Here we are, time to see the results and crown the king. This has been a wild ride, the most time-consuming reviewing project I’ve ever did and the most exciting at the same time. Let’s just get right into it.
11. Crosszone CZ-1 / 13 points
| Presentation | 2 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 3 |
| Tone | 1 |
| Detail | 1 |
| Soundstage | 1 |
| Bass | 3 |
| Midrange | 0 |
| Treble | 1 |
| Musicality | 0 |
| Value | 1 |
The Crosszone CZ-1 scores 13 points out of 100, ouch.
The project was ambitious, but the delivery just disappoints a lot. The Crosszone CZ-1 is one of the worst values in the market and you literally can get better audio quality for 1/10th of its price (HD6xx). I strongly recommend not buying these headphones (I’m sorry my Japanese friends).
10. Drop + Sennheiser HD8XX / 46 points
| Presentation | 4 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 6 |
| Tone | 4 |
| Detail | 5 |
| Soundstage | 6 |
| Bass | 4 |
| Midrange | 3 |
| Treble | 5 |
| Musicality | 4 |
| Value | 5 |
The HD8XX scores 46 points, which is actually not bad considering its low(ish) asking price. It has some major problems with its tuning, especially in the midrange area, but it is also well-built, very comfortable and it has a huge soundstage. If you can and will EQ these headphones, then it might actually be a great option.
9. Abyss Diana Phi / 51 points
| Presentation | 6 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 4 |
| Tone | 4 |
| Detail | 8 |
| Soundstage | 7 |
| Bass | 9 |
| Midrange | 4 |
| Treble | 4 |
| Musicality | 3 |
| Value | 2 |
Just like I said in the previous category, I actually feel sorry for Abyss. They seem to be really chill people and I like their energy. However, I tried my best to be as objective as I could in this comparison, and the Diana Phi actually has been the biggest disappointment for me. Yes, it scored better than the 8xx, but it is almost 4 (!) times more expensive, and the 8xx is not a gem itself.
I remember listening to the AB-1266 a few years ago and I was blown away. It was so lively sounding, fun, and extremely pleasing. Would be cool to get the 1266 TC or the Diana TC to include in this comparison in the future.
8. HEDDphone / 70 points
| Presentation | 4 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 4 |
| Tone | 9 |
| Detail | 8 |
| Soundstage | 7 |
| Bass | 6 |
| Midrange | 7 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Musicality | 8 |
| Value | 9 |
The HEDDphone is insanely impressive considering its asking price. While being 2-3 times less expensive than the competition it still managed to go head-to-head in many categories. For a first-ever headphone release, HEDD Audio did a magnificent job and I believe there’s a seriously bright future for this brand. Just please, make them lighter and more comfortable. Huge respect.
7. Hifiman HE1000se / 74 points
| Presentation | 5 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 7 |
| Tone | 6 |
| Detail | 9 |
| Soundstage | 8 |
| Bass | 9 |
| Midrange | 8 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Musicality | 7 |
| Value | 7 |
The Hifiman HE1000se is a brilliant headphone with exceptional detail retrieval, only somewhat limited by its slightly sterile tuning. It is a very good value at $3499, especially knowing how technically capable the 1000se is. It also doesn’t need a ton of power to sound great, which is always a great feature to have, as you won’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the amplifier alone.
6. Rosson RAD-0 / 78 points
| Presentation | 8 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 9 |
| Tone | 8 |
| Detail | 7 |
| Soundstage | 6 |
| Bass | 9 |
| Midrange | 8 |
| Treble | 7 |
| Musicality | 9 |
| Value | 7 |
The Rosson Audio RAD-0 scored 78 points, resulting in the sixth place. This could be surprising for many, as this company doesn’t really do a lot of marketing and for a while it’s just “there”. However, it proved to be a very competitive headphone that does a lot of things well, or even better. Add to that the ability to make a true one-of-a-king piece of art, and you’ll end up with a headphone that not only sounds great, but looks absolutely stunning.
5. Final D8000 Pro / 80 points
| Presentation | 9 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 7 |
| Tone | 7 |
| Detail | 8 |
| Soundstage | 9 |
| Bass | 8 |
| Midrange | 8 |
| Treble | 9 |
| Musicality | 8 |
| Value | 7 |
The Final D8000 Pro scores 80 points, proving that it is a great headphone. With its highly neutral, reference-like tuning and impressive technical capabilities it is among the best headphones on the market. The only things to criticize for me is the comfort which is questionable and the tuning which while highly impressive, feels a bit sterile.
4. Meze Elite / 85 points
| Presentation | 10 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 10 |
| Tone | 8 |
| Detail | 6 |
| Soundstage | 8 |
| Bass | 7 |
| Midrange | 9 |
| Treble | 9 |
| Musicality | 10 |
| Value | 8 |
The Meze Elite is just a complete package. Best-built headphones on planet earth, insane ergonomics, and beautiful design, paired with an extremely musical and smooth sound that is just so easy to love. Sounds good with every device you’ll plug it into, with every music genre you’ll try. Not the most technically capable, but definitely one of the most charming on the market.
