[TDHEAD]

So how did your listening session at the audio shop go?

I’m guessing the Dave and MScaler will make a sizable difference. I really like the Chord house sound. Only heard the Dave and MScaler a little bit, but I really enjoyed the combo pairing. Though, still curious to hear if it is capable of meeting or even besting the Bravura in resolution and separation.

The great thing about the Susvara is the scalability and customizability. I’ve heard speaker amps are the way to go, especially for getting maximum potential out of the Susvara. I never delved into that and that was part of my problem, no matter the changes I made to the chain, it just seemed to require more and more and just never was quite right for me, in one way or another. I guess at this point in my life, I don’t need more complications and crave simplicity more. Bravura + Sonoma achieves that and sonically fits my needs at the same time.

I have the Aperio and agree with your observations. And I had the Susvara with a two channel amp and it was dramatically better than HP amps Ive had.

 

[squashi]

So how did your listening session at the audio shop go?

I’m guessing the Dave and MScaler will make a sizable difference. I really like the Chord house sound. Only heard the Dave and MScaler a little bit, but I really enjoyed the combo pairing. Though, still curious to hear if it is capable of meeting or even besting the Bravura in resolution and separation.

The great thing about the Susvara is the scalability and customizability. I’ve heard speaker amps are the way to go, especially for getting maximum potential out of the Susvara. I never delved into that and that was part of my problem, no matter the changes I made to the chain, it just seemed to require more and more and just never was quite right for me, in one way or another. I guess at this point in my life, I don’t need more complications and crave simplicity more. Bravura + Sonoma achieves that and sonically fits my needs at the same time.

Tried the Susvara without MScaler, was: Chord Dave -> AVM A 6.2 ($10k speaker amp) -> susvara (stock cable)

trying the above chain Susvara vs Bravura: (keep in mind $30k vs $6k!) (I'll throw in my LCD-5 comparison too: dx320-> ifi ican sig -> viking weave ansuz aka $9k for all)
- I can't think of anything Bravura does better but how much better is Susvara? (My LCD-5 can trade some blows, even if Susvara is easily better)
- Susvara has bigger stage most the time, again Bravura is a bit variable. But if you want forward vocals, I can see people preferring Bravura (LCD-5 is clearly worse stage than Susvara)
- Susvara has just as good bass texture as Bravura, if not better! (my LCD-5 has slightly better bass texture than Susvara)
- Susvara has much better imaging as bravura (my LCD-5 still has slightly better imaging than that Susvara)
- Susvara has slightly more resolution than bravura (easily more resolution than my LCD-5)
- Susvara has much more bass punch than bravura, (my LCD-5 has better bass punch than Susvara)
- Susvara has always had a more natural tone and vocal texture than Bravura (my LCD-5 a bit better than Bravura, but Susvara much better)
- I undoubtedly miss the Susvara when going back to Bravura (I don't miss my own LCD-5, but I prefer how $30k Susvara sounds, maybe if it was just $2k more I'd consider it, but certainly not for $21k more)

Note on LCD-5: I am comparing LCD-5 on MY CHAIN, I think on most ~$9k chains, LCD-5 is MUCH worse than ~$30k Susvara (and worse overall than even Bravura). LCD-5 absolutely needs the right chain in order to fix the tonality and improve stage & imaging for my own tastes.

So didn't get the chance to try my LCD-5 with Dave + MScaler, but next week I'll go to the store to compare Bravura vs LCD-5 with Dave! (not bringing Susvara, but will compare based on my notes, very curious about how resolution will compare!)

 

[TommehHiFi]

Guess I made the right call then. My issue with many higher end headphones ist that many gernes and recordings lack much needed weight and bass. Susvara was superb on some vocal pop, jazz and country, folk recordings and barely listenable to me for rock and bass heavy electronic music. Still very curious about Bravura though.

