[ubs28]

In my opinion, cables can not improve the sound, but high-end cables do the least damage. I noticed a loss in transparency between the Hugo 1 and Hugo 1 + Taurus MKII when I was using cheap cables. Even with $500 cables I still could detect a difference.

Surely enough, when I was using cables that almost cost as much as the Chord Dave, the Hugo 1 and Hugo 1 + Taurus MKII pretty much sounded identical. With $10.000 cables, you might as well listen straight out of the Hugo 1 because it really sounded the same as the Hugo 1 + Taurus MKII.

So it's all about minimising the loss of signal quality.

But ofcourse, it also depends on the quality of the setup you are using. With certain headphones, I cannot even hear the difference between the Hugo 1 and Hugo 2, so let alone a cable change

 

[gintamafans]

I think cables can alter the sound somewhat but not necessarily better or worse just different..I have numerous cables i have bought over the years and i have come to the conclusion that people can convince themselves of whatever they want.I own absurdly expensive equipment and i can easily tell differences in high end HP's for example but struggle mightily with differences in cables.Perhaps others have hearing so acute that they can discern the differences in cables making them worth in some cases thousands of dollars...I cant.....I say that as one owning expensive cables lol..50% improvement from a cable?..let me just say i am HIGHLY sceptical

I was about to type alot of stuff to prove my point but I stop and thought about it again.....
Its money back guranteed lol, instead of us arguing here why not just go out and try them for free? And I believe there is a lot of utopia+dana combo owner worldwide already so you should be able to find them near your or on the internet to found out about them.

 

[jlbrach]

i owned the danacable for my utopia.....i tried it..listened to it and sold it....not that i disliked it just couldnt justify the cost...i bought it used and sold it used...whatever differences there were certainly to my ears were not 50%....again,god bless if it is worthwhile to you..

 

[gintamafans]

In my opinion, cables can not improve the sound, but high-end cables do the least damage. I noticed a loss in transparency between the Hugo 1 and Hugo 1 + Taurus MKII when I was using cheap cables. Even with $500 cables I still could detect a difference.

Surely enough, when I was using cables that almost cost as much as the Chord Dave, the Hugo 1 and Hugo 1 + Taurus MKII pretty much sounded identical. With $10.000 cables, you might as well listen straight out of the Hugo 1 because it really sounded the same as the Hugo 1 + Taurus MKII.

So it's all about minimising the loss of signal quality.

But ofcourse, it also depends on the quality of the setup you are using. With certain headphones, I cannot even hear the difference between the Hugo 1 and Hugo 2, so let alone a cable change

TOTALY AGREE about the minimising the loss of signal quality thing....and I think that should have been my statement about improvement. Maybe I was too overwhelmed by the cable and over exaggerated about the experience lol.

THOUGH................I really love the sound of Shangri-La and the combination of susvara+ultra really reminds me of them that I heard in events. The reason why I was so overly hyped is truly because everytime I use my susvara I get the feel or Shangri-La more and more lol.....

 

[gintamafans]

i owned the danacable for my utopia.....i tried it..listened to it and sold it....not that i disliked it just couldnt justify the cost...i bought it used and sold it used...whatever differences there were certainly to my ears were not 50%....again,god bless if it is worthwhile to you..

I guess it could be me...because sometime a 10% improvement is worth more than a thousand in a system. And IMO a cable change for headphone is likely more improvement on a system than any cable change in the system. So this is how I look at it..... Shangri-la $50,000 dollar and susvara+ dana sound so alike it so its worth it for me

 

[JeffMann]

I guess it could be me...because sometime a 10% improvement is worth more than a thousand in a system. And IMO a cable change for headphone is likely more improvement on a system than any cable change in the system. So this is how I look at it..... Shangri-la $50,000 dollar and susvara+ dana sound so alike it so its worth it for me

The best improvement in my headphone-based audio system came from getting a power regenerator (PS Audio P5 - http://www.psaudio.com/products/p5-power-plant/ ) which made a much bigger difference in enhancing the sound quality of my audio system than any cable-upgrade or DAC upgrade. I was previously sceptical about the idea of power regeneration, and I am now sorry that I didn't purchase the power regenerator many years ago. My power output from the wall socket has an average THD value of 1.8-2.3%, and a THD value of 0.1% after power regeneration.

Jeff.

 

[vtvu]

I have to say it is quite biased even if I read it myself.....
But one thing for sure is im not doing advertisement for them and basicaly the reason for recommending them is because I first introduce them for utopia early last year and most my friends loved(whoms have multiple cable etc) them lol.....Thus why I wanted to use them again for susvara and it worked and bested lazuli reference so IMO i think it is legitimately good investment.

