[migo]

So let the shootout begin ... Well I will have to wait 1 more day for the Kinki THR-1 to enter the shootout !

Waiting for your insights... I'm trying to get my hands on THR-1 too.

 

[Delta9K]

Stealth started with the Susvara.

I think what was meant by "stealth", was not the magnet technology, but rather veiled/non-advertised changes to the product.

 

[sahmen]

Oh well I see I am responsible for a misunderstanding. as always Im a little bit on planet Mars... I was not speaking of the Stealth magnet but of the Hifiman team making slight upgrades on the Susvara itself without telling their users about those little improvements. So I used the word stealth meaning something that was done without being communicated.

Evidently it was deemed to set confusion because of the Stealth magnet technology involved in the Susvara.

I apologize to the fellow members for this misunderstanding !

Personally, I respect the apology and the desire to clear the air, but I cannot help finding the "misunderstanding" itself to be very creative by inadvertently tapping into what Hifiman has been doing with their stealth magnets technology, as they ensure that it trickles down to many of their lower tier products from the Susvara. In my profession such a situation is often referred to as one of "productive confusion," but in this case I'd also add the word "felicitous" to the chain, since the "misunderstanding" opened the way for me to brag a little about my new Arya 'Stealth magnets."

They (the aryas) have now been made to sound somewhat like a Susvara Jr, but a junior sister that can be driven by low-powered daps, dongles, tablets and cellphones, and easily used OTG, unlike its legendary older sister which always requires some nuclear power plant to drive it and therefore has to remain stationary and tethered almost all the time .

These "stealth magnets" revisions have not been done on the sly, as the new Aryas came with the expression "stealth magnets" proudly imprinted on the box, in addition to several reviews on youtube and elsewhere on the internet that are touting its virtues and credentials. So no, there has been nothing "stealthy" about the revisions and rollout of this version... It seems HFM actually wanted the rollout to happen with some fanfare, which your productive and felicitous "misunderstanding" has just helped to advance, albeit in a small way. Now while I understand the reason for your apology, I think HFM should thank you for the small contribution you have inadvertently made to their "stealth magnets" publicity efforts

Yes, that's one logic of capitalism at its finest, here invoked for laughs, but did I mention that I was enjoying my arya stealth magnets immensely, particularly the transportable, easy-to-drive part ?

 

[Tachyon88]

@sahmen So what do you think on the arya v3 sound stage in comparison to susvara ?

 

[sahmen]

@sahmen So what do you think on the arya v3 sound stage in comparison to susvara ?

I think the Susvara would probably have the wider and deeper soundstage, although not by much in either dimension. I shall have to A/B them carefully to make a more accurate determination. The Arya seems to pose a particularly interesting challenge because the size of the soundstage seemed to be the most outstanding attribute of its two previous iterations. The new tuning of the Stealth magnets version seems to have upset that apple cart, and sowed some confusion as to how the new soundstage must be assessed in size (width, height, and depth), especially as compared to the older iterations... Symptomatically, the reviews I have watched and read seem to be all over the map in making this assessment, not to mention being positively contradictory and divergent sometimes. It seems the increased dynamics of the Stealth magnets version has thrown the measurement of soundstage dimensions out of whack for many reviewers : this is what I guess is happening.

Personally, i never heard any of the two earlier versions of the arya, so I can enjoy the stealth magnets version without any need to obsess about changes in the soundstage, and that works out nicely for me. As far as I can tell through the virtual estimations I am doing by ear, the arya stealth magnets has a deep, wide, and tall enough soundstage, and enough air, spaciousness, and separation of instruments, and extension at both ends, to satisfy even most hard-to-please reviewers, and that is what I consider to be most important for now.

In general, one complicating factor that ought to be mentioned in this discussion is the fact that the virtual size or apparent dimensions of the soundstage (probably of most hp soundstages) also change and vary depending on the rigs and chains they're connected with...I think DACs particularly have an important say in the matter, and, sometimes amps, and even cables as well...

As an example, I have a Norne Audio Silvergarde s4 8-wire that can make the Soundstage of the Susvara appear practically borderless, as if it extends indefinitely into the wild unknown, and that is because the sounds of instruments can come from any number of unexpected virtual distances away from the ear to the point where it is impossible (at least for me) to imagine any clearly defined virtual parameters for it, depending on the source, of course, and the mixing of particular tracts. When I got the arya, the first cable I used with it made it sound like a claustrophobic, congested, and constipated mess, not to mention somewhat thin-sounding in places . That initial cable was admittedly on the thin-gauged side of the spectrum... Now enter the Silvergarde S4 8-wire, and the Arya completely changed and began to take on some of the same virtual "borderless" and spacious properties of the Susvara. I should mention that I think the overall presentation of the Arya is still evolving with "burn-in," so after about another week of this "burn-in" process, I shall attempt a side by side Arya vs Susvara face/off on the same rig, and with the same cables, and attempt to determine where exactly their differences lie... So I would just say "stay tuned" if you do not mind waiting a bit for a more nuanced but hopefully more accurate report.

