Short answer: the qdc Emperor. Both are rated 3.3/5 for sound quality (#967 and #965 of 1369 in-ear headphones), and the qdc Emperor costs $2,831 against $2,899 for the Forte Ears Mefisto, so with nothing between them on sound quality, price settles it.
Why pick the Forte Ears Mefisto: A published AutoEQ preset corrects its response toward the Harman target, so a few minutes of EQ setup closes most of the gap. The tradeoff: Treble about 3 dB below target from 3 to 10 kHz, which can sound dull or veiled next to brighter headphones.
What the qdc Emperor does well: A published AutoEQ preset corrects its response toward the Harman target, so a few minutes of EQ setup closes most of the gap. The tradeoff: About 3 dB less bass than the Harman target below 150 Hz, which can sound thin on pop, hip hop and electronic music.
Buy the qdc Emperor. Both are rated the same for sound quality, and it costs $68 less than the Forte Ears Mefisto.
Still deciding? The full Headphones rankings cover every ranked option.
A published AutoEQ preset corrects its response toward the Harman target, so a few minutes of EQ setup closes most of the gap.
Forte Ears $2,899.00 eBay
A published AutoEQ preset corrects its response toward the Harman target, so a few minutes of EQ setup closes most of the gap.
Elise Audio $2,831.00 eBayPrices on this page were last checked October 17, 2026 at 6:04 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Specifications Side By Side
| Forte Ears Mefisto | qdc Emperor | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,899.00 | $2,831.00 |
| Ranked | #965 of 1369 in In-Ear Headphones | #967 of 1369 in In-Ear Headphones |
| Form Factor | In-ear | In-ear |
| Back | Closed | Closed |
| Harman Preference Score | 65 (median of 5 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) | 65 (median of 3 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) |
| Deviation From Target | 2.45 dB standard deviation | 2.92 dB standard deviation |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.63 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) | +0.10 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+1.8 dB at 30 Hz) | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (-4.4 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Driver Type | Tribrid | Tribrid |
| Drivers | 7 drivers (dual 7.8mm LCP dynamic drivers + 4 balanced armatures + 1 Aria planar tweeter) | 15 drivers (1 dynamic driver + 10 balanced armatures + 4 electrostatic drivers) |
| Impedance | 5.6 ohms | 15 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 105 dB | 106 dB SPL/mW |
| Frequency Response | 12Hz - 35kHz | 5Hz - 70kHz |
| Connection | Wired | Wired |
Frequency Response Compared
Both headphones’ measurements overlaid on the Harman target. Above the target sounds louder in that range, below it quieter. Each curve is the median of several independent measurements, shifted so its 500 Hz to 2 kHz average sits at 0 dB, so only the tuning is compared.
Measurement data: the Forte Ears Mefisto from aden, dchpgall, eliseaudio, sl0the and zerostresslevel; the qdc Emperor from dchpgall, eliseaudio and sl0the, all via squig.link.
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