[Mediahound]

Is it fair to assume that if my amps can drive my 1266, they would be just fine for the Susvara?

@MacedonianHero I have to stop reading your posts man haha you have been one of the main enablers of spending for me..

It’s certainly possible but note that the Susvara is harder to drive than 1266s

 

[GoldenSound]

Also, had to post a little cable porn~
Credit to skedra for the beauuuutiful work

 

[Mediahound]

Also, had to post a little cable porn~
Credit to skedra for the beauuuutiful work

Looks good. What cable Is that btw?

 

[llamaluv]

Also, I have the abyss 1266 TC Phi, Utopia, Stellia. Previously owned Meze empy and Verite Closed. Would the Susvara bring anything new to the table?

Adding the Susvara to the Abyss TC, Utopia, and Stellia results in my headphone collection at the moment, heh.

Of the four, I feel like the Stellia is the one that sounds the closest to any of the other three (ie, the Utopia, ofc), but justifies its existence in the group due to being closed back, among other reasons.

It's very easy to justify adding the Susvara to the other two open-backs, as it sounds so different from either the Abyss TC and the Utopia. It's also the least fatiguing, by far. And in that sense it does remind me of the Stellia, actually.

Is it fair to assume that if my amps can drive my 1266, they would be just fine for the Susvara?

Pretty much, though anyone will tell you the Susvara likes even more power than even the Abyss.

IMO, the Susvara goes great with the AHB2.

The HPA4, of course, sounds basically identical to the AHB2, and is the main solid state amp I use with the Susvara, and drives it to a sufficient volume for my preferences, and definitely to a sufficient level of quality (depending on taste, of course, though if you already like the AHB2/HPA4, I'd see no reason why that wouldn't be the case with the Susvara as well).

The one watch-out with the HPA4 is whether it will drive the Susvara to a sufficient volume based on your listening preferences (and potentially whether or not you use "replay gain" on the digital side). I'd say it requires about +3dB more on the amp's volume dial for the Susvara compared to the Abyss to reach the same SPL output, so that ought to tell you enough to know, if you already use the HPA4 with the Abyss.

But are there any instances of driver failure or loose jacks etc? And if so, has anyone updated on costs of driver replacements?

I'm not sure I can recall a single report of wonky drivers or out-right Susvara driver failure from anyone on this thread or on this forum in general, which is saying something.

Compare that to all the anecdotal reports of TC issues -- buzzing in the left side, "sleeping" drivers (huh?!), etc -- seriously, what a joke.

 

[ra990]

So, an anonymous source has told me that the new revision with 3.5mm will be released sometime next month, allegedly. @GoldenOne you got yours early somehow! Lucky you

 

[Roasty]

Adding the Susvara to the Abyss TC, Utopia, and Stellia results in my headphone collection at the moment, heh.

Of the four, I feel like the Stellia is the one that sounds the closest to any of the other three (ie, the Utopia, ofc), but justifies its existence in the group due to being closed back, among other reasons.

It's very easy to justify adding the Susvara to the other two open-backs, as it sounds so different from either the Abyss TC and the Utopia. It's also the least fatiguing, by far. And in that sense it does remind me of the Stellia, actually.



Pretty much, though anyone will tell you the Susvara likes even more power than even the Abyss.

IMO, the Susvara goes great with the AHB2.

The HPA4, of course, sounds basically identical to the AHB2, and is the main solid state amp I use with the Susvara, and drives it to a sufficient volume for my preferences, and definitely to a sufficient level of quality (depending on taste, of course, though if you already like the AHB2/HPA4, I'd see no reason why that wouldn't be the case with the Susvara as well).

The one watch-out with the HPA4 is whether it will drive the Susvara to a sufficient volume based on your listening preferences (and potentially whether or not you use "replay gain" on the digital side). I'd say it requires about +3dB more on the amp's volume dial for the Susvara compared to the Abyss to reach the same SPL output, so that ought to tell you enough to know, if you already use the HPA4 with the Abyss.



I'm not sure I can recall a single report of wonky drivers or out-right Susvara driver failure from anyone on this thread or on this forum in general, which is saying something.

Compare that to all the anecdotal reports of TC issues -- buzzing in the left side, "sleeping" drivers (huh?!), etc -- seriously, what a joke.

Dude! Thanks for that amazing reply! I only had the chance to listen to the Susvara once but I think it wasn't paired well. Was hooked up to the Dave and nimbus us4+ with some funny interconnects and digital cable and the sound seemed quite underwhelming. I think it didn't help that the Dave was on some odd filter that made the highs super thin and sharp.

 

[jlbrach]

I think 3 DB is about right in terms of driving the susvara vs the abyss...most amps that can drive the abyss will drive the susvara in general but the susvara does require a bit more

 

[ra990]

I think 3 DB is about right in terms of driving the susvara vs the abyss...most amps that can drive the abyss will drive the susvara in general but the susvara does require a bit more

The Abyss has gotten more efficient since the early days - there have been so many revisions of that from the original 1266 to phi to phi TC. From what I can tell the Susvara definitely requires more juice than the Abyss Phi TC.