However, I cant emphasize this enough that dana offer 30 day trial so if you cant hear such different and you dont like it you have no lost lol, because you dont trust and believe what I hear I think the best way just to try it your self.

I can however say this....
The cable change makes Susvara sounded so much like Shangri-La (seriously, I cant have them side by side so I cant really guranteed this...)
Is it a 50% improvement? It depends how far and how much shangri-la means to you and differences to you. One note, revies are all very personal(each person favourites different things and hear differently) and rating shouldnt really be taken seriously like the number 50%. Because I heavly rated sound quality upon transparency, airness, and soundstage. In addition, there should be more than enough utopia+dana combo to make my point somewhat meaningful or agreeable?

Everyone listens differently so one has to hear it for oneself. That is why we offer the 30-day money back guarantee.
If you happen to be attending CanJam NYC this weekend, come to room Royale to hear the Danacable Lazuli Ultra on a pair of Susvara for yourself, as compared to the stock cable. Both are fed by a Wells Head Trip amp playing music from a Modwright modded Oppo UDP-205.
Vinh Vu, Danacable

 

[JeffMann]

Everyone listens differently so one has to hear it for oneself. That is why we offer the 30-day money back guarantee.
If you happen to be attending CanJam NYC this weekend, come to room Royale to hear the Danacable Lazuli Ultra on a pair of Susvara for yourself, as compared to the stock cable. Both are fed by a Wells Head Trip amp playing music from a Modwright modded Oppo UDP-205.
Vinh Vu, Danacable

If you are confident in the value of your Lazuli Ultra cable for the Susvara headphone, why do you not make loaners available in a 6 foot length?

I am a potential target buyer because I have already spent $6,000 to buy that ultra-expensive headphone and I spent $600 on purchasing a 5 foot length of an after-market cable (Norne Externus). I would consider purchasing a more expensive aftermarket cable if I found that it resulted in a significant improvement with respect to the sound (musical) quality of my headphone-based audio system.

Jeff.

My headphone-based system-: PS Audio P5 power regenerator => PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport => Matrix X-Sabre Pro DAC => Violelectric V281 headphone (balanced mode) => Norne Externus XLR cable => Susvara headphone.

 

[VintageAudio]

I had a chance to audition the Susvara alongside the Utopias so I thought I'd share my experience.

The setup I auditioned on was on a Roon Player with 44.1Khz 16-bit music -> Aune S6 DAC -> iFi Ican Pro -> balanced output.

The Aune was outputting at a level of 85 to 95 and the iFi ICan Pro was between 12 and 3 o'clock.

To give you an idea on my listening background - I have Focal Clears being driven from a TEAC UD-503 in Active Ground mode from a balanced cable. I was really curious on the gap between Utopia and Clear which is why I auditioned. Many are drawing comparisons of the Susvara to Abyss Phi and Stax. I can't comment because I have not listened to either. Before the audition, I was under the impression that I was already reaching a point of diminishing returns with anything above the clear.

I was wrong.

The Susvara blew my mind. I've never heard anything like it before. It was so pure, clear, musical, balanced - and extremely transparent. I totally loved them. To me, it never made practical sense to go out of my way to get music files higher than CD quality, because I'd have to repurchase everything in my music library. The Susvara level of headphones really lets you get EVERYTHING out of your music files. The imaging, soundstage and that "air" were amazing. It made music styles/genres that I would never listen to, sound GOOD.

I thought had found my end game with the Focal Clear, but I didn't. My goal is to get something at the level of the Susvara. It truly sounded heavenly. With a Susvara level of cans, I could be content and then just focus on enjoying music instead of constantly upgrading all my gear.

Maybe the Susvara really do require crazy amping power to sound good. One thing I noticed, is if I cranked the volume from 12 towards 3 o'clock, the override protection would kick in and the unit would cut the juice until I dialed back the volume.

For comparison purposes, I listed to the Utopias as well. They sounded good, but nowhere near the level of Susvara. Susvara had a much lower noise floor, clearer, more separated sound. Not trying to put down Utopia - but they sounded mid-fi to me after Susvara.

From a sound quality perspective, Susvara is all I would ever need. In terms of the other common criticisms on build quality and price - there's probably truth to it. I think HiFiman probably spend most of the R&D budget to push towards that next level of SQ with planar magnetics, versus the design and build quality.

I found the design of the Susvara to be pretty streamlined - they are not as fat and bulky as other Planars and have metal construction. I prefer the shorter, rounder each cup shape of the Susvara to the HE1000v2. It's not going to win design awards, but to me it has a much, more sleek, modern styling than the Abyss. I just don't find the Abyss Phi style very attractive at all. It reminds me of the very outdated Affliction brand of T-shirts and looks like a set of cans - a hard core gamer would buy to play Call of Duty or whatever the latest First Person Shooter is.

