[AudioCats]

KGSS has global feedback, the sampling point is at the end of the 4th stage (output to phones). The 4th stage amplifies current, voltage level is basically the same as the 3rd stage output.

"727 mod" = move feedback sample point to the end of the 3rd stage, like what is in a 727 (at least that is my understanding by looking at pictures of 727 circuit cards).

I added a couple of switches for a (relatively) quick change-over between the normal "global" and "727 style" feedback.

using SR007
"727" feedback
-- narrower stage.
-- more intimate, softer, slightly darker sound, might have a little more emphasize in the mids.
-- bass is less; loose bass.
-- more "gentle".
-- emotional involving, holds my attention ok.

global feedback (normal KGSS):
-- more transparent, sharper sound.
-- wider stage, much better focus
-- deeper and better controlled bass
-- the sharper sound is also more fatiguing for long listening.
-- Not emotionally involving. Got the same feel as last time, the sound wanted to fade into "super detailed wonderful back ground music" again and again and my attention just wanted to drift away.

No feedback (these switches have a center "off" position)
-- louder, lots of distortion, broken sound.

Using Shangri La Jr
the difference between "727-feedback" and global-feedback is basically the same as above. Except:
-- the "loose bass" feeling come up less often.
-- the sound stage is still very wide with the "727-feedback",.

overall, I prefer the "727-feedback" when using sgl jr; and the standard global-feedback when using 007. I will leave the switches in there for the time being.

maybe the SRM-727 is a good match for the sgl jr.

 

[AudioCats]

with the signal-diode mod, the KGSS lost its edginess and become much calmer. And very-low-level micro-details improved a bit. Now the 007 is my preferred phone, it is more resolving and the sound is richer.
The sgl-jr has wider stage and a smoother presentation and zero irritations, but the price to pay for such smoothness is the lost of some micro details, the sound feels thicker.

The 007 is well used. Maybe the sgl-jr will improve with a lot of use.

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

It’s hard to find a used Shangri La jr. If anyone is planning to sell, let me know.

 

[ihyan2]

I just took a plunge and bought the Shangri-La jr (phone + amp( dealer demo with keen pricing. Tested with my HiBy RS6 just now. I'll be using it with a Denafrips terminator or Lampizator Lvl4 DAC with Lumin U1 mini streamer. The DACs are in my hifi system already...

I compared it to the VOCE + Woo Audio WES I preferred the HifiMan...

What have I done lol...

 

[fiiom11pro]

I just took a plunge and bought the Shangri-La jr (phone + amp( dealer demo with keen pricing. Tested with my HiBy RS6 just now. I'll be using it with a Denafrips terminator or Lampizator Lvl4 DAC with Lumin U1 mini streamer. The DACs are in my hifi system already...

I compared it to the VOCE + Woo Audio WES I preferred the HifiMan...

What have I done lol...

Have you tried 009 or even 007? I wonder how they compare?...

 

[ihyan2]

Have you tried 009 or even 007? I wonder how they compare?...

Have not tried the 009/007 just compared it with the VOCE + Woo WES.
I tried a Susvara through a Woo WA 33 as well.
I liked the fact that the Jr is a set deal that I got amp + headphone and yeah good pricing as well. I don't have the energiser so the calculus would always include phone plus the energiser.....

 

[Smousesme]

Hey guys!

Just thought I'd post here in case anyone's on the look out for the Shangri La Jr System second hand.

Here's a link to my listing if anyone's interested: https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/hifiman-shangri-la-jr-system.20054/

Cheers
Mike

 

[SolarCetacean]

I've had my Shangri-La Jr for around 6 weeks now, running it on a CCS-modded SRM-006tA, and I really like it. I find it a noticeable improvement over the SR-L700mk2 in general. More detail, much more precise imaging, better comfort, better tonality, overall better bass (snappier, better extension, and slightly more impact). It's a very bright headphone (brighter than the L700mk2 to my ears), but it's very smooth despite it. There's a lot of upper treble (>9KHz) but no major peaks/dips in that region hence the smoothness. I like bright headphones (started off with Beyers and Audio-Technicas), so that brightness isn't a problem to me and I enjoy the airiness. The main quibble I have with the sound is that it sounds very "splashy" or "breathy", like cymbals have a splashy texture ("pshhh pshhh" instead of "tsss tsss") to them and the breath of close-miked high-pitched vocalists is a bit exaggerated. I find that it's due to the sudden transition between the upper-midrange recession and the lower treble elevation. I use a bit of EQ to smooth out that transition and that removes the splashiness while keeping the general sound signature and it sounds even better. It's definitely more of a risk going with the SGL Jr since there aren't many reviews of it out there, but I did as much research as I could, and I am very pleased with this headphone. No regrets, what more can you ask for?