Have heard the Susvara on the EF1000 (unknown DAC), Headamps CFA-3 prototype fed by the Chord DAVE, and on the DCS Lina Stack with the Rossini DAC and I can say I would take a good estat any time for for resolution and imaging. I personally think people spend way too much money on Susvara chains because there's the nagging lizard brain telling us more expensive = better and because it's so hard to get impactful low end out of it. I'd probably eventually chase the dragon too if it was my preferred planar.

But for an every day listener and general use sprinkled in, yeah TOTL planars are still supreme to me with plenty of flavors to choose from.

Man I want to try a used Bravura since the price seems great for reported performance, but I'm way too sensitive to clamp to risk it. I've bent all of my ZMFs (the headband is designed for that purpose), have bent all of my Senny 6 series at the adjustment, and I've even had ear pressure from wearing the HD800s too much in a single day.
Since you're a fellow ZMF fan, I'd recommend you find a way to demo the DCA Corina some time as well since it goes for tone and bass rather than emphasizing every single last bit of treble detail, but it still out does the Caldera in overall resolution.

 

[Aetherhole]

Tried the Susvara without MScaler, was: Chord Dave -> AVM A 6.2 ($10k speaker amp) -> susvara (stock cable)

trying the above chain Susvara vs Bravura: (keep in mind $30k vs $6k!) (I'll throw in my LCD-5 comparison too: dx320-> ifi ican sig -> viking weave ansuz aka $9k for all)
- I can't think of anything Bravura does better but how much better is Susvara? (My LCD-5 can trade some blows, even if Susvara is easily better)
- Susvara has bigger stage most the time, again Bravura is a bit variable. But if you want forward vocals, I can see people preferring Bravura (LCD-5 is clearly worse stage than Susvara)
- Susvara has just as good bass texture as Bravura, if not better! (my LCD-5 has slightly better bass texture than Susvara)
- Susvara has much better imaging as bravura (my LCD-5 still has slightly better imaging than that Susvara)
- Susvara has slightly more resolution than bravura (easily more resolution than my LCD-5)
- Susvara has much more bass punch than bravura, (my LCD-5 has better bass punch than Susvara)
- Susvara has always had a more natural tone and vocal texture than Bravura (my LCD-5 a bit better than Bravura, but Susvara much better)
- I undoubtedly miss the Susvara when going back to Bravura (I don't miss my own LCD-5, but I prefer how $30k Susvara sounds, maybe if it was just $2k more I'd consider it, but certainly not for $21k more)

Note on LCD-5: I am comparing LCD-5 on MY CHAIN, I think on most ~$9k chains, LCD-5 is MUCH worse than ~$30k Susvara (and worse overall than even Bravura). LCD-5 absolutely needs the right chain in order to fix the tonality and improve stage & imaging for my own tastes.

So didn't get the chance to try my LCD-5 with Dave + MScaler, but next week I'll go to the store to compare Bravura vs LCD-5 with Dave! (not bringing Susvara, but will compare based on my notes, very curious about how resolution will compare!)

Great report, squashi! That system you tested would have been something I would have loved to have tried myself! I think it’s great comparison to make, even given the price disparity. These are TOTL systems and, as we know, in this hobby, diminishing returns plays a HUGE part. If you’re chasing every last ounce of performance that you can get, you’re going to pay multiplicatives to get incremental improvements. So 5x the price, $30K vs $6K, I can imagine it is better, but even with that, tonality would have been something I missed out a bit on. I think, if you’re going to spend that much, the Aperio now begins to make more sense, too. Even the Aperio doesn’t quite have the same vocal tonality as the Bravura. The nice thing about the Aperio, though, is you can use an external DAC to bring that more in line. I’d be even more curious to hear a Dave + MScaler -> Aperio, just because, why not?? lol

It’s nice to know that a complete $6K system can almost keep up with the best of the best. Still, I’d be curious to hear how much the MScaler improves things.

Keep these reports coming!

