[ra990]

My honest feedback, I found the 1266 TC quite a poor performer for the asking price. A fellow local audiophile lent me his pair in exchange for susvara, and I felt bad telling him my impressions when returning to him. I do think Susvara, and to a lesser degree LCD5/ Utopia are more competent and mature offerings.

- Surprisingly poor resolution (a bit hazy and smeared vs things like Susvara, Utopia, LCD5, LCD4, HE6 or HD800
- Tuning is just… not my thing, but even more so, objectively not very natural
- Poor sub-bass - this is what startled me. From all the discussions praising its bass, I was unable to get adequate low bass and this is after 32 figment configurations. The general bass of the 1266 TC is full, powerful, and the presence is fantastic (one of the best), but it’s all happening within 120-250Hz - at least predominantly. It explains why I found the general sound a bit smeared and smoothed over. This is a bass that overpowers the low mids, and makes a lot of vocals sound off. The sound is equally bassy as it is smoothened as opposed to say what an LCD4 or HE6 can render
- Comfort is not good

Now the good things:

- Great soundstage thanks to the floating design
- The treble has a sparkle and shimmer quality to it which offsets the wonky tuning down low and makes it more forgivable. They really do sound like your classic vintage Hi-Fi speakers with a v-shape sound which has a lot of macro dynamics and tactility with a weighty tone, but also make guitars sound present. They’re fantastic with rock and metal, and generally poor recordings
- Tweak-ability. As someone who is super anal and obsessive with fine-tuning all elements and variables with audio, I drove myself crazy listening to these with as many fitments possible - and I love that I have this option

I do believe Andrew listens to a lot of metal too, which is quite different of course.

I do know that if I had to compound my preferences with or without taking into account specific music genres, I would definitely come up with different lists. So he did a great job of generalizing it in my opinion

Agree, the quality of bass (esp sub bass) on the Abyss is not audiophile level. There is plenty of quantity and punch and doesn't bleed into the rest of the FR, BUT, the Susvara and some other planars I've tried extend lower much more accurately than the Abyss. The Abyss has fun bass, not audiophile/accurate type bass.

 

[Tachyon88]

Has anyone tried eqing Susvara with oratory’s eq setting for harman target? How was it?

Yes, that is how I listen to mine. Sounds good to me !!

I jualst tried it using the DSP eq in Roon and it sounds good to me. I couldnt tell you exactly the difference but I like what it brings... like a sound that is more flat but I like also without eq like gives you like unexpected thrills. I eould have zo listen a full day and then switch without eq. I am not the guy who thinks you can immediately compare by A/B switching I need to have a long listen session and then differences emerge .... What are your own impressions ?

Leave it on for a few weeks then switch back and tell me what you think it sounds like going back to stock.....I have a prediction about the way you will describe it. Could be wrong though ;p Make sure you have your negative pre-gain to avoid clipping.

 

[VeeAndBobby]

I'd like to hear from others who have EQ settings that work well with Susvara. Lately I've been using these Susvara EQ settings from "oratory1990's list of EQ presets".
I definitely prefer my Susvara with this EQ (image attached), compared to no EQ. If using Roon, be sure to set "Headroom Management" to -5.5 dB to avoid clipping.

 

[VeeAndBobby]

Has anyone tried eqing Susvara with oratory’s eq setting for harman target? How was it?

Yes, I'm using them and liking the results. Attached is an image of the settings.

 

[Roasty]

Has anyone tried eqing Susvara with oratory’s eq setting for harman target? How was it?

I've tried Oratory's EQ settings.
I find that entering the parametric EQ into Roon sounds a bit different from using the convolution filters; the convolution sounds a bit tighter overall and with slightly less low end.
I enjoyed them for a while, especially the increased bass, but have stopped using them as I realized I prefer the Susvara without EQ on my current setup.

 

[cycchar]

If my AMP is Luxman P750u and I don't intend to upgrade it in near future, can someone give me an honest opinion on whether or not Susvara can be fully driven by p750u?

If not 100% at its potential, how far is it from its best performance when driven by p750u? (I have a good senior audiophile telling me "YES for 100%", but I'd like more opinion on this given I gonna spend a bit fortune again after purchasing p750u.）

Also, will He6se or He1000se be better pairing with p750u or they are almost equally the same level hard-to-drive as Susvara, like a typical magnet planar headphone?

Thank you for your honest opinion!

 

[sahmen]

If my AMP is Luxman P750u and I don't intend to upgrade it in near future, can someone give me an honest opinion on whether or not Susvara can be fully driven by p750u?

If not 100% at its potential, how far is it from its best performance when driven by p750u? (I have a good senior audiophile telling me "YES for 100%", but I'd like more opinion on this given I gonna spend a bit fortune again after purchasing p750u.）

Also, will He6se or He1000se be better pairing with p750u or they are almost equally the same level hard-to-drive as Susvara, like a typical magnet planar headphone?

Thank you for your honest opinion!

One honest opinion that does not address all your questions : The He 1000SE does not belong in this conversation about hard to drive Hifiman cans : the He6se and the Susvara do. The He 1000SE can be driven comfortably and satisfactorily by many lower powered, and less sophisticated amps.

I have never owned or heard the Luxman, so I cannot speak to the question of its status as an amp that can optimally drive the Susvara or the He6SE to their optimal best performance, but very few amps ever do, and there are always disagreements regarding what constitutes or qualifies as "optimal best" in the case of these two particular cans.

