[number1sixerfan]

I can't remeber, have you tried mysphere? They obviously don't compete technicaly, but in terms of beautiful presentation I can 100% see someone preferring them to even Shang sr.

I haven't. I think someone offered me to demo them, but at the time I wasn't as into demoing gear (always worried about someone's gear getting damaged in shipping). I've gotten past that now. I think you or someone else offered me a demo. It seems that people that have it, love it. I wonder how they sound against the Sr1a. I'm actually not giving any head time to the Sr1a, there's a lot of overlap between it and the Sr., and the Sr. is better. That's a big reason I haven't been interested in much of anything that has similar qualities as the SGL. The 009 also just sits now days for the same reason. That said, I would love to hear them though.

 

[slefr]

Thought I could chime in about Mysphere vs SGL Sr.

I had the former which I kept less than one year because I preferred the SR1a to it. While the Mysphere is a good headphone with a nice midrange, the SR1a is technically better for me.
The SGL Sr is in another league, this is the best headphone I have ever owned or listened to.

 

[sa11297]

Thought I could chime in about Mysphere vs SGL Sr.

I had the former which I kept less than one year because I preferred the SR1a to it. While the Mysphere is a good headphone with a nice midrange, the SR1a is technically better for me.
The SGL Sr is in another league, this is the best headphone I have ever owned or listened to.

I actually preferred mysphere over sr1a. But even then, srl does perform in another league than either (at least on my setup)

 

[number1sixerfan]

The SGL Sr is in another league, this is the best headphone I have ever owned or listened to.

Same. And the most amazing thing is it's not really close either.

 

[eskamobob1]

Thought I could chime in about Mysphere vs SGL Sr.

I had the former which I kept less than one year because I preferred the SR1a to it. While the Mysphere is a good headphone with a nice midrange, the SR1a is technically better for me.
The SGL Sr is in another league, this is the best headphone I have ever owned or listened to.

Yah, the mysphere magic isn't insane technicals. Tbh I only realy asked about it because we were talking about r10 and I get the feeling they are in the same vein in terms of what makes them special

 

[Ciggavelli]

The Shang and SR1a have similar problems with sub-bass (yes even on a T2 with the Shang), but everything else on the Shang is amazing (and the subbass is actually there, it's just not super prominent). The Shang has even higher resolution than the SR1a, which prior to having the Shang I wouldn't think would ever be possible, but the SR1a has the crazy soundstage. The Shang has a little too high of a soundstage for me on the top, but it's not a deal breaker. Other than hip-hop, the Shang sounds absolutely amazing with everything. I sold the Sr1a as a result

 

[slefr]

The Shang and SR1a have similar problems with sub-bass (yes even on a T2 with the Shang), but everything else on the Shang is amazing (and the subbass is actually there, it's just not super prominent). The Shang has even higher resolution than the SR1a, which prior to having the Shang I wouldn't think would ever be possible, but the SR1a has the crazy soundstage. The Shang has a little too high of a soundstage for me on the top, but it's not a deal breaker. Other than hip-hop, the Shang sounds absolutely amazing with everything. I sold the Sr1a as a result

I would not have said better. I have no issue with the sub bass of the SGL Sr, even without eq. The bass is so clean and tight that I don’t feel any frustration. My 1266 TC has more rumble but with the trick of having a gap between the pads and the ears, I will only go for it for this extra rumble and the different sound stage but it does represent a minor part of my listening sessions.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I would not have said better. I have no issue with the sub bass of the SGL Sr, even without eq. The bass is so clean and tight that I don’t feel any frustration. My 1266 TC has more rumble but with the trick of having a gap between the pads and the ears, I will only go for it for this extra rumble and the different sound stage but it does represent a minor part of my listening sessions.

I pretty much only listen to the Shang and TCs now. I might sell off some of my other headphones and get a better dac.

Hip-hop is like half of what I listen to, so the TCs are still my favorite headphones (they also sound amazing with metal, my other favorite genre), but the Shang is definitely 2nd. I could live with just having the TCs and Shang.

 

[DomoXIII]

Curious if anyone here has heard the shang Jr with the dedicated amp, how it ranks compared to the Sr and susvara? Reading alot of reviews in the shang Jr thread and other threads but getting mixed feedback. Many reviews say that the susvara when properly amped are better then the shang Jr, but some people hear swear by the shang Jr being amazing only slightly worse then the shang sr

I'm running a susvara with rme and Benchmark AHB2 and it's wonderful but trying to find my final end game. The shang Jr would be simpler since it comes with a dedicated amp already where as if I wanted to get the shang Sr, I'd buy it and have to wait another couple months to afford a good amp to pair with it.

