[BillinSF]

One of my neighbors here in SF is Michael Tilson Thomas. MTT himself. I'm tempted to coax him into the house to listen to a recording on Susvara to see what he thinks.

My thesis. Too much convo in this forum about tech tweaks, and not enough about rendering what was intended by the artist. He will KNOW what something is supposed to sound like - every intrument..every quaver..every sustain. I'm betting he doesn't really know what this HP amp stuff is all about.

All this talk on this forum about SQ, etc. Wouldn't it be fun to hear if he thinks one of his recordings sounds like what he intended? Let me know.

He had a brain tumor but he's back conducting part time. I see him every couple of days.

Would that be a fun experiment? Can someone send me a link to one of his recordings with the SF Symphony. Perhaps I could talk him into the effort.

I know I sounds off-kilter for this thread but What, right?

It be great to get his thoughts. Don't pillory me if I can't do it. But...I'm willing to try.

 

[psy472]

One of my neighbors here in SF is Michael Tilson Thomas. MTT himself. I'm tempted to coax him into the house to listen to a recording on Susvara to see what he thinks.

My thesis. Too much convo in this forum about tech tweaks, and not enough about rendering what was intended by the artist. He will KNOW what something is supposed to sound like - every intrument..every quaver..every sustain. I'm betting he doesn't really know what this HP amp stuff is all about.

All this talk on this forum about SQ, etc. Wouldn't it be fun to hear if he thinks one of his recordings sounds like what he intended? Let me know.

He had a brain tumor but he's back conducting part time. I see him every couple of days.

Would that be a fun experiment? Can someone send me a link to one of his recordings with the SF Symphony. Perhaps I could talk him into the effort.

I know I sounds off-kilter for this thread but What, right?

It be great to get his thoughts. Don't pillory me if I can't do it. But...I'm willing to try.

The eternal question of Live music vs recorded audio. I believe his recordings are on Apple Music so you can just do that setup. As for whether he “wants” to listen to them on the Susvara?

Considering the guy has to spend many hours fine tuning and rehearsing his piece with real instruments, I’d expect him to say No and look at you like a one of his crazy fans. But maybe he has a sense of humor, you never know.

 

[BillinSF]

The eternal question of Live music vs recorded audio. I believe his recordings are on Apple Music so you can just do that setup. As for whether he “wants” to listen to them on the Susvara?

Considering the guy has to spend many hours fine tuning and rehearsing his piece with real instruments, I’d expect him to say No and look at you like a one of his crazy fans. But maybe he has a sense of humor, you never know.

I think the conductor listens and signs off on every recording. Maybe I'm wrong on that. I guess that's a question. I really don't know.

But I have this sense that the big-time conductors don't let recordings go out without approving them. That's their currency.

What the heck. I'll ask if I can without being an ass and lets see what happens.

 

[Malcyg]

The quantity of bass may not be as prominent, but the quality of bass in texture, detail, depth, and speed, with enough slam still, makes it just so hard not to come back to the Susvara again and again!

Susvara’s bass can appear as a weakness by comparison to certain other slammerphones, but to what extent is very dependant upon the chain. Also, the pads, as I discovered recently. My pads were feeling a little thin and squidgy after years of use and I recently replaced them with Dekoni Elite Sheepskin - and was quite surprised at how much it affected the sound. There is quite a lot more bass and slam but at the cost of a slightly compacted soundstage and loss of subtlety in the detail. I’m not sure yet that I prefer it.

 

[thecrow]

problem with buying a used caldera is if I am not missing something it isnt covered for warranty

I haven’t looked at zmf’s warranty in recent times but when i bought the auteur it was a lifetime warranty on the drivers for the original owner.
great warranty, though a side effect is the resale value takes a hit. Bad for the seller, good for the buyer

and i haven’t heard recent interviews with zack but when he released the caldera he did mention how much he liked the susvara and, he may have mentioned, that the caldera was looking to be similar-ish but he could not better the susvara (or at least i believe he had those kind of sentiments). That may also reflect his pricing on the caldera.

overall, i agree, a reasonable and nice guy in this hobby/business

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

spent the day at canjam..heard what I think is a new Hifiman amp/dac...apparently the same amp as the HF1000 with a DAC...sounded good but to be honest very tough to listen at the show...oh by the way price tag 15k for those interested

Don't you mean the EF1000DAC not the HF1000 ?

