[boodi]

Annoying that signatures don't show up on mobile

Thanks

 

[JTbbb]

Good Morning
I will be ordering some Susvara's to add to my small collection in the next week or so.

I am looking at the Viking Weave after market cables to replace the blood transfusion stock cables.

As with most after market cables there are 3 options:

Isa - Silver
Ansuz mk2 - Copper
Hybrid - They can make a Silver/Copper cable (presumably silver plated copper or interveaved silver/copper)

I'm leaning towards Isa potentially as the Lavri grand serve me very well with the Meze Elites but the Susvara is a very different animal.

Any preferences here?

I guess what I want to know is things like "I tried the Isa and it was too bright" or "I tried the copper and it was too warm" kind of opinions.

Secondly; it's quite hard to see in the pictures but the Viking Weave Isa (silver) cables look a little bulky - are they "weighty" or is this not an issue?

Thanks in advance!

I use Silver Widow from Toxic Cables, to my ears sounds very much like the Catheter tube you get as stock.

 

[turbofeet]

I use Silver Widow from Toxic Cables, to my ears sounds very much like the Catheter tube you get as stock.

Thanks m8 - i'll check them out

 

[jonchard]

@jonchard i never wrote that message in your II quote,

besides that thanks for suggestion and appreciated .

Looking to know and understand from time to time if there's a sense - or use among users as rarely someone writes about it ,
of Susvara on portable gears
along the whole thread it seems that someone call it heresy , while someone other at times says not so bad / or surpisingly quite good... the consesus for a match ( portable gears used to pair them ) remains in jeopardy as well I remain curious

I use Silver Widow from Toxic Cables, to my ears sounds very much like the Catheter tube you get as stock.

The new cables are a nice black wrap Much nicer but of course the same underneath.

 

[devilboy]

Annoying that signatures don't show up on mobile It's the Holo May with the Benchmark HPA4, Lavri Grand silver interconnects and Grand headphone cable, of course fed by HQPlayer 5. Quite happy with it, if I want anything better i'll have to spend 10k on a tube amp or something.

And yes, the Sus doesn't sound the same off the M17 as off the desktop chain, but neither do my Utopia or Stealth.
Portable audio will have to remain a compromise but honestly the m17 does an admirable job considering size and cost.

Why did this just start happening? My signature doesn't show up either. I've contacted headfi and they said my box isn't checked to show signature but it is.

 

[genefruit]

Why did this just start happening? My signature doesn't show up either. I've contacted headfi and they said my box isn't checked to show signature but it is.

AFAIK, signatures have never shown on mobile but I've only been here for a few years.

 

[turbofeet]

Can see all of your signatures on Windows btw. Always makes for interesting reading.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Susvara isn’t a portable headphone. Transportable if you want to carry all that equipment. But portable and Susvara don’t belong I the same sentence.

 

[boodi]

Transportable then. I won't move around or jog with them.
As for hekse i need to carry them in a place or another before use

 

[devilboy]

I've always seen my signature and other people's signature on my phone.

 

[KS80]

I also see the signatures, using an Iphone if it matters I dunno

 

[ericsdsu1987]

Susvara isn’t a portable headphone. Transportable if you want to carry all that equipment. But portable and Susvara don’t belong I the same sentence.

With A&K Kaan Max, I consider it pretty damn portable, and surprisingly enough power to be happy on the go.

 

[Spawn300Z]

I have the chord Hugo 2/Cayin C9 combo. Which I would think would be better than the Kann IMHO. After hearing my Susvara on off my Chord TT2/MScaler/Riviera AIC-10. There will be no backward steps. But that’s just me. When traveling I will take my HEHSE, Stealth or Diana V2 and be happy when traveling.

 

[simonelvladtepes]

Susvara has this unforgiving side and can make bad records just sound dull and dry.

One of the things that most impressed and surprised me about the Susvara was not that it sounded great with great recordings, but that it made poor quality historical classical music recordings enjoyable. I happened to be listening to opera recordings from the early 50's on Warner Fonit Cetra, made on subpar equipment even for the time. On speakers and on other headphones they were sometimes simply unlistenable: thin, metalic sound with no bass. I can't explain why or how, but the Susvara enabled me to enjoy and appreciate these recordings while showing all their defects. I suppose this is the "euphonic" aspect of the Susvara (it's not the "new gadget" effect, these recordings really sound better). Part of it is that the Susvara revealed details that added to the quality of the experience, like a little bit of ambiance, or nuances in performance that, while taped very poorly, were still present but not retrieved by my speakers or other HPs'.

