[SilverEars]

Heh, totally. The Abyss is built like a tank but is a non-stop ergonomic annoyance in so many ways (to me at least) whereas the Susvara is so very comfortable but is of substandard build quality (in an equal number of ways). Oh well! :/

Diana didn't change that or is 1266 still preferred configuration for better sound? I guess the amount of cup room you have is greater on the 1266. Are the drivers pretty much the same between 1266 and Diana?

 

[llamaluv]

Diana didn't change that or is 1266 still preferred configuration for better sound? I guess the amount of cup room you have is greater on the 1266. Are the drivers pretty much the same between 1266 and Diana?

Mm, I never heard the Diana Phi, though the one time I put it on my head I was amazed at how poor the fit was on that one as well.

On sound quality and overall enjoyment, for me it is very much a split decision. I tried to write down some thoughts here. On pure technicalities, IMO the Susvara wins.

Edit: I slightly misinterpreted your question. All the marketing messages from Abyss that I've read or seen in videos (such as the recent one on Linus TechTips) say that the 1266 and Diana drivers are very similar, but the 1266 is the better of the two (though without explaining exactly how the drivers differ).

 

[jlbrach]

I loved the danacable on the utopia which to me was a bit bright and forward and I thought the danacable tamed its excesses but in the case of the susvara which is a more refined and ethereal sounding HP I think the danacable kind of doubles down on that ethereal sound and is a bit too much....again, when I switched the cable it is as if a veil was lifted in a sense....dont get me wrong the danacable is outstanding I just think it is too much of a good thing with the susvara or at least that is my impression as of now....perhaps there are better options than the cardas

 

[SilverEars]

Mm, I never heard the Diana Phi, though the one time I put it on my head I was amazed at how poor the fit was on that one as well.

On sound quality and overall enjoyment, for me it is very much a split decision. I tried to write down some thoughts here. On pure technicalities, IMO the Susvara wins.

Edit: I slightly misinterpreted your question. All the marketing messages from Abyss that I've read or seen in videos (such as the recent one on Linus TechTips) say that the 1266 and Diana drivers are very similar, but the 1266 is the better of the two (though without explaining exactly how the drivers differ).

From what I've heard, 1266 is the way it is to fit on your noggin in the right way? Diana seem way easier to put on of course, but how does the the fit and cup room effect the difference between them I wonder?

 

[Ciggavelli]

I loved the danacable on the utopia which to me was a bit bright and forward and I thought the danacable tamed its excesses but in the case of the susvara which is a more refined and ethereal sounding HP I think the danacable kind of doubles down on that ethereal sound and is a bit too much....again, when I switched the cable it is as if a veil was lifted in a sense....dont get me wrong the danacable is outstanding I just think it is too much of a good thing with the susvara or at least that is my impression as of now....perhaps there are better options than the cardas

I’m interested in the Prion4, Danacables Lazuli Nirvana and now I guess the Cardas Clear cables. I gotta do some testing. Thanks for the insights on the Danacables reference.

 

[llamaluv]

From what I've heard, 1266 is the way it is to fit on your noggin in the right way? Diana seem way easier to put on of course, but how does the the fit and cup room effect the difference between them I wonder?

Yes, the byzantine metal apparatus is designed in such a way that ideally the cups rest lightly all the way around the ear without putting much pressure anywhere. Bass response changes when deviating from this ideal, though; it can be boomey if there too much of an air gap (usually towards the bottom and rear), and it can get stifled if the fit's too tight.

The drivers themselves are farther away from the ear than most (if not all?) other headphones, which, combined with the large leather earcups, are what create such a large soundstage effect.

Some people claim that the Abyss is very comfortable for them. For me, sometimes that is actually the case, but sometimes unpredictably (I think for instance when my hair is longer? (!)), it's not. After a couple hours, it oftentimes becomes much too uncomfortable. It's also unbearable for me to wear with glasses on...

 

[Slim1970]

I have the Prion4 on my Susvara's and it completely gets out of the way and lets the Susvara's do their thing. It's not adding or coloring the sound as far as I can detect. In someways, it takes an already great headphone and enhances the Susvara's feature set.

From what I can tell certain cables works better with certain headphones. For instance, when I had my Utopia's the Lazuli Reference added what I thought was missing from them. It opened the Utopia's soundstage, improved the low end, and tamed the high frequencies. It is trial and error because we hear things differently. The traits of said cable might not benefit every headphone in the same manner. Let your ears and pockets decide if it's worth it.

