[Aetherhole]

Part 1 of my shootout:

I have owned all of these headphones concurrently:
Susvara: stock cable
Atrium: ZMF OFC cable
Utopia: Black dragon cable
Bravura: Full electrostatic system with Sonoma m1 energizer/DAC, connected to DAP with coax
HEKSE: stock cable with EQ (Poweramp EQ) If you are younger, far too bright without EQ; I can't listen to it without EQ. My EQ adds a tiny bit of bass and tames the highs.
LCD-5: ZMF OFC cable with EQ (Poweramp EQ), when the result is different I also compare the kilobuck cable viking weave ansuz (no EQ). I prefer no EQ + kilobuck cable! Without cable, I prefer my EQ, which adds a bit of bass, and adds to the 2 dips in upper mids/highs. if you don't want to customize your chain or try EQ, don't get LCD-5 IMO.


"Glossary"
My ~$3k chain: apple music on dx320 (using internal ROHM DAC to lineout on modded amp12exn-s module) -> iFi 4.4 to xlr cable -> iFi Pro iCan Signature (solid state). Approximating DAC price to other desktop DACs I know it compares to.
My DAP: apple music on dx320 with modded amp12exn-s (with opamp upgrades). Quite powerful class A amplifier, Similar to a ~$1.5 desktop chain.
Susvara ~$24k chain: extended listened to: Tidal -> unknown streamer -> Chord Dave -> AVM A 6.2 ($10k speaker amp) (unknown connecting cables, but easily kilobuck+)

I am not doing a ranking here, since I think words are more nuanced. for reference: amazing > great > good > ok > bad. Keep in mind these terms are relative to the headphones I am comparing. Also good/great means between good and great. If I don't specify chain, then that rating applies to all chains from DAP to my $3k chain.
money no object winner highlight
$3k chain winner highlight
DAP winner highlight

resolution/separation (excluding bass):
Susvara - amazing+ with a ~$24k chain (dave+speaker amp), great with ~$3k chain, good/great on my DAP (incredibly, but rest of susvara suffers)
Bravura - amazing
LCD-5 (probably a contender for top place will update after trying Chord Dave) - amazing+? with ~$?? chain, great/amazing with my ~$3k chain, good straight from DAP
Utopia - good/great with my ~$3k chain, good on my DAP
Atrium - always ok/good
HEKSE - always good/great

instrument naturalness, most are ranges since it depends on the instrument:
Susvara - great/amazing on $24k chain (mid range shines), good/amazing on my $3k chain (lack bass impact), and ok on DAP due to sounding weird and lacking bass
Bravura - good/great: bass forward instruments won't have impact, realistic but never fully immersive
LCD-5 - good/amazing usually, but great/amazing with my viking weave ansuz cable. Especially drums and other bassy instruments
Utopia - ok/amazing metallic: amazing for some instruments, just ok for most instruments
Atrium - good/amazing, due to long decay it varies a lot for each instrument
HEKSE - good/great has impact and realistic but never fully immersive

vocal texture + tone:
Susvara - great/amazing
Bravura - good realistic but never fully immersive
LCD-5 - good, but great with viking weave ansuz cable. Tone suffers without EQ or proper chain
Utopia - ok/good sometimes metallic
Atrium - great/amazing + lush vocals (may be positive or negative for each song/preference)
HEKSE - good realistic but never fully immersive

vocal placement:
Susvara - usually in the background with instruments, but sometimes brought closer
Bravura - brought up front and close
LCD-5 - in the background with instruments
Utopia - in the background with instruments (but feels upfront due to small stage)
Atrium - brought up front and close
HEKSE - in the background with instruments

stage size:
Susvara - great/amazing
Bravura - good/amazing variable on track (heavy bassy tracks are closer)
LCD-5 - good, but good/great with viking weave ansuz
Utopia - ok/good
Atrium - good/great
HEKSE - amazing

energy level:
Susvara - chill/effortless: like mac and cheese, smooth and rich, can't stop eating
Bravura - in the middle: like pizza, strong but lowkey
LCD-5 - very energetic: like wagyu, amazing but how long can you endure the fattiness
Utopia - energetic: like foie gras, rich, overly fatty
Atrium - mostly chill: like grits, mostly smooth but with punch at times
HEKSE - in the middle: like bacon, nothing crazy but noticeable

imaging:
Susvara - on $24k chain: great/amazing. on $3k chain: great. DAP: ok
Bravura - good/great
LCD-5 - on $3k chain: great/amazing, but incredibly amazing with viking weave ansuz cable. On DAP: good/great
Utopia - on $3k chain: great. DAP: good
Atrium - always ok
HEKSE - always good/great

bass texture/resolution:
Susvara - on $24k chain: great/amazing. on $3k chain: good. on DAP: bad
Bravura - great/amazing
LCD-5 - on $3k chain: amazing On DAP: great
Utopia - on $3k chain: great. DAP: good/great
Atrium - always ok/great: decay is great, resolution is not
HEKSE - always great

bass impact:
Susvara - on $24k chain: great. on $3k chain: ok/good. on DAP: bad
Bravura - ok (great for an estat!) but, depending on volume, very high bass impacts seem to "shock" the headset, which very slightly "muddies" those milliseconds
LCD-5 - on $3k chain: amazing. on DAP: great. Can suffer without EQ or right chain
Utopia - on $3k chain: great/amazing. DAP: great
Atrium - always great
HEKSE - always great

