[TSAVJason]

The Elite we have on demo is clearly not opened up yet after just 30 hours but they are showing signs of being an amazing set of headphones. I look forward to them getting to full voice.

 

[432789]

Will they not fall apart if they open up?

 

[TSAVJason]

Will they not fall apart if they open up?

Into tiny cohesive particles of music

 

[strojo]

The Elite we have on demo is clearly not opened up yet after just 30 hours but they are showing signs of being an amazing set of headphones. I look forward to them getting to full voice.

Can you offer any perspective on ear cup size. I have fairly tall ears, so smaller cupped headphones don't work for me. As a point of comparison, the Focal Utopias are a good fit for me.

 

[TSAVJason]

Can you offer any perspective on ear cup size. I have fairly tall ears, so smaller cupped headphones don't work for me. As a point of comparison, the Focal Utopias are a good fit for me.

Hmmm I’m not sure I’m good at this particular type of question. I don’t think a taller ear would be an issue. I have “normal” ears (I think)

I felt like there was plenty of ear space inside the pads. It has lots of adjustment so I really don’t think you’d have an issue

 

[JM45]

Those of you who own the OG Empyrean, the new ELITE and Susvara, what's your opinion on the Elite in terms of strength of Susvara over the OG Empy? From my ~1 month experience with the Susvara, the dynamics, detail retrieval, clarity and bass quality (obviously not the quantity) seems better on it in many songs (not all). Is the Elite really close to an "underpowered" Susvara with sub 800$ Amp? One of the best characteristics of Empyrean was how amazing it sounded even on a Dap with 500-600 mW power.

Btw I own both the OG Empy and susvara. Currently I am running the Susvara with A90 only. i am kinda confused whether I should save up for pricey amp for the Hifiman or just get a budget amp like Cayin iha 6 (which sounds noticeably better than A90) and get thr elite next year.

 

[HichamV]

I would go with a very good amp with plenty of power to spare. Auris Nirvana or the upcoming Holo Audio head phone amp are what I am thinking about myself. You have a 6k head phone, but the Susvara needs a great amp to become excellent itself.

 

[Nitori]

2.5db to the 50Hz.
In actual listening it is extended without noticable roll off.
Of course compared to the boosted Empyrean it is lacking but it sounds more linear and natural.
Certainly not a bass canon for the heavy bass lovers or Harman crowd but nowhere lacking in extension.
Well unless I am gonna deaf...
Anyway I am not going to argue with anyone here.

 

[BTD1]

I just want to register my agreement with your assessment of Elite's bass. There is plenty of bass. And, it's easily boosted with EQ if you need more. However, the bass is not quite as precisely focused as it is on the Susvara.

 

[driftingbunnies]

Those of you who own the OG Empyrean, the new ELITE and Susvara, what's your opinion on the Elite in terms of strength of Susvara over the OG Empy? From my ~1 month experience with the Susvara, the dynamics, detail retrieval, clarity and bass quality (obviously not the quantity) seems better on it in many songs (not all). Is the Elite really close to an "underpowered" Susvara with sub 800$ Amp? One of the best characteristics of Empyrean was how amazing it sounded even on a Dap with 500-600 mW power.

Btw I own both the OG Empy and susvara. Currently I am running the Susvara with A90 only. i am kinda confused whether I should save up for pricey amp for the Hifiman or just get a budget amp like Cayin iha 6 (which sounds noticeably better than A90) and get thr elite next year.

Unfortunately only you can really answer this question. It depends on what you're looking for. Are you planning to get something better in the future? Are you hoping to be finished with audio gear soon? Are you the type that is curious about what can be better?

If you want to build a long term chain, Susvara will be a good headphone to use if you will invest in your front end gear. If you'd rather be done, maybe Elite would be a good option with less expensive front end gear. However, it won't match the level of Susvara with a better source/amplifier. There's definitely a lot of amplifiers better than the A90 for the Susvara so there's still a good amount of potential left there. I'm also assuming there should be some potential left on the table with your DAC as well.

