[BassicScience]

I have sold one.

Wasn’t listening to it much.

But at the same time, there is something comforting about having a Susvara in the stable. My collection was feeling incomplete without it lol.

So getting one back. Will try to pad roll, cable roll, and use HQ Player with the May, to see if I can add some life to the Sus.

Heh, that's the thing about the Susvara. At times, you feel like it could be giving you a little bit more of this or that with a given track or genre, but in the end there's really nothing that sounds less than excellent on it (to my ear, anyway). Meanwhile, my long-awaited Stax SR-X9000 now appears to be en route from Japan, and I'm curious to see if it becomes my new daily driver. Based on what I've heard so far, there's a good chance it will. Even if it does, I have no plans to part with my Susvara. We've been through so much (great listening) together at this point, there's kind of an emotional attachment.

 

[Garak]

The Sus was missing bass more on the 23r or the Nirvana?

It's missing some bass on the Nirvana. Sus with 23r is pretty special imo.

 

[iFi audio]

I recall the Elrogs had some high failure rates a few years ago but perhaps that has been resolved.

The owner of Elrog changed (now it's Thomas Mayer) and all the issues with QC ended, at least that's what I know

 

[paradoxper]

The owner of Elrog changed (now it's Thomas Mayer) and all the issues with QC ended, at least that's what I know

While ownership did transfer to Thomas, the failures did not end then.

 

[thecrow]

One day you young kids will learn - it doesn’t get much better than the susvara.

 

[Takarajima]

But at the same time, there is something comforting about having a Susvara in the stable. My collection was feeling incomplete without it lol.

So getting one back.

Congrat. Glad to hear you're returning. I enjoyed your thoughts/reviews about Sus very much. Looking forward to hearing more things down the road.

 

[SlothRock]

One day you young kids will learn - it doesn’t get much better than the susvara.

Big time. Went from Susvara to the Atrium to the VC last night and although all of them are incredible headphones, I just kept craving the Susvara. Wonder if there is a closed back close to what it can do. I would reckon the DCA Stealth but that gets described as fairly boring by a lot of folks and lacking bass. Not sure how true that is - I actually prefer Susvaras bass to both the ZMF’s funny enough. Not as much slam, sure, but it goes way deeper on the sub bass which is a joy to listen to

 

[goldwerger]

It's missing some bass on the Nirvana. Sus with 23r is pretty special imo.

I’ve found that tube rolling made a big impact. The Sophia Electric EL34 added bass texture with the Susvara.

Big time. Went from Susvara to the Atrium to the VC last night and although all of them are incredible headphones, I just kept craving the Susvara. Wonder if there is a closed back close to what it can do. I would reckon the DCA Stealth but that gets described as fairly boring by a lot of folks and lacking bass. Not sure how true that is - I actually prefer Susvaras bass to both the ZMF’s funny enough. Not as much slam, sure, but it goes way deeper on the sub bass which is a joy to listen to

I rotate between these 3 headphones as well, and still enjoy all of them. Some thing about the ZMF signature makes it unique and different. They are definitely days for Susvara mood, and days for Atrium mood..

I would be one of those guys that also found the Stealth lacking emotion. It is so well engineered, you really want to love it. But every time I try it, I am just not connecting to the music in the same way. At CanJam Chicago, Rob Watts told me that it’s actually his favorite headphone. So experts with better ears love it. It may be worth trying and making your own opinion..

 

[ZzZzZzZ]

Has anyone here tried Coincident Speaker Technology Dynamo Mk. III 300b Power Amplifier with Susvara ?

