HiFlight
Headphoneus Supremus
Your review really hones my anticipation while awaiting the delivery of mine!
TGXEAR discussion thread.
Your review really hones my anticipation while awaiting the delivery of mine!
Sword is the reviewer, not me. He reviews earbuds from time to time - recommend you subscribe!
IamInnocentX3
Head-Fier
Today is the second last day that I will be spending time with my Venus before leaving home again. Through thick and thin of diagnosing my D300 DAC, I can say endgame is not far away. Firstly, I would say that D300 is a formidable DAC, compared with my SU-1, other than the difference in tonality, D300 is a league above the SU-1 in layering and presentation, both technicalities and musicality. Despite being a Delta-Sigma DAC, the D300 has a more analogue type of sound, in other words, the sound is more realistic and has more meatiness than being clear, cutting edge, analytical or flat. Tonally, the SU-1 is more Neutral than the D300, and the presentation of D300 can feel to be colored. However, the D300 sings more naturally than the SU-1, being more immersive and performs songs even more detailed than the SU-1. And that is something that the SU-1 can't compete on the same level.
Having retired my Serratus(ses, if I must say,) due to the presence of the Sunnivas, as they are a league above the Serratus, I will be comparing them to my Venus before I debark from my hometown once again, taking only the Sunnivas and the SU-1 with me. I would take the Venus, but that would be a hassle. Plus, it doesn't synergize well with SU-1. So here I am, wanting to write down my afterthoughts of enjoying my setup by comparing both of my sets together under the same setup. Both of them gave a different presentation and features, yet they both gave the same amount of enjoyment.
My chain consists of: Voltage Regulator -> Power Filter -> Step-Down Transformer (AC 220 to 100/110V) -> S.M.S.L. PO100 Pro DSP (Optical Output) -> S.M.S.L. D300 DAC (24-bit 48kHz) [RCA Output] -> AOSIBAO HFHA 2.0 Class A Headphone Amp (Rated 2W 16ohm)
I'll start with the Venus, since they are the desired damsel in figure. Silver, graceful, and a perfect circle (nearly), the description is nothing short of being premium. The sharp looks describe both the driver design and the audio profile. Being planar magnetic, they have a different timbre than traditional dynamic drivers. Well-designed dynamic drivers today can be described to have wonderful bass and mid-range, lovable treble and realistic presentation. Though, planar drivers being thinner in diaphragm, can be described to have a clean, clear-cut sound, that has less of a body than its dynamic counterpart. Venus, being tuned as a brighter headphone, does not shy away from providing tons of treble. Towards a planar driver, the implementation of the treble can be more brilliant, due to the thickness of the diaphragm. And the audio profile can be described to be faster, technical and even having more prowess to the dynamic driver. The downsides of the Venus can be said to have the opposite characteristic of a dynamic driver. Due to the audio profile of the Venus, the equipment chain for the headphone needs to be decent, otherwise the headphone may perform sub-optimally due to the the limited characteristics imposed by the system's lack of power, signal cleanliness, and tonal balance that feeds onto the headphones.
And here we have the Sunnivas. Being a smaller sized dynamic driver, you might think of it being less technical prow than the Venus. But let me tell you, the Sunnivas performs brilliantly in its presentation of details. While the Venus are brighter and have that clear-cut sound, the Sunnivas have both realism and details. I have the Serratus which are tuned to be Neutral, (and another set that is brighter,) and I quite prefer the neutral tuning of the Serratus. The neutral tuning resolves all three audio regions equally, namely bass, midrange and treble. The Serratus I mentioned are very balanced in both bass and treble presentation. The Sunnivas however, are tuned to be warm. Warm as in, having more prominent bass and a more laid-back treble. Their tuning style enables a more meaty, and realistic presentation without the lack of details.
The Venus has a brighter presentation and more forward treble. What I enjoy with this song is both the energy it gives and the theme of remembrance it portrays. With the Venus, I enjoy the level of treble energy it provides. Even though the tuning of the Venus is bright, the presentation is smooth without giving any sense of harshness. The Sunnivas provide the opposite of the Venus. They provide more bass rumble along with meatiness and realism in instrumental timbre, while stepping down the treble to the background. Despite taking a step-back on the treble, I did not hear any lack of detail that I would get from the Venus. Rather, the breakdown with the guitar shines on this set compared to the energetic drop of the synths with the Venus. Both providing similar amount of enjoyment while each present different factions.
Result: Draw
As the main focus of the song being the vocals and instrumentation comes secondary, I found the song being more enjoyable with the Venus. The Sunnivas however, perform better on the instruments for realism yet they lack some upper breathing room for the vocals.