 

[GoldenSound]

Looks good. What cable Is that btw?

Its a custom one from Skedra. His stuff isn't cheap, but if you want something truly amazing, his work is top notch. Vikingweavecables@gmail.com

 

[ra990]

Hey @GoldenOne , beautiful cables but I'm more interested in your Susvara since you're the only one so far with the new revision! Would you mind posting some pics of both sides of the earcup so we can get a sneak peek at the new revision? I'm wondering if they replaced the metal grill with a cloth mesh on the Susvara as well, like the rest of the line. Thanks!

 

[ra990]

I'm not sure I can recall a single report of wonky drivers or out-right Susvara driver failure from anyone on this thread or on this forum in general, which is saying something.

I literally posted about my dead left driver on the last page , but I've had my share of issues with the Abyss as well. Had to send them in for replacement on more than one occasion because of the left side buzzing, so fair point. However, unboxing the Abyss and seeing what a durable and impressive build it has is really something else from the experience I had with the Susvara.

I've noticed very similar defect rate in the drivers of planar magnetic headphones from all brands, Chinese and American. But, build quality is noticeably better on the American brands, especially Abyss and Mr. Speakers/Dan Clark Audio. Top build quality on any headphone I've ever worn goes to Meze Empyrean, too bad I was underwhelmed by it's sound.

 

[GoldenSound]

Hey @GoldenOne , beautiful cables but I'm more interested in your Susvara since you're the only one so far with the new revision! Would you mind posting some pics of both sides of the earcup so we can get a sneak peek at the new revision? I'm wondering if they replaced the metal grill with a cloth mesh on the Susvara as well, like the rest of the line. Thanks!

The mesh on mine is still the same. I could not see any changes at all other than the connector

 

[llamaluv]

I literally posted about my dead left driver on the last page , but I've had my share of issues with the Abyss as well.

LOL, it could be a selective bias on my part in characterizing Susvara as seemingly less prone to driver failures than some other planars, can't lie. As mere end-users, it's so hard to tell (With the Abyss Phi TC, on the other hand... there have been so many reports of issues that, well... whatever).

 

[jlbrach]

The Abyss has gotten more efficient since the early days - there have been so many revisions of that from the original 1266 to phi to phi TC. From what I can tell the Susvara definitely requires more juice than the Abyss Phi TC.

I have both and while the susvara requires more power it is far less than I was led to believe..they both require serious power

 

[Articnoise]

To get 3dB higher SPL you need 2 times the power, to get 6dB higher SPL you need 4 times the power.

“A common misunderstanding when it comes to audio is that doubling power (watts) will make it sound “twice as loud.” Doubling the power (or cutting it in half) actually provides very subtle changes to SPL levels. It will take a significant increase in power to sound "twice as loud". Lets take a deeper look into what increases in power are needed to make changes in SPL.

A 1 dB change in sound pressure level is the smallest difference perceptible by normal human hearing under very controlled conditions, using a pure tone (sine wave) stimulus. A 1 dB change in level is very difficult to hear when listening to dynamic music.

To produce an increase of +1 dB you need to increase power (watts) by a factor of 1.26. So, if you are getting 102 dB SPL from 100 watts and you want 103 dB SPL, you will need 126 watts of power. To produce a decrease of –1 dB you need to divide the reference power by 1.26, so you would reduce power from 100 watts to 79.4 watts.

A change of 3 dB is accepted as the smallest difference in level that is easily heard by most listeners listening to speech or music. It is a slight increase or decrease in volume.

To produce an increase of +3 dB you simply need to double power (watts).

So, if you are getting 102 dB SPL from 100 watts and you want 105 dB SPL, you will need 200 watts of power. To produce a decrease of –3 dB you need half the power, so you would reduce power from 100 watts to 50 watts.

Since this 3 dB plateau results in such a happy ratio, it is a very useful relationship to memorize:

“2 times the power = +3dB...

1/2 the power = –3dB”.

A change of 6 dB is accepted as a significant difference in level for any listener listening to speech or music. It is a quite noticeable increase or decrease in loudness.

To produce an increase of +6 dB you need to increase power (watts) by a factor of four. So, if you are getting 102 dB SPL from 100 watts and you want 108 dB SPL, you will need 400 watts of power (it adds up fast, doesn’t it?). To produce a decrease of –6 dB you need to divide the reference power by 4, so you would reduce power from 100 watts to 25 watts.

This 6dB plateau also results in happy ratios that should be memorized:

“4 times the power = +6dB…

1/4 power = –6dB”.”

https://jlaudio.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/217201737-Doubling-Power-vs-Doubling-Output