HiFiman high end thread, HE6 / Arya / HE1000 / Susvara / Shangri La

Headphones
485

I’m bouncing between a KGSSHV Carbon and an iESL being fed by some Burson Timekeeper Voyager monoblocks with the “Max” package and I keep coming back to the iESL for the clarity, precision, and authority they get from the Timekeepers and while the smoothness of the Carbon is really nice, it’s definitely obscuring some detail which really surprised me. There’s some tracks that seem a touch more natural on the Carbon, but I’m starting to notice that it tends to mostly be poorly recorded songs so maybe it’s just the resolution and detail being just over the threshold of letting the bad come through on the iESL? Not sure.

Still really really early into listening and honestly my chain has come so damn far since I last heard these that they’re surpassing the expectations and memories of their capabilities I still had in my head by quite a bit so no real complaints at all with either the iESL or Carbon, just slightly different flavors. I should really think about getting a “better” energizer, but I just don’t know whether it’s going to be enough of a gain for my specific tastes to warrant the purchase right now. I haven’t tried a ton of energizers and I’d like to try a nice build of a T2 or a Woo 3ES Elite, but I have a history of giving tubes a million chances to win me over without any real success, though I was playing at a much much lower level at the time and I know a lot of the downsides of tubes start to lessen as you go up the quality ladder. Would be great to be able to demo a 3ES Elite to know for sure if it’s even something I like at all, but maybe I’ll make an excuse to stop somewhere on vacation to demo it or something. As for the T2s, they seem about impossible to come by without just having one built to order and the question of who to have build one is the question that would keep me up at night. I’m honestly kinda lost on where to go from here, but I’m not exactly chomping at the bit to go anywhere at all for now and I’m honestly pretty happy with where I am right now which is pretty nice to be able to say for once lol.

As an aside to the Shangs, the HE600 are fucking phenomenal as well and I was basically 100% confident they’d fall really short of the HE6 line with that thinner driver, but to my surprise, they hold up incredibly well and are easily the best tuned Hifiman I’ve heard so far (though they need a bass shelf imo and take it incredibly well). Pad swapped them and tossed a fat bass shelf on them and they slam like a freight train and have some of the most intense and well controlled rumble I’ve ever heard that actually physically shakes my head and the punch/impact speed seems very estat in raw speed. I’ve only seen one person give any comparisons to the HE6 or HE6se so far and they were saying they think they’re trash compared to the HE6 and I couldn’t disagree more, I think they’re very much a worthy successor that addresses a lot of the issues the se models had and some of the issues that the 4 and 6 screws had as well. The cup design basically accomplishes everything I’ve been toying with over the years with HE6 mods and gets rid of more cup resonance than I’ve ever been able to accomplish with mods on past models. From mod testing I’ve done in the past, removing as much cup resonance as possible significantly increases their resolving abilities and ability to slam and rumble without any issues and along with the increase in resolution from the cup resonance being fixed, the imaging and staging placement precision, which was one of the standout points of the HE6 line as a whole imo, gets even more razor sharp and well defined in space and the HE600 seems like it’s reaping all those imaging and staging benefits as well. I kinda wish there was just one more notch on the yokes on the HE600, but it’s actually not a huge problem, though I also got the Edition XV and Ananda Unveiled in too with the HE600 and they have plenty of adjustment so it’s a little annoying that the identical headband on the HE600 somehow has less adjustment range. They’re also surprisingly easy to drive WELL, though they do still take a bit of power. They actually sound great off of some portable setups which the HE6/HE6se models could just never even come close to pulling off so it seems like the massive source gear requirements might have been fully dissolved from the HE6 line, and that’s a win for everyone.

7 Likes
486

My curiousity for the HE600 was beaten out by my cynicism. The fact that you have had this experience with HE600 makes me want to at least audition a set.

487

I came into them really ready and wanting to hate but I just can’t. I’m sure they’ll come down in price or you could use a dealer. I got my HE600 through Hifiman from returning the Mini Shangri-La and at one point when I was talking to Hifiman, they quoted me at HE600 for $450, Edition XV for $250, Ananda Unveiled for $300 if I purchased them along with the Shang Sr, and I know from some chats that the prices can go a bit lower than that through some dealers. Somewhere around $420 for the HE600 I think. At that price, they just murder the price bracket, but I could see people wanting more bass than the stock tuning, I know I did. Pretty wild price to performance ratio, though, and I couldn’t really find a limit on the amount of bass they could take after a pad swap lol. I don’t usually care about measurements, but I’d really like to see a waterfall plot for the HE600, they seem super clean.

2 Likes
488

Through my HE-6 4 screw woes, I know the European HifiMan guy. He’s a good dude. I’ll reach to him at some point to see if I can audition a pair. If the performance is on parr with the OG, then, as you say, that’s quite the value proposition.

