After three years using the Meze Liric almost exclusively, I purchased a pair of 109 Pros because I have been itching for a Meze open back and I really prefer the headband design of the 99 Classics I own over the Liric design. After a week of only listening to the 109 Pro, I am very happy with the purchase. Comfort is the best I have experienced and sound is really good. I will be returning to my work Lirics on Monday so am excited to see what I think, but everytime I have placed the Lirics back on my head, it reminds me why I love them so much. I really enjoy the sound of them. I really wish I could audition the Empyrean and Elite, but I don’t think that will happen. So I think my Liric and 109 Pro will be a great pair to compliment each other and the 99 Classics will likely rarely be called into action.
My headphone lounge is “work in progress”.
Looking for an new DAC/AMP or DAC and AMP. It has to be powerful (minimum 3 W @32 Ohm), 4.4 mm and not a tube 
Maybe Volumio Preciso DAC combined with a great AMP Or an Ferrum WANDLA HP (DAC/AMP). Life ist not easy
Thanks for any suggestion
Torben
I gave your query to an AI bot and what I got was:
Schiit Jotunheim 2
- Power output: 6W @ 32 Ohm (balanced output).
Schiit Magnius + Schiit Modius
delivers 5W @ 32 Ohm from its balanced headphone output.
JDS Labs Element IV
Power output: 3W @ 32 Ohm.
Very nice. On the subject of headstands and amps, this is just a quick “heads up” to the Roon Headphone community that the Smyth Realiser is now available as a “Lite” version. It’s still a fairly hefty USD 3000 pricetag, but that buys you a 16 channel surround processor and headphone amp which will virtualise stereo, DTSx or Dolby Atmos into headphones, and allows a personalised ear and headphone measurement (HPEQ) which provides a fully “out of head” experience. I have owned a Smyth A16 since 2019 and it is almost impossible to tell that you aren’t listening to speakers. I have also virtualised my Quad 63 electrostatics and they sound pretty much identical. Even better, you have access to other people’s systems for free via the Head-Fi community. For those who have already spent thousands in their headphones, it’s worth a try. Also the first time that I ever heard serious bass from a Sennheiser 800!
Latest addition to the headphone stable: Sennheiser HDB630:
The HDB630 is a closed back, over ear, Bluetooth audiophile grade headphone with noise cancelling and many other features, from Sennheiser. The headphone comes with a beautiful case:
and plenty of accessories:
including this marvelous little device, the BTD700 dongle:
Everything is controlled by the Sennheiser Smart Control Plus app (more on this later).
The HDB630 can used in a number of different ways:
As a wired headphone connected to a headphone amp by using the included 2.5mmX3.5mm cable
As a wired USB headphone connected to the USB output of a computer or mobile device by using the included USB-C cable
As a “standard” Bluetooth headphone
As an “enhanced” Bluetooth headphone by using the included BTD700 dongle
The tuning used by Sennheiser for the HDB630 puts it squarely in the HD600 family of headphones so if you are familiar with the sound of any headphone from the Sennheiser 600 series then you will have a good idea of how the HDB630s sound. Please bear in mind that while most Sennheiser 600 series headphones are open back the HDB630 are closed back so that does have an effect on the overall sound. That being said, the HDB630s do sound somewhat “open” with a good soundstage while preserving that typical closed back bass response.
Elaborating on the various ways to use the HDB630s, the three main ways that most people will use these headphones would be either as a wireless Bluetooth headphone or a wired USB-C headphone. The wired USB-C mode is similar to the way the Focal Bathys work: the USB digital output from a connected device, such as a mobile phone or laptop, is converted by the DAC built-in to the HDB630. Since the audio being supplied to the HDB630 is digital, either via Bluetooth or wired USB-C, the Smart Control Plus app can be used to tailor the sound to one’s liking, with many presets or our own custom preset created by one of three methods: using sound Check or using a basic five band EQ or using the advanced parametric EQ (which is not for the faint of heart).
As I stated above, there are two ways to connect the headphones via Bluetooth. The first one is to just connect the headphones directly to one’s device. If you are using a device that has Qualcomm aptX built-in then the HDB630s will make use of this codex. However, if you are using an Apple device then you will be limited to the Bluetooth SBC codex since Apple only collects licensing fees and NEVER pays them. This is where the little and quite nifty BTD700 dongle comes in. although it can be somewhat finicky to set up, once you get the hang of it the BTD700 dongle makes for a rewarding listening experience. Once the BTD700 dongle is connected to one’s Apple device it enables the HDB630s to connect the device using the aptX Bluetooth codec. A nice little trick. Here are a few screenshots to help explain things a little more clearly. All these screen shots were taken on my iPhone 16 Pro Max while using the BTD700 dongle and streaming via Roon (not Roon ARC, however things work the same when using Roon ARC (or PlexAmp).
