[OCC7N]

Planar crinkle is when the a seal forms around the ear cups and when you take them off your head, the change in air pressure flexes the driver making a loud screeching sound. It happens when both earcups form a seal while on a headphone stand as well.

The previous unit I had did have wrinkles in the gold which didn't bother me, but fortunately the new unit I received has perfectly flat and unwrinkled gold foil around the drivers. The new unit I received also makes zero noise around the swivel and joints. The previous unit was very quiet as well, but not as quiet as the replacement. The new one I received even had a quality control tag where the cables were located, which my first pair did not. The QC tag indicated that it was from the August batch of this year. It looks to me that the cables from the August batch has slightly more reinforcement near the headphone termination side to prevent excessive bending.

The replacement is an overall success.

hmm that one I have never heard about or experienced. I have my Susvara laying in a box. When on stand it is hanging by metal.

I even have supporters(not in pictures) so the metal band is raised, so the headband is not pressed/bend upwards.

 

[Cirrus Socrates Particl]

I own both, Utopia is a brilliant "fun" counterpart to Sus when you need a bit less laid back sound and more excitement. DCA Stealth for me is in some areas better than Sus even, and with the added utility of being closed back for when things are noisy.
I have all three here but if I'd have to sell one it'd be the Utopia.

Right. Considering the difference with SUSVARA, it seems reasonable to keep DCA Stealth.
In what areas do you think Stealth is better than SUSVARA?

 

[plumpudding2]

Right. Considering the difference with SUSVARA, it seems reasonable to keep DCA Stealth.
In what areas do you think Stealth is better than SUSVARA?

It's cleaner, and has a better frequency response (Sus is a tiny bit hot in the treble for my young ears and the Stealth has more subbass).
However the high damping factor can lead it to being a bit dry or dead on recordings with little reverb. While the staging is very nice especially for a closed back for me I never get the auditory illusion that i'm in the room with the performers, something Susvara does very well.

However where Stealth is about giving a (ruthlessly) clear window into the music, the Susvara for me takes me on an emotional journey. Any damp eyed moments for me were had with Sus, not Stealth. It's such a complete, coherent and musical sound that allows you to connect with the music instead of just listening to it.

I love both headphones to death and while my headphone collection will have to take a hit if I ever move into a place where I can have speakers, these two will definitely stay.
Another nice aspect of owning both is that they seem to love the same gear. Utopia is a high sensitivity dynamic driver that loves tubes. Sus and Stealth both want beefy solid state amps with speaker amp levels of current behind it, so anything you purchase for the Sus the Stealth will love too

 

[Pashmeister]

Another nice aspect of owning both is that they seem to love the same gear. Utopia is a high sensitivity dynamic driver that loves tubes. Sus and Stealth both want beefy solid state amps with speaker amp levels of current behind it, so anything you purchase for the Sus the Stealth will love too

After hearing the Susvara on a powerful 300b tube amplifier, I’m finding it hard to go back to solid state, nor be consumed anymore by wondering what another higher end amp might sound like. It is a comfortable place to be in.

 

[plumpudding2]

After hearing the Susvara on a powerful 300b tube amplifier, I’m finding it hard to go back to solid state, nor be consumed anymore by wondering what another higher end amp might sound like. It is a comfortable place to be in.

I'm still planning to experience the magic of a 300b tube amp one day! The barrier for me is if you want a tube amp that has the juice for Susvara you're looking at 10k+ amps like the Ampandsound Red October, Viva Egoista, Woo WA23/33 or Trafomatic Primavera. Not easy recommendations and also not easy to audition outside of Canjams. Altough my local headphone shop (5 minutes biking!) is a Viva dealer so it might be fun to give that a try.

 

[Pashmeister]

I'm still planning to experience the magic of a 300b tube amp one day! The barrier for me is if you want a tube amp that has the juice for Susvara you're looking at 10k+ amps like the Ampandsound Red October, Viva Egoista, Woo WA23/33 or Trafomatic Primavera. Not easy recommendations and also not easy to audition outside of Canjams. Altough my local headphone ship (5 minutes biking!) is a Viva dealer so it might be fun to give that a try.

We can add the Feliks Envy to that list too.

Mine is a 300b SET speaker amp with a large high quality transformer customised locally to include a powerful headphone output, and the total cost is only a small fraction of the above options. It absolutely cannot be used for any of my more sensitive headphones because of the noise floor, and it specialises only for exclusive Susvara + near-field speaker use and that’s perfectly fine for me. I acknowledge not everyone has access to tube amp masters that can do custom work but I would absolutely recommend it for those that do.

 

[Cirrus Socrates Particl]

Thank you for your wonderful explanation of the two headphones. I could feel your love for Stealth and SUSVARA.

However the high damping factor can lead it to being a bit dry or dead on recordings with little reverb.

That makes sense. This is why Stealth seems to work well when listening to classical music tracks recorded in church.

･ Lisa Batiashvili (vn), Christian Thielemann (cond), SKD - Brahms: Violinkonzert D-dur
･ Herbert Kegel (cond), Leipzig RSO - Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
･ Karl Richter (cond), Munchener Bach-Orchester, Munchener Bach-Chor - J.S. Bach: Matthäus-Passion
etc.

