[mulder01]

Now you have me thinking. The HE1K V2's are REALLY good and I do expect some diminishing returns with the move up to the Susvara's. The problem I'm having is finding a place to audition the Susvara's for a comparison. There are no high end dealers in my area. So I'm always buying blind. Maybe I will just hold on them after reading your post. Thanks for chiming in!

I wouldn't go selling something you know you like and spend that sort of money on a headphone blind. Even if you have to get on a plane to go and listen to stuff like I do, it's worth it because you can be sure you made the right decision then. If you buy and sell ONE piece of gear at this sort of price, you're already behind. If you can get to a shop that has multiple flagships for you to try at once it will be more worthwhile too because you might find yourself walking out of the store with something you never expected, or best case scenario, nothing at all, because you find out that you are happy with what you've got and none of the other options are worth bothering with. I went to listen to a bunch of flagship IEMs, a bunch of DAPs and some DACs one time and decided I wanted none of them. Just crossed tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear off my wishlist for about $300 in flights and taxis. Definitely worth it.

 

[gordec]

I wouldn't go selling something you know you like and spend that sort of money on a headphone blind. Even if you have to get on a plane to go and listen to stuff like I do, it's worth it because you can be sure you made the right decision then. If you buy and sell ONE piece of gear at this sort of price, you're already behind. If you can get to a shop that has multiple flagships for you to try at once it will be more worthwhile too because you might find yourself walking out of the store with something you never expected, or best case scenario, nothing at all, because you find out that you are happy with what you've got and none of the other options are worth bothering with. I went to listen to a bunch of flagship IEMs, a bunch of DAPs and some DACs one time and decided I wanted none of them. Just crossed tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear off my wishlist for about $300 in flights and taxis. Definitely worth it.

It's not really about money sometimes. I don't know how to explain to my wife that I'm going to fly out for a weekend to try a pair of headphones. "Ok Babe, you got the kids right. It's just a weekend." If I'm single for sure. I live in the Bay Area, so I do have access to most things. Even that, the primary audio store in San Francisco who carries everything from Utopia to Abyss, isn't planning on getting Susvara for demoing.

 

[Slim1970]

Travel to the nearest place that offers Susvara and bring your HEKv2 with you.
That is the only way.

I wouldn't go selling something you know you like and spend that sort of money on a headphone blind. Even if you have to get on a plane to go and listen to stuff like I do, it's worth it because you can be sure you made the right decision then. If you buy and sell ONE piece of gear at this sort of price, you're already behind. If you can get to a shop that has multiple flagships for you to try at once it will be more worthwhile too because you might find yourself walking out of the store with something you never expected, or best case scenario, nothing at all, because you find out that you are happy with what you've got and none of the other options are worth bothering with. I went to listen to a bunch of flagship IEMs, a bunch of DAPs and some DACs one time and decided I wanted none of them. Just crossed tens of thousands of dollars worth of gear off my wishlist for about $300 in flights and taxis. Definitely worth it.

You two make a lot of sense. I really do need to hear the Susvara's before giving up something I KNOW I enjoy. The itch to upgrade is a real thing and it's nice to know there is a community of headphone enthusiast, like myself, with voices of reason. Head-Fi is the best!!

 

[ufospls2]

For what its worth, I listened to the Susvara and HE1000V2 back to back and found the Susvara superior in all areas, apart from the fact that the HE1000's soundstage is a bit wider.

 

[gordec]

Susvara and MHA100 had their first dance tonight. I used the same speaker taps to XLR adapter and same cable driving the Susvara as the HeK v2. I fired up the same 2 tracks I always do when getting new gear, Tony Bennett's My Favorite Things and Rory Gallagher's Do You Read Me. I use these 2 tracks because they are well recorded with lots of instruments. You also get really good sense of spacing, soundstage and imagine. I took these 2 tracks with my Surface Pro 3 to Sennheiser store when I auditioned the HE1. In Tony Bennett's track, his vocal is more in front of the stage with instruments around the same depth. With Rory's track, his vocals is placed more towards the back. HE1 gave such a realistic sense of space. Furthermore, everything just sounds so natural and organic. Forget treble extension and bass, etc. When it sounds real, it's awesome. I loved my HeK2 + MHA100 combo. It's spectacular and checks all the boxes for a great headphone setup, but the depth of sound stage and natural sound do not touch HE1.