As for Stax - the only thing that bothers me about going to that system would require an electrostatic amp - maybe its just perception - but I feel like I would not have many options to swap components. The counter argument of course - is that Susvara is so power hungry, your choices would be just as limited, but whatever amp I choose - I could also use them to mess with all the other non-electrostatic headphones in my collection.

Let's talk price. Price $6000 is ridiculous. But this is the hobby we've chosen to get into. I already think spend $150 is ridiculous, yet I own like 15 sets of headphones and Focal Clears which costed $1500. I have a DAC/AMP on order that was $2500. Just stupid. - I've long past what should be reasonable to pay for a headphone, so I will save my pennies to try and get a Susvara in the near future. Of course I wish/hope it drops in price.

I have always relied heavily on research and other users opinions when shortlisting audio gear. From my own listening experience, I found that I really don't feel the same about audio products that others in the community have raved about or hated on.

I think you really do have to listen for yourself and form your own opinion. The REALLY good stuff will stand out on its own. It will create an experience you can't forget and crave for. Susvara was one of those for me. My car stereo sounds like crap now - and all my other headphones aren't good enough anymore, when I once thought they would be all I'd every need.

 

[ufospls2]

I had a chance to audition the Susvara alongside the Utopias so I thought I'd share my experience.

The setup I auditioned on was on a Roon Player with 44.1Khz 16-bit music -> Aune S6 DAC -> iFi Ican Pro -> balanced output.

The Aune was outputting at a level of 85 to 95 and the iFi ICan Pro was between 12 and 3 o'clock.

To give you an idea on my listening background - I have Focal Clears being driven from a TEAC UD-503 in Active Ground mode from a balanced cable. I was really curious on the gap between Utopia and Clear which is why I auditioned. Many are drawing comparisons of the Susvara to Abyss Phi and Stax. I can't comment because I have not listened to either. Before the audition, I was under the impression that I was already reaching a point of diminishing returns with anything above the clear.

I was wrong.

The Susvara blew my mind. I've never heard anything like it before. It was so pure, clear, musical, balanced - and extremely transparent. I totally loved them. To me, it never made practical sense to go out of my way to get music files higher than CD quality, because I'd have to repurchase everything in my music library. The Susvara level of headphones really lets you get EVERYTHING out of your music files. The imaging, soundstage and that "air" were amazing. It made music styles/genres that I would never listen to, sound GOOD.

I thought had found my end game with the Focal Clear, but I didn't. My goal is to get something at the level of the Susvara. It truly sounded heavenly. With a Susvara level of cans, I could be content and then just focus on enjoying music instead of constantly upgrading all my gear.

Maybe the Susvara really do require crazy amping power to sound good. One thing I noticed, is if I cranked the volume from 12 towards 3 o'clock, the override protection would kick in and the unit would cut the juice until I dialed back the volume.

For comparison purposes, I listed to the Utopias as well. They sounded good, but nowhere near the level of Susvara. Susvara had a much lower noise floor, clearer, more separated sound. Not trying to put down Utopia - but they sounded mid-fi to me after Susvara.

From a sound quality perspective, Susvara is all I would ever need. In terms of the other common criticisms on build quality and price - there's probably truth to it. I think HiFiman probably spend most of the R&D budget to push towards that next level of SQ with planar magnetics, versus the design and build quality.

I found the design of the Susvara to be pretty streamlined - they are not as fat and bulky as other Planars and have metal construction. I prefer the shorter, rounder each cup shape of the Susvara to the HE1000v2. It's not going to win design awards, but to me it has a much, more sleek, modern styling than the Abyss. I just don't find the Abyss Phi style very attractive at all. It reminds me of the very outdated Affliction brand of T-shirts and looks like a set of cans - a hard core gamer would buy to play Call of Duty or whatever the latest First Person Shooter is.

As for Stax - the only thing that bothers me about going to that system would require an electrostatic amp - maybe its just perception - but I feel like I would not have many options to swap components. The counter argument of course - is that Susvara is so power hungry, your choices would be just as limited, but whatever amp I choose - I could also use them to mess with all the other non-electrostatic headphones in my collection.

Let's talk price. Price $6000 is ridiculous. But this is the hobby we've chosen to get into. I already think spend $150 is ridiculous, yet I own like 15 sets of headphones and Focal Clears which costed $1500. I have a DAC/AMP on order that was $2500. Just stupid. - I've long past what should be reasonable to pay for a headphone, so I will save my pennies to try and get a Susvara in the near future. Of course I wish/hope it drops in price.

I have always relied heavily on research and other users opinions when shortlisting audio gear. From my own listening experience, I found that I really don't feel the same about audio products that others in the community have raved about or hated on.

