HiFiMAN Susvara Review - $6k planar flagship: best headphones ever? 

lul

fucking well said man.

Strongly disagree! For headphone, $6000 price tag should includes lifetime warranty.

Cool story poor bro

Everything on it also better be replaceable! I'm not paying 6K on a pair of headphones that can't be repaired or refreshed

@@endlessdrive8421 you should really stop whining and buy one.

$3

How’s the timbre of the HEDDphone? Does it have a natural/real life like reproduction of sound? (Especially wooden instruments 🎻)

*SR-009s

Less dynamics. Listened to them side by side

Susvara is way better. 009 has disappointing thin bass.

@@Sam-ne9ns susvara will break after 3 years. Stax will still work after 3 decades

*No hurry, at least for me, my wallet is x300 lower then their current price :))

I'm very interested as well

You can power them just as good or even better with a Schiit Jotunheim R.

Bismillah I was going to say the same thing!

Yeah it's also pretty detailed. I tried it at CanJam and was impressed.

And the Audiotechnica is cheaper right

Mohamed Sonic I sold Sony MDR Z1R cause it sounds muffled compared to even cheaper headsets

@@hifix-man319 Z1R EVERYTHING SOUNDS SOFT!

MFHRaptor it is not just soft, but lack high definition

@@hifix-man319 I disagree. It's incredibly detailed. It has it's own tonality and feel to it which is unique mature and natural. It just sounds ethereal in away, everything is there to hear. Just like in real life performances. The subtle details are there but you must listen to them. Unlike let's say stax l700, hd800 or t1 gen 2,( all of which I have ),which shouts those details at you relentlessly, it sounds like its detailed and yes it is. But it's not natural at all. In real life you don't hear subtle details louder than or close to as loud as main instruments. They are called subtle for a reason. As for resolution they are flawless or as near to flawless a closed back can get. And believe me I own more than 40 headphones now or even more maybe lol, I need to stop this bad habit. Out of these headphones the hedd audio headphone and the sony z1r are my favorite without a shred of doubt. I would love to add the susvara to my collection cause that could be a fitting conclusion to my journey.

@@sonicthehedgehog989 agreed. Compared to the ZMF Eikon and Auteur (wich i also own) the Z1r really holds it's own and in my opinion beats the Eikon in terms of detail retrieval and soundstage. I prefer the tonality of the Eikon more though...

Yeah I didn't actually hear any creaking. But I also didn't put a lot of pressure on anything.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Ah, that's good. I tried to remedy the creaking with some of the fabric I mentioned and it seemed to have worked so far. Good to hear that it's still good :)

I did hear any for my first Susvara, but I did hear some very occasionally on my second Susvara when I just got it.

I was less impressed with the raal than many of its proponents are. Like for stage and space it's amazing - I just wasn't 100% convinced for its detail capability. Still, it's got a unique fit, so I'd have to evaluate it at home to get a proper sense. Probably more of a speaker type of sound than a headphone sound, and that may be what threw me off.

I have both. Upgrade was definitely worth it for me. It is quite a bit step up in terms of tonality, detail retrieval, dynamics and slam. Whether it is worth it for you is up to you to decide. I bought it without listening since there is no high end headphone shops in the part of the world where I live but if you have the opportunity then you should definitely listen to it first.

I heard the aryas have shit low-end

Kinda over~priced compared to LCD-4s,Abyss and other Hi~fi mans in my opinion

Pretty darn close actually.

the utopia were pretty incredible for realism for me.

I don't have access to those yet.

Different inputs and different features. 2 is a multifunctional single-ended pre-amp/ headphone amp, with lots of studio features. X is less featured, but it has balanced headphone outs, and an optional DAC section. xe has no pre-amp function, but a higher quality DAC (supposedly). 2 is the cheapest, xe follows and X is the most expensive without DAC, but X and xe cost the same with DAC.

Depends on if you EQ. Without EQ I wouldn't recommend the HEKse. With EQ, yeah it's close - but also lacks slam.

yes my Arya is so good that I'm wondering

Arya stealth is an amazing headphone! Also have the MM 500 from Audeze. Both amazing headphones. Have no need to spend 6000 dollars on a headphone. As long as you enjoy them and it’s your endgame. All that matters

Depends on how resolving your source is (amp, dac, streamer, and networking)

I've already reviewed it. I may do a 'second look' at some point down the road, but in short $1000 worth of sound quality, $5000 worth of build and comfort.

Equalizer APO with peace

How much u payed for them

@@shadouxg7150 came out to $6125 with the blue tooth FiiO BTRS-384k/32 receiver

I'm not a fan of the Sr-009 as much. Sr-007 2.9 is amazing though. I'd have to hear that at home to know for sure

What do you mean by that?

Yeah the problem with the TC apart from comfort is the tonality is still a bit wonky. You can see some impressions here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-6VSi-P3NCNI.htmlm50s

I wish the epidemic ends soon so that I can go out audit those headphones.

I have the OG 1266, its a bit heavy yes, but after a while you get used to it.

Lambda Storm I just wonder why couldn’t they replace the heavy metal material into something lighter

@@hifix-man319 then it might have looser bass resoponse, I guess, just like LCD4.

He's probably only comparing to headphones he knows well, as every serious reviewer should do.

I've heard a few estats, namely Sr-009, Sr-007, L700, and Shangri La Sr. My take is that they have a very unique type of sound to them. Almost like an 'effortless' quality for lack of a better term. But I'm also not 100% sure that's the same as what I'm describing here for detail. It might be that, but there's also a kind of lean character to them that makes me unsure where to place it. Out of all of those, the most 'open' and detailed sounding headphone was the shangri La Sr., but I think my favorite was the SR-007 2.9. My more realistic budget constraints would probably have me going for that headphone system as an end game setup haha.

