tbh we are not really missing out! If u had $6k to flex on a pair headphones I'll probably wouldn't need a TH-cam video to justify my purchase...🤷♂️...still good quality video by Joshua.
expensive headphone reviews might as well be a cult. All I can afford is an Audeze LCD-2F, but I like to imagine if I got rich, what I'd buy. But my inability to afford expensive headphones, got me into audio cables, as a way to bump your headphones into the next price category. I have a $300 6N+ OCC copper cable, and I must say, the improvement is so great (after roughlly 200 hours of burn in) I'm not sure why all these reviewers are luke warm or cold on 6N/7N OCC copper/silver. I now seriouslly question whether an LCD-X with it's stock cable would outperform an LCD-2 with a $300 6N/7N OCC 8 Wire Cable. I wish someone would do this comparison.
@@TheoriesOfTheoriesOfEverything bRuH...$300 for cables...don't get me wrong Periapt has a wad of my hard earned money, but bRuH...I'm glad they paid of on the promise for you! Long live the hobby & revolution! 👊
@@Leo.SKDXL05 It makes sense from a chemistry point of view. When they cast 'bells' for example, they know the more orderly the crystalline structure, the better the sound of the bell. Now apply to audio cables.
I personally had listened to the susvara at a headphone store (and lucky they do have a demo unit for it). Listened to it for once, and I'm going back to the store every week or so just to get back that feeling. I can't really comment much on it, nor is it really *that* spectacular sounding since I have an HD800S as my daily driver, but the whole thing of "naturalness" really cuts through the whole review. Every time I listen to the Susvara, I feel relaxed, and start to get sleepy, even when there legit is hardcore stuff playing, it is THAT natural sounding of a headphone. That's something that I can get ever so close but never get there with EQ, the Susvara is always irreplaceable in its own term. Not the best in any area, but definitely a well-rounder for anything you could imagine throwing at it.
funny thing Andrew, I listened to it at an audio show powered by WA33..... it genuinely didn't blow my socks off based on the price alone..... i think it's a great headphone but is not 'special'
@@fatdoi003 Yeah I mean some people prefer a certain kind of flavor, which the AB1266TC may be better suited to. Personally I prefer the kind of reference sound the Susvara gives.
Hey, I just want to point out that - realistically - a 1dB channel imbalance is not going to be perceptible to the average person's ear. Most manufacturers have leeway of upwards of 2dB. By all accounts, what you've depicted in the measurement is actually excellent channel matching and well-within quality control standards; however, all the more power to you if you can actually hear a 1dB imbalance!
@@jashan1741 Sure, I understand that. But ignoring that it's next to impossible to hear 1dB of imbalance, the rig that this was conducted on - the MiniDSP Ears - is notoriously inaccurate too!
@@Precogvision if your headphone doesn't have precise imagine, nor do you expect those, then of course it's not noticeable. But we're talking end game headphones, we carefully evaluate every single aspect of its sound, and that 1db imbalance is already enough to warp the whole soundstage into the 4th dimension, which is not what we're looking for
Had the opportunity to try a bunch of headphones in one room. The "Naturalness" of the Susvara made me prefer it over the AB1266 with its "Hyperdetailed" characteristic.
Thanks for your informative review. They’ve been selling a new version of Susvaras with 3.5mm termination quite a while, including mine. (difference’s only in the termination)
Three quick points. Susvara has the best tone of any flagship. Only flagship that doesn’t have a issue/deficit that you need to EQ. Sounds the most natural of any flagship. I find this review very odd with your takeaways and I own the 1266TC, Diana TC, Focal Uptopia, Audeze LCD5.
Hi Josh, good assessment of the Susvara's. I own a set of these and I would agree with you on them leaving you a tad bit wanting on the bass and mid-range, but overall being very well balanced and natural. I think that's what attracted me to them, they sounded very life-like even with CD quality music. That being said - the right pairing can fill those small voids. Namely an R2R dac and amplification with some meat on the bones (many Susvara owners power these from high-end amps from speaker taps). You are right - its gonna be a solution for people who have a desktop/tethered setup and if you are going through all those hoops to listen - there may be better priced options that are less clunky. Surprisingly - you can drive them to enjoyable levels using a Earstudio ES100 in balanced mode!
So are those just normal names in India or are they tied with Indian folklore, history, or religion. Some of them seem familiar to me but not all of them.
They are the best sounding headphones I’ve ever put on my head. When powered properly (10-12W+), they sing, and I mean SING. Depth, detail, imaging, you name it. The only headphones I’ve tried that come close are the Utopia & Abyss 1266, & even then, the only benefit they have is more efficiency (1266 not by much). These headphones are special.
I had this for a while. I was on the verge of replacing it with the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC that Joshua christened "The Best of the Year/Decade". Then I changed my mind and opted for the RAAL-requisite SR1a. Waiting for it to come in next week. I have the necessary gear for it. Based on what I've been reading and hearing from audiophiles and enthusiasts I trust and have known for years, the RAAL is supposed to be the real deal with a completely different technology (ribbon drivers) than planar magnetic, dynamic or electrostatic. When top flight sound engineers and producers say that it surpasses anything they've tried (and by a LOT), it's hard to ignore. Joshua, please put the RAAL SR1a on your list to review. I know you'll get to it eventually. You always do!