 

[BassicScience]

Big time. Went from Susvara to the Atrium to the VC last night and although all of them are incredible headphones, I just kept craving the Susvara. Wonder if there is a closed back close to what it can do. I would reckon the DCA Stealth but that gets described as fairly boring by a lot of folks and lacking bass. Not sure how true that is - I actually prefer Susvaras bass to both the ZMF’s funny enough. Not as much slam, sure, but it goes way deeper on the sub bass which is a joy to listen to

Closed back headphones are at a severe acoustic disadvantage relative to open backs. Unlike in a non-ported speaker, there is precious little real estate available to effectively absorb the energy radiated from the back of the driver. If you don't absorb it, it reflects back to your ear and causes smearing. The Stealth probably deals with this problem as well as or better than any other closed backs, but it still doesn't stage like a TOTL open back, IMO.

That said, you should give it a listen and arrive at your own conclusions. If you don't need acoustic isolation from your environment, it doesn't make sense to me to spend a lot of money solving a problem that doesn't exist with open backs in the first place. YMMV.

 

[SlothRock]

I rotate between these 3 headphones as well, and still enjoy all of them. Some thing about the ZMF signature makes it unique and different. They are definitely days for Susvara mood, and days for Atrium mood..

I would be one of those guys that also found the Stealth lacking emotion. It is so well engineered, you really want to love it. But every time I try it, I am just not connecting to the music in the same way. At CanJam Chicago, Rob Watts told me that it’s actually his favorite headphone. So experts with better ears love it. It may be worth trying and making your own opinion..

Oh ya, there is 100% a use case for all 3 headphones I'd agree. The ZMF's definitely beat out the Susvara for overall energy, dynamics and slam. When you're looking for more of a "fun" sound signature vs neutral they add that flavoring that is addictive of ZMF's. And the Atrium is a great middle ground providing for neutral and fun combined.

Closed back headphones are at a severe acoustic disadvantage relative to open backs. Unlike in a non-ported speaker, there is precious little real estate available to effectively absorb the energy radiated from the back of the driver. If you don't absorb it, it reflects back to your ear and causes smearing. The Stealth probably deals with this problem as well as or better than any other closed backs, but it still doesn't stage like a TOTL open back, IMO.

That said, you should give it a listen and arrive at your own conclusions. If you don't need acoustic isolation from your environment, it doesn't make sense to me to spend a lot of money solving a problem that doesn't exist with open backs in the first place. YMMV.

For sure - I definitely use my open backs more but there are times when the wife is sleeping (bedroom is next to the mancave with the audio gear) or loud stuff is happening around the house where I'll throw on my VC's today. I know eventually I'll try the DCA Stealth - need to wait for a CanJam to come closer to the bay area (cant make the SoCal one this year) so I can try em for awhile .

At the same time, I kinda love having a VC paired with a Susvara. Talk about two different worlds. They cover all the sonic ground one could ask for between the two of em haha not sure I'd wanna even give that up for a Susvara and a closed back Susvara type deal yet

 

[goldwerger]

Closed back headphones are at a severe acoustic disadvantage relative to open backs. Unlike in a non-ported speaker, there is precious little real estate available to effectively absorb the energy radiated from the back of the driver. If you don't absorb it, it reflects back to your ear and causes smearing. The Stealth probably deals with this problem as well as or better than any other closed backs, but it still doesn't stage like a TOTL open back, IMO.

That said, you should give it a listen and arrive at your own conclusions. If you don't need acoustic isolation from your environment, it doesn't make sense to me to spend a lot of money solving a problem that doesn't exist with open backs in the first place. YMMV.

That’s why I like the VC. It has the best isolation of any headphone I ever tried (I’d dare say that with passive isolation it gets close to ANC level), but it feels as open as any closed headphone I tried…

 

[chesebert]

it feels as open as any closed headphone I tried…

I would take ETA mini closed over VC based purely on sound quality and price. VC does look way way way better.

 

[goldwerger]

I would take ETA mini closed over VC based purely on sound quality and price. VC does look way way way better.

Never heard of or tried.. thanks will check out

 

[orrman]

I kinda love having a VC paired with a Susvara. Talk about two different worlds. They cover all the sonic ground one could ask for between the two of em

Similar to how I approach my collection, although I do have the 1266 TC for those days where I need more grunge/slam attitude to my headphones