I am soooooooo satisfied with my current setup, AGAIN LOL. I thought it would be really hard to get my 3rd satisfaction in this hobby, but dang it I actually did it. 1st satisfaction is the discovery of the Sennheiser HD600, 2nd satisfaction was discovering my own preference for my taste instead of the most popular taste when I finished the Mystique Evo Basic > Allnic HPA-5000XL > Onkyo A800/ATH-L3000 combo. 3rd satisfaction is finally getting preference headphones for different artists/genre/song with my new current rotation: Susvara; ATH-L3000; Raal SR1a; Mysphere 3.2; and Onkyo A800. Through the power of everyone past posts, I read through people’s opinions of which headphones they mostly gear towards and their preference in music. I also check their current gear to see what they kept from the 2021 posts to now to see if the headphone actually holds up and it’s not the “honeymoon” phase. So, after a lot of reading, trying stuff out at CanJam Chicago, and of course budgeting and praying this will sound good in my setup, I finally assembled 5 main headphones that I can honestly say I equally enjoy depending on the type of music/song I am listening to. I know it’s blasphemy that I included the lowly Onkyo A800 in the rotation, but it’s one of the only headphone that I really like it’s bass and midrange. It’s not as smooth as the Susvara, not as sweet as the ATH-L3000, but I will say the Onkyo A800 is more on the neutral side with a little warmth.
My new main rotation is:
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Susvara: Headphone that does no wrong and only right. I expected this headphone to be bass-light from a lot of people’s (other forum) impressions, but man the bass is really well done on this headphone. It’s not too exaggerated where it bleeds to it’s beautiful mids, but it’s a lot there and quality is there. Mids is just downright beautiful, smooth, and delicate. This is what I would call high-class mids. It’s just so addicting and easy to get lost in the Susvara mids, I can see why people are ready to drop $10K plus on a amp for the Susvara. I had a moment of weakness for a bit, but I remember listening to the Viva amp, then remembering when I listened to the Schiit Folkvangr, while listening to the Allnic Amp the entire time. The Allnic HPA-5000XL is a very solid higher middle ground in the spectrum of amp prices ($100 - $16K), especially since I got it used. The Allnic Amp also helps with its unique presentation on the soundstage and my entire setup was originally to buff the Onkyo A800 bass which also helped the Susvara to get a bass sound that I will appreciate as well. There something in the Susvara treble that makes it so airy and will make me go “wow” on certain songs (mostly synth-pop songs and dance music). On top of all that, it pulls details from recording like it’s nothing and not in offensive way. The soundstage is grand with amazing reverbs on vocals. Its also the third highest clarity headphone in the rotation besides the Raal Sr1a being 2nd and Mysphere 3.2 being in 1st, but it’s not a huge gap in clarity. Well, if everything is so amazing, why don’t I just use the Susvara? Well, one of my biggest reasons is because the Susvara presentation in music is relaxed. There can be some excitement depending on what song it is. But at the same time, I can double that excitement just by switching to another headphone in my main rotation but in exchange sacrificing a lot of its technicalities. I think the level of excitement it brings to me is worth the tradeoff (depending on the mood of course). If for some reason I got to sell all my gear, I will either keep the Susvara or ATH-L3000 with the Onkyo A800. I say that because the Onkyo A800 is so cheap compared to the other headphones that to me, it’s not worth selling for $200 - $400 because it’s so rare and it sounds really unique to me even with my current collection. If I ever do reach that point where I have to sell all my gears, I will probably get a Trafomatic Primavera for the amp because I read that the bass and soundstage are next levels for the Susvara and with the ohms selector, I’m thinking it will work with my Onkyo A800 as well.
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ATH-L3000: This headphone is my first love that made me downsize and get rid of all my original mid-fi collection. This headphone to me, is almost unbeatable when it comes to fun, energetic, yet still somehow pretty musical. Like the Susvara and my previous owned D8000 Pro LE, I think it’s a very balanced headphone where it’s pretty dang satisfying across the spectrum. I say it’s biggest strength is the mid-bass and lower mid-range which to me is what makes the headphone sound very special. Mids get sweet (not too sweet) and are more forward. I think in the past reviews and posts on the ATH-L3000, it was famously named “Bass-King”. It can get “bassy” in terms of quantity when you turn up the volume, but your ears are going to get damaged at that volume. It made me think it probably earned it’s nickname “Bass-King” because it’s a bass headphone done right. Treble probably gets overshadow because of the ATH-L3000 fantastic bass and midrange. The better your treble, the sharper your instrument will sound and the guitar will sound more energetic (exciting). It’s not overly done where it could get offensive, but juuuuust right to me. That is also another reason why a lot of people like this headphone for rock songs because it’s perfect balance of bass, midrange, and treble for that genre while also still retaining a good amount of resolution. Another good strength is the imaging on the ATH-L3000. What it lacks in soundstage, it makes up for it in imaging. I think having a small-median soundstage with good imaging gives a more natural feel of where the instruments would be in my head. The Allnic amp does exaggerate it, but in a more fun way so I don’t mind.
