Have you received the Soloist 3GT yet? I noticed it was omitted from your stack so it either didn't hang with this group or is caught in the pony express mail.
The definition of THE MOTHER OF ALL REVIEWS! This is more then analysis, more then passion or desire to reveal everything...THIS IS DEDICATION FOR THE DETAIL INSIDE THE TRUTH! I can see now how it become an obsession not to miss anything, not to understate or present things disproportionately. It took 10 MONTHS? It bloody worth it! I had the pleasure to listen to Susvara with those two exact Benchmarks in the video and SANDU SPEAKS THE TRUTH! There is nothing in the land of mortals that comes close to Susvara driven FULLY! Maybe Orpheus could be better, but I never had the opportunity. Wonderful work, man, ALL MY RESPECT!
Sandu your in-depth analysis I find refreshing compared to many other audio reviewers on RU-vid just looking for attention with colourful titles and stunts . I have been hesitant on purchasing the Susvaras not only because of the price but I’ve always never felt completely at ease with much of what I have read and listened to about the Susvaras online with their tongue in cheek comments. I have read where Holo Audio have a up and coming headphone amplifier under development named the Bliss using the Susvaras to voice this new amplifier has my attention. Watching your review has finally giving me the confidence to purchase the Susvaras , I will certainly try the amplifiers you are using and finally l like to say that I very much appreciate your work Sandu ,.
Hi Mark, words like these make my day a brighter one, thank you dearly! My findings are limited to 30 amps only...people can still experiment with different setups, I'm curious how the Enleum AMP-23R and Burson Soloist GT will sound with them. Sky is really the limit with Susvara, these will be responding immediately to high-quality power.
Thanks for doing such a great write-up across so many different amps, Sandu!! I do want to point out a key issue with some of the information here though. You're saying in this review that the Susvaras need lots of power to run at their best, but then many of the speaker amps you tested don't perform better than the headphone amps (according to your ratings). If more power resulted in more performance, the speaker amps should all consistently outperform equivalent price/quality headphone amps, but your testing notes don't support this. It might be true that the AHB-2 sounds amazing with the Susvara, but that's not a reflection of power quantity - it's a reflection of the overall quality of the amplifier itself. You're absolutely correct that the factors influencing the dynamics and sound quality of these headphones are the ability of the amp to control the driver with the rapid fluctuations and dynamic peaks / troughs in the music, but a cheap, crappy high powered amp cannot do this as well as a better designed, less powerful amplifier. Of course, both do need to be able to deliver sufficient power, but once you get above about 500mW at 60 ohms it becomes all about quality and control and not about power quantity. I hope this doesn't come across as critical, because I really do love the level of detail you've provided and I love that you're continuing this discussion to help people find clarity about what does and doesn't matter when it comes to the Susvaras. I just think your explanation doesn't quite clarify the physics behind what is actually leading to better or worse sound quality from the Susvaras.
Hi Lachlan and thanks for coming along. 1) Well, I didn't mention that they "need" so much power, but I mentioned that Hifiman suggests using a loudspeaker amplifier for the best results, they should know better. If you understand how sensitivity works, then Susvara needs more power than most passive loudspeakers out there. They needed more power than ALL my past loudspeakers and they need just a little more power to my current loudspeakers (KEF Reference 3) and since passive loudspeakers are being driven by speaker amplifiers of all sorts, I decided giving them a try (which other reviews didn't bother experimenting) and some of them were absolutely spectacular, something I didn't experience out of top-class headphone amplifiers. 2) It so happens that I own the most detailed/transparent sounding headphone amplifier (Benchmark HPA4) out there and the most detailed/transparent power amplifier out there. HPA4 offers 6 Watts at 16 Ohms (that would be 1.6 Watts in 60 Ohms) and a single AHB2 delivers 100W in 8 Ohms or around 13.3W in 60 Ohms. Both units have similar technologies, they carry similar technicalities, both sound extremely clean, delivering the last drop of information and yet HPA4 is boring and lifeless (but VERY LOUD) and AHB2 extremely engaging, fun and hard hitting and also very loud if needed. One thing is presuming that you drive them at their fullest potential and a different thing is putting them on as many amplifiers of all sorts and arriving at a conclusion... 3) Let's presume for a second that I had too many drinks and Hifiman is also tripping with their EF-1000, but please be open for experimentation. You can easily borrow a Burson Timekeeper 3i (they are close to you), you can DIY a simple adapter cable (banana to 4-pin XLR) and try if for yourself. I know you'll experience dynamics as if you never heard before, because I've experienced them myself. I still stand by all my claims and I know that my ears never lied to me. I never presumed, but tried different combos and I'm glad I did. I hope everything is clear now :) Cheers mate!