Personally, I would opt to sell OG Empyrean and invest that money in a better amplifier and/or DAC than go for Elite since you already have Susvara. I don't think the Elite brings anything better or different enough from the Susvara.

 

[Lokiiami]

I just want to register my agreement with your assessment of Elite's bass. There is plenty of bass. And, it's easily boosted with EQ if you need more. However, the bass is not quite as precisely focused as it is on the Susvara.

Just curious..wouldnt it be better to have more and reduce it via EQ than boosting what's not there?

 

[lumdicks]

Those of you who own the OG Empyrean, the new ELITE and Susvara, what's your opinion on the Elite in terms of strength of Susvara over the OG Empy? From my ~1 month experience with the Susvara, the dynamics, detail retrieval, clarity and bass quality (obviously not the quantity) seems better on it in many songs (not all). Is the Elite really close to an "underpowered" Susvara with sub 800$ Amp? One of the best characteristics of Empyrean was how amazing it sounded even on a Dap with 500-600 mW power.

Btw I own both the OG Empy and susvara. Currently I am running the Susvara with A90 only. i am kinda confused whether I should save up for pricey amp for the Hifiman or just get a budget amp like Cayin iha 6 (which sounds noticeably better than A90) and get thr elite next year.

I think a better amp to pair with Susvara should bring more in your case. Indeed I found Susvara and OG Empy is very good complement to each other, while the former brings crazy details, soundstage, dynamics and micro-details and the latter give unparalleled musicality, smoothness and foot tapping sound.

Just got the D8000 as well and the quality and quantity of bass, details and dynamics are amazing. But as a whole, Susvara is still noticeable better, providing that it is properly driven.

 

[Narayan23]

Those of you who own the OG Empyrean, the new ELITE and Susvara, what's your opinion on the Elite in terms of strength of Susvara over the OG Empy? From my ~1 month experience with the Susvara, the dynamics, detail retrieval, clarity and bass quality (obviously not the quantity) seems better on it in many songs (not all). Is the Elite really close to an "underpowered" Susvara with sub 800$ Amp? One of the best characteristics of Empyrean was how amazing it sounded even on a Dap with 500-600 mW power.

Btw I own both the OG Empy and susvara. Currently I am running the Susvara with A90 only. i am kinda confused whether I should save up for pricey amp for the Hifiman or just get a budget amp like Cayin iha 6 (which sounds noticeably better than A90) and get thr elite next year.

I would personally get the IHA 6 (Andrew / Resolve over at Headphones.com did his review of the Susvara with it, and the Susvara review on Headfonics mentioned: "For a step up in resolution and dynamic range, the Cayin iHA-6 solid-state 7W balanced output pairing with the Chord Hugo 2 was special. Perhaps my favorite pairing and certainly the one that I default to more times than most"). The Elite will bring you an alternative sound signature that you might enjoy more over what a really expensive amp will do to the sound of the Susvara, you could also investigate running the Susvara out of a not so expensive speaker amp if you have concerns over the power necessary to move them.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

I would personally get the IHA 6 (Andrew / Resolve over at Headphones.com did his review of the Susvara with it, and the Susvara review on Headfonics mentioned: "For a step up in resolution and dynamic range, the Cayin iHA-6 solid-state 7W balanced output pairing with the Chord Hugo 2 was special. Perhaps my favorite pairing and certainly the one that I default to more times than most"). The Elite will bring you an alternative sound signature that you might enjoy more over what a really expensive amp will do to the sound of the Susvara, you could also investigate running the Susvara out of a not so expensive speaker amp if you have concerns over the power necessary to move them.

I would second this, the IHA-6 was indistinguishable to an NCore 252mp speaker amp. At least for my ear, that is. But for the price it is certainly a good place to start.

There is a Kinky amp for sale in the classifieds, I hear that amp has a lot of power. Might want to read up on that and consider it as well.

 

[BTD1]

Just curious..wouldnt it be better to have more and reduce it via EQ than boosting what's not there?

You're probably right. But, the question of what's enough or too much bass is pure personal preference. For me, the Elites have enough bass.