Another crazy thought would be getting the dedicated susvara amp. I haven't seen many reviews on that however.

 

[ufospls2]

Curious if anyone here has heard the shang Jr with the dedicated amp, how it ranks compared to the Sr and susvara? Reading alot of reviews in the shang Jr thread and other threads but getting mixed feedback. Many reviews say that the susvara when properly amped are better then the shang Jr, but some people hear swear by the shang Jr being amazing only slightly worse then the shang sr

I'm running a susvara with rme and Benchmark AHB2 and it's wonderful but trying to find my final end game. The shang Jr would be simpler since it comes with a dedicated amp already where as if I wanted to get the shang Sr, I'd buy it and have to wait another couple months to afford a good amp to pair with it.

Another crazy thought would be getting the dedicated susvara amp. I haven't seen many reviews on that however.

Owned the Susvara 2 seperate times for very long periods and have had significant time with the SR (with KGSSHV Carbon) and JR (with matching JR amp and also T2.)

The Susvara has a slightly more polite, sweeter presentation. The JR and SR both tend towards slightly leaner and brighter, Jr more so than the Sr. The Jr is also a more front row type of presentation. The Sr is the "biggest" sounding headphone I have heard, and is also the most technically proficient headphone I have heard, improving upon the Susvara. (for reference, have not heard HE1, nor Warwick Aperio.)

In terms of technical performance, the JR and Susvara are much closer, with the Susvara having a slightly more diffuse, less harsh sound, with slightly wider soundstage (related to the JR's upfront type of presentation.)

For me, SR wins over both. You could consider running the SR from your AHB2 and a Mjolnir Audio SRD-7 until deciding if it is right for you and if you want to go all in on an E-stat amp for a single headphone.

Between the JR and Susvara? Hard to call. Entirely depends on personal sonic preferences and also monetary concerns with regards to the need for a dedicated amp. If you already have the Susvara and would also need an e-stat amp then I don't think the JR is worth it. I would stick with the Susvara simply because you already have one. The JR would be worth trying if you were simply curious, as it is a different presentation than the Susvara with a lot of similar qualities and might be fun to explore. In terms of a strict upgrade to the Susvara? Less so.

 

[DomoXIII]

Owned the Susvara 2 seperate times for very long periods and have had significant time with the SR (with KGSSHV Carbon) and JR (with matching JR amp and also T2.)

The Susvara has a slightly more polite, sweeter presentation. The JR and SR both tend towards slightly leaner and brighter, Jr more so than the Sr. The Jr is also a more front row type of presentation. The Sr is the "biggest" sounding headphone I have heard, and is also the most technically proficient headphone I have heard, improving upon the Susvara. (for reference, have not heard HE1, nor Warwick Aperio.)

In terms of technical performance, the JR and Susvara are much closer, with the Susvara having a slightly more diffuse, less harsh sound, with slightly wider soundstage (related to the JR's upfront type of presentation.)

For me, SR wins over both. You could consider running the SR from your AHB2 and a Mjolnir Audio SRD-7 until deciding if it is right for you and if you want to go all in on an E-stat amp for a single headphone.

Between the JR and Susvara? Hard to call. Entirely depends on personal sonic preferences and also monetary concerns with regards to the need for a dedicated amp. If you already have the Susvara and would also need an e-stat amp then I don't think the JR is worth it. I would stick with the Susvara simply because you already have one. The JR would be worth trying if you were simply curious, as it is a different presentation than the Susvara with a lot of similar qualities and might be fun to explore. In terms of a strict upgrade to the Susvara? Less so.

since im looking towards a upgrade and not a sidegrade then the Shang Sr would be the choice. In terms of amping the SR how detrimental would the sound quality be with a 1000$ amp?

 

[ufospls2]

since im looking towards a upgrade and not a sidegrade then the Shang Sr would be the choice. In terms of amping the SR how detrimental would the sound quality be with a 1000$ amp?

I'm of the opinion the headphones make the biggest difference (and I'm totally ok with others feeling otherwise.) With that said, there are improvements to be had with source/amp differences. The general idea seems to be that the SRD-7 from Mjolnir (or perhaps an iESL from iFi, but thats more expensive) paired with a quality speaker amp (like your AHB2 or similar) will be around the level of a KGSSHV (not carbon.) From there, the improvements seem to be from going to a dedicated E-stat amp.

In terms of dedicated E-stat amps for 1000, I'm really not sure. I suppose you would be looking at the used market. Honestly, the SR is a good enough headphone that even with sub optimal amplification, its going to be seriously good given you are getting enough volume and drive from the amp.

