HIFIMAN Susvara Unveiled

[leylandi]

What? There sure is. It's timbre, the ability to portrait an instrument / a voice as close to the original thing. And the OG Susvara has for example exaggerated upper treble, which one might like and prefer, but that is not as "right" as the real deal. For example high hats on the OG Susvara are more pronounced (and sound more fatiguing to me, thats why i like the Unveiled more, i listen a lot to metal).
That being said, i couldn't care less about "the real deal". I'm also in the camp that one should prefer headphones which derrive from the 100% realistic timbre (which you cannot achieve anyway) if that's what you crave. I also love quirky and wild tuned headphones like the 1266TC which do something special that is far away from a completely natural sound.

In my opinion, metal music is not a reference for measuring the concept of truth. It is more accurate to criticize it with classical and jazz.

 

[Exekuhtor]

In my opinion, metal music is not a reference for measuring the concept of truth.

Oh, sure, but i mean that i can clearly hear when high hats are overpronounced and get fatiguing because of the (in general) boosted treble of Hifiman headphones. Just saying that i think that the Unveiled has a more balanced (and more natural) treble presentation.

It is more accurate to criticize it with classical and jazz.

I do listen to classical from time to time. Everytime i'm trying to get into Jazz (or Blues, or Soul) i'm missing the crunching guitars and the visceral power which i often crave.
But i understand what you mean, i also have to accept that 99% of rock / metal is mixed and mastered (at least somewhat) poorly, there are always exceptions, for example Pineapple Thief.

 

[number1sixerfan]

What? There sure is. It's timbre, the ability to portrait an instrument / a voice as close to the original thing. And the OG Susvara has for example exaggerated upper treble, which one might like and prefer, but that is not as "right" as the real deal. For example high hats on the OG Susvara are more pronounced (and sound more fatiguing to me, thats why i like the Unveiled more, i listen a lot to metal).
That being said, i couldn't care less about "the real deal". I'm also in the camp that one should prefer headphones which derrive from the 100% realistic timbre (which you cannot achieve anyway) if that's what you crave. I also love quirky and wild tuned headphones like the 1266TC which do something special that is far away from a completely natural sound.

What I mean is that you are unlikely to get a bunch of people in this hobby to agree on what "correct" timbre is, or what tonally is most correct (particularly for headphones that don't have a ton of obvious flaws). Peaks in the highs and rolloffs in the lows, or extreme brightness or darkness are a bit more straightforward as they can be agreed upon in many cases as flaws. (This is a bit contradictory and I should amend the previous statement in saying there is "no such thing").

But how do you judge the flaws of one headphone compared to the flaws of another other? You just make a subjective decision based on whatever you hear and prefer.

Like the statement of the unveiled being more tonally correct than the Immanis is not true for me. Neither is it vs. the OG for me. Although again, I think it's just fine and doesn't stand out as a negative in the Unveiled to my ears.

Sound science and ASR would like to have a word with you on that

Yea I'm sure lol. And I'm not trying to start some vague crap storm here or open a can of worms, I just thought the tonally correct line was an interesting one.

 

[Hiker816]

I'm hopeful to demo Immanis and Magna soon - there appears to be some misrepresentation about the demoing of the headphone, as it is quite a slow process - I've been on the waitlist a year and have worked on developing a relationship as well, but they may prioritize preexisting customers. That being said, the good news with Unveiled is that it works with everything but I'm sure it doesn't hit out-of-the-park homeruns with some energetic music quite like TC sometimes does or I'm sure Immanis (or Magna can) but it simply commits no errors in the treble at least for my ears and I've never had that happen before in my cycling through headphones and I don't have to avoid my favorite music just because of recording artifacts or idiosyncrasies - it seems like Immanis can break your library a bit, but maybe that is overstating it.

You should make your way to a CanJam or a local meet. For example, we're holding our local meet in Colorado on July 19th, and will have multiple Immanis, plus a Magna, and I'm pretty sure at least one Sus OG. Also hoping for a Sus Unveiled, though I'm not sure yet. (Though, if you own it and attend, that will solve that problem!) https://www.head-fi.org/threads/colorado-head-fi-meet-july-19-2025.976485/

On the Unveiled vs OG: I listen at really low volumes. Like 63-67 dB. No matter what chain I tried--and I've tried a lot of them--the OG just sounded . . . well . . . boring. The Unveiled, on the other hand, sounded great--terrific dynamics, fast, snappy, fun. That may not be true at all at louder volumes, but figured I would mention it for the few quiet listeners out there.