 

[Aetherhole]

Have heard the Susvara on the EF1000 (unknown DAC), Headamps CFA-3 prototype fed by the Chord DAVE, and on the DCS Lina Stack with the Rossini DAC and I can say I would take a good estat any time for for resolution and imaging. I personally think people spend way too much money on Susvara chains because there's the nagging lizard brain telling us more expensive = better and because it's so hard to get impactful low end out of it. I'd probably eventually chase the dragon too if it was my preferred planar.

But for an every day listener and general use sprinkled in, yeah TOTL planars are still supreme to me with plenty of flavors to choose from.

Man I want to try a used Bravura since the price seems great for reported performance, but I'm way too sensitive to clamp to risk it. I've bent all of my ZMFs (the headband is designed for that purpose), have bent all of my Senny 6 series at the adjustment, and I've even had ear pressure from wearing the HD800s too much in a single day.
Since you're a fellow ZMF fan, I'd recommend you find a way to demo the DCA Corina some time as well since it goes for tone and bass rather than emphasizing every single last bit of treble detail, but it still out does the Caldera in overall resolution.

I would absolutely be cautious about the Bravura. It‘s definitely got clamp, but I can see if you’re sensitive to clamp, these will likely not be good for you. If the Sennheiser 6-series and even the 800S give you pressure, then I’m almost certain these will be a problem.

 

[squashi]

Have heard the Susvara on the EF1000 (unknown DAC), Headamps CFA-3 prototype fed by the Chord DAVE, and on the DCS Lina Stack with the Rossini DAC and I can say I would take a good estat any time for for resolution and imaging. I personally think people spend way too much money on Susvara chains because there's the nagging lizard brain telling us more expensive = better and because it's so hard to get impactful low end out of it. I'd probably eventually chase the dragon too if it was my preferred planar.

But for an every day listener and general use sprinkled in, yeah TOTL planars are still supreme to me with plenty of flavors to choose from.

Man I want to try a used Bravura since the price seems great for reported performance, but I'm way too sensitive to clamp to risk it. I've bent all of my ZMFs (the headband is designed for that purpose), have bent all of my Senny 6 series at the adjustment, and I've even had ear pressure from wearing the HD800s too much in a single day.
Since you're a fellow ZMF fan, I'd recommend you find a way to demo the DCA Corina some time as well since it goes for tone and bass rather than emphasizing every single last bit of treble detail, but it still out does the Caldera in overall resolution.

I totally agree that the price to performance on Susvara isn't quite there, especially compared to Bravura, LCD-5 and even X9000 in a way.

I also find it very interesting how we might differ on Susvara vs estat opinions! To be fair the only estat I have tried for an extended time is Bravura, and I still stand by that a $30k Susvara has more resolution than Bravura (even if it is very slightly more). I have not tried x9000 for long enough to accurately make a comparison, but from what I remember I can easily see it outresolving a $30k Susvara. About how I see resolution, it's worth noting I mostly index for detail/separation in the mids. Regardless Bravura never quite had even a $10k Susvara level of imaging to my ears (yet from memory, x9000 easily did have that level of imaging, and with such stage!).

I also need to bend all of my ZMF headbands, the clamp is far too high otherwise. But because of my very small head, I actually find the LCD-5 (wider headband) and Bravura comfortable for many hours. TLDR, if you have a small head, you won't have clamp issues, but if it's bigger, I would certainly avoid it.

I'll expect I'll be selling my Bravura + Sonoma soon! If you want to take it off my hands haha!

 

[Leto Dal]

I totally agree that the price to performance on Susvara isn't quite there, especially compared to Bravura, LCD-5 and even X9000 in a way.

