[A-Rebirth]

close. Ultrasone Signature Pro, when I bought it 2 yr. ago, it's $1200, w/ street price at $1600. Today, at ebay, the price range from $1000 to $1433

Workmanship from a country dictates quality. You won't buy a Ferrari made in china, would you?

This is pretty much an indivdual question about what you like to pay, your personal preferences and how much you got or earn. If your salery is 150 000 EUR a month after tax. Sure then you could just grab another Susvara. No problem. If not... Then it's up to you what you like to pay for. There is no right or wrong in this case.

 

[dgindlespergerd]

I think folks need to understand just because something is make in China does not mean it is built like crap.

 

[gordec]

close. Ultrasone Signature Pro, when I bought it 2 yr. ago, it's $1200, w/ street price at $1600. Today, at ebay, the price range from $1000 to $1433

Workmanship from a country dictates quality. You won't buy a Ferrari made in china, would you?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-ultrasone-signature-pro-sold.880348/#post-14257251

Seems like headfi has a different market value for the Signature Pro.

Anyways, as a happy Susvara owner, I have to agree the finish can be better or Utopia like given the price point. However, as all hand made headphones, they are prone to human error. That goes for Utopia and Audeze, having owned all three. That being said Hifiman has one of the best support along with Audeze. I had something I needed to contact Utopia, but I can’t even find a service email. It sounds as good as it gets which is what most of us care about.

 

[Rhamnetin]

I think folks need to understand just because something is make in China does not mean it is built like crap.

Maybe not total crap but there is always significant compromise from my experience.

 

[gordec]

Back on subject. I recently acquired both Qutest and Pro iDSD to pair with MHA100. Both DACs sound exceptional, but iDSD just puts the Susvara at a whole new level. I have never try Abyss Phi, but one thing owners mention is how hard it hits and dynamic it sounds. iDSD adds just that to the Susvara. On well recorded tracks, instruments seems to be coming out of your head. It sounds so dynamic and hits so hard, you get a more live feeling with your listening experience. This is particularly true for live jazz recordings.

 

[happy hopping]

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-ultrasone-signature-pro-sold.880348/#post-14257251

Seems like headfi has a different market value for the Signature Pro.

Anyways, as a happy Susvara owner, I have to agree the finish can be better or Utopia like given the price point. However, as all hand made headphones, they are prone to human error. That goes for Utopia and Audeze, having owned all three. That being said Hifiman has one of the best support along with Audeze. I had something I needed to contact Utopia, but I can’t even find a service email. It sounds as good as it gets which is what most of us care about.

When I contact them 4 out of 4 times at facebook, they response w/i a few days

 

[koven]

Back on subject. I recently acquired both Qutest and Pro iDSD to pair with MHA100. Both DACs sound exceptional, but iDSD just puts the Susvara at a whole new level. I have never try Abyss Phi, but one thing owners mention is how hard it hits and dynamic it sounds. iDSD adds just that to the Susvara. On well recorded tracks, instruments seems to be coming out of your head. It sounds so dynamic and hits so hard, you get a more live feeling with your listening experience. This is particularly true for live jazz recordings.

Did you end up returning your Qutest? That new iDSD must be something special! Have you ever tried Yggy?

 

[gordec]

Did you end up returning your Qutest? That new iDSD must be something special! Have you ever tried Yggy?

I can't return the Qutest. I had family visiting Europe and it was bought there. It's a sexy little piece. Yggy was also on my short list. It's just huge with long build time. When I had the Gumby, it was clicking with every bitrate change. I don't think Yggy does that but all considered the smaller form factor of idsd just made more sense. You also have to keep Yggy on all the time. Qutest doesn't even have an power button.

Nevertheless, the improvements with pro idsd is so dramatic, it's a keeper. I wish it was a simple DAC design like qutest. No need for a million filters, tube mode, etc. Most people who spend this much for a DAC have a dedicated amp. But even with all that it's still great value.

 

[oneguy]

The Yggy does have a relay click when bitrate changes.

 

[jlbrach]

yes it does and it does and it is quite audible

 

[gordec]

The Yggy does have a relay click when bitrate changes.

I couldn't stand the Schiit clicks. Otherwise I may have kept the Gumby.

 

[jlbrach]

it was one of the reasons i gave up my yiggy a few years ago....drove me crazy

 

[A-Rebirth]

I convinced my GF to buy a lot of Hi-Fi last 6 months. That include her home theatre, so she got my Samsung 9-series 4K/HDR 55" TV from 2015 almost for free, then she bought a 5.1 speaker package on sale incl. the ELAC 111.2 sattelites and their Elac ESP subwoofer and Onkyo TX-RZ720. I been considering to get her a considerble upgrade with Martin Logan ESL (to extend the speaker package to 7.1) and swapping out the center in the package (same speaker) to a true center speaker with from M-L. Then also changing the subwoofer to Velodyne DD-10 plus since the current subwoofer feels a bit dissapointing. I had a great offer at my local Hi-Fi store with a used (a billboard copy in fair condition) of DD-10 plus for 1700 USD. But after some time I thought it is a bit much to just "give away" even it's to my gf. So I considered not doing that... not in a while at least. BUT I also gave her the new over the ear version of Sennheiser Momentum.

Then she bought Bose Soundsport in-ear for portable use, and last week we got the Naim Mu-So QB delivered for her kitchen. She been very satisfied with all those products and is really thankfull to me since I supported her and hand-picked those things. However I used my Asus Essence III DAC (with headphone AMP) as a pre-amp to the mu-so QB using the analogue input. I heard a clear difference between while I had it connected. The difference was clearly better, maybe not by a huge margin but quite clear at least. This quite good sounding small piece of art sounded almost incredibly good for it's size, maybe almost like main mu-so (not qb) but fairly smaller. As I recall the big one had a more lively sound and more entertaining party sound with pressure but this went more pure and more detailed, still having the punch of the qb.