Got HE6se for 650 and I love them. Most natural representation I've heard at a fraction of these. Only thing is the comfort, they don't stay very well on my head so might try some different pads if the adjustments don't work
Hifiman QC is garbage but their customer service is spot on. They completely replaced my Sundara with the latest revision with new pads even though the ripped pads were the only issue. They did this under my request.
Ah finally. The review is here. Great as usual. Bit disappointed that you couldn't get a new unit and that the sound quality isn't mega impressive. I think I'll be getting the Arya for my next headphone and go from there.
I get the feeling that this isn't the first time I have heard of a flagship headphone being intended for those who don't want to spend time researching and would rather skip straight to the top model. So it needs to be as pleasant and inoffensive as possible to most people.
This is the only headphone I ever tried, that managed (and manages) to give me actual goosebumps. Good live recordings get a "je ne said quoi" with these, that other Flaggships i tried simply do not deliver.
@@juanfernando6347 It's hard to explain, but let's take the Arya as example. It is a great pair of headphones and they sound BIG and wide and competent, but the Susvara has a bit less and more at the same time. It's the most natural headphonei ever heard, hence the great performance with live recording i guess. I really can't explain it, but i swear these goosebumps appear every time with certain albums ( examples: Keith Jarrett - Cologne Concert , Baden Powell - Tristeza on guitar, Anais Mitchell - Hadestown and - a tad more modern - Bugge Wesseltoft New Conception of jazz - Moving) But allways remember: ears are different-what feels for me like liquid music being poured directly in my hearing center, might not work for you - so plz dont take my word :>
6000 dollar headphones should sound so good that you cannot even fathom it Its ridiculous that these things even have flaws at that price at all Headphones should sound extremely good already at 1000 dollars
That's why I still feel the HD 800 S is undefeated as the ultra high end/end game headphone. At 1800 dollars it easily beats headphones that sale for more twice that price in spacing, clarity and quality. Not flawless (bit of a bad treble spike in its frequency response), and not for everyone due to slightly weak bass, but I think that's the priciest headphone that justifies its price tag. The Susvara and others like the Utopia do certain things better to a degree, but neither of them justify their price tag just by themselves, and next to the HD 800 S (And especially something like HD 600 which is even better value, if a little inferior in resolution and imaging), they're practically robbery.
@@thecompanioncube4211 Not really. I have never heard better headphones for some of the type of music I listen to, and I've tried these Susvara and most Focal headphones. Might wanna get a nice tube amp if you think they don't have high audio quality because solid states don't cut it.
Been excited for this review for a while! I'm so glad you did such a thorough job with it and made sure you did it justice. I'm glad I waited for your review before saving up.
Josh awesome thumbnail shot and video very nice.. This is my 2 cents after just receiving the Susvara about 4-weeks ago compared to all of my current headphone lineup Utopia, Z1R, HD800, Empyrean, list goes on and I must say I think you are total wrong about the Susvara. My first week pairing it with the only AMPS I have on hand which was the Topping A90, Monoprice THX 887, Violectric V281, Emotiva Basx A-100 (unleashed), Audio gd Master 9 amp, along with my Chord Dave AMP/DAC and none of these AMPS did the Susvara's any justice. Tell I received my Woo Audio WA33 Elite AMP where the Susvara's really showed itself. When you get into higher end gear you should have high end equipment around it and everyone knows that. I see you had the STOCK WA22 I mean WA33 ;) which I have listened too many times and will do the job 90% and surprised you still did not like them, but what I am hearing I really think the DAC Source with cables start to come into play here $99 Topping DAC will not cut it. I try to listen to each headphone each night and so far what I have listened too (I have not listened too 1266 Phi TC yet) my other HP's do not even compete. And for anyone out there that are ANALOG people which I am this is as close to VINYL using digital your going to get just pure detail no fatigue what so ever just a very balanced headphone. Bottom line the Susvara's need HIGH END equipment around it DACS/AMPS to really bring out it full potential and sorry no Schiit stack will do the job here. Still waiting on the WA33 review.. :(
@@digitalnation2876 I’m still waiting to buy a Abyss headphone everything is back ordered. But you will need a Amplifier to power the Susvara to there capabilities. I’ve tried lower end Dacs and Headphone Amps and they just sounded okay. But when you add amplification you will see them shine..
My Hifiman Aryas had the same issue with channel imbalance, where the left channel was around 1.5dB louder. I got a return pair without any issues at all though, and they work great!
Channel imbalance probably wouldn't bother me much as my ears are already imbalanced. My right ear is like 3% quieter than my left ear though oddly I can hear the same frequency range with it (think it's from using a weed wacker for over 10 years without hearing protection which obviously you hold on one side). Seems my ears just have random pits in what I can hear across the range which is just bazaar making finding that perfect headphone more annoying.
I just planning buy the Sundara,but these higher end hifimans just looks beutiful,i hope one day at least i can try them.And i like your videos man,very great job
Paired these with a Ferrum OOR+WANDLA+HYPNOS stacked all together (which I consider the ultimate setup that works with any headphone in the world right now). It's really hard to describe how this headphone performs IMHO and without going into numbers, all I can say is I can listen to this headphone all day long without ever getting tired. Stuff that doesn't happen with the Focal Utopia 2022 for its narrow (but really mysterious, in a way) soundstage or the 800S that gives me the best soundstage but "cheaper" sound quality on basically everything else compared to the Susvara. I keep swapping between Susvara and the Utopia 2022, gave up on the 800S totally even tho I spent magical nights gaming with the Sennheiser one. I'd like to see a $4-5k Sennheiser 900s sitting beside both Utopia and Susvara up there on the throne.
uh oh Josh has climbed almost all of the magical HP summit peaks thus far. The only missing ones he hasn't done yet: Final Audio D8000, Raal SR1A, Stax SR-009, shangri la, and shangri la jr. Any others missing?
