[Pashmeister]

Headphones with subwoofers. I could not have imagined. Audiophiles really be audiophiling. No shade though, I think it’s so creative/genius. Would love to try it some time.

 

[Womaz]

Hi I am seriously considering the 1266TC as my next step up this ladder. The Susvara is the other option.
I have the Burson 3XR , will this drive this HP suitably . Does anyone have any experience with this pairing?

Can anyone help me with this please? I have tried to do a search but with no real success

 

[Sajid Amit]

Yes, I used a sub with the TC and Susvara, but the effect isn't what I'd call an improvement. With the SR1a, a woofer was practically a game-changer. Their bass is now primarily limited by the quality of the sub.



Appreciate the time that went into this. I agree with pretty much every point. A higher end sub with an EQ would sound better still. I've maintained from the beginning that the TC is the best overall headphone, but with my sub in my room, the SR1a is just more impressive for most genres.

A higher end sub might sound better, you say? Please don't encourage any new rabbit holes for me, lol.

But that said, what were your sub recommendations again, in a smallish form factor? My dealer is getting REL stuff if I remember correctly. And SVS will also be available next month I think.

Are we talking about parametric EQ btw? SVS stuff has that option, IIRC?

 

[ra990]

I would recommend the sealed SVS SB16 ultra. It pressurizes my entire basement without even being turned up too much. PEQ, bass frequency management, and a bunch more. Accessible via Bluetooth/app.

 

[DJJEZ]

I would recommend the sealed SVS SB16 ultra. It pressurizes my entire basement without even being turned up too much. PEQ, bass frequency management, and a bunch more. Accessible via Bluetooth/app.

I have dual SVS SB16's as well and love them.

 

[ra990]

I've tried the sub with headphones, it's nice once you get the balance dialed in perfectly. But, not very feasible if you are using headphones because you can't use speakers due to living with others.

 

[paradoxper]

@simorag if you had to list Valkyria strength over TC, 009, Susvara aside from a general timbre advantage what would they be and what musical selections would you generalize it excels at.

I'm generally bored with the industry as I've heard the best stats and am too satisfied with the TC and plan on adding the RAAL C when available. I'd like to make final rounds and have begrudgingly considered taking a shot in the dark with Valkyria but feel I should trust my gut.

@Joe Skubinski please skip the closed and show us "the big guy" whatever this is proposed to succeed. Thanks.

 

[Shahrose]

A higher end sub might sound better, you say? Please don't encourage any new rabbit holes for me, lol.

But that said, what were your sub recommendations again, in a smallish form factor? My dealer is getting REL stuff if I remember correctly. And SVS will also be available next month I think.

Are we talking about parametric EQ btw? SVS stuff has that option, IIRC?

You'd like the REL S or T series for music or the KEF KC62, which is among the best for ease of integration. Rythmik sealed offerings are also quite good. The SVS is slightly below in quality (for purely music) but the reason I chose them was because of their built-in parametric digital EQ, and other controls, which are conveniently controlled by your smartphone. The difference between an equalized and non-equalized woofer is substantial.

 

[Sajid Amit]

You'd like the REL S or T series for music or the KEF KC62, which is among the best for ease of integration. Rythmik sealed offerings are also quite good. The SVS is slightly below in quality (for purely music) but the reason I chose them was because of their built-in parametric digital EQ, and other controls, which are conveniently controlled by your smartphone. The difference between an equalized and non-equalized woofer is substantial.

Yes. I have had some experience with eq-ing subs in my previous life as a two-channel enthusiast.

I have to see how much a sub scales with the SR1a. I have tried the KC62 and it was a hair faster. No other perceptible difference to me, but let's see, I'll give it a second go. The KC62 is certianly prettier.

The SR1a + subwoofer doesn't leave a lot to be desired in terms of bass or slam or integration thereof, even with the KEF Kube 8b that I am using.

The SR1a can still be "trebley" given its tuning but it is far more balanced than ever before, owing firstly to my EVO 400 and now the sub.

 

[simorag]

@simorag if you had to list Valkyria strength over TC, 009, Susvara aside from a general timbre advantage what would they be and what musical selections would you generalize it excels at.

I'm generally bored with the industry as I've heard the best stats and am too satisfied with the TC and plan on adding the RAAL C when available. I'd like to make final rounds and have begrudgingly considered taking a shot in the dark with Valkyria but feel I should trust my gut.

@Joe Skubinski please skip the closed and show us "the big guy" whatever this is proposed to succeed. Thanks.

When I owned the trifecta (SR1a, TC, Susvara) simultaneously, I was under the impression that these three headphones - while having each their own unique qualities - had much in common. More specifically, they all have a relatively neutral tuning, great to amazing transparency and detail retrieval, a big, open sound.

I can see how people may very happily keep them all, because of their peculiar strengths (and I must admit that I miss the SR1a sometimes), but in the end I decided that the TC was all I needed.

This was until I tried the Valkyria for the first time, which was a bit a shocking and unsettling experience. There were several things I did not like coming from the TC, and above all the lack of sub-bass oomph, the more closed in (even dare to say 'muffled') sound (even more apparent in direct comparison with the SR1a), the mid-bass emphasis, the slight reduction of soundstage were somehow letting me down.

Then I kept listening that day and the following, and I started to perceive some yet not clear sense of pleasure from the listening experience through the Valkyria. An attachment that I sensed as related to body and energy, which I could not define clearly at the time.

I was not prepared to spend that much money on the spot, so I delayed the purchase, but the feelings from those listening sessions kept haunting me until I pulled the trigger.