On the other hand, in chamber music, I often feel that Stealth becomes dead.

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I'm still planning to experience the magic of a 300b tube amp one day! The barrier for me is if you want a tube amp that has the juice for Susvara you're looking at 10k+ amps like the Ampandsound Red October, Viva Egoista, Woo WA23/33 or Trafomatic Primavera. Not easy recommendations and also not easy to audition outside of Canjams. Altough my local headphone shop (5 minutes biking!) is a Viva dealer so it might be fun to give that a try.

I demoed a Viva Egoista with the Susvara for 10mins or so (that's all the time it took), back in September this year and my EF1000 is far superior to the Egoista (both set ups off a Chord Dave source). Just more of everything from the EF1000. To my ears the Egoista is a nice smooth sounding amp but just didn't have the wow factor for me ! I don't know what tubes were in the Egoista. My EF1000 still has the stock tubes (had no reason to change them as my EF1000 sounds so fantastic from the first day I listened to it).

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

We can add the Feliks Envy to that list too.

Mine is a 300b SET speaker amp with a large high quality transformer customised locally to include a powerful headphone output, and the total cost is only a small fraction of the above options. It absolutely cannot be used for any of my more sensitive headphones because of the noise floor, and it specialises only for exclusive Susvara + near-field speaker use and that’s perfectly fine for me. I acknowledge not everyone has access to tube amp masters that can do custom work but I would absolutely recommend it for those that do.

I demoed the Feliks Envy with the Susvara in September (directly after listening to the Viva Egoista) both with Chord DAVE source. To my ears the Egoista had a bigger soundstage and depth albeit a more smoother and relaxing sound to the Envy. I don't know what tubes were in the Envy or Egoista.

However, my Hifiman EF1000 is way above these two amps in all performance criteria's to my ears with the Susvara (also with a Chord DAVE source).

 

[OCC7N]

I demoed the Feliks Envy with the Susvara in September (directly after listening to the Viva Egoista) both with Chord DAVE source. To my ears the Egoista had a bigger soundstage and depth albeit a more smoother and relaxing sound to the Envy. I don't know what tubes were in the Envy or Egoista.

However, my Hifiman EF1000 is way above these two amps in all performance criteria's to my ears with the Susvara (also with a Chord DAVE source).

Viva 845 is the most holographic amp I have listened to. It changed all my assumptions about tube. Well tube rolling for 7000dollars or so were also “lighting” the whole soundstage up.

The most cosy sound I have listened to. Sound were almost visible

 

[tdx]

Viva 845 is the most holographic amp I have listened to. It changed all my assumptions about tube. Well tube rolling for 7000dollars or so were also “lighting” the whole soundstage up.

The most cosy sound I have listened to. Sound were almost visible

It's a great amp for sure, one of the best for the Susvara (and others). BUT, having compared it to the AIC-10, the latter was just as good (couple of differences, but really different flavors more than anything), and it has the benefits of a much more compact, user friendly, cool running and versatile form factor. So I ended up selling the Viva and keeping the Riviera. Dont see me changing amps anytime soon. The only other amp I'd love to compare it to is the EF1000, but I dont know anyone who's heard both. Maybe one day I'll get it to compare...

 

[Spawn300Z]

I agree the Riviera AIC-10 is a keeper. The only amp I think I would want to compare it with is the Wells Audio Headtrip II or III. I wonder what the the additional power would bring to the Susvaras. But it would be a complementary amp to the Riviera. Because the Riviera plays nicely with more sensitive headphones.

 

[theveterans]

A budget 3-4 watt KT88 triode strapped SET amp (no ultralinear stuff, just pure triode) at about 1.5K used (a discontinued A&S Forge at 300 ohm impedance tap) would give a glimpse of that dolby surround soundstage of the more powerful 300B and 845 (i.e. wide spherical out of the head staging). It won't slam and hit like a train that those amps give though. I'd still recommend a budget SET amp as a step up to the baseline Schiit Mjolnir 3 (slams a hint better than Forge but doesn't have that SET amp imaging) and as alternative to SS amps such as the 23R, OOR+Hypsos and Prelude (trading sheer dynamics and slam in exchange for Dolby Atmos palpable SET amp imaging). If you want both of worlds, look no further than Envy with Elrog Mo upgarded tubes, Egoista 845 with upgraded tubes, Trafomatic Primavera with NOS driver tubes, EF1000, WA33 Elite and AIC-10.

 

[Articnoise]

I actually believe the HEKSE is the closest to Susvara. That’s why I still kept those also.

I agree HE6 and Susvara do not sound the same to me. The HE6 is more punchy, direct and aggressive/raw with a sometimes almost piercing treble. Susvara is more refined, relaxed and smooth sounding.

 

[Alpexis]

Anyone willing to confirm that their DHC Chimera is the best cable for Susvara ever? I've been intrigued by the Chimera for quite some time, but I'm too afraid to buy stuff I haven't heard with my own ears.

On that note, head-fiers with a Chimera in Belgium of The Netherlands, pretty please let me know