[Carrow]

No but what the heck is a four figure earbud doing with a FIXED cable????

 

[Kordonrules]

Some further impressions of this truly magnificent sounding earbud! The Susvara Black Dragon does no disappoint!

I’ll start with the not so great. For an earbud that I paid $1250 all said and done I would’ve expected the finishing to be better. The cable is horrendous to say the very least. It’s not a move around cable, it’s a sit and stay put cable. It’s VERY Stiff and has a mind of its own frustrating me to no end to get a good fit as the cable can twist the Bud right out of the ear. The Y split looks cheap and has plastic insulation protruding out of it which is quite ugly…Onto the shells, the shells are MX500, the CAX lettering and logo look nice however the bottom portion of the stems have some stress areas from the cable being pulled through and the faceplates have glue residue around the edges from not being cleaned off properly. The 4.4mm plug is a Furutech which is great news!! All of this has to be said as I paid a crap ton for these buds and it took over 3 months to make them, some more attention and care would’ve been appreciated. Now that the bad is out of the way….onto some impressions, this is about 20 hours of burn in. So take these for what you will.

The first hour or so of listening was pretty disjointed, grainy and kind of all over the place, I could hear potential so I kept listening and they started opening up after around 4 hours. The grain went away and everything came together including the deepest sub bass I’ve ever heard in an earbud. So let’s start with the bass. Deep reaching, layered and clean sub bass and is the focus but enough mid bass to keep things punchy and warm similar to TGXear DS note weight. Everything from EDM, to Jazz, to Rock, to Classical, to Hip Hop excels here. When the bass rumbles it’s entirely impressive as you would think this is an iem or OTE headphone. The middle bass never bleeds into the lower mids and the mid range is neutral and quite wide. Vocals are pushed back a smidge but not too much and male and female vocals alike come across with good weight and definition. The midrange note weight is fairly linear with great transparency. TGX and VE have a better tonality here but it’s a super close call. The upper mids seem slightly elevated with good presence in female vocals. Horns and pianos sound divine. Coming into the lower treble I hear no spikes and upper treble is slightly rolled off still giving some nice sparkle when called for. Overall the sound signature is neutral with a sub bass emphasis and the sound is LARGE! I’ve been baffled at how big the sound is coming from these little flatheads!

Separation and layering is wonderful and accurate and this is portrayed in Tools 10,000 days album with Danny Carey’s insane drumming skills. Imaging is precise, wide and deep. Creating a realistic soundstage left to right, while not stretching unnaturally wide. Depth is the star here! So much depth! Best I’ve heard in any earbud! Vocals are pushed out to the center image and never in the head which makes for a life like stage! Resolution is top notch however burn in was required to reach maximum resolution. TGXear DS may be a touch more resolving. YMMV

CAX is highly dynamic! Macro dynamics are incredibly vivid, sharp and engaging while not coming off fatiguing. Micro dynamics are just as strong but not shoved in your face. All the details are there and done in the most tasteful way. Truly a masterpiece in tuning. Now all Cypherus needs to do is polish up their finishing on the final product and this is truly a flagship level earbud in every way! I bought this for the tuning and great comments on its sound and I am not left disappointed however I am contemplating purchasing a different cable to put on the for ergo sake!

I will report back after 100hours and see how much it changes after that…

Source used: Cayin N30LE streaming Qobuz via Hiby music app on High gain, Hyper mode. Class A and A/B both utilized as well as tubes and solid state.

The Black Dragon doesn’t need a lot of power to shine but of course loves the extra juice for the best dynamics! YMMV

Have a wonderful Sunday flathead lovers!

Great review! He does have another cable you can choose but it’s not Teflon coated which he says is where the speed comes from.

Riku’s GAS3 MMCX version ...

Where can these be purchased?

 

[jwilliamhurst]

No but what the heck is a four figure earbud doing with a FIXED cable????

I prefer a fixed cable personally to keep down on weight and for superb comfort. It is a completely custom job so I’m sure you can ask for a removable cable.

 

[samandhi]

No but what the heck is a four figure earbud doing with a FIXED cable????

That is a great question. I guess I would never pay 4 figures for an earbud anyhow. The fixed cable (and seemingly poor quality to boot) and the generic shell make it not worth a quarter of that price for me. Sound is VERY important, but if you are annoyed most of the time because of fitment or dealing with a cable that is not great would detract from the enjoyability of any set of buds, let alone a 4 figure set... With that type of pricing, I would have expected them to be better in EVERY way than any other set out there.

I think that some of the DIYers out there are getting better overall sound than most of the store-bought buds (though not all) but charging over $1K for a set that can be made for about $100 or less is not something that I guess will ever know whether is good or not. I REALLY want to support the DIYers out there, but I just can't when the markup is 1000%. That is just robbery IMHO.

@jwilliamhurst I REALLY am not trying to detract from your new buds, so if you enjoy the heck out of them, then I applaud you for your choice. Thank you for sharing your impressions, and I am glad you like them. So, I will just say:

Congrats on your new shiny!

 

[jwilliamhurst]

That is a great question. I guess I would never pay 4 figures for an earbud anyhow. The fixed cable (and seemingly poor quality to boot) and the generic shell make it not worth a quarter of that price for me. Sound is VERY important, but if you are annoyed most of the time because of fitment or dealing with a cable that is not great would detract from the enjoyability of any set of buds, let alone a 4 figure set... With that type of pricing, I would have expected them to be better in EVERY way than any other set out there.

I think that some of the DIYers out there are getting better overall sound than most of the store-bought buds (though not all) but charging over $1K for a set that can be made for about $100 or less is not something that I guess will ever know whether is good or not. I REALLY want to support the DIYers out there, but I just can't when the markup is 1000%. That is just robbery IMHO.

