[Slim1970]

I bid farewell to my Susvara today.

left channel died (oddly, whilst it was hooked up to the wa33 rather than with the pre/power combo) and it was out of warranty, but HiFiMan was kind enough to offer a replacement set for a small sum of money. I sent it back to HK at my own cost, and they sent the replacement via fedex. turnaround time was just under 10 days.

massive kudos to HiFiMan for the great customer service. they were courteous, helpful and very prompt with replies; the left channel died on a Friday, and I was not expecting them to reply me on a weekend, with emails from them on both Saturday and Sunday, and I got the headphones out of my door on Monday.

had the replacement set bnib and decided to take this opportunity to sell them on my local buy/sell. realized I preferred listening to my SolP a lot more, and also found joy again with the 1266 TC after some adjustments with the fitment and a bit of EQ. Utopia stays forever.

not sure if I will revisit the susvara in the future.. it did give me a lot of joy when I had them, but getting them to sound their best took a fair bit of time and effort (and money). but at least, if I do decide to get the Sus again, I already have the gear ready for it.

Tough choice but I let my Susvara's go earlier this year. The Solitaire P's are the much better all around headphone to my ears. Between the TC's and Solitaire P's you should miss the Susvara's a lot less, I do

 

[cangle]

I took delivery of a new Susvara last week and have been enjoying them for about 25 hours. Here are some early impressions.

I would describe them as being nicely balanced and natural. The stage is equal in both width and depth and imaging is very clear. The texture on instruments is some of the best I've heard. I think however that they lack a bit in overall attack but otherwise they are up there with the 1266, my current favorite, in overall performance. The timbre is the best I've heard on a planar but it's not miles ahead of other planars like I had expected from reading some impressions. For me the timbre is comparable with dynamics like the Borealis or 650. However I really like the timbre of the 1266 and some think that it sounds really unnatural so maybe I'm perceiving timbre a bit differently.

To compare to some headphones the Susvara is softer in attack and bass and treble energy than the 1266. But it has a more even tonality and in doing so helps some of the microdetails present themselves a bit better. Versus the LCD-5 the Susvara wins hands down unless you want a bit more bass texture but the LCD-5 sounds a bit off with it's stock tuning where the bass and treble are light but the mids are forward. Cymbals on the LCD-5 sound lacking especially in shimmer or sizzle. EQ helps the LCD-5 a lot but I prefer not to EQ headphones when comparing them.

Here's two albums that I've enjoyed a lot on the Susvara in the past few days:
Five seconds flat - Lizzy McAlpine
Vulture Prince - Arooj Aftab

The comfort of the Susvara is some of the best I've experienced. It doesn't clamp too much, it's lightweight, and the pads don't touch my ears. I'm sure my thoughts on these headphones will change as I get more time on them but wanted to share some initial thoughts on them. Here's my setup at the moment:

 

[goldwerger]

I took delivery of a new Susvara last week and have been enjoying them for about 25 hours. Here are some early impressions.

I would describe them as being nicely balanced and natural. The stage is equal in both width and depth and imaging is very clear. The texture on instruments is some of the best I've heard. I think however that they lack a bit in overall attack but otherwise they are up there with the 1266, my current favorite, in overall performance. The timbre is the best I've heard on a planar but it's not miles ahead of other planars like I had expected from reading some impressions. For me the timbre is comparable with dynamics like the Borealis or 650. However I really like the timbre of the 1266 and some think that it sounds really unnatural so maybe I'm perceiving timbre a bit differently.

To compare to some headphones the Susvara is softer in attack and bass and treble energy than the 1266. But it has a more even tonality and in doing so helps some of the microdetails present themselves a bit better. Versus the LCD-5 the Susvara wins hands down unless you want a bit more bass texture but the LCD-5 sounds a bit off with it's stock tuning where the bass and treble are light but the mids are forward. Cymbals on the LCD-5 sound lacking especially in shimmer or sizzle. EQ helps the LCD-5 a lot but I prefer not to EQ headphones when comparing them.