3. Erzetich Charybdis / 87 points
| Presentation | 8 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 7 |
| Tone | 9 |
| Detail | 8 |
| Soundstage | 10 |
| Bass | 9 |
| Midrange | 10 |
| Treble | 8 |
| Musicality | 10 |
| Value | 8 |
Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? This is definitely one of those. Erzetich basically came out of nowhere and they released one of the best headphones on the market. The Charybdis has it all to rival everything, and there some. WIth it’s best-in-class soundstage and a wonderful, charming and enjoyable character, this is THE headphone if you want something truly unique and fantastically enjoyable. What a fantastic release.
2. Hifiman Susvara / 88 points
| Presentation | 6 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 8 |
| Tone | 10 |
| Detail | 10 |
| Soundstage | 9 |
| Bass | 8 |
| Midrange | 10 |
| Treble | 10 |
| Musicality | 9 |
| Value | 8 |
The Susvara loses its place as our nr.1 with the 2024 update. While it’s still one of the best (if not THE best) headphones in the world, its rather mediocre presentation and build quality that leaves a bit to be desired, took it out of the nr.1 spot. Speaking of the sound alone, it would have still scored as the best, so do keep that in mind.
Overall, the Susvara is still the king in many categories, but mathematics can be brutal sometimes, and it’s just been outdone by 1 (!) point. In this price category, the sound alone is not the full story, and it is once again proven to be true.
1. Meze Empyrean II / 89 points
| Presentation | 9 |
| Build Quality and Comfort | 10 |
| Tone | 9 |
| Detail | 8 |
| Soundstage | 9 |
| Bass | 9 |
| Midrange | 9 |
| Treble | 9 |
| Musicality | 7 |
| Value | 9 |
The new king of our Battle Of The Flagships. I still remember when Meze had their 99 Neo and 99 Classics and was just a tiny company with a huge potential and dreams, that (as we found out), will soon be achieved.
As the whole package, the Empyrean II is indeed the best headphone on the market based on this article. It might have lost with the Susvara on the sound category alone, but the presentation and build quality sealed a deal. I wasn’t expecting it, but when I added all the scores, it became reality.
I have nothing less to say than congratulate Meze on such an achievement. This is the best product they have ever released, and at least for now…it’s our number one.
That’s all for now. Thank you for reading this comparison, I hope you enjoyed it and that it’ll help you with your decision. As stated in the beginning, this comparison will be getting updated with more high-end headphones in the future, so this is definitely not the end. It was incredibly fun to do this and even though my head feels like it’s going to explode, I’m happy with the result. See you!
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: Contenders
Page 3: Presentation
Page 4: Build Quality & Comfort
Page 5: Tone
Page 6: Detail
Page 7: Soundstage
Page 8: Bass
Page 9: Midrange
Page 10: Treble
Page 11: Musicality
Page 12: Value
Page 13: Results
Founder of Ear Fidelity. I’ve been into audio for many years, working in production, distribution, retail, and marketing throughout my career. Now trying to revolutionize the art of reviewing audio gear, but one thing will never change: Music is the most important.
Woww….What an amazing comparison.
Thank you very much.
Thank you very much Ruff! 🙂 Enjoy the content!
Great review! Pitty so many are missing – LCD-5, CRBN, DCA Stealth, Staxxes, Utopia, T+A Solitaire…
Thanks Peter!
Yeah, but I’ll get all of them eventually and will constantly update this 😀
Thank you again and enjoy your time here.
Great idea, well executed, but one small item please. Why not use the real Sennheiser HD800S as it is a headphone that many folks in the headphone community know and love (or hate) but at least it is a widely known data point. The Drop is comparatively unknown and had a lot of poor reviews due to the many variations in tuning. This has ruined your hard work and effort, sorry.
Hi Ian!
Thank you very much for your comment, I really appreciate all the feedback 🙂
While I definitely wouldn’t call that it “ruined” the hard work, I might get the 800S eventually to include it in the comparison as well. The more, the better. The 8XX is a rather fresh release and I’ve got it here, so it was natural for me to include it and see how it scores.
Thank you for your feedback and hopefully I’ll be able to get the 800S in the future. Enjoy your time here 🙂
This is one hell of a comparison of top and upermost earphones around. Keep up the highest mountines of our ears Pawel!
Thank you Kris, I’m glad you like it! I’ve mentioned this article so many times to you that there was quite an expectation I believe haha 😀
Dear Pawel,
It was a refreshing read of a comparison. I was in the market to see if I wanted to get one of the headphones you compared here and your article just made the decision for me! Keep up the great work and looking forward to future updates on this summit-fi shootout!
Thank you very much Kelvin, this really means a lot to me!
I’m glad it helped you with your decision. What headphone did you choose in the end?
Great review! True, the music is the most important, but when you have such great headphones (like Charybdis or other top ones) the music opens up, at the same time it becomes richer and clearer, so whatever you liked before you like even better with such headphones. Re-listening becomes a pleasure!