I also find it very interesting how we might differ on Susvara vs estat opinions! To be fair the only estat I have tried for an extended time is Bravura, and I still stand by that a $30k Susvara has more resolution than Bravura (even if it is very slightly more). I have not tried x9000 for long enough to accurately make a comparison, but from what I remember I can easily see it outresolving a $30k Susvara. About how I see resolution, it's worth noting I mostly index for detail/separation in the mids. Regardless Bravura never quite had even a $10k Susvara level of imaging to my ears (yet from memory, x9000 easily did have that level of imaging, and with such stage!).

I also need to bend all of my ZMF headbands, the clamp is far too high otherwise. But because of my very small head, I actually find the LCD-5 (wider headband) and Bravura comfortable for many hours. TLDR, if you have a small head, you won't have clamp issues, but if it's bigger, I would certainly avoid it.

I'll expect I'll be selling my Bravura + Sonoma soon! If you want to take it off my hands haha!

Not sure you need a 30k setup to get the “most” out of Susvara. Many claim amps like Holo Audio Bliss are more than sufficient to bring most out of it. Bliss comes at 3,0-4,5k and was designed with Susvara back in mind.

I tried Susvara in a Burson Soloist back in the day - it was meh, really curious to give it another go with Bliss.

Bravura being 6k as all in one solution is very likely still a better value. But let’s be honest with our self’s - it was never about a good value in hifi, but obsessions and preferences.

 

[Aetherhole]

Not sure you need a 30k setup to get the “most” out of Susvara. Many claim amps like Holo Audio Bliss are more than sufficient to bring most out of it. Bliss comes at 3,0-4,5k and was designed with Susvara back in mind.

I tried Susvara in a Burson Soloist back in the day - it was meh, really curious to give it another go with Bliss.

Bravura being 6k as all in one solution is very likely still a better value. But let’s be honest with our self’s - it was never about a good value in hifi, but obsessions and preferences.

Yeah, when I initially had the Susvara, I had a Burson, too. Didn’t quite do it, for sure. The Ferrum stack was much better, but still lacking. I think Holo Bliss would be closer still, but even then, amps like the Bakoon/Enleum amps, I hear, best it still. Incremental, but paying more and more each time, for sure.

Definitely, obsessions and preferences are what it comes down to, though! If you can find that happy medium, that’s where it is at, too.

 

[donato]

Tried the Susvara without MScaler, was: Chord Dave -> AVM A 6.2 ($10k speaker amp) -> susvara (stock cable)

trying the above chain Susvara vs Bravura: (keep in mind $30k vs $6k!) (I'll throw in my LCD-5 comparison too: dx320-> ifi ican sig -> viking weave ansuz aka $9k for all)
- I can't think of anything Bravura does better but how much better is Susvara? (My LCD-5 can trade some blows, even if Susvara is easily better)
- Susvara has bigger stage most the time, again Bravura is a bit variable. But if you want forward vocals, I can see people preferring Bravura (LCD-5 is clearly worse stage than Susvara)
- Susvara has just as good bass texture as Bravura, if not better! (my LCD-5 has slightly better bass texture than Susvara)
- Susvara has much better imaging as bravura (my LCD-5 still has slightly better imaging than that Susvara)
- Susvara has slightly more resolution than bravura (easily more resolution than my LCD-5)
- Susvara has much more bass punch than bravura, (my LCD-5 has better bass punch than Susvara)
- Susvara has always had a more natural tone and vocal texture than Bravura (my LCD-5 a bit better than Bravura, but Susvara much better)
- I undoubtedly miss the Susvara when going back to Bravura (I don't miss my own LCD-5, but I prefer how $30k Susvara sounds, maybe if it was just $2k more I'd consider it, but certainly not for $21k more)

Note on LCD-5: I am comparing LCD-5 on MY CHAIN, I think on most ~$9k chains, LCD-5 is MUCH worse than ~$30k Susvara (and worse overall than even Bravura). LCD-5 absolutely needs the right chain in order to fix the tonality and improve stage & imaging for my own tastes.