@@Soundnews Hi Sandu, thanks for the response. I get where you're coming from, but my experience trying the Susvaras with speaker amps like the Elekit TU-8200R showed that it's the quality of the amplifier that matters, not how much power it has. Following my review where I addressed this similar topic, I also discussed the Susvara specifically with a long-term, experienced professional amplifier designer who said that a 250mW amp would comfortably drive the Susvara effectively and that's been my experience too. The challenge we face in this discussion is that there is no way to separate the variables of amp topology and amp power. The AHB2 and HPA4 both come from Benchmark, but are very different designs so the fact that the AHB2 sounds better with the Susvara is a reflection of it's topology being preferable rather than it having more power. For example, the best I have heard the Susvaras so far would be the Soloist GT, the Sparkos Labs Aries and the TU-8200R - none of which are the most powerful amps around, but all of which suit the Susvaras beautifully in their own ways. Lots of companies recommend certain amps for their products (beyerdynamic, Focal and Sennheiser have all done this too), but it's not a sign of their headphones needing those exact specs to sound their best so the HiFiMan amp isn't really relevant. I think it's great that this conversation is happening because there is a lot of confusion and misinformation about many headphones, particularly planar magnetic headphones. I hope your video and mine get people to experiment more, share their experiences more and base their conclusions on what they hear, not what the numbers on a page say (i.e. specs and measurements).
Undoubtedly, the best Susvara review ever made. So much passion poured into the review. Definitely worth the wait. You might as well check out the Niimbus us5 :)
Yeah it's funny those reviewers claiming these "doesn't need a speaker amp" didn't actually test with proper speaker amp set up. I guess they're partially correct, that they don't NEED them to sound good. But may lead to wrong upgrade path wasting their potentials.
Great review, very helpful! Susvara is something I'd like to try but I'm quite happy for now with my LCD-5 and 1266. I have the Volot and the XIAudio Formula S and Powerman. Both are quite similar but would agree with something from the written review that the Volot can be a bit lean in the bass. Would like to try the Susvara one day
@@RyuMasterEX I haven't done that comparison but the Volot is pretty much at the level at the Formula S with the Powerman apart from a slightly less emphasized bass response. I know when I added the Powerman the Formula S really improved so I would say that the Volot is better then just the Formula S on it's own
Sound setting is always a compromise, and in the final setting of Volot, the decision was made to shift towards accuracy and bass articulation. As a result, this has a beneficial effect on the entire frequency range. And when using a DAC with extended bass, this sound nuance is leveled. But we are working to make it possible to correct these parameters by the user himself.
Excelent review and congrats for pointing out that these headphones need some real power. It's sad that other reviewers don't get it. Leave it to Sandu to tell the truth.
Hi Sandu, thanks for the wonderful review. I am on the fence between susvara and lcd5, and this review certainly helped. Were you able to try Kinki Thr-1 with the susvara?
Don't get the THR-1, Full Stop - warm and full-bodied, but seriously lacks dynamics, sounds too slow and polite. I will be comparing the LCD-5 with Susvara in am upcoming review, LCD-5 aren't here yet.
Interesting argument about dynamics there. I always think that measurement graph doesn't convey everything. But I don't know what. It could be true that it doesn't convey the dynamics capability of a headphone. I would like to test this myself if I had the resources. You're the first reviewer that talks about this. This might be worth looking into. Thanks for the thourough review!
Thanks you for rounding up all this equipment and fully explaining how to drive these. This is most comprehensive review I've seen because nobody discusses chains.
I love your extensive review, Thank you very much for doing this. I just got the Susvara and i run it with ifi Pro iCAN signature and Holo Spring 3 KTE , oh my sounds amazing! I wish you can compare the ifi pro iCAN signature with speaker amps. I am interested in trying the KECES S300.
