[BassicScience]

I'm going to leave everyone with my final thoughts regarding the Shangri-La Sr.
This is going to be short and sweet. Some people may not want to hear it.

Some folks may ostracize me for not pairing Shang with a warmer chain, but I don't feel as though this makes a transducer worthwhile for me.
I ran a very reference chain and found the Shang a hair bright. It DOES take well to PEQ, but I prefer not to have to run anything.
Don't shoot the messenger! These are my personal thoughts and opinions.

Relax, this isn't a Chord thread...

As someone who may have influenced your purchase decision, I'm sorry it didn't work out. At least now you know it isn't for you.

 

[draytonklammer]

Relax, this isn't a Chord thread...

As someone who may have influenced your purchase decision, I'm sorry it didn't work out. At least now you know it isn't for you.

It sure as heck wasn't anyone here!
Sure, I poked through your minds, asked questions, and read through the many thoughts folks have had regarding the Shang, but the decision to purchase it was mine.

There is no perfect audio experience, short of sitting down, relaxing, and just enjoying the tunes in front of you.
The dragon I have chased is the friends I have made, the experiences I have had, and the knowledge I have gained from my travels thus far.
Discussing with all of you has been a lot of fun.
It's great to know that we all have such different experiences with the same gear. It's awesome to know that there isn't one true halo product. That would just be boring!

 

[Exekuhtor]

I love your impressions, totally valid.
The journey is the reward.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Did you listen with the X9000 on the Aeras? I'm considering a direct drive amp for my X9000 to test against my transformer setup and the short list is essentially Novem, Aeras, Megatron.

Yup, definitely enjoyed the Aeras with the x9000 a lot. I enjoyed it with the BHSE as well. Just different flavors, but both very good. Looking forward to any impressions comparing your transformer setup to some direct drive amps.

I'm going to leave everyone with my final thoughts regarding the Shangri-La Sr.
This is going to be short and sweet. Some people may not want to hear it.

It IS the most technically proficient pair of headphones I have ever heard.
Detail retrieval, soundstage, and technicalities are beyond excellent.
Comfort, as per usual with flagship Hifimans, is excellent.

There is so much that Shangri-La does well, but for my personal preferences, it wasn't the end of the road.
Now that I own a brand new Susvara (this is my third Susvara) I have come to realize that I prefer a neutral tuning with a touch of warmth.
The Susvara fits this bill for me at a much more reasonable price point.
With Utopia 2022 as my more intimate complementary pairing, with the Susvara, I am fairly content.
The X9000 is also a very proficient headphone, and easily within a glance of the Shang, but once they make it back from RMA, I will be moving on, due to their poor quality control and driver reliability.

Some folks may ostracize me for not pairing Shang with a warmer chain, but I don't feel as though this makes a transducer worthwhile for me.
I ran a very reference chain and found the Shang a hair bright. It DOES take well to PEQ, but I prefer not to have to run anything.
Don't shoot the messenger! These are my personal thoughts and opinions.
Outside of trying out the Diana MR and Empy2, I am feeling pretty decent.
I have tried 90% of the gear out there now and I can safely say that I have found a good place to sit for a bit.

My closing thoughts are:
Shangri-La Sr. was absolutely worth purchasing to try in a quiet environment for a long length of time.
After a month, I can conclude, for my own preferences, this isn't my current end of the road.
It is a technically impressive headphone and one of the finest out there, but this didn't make it a compelling stopping point for me.

For a bit, I thought that I might end up buying Aperio and HE-1, too, but the Bravura made me realize that I don't want a system, for numerous reasons.
I'm sure that Aperio is right up there with Shang and that HE-1 is a marvel in its own right, but they're too expensive to warrant ownership.
In this day and age, with so many technically impressive designs released, I see no good reason to spend so much on a halo product.
This hobby is fun because of the folks I meet, and discuss with, and because of the different flavors we constantly try out.
Chasing the dragon has been fun, but the dragon itself doesn't exist. Some headphone, regardless of price, always does something a hair better than another.
I could buy the Aperio, HE-1, or another Shang, and still end up preferring the ownership of some less expensive headphones, to use when I am in different moods, or for their various complementary strengths.