 

[Tachyon88]

I think the Susvara would probably have the wider and deeper soundstage, although not by much in either dimension. I shall have to A/B them carefully to make a more accurate determination. The Arya seems to pose a particularly interesting challenge because the size of the soundstage seemed to be the most outstanding attribute of its two previous iterations. The new tuning of the Stealth magnets version seems to have upset that apple cart, and sowed some confusion as to how the new soundstage must be assessed in size (width, height, and depth), especially as compared to the older iterations... Symptomatically, the reviews I have watched and read seem to be all over the map in making this assessment, not to mention positively contradictory and divergent sometimes. It seems the increased dynamics of the Stealth magnets version has thrown the measurement of soundstage dimensions out of whack for many reviewers : this is what I guess is happening.

Personally, i never heard any of the two earlier versions of the arya, so I can enjoy the stealth magnets version without any need to obsess about changes in the soundstage, and that works out nicely for me. As far as I can tell through the virtual estimations I am doing by ear, the arya stealth magnets has a deep, wide, and tall enough soundstage, and enough air, spaciousness, and separation of instruments to satisfy even most hard-to-please reviewers, and that is what I consider to be most important for now.

In general, one complicating factor that ought to be mentioned in this discussion is the fact that the virtual size or apparent dimensions of the soundstage (probably of most hp soundstages) also change and vary depending on the rigs and chains they're connected with...I think DACs particularly have an important say in the matter, and, sometimes even cables as well...

As an example, I have a Norne Audio Silvergarde s4 8-wire that can make the Soundstage of the Susvara appear practically borderless, as if it extends indefinitely into the wild unknown, and that is because the sounds of instruments can come any number of unexpected virtual distances away from the ear to the point where it is impossible (at least for me) to imagine any clearly defined virtual parameters for it, depending on the source, of course, and the mixing of particular tracts. When I got the arya, the first cable I used with it made it sound like a claustrophobic, congested, and constipated mess, not to mention somewhat thin-sounding in places . That initial cable was admittedly on the thin-gauged side of the spectrum... Now enter the Silvergarde S4 8-wire, and the Arya completely changed and began to take on some of the same virtual "borderless" and spacious properties of the Susvara. I should mention that I think the overall presentation of the Arya is still evolving with "burn-in," so after about another week of this "burn-in" process, I shall attempt a side by side Arya vs Susvara face/off on the same rig, and with the same cables, and attempt to determine where exactly their differences lie... So I would just say "stay tuned" if you do not mind waiting a bit for a more nuanced but hopefully more accurate report.

I seem to recall reading that the stealth magnets cover a wider area and that is what is attributing to the smaller sound stage in comparison to the V2. Also might explain why you think the sound stage is more or less the same as susvara. So at this point it seems a more natural timbre is what a 3k+ spread buys. I might have to end up trying the v3 and see if they are a compromise between the two.

 

[LarsMan]

Oh well I see I am responsible for a misunderstanding. as always Im a little bit on planet Mars... I was not speaking of the Stealth magnet but of the Hifiman team making slight upgrades on the Susvara itself without telling their users about those little improvements. So I used the word stealth meaning something that was done without being communicated.

Evidently it was deemed to set confusion because of the Stealth magnet technology involved in the Susvara.

I apologize to the fellow members for this misunderstanding !

I understood just what you were getting at - doing something without anybody else knowing....

 

[joseph69]

Is there a sonic difference between the 2.5mm Susvara (older model) and the current 3.5mm ?

I think I mentioned this once before.
There is definitely a difference between the 2.5mm and 3.5mm Susvara and it's 1mm.

 

[hammondfan]

Yep, I just added an Arya (Stealth magnets version) to my "harem" of cans, and I'm enjoying it immensely, while the Susvara and others take a long break. @IZONE is not the only Sheikh on the thread, I'm afraid

Personally, I respect the apology and the desire to clear the air, but I cannot help finding the "misunderstanding" itself to be very creative by inadvertently tapping into what Hifiman has been doing with their stealth magnets technology, as they ensure that it trickles down to many of their lower tier products from the Susvara. In my profession such a situation is often referred to as one of "productive confusion," but in this case I'd also add the word "felicitous" to the chain, since the "misunderstanding" opened the way for me to brag a little about my new Arya 'Stealth magnets."

They (the aryas) have now been made to sound somewhat like a Susvara Jr, but a junior sister that can be driven by low-powered daps, dongles, tablets and cellphones, and easily used OTG, unlike its legendary older sister which always requires some nuclear power plant to drive it and therefore has to remain stationary and tethered almost all the time .

