[sahmen]

I own both the hekse and susvara. Sound the same to me. The hekse might even sounded a little better to my ears and not as hard to drive.

Very interesting. This assessment should not be normally surprising to me, given what I know about headphones, audio, and subjective preferences, but it has got to be the first time I am hearing someone provide such impressions (regarding the relative sonic similarity of the Susvara and the heKSE, or even a possible preference of the HeKSE over the Susvara), and I find that to be particularly refreshing, I must say. Veeeery interesting indeed.

 

[mixman]

Well, speaking of irony, I have enjoyed my He1000SE so much that it has got me dreaming of upgrading to a Susvara, and yet, in some ways, I am staying my hand, because I dread the prospect of having to search desperately for a matching amp (within my budgetary limits) for the Susvara once I get to own it. Once upon a time, i had to sell my otherwise beloved He-6, after trying different amps with it--none of which was deemed to be "optimal," according to popular or expert opinion on head-fi, even when some of them sounded perfectly fine to me. The very idea of having to wonder whether each successive amp I tried with the He-6 was the optimal best, eventually became a distraction from the music, whenever I was using the he-6, so i wound up selling it.

On one level, it sounds rather lame to resist getting a great headphone for fear of becoming impotently obsessed afterwards with finding an optimal matching amp, but I can't forget that one of the main reasons why I can enjoy in peace the cans I currently have--such as the He-1000SE, the Audeze LCD-4, the LCDi4, or even the Hifiman he-500-- is that i never have to think twice about their performance in relation to the amps I am pairing them with... I am reluctant to trade that for the Susvara, which I fear, will repeat my experience with the he-6 all over again...

That is why I find myself often dreaming about owning a Susvara, while also doing everything in my power to dissuade myself from actually buying one... This is a rather awkward situation to be in, if you ask me... but then again, it is one among other "audiophile" ironies, which I am currently experiencing, and which I thought it would be fun to share.

I pretty much feel the same and as much as I really like the Susvara I am not willing to make the compromises for its sound that it demands. I have always said I won't own a can that I cannot make portable, because I roam around my house a lot. My thought is I will wait for a V2 or a newer model that will surely be easier to drive. My feeling is the Susvara just requires a lot of compromises and money from the owner. This is one of the reasons I won't get into stats also. As for stats......Too much money and too many compromises for headphones with little visceral impact.

 

[mungster]

The susvara ended up costing me over $15,000 as i had to invest in a high end dac and amp. My hekse sounded great with my portable dap lotoo paw gold touch. I shouldn't be complaining as i just lost $80,000 in my oil stock last week. . Unless you want bragging rights, the hekse is a great headphone without any compromises.

 

[sahmen]

The susvara ended up costing me over $15,000 as i had to invest in a high end dac and amp. My hekse sounded great with my portable dap lotoo paw gold touch. I shouldn't be complaining as i just lost $80,000 in my oil stock last week. . Unless you want bragging rights, the hekse is a great headphone without any compromises.

That figure regarding the final total outlay on the Susvara sounds rather intimidating and sobering to me, and I feel I need to hear stories like yours because they help me to relearn to appreciate what I already have, just by putting certain things in perspective. With all that said, it is not pleasant to hear about the loss at the stock market, even it is very possible to get that money back, and even more, with another luckier shake in the same market. Either way, I extend my best wishes.

 

[dleblanc343]

When you say took the experience to another level? Which speaker amp did you use with Susvara and is the overall sound stage larger with Susvara than HEKse??

The HEKse wins in soundstage height and being a bit more diffused, if you listen to a lot of classical, I could argue the HEKse having the upper hand sometimes! Susvara’s imaging is more accurate though, it really is holographic, more so than the already exceptional HEKse (which is still to my ears better than anything on the market besides susvara or SR009 in that department). But the highs of the hekse are not as transparent and controlled as susvara, and the susvara texturizes better. It just sounds more effortless.

