I found the Susvara to be a little light in the bass compared to the Elite. I really liked them though. Thought they were great headphones
I must say that with my current setup I am doubtful that with the Elite I am missing much information (if any) in the music compared to the Susvara. A bold statement I know! YMMV
We are lucky to have some incredible headphones available to us nowadays choose from.
Oh no doubt! We are truly fortunate to be able to experience these wonderful headphones.
May I ask what amplifier you had when you listened to the Susvara??
Oh no doubt! We are truly fortunate to be able to experience these wonderful headphones.
May I ask what amplifier you had when you listened to the Susvara??
Understood. I'm going to give the incoming Susvara a Benchmark AHB2. I will also try it with my current Luxman P-750u but I don't think it will be enough current or wattage. We'll see.
I loved Susvara and Elite together as a pair but in the end I couldn’t justify having 2 insane fi headphones in my Arsenal so I decided to let go of Susvara as I found Elite so much more satisfying as an all rounder.
And to make sure I didn't get sellers regret I made sure I also got rid of my Burson 3X GT which drove sus well.
I respect Susvara a lot but overall package especially build quality when paying for something so much, you can’t go past Meze Elite as a whole package.
I do admire the Susvara, but it didn't touch my soul the way the Elite did. Susvara's sound is an engineering marvel and achievement (not so much its build quality and materials used) but Elite's sound is emotionally charged somehow. I haven't really experienced this with other TOTL headphones. Both the Solitaire P and LCD5 are technically a little more capable in certain parameters, but none of them have this level of emotional engagement. Also, the Elite on the right system with good DAC and amplifier becomes technically very capable as well, at least I am not really missing anything in that regard either. The only thing that comes to mind if I wanted to try to explain this 'emotionally engaging sound' of the Elite, is what I experienced with R2R DACs vs. d/s DACs and tube amps vs. SS amps. In both cases the sound becomes more realistic, more enveloping, sweeter, more addictive. I can't really listen to d/s DACs or SS amps after I discovered R2R and tube world, and the case is quite similar with headphones. I just like when my equipment is able to portray the 'soul' of the music and it is not just a fantastic sound reproduction machine. YMMV.
Fun fact about person who looking for a headphone: May put too much attention about how to extract the most detail, separation and cleanest sound ever, while at the same time forget the fact that when we watch live show/concert, those 3 things are positioned well behind the emotional engagement as the main factor to enjoy the experience.
i'm not saying technicality is not important, but I will put the capability to portray "emotional" as first priority before everything else. The way we "listen" to this emotional factor is totally subjective of course.
I loved Susvara and Elite together as a pair but in the end I couldn’t justify having 2 insane fi headphones in my Arsenal so I decided to let go of Susvara as I found Elite so much more satisfying as an all rounder.
And to make sure I didn't get sellers regret I made sure I also got rid of my Burson 3X GT which drove sus well.
I respect Susvara a lot but overall package especially build quality when paying for something so much, you can’t go past Meze Elite as a whole package.
I decided to buy some Empyrean leather earpads for my Elites a few weeks ago. They were not quite exactly what I'd hoped for, but still a nice option to have and what I find myself using mostly now. You get a bit of extra thump from them compared to the hybrids, but the feeling of spaciousness that you get with the Alcantara pads isn't really present with the leather pads. I had hoped the extra thickness placing the drivers further from my ears would have a combination of that spaciousness from the Alcantara pads with a similar bass thump to the Hybrids.
Comfort for me is definitely improved. I like the bit of extra clamping force from the thicker pad options compared to the Hybrids. I think Alcantara still wins overall for comfort, but Empyrean leather pads are a close second. My only complaint about them is that the actual size of the cup for your ear could be bigger like on the Hybrid pads. I think a thicker Hybrid pad might be the true ultimate option for me, if it were to ever exist.
If you own some Elites and have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, there's no harm in giving the Empyrean pads a try.
I decided to buy some Empyrean leather earpads for my Elites a few weeks ago. They were not quite exactly what I'd hoped for, but still a nice option to have and what I find myself using mostly now. You get a bit of extra thump from them compared to the hybrids, but the feeling of spaciousness that you get with the Alcantara pads isn't really present with the leather pads. I had hoped the extra thickness placing the drivers further from my ears would have a combination of that spaciousness from the Alcantara pads with a similar bass thump to the Hybrids.
Comfort for me is definitely improved. I like the bit of extra clamping force from the thicker pad options compared to the Hybrids. I think Alcantara still wins overall for comfort, but Empyrean leather pads are a close second. My only complaint about them is that the actual size of the cup for your ear could be bigger like on the Hybrid pads. I think a thicker Hybrid pad might be the true ultimate option for me, if it were to ever exist.
If you own some Elites and have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, there's no harm in giving the Empyrean pads a try.
I actually find the Empyrean pads to be a major improvement on the Elites! Soundstage widens up and they really open up vocals and mid-bass. The standard Elite pads just bring everything too much "into my head" instead of "around my head". IMO, YMMV.
I decided to buy some Empyrean leather earpads for my Elites a few weeks ago. They were not quite exactly what I'd hoped for, but still a nice option to have and what I find myself using mostly now. You get a bit of extra thump from them compared to the hybrids, but the feeling of spaciousness that you get with the Alcantara pads isn't really present with the leather pads. I had hoped the extra thickness placing the drivers further from my ears would have a combination of that spaciousness from the Alcantara pads with a similar bass thump to the Hybrids.
Comfort for me is definitely improved. I like the bit of extra clamping force from the thicker pad options compared to the Hybrids. I think Alcantara still wins overall for comfort, but Empyrean leather pads are a close second. My only complaint about them is that the actual size of the cup for your ear could be bigger like on the Hybrid pads. I think a thicker Hybrid pad might be the true ultimate option for me, if it were to ever exist.
If you own some Elites and have some cash burning a hole in your pocket, there's no harm in giving the Empyrean pads a try.
To me both the Empy leather pads on the Elite and the Elite hybrid pads on the Empy just mess up balance. Some folks like it, so ymmv. (I prefer hybrid on Elite and leather on Empy.)
To me both the Empy leather pads on the Elite and the Elite hybrid pads on the Empy just mess up balance. Some folks like it, so ymmv. (I prefer hybrid on Elite and leather on Empy.)
I would honestly loose my mind with tubes. OCD would force me into spending crazy cash on different combinations. Plus I would be OCD about leaving them on because they may not sound right with a power cycle. I'm really trying to figure out if moving from the R28 2021 to the R27RE would make any sense. The R28 2021 has been a wonderful product that balances SS resolution and power with R2R warmth. I've also never turned it off (other than when I'm away or during bad weather) since I got it ~2 years ago. IMO perfect combination for relaxing and enjoying music. However, wondering if the added capability of the Elites (and the Meze Silver plated cable) warrant better amp/dac.
BTW, thanks to Mightytison for selling me his Elites.
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