[Lumithium]

I personally have no problems with EQ at all. I think it's a good way to alter the sound of the headphones. But their are problems with it, especially with hard to drive headphones.

Normal 10 band EQ doesn't have a lot of flexibility, and can easily make the sound very weird.

PEQ can do a lot better here, but it falls apart when you are trying to do more complex EQ with it. And it's not very beginner friendly.

A high resolution filter sets like the ones mentioned before will solve these problems, but they are pretty expensive and not very flexible.

Most importantly, the hard to drive nature of the Susvara really takes away flexibility EQ can offer. Use a -10dB preamp to give you headroom for EQ? Good luck driving this thing with pretty much any headphones amps in this planet.

 

[goldwerger]

+1.

EQ isn't my thing, but I have nothing against it. Whether you use it or cables, or hardware upgrades, you're still doing the same thing.. trying to alter the sound to a more desirable state. I see no difference.

The only thing worth noting is I think it matters when describing the general performance of a headphone against others because there then is no real baseline, given just how much you can alter the natural sound by EQ. But again, overall I have nothing against it.

Exactly

I’m not an EQ fan personally. Used it recently for one recalcitrant headphone very successfully, but normally don’t like to, and don’t have the patience to. But it’s a means like everything else (and more complicated than just changing frequencies, as harmonics change too as a result).

I like to change amps, tubes, even cables. Whatever is in the chain can be game. We all pick up own little interests and preferences…

I agree very much with your latter point that one should be transparent when describing comparative differences amongst headphones when EQ is enabled. The case to EQ or not to EQ is rather interesting to me, and it made me think of a few arguments that the esteemed Harvard political philosopher, Michael Sandel, has proffered in "The Case Against Perfection". The analogy of equivocating headphones with EQ to athletes using steroids certainly breaks down quickly, but is substantive enough, in my view to hear one of the arguments.

Sandel argues that one contention against enhancement is that even if we live in a world where any athlete was free to dope for instance, we would still want to know the extent of the doping. To what degree was the end performance a result of natural ability vs the pharmacological addition. Furthermore, the more the degree of doping the more we remove admiration from say the athlete to the drugs in question. I feel a similar argument can be made with EQ applied to headphones. To what extent do we say the headphones are producing the resultant sound? Does it take away from the raw performance of the headphones and move admiration more towards the EQ?

I personally have no qualms about EQ, but I use it sparingly, and if any is applied, it is to subtract rather than to add. One of the few insights with respect to EQ that have stuck with me from being around these circles for a while now is that, it is better to remove something that exists than to try to add something that wasn't there in the first place.

Thought provoking!

 

[jlemaster1957]

Exactly

I’m not an EQ fan personally. Used it recently for one recalcitrant headphone very successfully, but normally don’t like to, and don’t have the patience to. But it’s a means like everything else (and more complicated than just changing frequencies, as harmonics change too as a result).

I like to change amps, tubes, even cables. Whatever is in the chain can be game. We all pick up own little interests and preferences…



Thought provoking!

Weighing after monitoring this thread for a couple of months as a new Susvara owner.
I know this thread is 1300+ pages long so I’m sure it’s been said at least that many times but this HP really is a revelation after living in mid-fi land.

EQ I have found to be helpful at times but especially in terms of adding bass shelf plus headroom to avoid clipping can be counterproductive. I generally follow Oratory or HEADPHONES.COM Chronos’ profiles but as I EQ in Roon i find it fairly easy to try different profiles as for me experiment and variety is part of the joy of the hobby. If the dopamine flows that’s what matters to me.

I REALLY dig the technical performance of this set. Everyone in mid-fi land is searching for the holographic experience but Sus is the real deal.

I am in the process of reading thru the thread (using search feature) getting a better feel for user experience around the DAC topic. I’m planning sometime this next year to add a Holo DAC (still debating, probably Spring3 KTE with the built-on Pre-amp). Any input appreciated but I bet there’s plenty already been said.

 

[goldwerger]

Sus is the real deal.

Congrats

adding bass shelf plus headroom to avoid clipping can be counterproductive

You shouldn’t be anywhere near clipping. You may want to look into what amp to pair (way too much on this thread, so will let u have fun with the search function)

I’m planning sometime this next year to add a Holo DAC (still debating, probably Spring3 KTE with the built-on Pre-amp). Any input appreciated

Synergy with amp really matters. So think about the combined sound signature, ideally demo

 

[jlemaster1957]

Synergy with amp really matters. So think about the combined sound signature, ideally demo

Thanks- this is much appreciated. The issue with Holo (in this country at least=US) is that their DACs are made to order and non-refundable ie demo would need to take place either at a CanJam (if they go to those) or informally via meeting another user who has one. I live in a big city in the central US though- there may be somebody hereabout or nearby who has one they’d be willing to let me demo. Who knows I might make a new friend in the process! But before that I’ll search the forum to see if anyone else has posted on the pairing with my current gear.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Thanks- this is much appreciated. The issue with Holo (in this country at least=US) is that their DACs are made to order and non-refundable ie demo would need to take place either at a CanJam (if they go to those) or informally via meeting another user who has one. I live in a big city in the central US though- there may be somebody hereabout or nearby who has one they’d be willing to let me demo. Who knows I might make a new friend in the process! But before that I’ll search the forum to see if anyone else has posted on the pairing with my current gear.