I was thinking MAYBE it could be worth to spend another 900 USD for the Oppo Sonica DAC. So I made a call to the local Hi-Fi store "reference audio" where I'm there VIP customer (been their customer for time to time within 10 years) AND I asked the manager that always listen to all my question patiently. I asked him that I could be interested to buy the Oppo, but he told me the Sonica DAC isn't as good as the Asus Essence III because the Oppo is also a lot Network Player while the E3 is a pure DAC for 700 USD more, that's what you will be paying for and his opinion about the E3, is that it's also quite amazing for it's price point when you have a good match. He also told me the the Oppo Sonica DAC might not do as much as the E3 since it does not provide the same amount of sound qualiy.

This seems very interesting to me and I got curious about it. And here is the thing that makes this post on-topic... Because I was reading Oppo Sonica DAC seems to be a quite good match to Hugo 2 someone says. https://headfonics.com/2017/12/hifiman-susvara-review/2/

Within this context the susvara SHOULD be a good match, some people in this thread and other I been talking to said E3 won't provide enough power. I also got the tip to use the HE-adapter. Anybody tried HE-adapter with Susvara yet!? Any inputs?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can-the-hifiman-he-adapter-be-used-on-e-g-he-500-headphones.562741/

People in the thread are telling HE-adapter with a great poweramp performs better than any headphone amp for power. That was for HE-500, but the HE-adapter works out for any headphone and is made for extremly requiring electrostats from Hifiman in mind.

So I was thinking about the Primare A32 but the voltage seems to be too high??

Any other thoughts?

 

[gordec]

I convinced my GF to buy a lot of Hi-Fi last 6 months. That include her home theatre, so she got my Samsung 9-series 4K/HDR 55" TV from 2015 almost for free, then she bought a 5.1 speaker package on sale incl. the ELAC 111.2 sattelites and their Elac ESP subwoofer and Onkyo TX-RZ720. I been considering to get her a considerble upgrade with Martin Logan ESL (to extend the speaker package to 7.1) and swapping out the center in the package (same speaker) to a true center speaker with from M-L. Then also changing the subwoofer to Velodyne DD-10 plus since the current subwoofer feels a bit dissapointing. I had a great offer at my local Hi-Fi store with a used (a billboard copy in fair condition) of DD-10 plus for 1700 USD. But after some time I thought it is a bit much to just "give away" even it's to my gf. So I considered not doing that... not in a while at least. BUT I also gave her the new over the ear version of Sennheiser Momentum.

Then she bought Bose Soundsport in-ear for portable use, and last week we got the Naim Mu-So QB delivered for her kitchen. She been very satisfied with all those products and is really thankfull to me since I supported her and hand-picked those things. However I used my Asus Essence III DAC (with headphone AMP) as a pre-amp to the mu-so QB using the analogue input. I heard a clear difference between while I had it connected. The difference was clearly better, maybe not by a huge margin but quite clear at least. This quite good sounding small piece of art sounded almost incredibly good for it's size, maybe almost like main mu-so (not qb) but fairly smaller. As I recall the big one had a more lively sound and more entertaining party sound with pressure but this went more pure and more detailed, still having the punch of the qb.

I was thinking MAYBE it could be worth to spend another 900 USD for the Oppo Sonica DAC. So I made a call to the local Hi-Fi store "reference audio" where I'm there VIP customer (been their customer for time to time within 10 years) AND I asked the manager that always listen to all my question patiently. I asked him that I could be interested to buy the Oppo, but he told me the Sonica DAC isn't as good as the Asus Essence III because the Oppo is also a lot Network Player while the E3 is a pure DAC for 700 USD more, that's what you will be paying for and his opinion about the E3, is that it's also quite amazing for it's price point when you have a good match. He also told me the the Oppo Sonica DAC might not do as much as the E3 since it does not provide the same amount of sound qualiy.

This seems very interesting to me and I got curious about it. And here is the thing that makes this post on-topic... Because I was reading Oppo Sonica DAC seems to be a quite good match to Hugo 2 someone says. https://headfonics.com/2017/12/hifiman-susvara-review/2/

Within this context the susvara SHOULD be a good match, some people in this thread and other I been talking to said E3 won't provide enough power. I also got the tip to use the HE-adapter. Anybody tried HE-adapter with Susvara yet!? Any inputs?

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/can-the-hifiman-he-adapter-be-used-on-e-g-he-500-headphones.562741/

People in the thread are telling HE-adapter with a great poweramp performs better than any headphone amp for power. That was for HE-500, but the HE-adapter works out for any headphone and is made for extremly requiring electrostats from Hifiman in mind.

So I was thinking about the Primare A32 but the voltage seems to be too high??

Any other thoughts?

When you build a system around Susvara, it’s about finding the right amp. The amp and Susvara will dictate >80% of the sound. I went through Gumby, Qutest, Pro iDSD, and the McIntosh integrated DAC. Out of these 4 of them, only Pro iDSD made a significant improvement to sound. So buy Susvara and amp then go from there.

 

[A-Rebirth]

When you build a system around Susvara, it’s about finding the right amp. The amp and Susvara will dictate >80% of the sound. I went through Gumby, Qutest, Pro iDSD, and the McIntosh integrated DAC. Out of these 4 of them, only Pro iDSD made a significant improvement to sound. So buy Susvara and amp then go from there.

I'm really curious about how much of an improvement the EF1000 is to any ordinary amp like Pro iDSD. BTW, what about the modes in the iDSD? I've not read much about it but you can select tube or solid state? Can it power the Susvara using tubes or what?