 

[simonelvladtepes]

I cant answer this exactly, but i would like to share my bit. I started with a Pathos Aurium hybrid tube amp. It drove the Sony MDR-Z1R and Audeze LCD-CX with all the volume and attack i could wish for (I listen loud evidenced by me blowing my first Susvara), in fact i preferred it to the Benchmark HPA4 and sold it. Then i bought the Susvaras. People who say they dont need a big amp must be listening at whisper quiet levels. The Susvara sounded limp and lifeless on the Aurium and when pushed to listenable levels, the Aurium clipped like hell. It was at that point i knew a real amp was a REQUIREMENT. So i used my existing two channel Primare power amp... and i over played the Susvaras, one side went pop, This is something i dislike about thin membraned Planers ... no tell-tale signs as to when they might pop! I heard NO distortion, just "plip" and they were done. With dynamic phones, they simply tell you to back off. I had played the Sonys louder than the Susvaras an got away with it. Sadly, i like it loud!
The second susvaras arrived and for their arrival i changed amps. I now had a Keces S300 and a Topping Pre90. I had tested the combo on my trusty Senheiser HD650's (i hate them) but, all was good. The replacement Susvara arrived and i let the listening tests with Pirates of the Carribean (Hans Zimmer) ... bloody fantastic! But then i wanted to ensure i had all connections right on the pre amp ... turned down the pre amp, turned down the DAC to minimum before mesign around (This involves a 130w power amp!) ... changed the source on the Topping Pre-90 with the susvaras on my head ... and POP! They blew for a second time. MINIMUM volume, absolute caution ... the changing of source ont he Topping PRE-90 DESTROYED both sides of my second set of susvaras within 5 mins of having them. I was distraught. Put the HD650s back on as i hate them ... asnd whilst i could faintly hear the pop on chainging source, dynamic headphones took it in their stride .. i did it 100 times as i couldnt believe what had happened. The HD650s are still alive, and i still hate them.

At this point i was rather nervous as you can imagine. The third set of Susvaras arrived. This time, i dumped the Topping Pre-90 and took on a Moon 390d. This box has finesse in spades, no nasty pops on source swapping - a proper qualitative piece of kit. I also bought the Cayin HA-300b MK2 for having trust issues with the Keces and was hugely concerned that it wouldnt properly drive susvaras to the levels i like.

When it finally arrived, the Cayin was utterly amazing! On the HD650s, i could only play from 10-11 ... so much headroom and SOOOOO much bass from a valve amp! OUTSTANDING! But could it play the Susvaras where i wanted them? Well, yes, JUST ABOUT. For most music, 2 oclock does it for me, but i have to use low impedance... this is where valves miss out to solid state. If i used high impredance setting, the bass was so loose i could hear lots of distortion below my required listening volume. Low impedance brings the driver control back in line and for it my volume can be pushed upwards. BUT, push it a touch too far and the distortion is back ... back on one clicjk and thats maximum for the session. Its pretty loud with amazing control, but there are times i wanted just a little bit more. Solid state will give this, but you lose the air and magic of valves. It is a trade off for me. For someone who doesnt listen quite so loud, the Cayin is all you would ever need. Tube rolling the driver tube for a £150 set is incredible (Psvane CV181-T Mark II) ... so much more holographic and i have not got to the exotic tubes yet. For the first time ever, i see tube rolling as the bargain upgrade that spending more on solid state rarely achieves. Although to be fair, i dont have the cash to spend on the upper echelons. You also have to keep in mind that the Aurium died its death trying to drive Susvaras ... the 8w power is a wonder!

So can an 8w tube amp drive the Susvaras well? ABSOLUTELY. Can it bettered for grip? Yes by almost any proper speaker amp capable of high current. At the highest volumes, those amps beat tubes. Just fractionally below that, tubes are an incredible experience! Hearing sounds materialise from nowhere in their own place is something else! To hear a background layer of music that also has poinpoint accuracy is a first for me. Having music that can be played loud for hours without fatigue is wonderful.


I also went back and tested the Keces with the Susvaras, hard to have faith in a system that was part responsible for killing my susvaras... this time around using the quality Moon DAC, no such issues .. no clicks, no pops. Im always careful to pull the headphones out before powering up or down on either amp knowing that most put a "pop" through the system. The Topping Pre amp deserves to die. How theya re allowed to make units that are noisy to the power amp is beyond reproach. I heard that loud "pop / click" like an transient spike for changing source and i cannot forget it. I also heard pops and clicks like this on my Gustard R26 and feel rather lucky i no longer have used it with the Susvaras ... it used to happen when changing source and stopping and starting tracks at times. Be warned folks, whilst i appreciate the competition between cheaper products, i wont be buying cheap again.

As far as the Susvaras and the Cayin, its a match im very much enjoying - long may it last. Never did i think i would sink these sums of money into a headphone system and give up 2 channel.

The HE-adapter is supposed to "protect" HP's according to HiFiMan's website - is that what they are supposed to protect it from?

At any rate, this post pushed me back to my baseline position that I don't believe the Felix-Audio Envy can drive the Susvara to my satisfaction for classical music. Classical music has sudden spikes in very loud bass (these YT examples are limited of course, but imagine them properly recorded and presented):







I have a private recording of this work, where the bass spike looks like a very tall skyscraper in the middle of the desert on the WAV form. When I play them loud enough on my speakers the walls literally shake and my neighbors send me nasty emails (I recently paid $21,000 to install an acoustic door after 22 years of complaints). The Envy is 8W into 8 or 16 ohms according to one review I read - this is simply not enough for these sudden spikes in energy. I am considering the Vincent speaker hybrid monoblocks - if I want tubes, it has to be tube SPEAKER amps.