 

[eskamobob1]

For me, SR wins over both. You could consider running the SR from your AHB2 and a Mjolnir Audio SRD-7 until deciding if it is right for you and if you want to go all in on an E-stat amp for a single headphone.

Honestly, this sounds like a super rough option to me. The mjolnir causes a pretty significant hit in technicalities from the amp thats feeding it, and shang on an already hyper linear/dry chain is probably going to be pretty damn sibilant and etchy.

In terms of amping the SR how detrimental would the sound quality be with a 1000$ amp?

IME, extraordinarily. Just to be honest, you will very likely get a better experience out of investing that money into a proper amp and dac for sus than you will running shang on a sub-par setup. if you do go shang, I would plan on at least a z10e and comparable tier dac. If you cant swing that, then going X9k and a higher end enegizer (z10e is honestly my pick for x9k) will be a much much better choice overall. Something to keep in mind is that estats are probably the single most source dependent thing you can get, and their issues when run improperly tend to be much more grating than something like susvara (which I dont find super worth while on lower end setups, but at least isnt just outright offensive). This makes them something that is much harder to just play around with using cheaper gear IMO. Second to that is that honestly, the lower end estat energizers just arent very good on the whole which makes things even harder to do. Over all, instead of blowing however much it costs to get shang and then getting a cheap enegizer you would honestly probably be better served getting one hell of an enegizer and a cheaper estat to start and then saving up for shang later.

Another crazy thought would be getting the dedicated susvara amp. I haven't seen many reviews on that however.

While I think upgrading your sus amp and dac would be fantastic ideas, I am not sure id go for the EF1000 just given the pricing of it. Its not a bad amp, but given what else you can get for that cost (WA33 elite, AIC-10, traformatic primavera, egoista 845, etc) it simply doesnt hold up.

 

[DomoXIII]

Honestly, this sounds like a super rough option to me. The mjolnir causes a pretty significant hit in technicalities from the amp thats feeding it, and shang on an already hyper linear/dry chain is probably going to be pretty damn sibilant and etchy.

IME, extraordinarily. Just to be honest, you will very likely get a better experience out of investing that money into a proper amp and dac for sus than you will running shang on a sub-par setup. if you do go shang, I would plan on at least a z10e and comparable tier dac. If you cant swing that, then going X9k and a higher end enegizer (z10e is honestly my pick for x9k) will be a much much better choice overall. Something to keep in mind is that estats are probably the single most source dependent thing you can get, and their issues when run improperly tend to be much more grating than something like susvara (which I dont find super worth while on lower end setups, but at least isnt just outright offensive). This makes them something that is much harder to just play around with using cheaper gear IMO. Second to that is that honestly, the lower end estat energizers just arent very good on the whole which makes things even harder to do. Over all, instead of blowing however much it costs to get shang and then getting a cheap enegizer you would honestly probably be better served getting one hell of an enegizer and a cheaper estat to start and then saving up for shang later.


While I think upgrading your sus amp and dac would be fantastic ideas, I am not sure id go for the EF1000 just given the pricing of it. Its not a bad amp, but given what else you can get for that cost (WA33 elite, AIC-10, traformatic primavera, egoista 845, etc) it simply doesnt hold up.

I checked out the z10e and it's definitely something that I can get later on, I was more worried along the lines of having to get something like the 3es elite or something around that range.

My initial plan would be to get the headphones and get a cheap amp as my funds will be drained from such an expense, then save up again for a good amp, then lastly dac. If I had to spend 10k on a amp and another 10k on a dac my wife and family might kill me.

 

[eskamobob1]

I checked out the z10e and it's definitely something that I can get later on, I was more worried along the lines of having to get something like the 3es elite or something around that range.

My initial plan would be to get the headphones and get a cheap amp as my funds will be drained from such an expense, then save up again for a good amp, then lastly dac. If I had to spend 10k on a amp and another 10k on a dac my wife and family might kill me.

Just TBH, I would step over z10e for shang, but I do at least think the can is worth while on it. Personaly, I would get Z10e + x9k to start (should be less than shang alone) and then save up for shang. Once you are ready, sell x9k and buy shang. That will get you a far far far better interum experience than shang on a cheap amp IMO, and will also already be a pretty substantial step above your current sus chain.

Also, just so I say it, I realy think you should do the z10e x9k chain first, but I also think you should up your dac before going shang as well. Even just with your current setup you will see a substantial improvement by stepping up the dac. If you are willing for that to be your first move it is what I would personally upgrade first.