These "stealth magnets" revisions have not been done on the sly, as the new Aryas came with the expression "stealth magnets" proudly imprinted on the box, in addition to several reviews on youtube and elsewhere on the internet that are touting its virtues and credentials. So no, there has been nothing "stealthy" about the revisions and rollout of this version... It seems HFM actually wanted the rollout to happen with some fanfare, which your productive and felicitous "misunderstanding" has just helped to advance, albeit in a small way. Now while I understand the reason for your apology, I think HFM should thank you for the small contribution you have inadvertently made to their "stealth magnets" publicity efforts

Yes, that's one logic of capitalism at its finest, here invoked for laughs, but did I mention that I was enjoying my arya stealth magnets immensely, particularly the transportable, easy-to-drive part ?

Thank you for the nice comment and the humour you bring !

I understand know why I see (non stealth) Aryas emerging on auction sites at very competitive prices as they where fee to be seen before...

 

[hammondfan]

I think I mentioned this once before.
There is definitely a difference between the 2.5mm and 3.5mm Susvara and it's 1mm.

Effectively they say "size doesn't matter"

 

[hammondfan]

Personally, I respect the apology and the desire to clear the air, but I cannot help finding the "misunderstanding" itself to be very creative by inadvertently tapping into what Hifiman has been doing with their stealth magnets technology, as they ensure that it trickles down to many of their lower tier products from the Susvara. In my profession such a situation is often referred to as one of "productive confusion," but in this case I'd also add the word "felicitous" to the chain, since the "misunderstanding" opened the way for me to brag a little about my new Arya 'Stealth magnets."

They (the aryas) have now been made to sound somewhat like a Susvara Jr, but a junior sister that can be driven by low-powered daps, dongles, tablets and cellphones, and easily used OTG, unlike its legendary older sister which always requires some nuclear power plant to drive it and therefore has to remain stationary and tethered almost all the time .

These "stealth magnets" revisions have not been done on the sly, as the new Aryas came with the expression "stealth magnets" proudly imprinted on the box, in addition to several reviews on youtube and elsewhere on the internet that are touting its virtues and credentials. So no, there has been nothing "stealthy" about the revisions and rollout of this version... It seems HFM actually wanted the rollout to happen with some fanfare, which your productive and felicitous "misunderstanding" has just helped to advance, albeit in a small way. Now while I understand the reason for your apology, I think HFM should thank you for the small contribution you have inadvertently made to their "stealth magnets" publicity efforts

Yes, that's one logic of capitalism at its finest, here invoked for laughs, but did I mention that I was enjoying my arya stealth magnets immensely, particularly the transportable, easy-to-drive part ?

By the way that could be indicating a further step in the development of an easier to drive Susvara ... Bit maybe not as I have learned the market is more complicated tjan it looks. Actual.Susvara owners wont appteciate that move as theit equipment male them.privileged without the.need for that gear Susvara will be more accessible and maybe less desirable. Also all the business that is gravitating around Susvara like amp manufacturer wont be satisfied either so itmay backlash ?

 

[hammondfan]

My Kinki should arrive today but right now listening the Susvara with Tool'sTool's Chocolate hip trip on Qobuz (24/96) and the sound is incredible.out of the box of my Qobuz -> Roon -> Hqplayer (pcm 384 upsample) -> Ps-audio Lan Rover -> Questyle CMA12Master -> Susvara stock cable -> Susvara and the volume knob is at noon. The HEKSE is already blown away. The articulation, detail, separation, impact, speed, and sounstage are incredible !

Sounds awesome with everything I throw in from my favourite playlists for instance "Les Djinns - Trentemoller remix"

Thos is for the CMA 12 master users to say that even without an aditional amp.you will already greatly benefit from a Susvara over the HEKSE.

Have to mention the Susvara is on loan feom a friend and a used one with hundreds hours of being listened to (alteady breaked in)

 

[hammondfan]

Enter the Kinki !
Will give it time to break in (300 hrs recommended before making a judgment. As you can see Kiinki's clock is set to 1 and it could go to 3 or even more ! What a hungry beast of a Susvara !

 

[migo]

Enter the Kinki !
Will give it time to break in (300 hrs recommended before making a judgment. As you can see Kiinki's clock is set to 1 and it could go to 3 or even more ! What a hungry beast of a Susvara !

What input do you use? Output of CMA is 2V?

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Enter the Kinki !
Will give it time to break in (300 hrs recommended before making a judgment. As you can see Kiinki's clock is set to 1 and it could go to 3 or even more ! What a hungry beast of a Susvara !

That's almost two weeks... Not even plastic is that malleable, much less, solid state components. Solid state components should take no more than 30 minutes-1 hour to warm up and settle. If not, then that points to terrible quality control and manufacturing techniques. If you don't like it after the first few days, return it and don't play into the trap of the manufacturer.