MSRP:
Susvara - on $24k chain: $30k. on $3k chain: $9k. on DAP equivalent desktop: $7.5k
Bravura - full system $6k
LCD-5 - on $3k chain with viking weave ansuz: $8.5k. on $3k chain: $7.5k. On DAP equivalent desktop: $6k
Utopia - on $3k chain: $7k. On DAP equivalent desktop: $5.5k
Atrium - on $3k chain: $5.5k. On DAP equivalent desktop: $4k
HEKSE - on $3k chain: $5k. On DAP equivalent desktop: $3.5k

-I think EQ'd HEKSE is very underrated a bang for buck option (remember not comparing stock HEKSE). I also think Bravura is an amazing all-rounder which is unbeatable for the price!
-I have tried my best to be music genre agnostic in this comparison!

In my part 2 of this review, I will compare all of these headphones in the following genres of music:
vocal heavy pop
"trashy" pop
hiphop
metal
progressive rock
opera
orchestra
classical
choral and a capella
any other genres?

Such a great comparison/rating! Thanks for taking the time. I look forward to part 2, with all those genres.

Even after reading this, you really can get an idea of just how amazing of a value the Bravura is.

Additionally, your review makes me very curious to hear your setup, EQ or kilobuck cable, with the LCD-5. I was mildly impressed with the LCD-5, but probably wrote it off too quickly if there’s more potential with adjusting it’s tonality.

 

[squashi]

Such a great comparison/rating! Thanks for taking the time. I look forward to part 2, with all those genres.

Even after reading this, you really can get an idea of just how amazing of a value the Bravura is.

Additionally, your review makes me very curious to hear your setup, EQ or kilobuck cable, with the LCD-5. I was mildly impressed with the LCD-5, but probably wrote it off too quickly if there’s more potential with adjusting it’s tonality.

Haha careful going back into the rabbit hole. To be honest I was almost ready to sell my LCD-5, but EQ transformed both LCD-5 and HEKSE immensely. Just keep in mind LCD-5 won't have that forward vocals (that I would otherwise miss from Bravura). Luckily my Atrium also does that! Speaking of which, I just realized I never posted my little Bravura and Atrium comparison I made yesterday!

Worth adding a specific comparison for Bravura with Atrium, since they have one specific similarity:
- They both place the vocals right upfront, and let the instruments surround the voice
- Bravura has bigger stage (depends by how much)
- Bravura has much better imaging
- Bravura has immensely more resolution
- Atrium has more lush, colored mids, Bravura is has much more standard mids (like Susvara)
- Atrium has more bass punch, Bravura has much better bass texture
- Atrium sounds more natural to my ears (like Susvara), Bravura still sounds realistic

 

[Aetherhole]

Haha careful going back into the rabbit hole. To be honest I was almost ready to sell my LCD-5, but EQ transformed both LCD-5 and HEKSE immensely. Just keep in mind LCD-5 won't have that forward vocals (that I would otherwise miss from Bravura). Luckily my Atrium also does that! Speaking of which, I just realized I never posted my little Bravura and Atrium comparison I made yesterday!

Worth adding a specific comparison for Bravura with Atrium, since they have one specific similarity:
- They both place the vocals right upfront, and let the instruments surround the voice
- Bravura has bigger stage (depends by how much)
- Bravura has much better imaging
- Bravura has immensely more resolution
- Atrium has more lush, colored mids, Bravura is has much more standard mids (like Susvara)
- Atrium has more bass punch, Bravura has much better bass texture
- Atrium sounds more natural to my ears (like Susvara), Bravura still sounds realistic

I’ve not actually listened to the HE1000 and I am thinking to myself, “how is that…” I went from the Arya SE to the Susvara and totally skipped the HE1000. Next time I’m at Can Jam I’ve got to try them.

I like the lush Atrium mids, for sure, though I don’t know if I’d ever own them. I really prefer the forward vocal presentation, apparently. The nice thing with the Atrium and the Bravura is that they aren’t shouty. I find the Focal lineup to be forward and can be shouty.

I also still can’t get over the bass texture of the Bravura. It’s really something else.

 

[squashi]

The HE1000SE specifically, they are a decent improvement over the HE1000 apparently.

But not going to lie, they were terribly disappointing to me without EQ, and it's hard to recommend a headphone you absolutely must EQ...

 

[Gowry]

The HE1000SE specifically, they are a decent improvement over the HE1000 apparently.