Did you ever email Kitsune for a demo unit?

 

[Dixter]

can anyone share a good or bad story of getting a set of the Susvara from a site that allows returns...

 

[jalayjoshi]

Weighing after monitoring this thread for a couple of months as a new Susvara owner.
I know this thread is 1300+ pages long so I’m sure it’s been said at least that many times but this HP really is a revelation after living in mid-fi land.

EQ I have found to be helpful at times but especially in terms of adding bass shelf plus headroom to avoid clipping can be counterproductive. I generally follow Oratory or HEADPHONES.COM Chronos’ profiles but as I EQ in Roon i find it fairly easy to try different profiles as for me experiment and variety is part of the joy of the hobby. If the dopamine flows that’s what matters to me.

I REALLY dig the technical performance of this set. Everyone in mid-fi land is searching for the holographic experience but Sus is the real deal.

I am in the process of reading thru the thread (using search feature) getting a better feel for user experience around the DAC topic. I’m planning sometime this next year to add a Holo DAC (still debating, probably Spring3 KTE with the built-on Pre-amp). Any input appreciated but I bet there’s plenty already been said

Weighing after monitoring this thread for a couple of months as a new Susvara owner.
I know this thread is 1300+ pages long so I’m sure it’s been said at least that many times but this HP really is a revelation after living in mid-fi land.

EQ I have found to be helpful at times but especially in terms of adding bass shelf plus headroom to avoid clipping can be counterproductive. I generally follow Oratory or HEADPHONES.COM Chronos’ profiles but as I EQ in Roon i find it fairly easy to try different profiles as for me experiment and variety is part of the joy of the hobby. If the dopamine flows that’s what matters to me.

I REALLY dig the technical performance of this set. Everyone in mid-fi land is searching for the holographic experience but Sus is the real deal.

I am in the process of reading thru the thread (using search feature) getting a better feel for user experience around the DAC topic. I’m planning sometime this next year to add a Holo DAC (still debating, probably Spring3 KTE with the built-on Pre-amp). Any input appreciated but I bet there’s plenty already been said.

Holo DACs are said to pair well with Susvara but a little too soft with certain amps.

 

[FranckZZZ]

I have a MB card in my Lyr3. I'd love to know peoples thoughts who have both the MB Lyr3 and Bifrost 2 - if there is a big difference?

 

[FranckZZZ]

can anyone share a good or bad story of getting a set of the Susvara from a site that allows returns...

 

[llamaluv]

What's the uh "best practice" for safely connecting a headphone to the speaker taps of a tube speaker amp, and with a minimum of SQ degradation? As a follower of this here thread, I feel like I should know this already, but I don't.

I'm thinking of putting in an order on, say, an Audio Research I/50 (primarily for speakers of course). If I had a reasonable expectation of it doing good things for the Susvara (and friends) as a bonus, that could put my decision-making over the top.

 

[jalayjoshi]

What's the uh "best practice" for safely connecting a headphone to the speaker taps of a tube speaker amp, and with a minimum of SQ degradation? As a follower of this here thread, I feel like I should know this already, but I don't.

I'm thinking of putting in an order on, say, an Audio Research I/50 (primarily for speakers of course). If I had a reasonable expectation of it doing good things for the Susvara (and friends) as a bonus, that could put my decision-making over the top.

Directly to the speaker taps gave me the best SQ. Some people use an attenuator but I don’t like it. Others might be able to help better with safety tips. All the best.

 

[UntilThen]

What's the uh "best practice" for safely connecting a headphone to the speaker taps of a tube speaker amp, and with a minimum of SQ degradation? As a follower of this here thread, I feel like I should know this already, but I don't.

That's what I do with Susvara to my tube speaker amps. Drives my HD800 with it too. Safe as a pie and sounds great.

My humble cable. Better than Cardas.

 

[orrman]

Same here. I go directly from the LTA speaker taps to the Susvara with a DHC Prion4 adapter

 

[ufospls2]

I can't remember the safety tip in specifics with regards to tube amps+speaker tap use.

It think it was that OTL amps require a couple resistors to be used before the spades/banana to XLR adapter.

Hopefully someone with the knowledge can chime in, but I just wanted to say try to find the specifics, as there are historically warnings about doing direct from the speaker taps with tube amps.

The general rule of thumb is

Solid State: No problem
Tube: Possible, but check the amp in question for any special requirements re: adding resistors in the signal path.