1 Like
489

So apparently the HE600 is supposed to be an HE500 successor, which honestly makes sense, but it does step in line with OG HE6 tuning. Not sure if that means as possibility of a true HE6 successor, but either way the HE600 are a pretty great headphone.

2 Likes
490

Does the Susvara have different iterations of its release?

I. E.: v1, v2, v3

I’m seeing Susvaras, specifically the 3.5mm, for around $3k.

That can’t be a normal used price, so I figured maybe it was just an early version.

491

3.5mm is technically the second/final generation. Early ones were dual 2.5mm. I have never heard anyone say anything about there being any physical or sonic differences between the 2 variants apart from the input plug.

1 Like
492

Ah got it.

I think the MSRP at its release was somewhere in the $6k range, right?

I’m wondering why it’s selling the way it is now

493

That’s about right, prices pre covid were in that range, then they spiked.

After the unveiled shipped they dropped back into that range.

The only difference between versions is 2.5 vs 3.5 connectors at the headphone and I think they currently ship with black cable instead of the catheter cables they originally shipped with.

Yes that was MSRP, but, no one who took the time to talk to a dealer payed anything close to that.

3 Likes
494

These comments about the HE600 are still bouncing around my head… Should I get one in, even if I know I’m going to stick with my strict single planar policy and not keep it…?

495

Idk. They’re pretty damn good. At dealer prices, I’d say hell yeah, at MSRP, idk, still a maybe, but they do really kinda require a pad swap and a serious headband stretch (pull one side of the leather strap off and stretch it over a speaker or something). I wouldn’t own them without swapping pads but that’s easy enough and other than tossing on a bass shelf I wouldn’t really change anything at all about the tuning. I feel like they’re the slightest ergonomics revision away from being great out of the box but sonically they’re extremely capable.

4 Likes
496

Which pads have you tried/liked for the he600?

Sounds like they may be what I’m looking for, since the

egg shapes do not fit me. Thanks

497

Someone has graphed HE600 with a bunch of pads: Squiglink - IEM frequency response database by Sai

I may have just ordered a HE600. I have to put it up against my Cosmo …in the name of science, of course.

3 Likes
498

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804889366468.html

Those in 115mm. They’re right on the cusp of being too big for the pad rings, but they do fit and once they’re on they don’t have any issues, but it is a bit of a bitch getting them on at first.

I wouldn’t get any aftermarket/third party pad rings, they’re all pretty brittle and like to snap when you’re bending them to get them into the pads or snapping them into place. The ones from Hifiman are pretty flexible and forgiving.

3 Likes
499

@Pokrog Thanks. If I do get the he600 I’ll definitely try those.

Between the 600 and Meze 109 pro at this point, but have yet to hear either one.

1 Like
500

Doing some serious listening tonight on the Susvaras. I think I might keep these this time. Fifth times the charm? lol

7 Likes
501

Got the Susvara Unveiled in yesterday and it had the most ridiculous channel imbalance I’ve ever heard and it was in the worst possible spot. Centered at about 1250hz at a full -3db difference spanning from around 700hz to 1800hz and it destroys vocal centering and imaging in general. I’m beyond pissed and while I’m sure Hifiman will make it right, this is literally like the 5th Hifiman I’ve had to swap out in the last 12 months due to either dying or in the case of the Mini Shangs, 3 pairs in a row developed a serious full range channel imbalance.

Really really trying hard to not just start bashing the company as a whole but holy fuck they’re making it hard.

4 Likes
502

Sus Unveiled showed up day before Christmas. Spent a lot of Christmas day listening to them and swapping off with some family.

Overall build is pretty nice, but they don’t have unlimited cup swivel anymore in any direction. You can’t rotate the cups and set them down with both pads down anymore, you have to set them on the sides and the cups don’t swivel up and down past a certain point either. Not a real issue while wearing them, but an odd choice and it just seems like those artificial limitations are going to be a fail point if they ever get forced that way on accident. I gotta say, people worried about puncturing the drivers are insane. I can’t get my fingers anywhere near the driver at all, maybe if you have long fingernails, but why you would be picking a headphone up from the center of the cup, I’ll never know and as far as magnetic things, screws don’t tend to accelerate towards a magnet at an increasing pace just to veer off and miss at the last second. Screws are gonna hit magnet every time. I think the worry is overblown by a massive degree.

I will say that the driving requirements are just completely gone on the Unveiled and that in itself is probably the biggest win of all. They don’t take drastically less power to get to the same volume, but they absolutely do not need to lean into the amp for their control, they can maintain their speed and accuracy off almost anything. I recently picked up the Crin Dong Max and it advertises something like 600mw @ 32ohm and I flashed a big fat bass shelf EQ on to it and listened to the Sus Unveiled off it and they still sounded tight and fast with no real weakness being shown from being underpowered and it’s usually just instantly obvious on the Sus OG when they aren’t getting the juice they need.

