Summit-Fi Shootout Part 2: Audeze LCD-5, Dan Clark Stealth, Meze Empyrean Elite... 

Glad to see the Utopia's still holding their own half a decade later.

One of the best reviewers I have come across. All the others are too afraid to criticise any product too much for fear of offending the manufacturers.

You are a goddamn good reviewer. Very well spoken, put together, and articulate. Thanks for the review!

You're one of the best reviewers out there, a clear cut ahead of most people on RU-vid, including many who have been doing this for years, and I'd say you're definitely up there with Resolve Reviews and Amplify Audio Reviews - and in many cases I actually prefer how you articulate the differences between headphones and gear. I really like how you get into the nitty gritty and are willing to say something is better than another in different tangible aspects in an organised manner, and you don't tend to leave stones unturned when it comes to including each aspect of the sound. This is something that other reviewers either miss out on, or address sporadically throughout a video which can sometimes be hard to follow, or forbid - talk only about how they feel about a headphone which is completely subjective and will depend entirely upon personal taste. After watching your $1200 to $1800 closed back roundup, after having listened to or owned most of the headphones in that video, it blew my mind how accurate your findings were, how easy the video was to follow and how much I related to them myself. Out of all reviewers, I feel most comfortable watching your reviews at the moment, particularly of headphones and feeling as if I have a better understanding of what to expect when I pick something new up.

Thanks for answering several questions I've had about these headphones. You're helping with my decision making.

The quality of your reviews are incredible man!

Battle Royale ... After just auditioning a 1266 Phi TC - I tend to agree with you. I really do like the slam and bass presentation from the 1266, but the Final D8000 Pro I have sounds better overall to me because the midrange is fuller and timbre across the FR is so natural and real on the D8Kpro. Getting an LCD-5 in on loan soon, so looking forward to that. You have also made be think that I should listen to an Utopia too before making any decisions on next summit HP. Thanks for all the work you put into this series - really, really informative and inspirational. Also, my wallet wants to cancel you...

Those discount hints are "priceless". Good job. 👍

I really enjoy the information in the video & you confirmed what other youtubers have been saying. Thank you so much,, my end game will be the LCD-5 because it's the middle between the Susvara and Utopia.

Great job WaveTheory and I agree with you 100% on everything you have said in this review specially about the 1266 TC and Utopia and Susvara. The number one thing you must do with the Susvara is give it the very best amp you can,I see over and over pairing it with $200 Schiit stacks saying it sucks. I have owned almost every headphone and lowfi & midfi out there. I currently own the Susvara and 1266 TC and both compliment each other very well,but the 1266 TC with the lack of midrange drives me crazy and over all tonality sound is off but still fun. I plan on buying the LCD 5 to complete the overall sound I am looking for. I pair my hp’s with the Woo Audio WA33 Elite with upgraded KR HP tubes and Chord M Scaler/ Dave = HEAVEN

Well done. Lots of helpful information.

Thanks for the review. Was in the market for an upgrade to my Hifiman Arya. Auditioned most of these headphones in my home before pulling the trigger. As someone who appreciates high quality audio while being an avid RPG gamer, I wanted something that I can use for both music and gaming with an emphasis on comfort. Susvara is phenomenal in music, but for video games, it sounded very thin with no real low end heft. Think back stab effects in Elden Ring or when using a lift. I just did not feel the impact. Also, the sound stage was smaller than on my Arya’s and my T1’s. No way I am jumping up to $6k and losing bass impact and sound stage. Very similar experience with the LCD-5. That being said when only focusing on music, on certain tracks I freaking adored the Susvara! Was still thinking about getting them until I auditioned the Meze Elites. Not as much sparkle as the Susvara but I LOVE the open sound stage and deep sub-bass! The Elites sound FANTASTIC on games with a musical score and impactful sound effects. And on music, the Elite has so much soul! I don’t listen to much classical, although I do throw a classical track on from time to time to hear how great it sounds on my speaker set up, but most of my music has slam. Not bloated bass but real good lean sub bass and the Elites rendered them fantastically! Nothing thin here. I really was trying not the like the Elites because of your critique of them. I kept asking myself “Why am I loving the Elites?” “They suppose to NOT compete with the others in this price range, correct?” So glad I did! For the price of the Susvara I purchased the Meze Elite and the Burson GT amp. So far I am really digging it.

Nice job, as usual. Great that you get to hear these. As for me....lottery tickets first!

Great video. I’d be interested in your view of how the HD800s compares to the headphones mentioned in this video. Cheers

Great job!

I really appreciate the comparisons! It's nice to have an experienced person address all these kinds of things in different products in relation to one-another. It's really helpful and interesting.

Thanks to SA11297!

Hek1000se? How would it rank with these?

Great comparison! Thanks. I got my Utopia for $2600, which is not unheard of. I’m surprised that you think the LCD-5 is equally as natural sounding as the Utopia even though it is a planar.