So didn't get the chance to try my LCD-5 with Dave + MScaler, but next week I'll go to the store to compare Bravura vs LCD-5 with Dave! (not bringing Susvara, but will compare based on my notes, very curious about how resolution will compare!)

Thanks for a nice writeup on the comparison. This largely mirrors my experience with Bravura vs. a well driven Susvara (in my case Holo May KTE, Viva Egoista). It's not a "fair" comparison of course, but it does also highlight how the Bravura punches above it's weight given that we even consider making these comparisons.

 

[BTD1]

The increased activity in this thread has caused me to go back to the Bravura for while. It sits in a different room from my Aperio and my other headphones. I find it so easy to just turn it on and you are ready to go. I think that Warwick's internal dsp and system tuning really works. The Bravura is a very musical listening experience. Even though I use Roon I find I don't need to do any tweaking with filters with the Bravura. The warm, linear richness of the Bravura sound is a very pleasant listen. Everything is there, but it's not thrown in your face. Sometimes you just want to relax and forget about the technology. The Bravura allows you to do that.

 

[EMINENT]

LCD-5 absolutely needs the right chain in order to fix the tonality and improve stage & imaging for my own tastes.

Correct.

 

[squashi]

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


All edits to my original post are underlined!
resolution/separation (excluding bass):
Susvara - amazing+ with a ~$24k chain (dave+speaker amp), great/amazing with ~$3k chain, great on my DAP (incredibly, but rest of susvara suffers)
Bravura - amazing+
LCD-5 (probably a contender for top place will update after trying Chord Dave) - amazing+? with ~$?? chain, amazing with my ~$3k chain, good/great straight from DAP
Utopia - great with my ~$3k chain, good/great on my DAP
Atrium - always good
HEKSE - always 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 - bad/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. EQ can't help instrument naturalness, as a matter of fact the loss of resolution makes it worse IMO

vocal texture + tone:
Susvara - great/amazing
Bravura - good realistic but never fully immersive
LCD-5 - good, but great with viking weave ansuz cable. (needs EQ or good chain for good vocal tone IMO, otherwise it's just OK tone)
Utopia - great/amazing
Atrium - great/amazing + lush vocals (may be positive or negative for each song/preference)
HEKSE - great needs EQ for good vocal tone IMO, otherwise it's just OK tone

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
Atrium - brought up front and close
HEKSE - in the background with instruments

stage size: EDIT: I will add stage shape soon!
Susvara - great
Bravura - good/amazing variable on track (heavy bassy tracks are closer)
LCD-5 - good, but good/great with viking weave ansuz
Utopia - good updated!
Atrium - good/great
HEKSE - amazing

energy level:
Susvara - chill/effortless: like mac & cheese, smooth and rich, can't stop eating
Bravura - in the middle: like pepperoni pizza, strong flavor but lowkey
LCD-5 - very energetic: like wagyu, amazing but how long can you endure the fattiness
Utopia - a bit energetic: like bacon, nothing crazy but noticeable
Atrium - mostly chill: like grits, mostly smooth but with punch at times
HEKSE - mostly chill: like mac & cheese w/ bacon, flavor pops more, but not as effortless as base mac & cheese

REMINDER: I am comparing LCD-5 (without kilobuck cable) and HEKSE with EQ! My implementation of EQ makes both positive and negative differences!

imaging:
Susvara - on $24k chain: great/amazing. on $3k chain: great. DAP: ok
Bravura - good/great (might just feel that way due how stage is very left/right)
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/good
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: good/great. Can suffer without EQ or right chain.
Utopia - on $3k chain: great/amazing. DAP: great Punchy!
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?

 

[donato]

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

You've been busy! This section of your shootout was esp. entertaining.

 

[Purzel]

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?

amazing work. thanks for the comparison. loved to read it.

 

[squashi]

You've been busy! This section of your shootout was esp. entertaining.

I don't wish to admit how much time it took to come up with those comparisons haha. And honestly for the entire thing overall.