If it is the EF1000DAC you are talking about, the EF1000DAC is not the same Pre-Amp and Power Amp architecture as the EF1000 beginning with a much lower power output (for headphones only as it isn't designed to also run speakers) and secondly it doesn't have a separate dedicated power supply like the EF1000 !

 

[jonchard]

Susvara’s bass can appear as a weakness by comparison to certain other slammerphones, but to what extent is very dependant upon the chain. Also, the pads, as I discovered recently. My pads were feeling a little thin and squidgy after years of use and I recently replaced them with Dekoni Elite Sheepskin - and was quite surprised at how much it affected the sound. There is quite a lot more bass and slam but at the cost of a slightly compacted soundstage and loss of subtlety in the detail. I’m not sure yet that I prefer it.

"Slammerphones" ... what a brilliant term LOL!

I find with Susvara that any meddling away from its standard sound wrecks something else. EQ its bass and it muddies midrange and slows a touch. And whilst i do EQ its a very very subtle EQ or i hear bad changes! Pads must be like changing to the room for speakers! And i can only imagine how it changes everything about them. I've never met a heaphone i would consider to be such a perfect all-rounder. Susvara continues to give and I still dont tire after hours of listening.

Long may you live.

 

[jlemaster1957]

Pop |_q

"Slammerphones" ... what a brilliant term LOL!

I find with Susvara that any meddling away from its standard sound wrecks something else. EQ its bass and it muddies midrange and slows a touch. And whilst i do EQ its a very very subtle EQ or i hear bad changes! Pads must be like changing to the room for speakers! And i can only imagine how it changes everything about them. I've never met a heaphone i would consider to be such a perfect all-rounder. Susvara continues to give and I still dont tire after hours of listening.

Long may you live.

Agree- in other headphones I use EQ to make up for deficiencies in the FR of the headphone, but Susvara doesn’t have such deficiencies- for Sus, the EQ is an attempt to make up for deficiencies in the CHAIN, and it never quite succeeds, as you say. (Of course, Susvara being polite as they are, do not fall apart with a little EQ “whatever you like dear” but it’s not at its best for sure with any EQ). The real answer imho is ‘improve the chain’ not EQ to solve its problems. YMMV.

 

[jlbrach]

Don't you mean the EF1000DAC not the HF1000 ?

If it is the EF1000DAC you are talking about, the EF1000DAC is not the same Pre-Amp and Power Amp architecture as the EF1000 beginning with a much lower power output (for headphones only as it isn't designed to also run speakers) and secondly it doesn't have a separate dedicated power supply like the EF1000 !

I listened to it and was told it was the same amp as the EF1000 with the DAC built into the housing...I was told it does not have the speaker output but that it has the same power output for headphones as the EF1000...that is what I was told I cannot confirm other than what I was told

 

[jlbrach]

I was also told by a rep that there is going to be an easier to drive susvara version that will be cheaper but not as good as the existing susvara sonically..again, this is what I was told by a rep

 

[George Hincapie]

In my simple mind, Sus renders music the way the artist intended it to sound. In all respects. Full Stop.

How do you know how the artist intended it to sound?

 

[jlbrach]

I think he simply means you hear it as close to what is on the recording which I tend to agree with regarding the susvara which is a balanced and detailed reproduction

 

[DJJEZ]

I was also told by a rep that there is going to be an easier to drive susvara version that will be cheaper but not as good as the existing susvara sonically..again, this is what I was told by a rep

Ergh that's disappointing to hear that they are wasting their time on an easier to drive worse version of susvara.

Been waiting patiently for susvara 2 or susvaras successor lol

 

[skhan007]

Curious is an easy-drive version release will lower the price of the Susvara? I can hope.

 

[newToAudio100]

Ergh that's disappointing to hear that they are wasting their time on an easier to drive worse version of susvara.

Been waiting patiently for susvara 2 or susvaras successor lol

I see no need to buy a susvara 2 personally. The susvara is just about the perfect headphone for me. I can imagine it getting better but out of all the headphones I've had susvara is consistently the one I reach for the most and my favorite. Abyss ab 1266 phi tc is a close second and nearly a tie. In some ways the Abyss is better but it's just a trade off at this point.