortion

9.4

Harmonics Levels

See details

THD Ratio

See details

WHD @ 94 dB SPL

0.05%

0.497

WHD @ 104 dB SPL

0.14%

0.187

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Electrical Aspects

Impedance

See details

Sensitivity @1kHz-1V

100.1 dB SPL

Bluetooth Max SPL

N/A

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Virtual Soundstage

0.0

Virtual Soundstage

Head Modeling

Speaker Modeling

Room Ambience

Head Tracking

Virtual Surround

No App

Test Settings

Firmware

No Firmware

Power

Passive

Connection

Wired

Codec

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

Test Instrument

Audio Precision APx517B

EQ

No EQ

ANC

No ANC

Tip/Pad

Default

Leather Pads

Microphone

No Microphone

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Imaging

8.8

Group Delay

See details

Phase Response Mismatch

See details

Weighted Group Delay

0.11

Weighted Phase Mismatch

3.5°

3.82

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch

0.44 dB

1.02

Weighted Frequency Mismatch

1.43 dB

1.25

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Weighted Harmonic Distortion

7.2

Weighted Harmonic Distortion

See details

WHD @ 90

0.05%

0.497

WHD @ 100

0.14%

0.187

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Design

Style

Design Picture 2

Type

Over-ear

Enclosure

Open-Back

Wireless

Transducer

Planar Magnetic

Hybrid

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Comfort

8.0

Comfort Picture

Weight

0.9 lbs

0.98 lbs

Clamping Force

1.1 lbs

1 lbs

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Controls

0.0

Controls Picture

OS Compatibility

No Controls

Ease Of Use

No Controls

Feedback

No Controls

Call/Music Control

Volume Control

Microphone Control

Channel Mixing

Noise Cancelling Control

Talk-Through

Additional Controls

Breathability

Breathability After Picture

Avg.Temp.Difference

Portability

5.5

5.3

Portability Picture

L

8.0" (20.3 cm)

8.5" (21.6 cm)

W

6.5" (16.5 cm)

9.3" (23.6 cm)

H

3.5" (8.9 cm)

2.8" (7.2 cm)

Volume

182.00 in³ (2,982.43 cm³)

223.98 in³ (3,670.30 cm³)

Transmitter Required

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Case

0.0

9.0

Case Picture

Type

No case

Hard case

L

N/A

16.3" (41.5 cm)

W

N/A

12.9" (32.8 cm)

H

N/A

4.4" (11.2 cm)

Volume

N/A

930.31 in³ (15,245.00 cm³)

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Build Quality

8.0

9.0

Build Quality Picture

Show Text

Stability

6.0

Stability Picture

Show Text

Headshots 1

Angled Picture

Side Picture

Headshots 2

Front Picture

Rear Picture

Top

Top Picture

In The Box

In The Box Picture

Show Text

Isolation

Noise Isolation - Full Range

1.1

1.5

Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph

See details

Noise Cancelling

Overall Attenuation

-2.48 dB

-4.03 dB

Isolation Audio

Bass

-0.81 dB

-0.87 dB

Mid

-1.26 dB

-0.58 dB

Treble

-5.87 dB

-10.44 dB

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Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios

0.6

Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph

See details

Airplane Noise Attenuation

-1.03 dB

Airplane Noise Isolation Audio

Office Noise Attenuation

-1.06 dB

Office Noise Isolation Audio

Street Noise Attenuation

-1.17 dB

Street Noise Isolation Audio

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Noise Isolation - Voice Handling

Female Voice 1

Male Voice 1

Female Voice 2

Male Voice 2

ANC Wind Handling

ANC Wind Handling Graph

ANC Wind Noise

N/A

Leakage

0.0

2.6

Leakage

See details

Leakage Audio

Overall Leakage @ 1ft

72.13 dB

59.44 dB

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Microphone

Microphone Style

Integrated

In-Line

Boom

Detachable Boom

Mic

Recording Quality

0.0

Microphone Frequency Response

Recorded Speech

N/A

LFE

N/A

FR Std. Dev.

N/A

HFE

N/A

Weighted THD

N/A

Gain

N/A

Noise Handling

0.0

SpNR

N/A

Noise Gate

Speech + Pink Noise Handling

N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling

N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample

N/A

Active Features

Battery

0.0

Battery Type

No Battery

Continuous Battery Life

N/A

Additional Charges

N/A

Total Battery Life

N/A

Charge Time

N/A

Power-Saving Feature

Audio While Charging

Passive Playback

Passive Headphone

Charging Port

None

App Support

0.0

App Picture

App Name

No App

iOS

Android

macOS

Windows

Equalizer

ANC Control

Mic Control

Room Effects

Playback Control

Button Mapping

Surround Support

Connectivity

Wired Connection

9.9

9.5

Cable Picture

Analog Audio

Yes

USB Audio

Detachable

Yes

Length

5.00 ft (1.52 m)

8.23 ft (2.51 m)

Connector

1/4" TRS

Latency - Analog

0.2 ms

Latency - USB

N/A

0 ms

Recorded Latency

Recorded Latency Connection

Analog

Show Text

Bluetooth Connection

0.0

Bluetooth Version

No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing

NFC Pairing

Quick Pair (Android)

Quick Pair (iOS)

Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Latency - SBC

N/A

Latency - aptX

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)

N/A

Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)

N/A

Latency - LDAC

N/A

Recorded Latency

N/A

Recorded Latency Codec

No Bluetooth Audio

AAC Support

PC Latency (aptX HD)

N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL)

N/A

iOS Latency

N/A

Android Latency

N/A

Wireless Connection (Dongle)

0.0

Line Of Sight Range

N/A

Latency - Dongle

N/A