Result: Venus +1
The orchestral of instruments perform more realistic on the Sunnivas. Dem Guitar plucks.
Result: Sunniva +1
Realistic intrumental timbre and more body on the Sunniva. Yet, somehow lacks the harmonical flow in the overall presentation.
The Venus however, has a more engagement factor throughout the orchestration with it's more layered and energetic presentation. Venus performs 'right' for setting the mood 'right'.
Result: Venus +1
Venus contains more engagement factor for its vocal singing. However, the focus of this track is not only the vocals, but even more-so the instruments.
Sunniva portrays insane instrumental timbre on this song regardless of vocals adding into the mix. The timbre is too good not to be ignored regardless of the engagement factor.
Result: Sunniva +1
Final Result: DRAW
In short, Venus is a brighter headphone and Sunniva is a warmer earbud. They both contain the same level of enjoyment. Some I prefer on the Venus due, and some I prefer on the Sunnivas. Overall, it doesn't whichever I am listening to, both of these are decent. The Venus is nice, and the Sunniva is good. Even through all these write-up, I still want to say, there are different ways of enjoying music, and either the tuning or technicalities are not enough to make a good headphone. It depends on whether you can find ways to enjoy them (*cough, signal regeneration equipment, *cough*, equipment matching, *cough*, spending money on equipment, *cough*.) But yeah, you get what I mean. I have not heard of the Desolation Sound, but considering the Sunnivas are in the same league as the Venus, or even perform marginally better, I would say DS will stand on another level. Even while that, I have to break the atmosphere: (Guys, Don't Google Crinacle 'D-tier' list!)
*P.S.* One of the top-of-the-line headphones had Crinacle ranked under D-tier.
*P.S.S.* The predecessor of that headphone is ranked at A-tier for it's tonal performance.
*P.S.S.S.* Crinacle x WoodyLuvr earbuds ranking collab when lul
Having retired my Serratus(ses, if I must say,) due to the presence of the Sunnivas, as they are a league above the Serratus, I will be comparing them to my Venus before I debark from my hometown once again, taking only the Sunnivas and the SU-1 with me. I would take the Venus, but that would be a hassle. Plus, it doesn't synergize well with SU-1. So here I am, wanting to write down my afterthoughts of enjoying my setup by comparing both of my sets together under the same setup. Both of them gave a different presentation and features, yet they both gave the same amount of enjoyment.
My chain consists of: Voltage Regulator -> Power Filter -> Step-Down Transformer (AC 220 to 100/110V) -> S.M.S.L. PO100 Pro DSP (Optical Output) -> S.M.S.L. D300 DAC (24-bit 48kHz) [RCA Output] -> AOSIBAO HFHA 2.0 Class A Headphone Amp (Rated 2W 16ohm)
I'll start with the Venus, since they are the desired damsel in figure. Silver, graceful, and a perfect circle (nearly), the description is nothing short of being premium. The sharp looks describe both the driver design and the audio profile. Being planar magnetic, they have a different timbre than traditional dynamic drivers. Well-designed dynamic drivers today can be described to have wonderful bass and mid-range, lovable treble and realistic presentation. Though, planar drivers being thinner in diaphragm, can be described to have a clean, clear-cut sound, that has less of a body than its dynamic counterpart. Venus, being tuned as a brighter headphone, does not shy away from providing tons of treble. Towards a planar driver, the implementation of the treble can be more brilliant, due to the thickness of the diaphragm. And the audio profile can be described to be faster, technical and even having more prowess to the dynamic driver. The downsides of the Venus can be said to have the opposite characteristic of a dynamic driver. Due to the audio profile of the Venus, the equipment chain for the headphone needs to be decent, otherwise the headphone may perform sub-optimally due to the the limited characteristics imposed by the system's lack of power, signal cleanliness, and tonal balance that feeds onto the headphones.
And here we have the Sunnivas. Being a smaller sized dynamic driver, you might think of it being less technical prow than the Venus. But let me tell you, the Sunnivas performs brilliantly in its presentation of details. While the Venus are brighter and have that clear-cut sound, the Sunnivas have both realism and details. I have the Serratus which are tuned to be Neutral, (and another set that is brighter,) and I quite prefer the neutral tuning of the Serratus. The neutral tuning resolves all three audio regions equally, namely bass, midrange and treble. The Serratus I mentioned are very balanced in both bass and treble presentation. The Sunnivas however, are tuned to be warm. Warm as in, having more prominent bass and a more laid-back treble. Their tuning style enables a more meaty, and realistic presentation without the lack of details.