Interestingly, there are almost no contentious amp-related debates when it comes to the He-1000SE.

 

[puppypatrol]

If my AMP is Luxman P750u and I don't intend to upgrade it in near future, can someone give me an honest opinion on whether or not Susvara can be fully driven by p750u?

If not 100% at its potential, how far is it from its best performance when driven by p750u? (I have a good senior audiophile telling me "YES for 100%", but I'd like more opinion on this given I gonna spend a bit fortune again after purchasing p750u.）

Also, will He6se or He1000se be better pairing with p750u or they are almost equally the same level hard-to-drive as Susvara, like a typical magnet planar headphone?

Thank you for your honest opinion!

I have the Luxman as well as the Susvara and HEKse. In my opinion, as good as the Luxman is with the HEKse it is not powerful enough to drive Susvara properly. It gets loud enough but sounds flat, missing dynamics, punch and overall tonal weight.

 

[normie610]

I'd like to hear from others who have EQ settings that work well with Susvara. Lately I've been using these Susvara EQ settings from "oratory1990's list of EQ presets".
I definitely prefer my Susvara with this EQ (image attached), compared to no EQ. If using Roon, be sure to set "Headroom Management" to -5.5 dB to avoid clipping.

I‘m using Crinacle’s EQ (available at Github also, just like Oratory’s) with added high shelf to shave off some sibilance. I very much prefer listening to Susvara EQ’d now.

 

[VeeAndBobby]

I‘m using Crinacle’s EQ (available at Github also, just like Oratory’s) with added high shelf to shave off some sibilance. I very much prefer listening to Susvara EQ’d now.

Thanks, but I already tried this EQ found here:
https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...tory1990/harman_over-ear_2018/HIFIMAN Susvara

I thought the cut to the treble was too extreme, making for a dull sound. I tried changing the band 10 level from -10.3 dB to -2 dB. With this modification, I think this makes for a good EQ, but still prefer the one from Oratory, which sounds a bit more natural to my ear.

 

[hammondfan]

One honest opinion that does not address all your questions : The He 1000SE does not belong in this conversation about hard to drive Hifiman cans : the He6se and the Susvara do. The He 1000SE can be driven comfortably and satisfactorily by many lower powered, and less sophisticated amps.

I have never owned or heard the Luxman, so I cannot speak to the question of its status as an amp that can optimally drive the Susvara or the He6SE to their optimal best performance, but very few amps ever do, and there are always disagreements regarding what constitutes or qualifies as "optimal" in the case of these two particular cans.

Interestingly, there are almost no contentious amp-related debates when it comes to the He-1000SE.

The HEKSE is the easy boy and your wallets best buddy, it fits everything you pour at it it's the good guy at Hifiman and major of it's prom. It is a chess master, ultimate contender for 2nd place: Anatoly Karpov

The SUS is like the bad boy that is a nightmare to your budget it could screw your family life, it is always demanding more and the more you give him the more it delivers ! It's an abyss (yes I dare) an abyss you are delighted to plundge in but it can swallow you ! It's a the ultimate genius: Bobby Fisher !

 

[Slim1970]

The HEKSE is the easy boy and your wallets best buddy, it fits everything you pour at it it's the good guy at Hifiman and major of it's prom. It is a chess master, ultimate contender for 2nd place: Anatoly Karpov

The SUS is like the bad boy that is a nightmare to your budget it could screw your family life, it is always demanding more and the more you give him the more it delivers ! It's an abyss (yes I dare) an abyss you are delighted to plundge in but it can swallow you ! It's a the ultimate genius: Bobby Fisher !

Great analogy!

 

[SR1se]

How does it compare to Stealth? Is the latest product better?
I hope to hear it someday.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

If my AMP is Luxman P750u and I don't intend to upgrade it in near future, can someone give me an honest opinion on whether or not Susvara can be fully driven by p750u?

If not 100% at its potential, how far is it from its best performance when driven by p750u? (I have a good senior audiophile telling me "YES for 100%", but I'd like more opinion on this given I gonna spend a bit fortune again after purchasing p750u.）

Also, will He6se or He1000se be better pairing with p750u or they are almost equally the same level hard-to-drive as Susvara, like a typical magnet planar headphone?

Thank you for your honest opinion!

I have never heard the Luxman P750u.
However in a similar price range, I have had a Pathos Inpol Ear Amp which my UK Hifiman Dealer lent to me whilst I awaited for my Hifiman EF1000 to be built.

The Inpol Ear was a good amp and drove the Susvara quite well.

I believe to my ears from the performance of the Inpol Ear and the performance I get from my EF1000, I believe (along with a highly transparent source - I have the DAVE with M Scaler) a high powered hybrid headphone amp (tube pre-amp with a solid state power amp) is the way to go for the Susvara.

 

[cycchar]

I have never heard the Luxman P750u.
However in a similar price range, I have had a Pathos Inpol Ear Amp which my UK Hifiman Dealer lent to me whilst I awaited for my Hifiman EF1000 to be built.

The Inpol Ear was a good amp and drove the Susvara quite well.

I believe to my ears from the performance of the Inpol Ear and the performance I get from my EF1000, I believe (along with a highly transparent source - I have the DAVE with M Scaler) a high powered hybrid headphone amp (tube pre-amp with a solid state power amp) is the way to go for the Susvara.

lol, tube amp is a bit painful to me especially with tube rolling.

If solid state AMP is no way to drive it, I probably have to give Sus a miss.