Fast forward now after several months of ownership, I can say that the Valkyria stark differentiation from the TC makes them an ideal complement, almost yin and yang if you want.

Valkyria were developed as the ultimate professional monitoring tool, and Andrea Ricci (the designer of the thing) uses them systematically for his ultra-audiophile classical / jazz recordings monitoring and production, but honestly that is not how I hear them.

Their strength, to me, relies not into accuracy or neutrality, rather on the sheer amount of energy density and visceral macro-dynamics they deliver, combined with a very full and hefty tonal character.

A relatively thick midrange - compared to the TC - and some warmth from a perceived bump on the mid-bass region produce very enjoyable male vocals, double bass, cello, and make piano extremely satisfying.

Life-likeliness from the Valkyria comes more from how they make me feel physically and emotionally compared to when I listen to live music, than from timbre accuracy (e.g. Susvara, SR1a to some extent or SR009) or spatial information rendering (e.g. Abyss TC).

More wax of poetics can be found here (piano) and here (classical), for the overly patient .

Coming (finally!) to your question, the Valkyria is my preferred set for piano, small scale and large scale classical (with some exceptions) and most acoustic music, classic rock and vocals.

I typically prefer the TC for jazz (with several exceptions).

Electronica, pop and heavily synthetic and / or bass-intensive music is where the Abyss still reigns supreme.

Also, I usually prefer the TC for recordings taken in large live venues.

 

[paradoxper]

When I owned the trifecta (SR1a, TC, Susvara) simultaneously, I was under the impression that these three headphones - while having each their own unique qualities - had much in common. More specifically, they all have a relatively neutral tuning, great to amazing transparency and detail retrieval, a big, open sound.

I can see how people may very happily keep them all, because of their peculiar strengths (and I must admit that I miss the SR1a sometimes), but in the end I decided that the TC was all I needed.

This was until I tried the Valkyria for the first time, which was a bit a shocking and unsettling experience. There were several things I did not like coming from the TC, and above all the lack of sub-bass oomph, the more closed in (even dare to say 'muffled') sound (even more apparent in direct comparison with the SR1a), the mid-bass emphasis, the slight reduction of soundstage were somehow letting me down.

Then I kept listening that day and the following, and I started to perceive some yet not clear sense of pleasure from the listening experience through the Valkyria. An attachment that I sensed as related to body and energy, which I could not define clearly at the time.

I was not prepared to spend that much money on the spot, so I delayed the purchase, but the feelings from those listening sessions kept haunting me until I pulled the trigger.

Fast forward now after several months of ownership, I can say that the Valkyria stark differentiation from the TC makes them an ideal complement, almost yin and yang if you want.

Valkyria were developed as the ultimate professional monitoring tool, and Andrea Ricci (the designer of the thing) uses them systematically for his ultra-audiophile classical / jazz recordings monitoring and production, but honestly that is not how I hear them.

Their strength, to me, relies not into accuracy or neutrality, rather on the sheer amount of energy density and visceral macro-dynamics they deliver, combined with a very full and hefty tonal character.

A relatively thick midrange - compared to the TC - and some warmth from a perceived bump on the mid-bass region produce very enjoyable male vocals, double bass, cello, and make piano extremely satisfying.

Life-likeliness from the Valkyria comes more from how they make me feel physically and emotionally compared to when I listen to live music, than from timbre accuracy (e.g. Susvara, SR1a to some extent or SR009) or spatial information rendering (e.g. Abyss TC).

More wax of poetics can be found here (piano) and here (classical), for the overly patient .

Coming (finally!) to your question, the Valkyria is my preferred set for piano, small scale and large scale classical (with some exceptions) and most acoustic music, classic rock and vocals.

I typically prefer the TC for jazz (with several exceptions).

Electronica, pop and heavily synthetic and / or bass-intensive music is where the Abyss still reigns supreme.

Also, I usually prefer the TC for recordings taken in large live venues.

Thank you for taking the time. Curiosity got the best of me, Valk ordered.

 

[ufospls2]

If you want to go hardcore with subs, check out Funk Audio and Deep Sea Sound. I owned a Funk 18.0SE (now replaced by the 18.0E,) and it was awesome.

 

[JLoud]

Your neghbors must love you.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Thank you for taking the time. Curiosity got the best of me, Valk ordered.

Def awaiting your impressions

 

[ra990]

Speaking of subs for low end, I'm currently enjoying the Woojer Edge vest, basically haptic feedback you wear. It's far from hifi in its current iteration, however, it does have some range in bass, so you do feel sweeps and drops pretty intensely. The thumps are also timed fairly well, so you feel more of the kick drum. I know there's a more pro-audio focused type of this called the Subpack X1, but it's currently on preorder only. I am looking forward to trying that!

It works great on most pop, hiphop, or electronic type music - even some jazz I've tried where the upright bass groove really moves you. When I play either of Billie Eilish's albums, it almost feels like they have an additional track you have never heard before specifically for this type of haptic feedback. It works amazingly well and it's extremely addictive. The Pino Palladino and Blake Mills collaboration, Notes with Attachments, was made for something like this.

I think we'll be able to pair our headphones with real hifi bass/lfe we can feel without disturbing others in the next year. Again, I don't consider the Woojer hifi mainly because it's not very linear and is made more for fun, but maybe the Subpack will impress me in that aspect.

I'm listening from my TT2, feeding both the Woojer Vest and the Abyss right now. I look absolutely ridiculous, but this Blade Runner soundtrack has never sounded (felt really) this good before.