I'm on record not liking the TC, so take my view with a big pinch of salt, but I do own one because I've never gotten around to listing it for sale.
The TC presents with what I consider a lot of false texture and detail. To me regardless of the source, it sounds like the treble is compressed (in the musical production sense) that results in what I describe as a sort of crystaline presentation that shoves high frequency detail in your face.
It sounds very impressive when you first hear it, but the timbre, and the decay are off on things like high hats and it irritates me quickly.
Lots of people just don't interpret it the same way I do, and there is nothing wrong with that, but I think you'll find the Susvara always sounds smoother.
I think many of us come to Susvara and feel like it misses something, then hear something more exciting and jump ship. But as our musical tastes mature, we come back to the Susvara realising how right it really was. Tonally, I think it's untouchable on tubes. I think its very easy to be bass led and realise most headphones are overstated, or treble led and realise they are really bright or edgy. Susvara on the right chain is perfection. The problem is other 'phones need a little something else in order to erroneously differentiate them. Susvara is a true classic.
When i first listened arya v2 with the burson gt, i felt i could live with this, but at the same time there were a lot of things to improve in its performance. With susvara it is so obvious that what i have to improve its the rest of the chain. What i feel is that they are flawless, what they get is what they give. Like the perfect monitor. I would like to demo the abyss but i dont feel the need of buying more hps. Susvara fills me.
Wow.......trades blows with your KOBO? Love to hear more about that. Id have a Lina stack and looking at the Lina AMP vs others that best support Susvara's capabilities
If you go to the mass-Kobo 465 thread you will see my updates. It is a short thread. I update it from time to time with how the 465 is progressing typically comparing it to my Bliss.
There are differences, but so far not as stark as I would have thought to my ears. But the 465 is still improving. Link below to my first update:
According to someone I was talking too the Stax X9000 already dethroned the Susvara a long time ago. I dunno. I'm debating ordering both and comparing but thats a lot to drop on 2 pairs of headphones lol
Funny thing is I just watched the ConvinceMeAudio's re-review of Susvara and he happens to mention how he considers the Mass Kobo 465, Amp&Sound Red October, on the warmer side vs. Zahl HM1, WA33, and AIC-10 as more reference sounding.
I am laughing as now I forgot what the original request was we were trying to answer. My brain is singed!
Anyway, not a big fan of ConvineMeAudio, but he is probably right, though the AIC-10 can be tuned a bit by replacing the tube. To my ears the Zahl is the most neutral as compared to the WA33 and AIC-10. If you want to go by another reviewer, Goldensound feels the Bliss is close to the Zahl with the Zahl being a bit more neutral. He describes the Bliss well when he calls it a neutral amp with a hint of warmth. And it is just a hint. Cymbals crash, dynamics are excellent and if you play a bad recording with bright treble, that is what you will hear back on the Susvara.
The 465 is a hair or so warmer. Sometimes this is noticeable and sometimes not so much. Anyway, I go back to my description of the Bliss as a punchy, dynamic and neutral amp with a hint of wamth.
We may not completely agree on what neutral is, or maybe my ears are going. Also possible.
Wow.......trades blows with your KOBO? Love to hear more about that. Id have a Lina stack and looking at the Lina AMP vs others that best support Susvara's capabilities
According to someone I was talking too the Stax X9000 already dethroned the Susvara a long time ago. I dunno. I'm debating ordering both and comparing but thats a lot to drop on 2 pairs of headphones lol
I do not have an amplifier to drive it, but the Stax 9000 is a headphone I really like. I would love to have it ( and the amp setup ) as another option.
According to someone I was talking too the Stax X9000 already dethroned the Susvara a long time ago. I dunno. I'm debating ordering both and comparing but thats a lot to drop on 2 pairs of headphones lol
According to someone I was talking too the Stax X9000 already dethroned the Susvara a long time ago. I dunno. I'm debating ordering both and comparing but thats a lot to drop on 2 pairs of headphones lol
I’ve also heard others say x or y headphone dethrone the Susvara, but ultimately come back to them. It possibly could, but I think there’s going to be a place for both/all, as there always seems to be.
According to someone I was talking too the Stax X9000 already dethroned the Susvara a long time ago. I dunno. I'm debating ordering both and comparing but thats a lot to drop on 2 pairs of headphones lol
I've taken a break from listening because of work, but it's slow now, and I've been listening to music again. The Sus / TC combo can't be beat. The Susvara is an amazing pair of headphones that scale infinitely it appears. Maybe it's possible Hifiman can't make a better pair of headphones. If they could, they would have released them by now, given how old the Susvara is. The Sus might be it.
I've taken a break from listening because of work, but it's slow now, and I've been listening to music again. The Sus / TC combo can't be beat. The Susvara is an amazing pair of headphones that scale infinitely it appears. Maybe it's possible Hifiman can't make a better pair of headphones. If they could, they would have released them by now, given how old the Susvara is. The Sus might be it.
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