[Shahrose]

Are there any good reviews comparing the Utopia to the Susvara ?

Quick stream of consciousness comparison below. I just sold my Utopias a few days ago mainly due to comfort reasons/pressure buildup in the earcups, though I loved their sound:

The Utopias are faster (ie. have quicker transients), particularly in the bass. The Susvara have more forceful deep bass and are almost equally punchy as the Utopia in the midbass.
Both have excellent dynamics with the edge going to the Utopia.
I feel the Utopia present more microdetails in the mids, while the Susvara have more in the highs and subbass.
The Susvara have a noticeably larger sound/soundstage and sound significantly more airy. Despite being an excellent headphone, this is the Achilles heel of the Focals, though IMO it wasn't a deal-breaker.
In terms of tone, the Susvara and Utopia sound similar though the former extend better in the treble without ever being harsh. Both are fairly mid-centric.
The Utopias have a midbass hump (absent on the Susvara) to compensate for their relatively quieter subbass.

 

[Roasty]

Those of you using Roon or some other software with parametric eq, could you try the following EQ and let us know what you think?

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...tory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/HIFIMAN Susvara

I just plugged them into Roon and I think it is actually very very good! Bass and midbass are more enjoyable, and it's brought in the highs to a more desirable level.

 

[MatW]

I'm fairly new to Roon and I've been looking at eq, beyond the audeze presets, but not sure how you import a profile. Or do you manually copy those settings over? Pardon the newbie question..

 

[Roasty]

I'm fairly new to Roon and I've been looking at eq, beyond the audeze presets, but not sure how you import a profile. Or do you manually copy those settings over? Pardon the newbie question..

I input them manually. Takes a short time to do so, but I like the results. Remember to set the preamp eq of -4.6dB (slide the main horizontal bar downwards). Also, for the first line of the eq, I couldn't get it down to 16hz as it defaults to 20hz. No biggie.

 

[MatW]

Thanks, I will give this a try in coming days.

 

[JonathanKlein]

Any Susvara owners out pairing with a WA33 Elite? Or any other TOTL tube amp for that matter?

 

[Ciggavelli]

Any Susvara owners out pairing with a WA33 Elite? Or any other TOTL tube amp for that matter?

Yes, I paired it with the WA33 standard. My Elite (with JPS wiring) arrives tomorrow. The Susvara sounds amazing out of the wa33. I can’t wait to hear what the Elite will sound like

 

[JonathanKlein]

Congrats! That's an amazing pairing. Please report back once you've had a chance to enjoy.

 

[Roasty]

[

Yes, I paired it with the WA33 standard. My Elite (with JPS wiring) arrives tomorrow. The Susvara sounds amazing out of the wa33. I can’t wait to hear what the Elite will sound like

Congrats man. I think we will all want to know how the cream of the crop compares to the standard wa33. Part of me is hoping u say the standard sounds better... Lol.

 

[Muataz]

Could be DAC/source....it was quite profound in favour of the HPA4 within a few quick minutes. I like the A90, but in the end, I would put it at the "mid-fi" level of amps. That's not a bad thing because it is priced at a starter amp level...quite the killer value for someone starting out.

Have you tried A90, with good DAC feeding XLR and high voltage to A90 ?

 

[bagwell359]

Both have excellent dynamics with the edge going to the Utopia.
I feel the Utopia present more microdetails in the mids, while the Susvara have more in the highs and subbass.

I find the Utopia to have a rise from 5-7 kHz, and that can make cans sound more dynamic, and to increase the sense of details. Overall they are fairly flat. Note: I did not hear them with the 5-7 k range EQ'd.

OTOH the Susvaras have the very annoying midrange suckout at 1.9 kHz that give a sense of depth, but also slightly hollow vocals. They also have a rise at 8-10 kHz which gives that HFM long cymbal decay thing. They clearly need an EQ to get near flat.

The Susvara have a noticeably larger sound/soundstage and sound significantly more airy. Despite being an excellent headphone, this is the Achilles heel of the Focals, though IMO it wasn't a deal-breaker.

Yes.

I heard them months apart on different rigs. Utopias are a very good can, although un-EQ'd I prefer the Clears. I do think that the Susvaras are the best planars available, but like every HFM I own/know, best get a digital parametric EQ to get the most out of them.

 

[Muataz]

Its an OK amp, down low is not as tightly controlled as VIO 281, mids seems like a DB recessed, doesnt sound as engaging.


Its slightly better at upper bass management than the THX 887.

I think you need DAC wih XLR output and 3V and low impedance of the DAC output less than 300ohm and better lower.

It seems your DAC is not perfect match for the input impednace of A90.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I think you need DAC wih XLR output and 3V and low impedance of the DAC output less than 300ohm and better lower.

It seems your DAC is not perfect match for the input impednace of A90.

That chord dac has 3V and much less than 300 Ohm impedance output (I think lower than 1 Ohm).

Why need dac with XLR output in this case?

For me he needs to change his headphone plug into XLR 4 pin though.

 

[Green Golden Retriver]

I’m currently using the susvara with the dac of Sr15 connected to topping a90 amp. (Connect with 3.5mm to rca cable) I steam music with tidal and Spotify app from my SR15. If I upgrade to D90 dac how much would the sound quality inprove? Would I also still be able to connect my SR15 to the d90 through 3.5mm to rca cable and steam music from the SR15? As I don’t want to connect my pc to the d90 as another setup is already connected and being used with the pc.

thanks for all help in advance

 

[Muataz]

That chord dac has 3V and much less than 300 Ohm impedance output (I think lower than 1 Ohm).

Why need dac with XLR output in this case?

For me he needs to change his headphone plug into XLR 4 pin though.

I don't know why some people with chrod dac and RCA output didn't like the sound of a90. Wired !!