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Raal SR1a: Honestly, everything almost a lot of things I like about the Susvara (except midrange) I like about the Raal SR1a, but in a more aggressive and exaggerated fashion. Best bass I ever heard, hands down. The quantity and punch isn’t quite there, no “oomph” in the bass. But the quality, cleanest sounding bass, easy. It’s clean, with no distortion, and no extra notes ringing, it’s a really good-sounding bass, just without the “oomph”. Mids is a different flavor for sure compared to the 1st two mentioned headphones. One of the highest-clarity headphone I own. The music sounds real, but something felt very off and I couldn’t really put my finger on it. Then, I tried another headphone and I finally understood what it was. The Raal SR1a is a little too fast. Music sounds faster on the Raal SR1a and it’s throwing me off-beat. I have to adjust my brain to use it everytime, but it is rewarding because the clarity is amazing and the amount of details is fantastic. The treble is nice, bright, and exciting, but it never got too bright for me which I like. The soundstage is nice and huge, but honestly like the Mysphere 3.2 holographic soundstage more (mostly because of my Allnic HPA-5000XL amp). Another thing that stand out for me is that vocals seem to shine a little more on the Raal SR1a as well when comparing it to the Mypshere 3.2. The 2nd highest clarity in vocals I ever heard, but like I said earlier, the speed can be an issue for me.
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Mysphere 3.2: This was probably one of the first headphone that I created a dedicated playlist to. The Mysphere is the pickiest headphone I ever had. It’s picky on what it wants to sound amazing for and also playing with the frames on my head eats up a good 10 minutes. Usually, I don’t want a headphone that is a hassle, that is why I instantly sold my ATH-W5000. But, gotta admit…the Mysphere 3.2 is the best-sounding audio equipment I ever heard in my life. If you can find your right song, with the frames place perfectly, it is an absolutely magical experience. I had a more emotional connection with the Mysphere 3.2 like she is my long-lost lover or something. I don’t feel like writing my impressions again, just going to paste the link below to my 1st impression. I still stand by how I felt during that first week, I might feel a little bit stronger about this headphone compared to when I first had them. I also want to say it’s the most clear headphone I have in the rotation. I want to say because of its open frames, it gives an amazing black background. That tends to make music sound more “clearer” compared to the regular headphones that wrap your ears in a seal pad. It’s weird though. My brain tell me the Mysphere sounds clearer than the Raal. But I remember having a conversation with someone on headphones that is more clear vs headphones that is more natural. Because the Mysphere sounded more natural to my ears, my brain just think it sounds clear because it sounded more correct to my brain. So the Raal SR1a might sound clearer than the Mysphere 3.2, but the brain keeps throwing me off and keeps telling my body that the Mysphere 3.2 sounds clearer. It could be that the Vidar 2 is also holding the SR1a back. So if I got a better amp, the Raal will excel in clarity than the Mysphere. On my current setup, I want to say the Mysphere 3.2 has more clarity than the Raal SR1a. The Mysphere is also the only headphone that convinced us that we can get closer to real live music. No other headphone even in my current collection give me this magical feeling of the performer having no microphone and I don’t have my equipment. Just a raw performance, a very intimate and emotional experience.