Totally different headphone. Shangri-la Jr is an estat that requires an energizer. Susvara is a planar

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Oooh thanks! Thought in complete wrong way. But when you compare the $8000 HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA against the susvara with an amplifier, what is going to sound better (for better comparison only an $2000 amplifier for the susvara). Would your answer be a guess and if so how reliable is your guess?

@@tgdxdrakoon7019 I haven't had a chance to review the shangri-la yet (I have heard it at CanJam). I think it comes down to whether you want a planar sound or an estat sound. They're both excellent. You could always get a Jr. for less and then use a third party energizer for it. Mind you, you don't need a $2000 for the Susvara, just something with lots of power. I think Schiit Audio makes something that would work. I used the Cayin IHA-6 (7W), and that's only like $600.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow ok, so what is more neutral? estat or planar? What sounds better in your ears? And what exactly?

@@tgdxdrakoon7019 neither is inherently more neutral than the other. I may lean towards the Susvara for preference, but again I haven't heard the Shangri-la at home yet so I can't say. Maybe one day I'll be able to.

Yeah I honestly don't know about that. I'd have to have them in house to review, but at the moment I think I'd give the edge to the Susvara, depending on the source equipment. Estats have a very specific type of sound, and I'm not sure how much of that is strictly 'detail'. It's a good question though, and maybe they do sound more 'open' because as Fang Bian said, there's nothing on the outside to interfere, while even on the Susvara you have the structure and array there.

I've done an impressions video of it.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Ok thx. Abyss tc or susvara?

@LS Vygotsky You are far from pushing your Susvara with 888 THX, i have compared many amps on Susvara and only speaker amps drive them to their max. Waste of money using entry level amp on Susvara, just my 2 cents.

@LS Vygotsky You obviously do whatever you want with your cans, i didn't tell you go buy $15K amp but i have compared a certain number of amps with the Susvara and the best results we got was with a 25w class A amp directly pluged in speaker taps. But a good Chord Hugo TT2 can aleardy do a very good job with Susvara. I drive my HE1000se with a TT2 but HE1000se is easy to drive compared to Susvara. Try to be cool man and enjoy your gear.

JDS Atom worked for me

6.5w... I'm really not sure. I think a lot of it depends on current as well.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Power = voltage x current. The A90 has roughly 4.5W at 60 ohm. Which amp in your collection has more?

@@TheHEADPHONEShow 7.6W*, with ultra high voltage swing ability

I run my Susvara from topping A90 and it runs the Susvara easily where I don’t have to go past 12 o clock ever on high gain. The synergy is good as well and I really enjoy Susvara from A90. There are no compression issues or anything that some people are referring to with A90 and I fully enjoy Susvara on A90. I also have Fluxlab FA-10 amp as well which is way more powerful as well but I prefer A90 over that since FA-10 is very colored sound with less detailed treble. The treble seems rolled off.

@@saadi703 what would you say for Woo Audio WA*33,

Yeah, I'm kinda surprised that no one has done this comparison yet. As of now, these two definitely seem like the two kings of the planar mountain. Obviously, plenty of reviewers have tried both and have access to them.

That reputation comes mostly from the HE-400i series and doesn't apply to the higher end stuff (from what I can tell). Believe it or not, I'm also told that RMA rates for Hifiman products are quite low these days in general and from my own personal experience I've also never had a problem - but I do know there have been issues in the past, so that's why I say it's surprising how solid it feels.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow yeah i Think they made silent revisions to everything that was breaking otherwise, or just started doing qc

Tonal balance is a lot better on the Susvara.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow Just get a warm sounding DAC/Amp. For 1000se anyday.

For metal i would get the Abyss, Susvara is much more appropriate for classical.

@@bricedoan6695 yep , same

Don't. They ain't worth it. Especially this one.

​@@herry1276who are you to decide that for him?

i agree

Nishnath K you could send to me for a review with my Audiovalve Solaris Tube Amp :)

Mr. X haha, that would be a hard call for now. Maybe in the future. ;)

yes

@@skylordsrebornpvpreplays5795 interesting

No, you can't adequately drive this without an unnecessary amount of latency. You would be better off with Arya or Sundara plugged directly into your motherboard's amp.

yes.

@@TheHEADPHONEShow which one sounds better ?

@@nicktan4530 Susvara is best headphones at any price for classical music and jazz, Abyss TC is the best for Pop, rock and electro.

@@bricedoan6695 but which one is better ?

@@nicktan4530 depends on what type of music you listen too, if you don't listen to classical music don't buy the Susvara, get the Abyss. Classical music is the most difficult type of music to reproduce, this where the Susvara has no competition at any price.

That's Sanskrit which is actually influenced languages in South East Asia and East Asia in general.

@@HarryUnchained No influence on China though. I think they're just borrowing Sankrit to make it sound cool.

How many headphones do you own now ?

Don't do it. It's not worth it.

If you can't afford these, you can't afford the system and networking to properly drive them. It's like buying a nice car without an engine.

Appreciate your comment. I agree 100%

I agree about the build quality. However, I don't know what Hifiman gains by 'intentionally' making this too hard to drive. The too low sensitivity of these headphones only means that the potential user has to invest at least a couple of thousand dollars more into buying a quality Dac and more importantly a speaker class amplifier. Such a scenario only detracts potential buyers and gives no monetary benefits to Hifiman.

Hifiman has a competitor, the Shangri-La is $50,000 usd

These are better than the Orpheus

I am selling a brand new one for 3600

Mighty wish you luck to find a buyer, man. I just bought a secondhand HEK v2

@@mighty9451 I'm in the market for one. Where can I find your listing?