Did you use the hpa4? I know you only mentioned it. But many of the amps you suggest I would not say really gives this headphone an ability to achieve its best sound. :/
Josh , you have absolutely best intro/outro music amongst all reviewers in the internet , if not the best ever amongst all private channels over TH-cam ! Cheers .
Great review. My takeaway is that while it's not the best at any one thing, it isn't bad at anything, and that's what makes it stand out above all of the other flagships, each of which has something they just aren't very good at. It's the most balanced flagship, hence the price.
I hate to admit it. But there isn't. Like I take pride in my budget audio setup but like. It is outclassed to the extreme with hifi flagship headphones.
Hey Josh, I know this video was about the Susvara, but I couldn't help but notice that you didn't mention the Ananda at the part in the video when you were comparing the Arya and Sundara and how capable they are for their prices vs. the Susvara. I finally own the Ananda, and im really impressed with it overall. Ive had the Sundara for a while now too and i really love it. I know that you mainly referenced the Sundara and Arya because of what they're capable of for the money , but I'm curious, do you not consider the Ananda to be impressive/noteworthy for its price too? Especially now that its no longer a $1k headphone. I don't regret buying the Ananda (although i wish i could afford the Arya) but I value your opinion, because i think we have similar ears lol. Ive consistently found myself agreeing with your opinions on headphones. And we seem to have that same high sensitivity to peaky treble.
Wa22 won’t cut it lol. The stringent vocals and politeness across the frequency range that you perceive is lack of extremely precise driver control. Now try it with a Nautilus or Enelum 23R before you make your final judgment
I hesitate between the SR1a, Susvara, SR-X9000 and Shangri-La Jr as my potential "endgame" HP. Do you think the Shangri-La Jr might be a good contender? (resolution, soundstage and natural timbre are my main criteria and of course, I will have to hear them before buying, not just hearing the sound demos available on the internet...) :)
I knew this wasn't a favorite of josh's once he got to the midrange performance. Josh loves headphones that can do great midrange. It's unfortunate to hear this headphone doesn't have that at this price category. I would get anything from abyss before this headphone. Even the half price Diana v2.
I wouldnt get anything from Abyss :) ugly and overpriced headphones, Hifiman is very very overpriced but at least deliver better sound. About midrange I never heard planars which does it better than dynamic driver headphones
Very good review. I don't think I'll ever be in the market for these but the last takeaway about the sundara being the best in its price was very insightful as it's been out for a while now and i figured would have been beaten. I've been going back and forth between getting a sundara or the emotiva gr1
Hifiman and channel imbalance. Seems to go together more often than other brands. My Sundara has just a touch of that too. For Susvara kind of price, Hifiman should had QCed and measured each one individually. My other headphone is a closed back Sony Z7M2. It feels more robust and comfortable, and I prefer Z7's bass to the Sundara's.
Your videos are so lovely to watch, I have always loved how neat B-rolls you put in your videos!! Great work on review of this planar flagship!! I have HiFiman Sundara that also looks delicate like this haha but costs way less.
I am glad that I came across to your reviews of headphones. They are awesome. I wonder if you could make a video of what is the best Bluetooth headphone in terms of sound quality. I appreciate more sound quality than noise cancelling. Maybe price tag could be student like. Maybe up to 300-400$. Thanks your deep insight into the world of headphones. 🙂
Your videos are so good, you're almost to 100k subscribers, been following for a while now. But please hop on the trend of putting timestamps in the vid
Yeah I agree Tim I've seen people off of Headfi with a stock WA33 saying the Susvara's is boring and flat. I used a ton of AMPS above and non of them did it justice tell my WA33 Elite arrived and I can confirm that this is the very best I have listened to while owning all flag ships now. This headphone deserves high end gear around it Schiit or Topping DAC/AMPS will not cut it.
@@russb3n I’ve been using the hpa4 and does well. The Ifi pro Ican I had before and was weak.. also overheated and clipped with Susvara. Sounded off. Bass light with all other headphone amps. Being a few dozen quality amps and half dozen being over 3K usd. The Susvara needs a proper amp to get a proper review. It’s really an incredible headphone. In all ways.
I had to send back my focal clears because it was making a weird buzz noise when bass hit, and the guy I spoke to sent me the one he currently was using lol
Love you bro. Love all your videos. Love your Abyss headphones rreview. Just recently bought the Abyss Diana V2. Love it so much. MUCH LOVE AND SUCCESS TO YOU BRO. Thank you for all your knowledge in the headphone game.