 

[jlbrach]

I call you the whisperer

 

[Ichos]

You should try your Susvara with the Feliks Audio Envy - Susvara edition. Heavenly

 

[jlbrach]

highly doubt it is substantially different than my envy with my unveiled

 

[roofus]

You should try your Susvara with the Feliks Audio Envy - Susvara edition. Heavenly

Do they really offer a SU variant?

 

[Ichos]

Do they really offer a SU variant?

Yes. It is printed in the faceplate. I don't know how you can order this edition.

 

[nwavesailor]

Having owned the OG Sus and now the UN, I loved both (as well as the Immanis) with the standard Envy. Yes, I do have TM 300B and many great drivers and this helps.

Is this UN version better? Perhaps, but I'm happy with my Envy and have no plans for replacing it.

 

[danielgregori]

Hello my friends! I'm almost finished assembling the system (Sus Un + Primavera), all that remains is to resolve the issue with the cable... My dealer is suggesting that I take the Chimera for wiretapping, do you think this is a good solution? Or maybe some of you have your favorite brilliant cable for Sus Un with Tube Amp?

 

[Exekuhtor]

Or maybe some of you have your favorite brilliant cable for Sus Un with Tube Amp?

Can't recommend Arctic Cables enough. I had a lot of question and was sceptical dropping 3k on a mere cable, but they absolutely answered everything in detail and recommended me the Euphoria based on my preferences. I had the Apeiron before and that was already a significant step-up, i am super satisfied with the Euphoria and it will only leave me if i sell my Unveiled. @theveterans has basically the same opinion.
Keep in mind that cables only slightly tweak the sound, but it can absolutely make a big difference for one person to enjoy the headphone way more. The Unveiled won't beat the Immanis in terms of technical abilities just because you slap an expensive cable onto it.
The Euphoria gives it those extra dynamics, punch & slam which is missing compared to the OG Susvara. The treble gets also better. But if you don't like the Unveiled, it most likely won't change that.

 

[danielgregori]

Can't recommend Arctic Cables enough. I had a lot of question and was sceptical dropping 3k on a mere cable, but they absolutely answered everything in detail and recommended me the Euphoria based on my preferences. I had the Apeiron before and that was already a significant step-up, i am super satisfied with the Euphoria and it will only leave me if i sell my Unveiled. @theveterans has basically the same opinion.
Keep in mind that cables only slightly tweak the sound, but it can absolutely make a big difference for one person to enjoy the headphone way more. The Unveiled won't beat the Immanis in terms of technical abilities just because you slap an expensive cable onto it.
The Euphoria gives it those extra dynamics, punch & slam which is missing compared to the OG Susvara. The treble gets also better. But if you don't like the Unveiled, it most likely won't change that.

No, I actually really like Unveiled (though I want to get Immanis for my collection), but I find it a bit harsh on the highs and a bit rough around the vocals sometimes. I want to take the harshness out, add some mass, make the vocals more natural and add some bass, but keep the 3D effect and separation. Now I think between gold Auralia and silver Euphoria))

 

[Exekuhtor]

I want to take the harshness out, add some mass, make the vocals more natural and add some bass, but keep the 3D effect and separation. Now I think between gold Auralia and silver Euphoria))

Interesting, i had a different goal, which was maximizing the bass and dynamics. I love the highs and the mids. I'm sure if you send Arcticcables a mail he will guide you which one is a better choice for you.

 

[danielgregori]

Interesting, i had a different goal, which was maximizing the bass and dynamics. I love the highs and the mids. I'm sure if you send Arcticcables a mail he will guide you which one is a better choice for you.

The dynamics on Primavera are wow, the speed is off the charts, even heavy fast metal is played perfectly on Unveiled with an adjustment for its overall sound signature (probably the matter is in 9 watts). The DAC is also very fast. But I would like to add more mass and weight, yes, and smooth out the highs a little