The Venus has a brighter presentation and more forward treble. What I enjoy with this song is both the energy it gives and the theme of remembrance it portrays. With the Venus, I enjoy the level of treble energy it provides. Even though the tuning of the Venus is bright, the presentation is smooth without giving any sense of harshness. The Sunnivas provide the opposite of the Venus. They provide more bass rumble along with meatiness and realism in instrumental timbre, while stepping down the treble to the background. Despite taking a step-back on the treble, I did not hear any lack of detail that I would get from the Venus. Rather, the breakdown with the guitar shines on this set compared to the energetic drop of the synths with the Venus. Both providing similar amount of enjoyment while each present different factions.
Result: Draw
As the main focus of the song being the vocals and instrumentation comes secondary, I found the song being more enjoyable with the Venus. The Sunnivas however, perform better on the instruments for realism yet they lack some upper breathing room for the vocals.
Result: Venus +1
The orchestral of instruments perform more realistic on the Sunnivas. Dem Guitar plucks.
Result: Sunniva +1
Realistic intrumental timbre and more body on the Sunniva. Yet, somehow lacks the harmonical flow in the overall presentation.
The Venus however, has a more engagement factor throughout the orchestration with it's more layered and energetic presentation. Venus performs 'right' for setting the mood 'right'.
Result: Venus +1
Venus contains more engagement factor for its vocal singing. However, the focus of this track is not only the vocals, but even more-so the instruments.
Sunniva portrays insane instrumental timbre on this song regardless of vocals adding into the mix. The timbre is too good not to be ignored regardless of the engagement factor.
Result: Sunniva +1
Final Result: DRAW
In short, Venus is a brighter headphone and Sunniva is a warmer earbud. They both contain the same level of enjoyment. Some I prefer on the Venus due, and some I prefer on the Sunnivas. Overall, it doesn't whichever I am listening to, both of these are decent. The Venus is nice, and the Sunniva is good. Even through all these write-up, I still want to say, there are different ways of enjoying music, and either the tuning or technicalities are not enough to make a good headphone. It depends on whether you can find ways to enjoy them (*cough, signal regeneration equipment, *cough*, equipment matching, *cough*, spending money on equipment, *cough*.) But yeah, you get what I mean. I have not heard of the Desolation Sound, but considering the Sunnivas are in the same league as the Venus, or even perform marginally better, I would say DS will stand on another level. Even while that, I have to break the atmosphere: (Guys, Don't Google Crinacle 'D-tier' list!)
*P.S.* One of the top-of-the-line headphones had Crinacle ranked under D-tier.
*P.S.S.* The predecessor of that headphone is ranked at A-tier for it's tonal performance.
*P.S.S.S.* Crinacle x WoodyLuvr earbuds ranking collab when lul
Last edited:
Kordonrules
100+ Head-Fier
What’s Carbon?Nope, have three already and I don't want an MX Shell. Also I love Carbon and this won't dethrone it for me.
However Jim has other stuff cooking that I very much look forward to
Today is the second last day that I will be spending time with my Venus before leaving home again. Through thick and thin of diagnosing my D300 DAC, I can say endgame is not far away. Firstly, I would say that D300 is a formidable DAC, compared with my SU-1, other than the difference in tonality, D300 is a league above the SU-1 in layering and presentation, both technicalities and musicality. Despite being a Delta-Sigma DAC, the D300 has a more analogue type of sound, in other words, the sound is more realistic and has more meatiness than being clear, cutting edge, analytical or flat. Tonally, the SU-1 is more Neutral than the D300, and the presentation of D300 can feel to be colored. However, the D300 sings more naturally than the SU-1, being more immersive and performs songs even more detailed than the SU-1. And that is something that the SU-1 can't compete on the same level.
Having retired my Serratus(ses, if I must say,) due to the presence of the Sunnivas, as they are a league above the Serratus, I will be comparing them to my Venus before I debark from my hometown once again, taking only the Sunnivas and the SU-1 with me. Even though being warmer and more prominent in the Midbass. So here I want to write down my afterthoughts of enjoying my setup and comparing both of my sets together under the same setup. Both of them gave a different presentation and features, yet they both gave me the same amount of enjoyment.