The beginning makes it sound like 1000-3000€ Headphones are not as good. But one of the best Headphones in existence are in this price range, unless you are actually listening to music and not to the headphone. Also i never heard of one single case with Channel Imbalance from Sennheiser, Sony or Final... so i highly doubt that this a common thing. I think its just HifiMan. I mean, lets be honest, they sell that for 6999€ but the production price most likely is around 200-500€, roughly. They are just selling them for that price because they know that people will pay for it. But actually... its not a 7000€ headphone, not even close. And the reason it has channel imbalance was because it is cheaply produced. I'd rate the Final D8000 or Sony MDR-Z1R higher than this... and they sell cheaper even though they are both Made in Japan and have much higher production cost... I don't know, HifiMan, to me, is an unethical company that just ripps of audiophiles. Not that the others don't do that, but not as hard
Hi Josh another great review I've been using the audeze lcd gx gaming headphones for my ps5 also for movies with the astro gen 4 mixamp and josh they sound like a dream together try them they are awesome also I've got the sennheiser pc 38x coming in about a week I bought what headphone should I keep it's going to be very very to beat these audeze lcd gx headphones but we will see what headphone would you pick what's your opinion thankyou josh your the headphone King
The Susvara was my favorite thing of CanJam London. It sounded exactly like what a headphone should sound. I can't say that about most other headphones, even if I enjoyed them
Hifiman company is great maybe the best in audio business just because building those probably is around 1k so on each pair they have 5k gain, thats amazing deal for them
@@soulfulfool you should also keep the facilitation in mind. The tools, testing, time, and people that go into building, designing and innovating. The price may be more justified than you think.
@@kiavaxxaskew yea but other brands got lower prices yet also using tools and human resources + ending up with better build quality, looks and great sound
I love watching videos about headphones I can't afford
tbh we are not really missing out! If u had $6k to flex on a pair headphones I'll probably wouldn't need a TH-cam video to justify my purchase...🤷♂️...still good quality video by Joshua.
Me too
expensive headphone reviews might as well be a cult.
All I can afford is an Audeze LCD-2F, but I like to imagine
if I got rich, what I'd buy. But my inability to afford expensive
headphones, got me into audio cables, as a way to bump your
headphones into the next price category. I have a $300 6N+ OCC
copper cable, and I must say, the improvement is so great (after
roughlly 200 hours of burn in) I'm not sure why all these reviewers
are luke warm or cold on 6N/7N OCC copper/silver. I now seriouslly
question whether an LCD-X with it's stock cable would outperform
an LCD-2 with a $300 6N/7N OCC 8 Wire Cable. I wish someone
would do this comparison.
@@TheoriesOfTheoriesOfEverything bRuH...$300 for cables...don't get me wrong Periapt has a wad of my hard earned money, but bRuH...I'm glad they paid of on the promise for you! Long live the hobby & revolution! 👊
@@Leo.SKDXL05 It makes sense
from a chemistry point of view. When
they cast 'bells' for example, they know
the more orderly the crystalline structure,
the better the sound of the bell. Now apply
to audio cables.
I personally had listened to the susvara at a headphone store (and lucky they do have a demo unit for it). Listened to it for once, and I'm going back to the store every week or so just to get back that feeling. I can't really comment much on it, nor is it really *that* spectacular sounding since I have an HD800S as my daily driver, but the whole thing of "naturalness" really cuts through the whole review. Every time I listen to the Susvara, I feel relaxed, and start to get sleepy, even when there legit is hardcore stuff playing, it is THAT natural sounding of a headphone. That's something that I can get ever so close but never get there with EQ, the Susvara is always irreplaceable in its own term. Not the best in any area, but definitely a well-rounder for anything you could imagine throwing at it.
you should try susvara with loud speaker driving power amp. it will knock the hell out of you. you would not look for anyother headphone.
"Girthier regions of the vocal response" - I gotta steal this description. Any opportunity to describe something as 'girthy' should be taken.
funny thing Andrew, I listened to it at an audio show powered by WA33..... it genuinely didn't blow my socks off based on the price alone..... i think it's a great headphone but is not 'special'
@@fatdoi003 Yeah I mean some people prefer a certain kind of flavor, which the AB1266TC may be better suited to. Personally I prefer the kind of reference sound the Susvara gives.
Girth
This is a girthy comment
*G I R T H*
Hey, I just want to point out that - realistically - a 1dB channel imbalance is not going to be perceptible to the average person's ear. Most manufacturers have leeway of upwards of 2dB. By all accounts, what you've depicted in the measurement is actually excellent channel matching and well-within quality control standards; however, all the more power to you if you can actually hear a 1dB imbalance!
The thing is this is not a avg person. This is for a person who wants the best of the best and At 6 grand, I want 0 imbalance
@@jashan1741 Sure, I understand that. But ignoring that it's next to impossible to hear 1dB of imbalance, the rig that this was conducted on - the MiniDSP Ears - is notoriously inaccurate too!
@@Precogvision if your headphone doesn't have precise imagine, nor do you expect those, then of course it's not noticeable. But we're talking end game headphones, we carefully evaluate every single aspect of its sound, and that 1db imbalance is already enough to warp the whole soundstage into the 4th dimension, which is not what we're looking for
$6000 for:
> Hifiman QC
> A shitty cable
>"kind of good" build
???
Profit
???
Hifiman
Your paying for all that gold.... It's pure status that's all your buying with these.
The price is of course stupid, but the headphone is very nice, if it passes QC.
Whoa! Susvara actually got a review?!
Maybe there is still a small hope for ZMF Verite open/closed getting reviewed?
Now ask them to send you the Shangri-La :P
quite a few folk prefer susvara greatly to even the shangri la
Had the opportunity to try a bunch of headphones in one room. The "Naturalness" of the Susvara made me prefer it over the AB1266 with its "Hyperdetailed" characteristic.
its still the better cans, and worth buying, although yeah, above user review/comment describe it accurately
actually those in range offer same 'pleasing sound', ambient pro, a18t, phonix, premier, multiverse, so good luck choosing
The Susvara has not been around since the original HD800, I believe it was released around 2017 and the original HD800 came out in like 2009.