 

[JLoud]

I demoed the sr009s and the jr at the same time for a week. I much preferred the jr. I am mostly a planar guy so maybe that explains it. I generally find Hifiman headphones a little bright for my taste but these were the exception. I do add a little bass shelf though. 4db at 80 hertz Q of 1.

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

Try the Dekoni Elite Sheepskin pads for the Susvara they work and this elevated the Bass for me. They are truely a remarkable headphone.

 

[hardpike]

I got mine 2 weeks ago (full pack with the amplifier)

I think it is magnificent

I use the Fiio M17 balanced LO as source. So dinamic, so much detail, amazing bass... Crazy soundstage.

Dead silent background.

Really pleased

 

[HeadAmpTeam]

It’s hard to find a used Shangri La jr. If anyone is planning to sell, let me know.

We’ve got both the headphone and amp, both new in box, up for sale either as an entire system or all separate!

 

[SolarCetacean]

New rabbit hole discovered: Shangri-La Jr earpad swaps. The SGL Jr use the same earpads as the Susvara, so any 3rd party Susvara pads also fit on the SGL. I tried out Dekoni Elite sheepskin pads as suggested by Nogoodnamesleft a few posts up. They increase bass extension and makes the bass a bit punchier to my ears. Measurements on my miniDSP EARS show that bass is linear down to ~30 Hz with the sheepskin pads vs dropping off around 60 Hz on the stock pads. But the biggest change with the sheepskin pads is to the upper midrange. With stock pads, there's a noticeable recession in the upper midrange (1 KHz - 2 KHz), followed above that by a very sharp rise to an elevation from 3K to 5K. With the sheepskin pads, there's a very pronounced peak between 1 and 2K, maxing out at 1.4 KHz, but then mellowing out the 3-5K region. It's an immediately noticeable change from the stock sound.

What's interesting to me is that the sheepskin sound is quite similar in the midrange to the sound on my Stax SR-L700mk2, and more generally to Stax headphones in general. All of the Staxen use leather pads to my knowledge. There seems to be some sort of interaction between electrostatic drivers and the acoustic properties of leather/pleather pads that produces a peak between 1K and 2KHz. Dekoni measured the sheepskin pads on the Susvara and it only showed a small reduction in the 3-5K range there, so there must be some intrinsic difference between the planar Susvara driver and the electrostatic SGL driver that causes such a large performance difference despite earcup shape and earpads being identical. I'm not sure if I entirely like the result. It's an improvement in bass, and it smooths out the upper treble, and I need fewer EQ bands to dial in my preferred sound, but the magnitude of EQ that I need now is much larger than before. I went from boosting the 1.5K area by 2 dB to cutting that same region by 4 dB. All I wanted was to have a few dB adjustment in the upper midrange and lower treble, but instead a wild midrange peak appears!

This makes me curious to try the other Dekoni earpads to see how they fare. The 2 of most interest are the fenestrated sheepskin pads and the hybrid pads. The fenestrated ones are supposedly more comfortable and offer a more neutral sound. I don't find the feel of leather to be that good, and the sheepskin pads have a tighter clamp than the stock pads, so perhaps the fenestrated ones will offer better comfort as well as a less dramatic change in the sound. The hybrid pads are most similar to the stock pads in design, so perhaps they will retain the stock sound the best, though I hope they still improve the bass somewhat. Time to experiment.

 

[makan]

New rabbit hole discovered: Shangri-La Jr earpad swaps. The SGL Jr use the same earpads as the Susvara, so any 3rd party Susvara pads also fit on the SGL. I tried out Dekoni Elite sheepskin pads as suggested by Nogoodnamesleft a few posts up. They increase bass extension and makes the bass a bit punchier to my ears. Measurements on my miniDSP EARS show that bass is linear down to ~30 Hz with the sheepskin pads vs dropping off around 60 Hz on the stock pads. But the biggest change with the sheepskin pads is to the upper midrange. With stock pads, there's a noticeable recession in the upper midrange (1 KHz - 2 KHz), followed above that by a very sharp rise to an elevation from 3K to 5K. With the sheepskin pads, there's a very pronounced peak between 1 and 2K, maxing out at 1.4 KHz, but then mellowing out the 3-5K region. It's an immediately noticeable change from the stock sound.

