[jlbrach]

I dont agree but hey thats why they make tons of HP's...I think the susvara is every bit as resolving as the TC only different in its presentation...the sr1a is far more resolving than anything out there today IMHO

 

[number1sixerfan]

I dont agree but hey thats why they make tons of HP's...I think the susvara is every bit as resolving as the TC only different in its presentation...the sr1a is far more resolving than anything out there today IMHO

We all hear differently.. but enough has been written on the topic and the general consensus is pretty clear on resolution/detail/speed between the two. Just not controversial statements to me really.

 

[smodtactical]

Hey everyone sincere apologies for upsetting anyone or leading to firefights. This was honestly not my intention. I honestly enjoy Susvara and respect it. It has many things going for it and as some of you have pointed out sometimes it can be had for 3-4k (at that price I don't think I have any right to complaint). I think listening to many of you is helping me to understand where Susvara's sits in the hearts of many of the audiophiles on here that I greatly respect and indeed look up to. Thank you for your thoughts.

Can we crown Susvara the king of relaxing/musical headphones?

I also wonder about unit variation. Every time I heard susvara it was Shahrose's version. I am sure its fine but I wonder if there is indeed some unit variation ?

 

[BassicScience]

Hey everyone sincere apologies for upsetting anyone or leading to firefights. This was honestly not my intention. I honestly enjoy Susvara and respect it. It has many things going for it and as some of you have pointed out sometimes it can be had for 3-4k (at that price I don't think I have any right to complaint). I think listening to many of you is helping me to understand where Susvara's sits in the hearts of many of the audiophiles on here that I greatly respect and indeed look up to. Thank you for your thoughts.

Can we crown Susvara the king of relaxing/musical headphones?

I also wonder about unit variation. Every time I heard susvara it was Shahrose's version. I am sure its fine but I wonder if there is indeed some unit variation ?

Nothing to apologize for from my perspective. You filed a report of your listening impressions and a (mostly civil) discussion ensued. That's kind of what this site is about for the most part.

My ears have already crowned Susvara as the most musical headphone. Whether it's relaxing depends heavily on what I'm playing through it. I would agree that it's very non-fatiguing, which is a fine attribute for any audio component, in my book.

Anyhoo, I am really looking forward to auditioning the TC again in the near future. I really want to "get it", finally. Cheers.

 

[Sajid Amit]

For those of you who own both the Susvara AND Abyss TC, which one do you reach for most and gets more head time?

They are two vastly different headphones, so it's very easy to lean one way or the other, unless you have owned both for a significant period of time.

The TC, some do not like at first blush (I was one of them, lol), but once you get over the shock of its slight-V and utter indifference to Harman curves, and especially if you care for rock/metal and even EDM, the TC can become a ridiculous sonic journey. It's easy to love the TC at that point and not want to listen to anything else, with the exception of the SR1a, perhaps.

I listened to the TC and the Raal exclusively after buying them. The TC mostly, but once I tubed the SR1a, I would say I listened to them equally.

Last couple of days, I have been giving the Susvaras a good run, and it's been quite nice to listen to them again. It's wonderful tonal balance is a rarity, especially for seekers of midrange and timbre. Classical, jazz, and acoustic music really do sound phenomenal on the Susvara, perhaps better than on than on anything else, since Susvara also has bass extension and slam (presented differently, yes, from the TC).

With regard to bass extension and slam, when I was on the TC and rocking out to its bass, I was annoyed at how the Susvara sounded soft. But now that I have been off the TC for a few days, the Susvara bass and slam sound quite adequate!

Lastly, I am actually enjoying the Susvara's intimacy of presentation viz.a.viz the Raal and the TC. This is not a dig at the Susvara sound stage - I think my Susvaraphile credentials have been apparent to folks on this thread, lol. But the Susvara does sound more intimate compared to the TC or SR1a, to my ears, and I am enjoying this change in flavor.

TLDR: Different but exciting flavors all of them.

 

[smodtactical]

They are two vastly different headphones, so it's very easy to lean one way or the other, unless you have owned both for a significant period of time.

The TC, some do not like at first blush (I was one of them, lol), but once you get over the shock of its slight-V and utter indifference to Harman curves, and especially if you care for rock/metal and even EDM, the TC can become a ridiculous sonic journey. It's easy to love the TC at that point and not want to listen to anything else, with the exception of the SR1a, perhaps.