True, dude should check his facts.
I think he got it confused with the HE-6 from Hifiman.
Yeah, just sounds like someone who hasn’t been into the game too long. Which is fair enough.
When the headphones are sus.
The price make them sus
Susvara is probably the best cans I have heard. I have Abyss TC but I still use Susvara way way more .
I’m torn between the 2. I’ve heard the 1266 and was very impressed. Dying to try the Susvara.
@@robertreynolds2212 Shelf Bracket vs Industrial Masterpiece
what amp u driving with it?
The Abyss in synergy may sound better than the Susvaras in synergy.
Yes, susvara is more enjoyable, and way much comfortable.
Still waiting for the Hifiman Shangry-La review
I bet so is he 😂
Thanks for your informative review. They’ve been selling a new version of Susvaras with 3.5mm termination quite a while, including mine. (difference’s only in the termination)
ya he didn't know about that
Three quick points.
Susvara has the best tone of any flagship.
Only flagship that doesn’t have a issue/deficit that you need to EQ.
Sounds the most natural of any flagship.
I find this review very odd with your takeaways and I own the 1266TC, Diana TC, Focal Uptopia, Audeze LCD5.
I own the Ananda and I love it more every day. easy to drive, punchy bass, open sounding. lots of details. just great!
Indeed. Its staging capabilities and ability to separate out different layers of a track really is incredible.
Weird. The egg shaped hifiman's are notorious for soft transients, no? Atleast so it feels on my edition xs, but it's pretty underpowered
11:25 Casually grabs a 1266 from among other items on his desk, just as an aside. :) Josh flex.
Hi Josh, good assessment of the Susvara's. I own a set of these and I would agree with you on them leaving you a tad bit wanting on the bass and mid-range, but overall being very well balanced and natural. I think that's what attracted me to them, they sounded very life-like even with CD quality music. That being said - the right pairing can fill those small voids. Namely an R2R dac and amplification with some meat on the bones (many Susvara owners power these from high-end amps from speaker taps). You are right - its gonna be a solution for people who have a desktop/tethered setup and if you are going through all those hoops to listen - there may be better priced options that are less clunky. Surprisingly - you can drive them to enjoyable levels using a Earstudio ES100 in balanced mode!
Sundara, Aarya, Ananda and now Susvara. Am I the only one seeing this? There has to be an Indian guy in Hifiman who is naming those headphones!
Yeah there is. :)
Hifiman deva too
Haha i heard the names with indian accent now 🤣 cool names tho
So are those just normal names in India or are they tied with Indian folklore, history, or religion. Some of them seem familiar to me but not all of them.
@@SuperSeigerman except susvara, the other 3 are pretty common names in India...
Hifiman's infamous QC yet again.
own mine for 3 years, nothing is wrong with it?
I owned a HE400i 2020 edition. Replaced them thrice. All 3 units had massive channel imbalance
@@Sand_1995 MADE IN CHINA
@@brianp4199 literally everything is made in China these days. Its the standards that matter. Hifiman has poor standards and it shows.
@@Sand_1995 For that money they need to test every single one that rolls off the assembly line. Not just spot check.
Hell yeah, I've been waiting for this for a looonggg time!
They are the best sounding headphones I’ve ever put on my head. When powered properly (10-12W+), they sing, and I mean SING. Depth, detail, imaging, you name it. The only headphones I’ve tried that come close are the Utopia & Abyss 1266, & even then, the only benefit they have is more efficiency (1266 not by much). These headphones are special.
What amp did you like the most?
@@OriginalMindTrick Really enjoy the Benchmark HPA4, but the Burson Soloist GT has been impressive lately.
Bas performansi nasil sub vs.
EF6 !!
I had this for a while. I was on the verge of replacing it with the Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC that Joshua christened "The Best of the Year/Decade". Then I changed my mind and opted for the RAAL-requisite SR1a. Waiting for it to come in next week. I have the necessary gear for it. Based on what I've been reading and hearing from audiophiles and enthusiasts I trust and have known for years, the RAAL is supposed to be the real deal with a completely different technology (ribbon drivers) than planar magnetic, dynamic or electrostatic. When top flight sound engineers and producers say that it surpasses anything they've tried (and by a LOT), it's hard to ignore.
Joshua, please put the RAAL SR1a on your list to review. I know you'll get to it eventually. You always do!
Did they arrive?🤔
Don't forget about Sonoma acoustics bravura
Joshua please take a look at the electrostatic Shangrila-Jr set. I really would like to hear your opinion of this 8k usd set
My buddy has it. He preaches it constantly
Hifiman reminded me of all my Sanskrit knowledge. Susvara means sweet voiced😊
lmao
I read Sus-vara
My guess is a HE6 SEv2 for $700 from adorama + a speaker amp will provide 90% of the performance for 30% of the cost.
Hahaha, not even 40%!
Got HE6se for 650 and I love them. Most natural representation I've heard at a fraction of these. Only thing is the comfort, they don't stay very well on my head so might try some different pads if the adjustments don't work
Hifiman QC is garbage but their customer service is spot on. They completely replaced my Sundara with the latest revision with new pads even though the ripped pads were the only issue. They did this under my request.
