Utopia vs Mysphere 3.2 vs Susvara vs 1266 Phi TC

Headphones
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I like the signature of the Violectrics; Understanding that there has been a slight shift in signature with this new generation. From the research I’ve done, on a scale of warm/organic to neutral/analytical, the V5xx fall in between the V281 and Niimbus. I like a little dash of color, thus making the the V5xx options more attractive, to me.

Other points are that it will work well with the rest of my system and headphones currently, and those that I have an eye for near term auditioning. It would also be enough to allow me to audition some TOTL contenders mentioned in the title of this discussion, even if not optimal.

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It does lie in the middle, but it is closer to niimbus than 281

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Good to know, thanks. I am ok with that, honestly. I would like a shift toward that direction as I’m learning more of what I like.

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44

just curious, what are your thoughts regarding the jps labs cables upgrades for the standard and elite wa 33?

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I’ve not had enough time with the JPS versions to really be able to comment on that unfortunately, only mainly just the normal and the elite (and the elite is a sure step ahead)

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does the elite have the same characteristics just better? Or does it have a different signature and strengths/weaknesses?

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Generally same thing, just better. So it was just a pure step up without a shift in direction imo. I will say my comparisons above were mainly with the elite in mind rather than the regular, so if I had restricted myself to only the regular wa33 it might have gotten knocked down a bit

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48

gotcha. Thats good to know
I feel like my future is either the wa33 or Riviera or I take a completely different route and go with the Shangri la SR.

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Lots and lots of options lol

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could someone define tonal density for me? Thanks!

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Generally think of the weight to notes, meat on the bone, how much body things have to them. Something lean might sound, well, lean, (dryness can be another thing to describe this), where something more weighty/meaty/thick is just that

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To piggy back on that a bit, @M0N I see you use “organic” a lot as a descriptor but I havent seen it elsewhere. Mind if I ask how exactly you are using it? It kinda seems like you are using for a combination of lushness and smoothness? But not super sure.

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Perhaps I might have answered this elsewhere

https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/audiophile-terminology-what-does-it-mean/105/27?u=m0n

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Great comparisons and really helpful amp/dac pairings too. Now I want to hear the Susvara but better wait to try it until my wallet could bother parting with the money to buy it.

I like the inorganic music part. That’s what I listen to mostly with the 1266 and it does sound the best to me. It also seems to do well with metal and some jazz but electronic or more synthesized music is my favorite thing to listen to on it.

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56

Tyvm for the link. So general break down would be timbre+ presentation? So like arya geberaly has alright timbre but the presentation (and seperation) is not like irl music at all so it would not be considered organic?

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I interpret organic as something that sounds natural to me. I can close my eyes and pretend I am listening to it live. It sounds less like a recording and nothing is too colored in a particular area that stands out.

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Generally when I think of organicness I think of convincing tonality, accurate to life presentation, and correct tonal density/weighting. Might include timbre in that as well. I would view realistic as that + the more time domain things like timbre, dynamics, low level resolution, speed and separation imo. So for an arya, I wouldn’t consider it organic because of it’s leaner tonal density, brighter less natural tonality, grand but not convincing presentation.

That’s just how I use it sometimes though, other times it could just be a literal measure of does this sound organic (does everything work harmoniously together and sound fleshed out), so I guess it would depend on if I was using to to describe organicness overall vs organicness of one aspect. But you could likely interpret it in many ways and still have the point get across

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59

Random impressions since I don’t know where to put them, I have a fuck off good cable on hand, a brise audio murakumo, although unfortunately it comes with a fuck off price too. Anyways this has to be the best cable I’ve had the pleasure of hearing for the susvara (and utopia with dhc adapters), it combines the techincal ability of the dhc prion4 and the organicness and fun from the lazuli nirvana, and elevates both levels. Generally I’d describe it as a very natural and organic yet very technical cable with a bit of smoothness, but pretty neutral. Basically all aspects are to a crazy level, although I can’t bring myself to justify something like this, if you can think of an aspect this has it to a top tier level lol

I’d love to pick it up, but it’s not for sale, and even if it was it’s past what I’d be willing to pay used lol

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60

Wait, seriously? I wasn’t able to get diana v2 to slam even on gsx mini. Any reqs around 1-1.5k purely just to hear the levels of slam d8kp can get to (preferably something easy to offload as I litteraly just want it to hear the slam potential)? None of my portable shit even hints that d8kp may slam. Diana at least sounded like it may and then never did. Or are you more of just saying that sus slam is a bit anemic over all? I genuinely thought that if you want timbre + slam is was the only option.

Now onto the other parts after my mind has been confused by unexpected info :joy:

Maybe this is better in a different thread, but mind if I ask what specificaly makes you like the mysphere over the raal? Every time I’ve seen them compaired by anyone else the choice has been the other way around tbh.

Lol. Fair enough. I’m a bit of a gsx-mini hater because it collapses stage on everything I’ve ever put on the fucker tbf. Like not a bad amp but I genuinely prefer the 428 with everything I’ve tried on both even though I like the tonality of the mini more. Random hate trains are fine from time to time :woman_shrugging:

Good to note. I’ve heard some of the pass stuff in that range is a solid pick for sus too so may keep an eye out there. Any thoughts on the potential J2 pairing?

Tbh, ny worries about 1266 come down to 2 things. 1st (and most important) is i mainly use desktop stuff at work and just refuse to have to explain 1266 (or raal) to coworkers. But sonically i was also concerned about timbre tbh. I’m a pretty massive timbre whore at this point to the point im not sure I realy value anything more than it. I was under the impression the mids of 1266 realy fuck with its timbre unless you explicetly aim to fix that aspect with a chain

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That’s one aspect where the gsx is weakest imo, the bass. I also think I actually explicitly recall the abyss guys themselves complaining about the mini for that

You were considering the broadway right, I’d try that and see how you feel there. I wouldn’t expect the portables you have to make it really kick

It’s not anemic, but it’s also not going to kick you per se. It’s very tight and controlled, and capable when it needs to be, but it’s not stand out or a priority for the headphone given what else it does. So good but not stand out there imo. Excellent timbre so it will fufill that, bass is also excellent on the susvara but it’s focus is more being organic and realistic rather than being the most impactful

Sure, I guess we can move that to perhaps my 4 headphone comparison thread for the time being. Will also ping @sa11297 in this case too, because he’s also just recently gotten the mysphere and also has the raal, so he might be able to chime in too

I’d agree. It’s spatially more intimate and depth focused but really does need more width imo. Also think it lacks macrodynamics too. Not my first choice in that price range but still can be good with the right dac and headphone

Hmmm so that will lean more warm, sweet, and engaging but isn’t the most technical. The first watt stuff does an excellent job with things like tonality, tonal density, organic presentation, and enjoyment, but also isn’t the highest performing technically for the price range when it comes to things like detail, control, speed, etc. but they aren’t lacking enough to subtract from the experience unless that stuff is your main goal. But I do have an f8 I can hook it up to, which is a similar but more refined signature to the j2 imo. Will test that before I have to let the audeze go

The leak from all of those is pretty significant, I’m surprised you can get away with that. But yes from that pov the susvara is the most “normal” looking lol

Yes the timbre of the susvara is far superior than the 1266. The midrange thing is more a tonality problem than timbre so that’s a different weakness, that’s more easily fixed with the right chain but the timbre thing is harder to tackle imo