Anywho, sound.

They’re honestly crazy good but they almost don’t seem like a Susvara in a direct comparison with the OG. They don’t have that weight that the OG ones have but it brings an almost estat level of speed and clarity and it’s definitely a more active listen than the OG that can be fairly relaxed at times. I do think that the Unveiled are a firm upgrade in raw speed, and with that comes a really solid punch, more detail, clarity, imaging precision and focus, separation, and overall resolving ability. Overall stage size is a hard one to pin down. There’s times where it seems more intimate on the Unveiled and there’s also some times where the depth seems off the charts. I think the stage is a lot more spherical on the Unveiled vs the OG having a stage that was stretched more towards width.

These remind me so much of the HE600 and their totally different character to the HE6 line and if the changes from the newer diaphragms are resulting in an overall smoother and faster line of headphones moving forward (and it seems like that’s the case), then I’m all for these changes IN GENERAL, but I’m always going to be left wanting a thick and heavy diaphragm Sus/HE6 successor. I think a lot of people would prefer this sound over the OG, but overall I think the OG was more natural sounding and pleasant. The technical jump is undeniable on the Unveiled, but it’s just such a different voicing that it’s hard to describe, because their tuning is extremely similar. It seems like there’s not much left to accomplish from planars in terms of speed and detail past this, these get close to good estat speed as is and they’re noticeably faster that some lesser estats I’ve heard but they can take a nearly unlimited bass shelf and that puts them ahead of every estat out there for most things I’d use them for, but they still just can’t quite pull off that effortlessness of a really good example of an estat and they can’t quite pull off that super organic timbre that comes with that last bit of speed/effortlessness. It’s almost like if they were a little slower/looser, they’d sound more natural and if they were a bit faster like an estat, they’d sound more natural but they’re right in a sweet spot where it just comes out sounding technical but a little overly tight and loses that timbre for it.

They’re a fantastic set with no real downsides at all, but they are very very neutral and I could see people calling them sterile/analytical but that tends to come with the notion that they’re a bright set and I really don’t think these have any offensive brightness at all. Extremely dynamic though, too and that’s not usually typical of an “analytical” set either. Probably the most technically impressive and complete planar there is but they could do with a little bit of soul and warmth being brought back to them. If they didn’t take a bass shelf and a pad swap so well, I’d think of these as more of a tool than for listening enjoyment, but a pad swap and bass shelf slide these just enough towards fun that I can enjoy them for anything. Still not sure how I feel about them, but they’re undeniably incredible headphones from a technical standpoint.

11 Likes
503

Tripped and accidentally got stuck on a set of Shang Jrs. Why don’t people talk about these? I got mine under $2k basically open box and they’re pretty damn good. The tuning reminds me a lot of the HE1000 v2 and they can take EQ flawlessly including a bass shelf staying perfectly well controlled and rumbly even at high volume. EQing out a little of the shout/sheen they have, tossing on some nice thick pads, and a healthy bass shelf and these things perform almost like a Susvara Unveiled with a touch less punch. I’m playing with adding a little bit of upper bass quite a bit above my normal preference to add some husk and it’s bringing out a ton of texture and richness and completely killed any tinny timbre they had left without killing any clarity thanks to that estat speed. I didn’t expect to like these as much as I do, figured they’d be just a Sr with less stage, and to some degree, that’s what they are, but they remind me more of an estat HE6 and that was initially what I had hoped they’d be.

Little side rant, I have a feeling that these could be my new go-to for competitive gaming over the HE6se v2, they have that sound to them that seems like they can be infinitely transparent no matter how much insanity is going on around you in-game, which is why I always loved the HE6se v2 over even things like the Susvara OG. Very even and linear staging with super good separation and imaging and the Jr is very similar but noticeably airier and more separated. The HE6 of every generation can just maintain control over bass and explosions in games better than the Susvara, they’re just definitely more resolving and the fact that the Jrs can’t quite rumble as hard as the HE6 might be an upside for gaming. After recently getting the Sus Unveiled, I was thinking those could probably take over the HE6 spot for gaming, but the Jrs on first listen just feel more in line with comp gaming while the Sus Unveiled are more casual and immersive. I only mention this because if I’m sitting at my PC all day listening to music, they’re gonna get used for gaming so it’s nice they’re fantastic at both. The daily headphone rotation is getting exhausting to keep up with lol.

Planning on doing actually finally sitting down and doing some real reviews of all the Hifiman big dogs with some actual in-depth comparisons since I’ve collected basically all of them at this point apart from the HE1000 Unveiled. I have a ton of pages of notes, I just need to sit down and put it all together and stop being a lazy sack of shit.

Anywho that’s my news other than I’m hoping the Lily Audio Genesis One ships soon because the tech looks super cool and I love trying actual new shit that hasn’t been done before.

8 Likes
504

I wanna read that.