The Susvara is
simply the
😇KING 😇
of "All in One "
Ah finally. The review is here. Great as usual. Bit disappointed that you couldn't get a new unit and that the sound quality isn't mega impressive. I think I'll be getting the Arya for my next headphone and go from there.
I get the feeling that this isn't the first time I have heard of a flagship headphone being intended for those who don't want to spend time researching and would rather skip straight to the top model. So it needs to be as pleasant and inoffensive as possible to most people.
this misleading review make you think that. susvara is all round headphone that sounds like a flagship speaker. dont listen to joshua anymore.
To me, very close to the Abyss, but actually comfortable.
Your hearing is VERY different to mine. These are absolutely amazing headphones.
This is the only headphone I ever tried, that managed (and manages) to give me actual goosebumps. Good live recordings get a "je ne said quoi" with these, that other Flaggships i tried simply do not deliver.
@@juanfernando6347 It's hard to explain, but let's take the Arya as example. It is a great pair of headphones and they sound BIG and wide and competent, but the Susvara has a bit less and more at the same time. It's the most natural headphonei ever heard, hence the great performance with live recording i guess. I really can't explain it, but i swear these goosebumps appear every time with certain albums ( examples: Keith Jarrett - Cologne Concert , Baden Powell - Tristeza on guitar, Anais Mitchell - Hadestown and - a tad more modern - Bugge Wesseltoft New Conception of jazz - Moving)
But allways remember: ears are different-what feels for me like liquid music being poured directly in my hearing center, might not work for you - so plz dont take my word :>
HiFiman in a nutshell. Also I like the diplomatic honesty. I personally think the HE1000 is the best they ever made.
6000 dollar headphones should sound so good that you cannot even fathom it
Its ridiculous that these things even have flaws at that price at all
Headphones should sound extremely good already at 1000 dollars
The only flawless headphone is he-1..... and it costs 60,000€ without taxes and the amp
That's why I still feel the HD 800 S is undefeated as the ultra high end/end game headphone. At 1800 dollars it easily beats headphones that sale for more twice that price in spacing, clarity and quality. Not flawless (bit of a bad treble spike in its frequency response), and not for everyone due to slightly weak bass, but I think that's the priciest headphone that justifies its price tag. The Susvara and others like the Utopia do certain things better to a degree, but neither of them justify their price tag just by themselves, and next to the HD 800 S (And especially something like HD 600 which is even better value, if a little inferior in resolution and imaging), they're practically robbery.
@@BIadelores 800s is also overpriced for that plastic build and flaws that you mentioned, hd600 is best value thats true
Lol no. HD 800s at this point in time are only worth for gaming. You could spend quite less than HD800s and get better sound quality
@@thecompanioncube4211 Not really. I have never heard better headphones for some of the type of music I listen to, and I've tried these Susvara and most Focal headphones. Might wanna get a nice tube amp if you think they don't have high audio quality because solid states don't cut it.
Been excited for this review for a while! I'm so glad you did such a thorough job with it and made sure you did it justice. I'm glad I waited for your review before saving up.
The Susvara came out in mid-2017 and is over a year younger than the Utopia.
Josh awesome thumbnail shot and video very nice.. This is my 2 cents after just receiving the Susvara about 4-weeks ago compared to all of my current headphone lineup Utopia, Z1R, HD800, Empyrean, list goes on and I must say I think you are total wrong about the Susvara. My first week pairing it with the only AMPS I have on hand which was the Topping A90, Monoprice THX 887, Violectric V281, Emotiva Basx A-100 (unleashed), Audio gd Master 9 amp, along with my Chord Dave AMP/DAC and none of these AMPS did the Susvara's any justice. Tell I received my Woo Audio WA33 Elite AMP where the Susvara's really showed itself. When you get into higher end gear you should have high end equipment around it and everyone knows that. I see you had the STOCK WA22 I mean WA33 ;) which I have listened too many times and will do the job 90% and surprised you still did not like them, but what I am hearing I really think the DAC Source with cables start to come into play here $99 Topping DAC will not cut it. I try to listen to each headphone each night and so far what I have listened too (I have not listened too 1266 Phi TC yet) my other HP's do not even compete. And for anyone out there that are ANALOG people which I am this is as close to VINYL using digital your going to get just pure detail no fatigue what so ever just a very balanced headphone. Bottom line the Susvara's need HIGH END equipment around it DACS/AMPS to really bring out it full potential and sorry no Schiit stack will do the job here. Still waiting on the WA33 review.. :(
is this better than Diana V2 ?
@@digitalnation2876 I’m still waiting to buy a Abyss headphone everything is back ordered. But you will need a Amplifier to power the Susvara to there capabilities. I’ve tried lower end Dacs and Headphone Amps and they just sounded okay. But when you add amplification you will see them shine..
Very nice video! Extremely clear and clean, super satisfying macro shots and lighting imo
My Hifiman Aryas had the same issue with channel imbalance, where the left channel was around 1.5dB louder. I got a return pair without any issues at all though, and they work great!
How were you able to tell the imbalance?
@@allydea he got ears? or just measure it lol
@@allydea his mom farted.
Channel imbalance probably wouldn't bother me much as my ears are already imbalanced. My right ear is like 3% quieter than my left ear though oddly I can hear the same frequency range with it (think it's from using a weed wacker for over 10 years without hearing protection which obviously you hold on one side). Seems my ears just have random pits in what I can hear across the range which is just bazaar making finding that perfect headphone more annoying.