I think you really do have to listen for yourself and form your own opinion. The REALLY good stuff will stand out on its own. It will create an experience you can't forget and crave for. Susvara was one of those for me. My car stereo sounds like crap now - and all my other headphones aren't good enough anymore, when I once thought they would be all I'd every need.

S6 into the Pro iCAN. Did you audition at The Headphone Bar in Vancouver by any chance? Haha.

Thats interesting that the protection circuit kicked in on the Pro ICAN. Which level of gain were you on? Did you have XBASS or 3D on? I found that I couldn't get the Pro iCAN to go into protection mode if it was on high gain in SS mode, but if I turned on the XBASS or 3D it was too much for it and it would shut down.

I pretty much agree with everything you said about the Susvara. I love their sound, but I still feel they could be a bit better in the materials and build quality department.

 

[VintageAudio]

Yes = it was Headphone Bar

Good point about the settings. I'm not sure if XBASS or 3D modes were on. If they were, that may have helped account for my "etherial" experience.

A couple of the most memorable things about them was the imaging and transparency. It was like a window right into the soul of the music - without any distortion. Extremely transparent. That may be attributed to the technology HiFiman put in there to get the "magnets" out of the way of the sound waves. Never thought you could get that kind of sound from just CD quality music. It also makes me very curious about trying the Abyss and Stax headphones for comparison since others the community say they are even better.

I also forgot to mention the weight. Maybe I was fooled by the sleeker profile of the Susvara, or maybe it has to do with the way the weight is distributed across the headphones. In hand and on head, they did not feel heavy. I didn't have any discomfort wearing them for my short audition. Later when I checked the specs, I read that these puppies are 450g! That's heavy by my standards. Same weight as the Focal clear, but didn't feel it.

The power hungry-ness worries me a bit. I'll probably take both my TEAC UD-503 and my soon to be delivered RME ADI-2 Pro Anniversary edition to the shop and see if can get the same "heavenly" results with Susara on them. I don't feel like plonking down another few $K to get a better headphone amp.

 

[AnakChan]

Another strong point about the Susvara is its ability to position instruments in the virtual soundstage it creates. Instrument positioning is distinctive and precise - one can hear each instrument clearly and cleanly, yet the Susvara presents all the musical pieces in a single cohesive musical piece.

I agree that the Focal Utopia is (at least to me) the peak of dynamic drivers that is also able to produce almost electrostatic-like visceral micro detail, however the overall soundstage is still a little too closed that over extended listening, I feel it's just a little too "busy".

Whilst the Susvara is demanding of a decently powerful amp, if one has speaker amps, this could actually be a blessing. I share my speaker amp with my B&W N804s and with the Susvara, and it is likely I'd be getting rid of my ZDSE desktop amp real soon.

 

[vtvu]

If you are confident in the value of your Lazuli Ultra cable for the Susvara headphone, why do you not make loaners available in a 6 foot length?

I am a potential target buyer because I have already spent $6,000 to buy that ultra-expensive headphone and I spent $600 on purchasing a 5 foot length of an after-market cable (Norne Externus). I would consider purchasing a more expensive aftermarket cable if I found that it resulted in a significant improvement with respect to the sound (musical) quality of my headphone-based audio system.

Jeff.

My headphone-based system-: PS Audio P5 power regenerator => PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport => Matrix X-Sabre Pro DAC => Violelectric V281 headphone (balanced mode) => Norne Externus XLR cable => Susvara headphone.

I've been having fun at the NYC CanJam showing Danacables on a variety of headphones including the Susvara.
We don't give out loaners but you can buy a standard 2m Lazuli Ultra from our website and have 30 days to decide whether to keep it.
But be forewarned, you will likely keep it, as most of our customers
Vinh Vu

 

[ufospls2]

Well, I have turned my wallet upside down and shaken out every last penny, sold my LCD-4 (which I will miss) to make up the difference, and ordered a pair of Susvara. In a way, I feel terrible for supporting Hifiman and the ridiculous pricing trend upwards of flagship headphones. I sorta had a scale in my mind with sound quality and comfort on one side, and build quality, materials, and pricing on the other. After the final test listen, the scale tipped slightly toward sound quality and comfort, and I caved.

I still don't know how I feel about spending that much on one pair of headphones, but at the same time I am really excited for them to arrive ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I will report back with further impressions of them once I get them

 

[jlbrach]

I gave the susvara a good listen at camjam in a room with very good amping and I must say I was underwhelmed...I happen to own the Abyss Phi,the Utopia and the LCD-4 and used to own the HE1000v2.....the Phi is the best HP I have ever heard and to me the susvara didnt compare....I recognize this is all subjective at this level