HiFiMan SUSVARA "Review" and Measurements

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, May 27, 2017.

  1. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    Maybe I should try to sell Hands my AV123 ELT525 tower speakers for cheap then! Except for the fact that they sound like crap, unless you crank them. :/
     
  2. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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  3. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    It's MOISSSSSSST!
     
  4. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Glad to see HFM is finally coming back to its senses, FR and technicality wise. Only took 7 years to re-release a V1 HE6. Now for that WTF price ...
     
  5. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Isn't that the weight of a blu-ray case with disc?
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I'll get V1 measurements in when I have time. The microdynamics can compete with HD800 / Utopia. Plankton is just a notch behind HD800 / Utopia (but still better than anything else) when on the uber tube rig, but rather even on the SS power amp.

    I'll check the weights again, but these are only slightly heavier than the HD800. The larger oval HEK cups in comparison seem heavier. I guess I forgot to mention, but the SUSVARA are light and super comfortable.
     
  7. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    @Marvey That's what your distortion numbers would suggest, re: plankton retrieval et all.

    I was looking for the Utopia fr measurements to compare with the Susvara, but the smoothing is 1/24 on the Utopia one. Is there a 1/12 smoothed fr of the Utopia on your measurement rig, that I would have missed?
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2017
  8. marhol

    marhol New

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    Btw. measurements of HEK v2 would be also interesting to see, especially how it compares to HEK v1 and Susvara. Any chance of getting measurements of HEK v2 ? ( Since neither Marvey nor Tyll has posted it yet)
     
  9. Serious

    Serious Inquisitive Frequency Response Plot

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    V2 should smooth out the rough treble a bit, at least according to the one measurement I've seen (unfortunately no HEKv1 measurements on the same rig) and my own subjective impressions when I briefly tried it (with no comparison to v1). Overall still very much the same response. You might be able to get better results by modding the v1 than is possible by modding the v2, because you can insert damping material in the open space that doesn't exist anymore in the v2.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Here we go. 1/24 octave smoothing. 1/24 and 1/12 doesn't make much of a visual difference. Squeezing in the Y-axis, as what I've done here, does.

    YELLOW = SUSVARA
    PURPLE = Utopia
    SUSVARA vs Utopia Frequency Response.png
     
  11. TMRaven

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    Looks like it stays true to the general hifiman house sound. I happen to like less 2khz than more of it. Less 2khz leads to warmer sounding midrange, less shoutiness and stuffiness, tends to expand the soundstage outwards with more depth, but the drawback is that vocals lose some emphasis, while instruments tend to lose some harmonic energy. Electric guitars specifically in rock songs sound a bit laid back and lose their crunch.

    The FR of the Susvara reminds me very much of an HE-560 with focus-a.
     
  12. frenchbat

    frenchbat Almost "Made"

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    Thanks @Marvey that looks a lot more like what I was expecting, indeed
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    That would be an accurate assessment. FR is very much like HE-560 with Focus-A pads.


    Here is an FR with some very light damping. I squeezed in a single ply of TP (very thing) between the pad and driver. I actually like it better this way.

    GREY = stock
    YELLOW = with single ply TP between the pad and driver
    SUSVARA damping.png
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I assure you, I wasn't trying to pull off an Atkinson with the 1/12 smoothing. :)
     
  15. chi2

    chi2 New

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    Thanks for the review and the measurements. The top end of the FR looks nice but the dip at 2 kH lets me assume that female voices will be set back quite a bit. And that would be even more of a no go than the rise at 6 k$.
     
  16. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    Susvara
    [​IMG]
    HE 4
    [​IMG]

    the FR looks more like what I prefer from Hifiman! I've always and still want an HE 6, but the need for mods, one note bass and POWER requirements drive me away... looks like the Susvara might be ideal for when I'm ready to move up to that segment of the market
     
  17. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Hmm, $250 JLH amp makes them sing should be the headline here. That's a serious positive in my book.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Follow up on SUSVARA to HE-4 and HE-560 (stock) frequency response comparisons. Keep in mind that timbre and distortion characteristics are different for each of these headphones.

    YELLOW = HE-4
    GREY = HE560
    GREEN = SUSVARA
    SUSVARA FR comp.png
     
  19. Mshenay

    Mshenay Barred from loaner program. DON'T SEND ME GEAR.

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    Thank you for the updated measurements on the same graph, It's striking to see such a strong family resemblance!
     
  20. Koth Ganesh

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    Marv, does the HE 4 sound thinner in comparison?
     

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