Onkyo A800: I wrote like 4 Onkyo A800 impressions on 2 different forums, kinda tired of rewriting them lol. I will just use the below one since I still feel the same way for the most part. Compare to what I have now, I still think the Onkyo A800 can still offer me something even in my current collection and my time of listening and trying out other high-level gear. There something magical about the Onkyo A800 entire tuning. At first, I thought it was just its bass, but another Onkyo A800 owner recommended a pad to entirely remove the bass. The pad worked and the mids were amazing. I also know there is something extra special in the treble that makes the guitar extra crunchy compared to a lot of the headphones I listen to, even the ATH-L3000. Just adding bass is a huge upgrade to its overall musical presentation of great mids and good treble. I also used to thought the Onkyo A800 was probably more on a consumer side of bass since my ATH-L3000 was consider more of an “audiophile” bass. Then I listened to the HD660 S2 and Mezes 99 classics and did not like the bass on those. The Onkyo A800 bass is more tasteful and probably my favorite sounding bass on any headphone so far with the ATH-L3000 as the 2nd best. I say The Onkyo A800 is more similar to the ATH-L3000 where the lower midrange is a highlight to the headphone, but instead of mid-bass, I like its lower bass region more. Again, similar to the ATH-L3000, the bass can get crazy, but because of its forward mids, vocals will be upfront with the Onkyo A800. But I wouldn’t say its forward like the ATH-L3000 where its in your face, I say its slight forward midrange where it stands out enough that you will notice its midrange goodness. I really like vocals on the Onkyo A800. I will admit that male vocals sounds better (probably because of the bass) but female vocals also sound great on the Onkyo A800. And when I say the vocals sound good, I don’t mean it sound sweet like the ATH-L3000. I think the vocals sound tonally correct to me with the Onkyo A800. The Raal was sooooo close in taking over vocals for me, but its just too fast. So the Mysphere and Onkyo A800 is my go to vocals and the Susvara/ATH-L3000 is there where I want something more sweet in the vocals. Clarity isn’t really an issue with me, mainly because I just really like how everything sounds together when the music starts playing. Clarity isn’t bad like the Sennheiser HD600 famous veil or the Mezes 99 classics, I think its good enough personally. If I ever crave more clarity, I got 4 top headphones for clarity.
I want to say all these headphones are pretty good in all genre, it’s just more song specific on what I want from the music:
- Susvara (Slow songs for a more emotional experience and trio music vs busy music);
- ATH-L3000 (Female vocals for some sweetness);
- Raal SR1a (High BPM songs or complicated busy music);
- Mysphere 3.2 (basically any song that has good synergy with the headphone lol. This is my perfect world situation headphone);
- Onkyo A800 (Songs I want to really bring the bass or just want to really have fun with the song)
I guess another thanks to this community needs to be made. I didn’t really ask any direct questions because this forum is so rich in information and organized. The threads don’t get off-topic, and the impressions are sooo much easier to read and get a good grip on what that equipment does best. I’m trying to learn to get good like you guys, but honestly, I am not good with my words and get too distracted too easily when I type stuff down. 1 thing I do like is that a lot of people post and thread age pretty well. Like the " Utopia vs Mysphere 3.2 vs Susvara vs 1266 Phi TC" was such a good thread to read on the current TOTL. The best part is that those headphones are still considered the very best in the market so the thread aged nicely even after 2 years. MON Mysphere’s article was really good to read, probably my favorite article here since it help me determine what headphones I wanted to get to directly compare to the Mysphere, and ended up liking both (which was the Susvara).
Next move? Honestly, I just want to chill and enjoy my current equipment. I currently do not have any strong desire to upgrade anything. I will probably upgrade my DAC, but will wait for what Ben releases in the future. Besides that, I want to upgrade my speakers, but I want to take a couple of months to actually enjoy my current headphones and find what kind of song I enjoy with them. Also just really enjoying the Polk R200 more than I thought I would, so I have no desire to upgrade my speakers right now as well. I am also pretty ignorant of what a higher-tier speaker sounds like, so I guess ignorant is blessed in this case. Probably will fix the center of the speakers ( where its nothing there) before buying any new speakers anyway. I currently exploring the entire catalog again with the current rotation and see what kind of songs I like with them and if it sounds magical with the Mysphere 3.2 lol.
This is a lot of writing, probably not going to proofread this and it’s big dinner time. I know a lot of people here reach their good “satisfaction” stopping point in this hobby. I am just writing this to any future members of the forum. If you are wondering if this is the place to be to find your perfect audio chain, I say there is no better place than the Sonvs Apparatvs forum 
since I just reached my 3rd satisfaction in this hobby which I feel like is a big wall to climb.
Current Chain:
Main Speaker Chain: ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 > EMM Labs NS1 > [AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 > Custom 45/6SN7 Tube Only Supratek Cabernet DHT > Schiit Vidar 2 > Polk Reserve R200 / Raal Sr1a
Main Headphone Chain: ROON Rock - Intel NUC 7i7 > EMM Labs NS1 > [AES] Mojo Audio Mystique EVO B4B 21 > Custom 45/6SN7 Tube Only Supratek Cabernet DHT > [RCA] Allnic HPA-5000XL > Headphones