Well, speaking of irony, I have enjoyed my He1000SE so much that it has got me dreaming of upgrading to a Susvara, and yet, in some ways, I am staying my hand, because I dread the prospect of having to search desperately for a matching amp (within my budgetary limits) for the Susvara once I get to own it. Once upon a time, i had to sell my otherwise beloved He-6, after trying different amps with it--none of which was deemed to be "optimal," according to popular or expert opinion on head-fi, even when some of them sounded perfectly fine to me. The very idea of having to wonder whether each successive amp I tried with the He-6 was the optimal best, eventually became a distraction from the music, whenever I was using the he-6, so i wound up selling it.


That is why I find myself often dreaming about owning a Susvara, while also doing everything in my power to dissuade myself from actually buying one...

To be fair, the HE6 is nowhere near as good as HE1000se, not even close. And seeing your collection of HP’s, I’d say you have some versatility in choice; I wouldn’t break my head about it either and just enjoy the variety! I have an HE6 and I’m debating selling it along with my Focal Clear just to fund some money for the HEKse again. And never worry about headphones ever again. Susvara and HEKse would have me covered for end game desktop use and multimedia/ portable use.

 

[Thenewguy007]

The susvara ended up costing me over $15,000 as i had to invest in a high end dac and amp. My hekse sounded great with my portable dap lotoo paw gold touch. I shouldn't be complaining as i just lost $80,000 in my oil stock last week. . Unless you want bragging rights, the hekse is a great headphone without any compromises.

What was the amp & dac you bought to pair with the Susvara?

 

[mungster]

Xiaudio formula S, powerman and SAGRA DAC.

 

[tunes]

I own both the hekse and susvara. Sound the same to me. The hekse might even sounded a little better to my ears and not as hard to drive.

Did you compare Susvara to HEKse with the Susvara driven by a speaker power amp? From what I have read the Susvara needs a lot of power to reach its potential.

 

[mixman]

With my new additions I have been wondering.....Do I still even need my SE anymore? I then downloaded the HIRes version of Yosi Horikawa album Spaces. These songs were custom made for the HEK's which they do better than almost every other can. It's that sense of space they can provide. It's great.

 

[musickid]

Auditioned the SE on Wednesday with a brooklyn dac. they would be used with my hugo2/mscaler. two questions: does the SE pair well with a hugo2? secondly i'm used to the 390grams oppo pm1 at 440 grams does the SE relax a little in time with regards to fit and comfort as i'm not used to larger headphones and this is my main sticking point as to whether i should go for the SE or not?

 

[JaZZ]

Auditioned the SE on Wednesday with a brooklyn dac. they would be used with my hugo2/mscaler. two questions: does the SE pair well with a hugo2? secondly i'm used to the 390grams oppo pm1 at 440 grams does the SE relax a little in time with regards to fit and comfort as i'm not used to larger headphones and this is my main sticking point as to whether i should go for the SE or not?

It's an excellent pairing in every aspect. If I only had a Hugo₂ to drive it, I would be perfectly happy. One of the best headphones money can buy and the ideal companion for the Hugo₂ for stationary use in my book, particularly if you have a wide musical taste.

Comfort is a very individual thing, but to me it is almost on HD 800 level. At no point did I find the clamping pressure or the weight too high, and I can't tell if the headband stretches a bit with time (also, my pair is only a few weeks old). Certainly every new headphone needs a little adaptation from the user.

 

[GU1DO]

Auditioned the SE on Wednesday with a brooklyn dac. they would be used with my hugo2/mscaler. two questions: does the SE pair well with a hugo2? secondly i'm used to the 390grams oppo pm1 at 440 grams does the SE relax a little in time with regards to fit and comfort as i'm not used to larger headphones and this is my main sticking point as to whether i should go for the SE or not?

Buy it with confidence , they work perfect , i would say it is almost 70% of a full desktop setup , very enjoyable pairing
and regarding the comfort , i totally agree with JaZZ.

 

[franz12]

i can say with no reservation that comfort on this is the best in the market. I am a comfort freak, but I can wear it for long hours without any rest.

 

[Spandy87]

Out of curiosity, has anyone tried pad swapping to something from one of the other hifiman headphones of this shape?

 

[mixman]

Out of curiosity, has anyone tried pad swapping to something from one of the other hifiman headphones of this shape?

You have the Verite right? What do you think about the SE vs Verite? I wish there were some pad choices I could swap out.