The original HD800 came out before even the original LCD-2, two decades ago!
And Sennheiser retailers still won't discount the HD800 or HD800S. Come on Sennheiser, update them both.
dude those macro shots are insane
Those flagships do things better, Susvara is a detail monster if anything it’s thing is timbre it’s crazy
I just planning buy the Sundara,but these higher end hifimans just looks beutiful,i hope one day at least i can try them.And i like your videos man,very great job
Can you release a 10 minute video of your amazing shots? I just want to drool.
Paired these with a Ferrum OOR+WANDLA+HYPNOS stacked all together (which I consider the ultimate setup that works with any headphone in the world right now). It's really hard to describe how this headphone performs IMHO and without going into numbers, all I can say is I can listen to this headphone all day long without ever getting tired. Stuff that doesn't happen with the Focal Utopia 2022 for its narrow (but really mysterious, in a way) soundstage or the 800S that gives me the best soundstage but "cheaper" sound quality on basically everything else compared to the Susvara.
I keep swapping between Susvara and the Utopia 2022, gave up on the 800S totally even tho I spent magical nights gaming with the Sennheiser one. I'd like to see a $4-5k Sennheiser 900s sitting beside both Utopia and Susvara up there on the throne.
I stay with the HE1000 V2 I Love it
Joshua, FYI, many of your recommended equipment links are dead. You should have a look and update them.
please hifiman add a decent cable, is a 6k headphone!
uh oh Josh has climbed almost all of the magical HP summit peaks thus far. The only missing ones he hasn't done yet: Final Audio D8000, Raal SR1A, Stax SR-009, shangri la, and shangri la jr. Any others missing?
The Jecklin Floats
What DAC did you use? What amp? What tubes? Do you have a power cleaner/filter? What is your source? Cables?
amogus referens???
Did you use the hpa4? I know you only mentioned it. But many of the amps you suggest I would not say really gives this headphone an ability to achieve its best sound. :/
Josh , you have absolutely best intro/outro music amongst all reviewers in the internet , if not the best ever amongst all private channels over TH-cam ! Cheers .
Liking for this guy's audiophile system.
S u S
congrats on finally achieving the susvara :)
When the Sundara is sus 0_0!
yes I'm sure this is sus comment #1329
Great review. My takeaway is that while it's not the best at any one thing, it isn't bad at anything, and that's what makes it stand out above all of the other flagships, each of which has something they just aren't very good at. It's the most balanced flagship, hence the price.
Right. That's exactly what i want to say.
Very well said
audio is affordable but placebo is priceless
I hate to admit it. But there isn't. Like I take pride in my budget audio setup but like. It is outclassed to the extreme with hifi flagship headphones.
Susvara match perfectly with burson Soloist GT amp enough power drive high recommended . I enjoy listening my susvara every nights
It’s actually pronounced su-swura and it means sweet voiced
su-s
@@aqwandrew6330 among-us
My favorite headphones. My go to pair, but they are super super picky about amplifiers. Only a handful of amps drive them properly.
What amplifier would you recommend sir for these to be one's endgame collection
Hey Josh, I know this video was about the Susvara, but I couldn't help but notice that you didn't mention the Ananda at the part in the video when you were comparing the Arya and Sundara and how capable they are for their prices vs. the Susvara. I finally own the Ananda, and im really impressed with it overall. Ive had the Sundara for a while now too and i really love it. I know that you mainly referenced the Sundara and Arya because of what they're capable of for the money , but I'm curious, do you not consider the Ananda to be impressive/noteworthy for its price too? Especially now that its no longer a $1k headphone. I don't regret buying the Ananda (although i wish i could afford the Arya) but I value your opinion, because i think we have similar ears lol. Ive consistently found myself agreeing with your opinions on headphones. And we seem to have that same high sensitivity to peaky treble.
Wa22 won’t cut it lol. The stringent vocals and politeness across the frequency range that you perceive is lack of extremely precise driver control. Now try it with a Nautilus or Enelum 23R before you make your final judgment
when the headset is sus 0_0
I hesitate between the SR1a, Susvara, SR-X9000 and Shangri-La Jr as my potential "endgame" HP. Do you think the Shangri-La Jr might be a good contender? (resolution, soundstage and natural timbre are my main criteria and of course, I will have to hear them before buying, not just hearing the sound demos available on the internet...) :)
Hope to see a review on just the DCS Lina amplifier and your take whether it is good to power Susvara nicely!
Giving anyone a pass on driver matching is completely uncool, that is the very basics of good sound, and at this price point it is a critical failure.
I knew this wasn't a favorite of josh's once he got to the midrange performance. Josh loves headphones that can do great midrange. It's unfortunate to hear this headphone doesn't have that at this price category. I would get anything from abyss before this headphone. Even the half price Diana v2.
I wouldnt get anything from Abyss :) ugly and overpriced headphones, Hifiman is very very overpriced but at least deliver better sound. About midrange I never heard planars which does it better than dynamic driver headphones
Someone learn B rolls from him :/
When the headset is sounding kinda dubious 😳
When the imposter is S U S - vara
I thought the exact same thing as soon as I saw this video my humour is so fucked
When the vara is sus!😳
That vara is kinda sus
Sorry for that🙃
Very good review. I don't think I'll ever be in the market for these but the last takeaway about the sundara being the best in its price was very insightful as it's been out for a while now and i figured would have been beaten. I've been going back and forth between getting a sundara or the emotiva gr1
Hifiman and channel imbalance. Seems to go together more often than other brands. My Sundara has just a touch of that too. For Susvara kind of price, Hifiman should had QCed and measured each one individually.