Now fast forward to today when I took a plunge with the Susvara, it's everything I would have hoped. It's more natural sounding especially with the sweet midrange. When the vocals sound more natural, it changes everything. The width and depth are both significantly better than the HeK v2. I'm using the exact same setup. Now Susvara is not HE1. I feel Susvara is closer to how I feel about HE1 than I feel about HeK v2. Yes the upgrade is very significant. I didn't spend a second burning it in. Susvara is just better. But I think the tricky part is that for HE1 there is no playing around with DAC/Amp. Everything is integrated, but Susvara highly depends on amp it seems. For volume with HeK, I had the MHA100 mostly at 22-25. The Susvara needs 27-30ish. That's 50W per channel of juice feeding Susvara. I agree wholeheartedly with Mike Liang's (Hifi Guys) review earlier on. He also has a Youtube review.

 

[lunarhjs]

I'm facing the same decision.

So am I. I'm thinking to sell my HEk2 to and upgrade to a Susvara.

 

[gordec]

Also to add the overall build is also better than the HeK v2. Better polishing job, and the fine finishes are better. I know Some people say HeK is better, but maybe there is variation between different units since these are handmade. Love the new pleather on the cups which is softer. I still wish it’s more like $4500. Anyways. Enjoy life. If you can afford $4500 another $1500 isn’t likely to make a difference when you look back in your life when you are 70.

 

[zodiac1234]

So am I. I'm thinking to sell my HEk2 to and upgrade to a Susvara.

Make sure YOU know what you're doin and
that you upgrade because YOU know Susvara is right for YOU, not because of what we're saying here.

Hifiman - ever since start - have managed to create some of the most natural sounding HPs on the planet.

I've spent a lot a time & cash playin around with HPs in my life.
To my ears, nothing else comes close to HFM line of products.
I'd wish it weren't so, but it is.

HEK v2 is an incredible HP. Are there any better ones out there?
Sure there are.....

To my ears, & compared to the Susvaras, HEKv2 sounds:
- Less balanced,
- More congested
- Slightly less clear in the mids,
- Less forward sounding

but at the same time, HEK sounds :
+ More dramatic,
+ More dynamic,
+ Equally effertless,
+ Equally airy
+ More extended on top and bottom
+ Better priced
+ Larger diaphragm
+ More comfortable
+ More sensitive

than the Susvara.

I love the Susvaras, but comparing it to the HEKv2, I cant help thinking the upgrade in SQ is not as dramatic as i would've liked - for almost doubling the price.
I'll get SUs in the future, but just can't let go of my HEKv2's.

 

[zodiac1234]

A technical digression:

I noticed the diaphragm on the SUSVARA is really different than other HFM products.

Anyone who can confirm on that??

 

[gordec]

A technical digression:

I noticed the diaphragm on the SUSVARA is really different than other HFM products.

Anyone who can confirm on that??

The Susvara's diaphragm is the first to use what Fang calls Stealth Magnet. "These new magnets are not asymmetrical in alignment. Rather, they have a different physical shape and composition to allow sound waves to pass through from one side to another without creating any “interferences” such as wave diffraction turbulence and lowering distortion in the process. In a way they are being touted as being almost invisible acoustically, hence the term stealth." Quoting Headfonics review. It uses the nano diaphragm from HeK and gold coat from HE6, so it's different than every other Hifiman product.

 

[lunarhjs]

Make sure YOU know what you're doin and
that you upgrade because YOU know Susvara is right for YOU, not because of what we're saying here.

Hifiman - ever since start - have managed to create some of the most natural sounding HPs on the planet.

I've spent a lot a time & cash on playin around with HPs in my life.
To my ears, nothing else comes close to HFM line of products.
I'd wish it weren't so, but it is.