Here's two albums that I've enjoyed a lot on the Susvara in the past few days:
Five seconds flat - Lizzy McAlpine
Vulture Prince - Arooj Aftab

The comfort of the Susvara is some of the best I've experienced. It doesn't clamp too much, it's lightweight, and the pads don't touch my ears. I'm sure my thoughts on these headphones will change as I get more time on them but wanted to share some initial thoughts on them. Here's my setup at the moment:

I'm also using a Bricasti DAC (M3 in my case), but I find that connecting it to a tube amp to power the Susvara (Auris Nirvana in my case) works best.

I have NOT tried the AHB2, which is the most popular power amping option for the Susvara, but frankly I'm not motivated enough to buy a dedicated amp for one headphone given I have too many of them but given your chain, you may want to experiment with avrious headphone amp options. On the SS side, I also heard it with the Ferrum stack, which was wonderful.

Any event, enjoy your discovery journey. I'm a new owner as well, and the Susvara easily slotted itself into my top 3 fav headphones..

 

[cangle]

I'm also using a Bricasti DAC (M3 in my case), but I find that connecting it to a tube amp to power the Susvara (Auris Nirvana in my case) works best.

I have NOT tried the AHB2, which is the most popular power amping option for the Susvara, but frankly I'm not motivated enough to buy a dedicated amp for one headphone given I have too many of them but given your chain, you may want to experiment with avrious headphone amp options. On the SS side, I also heard it with the Ferrum stack, which was wonderful.

Any event, enjoy your discovery journey. I'm a new owner as well, and the Susvara easily slotted itself into my top 3 fav headphones..

Yeah I definitely want to try other amps with these. So many options and I've heard from others that Bricasti with a tube amp is a great pairing. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[iFi audio]

massive kudos to HiFiMan for the great customer service.

That's a great customer service indeed, kudos to them

SolP

Although I don't know how they stack against Susvara, these are great cans for sure. Let me ask now which one would you pick if you could have only one? SolP or Utopia?

 

[Roasty]

.. which one would you pick if you could have only one? SolP or Utopia?

right now, most likely the SolP..
it really is a supremely musical and enjoyable headphone.

 

[Slim1970]

right now, most likely the SolP..
it really is a supremely musical and enjoyable headphone.

I have to agree with you. The Solitaire P is just so refined, mature sounding and delivers such a musical experience.

 

[jlbrach]

I had to choose between letting go of either the susvara and the sol p to raise some cash....I loved the sol p and think it is fantastic but I chose to keep the susvara...I am sure ultimately I will own the sol p again..I did sell my susvara and then buy it back again after all

 

[Frankie D]

I had to choose between letting go of either the susvara and the sol p to raise some cash....I loved the sol p and think it is fantastic but I chose to keep the susvara...I am sure ultimately I will own the sol p again..I did sell my susvara and then buy it back again after all

I agree. I would keep the Sus.

 

[foefoe]

One question to Dekoni pads users: they seem to have the same measurements as stock pads, is that right? How come then they would provide a wider soundstage? If I pull slightly both speakers away from my ears (with original pads) I love the improvement! Better soundstage and more air. Could Dekoni Audio Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads provide me with that?

 

[nwavesailor]

I may be in the minority but my OEM pads were thicker than the FSS pads and I did not like the fit.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

One question to Dekoni pads users: they seem to have the same measurements as stock pads, is that right? How come then they would provide a wider soundstage? If I pull slightly both speakers away from my ears (with original pads) I love the improvement! Better soundstage and more air. Could Dekoni Audio Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads provide me with that?

The SBAF susvara forum has a ton of reviews about pad rolling, you might find better answers there. Another site (idk if it was SBAF or some place else) has extensive measurements of each pad.

 

[foefoe]

Thanks, but briefly, can someone recommend a pad that will expand the soundstage on Susvaras?

 

[ra990]

Thanks, but briefly, can someone recommend a pad that will expand the soundstage on Susvaras?

Dekoni FSS were my preferred pad. Extended the highs and opened up the Susvara a bit more.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Dekoni FSS were my preferred pad. Extended the highs and opened up the Susvara a bit more.

Did you get the Dekoni Susvara pads, or HE pads?