As someone else mentioned, there's nothing wrong with your impressions lol. And what you're mentioning is accurate, it has a more analytical presentation and definitely doesn't have the hint of warmth that the Susvara has. I mentioned in my own thread that if that is critical for someone, or more enjoyable, the Sr. may not be for them. I've steered a few people away actually that have gone beyond that to mention that they are sensitive to brightness overall.

I don't think a warmer chain changes its tonality much. It will always be a detail, analytical headphone first that some may find a touch too bright. I'm glad you gave them a chance and the impressions should be helpful to others as well. All in all, I wish it were much easier to demo the most expensive gear in the hobby, but it can be a real challenge to do so.

 

[gwos]

Some folks may ostracize me for not pairing Shang with a warmer chain, but I don't feel as though this makes a transducer worthwhile for me.
I ran a very reference chain and found the Shang a hair bright. It DOES take well to PEQ, but I prefer not to have to run anything.

Frankly, I have the same problem - Shangri-La can be too bright on some recordings. But - frankly, as well - I'm not sure if if tells more on the headphones or the recordings themselves. I own HE-90 and have to say that the Orpheus can also bite my ears and be bright beyond my acceptance. I believe that neither Shangri-La nor HE-90 are all rounder headphones, nope, they are good... only on good recordings. I owned the Susvara and I sold it out because - depsite it sweetness - it did not differentiated recordings as decisively as above mentioned HPs and didn't take me so deep into the recording venue. So you see, it looks like I'm landing at a contradictory conclusion. But it's fine and perhaps perfectly understood, we differ, our ears and expectations differ. But I'd love to know on what music you (@draytonklammer) came to your conclusion. As for me, I mostly listen to classical music and both SGL and HE-90 are just incredible on it, however I must also say that when listening to rock or pop music - which I do very rarely - I would truly prefer Susvara or Stax SR-009 or SR-007mk1 instead.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Frankly, I have the same problem - Shangri-La can be too bright on some recordings. But - frankly, as well - I'm not sure if if tells more on the headphones or the recordings themselves. I own HE-90 and have to say that the Orpheus can also bite my ears and be bright beyond my acceptance. I believe that neither Shangri-La nor HE-90 are all rounder headphones, nope, they are good... only on good recordings. I owned the Susvara and I sold it out because - depsite it sweetness - it did not differentiated recordings as decisively as above mentioned HPs and didn't take me so deep into the recording venue. So you see, it looks like I'm landing at a contradictory conclusion. But it's fine and perhaps perfectly understood, we differ, our ears and expectations differ. But I'd love to know on what music you (@draytonklammer) came to your conclusion. As for me, I mostly listen to classical music and both SGL and HE-90 are just incredible on it, however I must also say that when listening to rock or pop music - which I do very rarely - I would truly prefer Susvara or Stax SR-009 or SR-007mk1 instead.

What are you powering the HE90 with? Just surprised to hear it to be found bright at all, as it's quite the opposite spectrum of the SGL. Sr (and a lot of other stats). But to your point, we all hear differently and what/how we hear is all that matters. The HE90 to me is probably the greatest all rounder of all time, only slightly ahead of the Susvara to my ears in that regard. But again, all that matters is what we hear.

And similarly to you, I prefer the Shang and HE90 for classical, some jazz, everything acoustic and female vocal heavy. For rock, or anything with very hard hitting bass in high perceived amounts of it, I'd prefer the mk1 or better yet planars. Although the 009 would be in the former category along with the HE90 and Sr. for me. But all of this is extremely important because it qualifies our praise of these headphones, which may not apply or be relevant to someone who listens to other genres.

 

[gwos]

What are you powering the HE90 with? Just surprised to hear it to be found bright at all, as it's quite the opposite spectrum of the SGL. Sr (and a lot of other stats).

