[MusicalDoc8]

14 now. Happy? I'll ask my 2 dogs, 3 cats and my gefilte fish to log in and vote for his review as well.

Simonel

If you don't have a pony and a hedgehog then your music taste is not suited for anyone's palate

 

[bluenight]

One thing I noticed is that the passive noise cancellation is pretty poor on these. It's part the loose-ish clamp, and part the cup design that's leaves slight gaps around without fully sealing.

Yeah this will be a deal breaker for me because its one of the reasons iam focusing on closed back hp theses days. At the same time i dont want an hp thats uncomfortable because of to much clamp force. So it needs to find the right balance.

Also from betula review
"sound isolation/leakage is not much better than some open-back headphones"

 

[KaiFi]

I really don’t understand closed-backs that don’t offer decent isolation. That’s the whole point of closed-backs for me.

 

[Beagle]

Closed-back is also a “sound” that sometimes doesn’t work with a solid seal. The bass can become an amorphous blob.

 

[betula]

Closed-back is also a “sound” that sometimes doesn’t work with a solid seal. The bass can become an amorphous blob.

It is a balancing act with inherent design limitations in closed-back headphones, isn't it? Three things the designer/manufacturer has to balance: sound isolation/leakage, loss of space/natural sound, bass control. Impossible to pull off all three in a limited closed-back design. The Audivina in my opinion did quite well on bass control (8/10), exceptionally well on spaciousness (11/10) but only average on naturalness (7/10); and the third major factor isolation/leakage is poor. Perhaps 4/10 for a closed-back.

 

[Beagle]

It is a balancing act with inherent design limitations in closed-back headphones, isn't it? Three things the designer/manufacturer has to balance: sound isolation/leakage, loss of space/natural sound, bass control. Impossible to pull off all three in a limited closed-back design. The Audivina in my opinion did quite well on bass control (8/10), exceptionally well on spaciousness (11/10) but only average on naturalness (7/10); and the third major factor isolation/leakage is poor. Perhaps 4/10 for a closed-back.

Yes. It’s entirely possible that a 9/10 for isolation might have reduced the other three to 5/10.

 

[betula]

Yes. It’s entirely possible that a 9/10 for isolation might have reduced the other three to 5/10.

As it did in some other closed back headphones.

 

[KaiFi]

Closed-backs are hard to get right, for sure. Might explain why there aren't many options and why they're often much more expensive than their open-back counterparts.

Based on my experiences, the most popular reason for wanting closed-back is isolation. Bass response is usually the second most, as open-back headphones often just can't replicate the bass response capabilities of closed-back.

But to me, a closed-back headphone's isolation should never be "poor". It doesn't have to be a hermetic seal, but I think it should be enough that it offers an obvious advantage over an open-back.

 

[betula]

open-back headphones often just can't replicate the bass response capabilities of closed-back.

This notion seems to be changing in my experience. It used to be true, but as newer open-back headphones keep coming out, they more and more defy physics and produce well-extending and punchy bass. Although they usually do not come cheap (above the price of the Audivina), but there is definitely a trend of improved bass in open-backs which further puts closed-back design to disadvantage. Especially when they can't deliver on the 'old closed-back expectations' like isolation, bass extension and thump.

 

[carloskleiber]

I wonder whether the sound is leaking from the crevices, earpads, or coming through the wood?

 

[sennfan83261]

I wonder whether the sound is leaking from the crevices, earpads, or coming through the wood?

Likely a combination of the first two, particularly the second. In my experience with the loaner so far, the hybrid earpad cannot form a proper seal. A combination of the stiff foam of the Audivina earpads (compared to the more pliant foam used back in the Arya v1 and HEKv2 OG days) and the felt material touching the side of your head prevent any seal formation. My ES-R10 has leather pads, which establishes a seal (albeit not the best) resulting in better sound isolation than the Audivina. It has been more than two years since I sold my Elegia, but I believe that the Elegia had better sound isolation than the Audivina as well. I distinctly recall the pads of the Elegia being more pliant than the Audivina pads.

Also, for some, the clamp force isn't too tight, which make things a bit more comfortable if the cans aren't sitting too loose but may reduce any kind of sound isolating seal.

 

[simonelvladtepes]

On the RME/THX AAA probably not.

You were right.

I just compared the Sus to the HE1000SE on the Liberty THX AAA™ Headphone AMP. The HEK sounded much better, the Sus were 1) too bright; 2) clear and unpleasant clouding of textures into an unpleasant blob at climaxes; 3) the HEK had huge fast bass, better than the Sus.

So the Mytek can't drive the Sus...I wanted to use the Benchmark AHB2 but realized I can't b/c I need RCA inputs (the XLR's from the RME go to the speakers' monoblocks). I can't give up on the RME b/c I love it.

The HE1000SE don't need the Mytek, they sound just as great on the RME.

Simonel

 

[simonelvladtepes]

You were right.

I just compared the Sus to the HE1000SE on the Liberty THX AAA™ Headphone AMP. The HEK sounded much better, the Sus were 1) too bright; 2) clear and unpleasant clouding of textures into an unpleasant blob at climaxes; 3) the HEK had huge fast bass, better than the Sus.

So the Mytek can't drive the Sus...I wanted to use the Benchmark AHB2 but realized I can't b/c I need RCA inputs (the XLR's from the RME go to the speakers' monoblocks). I can't give up on the RME b/c I love it.

Someone on another thread gave me an idea how to power the Susvara with my monoblocks, that also power the speakers. I ordered this speaker passive selector:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RCRR82?tag=namespacebran131-20&ie=UTF8&psc=1 (see pic) & the HE-adapter.

This allows me to toggle between the speakers and headphones, with the monoblocks powering both. I connected everything AND IT WORKS LIKE A CHARM. I returned the AHB2. The Susvara now sound almost as good as my speakers, with the same chain, but my speakers cost >x10 times. The Susvara require an average level of -38dB on the RME; my speakers require -22dB and the Susvara through the Mytek require the RME all the way up, and it still sounded unpleasant in climaxes (clipping?). I'm selling my Mytek. All these HP amps that say they have enough power for ANY headphones - what a joke, you need speaker amps.

Oops, I didn't notice this thread is dead, like the Audivina, the worst HP I auditioned in the last 20 years. RIP

 

[godmax]

Posted my impression/review of the Audivina in the Head Gear section: Hifiman Audivina - inoffensively exiting!

 

[hp4fun]

Posted my impression/review of the Audivina in the Head Gear section: Hifiman Audivina - inoffensively exiting!

My Audivina order was delayed, and then a pair of KEF R11 was on sale so I prioritized my speaker upgrade first. During last few days, I read a few discussions about the KEF R11 which has 4 low frequency drivers yet still it only goes as low as 46 HZ which is similar to the Audivina roll off point. I can see users either complaint R11 lacks of bass and need subwoofers or it has quality plenty of bass for music. Please note that the KEF Reference which costs a few times more than the R series also need subwoofers for movies so I think this is also the design trade off of Audivina here.