What's interesting to me is that the sheepskin sound is quite similar in the midrange to the sound on my Stax SR-L700mk2, and more generally to Stax headphones in general. All of the Staxen use leather pads to my knowledge. There seems to be some sort of interaction between electrostatic drivers and the acoustic properties of leather/pleather pads that produces a peak between 1K and 2KHz. Dekoni measured the sheepskin pads on the Susvara and it only showed a small reduction in the 3-5K range there, so there must be some intrinsic difference between the planar Susvara driver and the electrostatic SGL driver that causes such a large performance difference despite earcup shape and earpads being identical. I'm not sure if I entirely like the result. It's an improvement in bass, and it smooths out the upper treble, and I need fewer EQ bands to dial in my preferred sound, but the magnitude of EQ that I need now is much larger than before. I went from boosting the 1.5K area by 2 dB to cutting that same region by 4 dB. All I wanted was to have a few dB adjustment in the upper midrange and lower treble, but instead a wild midrange peak appears!

This makes me curious to try the other Dekoni earpads to see how they fare. The 2 of most interest are the fenestrated sheepskin pads and the hybrid pads. The fenestrated ones are supposedly more comfortable and offer a more neutral sound. I don't find the feel of leather to be that good, and the sheepskin pads have a tighter clamp than the stock pads, so perhaps the fenestrated ones will offer better comfort as well as a less dramatic change in the sound. The hybrid pads are most similar to the stock pads in design, so perhaps they will retain the stock sound the best, though I hope they still improve the bass somewhat. Time to experiment.

Is it pretty easy to swap the stock pads with the dekoni ones? May have to give it a try.

 

[BassicScience]

New rabbit hole discovered: Shangri-La Jr earpad swaps. The SGL Jr use the same earpads as the Susvara, so any 3rd party Susvara pads also fit on the SGL. I tried out Dekoni Elite sheepskin pads as suggested by Nogoodnamesleft a few posts up. They increase bass extension and makes the bass a bit punchier to my ears. Measurements on my miniDSP EARS show that bass is linear down to ~30 Hz with the sheepskin pads vs dropping off around 60 Hz on the stock pads. But the biggest change with the sheepskin pads is to the upper midrange. With stock pads, there's a noticeable recession in the upper midrange (1 KHz - 2 KHz), followed above that by a very sharp rise to an elevation from 3K to 5K. With the sheepskin pads, there's a very pronounced peak between 1 and 2K, maxing out at 1.4 KHz, but then mellowing out the 3-5K region. It's an immediately noticeable change from the stock sound.

What's interesting to me is that the sheepskin sound is quite similar in the midrange to the sound on my Stax SR-L700mk2, and more generally to Stax headphones in general. All of the Staxen use leather pads to my knowledge. There seems to be some sort of interaction between electrostatic drivers and the acoustic properties of leather/pleather pads that produces a peak between 1K and 2KHz. Dekoni measured the sheepskin pads on the Susvara and it only showed a small reduction in the 3-5K range there, so there must be some intrinsic difference between the planar Susvara driver and the electrostatic SGL driver that causes such a large performance difference despite earcup shape and earpads being identical. I'm not sure if I entirely like the result. It's an improvement in bass, and it smooths out the upper treble, and I need fewer EQ bands to dial in my preferred sound, but the magnitude of EQ that I need now is much larger than before. I went from boosting the 1.5K area by 2 dB to cutting that same region by 4 dB. All I wanted was to have a few dB adjustment in the upper midrange and lower treble, but instead a wild midrange peak appears!

This makes me curious to try the other Dekoni earpads to see how they fare. The 2 of most interest are the fenestrated sheepskin pads and the hybrid pads. The fenestrated ones are supposedly more comfortable and offer a more neutral sound. I don't find the feel of leather to be that good, and the sheepskin pads have a tighter clamp than the stock pads, so perhaps the fenestrated ones will offer better comfort as well as a less dramatic change in the sound. The hybrid pads are most similar to the stock pads in design, so perhaps they will retain the stock sound the best, though I hope they still improve the bass somewhat. Time to experiment.

This is very interesting! In spite of the similar form factor, it hadn't occurred to me that pads would be swappable between Susvara and Shang Junior. I have the Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin on my Susvara and will move them over to the Shang Jr. in place of the stock pads this evening to see what happens.

@makan , using a credit card is far and away the easiest way to swap pads on the Susvara or Shang Junior. Search "credit card" in the Susvara thread for more details, but it's child's play once you do it a few times.