First up is a shot showing the aptX by used when playing back a 48kHz file:
Next are two shots showing the Roon signal path and aptX when play back a 96kHz file:
Since the BTD700 dongle and aptX are limited to 96kHz, here is a screen shot of the Roon signal path when playing a 192kHz file:
BTD700 dongle also works with other Bluetooth headphones and earbuds, such as the Sennheiser Momentum 3 or 4 wireless earbuds or the Focal Bathys (I tested the dongle using these two devices).
So if you are a Apple user who is frustrated with Apple’s lack of high-quality Bluetooth then the HDB630s (along with the BTD700 dongle) might be the Bluetooth headphones you’ve been waiting for. And if you already have other Bluetooth headphones or earbuds and would like to experience high quality Bluetooth when using an Apple device then the BTD700 dongle (which is available separately) might be the solution.
I realize that this is a lot to take in so if you have any questions, please ask and I will do my best to answer them.
All very good, but still use wires to either my Planar Magnetic IEMs and an older set of B&W P5 Wireless, but used with a cable on plane based entertainment systems.
Believe it or not on a recent flight I was actually able to use Bluetooth to connect my headphones to the entertainment system. Personally I would have rather won the lottery since the odds of winning a lottery are much, much better than the odds of getting anything on an in-flight entertainment system to work as advertised. My good fortune wasted on a Bluetooth connection. Damn!
I would love to try that someday. But alas, even at the lower price it’s out of reach for me.
Unfortunately even the Smyth Lite version is still not cheap. But in a world where some people are happy to spend several thousand dollars on a single set of headphones, speakers or headphone amp, it isn’t hard to imagine spending the same money on a headphone amp / DAC / processor which convincingly replicates a high end speaker system.
However, as a real-world alternative, I can recommend Virtuoso. This is a much cheaper ($75) software-based alternative to the A16, which I use each time I travel. This provides virtual speaker listening using a Windows or Mac laptop to do the processing and you can add a Supperware head tracker ($80) for the full “out of your head” effect. The virtual speakers in the APL software include Harbeth and Genelec as well as other typical studio monitors. The Smyth is still by far the better product, but given the cost, it should be!
I suspect they will give the Bathys Mg a bit of stern competition especially at the price difference.
Most definitely! And well they should. Anyone who owns any wireless headphone or earbud that supports the aptX codec and is using an iPhone should at least pick up the BTD700 dongle, which is sold separately.
This week I got the option to pre-order the Bathys BUT it turned out to be the old one,
Apparently the Mg’s won’t appear until Nov/Dec at the estimated princely sum of R 39000 ( = $2166) I believe they are $1300 in US so the HDB 630 at around $500 is going to be very interesting even if its weighted on cost as well. Sennheiser has a formal agent company here , Focal does but only for their car audio speaker range. Anything else is individual imports by an interested shop . So Focal are really only available form one outlet .
For me ANC headphones are a “niche” requirement as I rarely travel these days and my WH1000 xm4 are still holding their own.
Third World eh 
I should have bought them in Paris and payed the import tax !!
Well I own the original Focal Bathys and the Focal Clear MG so I have a pretty good idea of how the Bathys MG might sound and therefore I would say go with the less expensive Sennheiser HDB630. I love using wireless headphones or earbuds when I just don’t want to deal with a cable tethering me to a device.
That’s probably the route, I too have the Focal Mg and was effectively hoping for an ANC WIRELESS equivalent
I’ll try the HDB 630 when we (eventually) see them
Thanks. Good to know less expensive options exist.
Are those programs easy to set up for a computer novice?
It also doesn’t help that I don’t have a laptop computer. We have a desktop computer upstairs, but I don’t want to sit at that computer to listen to music.
There is a related thread which gives more details on setup. However you will definitely need a relatively modern Mac or Windows computer or laptop with a connected DAC and headphone amplifier to use Virtuoso. It relies on a computer to do the audio processing that turns a “headphone” sound into the emulation of speakers in a listening room with some degree of realism. The Smyth A16 doesn’t need a computer as it does all the processing and can measure each room and headphone combination using in-ear microphones. Here’s a link to the original thread.Enhancing the headphone experience
After long, long hesitating I bought the B&W Pi8 earphones. Well, these minicans blew me away. I’ve set my old AKG’s aside. At home I listen using my Focal Elegia but when at work/abroad I used the Bose 700’s that I bought for Teams meetings, also for music listening.
No More. The Pi8’s are very, very good. On recommendation of a colleague I listened to Yosi Horikawa’s song “Bubbles” as a test - well, these little things are good.