I listened to the TC and the Raal exclusively after buying them. The TC mostly, but once I tubed the SR1a, I would say I listened to them equally.

Last couple of days, I have been giving the Susvaras a good run, and it's been quite nice to listen to them again. It's wonderful tonal balance is a rarity, especially for seekers of midrange and timbre. Classical, jazz, and acoustic music really do sound phenomenal on the Susvara, perhaps better than on than on anything else, since Susvara also has bass and slam (presented differently, yes, from the TC).

With regard to bass and slam, when I was on the TC and rocking out to its bass, I was annoyed at how the Susvara sounded soft. But now that I have been off the TC for a few days, the Susvara bass and slam sound quite adequate!

Lastly, I am actually enjoying the Susvara's intimacy of presentation viz.a.viz the Raal and the TC. This is not a dig at the Susvara sound stage - I think my Susvaraphile credentials have been apparent to folks on this thread, lol. But the Susvara does sound more intimate compared to the TC or SR1a, to my ears, and I am enjoying this change in flavor.

TLDR: Different but exciting flavors all of them.

More intimate is exactly the way i hear it. Whereas the TC is much more vast, open and airy sounding... with more delineation of sounds/instruments.

Sajid if you had to choose only 1 headphone which would it be? I know you don't have to but just curious.

 

[Sajid Amit]

More intimate is exactly the way i hear it. Whereas the TC is much more vast, open and airy sounding... with more delineation of sounds/instruments.

Sajid if you had to choose only 1 headphone which would it be? I know you don't have to but just curious.

Lol. Let's say I would be the least willing to sell my TC right now, but that's also because I am re-discovering my latent basshead proclivities. That's a necessary caveat I feel.

Also the TC has more novelty appeal to me right now than the Sus, which was my daily driver for months.

 

[number1sixerfan]

They are two vastly different headphones, so it's very easy to lean one way or the other, unless you have owned both for a significant period of time.

The TC, some do not like at first blush (I was one of them, lol), but once you get over the shock of its slight-V and utter indifference to Harman curves, and especially if you care for rock/metal and even EDM, the TC can become a ridiculous sonic journey. It's easy to love the TC at that point and not want to listen to anything else, with the exception of the SR1a, perhaps.

I listened to the TC and the Raal exclusively after buying them. The TC mostly, but once I tubed the SR1a, I would say I listened to them equally.

Last couple of days, I have been giving the Susvaras a good run, and it's been quite nice to listen to them again. It's wonderful tonal balance is a rarity, especially for seekers of midrange and timbre. Classical, jazz, and acoustic music really do sound phenomenal on the Susvara, perhaps better than on than on anything else, since Susvara also has bass extension and slam (presented differently, yes, from the TC).

With regard to bass extension and slam, when I was on the TC and rocking out to its bass, I was annoyed at how the Susvara sounded soft. But now that I have been off the TC for a few days, the Susvara bass and slam sound quite adequate!

Lastly, I am actually enjoying the Susvara's intimacy of presentation viz.a.viz the Raal and the TC. This is not a dig at the Susvara sound stage - I think my Susvaraphile credentials have been apparent to folks on this thread, lol. But the Susvara does sound more intimate compared to the TC or SR1a, to my ears, and I am enjoying this change in flavor.

TLDR: Different but exciting flavors all of them.

Spot on.

 

[sahmen]

So how is the SR1a as far as bass goes, as compared with the sus and TC? Also does one need to pair the SR1a with the HSA-1b in order to make it sing properly? I know there is a Jotunheim pairing as well, but the availability of the far more expensive HSA-1b pairing sort of weakens my confidence in the Jot pairing... Meaning=it makes me feel as if the Jot is sorely inadequate... Okay I haven't listened at all, to any of these pairings so if any of these musings sound unfair or misinformed, you can blame it on my "misinformation"

 

[Ciggavelli]

So how is the SR1a as far as bass goes, as compared with the sus and TC? Also does one need to pair the SR1a with the HSA-1b in order to make it sing properly? I know there is a Jotunheim pairing as well, but the availability of the far more expensive HSA-1b pairing sort of weakens my confidence in the Jot pairing... Meaning=it makes me feel as if the Jot is sorely inadequate... Okay I haven't listened at all, to any of these pairings so if any of these musings sound unfair or misinformed, you can blame it on my "misinformation"

The Susvaras and TCs have substantially more bass quantity (with the TCs being the king of bass).