I don't possess HEV-90, although I'm lucky to have a friend who lends me - from time to time - his own HEV-90 for a period of time as long as I need. I use this time for comparisons. As for now, my chain consists of Accuphase C-2820 preamp, Pass Labs XA-25 power amp, and a DIY converter/adapter called LST (for Linear Stax Transformer) which was built in a small number of copies by a Polish/German team. My copy of LST has two sockets, both for HE-90 and Stax Pro, and provides, accordingly, both 500V and 580V. Before, I had iFi iESL Pro, but I find LST much more transparent. You could already see it in one of my previous posts (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...-headphones-from-hifiman.793700/post-17829160). Currently, I'm not at home, but I find on my laptop two other pictures from two diferent tests (Esoteric C-03 + A-03 and HEV-90 vs Circle Labs A200).

Yes, on some recordings HE-90 can be too bright even with its dedicated HEV-90, and it's not only my opinion.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I don't possess HEV-90, although I'm lucky to have a friend who lends me - from time to time - his own HEV-90 for a period of time as long as I need. I use this time for comparisons. As for now, my chain consists of Accuphase C-2820 preamp, Pass Labs XA-25 power amp, and a DIY converter/adapter called LST (for Linear Stax Transformer) which was built in a small number of copies by a Polish/German team. My copy of LST has two sockets, both for HE-90 and Stax Pro, and provides, accordingly, both 500V and 580V. Before, I had iFi iESL Pro, but I find LST much more transparent. You could already see it in one of my previous posts (https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hif...-headphones-from-hifiman.793700/post-17829160). Currently, I'm not at home, but I find on my laptop two other pictures from two diferent tests (Esoteric C-03 + A-03 and HEV-90 vs Circle Labs A200).

Yes, on some recordings HE-90 can be too bright even with its dedicated HEV-90, and it's not only my opinion.

Gotcha, I didn't ask to discredit the system you're listening to, nor your opinion . Just was wondering if you were using any components that were known to be a bit brighter (i.e. the Carbon), out of pure curiosity. Nice looking system, and also, I think quite a bit of people on the forums historically and now don't view the HEV-90 as a reference point for peak performance of the HE90.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I'll be putting my Shang Sr up for sale on Friday, but if anybody is interested in purchasing them, PM me. I'm putting them for $9K+200 shipping (half off retail, plus shipping insurance). They are in perfect condition (I take very good care of my headphones).

 

[draytonklammer]

I'll be putting my Shang Sr up for sale on Friday, but if anybody is interested in purchasing them, PM me. I'm putting them for $9K+200 shipping (half off retail, plus shipping insurance). They are in perfect condition (I take very good care of my headphones).

Wow, and I thought my price was low...

 

[Ciggavelli]

Wow, and I thought my price was low...

Used pricing and the like. Most sh!t goes for half off if it is used.

 

[Exekuhtor]

Ehhh, some stuff like an Annihilator almost doesn't drop in price... Always depends on how much these thinsg are available.
I wish i was in the market for the Senior, which i am not (anymore). I am perfectly happy with the Sus and don't want to spend a ton more on an energizer. Maybe in 5 years or so.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I'll be putting my Shang Sr up for sale on Friday, but if anybody is interested in purchasing them, PM me. I'm putting them for $9K+200 shipping (half off retail, plus shipping insurance). They are in perfect condition (I take very good care of my headphones).

9k used is a really great opportunity for someone. If resolution, detail and spacing are your thing, look no further!

GLWS!

 

[Ciggavelli]

9k used is a really great opportunity for someone. If resolution, detail and spacing are your thing, look no further!

GLWS!

I already got a buyer. I think my pricing is fair, even though I may have pissed off @draytonklammer ...lol.

The Shang Sr is a great pair of headphones. I'm feel fortunate to have owned them for the time I had them. They are a great experience. I hope the new owner enjoys them as much as I did.

 

[draytonklammer]

I already got a buyer. I think my pricing is fair, even though I may have pissed off @draytonklammer ...lol.

The Shang Sr is a great pair of headphones. I'm feel fortunate to have owned them for the time I had them. They are a great experience. I hope the new owner enjoys them as much as I did.

You didn't piss me off at all.
My comment was meant to be pleasantly surprised that someone will get one of these for so cheap.

I already sold mine a month ago.

For my preferences, I still prefer the Susvara, even though the technicalities and resolution of the Shang are nuts.