@jwilliamhurst I REALLY am not trying to detract from your new buds, so if you enjoy the heck out of them, then I applaud you for your choice. Thank you for sharing your impressions, and I am glad you like them. So, I will just say:

Congrats on your new shiny!

I am not happy with the finishing. The cable I’ve managed a way to live with it.

I agree with your honest and valid points of observation. The sound however to me is worth the $$ especially coming from totl iem land where it’s been getting crazy. The VE SU is 4 figures and has been out for some time and also has a fixed cable. I’ll be able to hear this set next week. It’s a very subjective hobby and I like this forum because I like to hear all subjective view points. Keeps this hobby interesting, engaging and rewarding.

 

[ttorbic]

Great review! He does have another cable you can choose but it’s not Teflon coated which he says is where the speed comes from.

Where can these be purchased?

You can contact Riku here @RikudouGoku or via Instagram @rikubuds

 

[ttorbic]

Evening all. Looking for a bit of advice/opinion please. Been dabbling in the hobby for about 18 months and wondering if I'm coming to the end of my 'over the counter' journey and need to move properly into DIY. I spent my first few hundred pounds like a kid in a sweet shop trying out different tunings and brands but it was mostly just side grades (although the value in these side grades seemed far better than similar purchases with iems). I moved on to the Venture Electronics Asura 3.0 and Zen 3.0 along with the Yinman 2.0 600 and was really impressed. Then I bought a pair of TGXEar Serratus and was quietly amazed at what can be achieved by a pair of buds. Are there any obvious pairs I'm missing before diving further down the TGX/Riku rabbit hole? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

Welcome to the rabbit hole!
I guess the question for you is: are you looking for diversity in tuning? Yinman 2.0 600Ohms is a warm set, Serratus is a neutral-bright set, and I don't know about VE sets. If you want to try RikudouGoku's house tuning and custom shell fit, I don't think you'll be disappointed at all.

Do you use Discord? The flathead community is more active on three different Discord servers - I can send you invites if you are interested

 

[samandhi]

I am not happy with the finishing. The cable I’ve managed a way to live with it.

I agree with your honest and valid points of observation. The sound however to me is worth the $$ especially coming from totl iem land where it’s been getting crazy. The VE SU is 4 figures and has been out for some time and also has a fixed cable. I’ll be able to hear this set next week. It’s a very subjective hobby and I like this forum because I like to hear all subjective view points. Keeps this hobby interesting, engaging and rewarding.

Like I said, I really didn't have any agenda in mentioning this right when you were sharing your new "baby" with us, so apologies for that.

It just makes me mad, and I feel badly for the people spending their hard earned money on something like this when the DIYer didn't actually MAKE anything. They just put it together in such a way that they sound terrific. I feel the same way about IEMs, and yes you are right, they are/have gotten way out of hand with their cost...

I have seen you on the Aur thread so you will know what I mean when I say that the Aure were a FANTASTIC deal for me (for example). They are much less than half the cost, but sound equal or better than the kilobuck+ IEMs that others are charging.

Anyhow, I am done now, and have shared my thoughts (asked or unasked for haha). My goal was not to make people angry, but to challenge thought. If they are your "jam" then I would NEVER begrudge anyone their joy. My best sets are also not store bought, but from our very own @FranQL, and they cost me nothing (or very little), except friendship; which I would gladly give in return for the miracle sound that all of these produce IMHO (i.e. Caelum, Aquila, Blackhole Redux, Grande Finale).

Having said all of that, what are the specs for this set? I know I have probably seen them before but putting that together with the pictures (and impressions you presented) helps to get a better overall picture; in my mind anyhow.

 

[ttorbic]

I wish I could be @FranQL 's friend

 

[tamahome77]

Appreciate the awesome review on the CAX susvara jwilliamhurst! Not that I'm crazy enough to spend that much on a pair of earbuds especially with what looks to be cheaply made. For that price, would expect longer warranty and something more than plastic shells no matter how good the SQ. I know those type of very stiff earbud cables! They had those very stiff black cardas cables on the VE zen 2.0 earbuds as well. They're the worst ones I've ever tried - sometimes if you move your head, the stiff cable may pop the earbuds out of your ears. I think I'm good with my DS sound!

 

[samandhi]

I wish I could be @FranQL 's friend

ROFL>>>>

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Having said all of that, what are the specs for this set?

It’s a 15mm custom driver at 32ohm

 

[samandhi]

It’s a 15mm custom driver at 32ohm

That is a big driver...

What are you listening to them through (source)?

 

[jwilliamhurst]

That is a big driver...

What are you listening to them through (source)?

My Cayin N30LE

What is your favorite FQL bud?

 

[jwilliamhurst]

Appreciate the awesome review on the CAX susvara jwilliamhurst! Not that I'm crazy enough to spend that much on a pair of earbuds especially with what looks to be cheaply made. For that price, would expect longer warranty and something more than plastic shells no matter how good the SQ. I know those type of very stiff earbud cables! They had those very stiff black cardas cables on the VE zen 2.0 earbuds as well. They're the worst ones I've ever tried - sometimes if you move your head, the stiff cable may pop the earbuds out of your ears. I think I'm good with my DS sound!

I hear ya! I was expecting them to look more like @Reebonz picture. His had a much better y split that looked well made and his packaging was more professional than what I received so I’m really unsure why mine arrived looking half baked. Luckily the sound makes up for it and I can change out the cable/y split if really warranted. I felt it was my duty to report on the finishing to be transparent with the community and to keep DIY’ers accountable for what they make and sell. @tgx78 is the superb example of delivering great service, great tunings, great finishing and overall package. Lee from Venture Electronics and @RikudouGoku as well. Top of game as far as giving a great overall experience.