Just a correction, the Utopia comes with the carry case and extra cables if its the newer version. The older version had a plastic ring in the driver which overheat and caused driver failure. Focal switched to a new manufacture , improved the ring design and changed the packaging as well. -ps got this info from the major dealer here in hong kong. And the price for Utopia is about $2630 US brand new

“Amp in a wheelbarrow”…got me to subscribe!

could you please do a review of the Audeze LCL-4? That would interest me a lot because I have an LCD-4 and now I'm considering buying a Susvara or 1266 TC. I would be interested to know how the LCD-4 compares to the high-end headphones mentioned here.

thanks for a great review, what I would add to your review, to help your viewers to choose among those TOTL headphones are things about weight, budget, and soundstage. headphones like 1266 phi tc could be too heavy for some and makes the headphone just impossible or unbearably uncomfortable to use compared to other lighter weight options. If you do not have big enough budget to buy a good dac/amp for susvara or other "hard to drive" options that require expensive dac/amp, the "easy to drive" options would have the upper hand. If you have a budget for just one TOTL headphone only, the options that are easy to drive would be downright better (the easy to drive options will not make you spend extra tons of $$$ that you don't have). If you are looking for a "sound up in your ear" kind of deal (like in a loud club), wide/deep soundstage could be a con rather than a pro.

Have you listened to ZMF Verite or Verite Closed? Where would that fit in your end-game lineup?

Wondering if these rankings still apply if the use case is all-day everyday listening for enjoyment, and not shorter serious/critical listening session? In my experience I'd pick different pair. I'm considering the Elite for the former use case once they're available in the used market.

Very informative. The only problem is I’m starting to feel like I should sell my motorcycle to buy a Susvara…

How’s Solitaire p compared to susvara? Is it like a portable susvara?

Great job, thanks for this review! I do wonder how does the ZMF Verite (open or closed) compare? At $3k (or more) I think that comparison is missing for many of us. I personally own a VC, and so it would be a very useful reference point, and at that price point it becomes relevant.

The ifi Diablo should power the Steaths easily. It has 5 Watts at 32 ohms and a build in DAC. I personally use the Aeon Noire which are a bit more efficient than the Stealth but still rather inefficient with a Topping NX7 which has 1,4 Watts and it works wonderfully.

The Susvara are very tempting to me. BUT, when I factor in the need for a premium amp with a large amount of current, even if you can find a dealer who will knock 20% off retail suggested price of the Susvara, you’re back up significantly above $6k and probably closer to $8k-10k if you want an amp that really appropriately drives them like the Bakoon 13r now Enleum. Granted there are amps that will drive them decently for less but then you’re not really getting all that the Susvara have to give IMO.

Please try T+A Solitaire P. Thanks

Perhaps Verite closed and Final D8k pro can be added to your list. VC vs Utopia for TOTL portable rig. Then next up the estats Incliding the 007 / 009.

why isn't the HE1000se or HE1000V2 included with these... pretty much close to the same price

I wish the DCA Stealth was more efficient, it's folding design is so portable

YipPEE!

If you include tuning into sound quality, that is actually a plus for Meze. I personally feel they are tuned significantly better than the LCD-5 if lacking in detail and speed. I guess that almost counts as comfort (sonic comfort) though rather than performance.

Utopia look so good

The Dan Clark Stealth is without question the winner. This is my opinion. Others may agree or not. Opinions vary as do choices. To each their own. I choose the Stealth. No question!

What about Susvara with iFi Diablo?

Really good overview, I just have one comment on here. I owned Susvara, still own the Utopia and the TC, and your comments about "what belongs in summit fi" and that "things are objectively bad" etc. I would not agree with. It comes down to preference. I couldn't care less about the "authentic", "soft", "mellow" timbre of the Susvara, because I index hard for space, dynamics and detail, then it's more detail, and then at some point it's the timbre and "natural sound", and for me the TC is the best set out there, and by a large margin as well. I'm yet to find a person that would audition it on my stack and not drop the jaw to the floor ... but it's all subjective. If I was all about natural midrage it would be Susvara and then nothing else pretty much. But I wouldn't say that the "weak" points of the TC as a whole are that weak, you could say that the 650 sounds more natural in the midrage in certain circumstances, and that would be true, but in the whole scheme of things it means nothing. The same way as you could say that Clear has more punch and dynamics than the Susvara, and again you would be right, but it still means nothing. At the end of the day, we all have to use our ears and discover what clicks for us : ) BTW. classical on the Holo May L2 -> Hypsos + Oor -> TC sounds phenomenal to my ears. Other than that, good review.

focal.... punch , hit, slap aaaaaand RATTLE

Haha interesting! 👋🏻bye

Ordered Susvara, Utopia, LCD 5, and Meze Elite to compare knowing that I would return 3 of them. I kept the Elite and returned the rest. Best tonality, comfort, staging, and imaging of the 4. The loss of detail retrieval is like comparing a 10 to a 9.8. So close and yet musical. Too much detail detracts from listening enjoyment. Kinda why when you buy a 4k or 8k TV and have it professionally adjusted, the first the tech does is turn down the saturation and turn off the sharpness.

Can we get a $1,000 - $1,600 shootout?

I'm so goddamn fucking happy that I chose the lcd 5. SOOOOO happy

How does this guy sa11297 afford all of them ?

!

19:50 ifi Diablo 🤦🤷🏻‍♂️ (700€ used lol it can drive Susvara ez aswell )

I’m still a 1265 Phi tc guy but there are no wrong answers at this level

Meze engineers realy missed the mark and/or they have the best marketing ever?

Hi Wave Theory I heard that the Susvara punches way harder if you have a more powerful amp than the v281!

Ok, good, Meze is shit , now take every Headgear in this review and plug'em in a phone or any other shitty source! Step 2 Compare them to Meze! Have fun!