But not going to lie, they were terribly disappointing to me without EQ, and it's hard to recommend a headphone you absolutely must EQ...

Thanks for your comparisons! I've been wanting to try the LCD5. I really should have traded some of my IEMs in when Audeze was running their trade in program a couple of months ago.

I, too, have a well EQ'd HE1000SE and enjoy it a lot. I want to try the Susvara, but have never been excited about it due to it's amplifier needs. The HEKSE sounds good out of anything! I also run HQPlayer and feel the gauss filters widen the soundstage on it in a very nice manner.

 

[Fox88]

Habemus Aperio

 

[Purzel]

Habemus Aperio




Congrats and hope for a small review of this beast.

 

[Fox88]

Will do a review although it is going to be in layman terms as I'm not very knowledgeable of the audiophile language. Will also post impressions using the Holo May KTE as the source.

 

[Fox88]

My Bravura is up for sale if anyone is interested.

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/warwick-bravura-system.56200/

 

[draytonklammer]

Welp, if I'm trying everything else in the high end electrostatic category, I guess I might as well try Bravura, too.

Curious to see if I find some keepers, or if I decide something is good enough to base the purchase of a HE-1, Aperio, or Shang Sr. on.

 

[Aetherhole]

The speed on these things… it cannot be understated. One of the songs I listened to today was Through the Fire and Flame by Dragonforce. Seven+ minutes of speedy goodness. Also brings back nostalgic memories of attempting this on Guitar Hero. Yes, the Bravura is not the bossiest headphones, but the speed guitar and the lightning fast double kick drums doubling up really pushes any tranducer to its limits. My Monarch Mk3 IEM can keep up pretty well, even with a bit more thickness in the low end, but the Bravura just sounds effortless. With each kick drum attack there’s distinct impact. Herman Li’s ridiculously fast guitar playing has impressive separation and texture between the notes. The Monarch in comparison sounds a bit brittle and less well-defined on this track. At about the 6:30 mark leading into the 7:00 mark, the guitars and the double kick drum are both going and, not only is it well defined, there’s instrument separation as this passage plays.

Speed metal really works on the Bravura!

 

[The1Signature]

Is it somehow possible to increase the max volume of the bravura? When using usb connection to my tablet and increasing the volume level to the max on the UAPP app, the max volume level on the bravura is still relatively low. The high and low gain works only for analog input, so no change here. Any suggestion?

 

[Purzel]

The speed on these things… it cannot be understated. One of the songs I listened to today was Through the Fire and Flame by Dragonforce. Seven+ minutes of speedy goodness. Also brings back nostalgic memories of attempting this on Guitar Hero. Yes, the Bravura is not the bossiest headphones, but the speed guitar and the lightning fast double kick drums doubling up really pushes any tranducer to its limits. My Monarch Mk3 IEM can keep up pretty well, even with a bit more thickness in the low end, but the Bravura just sounds effortless. With each kick drum attack there’s distinct impact. Herman Li’s ridiculously fast guitar playing has impressive separation and texture between the notes. The Monarch in comparison sounds a bit brittle and less well-defined on this track. At about the 6:30 mark leading into the 7:00 mark, the guitars and the double kick drum are both going and, not only is it well defined, there’s instrument separation as this passage plays.

Speed metal really works on the Bravura!

Yesterday I listened to Cryptas shades of sorrow a death metal album which is very fast. great separation fast as hell much fun listening through the bravura. One of the few electrostatic headphones that makes metal sound great. they are so fast and clean sometimes I thought it’s faster then played from the musicians(that makes no sense lol). I bought the bravura’s for classical music sessions and never thought I would listen to metal on these headphones. they are allrounders for sure.

 

[Aetherhole]

Is it somehow possible to increase the max volume of the bravura? When using usb connection to my tablet and increasing the volume level to the max on the UAPP app, the max volume level on the bravura is still relatively low. The high and low gain works only for analog input, so no change here. Any suggestion?

It’s worth checking out which firmware the Sonoma is on. I think the latest is v2.0, which does affect the volume attentuation. Right now, most of my listening is done at one notch past half-way. Occasionally, a few steps more, depending on the track, but for most tracks that is plenty loud for me.

 

[Aetherhole]

Yesterday I listened to Cryptas shades of sorrow a death metal album which is very fast. great separation fast as hell much fun listening through the bravura. One of the few electrostatic headphones that makes metal sound great. they are so fast and clean sometimes I thought it’s faster then played from the musicians(that makes no sense lol). I bought the bravura’s for classical music sessions and never thought I would listen to metal on these headphones. they are allrounders for sure.

Right?! estats can often times be just analytical and technical, but the coloration of the Bravura WITH the speed really does make them great for most genres. Bass heads will likely want a bit more, but even as someone who enjoys a lot of bass myself (hence the reason for me owning the 64A A12t and the Monarch Mk3), the Bravura still attacks bass notes in a way that those can’t, albeit with less emphasis. That’s a trade-off I’m willing to take.