Susvaras more impactful than lcd4. I own the susvara and the he1000se and the se has way More impactful bass than the susvaras. I am driving it with a benchmark abh2 and although it sounds amazing. I won’t say the the bass is more impactful than the se let alone the lcd4
Much appreciated. I hope other reviews don’t see this positively, if seen, & be as thorough as possible. This helped me with my next summitfi, TOTL decision.
Hello Sandu, given your experience with such a wide array of gear, can I ask you for a piece of advice - would it be worth upgrading my HE1000se to the Susvara given that my system is Gustard X26 Pro with the A90 amp or would the Susvara not really sound any better than the HEKse on this particular set-up? Thanks!
Hi Michal, A90 isn't working well with Susvara (check my amp rankings in the Susvara article). I wouldn't do that, unless you have $$$ laying around for a better amplifier (like the Ferrum OOR, Soloist 3X GT or Enleum AMP-23R).
@@Soundnews Thank you very much, Sandu. I'll stick with my HEKse for now then, it seems that despite its slightly brighter tonality it's likely to have a better synergy with my current system. I wouldn't want to lose its punch/lively way of presenting music and I suspect that this would be one of the risks of running the Susvara off my A90 amp. Thanks again.
@@SoundnewsYou mentioned Burson Soloist 3X GT - except for being a more powerful amplifier, would it be true to say that it shares quality of amplification (tonality, dynamics etc.) with the Soloist 3XP? From what I know the Soloist should manage to drive the Sus fine and at least on paper the 3XP should sound similar to the GT.
Just got my first Susvara after buying Utopia 2022 few weeks ago. Pairing both of them with the Ferrum OOR + Hypnos and a Matrix Mini I4 PRO DAC. They both sound incredible, with Utopia having better stock pads and design overall, but Susvara being my favorite when it comes to sound overall. Focal Utopia 2022 has a very mysterious soundstage though, very accurate but narrower than Susvara. I'll have fun in these months - possibly years.
What do you think about pairing them with burson timekeeper? I think I saw you made a post about that but will it get the most out of them? Thanks for an amazing review!!
This video HURTS me. I have Susvara with HPA4 and LOVE the combination. Now I have to shell out 3k+ for an ABH2 + adapter cable, that's if I want to find out if you're right. Was this a nuanced improvement or more like a clear cut improvement. HPA4 is no slouch of an amp to be sure. thx!!!!! btw, loved your video. Try to get some TCs, would love to hear your thoughts. They are the only headphone that compete with Susvara (I have not listened to LCD5s)
Epic review, and epically informative. I even read the entire written review. I have a particular interest in digging into your Susvara review. Similar to your experience with the Susvara, I recently got a pair of also hard-to-drive (at least to drive well) Hifiman headphones, the HE-6SE V2. With these, I'm finding, and pretty much for the first time in my headphone audio experience, that very different amplification is needed to get the HE-6SE to perform well compared with all the other headphones I have. I have some of the usual-suspect powerful transistor headphone amps, but like you point out in your review, to get the most out of the headphone, more is needed. I can hear a fair bit of the promise of the HE-6SE driver performance, but it's not quite there. I have some very nice speaker amps that I am going to have to try. Your review suggests to me, too, that someone who has bought this headphone, or is reviewing it, could easily miss the performance of the Susvara for lack of the right associated gear.
Nice review on a killer exotic headphone! Would also like to have you take a look at the Flux Labs FA-12 balanced and their new FA-22 amplifier. Not much info on them here on RU-vid.
I really love your reviews, however in this case I'm surprised at the lack of tube amps in this category. I first heard the Susvara on the Oor, but I can tell you, it can't hold a candle to what the Ampsandsound Nautilus can do to it. In fact, I felt most of the aas stuff gave the Susvara and most other headphones more life than a SolidState can do. Even those, like yourself, who like more the technical performance vs the emotional performance, I think the aas amps should be on your list to try. You're doing yourself a disservice only considering solidstate amps.
Doesn't have to be just aas. WA33, Cayin 6A, 300B, there are a bunch that can power a Sus successfully and perhaps even better than a SS. Better from a subjective point of view depending on tastes.