My other headphone is a closed back Sony Z7M2. It feels more robust and comfortable, and I prefer Z7's bass to the Sundara's.
Your videos are so lovely to watch, I have always loved how neat B-rolls you put in your videos!!
Great work on review of this planar flagship!! I have HiFiman Sundara that also looks delicate like this haha but costs way less.
it's a electrostatic drivers :D , no distorsion and have the best trebbles but no't strong bass ,it's a orchestrum headphone :D
This product is a great donation for audio R&D! Please all buy, but I will get the next gen headphones.
What would you say is the best headphone ever for the price relatively
I am glad that I came across to your reviews of headphones. They are awesome. I wonder if you could make a video of what is the best Bluetooth headphone in terms of sound quality. I appreciate more sound quality than noise cancelling. Maybe price tag could be student like. Maybe up to 300-400$. Thanks your deep insight into the world of headphones. 🙂
So a bass-light snooze with quality control issues that requires a thousand dollar-plus amplifier. For 6 large. PASS.
If 7k is big deal for you, you are not the target consumer
@@Tacet137 I mean, I spent 2600 on my can/DAP/cable combo, but sure, whatever.
@@matthewweflen Think about the competition for the Susvara. Most of them need a high end amp, so you really aren't the target audience.
How did you measure the imbalance?
Your videos are so good, you're almost to 100k subscribers, been following for a while now. But please hop on the trend of putting timestamps in the vid
I think that feature is called chapters.
the thumbnail is irresistible
Bass response is light? Huh... odd. I would never say that about these unless the amp was underpowered
Yeah I agree Tim I've seen people off of Headfi with a stock WA33 saying the Susvara's is boring and flat. I used a ton of AMPS above and non of them did it justice tell my WA33 Elite arrived and I can confirm that this is the very best I have listened to while owning all flag ships now. This headphone deserves high end gear around it Schiit or Topping DAC/AMPS will not cut it.
@@russb3n true! Topping can’t even come close to powering them.
@@russb3n I’ve been using the hpa4 and does well.
The Ifi pro Ican I had before and was weak.. also overheated and clipped with Susvara. Sounded off. Bass light with all other headphone amps. Being a few dozen quality amps and half dozen being over 3K usd. The Susvara needs a proper amp to get a proper review. It’s really an incredible headphone. In all ways.
I had to send back my focal clears because it was making a weird buzz noise when bass hit, and the guy I spoke to sent me the one he currently was using lol
Good review - but am I the only one getting a strong “no thanks” vibe from this set of cans?
Thanks for the honest review.
100% exactly how I felt when I heard it.
How did you reduce the left channel volume? Some of my IEMs have this problem as well.
Love you bro. Love all your videos. Love your Abyss headphones rreview. Just recently bought the Abyss Diana V2. Love it so much. MUCH LOVE AND SUCCESS TO YOU BRO. Thank you for all your knowledge in the headphone game.
It may sound great, but quality control issues, quite incompatible cables and near-impossible to drive-ness at this price... oof.
This video make me realise that no matter how good something is, there is always someone who thinks it’s meh. You can’t please everyone.
Joshua, any chance you will get to review final D8000 pro? I feel it’s probably the only flagship that you haven’t mentioned
Its a shame you didn't get to try these on a speaker amp :(
The beginning makes it sound like 1000-3000€ Headphones are not as good.
But one of the best Headphones in existence are in this price range, unless you are actually listening to music and not to the headphone.
Also i never heard of one single case with Channel Imbalance from Sennheiser, Sony or Final... so i highly doubt that this a common thing. I think its just HifiMan.
I mean, lets be honest, they sell that for 6999€ but the production price most likely is around 200-500€, roughly. They are just selling them for that price because they know that people will pay for it.
But actually... its not a 7000€ headphone, not even close. And the reason it has channel imbalance was because it is cheaply produced.
I'd rate the Final D8000 or Sony MDR-Z1R higher than this... and they sell cheaper even though they are both Made in Japan and have much higher production cost...
I don't know, HifiMan, to me, is an unethical company that just ripps of audiophiles. Not that the others don't do that, but not as hard
I don't understand Hifimam they make great headphones but the cables always suck lol
Simply, it's a balanced stat RPG character
Hi Josh another great review I've been using the audeze lcd gx gaming headphones for my ps5 also for movies with the astro gen 4 mixamp and josh they sound like a dream together try them they are awesome also I've got the sennheiser pc 38x coming in about a week I bought what headphone should I keep it's going to be very very to beat these audeze lcd gx headphones but we will see what headphone would you pick what's your opinion thankyou josh your the headphone King
The Susvara was my favorite thing of CanJam London. It sounded exactly like what a headphone should sound. I can't say that about most other headphones, even if I enjoyed them
Hifiman company is great maybe the best in audio business just because building those probably is around 1k so on each pair they have 5k gain, thats amazing deal for them
@@soulfulfool true
@@soulfulfool you should also keep the facilitation in mind. The tools, testing, time, and people that go into building, designing and innovating. The price may be more justified than you think.
@@kiavaxxaskew yea but other brands got lower prices yet also using tools and human resources + ending up with better build quality, looks and great sound