[Leto Dal]

There wont be any "consenus" since way too few people will be able to compare both at home for excessive amounts of time.

Personally for me Aperio outresolved Immanis and Susvara comparing it to an Envy AE chain (with a subpair dac(!)) at the fair. More importantl, it had a stage and a tuning that was bit more to my liking. I dont think I would sell my Susvara chain or step back from the plan of getting Immanis one day, because of that. Aperio is way too expensive here in Europe and has bit too many problems with the current revsion (lose drivers, slight clipping in some recordings). Nevertheless its an damn f- great sounding system that left me very very impressed. More than Immanis. If there is a unit around 13-15k one day in Europe, I might grab it. Regarding "closed system" - its only the amp section. You still can use an external dac and from what I know a pre-amp to shape the sound to your liking / improve it. Some say Lampzator Baltic and Atlantic make Aperio a god tier experience.

Another interesting sidegrade e-stat all in one system was the new Hifiman Shangri La mini. It sounded better than Warwick Bravura to my ear, which was very impressive, considering the target price. Its supposed to come around 2.6k in a month or two.

 

[Doug2507]

What DAC were they using? (I'll also keep in mind AE was running ER with PSVane..., not exactly at the top of your preferred tube list Leto.. )

 

[ThanatosVI]

What DAC were they using? (I'll also keep in mind AE was running ER with PSVane..., not exactly at the top of your preferred tube list Leto.. )

It was connected to Astell & Kern – Acro CA1000T

 

[Doug2507]

It was connected to Astell & Kern – Acro CA1000T

Oh, choice of convenience maybe?

You must be looking forward to some listening this weekend...

 

[ThanatosVI]

Oh, choice of convenience maybe?

You must be looking forward to some listening this weekend...

Hell yeah, my AE on my chain is better than any setup at the show. Magnificent sound

 

[XVampireX]

There wont be any "consenus" since way too few people will be able to compare both at home for excessive amounts of time.

Personally for me Aperio outresolved Immanis and Susvara comparing it to an Envy AE chain (with a subpair dac(!)) at the fair. More importantl, it had a stage and a tuning that was bit more to my liking. I dont think I would sell my Susvara chain or step back from the plan of getting Immanis one day, because of that. Aperio is way too expensive here in Europe and has bit too many problems with the current revsion (lose drivers, slight clipping in some recordings). Nevertheless its an damn f- great sounding system that left me very very impressed. More than Immanis. If there is a unit around 13-15k one day in Europe, I might grab it. Regarding "closed system" - its only the amp section. You still can use an external dac and from what I know a pre-amp to shape the sound to your liking / improve it. Some say Lampzator Baltic and Atlantic make Aperio a god tier experience.

Another interesting sidegrade e-stat all in one system was the new Hifiman Shangri La mini. It sounded better than Warwick Bravura to my ear, which was very impressive, considering the target price. Its supposed to come around 2.6k in a month or two.

subpar DAC, which one are you talking about?
So if it was connected to Astell & Kern – Acro CA1000T which is not really a desktop DAC, how do you begin to compare this to Aperio.

 

[Leto Dal]

Acro CA1000T is the definition of a desktop dac lol. Its just nothing summit fi like what Immanis should have been paired with.

There was a unit in Feliks Audio room on a rockna wavedream signature. Which sounded much slammier with larger stage, I dont think its possible to pick up nuances of dacs in show environment anyway Aperio is not known for its good dac btw, many owners use external dacs with it.

Overall Immanis is absolutely great if you are into its signature vs Aperio you are not missing anything out, the stage presentation is preference (Immanis stage is very unique), the detail is relativly close. Personally I prefered Aperios tuning and if I had to rank them objectivly I would place Susvara and Immanis sligthly behind Aperio technically in show environment, its quite possible you can get much more out of Immanis, which will show next months as more people are getting their units.

 

[Doug2507]

Acro CA1000T is the definition of a desktop dac lol. Its just nothing summit fi like what Immanis should have been paired with.

There was a unit in Feliks Audio room on a rockna wavedream signature. Which sounded much slammier with larger stage, I dont think its possible to pick up nuances of dacs in show environment anyway Aperio is not known for its good dac btw, many owners use external dacs with it.

Overall Immanis is absolutely great if you are into its signature vs Aperio you are not missing anything out, the stage presentation is preference (Immanis stage is very unique), the detail is relativly close. Personally I prefered Aperios tuning and if I had to rank them objectivly I would place Susvara and Immanis sligthly behind Aperio technically in show environment, its quite possible you can get much more out of Immanis, which will show next months as more people are getting their units.

Thanks Leto. Can you expand on uniqueness of stage vs susvara?

 

[walterboss]

Hell yeah, my AE on my chain is better than any setup at the show. Magnificent sound

I've heard a few impressions elsewhere of AE and it seems it's quite a special amp. A HUGE step up from Envy OG, I'm told.

Glad you're enjoying it!

 

[ThanatosVI]

I've heard a few impressions elsewhere of AE and it seems it's quite a special amp. A HUGE step up from Envy OG, I'm told.

Glad you're enjoying it!

It certainly is. Due to Munich high end I didn't find the time to post some impressions and pictures yet, but I'll do so soon.

The difference is certainly worth it and not small imo. I was quite positively surprised.

Right now I can also test them with WE300B im addition to the ER300B.

 

[Leto Dal]

Thanks Leto. Can you expand on uniqueness of stage vs susvara?

Immanis is more holographic 3d than Susvara. The stage reminded me somewhat of Verite Open but grander and with far better layering. In addition to that the sound is "manifesting" not from the driver like its the case with plannars and dynamic driver headphones but in just in the space, you cant pin point the source of it, which adds to the sensation.

Susvara on the other hand felt more airy to me with wider stage, there was more space between the instruments and everything feels bit more effortless than Immanis, at least on the chains I compared both headphones with.

It certainly is. Due to Munich high end I didn't find the time to post some impressions and pictures yet, but I'll do so soon.

The difference is certainly worth it and not small imo. I was quite positively surprised.

Right now I can also test them with WE300B im addition to the ER300B.

Great to hear! You have a chance to test both systems A/B?

 

[Kirklandia]

I've heard a few impressions elsewhere of AE and it seems it's quite a special amp. A HUGE step up from Envy OG, I'm told.

Glad you're enjoying it!

I just told my wife I have the budget version, the Envy OG.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Great to hear! You have a chance to test both systems A/B?

Well I have only one Envy AE, which means I have to let it cool down first in order to switch tubes. Not exactly an A/B Test.

There's always at least 20 Minutes audio memory involved

 

[nwavesailor]

I just told my wife I have the budget version, the Envy OG.

There is nothing wrong with the standard Envy!
I didn't care about the 'better' tubes and upgraded copper wire wasn't enough to make me go for the Performance version.
I chose to spend the $$$ on great drivers and all versions of the Elrogs and I'm glad I did. YMMV

 

[ThanatosVI]

There is nothing wrong with the standard Envy!
I didn't care about the 'better' tubes and upgraded copper wire wasn't enough to make me go for the Performance version.
I chose to spend the $$$ on great drivers and all versions of the Elrogs and I'm glad I did. YMMV

There really isn't anything wrong with Standard Envy.
Even with cheap tubes like Electro Harmonix 300B it's a top class amplifier that doesn't need to hide from competition