HEK v2 is a truly incredible HP.
Are there any better ones out there?
Sure there are.....

To my ears, & compared to the Susvaras, HEKv2 sounds:
Less balanced,
More congested
Slightly less clear in the mids,
Less foreward

but:
More dramatic,
More dynamic,
Equally effertless,
Equally airy
more extended on top and bottom
Less expensive
Larger diaphragm
More comfort
More sensitive

than SUS.


I love the Susvaras, but comparing it to the HEKv2, I cant help thinking the upgrade in SQ is not as dramatic as i would've liked - for almost doubling the price.

I'll get SUs in the future, but just can't let go of my HEKv2's.

I don't follow trends. I buy what i'm passionate about. My glasses compared to my peers cost 4k. But I am analyzing this thread for suggestions.

 

[lunarhjs]

I'm a person that desires to get the finest in life of what i'm passionate about. Ever since I got the HEk v2's, getting the next better thing, the Susvara has been an itch for me as I want top notch. As it's considered crown. And when I'm ready for portability I want something that aesthetically looks less 'goofy', all eyes on me as the HEk v2 can do. As well as me analyzing their technical variation to deduce if its truly worth it. As I would get the Susvara for about 1k less than retail.

 

[gordec]

Make sure YOU know what you're doin and
that you upgrade because YOU know Susvara is right for YOU, not because of what we're saying here.

Hifiman - ever since start - have managed to create some of the most natural sounding HPs on the planet.

I've spent a lot a time & cash playin around with HPs in my life.
To my ears, nothing else comes close to HFM line of products.
I'd wish it weren't so, but it is.

HEK v2 is an incredible HP. Are there any better ones out there?
Sure there are.....

To my ears, & compared to the Susvaras, HEKv2 sounds:
- Less balanced,
- More congested
- Slightly less clear in the mids,
- Less forward sounding

but at the same time, HEK sounds :
+ More dramatic,
+ More dynamic,
+ Equally effertless,
+ Equally airy
+ More extended on top and bottom
+ Better priced
+ Larger diaphragm
+ More comfortable
+ More sensitive

than the Susvara.

I love the Susvaras, but comparing it to the HEKv2, I cant help thinking the upgrade in SQ is not as dramatic as i would've liked - for almost doubling the price.
I'll get SUs in the future, but just can't let go of my HEKv2's.

What were you driving Susvara with? I find Susvara better than HeK in about everything except maybe the sub bass extension. That's about it.

 

[zodiac1234]

I'm a person that desires to get the finest in life of what i'm passionate about. Ever since I got the HEk v2's, getting the next better thing, the Susvara has been an itch for me as I want top notch. As it's considered crown. And when I'm ready for portability I want something that aesthetically looks less 'goofy', all eyes on me as the HEk v2 can do. As well as me analyzing their technical variation to deduce if its truly worth it. As I would get the Susvara for about 1k less than retail.

I was also very interested in upgrading to the next best thing when I got my HEKv2, I know exactly how you feel.
With Susvara, it's been a mixed feeling.

It does some things very well.
Its crowning achievement: an utterly natural, superbly resolving, yet "soft" and pleasant midrange....remarkable.
In the lows and highs, it falls behind a little bit (in my opinion), compared to the HEKv2.
The attacks on cymbals are less pronounced on the Susvara, but the sustain is more readily apparent and clear.
I'd say the soundstaging, pin-point accuracy is almost equal.

With the type of music I usually listen to (Jazz, fusion,, classical), there is more softness, more beauty, but less drama, less excitement, less extension with the Susvaras than with the HEKv2s.
So you see, I need them both.

 

[zodiac1234]

What were you driving Susvara with? I find Susvara better than HeK in about everything except maybe the sub bass extension. That's about it.

I use many different amps with the Susvaras.
Earlier I made positive comments about the Susvaras with the IfI Pro, an excellent choice.

These days I am using the Susvara in a set-up that is a pure synergical revelation (Susvara + Monoblock Silver Knight SE amps).
But I dont own the Susvaras so they'll go back soon.