@Rhodey how are you finding the HE1000se? And now that you’ve had it longer do you still find it a close sibling to the Susvara? Is it as much of a rival as some say?
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I think it’s close, but Sus is smoother. I think the HEKse has a little too much air and treble for me. I don’t notice it when I initially listen, and I actually really enjoy the clarity and detail. It’s just crystal clear and the stage and layering is awesome. Unfortunately after I get done or even the next day I have a bit of ear pain. It’s weird, the notes don’t physically hurt during the listening session, but I just have ringing and ear pain afterwards. And I’m not listening any louder than other headphones. Actually quieter. And I’m listening to more acoustical music. I’m gonna give them another shot before I sell them. And maybe I won’t sell them if they end up working for me but so far, I can’t see that happening at this time.
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Thank you sir!
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just fwiw, i had this issue with hekse on certain chains as well. with a more rolled chain i find it less of an issue, so maybe try that if you have one.
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I used it with the DNA. I even tried warmer tubes. I don’t know?
So so glad I decided to hang on to the Susvara then. Even with a chain that’ll cause some to shake their head - The Susvara (and supporting chain) sounds wonderful to me, even better than the HE1000v2 and for those who don’t recall I loved the Heck outta that HEKv2, no joking.
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I wonder if the V2 is a tad warmer or has less air and treble vs the HEKse.
Both from what’s been told to me by those who’ve had both.
Still though every now and then I wonder if I was mistaken to not have tried one (HEKse) myself. I think I can finally let it go.
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Months later, I’m still loving my HEkse; I think I want to build my system around it. I’m pretty happy with my Gumby MB A2. I’ve been saving for a new/endgame amp. I currently have a Cayin iHA-6 for the mean time while I save. I have an opportunity to purchase a Wa22 first gen.
Does anyone have any experience of how the Woo would pair with my can and DAC?
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Which Woo?
I actually thought the Gumby was a good match with the WA33.
Some DAC’s can come across a bit thin with the WA33, but the Gumby has enough body.
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It was the Wa22 1st gen…
I haven’t heard that combination, might be a bit rich, the Gumby is on the more full bodied side of DAC’s, and the older Woo sound is slanted the same way.
But a lot will depend on personal preference.
Interesting. Having tried a Burson 3XP with the HEkse/Gumby, I didn’t care for that chain. It was suggested to me that the Burson was too neutral, particularly for the HEkse, and I should try something warmer. My Gumby MB is the A2, which I have heard is more neutrally tuned than the A1. This may explain why the also neutral Burson didn’t work for me, and why the WA22 may do.
Burson is pretty bad.
Have you thought about a mjolnir 3?
A MJ3 is what I’ve been saving for. However, a Woo WA22 popped up on HeadFi… I’ve negotiated a deal with all the fella’s tubes included. They really don’t appear much in the U.K., and I have always been curious about Woo amps. It’s in a similar tier to an MJ3 as far as I can tell?
Welp, I just left team Susvara today and I feel pretty sad. I really enjoyed the Susvara when I had it and it was truly the best all-rounder headphone anyone could really ask for. It does everything amazing with almost no fault in terms of sound quality. I finally got it to sound as natural as it could be on my setup when I replaced my EML 45 Tubes with RCA Globe 45 tubes and it was delightful. But it was hard to be happy with it when I was constantly reminded of my other audio gear because they both overlap as musicality married with detail to me.
I think if anyone is looking for great capabilities of a headphone and your setup is up for it, listening to the Susvara for a month is truly an eye-opening experience. I also never thought I would sell it, but a little birdie whispered in my ear a nice little woodwind tune and I went ahead and sold it. I don’t think I will ever buy it again unless for some reason I can’t do speakers anymore just because it’s hard to justify spending any money that isn’t speaker-related to me right now.
I also sold my power amp as well, soooooo… I am pretty much back to good ole Mysphere 3.2 and Onkyo A800 until I could afford a new power amp which is maybe going to be a month or 2. That should give me plenty of time to confirm my resolve on the next purchase. I also got some really cool stuff headed my way that’s tube-related and the Susvara was always my go-to at least for headphones to really listen to the difference in sound quality in my setup. Too bad I sold the Susvara really quick. Luckily the new tubes I am getting this week are more focused on tonalty and midrange, so I just have to focus on the Mysphere 3.2 for the next month or so to determine which tube I really like in the Supratek preamp.
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Looking to sell?
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But how much can YOU get them for? Asking for a friend…
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The mods on Head-fi deleted my post talking about how I stumbled upon the knowledge that Hifiman pays $250 to the manufacturing plant that makes their headphones for each model across the board for anything Sundara or higher. Like even the HE1000se if you talk to Hifiman costs $250 to replace when it’s out of warranty. I’ve replaced 2 HE6se v2 recently that also cost $250 out of warranty. I found the manufacturing plant on a middleman site that connects people with manufacturers and found their entire listing of Hifiman headphones that they produce and I was planning on using them to do a small run of headphones since if they make Hifiman, they can at least make something capable, whether the build quality is meh or not and in the last week or two while I was keeping up on it, they pulled the public listing for that manufacturing plant and I can only suspect that it’s because they were getting ready to announce the Susvara Unveiled. Pretty annoying that corporate censorship to protect profits has infected public forums.
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