My chain consists of: Voltage Regulator -> Power Filter -> Step-Down Transformer (AC 220 to 100/110V) -> S.M.S.L. PO100 Pro DSP (Optical Output) -> S.M.S.L. D300 DAC (24-bit 48kHz) [RCA Output] -> AOSIBAO HFHA 2.0 Class A Headphone Amp (Rated 2W 16ohm)
I'll start with the Venus, since they are the desired damsel in figure. Silver, graceful, and a perfect circle (nearly), the description is nothing short of being premium. The sharp looks describe both the driver design and the audio profile. Being planar magnetic, they have a different timbre than traditional dynamic drivers. Well-designed dynamic drivers today can be described to have wonderful bass and mid-range, lovable treble and realistic presentation. Though, planar drivers being thinner in diaphragm, can be described to have a clean, clear-cut sound, that has less of a body than its dynamic counterpart. Venus, being tuned as a brighter headphone, does not shy away from providing tons of treble. Towards a planar driver, the implementation of the treble can be more brilliant, due to the thickness of the diaphragm. And the audio profile can be described to be faster, technical and even having more prowess to the dynamic driver. The downsides of the Venus can be said to have the opposite characteristic of a dynamic driver. Due to the audio profile of the Venus, the equipment chain for the headphone needs to be decent, otherwise the headphone may perform sub-optimally due to the the limited characteristics imposed by the system's lack of power, signal cleanliness, and tonal balance that feeds onto the headphones.
And here we have the Sunnivas. Being a smaller sized dynamic driver, you might think of it being less technical prow than the Venus. But let me tell you, the Sunnivas performs brilliantly in its presentation of details. While the Venus are brighter and have that clear-cut sound, the Sunnivas have both realism and details. I have the Serratus which are tuned to be Neutral, (and another set that is brighter,) and I quite prefer the neutral tuning of the Serratus. The neutral tuning resolves all three audio regions equally, namely bass, midrange and treble. The Serratus I mentioned are very balanced in both bass and treble presentation. The Sunnivas however, are tuned to be warm. Warm as in, having more prominent bass and a more laid-back treble. Their tuning style enables a more meaty, and realistic presentation without the lack of details.
The Venus has a brighter presentation and more forward treble. What I enjoy with this song is both the energy it gives and the theme of remembrance it portrays. With the Venus, I enjoy the level of treble energy it provides. Even though the tuning of the Venus is bright, the presentation is smooth without giving any sense of harshness. The Sunnivas provide the opposite of the Venus. They provide more bass rumble along with meatiness and realism in instrumental timbre, while stepping down the treble in the background its presentation. Despite taking a step-back on the treble, I did not hear any lack of detail that I would get from the Venus. Rather than that, the breakdown with the guitar shines on this set compared to the energetic drop provided by synths on the Venus. Both providing similar amount of enjoyment while each present different factions.
Result: Draw
As the main focus of the song being the vocals and secondary is the instrument, I found the song being more enjoyable with the Venus. The Sunnivas however, perform better on the instruments on realism yet they lack some upper breathing room for the vocals.
Result: Venus +1
The orchestral of instruments perform more realistic on the Sunnivas. Dem Guitar plucks.
Result: Sunniva +1
Realistic intrumental timbre and more body on the Sunniva. Yet, somehow lacks the energy for the overall harmony.
The Venus however, has a more engagement factor throughout the orchestration with it's more energetic presentation. Venus performs 'right' for setting the mood 'right'.
Result: Venus +1
Venus contains more engagement factor for its vocal singing. However, the focus of this track is not only the vocals, but even more-so the instruments.
Sunniva portrays insane instrumental timbre on this song regardless of vocals adding into the mix. The timbre is too good not to be ignored regardless of the engagement factor.
Result: Sunniva +1
Final Result: DRAW
In short, Venus is a brighter headphone and Sunniva is a warmer earbud. They both contain the same level of enjoyment that I would when listen to several songs. Some I prefer on the Venus, and some I prefer on the Sunnivas. Even through all these write-up, I still want to say, there are different ways of enjoying music, and either the tuning or technicalities are not enough to make a good headphone. It depends on whether you can find ways to enjoy them (*cough, signal regeneration equipment, *cough*, equipment matching, *cough*, spending money on equipment, *cough*.) But yeah, you get what I mean. I have not heard of the Desolation Sound, but considering the Sunnivas are in the same league as the Venus, or even perform marginally better, I would say DS will stand on another level. Even while that, I have to break the atmosphere: (Guys, Don't Google Crinacle 'D-tier' list!)
*P.S.* One of the top-of-the-line headphones had Crinacle ranked under D-tier.
*P.S.S.* The predecessor of that headphone is ranked at A-tier for it's tonal performance.
*P.S.S.S.* Crinacle x WoodyLuvr earbuds ranking collab when lul
Hell will freeze over before @WoodyLuvr collaborates with an IEM guy.