 

[joseph69]

I loved the danacable on the utopia which to me was a bit bright and forward and I thought the danacable tamed its excesses but in the case of the susvara which is a more refined and ethereal sounding HP I think the danacable kind of doubles down on that ethereal sound and is a bit too much....again, when I switched the cable it is as if a veil was lifted in a sense....dont get me wrong the danacable is outstanding I just think it is too much of a good thing with the susvara or at least that is my impression as of now....perhaps there are better options than the cardas

I liked the Lazuli Reference w/Utopia, but not with the Susvara as well. I felt it made the Susvara sound veiled. Too me, the WireWorld Nanao-Platinum Eclipse made the Utopia simple come alive with tighter punchier bass and more detail & clarity.
In the end I preferred the WW over the Lazuli for the Susvara, Utopia and my HE1Kv2 as well, so the Lazuli went to the F/S forums. Unfortunately, WW doesn't make headphone cable at all anymore.

 

[iFi audio]

I meant...Abyss is way better built.

It is built like a tank, that's true.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Yep that's how i feel too. I couldn't tell the difference between L/R units of the same pair even though they're not exactly perfect matching(see pics). I only notice the difference after comparing the most different pairs as i shown above. Judging by the light coming through the diaphragm the opacita areas are at least twice as thick as the clearer areas, and comparing my 2018 Sus to yours or my early pair. I think the weight difference is gonna be quite large maybe 50 to 80% heavier. I assume the difference will be quite obvious with CSD graph and quite possibly making the difference in high freq. But at least hifiman is not cutting corner as i thought

As far as I know, that is normal and shouldn't affect the sound.

I have noticed a similar effect on the diaphragm of other headphones as well, even had about 3-4 pairs of Sundara cross my hands, and all drivers usually looked a bit different, bit they all sounded the same, so don't worry if it just looks different, AFAIK all companies measure the drivers sonically before they leave factory

 

[Matez]

AFAIK all companies measure the drivers sonically before they leave factory

Probably they also push drivers hard to know how much they can take. I wouldn't worry as well.

 

[AnakChan]

So today, I popped by Addicted to Audio in Perth, Australia and got a chance to listen to the Susvara via the Mytek Manhattan and the Moon Audio 430HA. Both were able to drive the Susvara to quite a satisfactory level. The Manhattan was probably a warmer however meatier signature whilst the 430HA had taken a lighter and airier approach. Both would be considered as decent drivers of the the Susvara, which was surprising to me.

I’d still say that my MC275VI speaker amp still drives the Susvara more effortlessly, however if one is looking for a more desktop-friendly solution, I”d add the 430HA and Manhattan to the list.

 

[szymonsays]

Hi all, just invested in an integrated amplifier (simaudio 600i) that i snagged at a good price as i will looking to buy a set of speakers some time in the future. I'm also interested in getting the Susvara. I know i'll need the XLR to banana plugs adapter, but i've never run a headphone off speaker amps before. Any tips to safely use headphones with speaker amps, and things to avoid doing?

 

[AnakChan]

With my setup I use Hifiman’s HE-adapter between my MC275VI amp & Susvara. I also have an Orb speaker switch to flip between speaker or Susvara headphones.

 

[zorilon]

Hi to all, I am a two weeks happy owner of the Susvara (bought second-hand from a good head-fi member). What can I say, they have the perfect timber that gives me goosebumps every time I listen!

At first I was a little disappointed by the stereo imaging especially the right driver seemed not integrated. The HE1000se appeared to be better in this department and also bass and sub bass.
Also I was a little anointed by the cloth inside the pads that touched my ears. I decided to remove it and in that process I saw the leather on one of the pads running off do to old glut.
I decided to re-glue the pads using double sided tape.

In this process I finally figured out why the stereo imaging was of. The right pad had the blue memory foam unaligned with the structure of the cup. So the right pad did not sustained the driver at the correct angle and distance from the ear.
This I saw is crucial for headphones to image well (the same problem was with HE1000 V1 that was fixed with V2).
After I aligned the foam in the correct place I saw that the pads also have their place on the cup near the driver (see pictures above).

So not only the foam was not proper aligned but the pads were not in there correct place (they were moving a little).
After putting the ear cups in the correct place I am literally amazed how good the Susvara stereo image is. Also the bass is more tight and the vocals are very good represented in front.

It is a shame that a good design can be sabotage by some employee that makes the pads and doesn’t understand the impact of minor deviation for the overall performance of this expensive product.

So be aware and check the pads, maybe they’re imperfections have a bigger impact on the sound then other things implied here.