That is dedication! Thanks for doing this. Some of the popular but unsophisticated headphone reviewers did not do these headphones justice and it ticked me off.
Thank you for this fantastic, comprehensive, and fun-to-read Hifiman-Susvara review. Given the attributes of power amplifiers that match the best Susvara, what is your opinion about the new Purifi or Hypex Class D power amplifiers? For example Audiophonics HPA-S400ET. Thanks, Aviad
Hi Aviad, on paper that particular amp looks like the best thing that could ever happen to passive loudspeakers and Hifiman Susvara. It will surely drive them with aplomb, sadly I never tried one and can't comment on that pairing. Maybe I'll try one in the future, will see about that
I see from your written review (link in the description above) that you tested the Susvara with the Keces E40 amp. Did you test with both the headphone jack and the speaker terminals? I assume your rating is based on using the terminals, is that correct? Can the Susvara even be driven from the E40's headphone jack?
This was an excellent review!!!! Good Speaker amps sound BETTER than any earthly headphone amp on the HE6 as well. Even summit- fi hp amp couldn't best my vintage speaker amp on HE6. Can't wait to get a pair of Susvara which are MUCH better than HE6...
Thank you for the amazingly detailed Susvara review. I am looking into the Benchmark AHB2 amp for my Susvara. How do you connect the headphone adaptor cable to the AHB2? Is it through the SpeakON jacks and if so which jacks exactly? Would I need a Female XLR to single or dual SpeakOn connectors? Thank you once again. That was an amazing review!
@dzemoski45 hey Bro thanks for asking. I loved the spherical imaging on my Utopia 2022 but my susvara is just on another level for detail and clarity. It is also quite a bit lighter or perhaps better weight balanced. The Susvara hit a bit softer at the beginning but now about 4 months later it hits surprisingly hard. So I sold the Utopia 2022 and used the funds for a used Chord Dave. It is mind blowing. Absolutely incredible. The textures in string instruments, the truly natural sounding drums, the metal in guitars on Tool songs. Just everything on the Susvara is perfect. I also owned the HE1000SE for about 2 years first and find the susvara's detail retrieval and timbre to be about 15% better if I had to choose a percent. The price doesn't quite match that of course. The Utopia is so beautiful looking though and sounds awesome. If I could have both I would but I was definitely lacking in the Amp dac side so had to sell the Utopia 2022
@@brothatwasepic wow sounds awesome, did you get the chord Dave used or new? And did you try the susvara with another amp/dac before the chord Dave? Btw, I just pulled the trigger on my pair of susvara could not resist an excellent deal 😁. I’m gonna pair it with Rupert Neve fidelice dac, the dac is great but the built in amp isn’t sufficient enough for the monster of a headphone so I’m on the look out for an amp that can handle the sus. I had in mind the feliks Envy performance version or the enlium. Should be interesting hunting. Anyways in this hobby sounds like you’ve reached endgame with headphones and amp, or have you 🤔😂. **************Happy holidays***************
Thanks for your hard and close working! Would you please try the latest a70pro from Topping, a headphone amplifier claiming 17000mw×2@32o. Really curious about its performance🎉❤😊
I am wondering if there is a way to slightly increase the bass from my Susvara's. I have a Jotunheim headphone amp which is connected directly to my PC. I'm also considering a DAC. Is the PC's DAC the problem making the bass too lean? Am I under powering the Sus with the Jot? Don't get me wrong, they sound amazing, but the bass lacks impact. You mentioned that frequency response is the same but the sound is very different across many amps with the Susvara. Is the Jotunheim in balanced mode not enough amplification?
You need much more current and watts than the Jot. I would look into an integrated amplifier and run the Susvara from its binding posts. You will have to get an adapter or get one continuous cable made with bananas on the amp end.
@@Soundnews must be heaven for sure.. 😂 You might ask around for review. I'd send you if I could. 😉 But I'm a poor guy waiting on his he400se. 😁 Super excited.
I still love your content Schiit Ragnarok 2 works great that headphone I bet and if I the driver size was 106mm round like AUDEZE LCD 4 and such I would love them for gaming because I love how sounds presents when gaming with a such a large driver like it just gives me the creeps when playing horror games I but I Will stick with the HIFIMAN HE1000se for gaming