I had the JotR and upgraded to the HSA-1b, and I think the latter is definitely better. I also use a tube preamp in front of it. It helps with the bass and some warmth.

Also, there’s some Convolution filters you can buy that up the bass quite a bit, but not TC levels, or Susvaras either. The Sr1as don’t have that sub bass rumble.

I like the Sr1as, but as an additional pair of headphones, not as a sole pair of cans.

 

[number1sixerfan]

The Susvaras and TCs have substantially more bass quantity (with the TCs being the king of bass).

I had the JotR and upgraded to the HSA-1b, and I think the latter is definitely better. I also use a tube preamp in front of it. It helps with the bass and some warmth.

Also, there’s some Convolution filters you can buy that up the bass quite a bit, but not TC levels, or Susvaras either. The Sr1as don’t have that sub bass rumble.

I like the Sr1as, but as an additional pair of headphones, not as a sole pair of cans.

Agree with all of this. Only would add that the Jot R wasn't extremely far from the HSA-1b's performance, so it's definitely a good option to get started (if there aren't quality control issues). But at that price point for the headphones, I would personally leap for the HSA or use the interface box with a nice speaker amp.

 

[jlbrach]

The Susvaras and TCs have substantially more bass quantity (with the TCs being the king of bass).

I had the JotR and upgraded to the HSA-1b, and I think the latter is definitely better. I also use a tube preamp in front of it. It helps with the bass and some warmth.

Also, there’s some Convolution filters you can buy that up the bass quite a bit, but not TC levels, or Susvaras either. The Sr1as don’t have that sub bass rumble.

I like the Sr1as, but as an additional pair of headphones, not as a sole pair of cans.

we all hear things differently,I think the sr1a is the most impressive of the 3 HP's...simply the most open,detailed and accurate recorded music I have ever heard

 

[normie610]

The Susvaras and TCs have substantially more bass quantity (with the TCs being the king of bass).

I had the JotR and upgraded to the HSA-1b, and I think the latter is definitely better. I also use a tube preamp in front of it. It helps with the bass and some warmth.

Also, there’s some Convolution filters you can buy that up the bass quite a bit, but not TC levels, or Susvaras either. The Sr1as don’t have that sub bass rumble.

I like the Sr1as, but as an additional pair of headphones, not as a sole pair of cans.

I haven’t bought the convolution filter (planning to), but I’ve made some PEQ adjustments to SR1a and I must say the sub-bass rumble beats Susvara (and that is with open flaps).

 

[Ciggavelli]

I haven’t bought the convolution filter (planning to), but I’ve made some PEQ adjustments to SR1a and I must say the sub-bass rumble beats Susvara (and that is with open flaps).

Interesting. For me, with the sr1as, the bass hits a bottom shelf where it just can’t compete with the TCs or Susvaras. They just don’t go as low (at least for me ).

I listen to very bass heavy music, with metal and hip-hop being my favorite genres.

You have the Bakoon? I’m surprised to hear that you think the sr1as have more sub-bass than the Susvaras. I’ve never heard the Bakoon, but out of my headphone amp, the Susvaras go so, so very low (it’s quite amazing). The impact has more oomph with the Susvaras than the SR1as.

I mention all of this, not because I dislike the SR1as. With the right album and genre the Sr1as are astonishing. They’re either my 2nd or 3rd favorite headphones of all time (with the TCs being my favorite, and then a tie for 2nd place with the Susvaras and Sr1as). It’s just that if you like hip-hop or electronica, the SR1as wouldn’t be the pair of headphones I’d pick up.

 

[jlbrach]

the susvara bass is more prominent with my bakoon but the sr1a bass is much better than advertised IMHO due to the incredible space and sound stage that allows the bass even without the impact of the abyss or susvara to shine..again IMHO...it is a totally different sound that I think would actually sound unbalanced with the same bass that one gets from closed headphones...the bakoon is a fantastic amp with the susvara