As a longtime Hifiman fanboy I genuinely hope you are right. But as a Sus-OG owner, I seriously doubt you are.

Yeah, in a perfect world, everyone would have a "DCS quiet room" for listening. But that's not the world we live in, so we have to make allowances for the reality of these things. That said, it would be REALLY NICE if more brands would make the effort that Warwick, DCS, & Sennheiser do. There...

Flux Mentor & Ferrum Orr were definitely the "runners up" in my search for an "endgame" (tongue-in-cheek) solid state amp. I decided on Bliss largely because of the assumed synergy it would have with my May DAC. I'm happy with my choice, but I have a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that...

Tbh, this just goes to show that you don't need to leave the driver FULLY exposed to be "unveiled". Doing so reeks of gimmick.

Arya Organic Unveiled Stealth Edition ;)

Nope. HD800S was in fact my first high-end headphone, and it blew my mind. I remember HD800S + Dead Can Dance's "Spirit Chaser" album bringing me to tears. But in the end, as I explored deeper down the rabbit hole, I came to find HD800S to be a "one trick pony" and sold it in favor of Arya...

I honestly can't quite put my finger on what it is about the thick pads that makes them work for me - I just don't connect with Caldera with any other pads the way I do with the thick pads. Tbh it might just be the comfort. lol

You hit the nail on the head. Sus-OG is undoubtedly the upgrade you are looking for, but the catch is that it comes with very real (and costly) amplification requirements. Precisely HOW costly depends on who you ask. Generally speaking (and without trying to open up a debate), the entry level...

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification. :)

I love Sus-OG, but this new Sus-U smells mighty gimmicky and the design is aesthetically awful. Will it sound better? I would be shocked if it does. It's easier to drive, that's definitely a win, but priced at $8K they are betting it sounds better than Sus-OG plus an adequately powerful amp...

I'm going to be the dissenting voice here and say a dragonfly vs Mola Mola Tambaqi, in show conditions, likely makes no material difference. If you honestly think you can hear the difference between DACs on open back headphones in a crowded loud event space your ears must be a LOT better than...

I don't see Sus-OG going that low msrp. Doing that would be admitting that their king of headphones isn't the masterpiece that it is. Same reason we'll never see HE-1 marked down to $20k. Or Rolex Daytona discount priced. ;) The price IS the statement.

Just in case there was confusion, literally no one knows what this means. Pretty sure 99.99% of us are just calling it "Raal" because we don't understand Requisite vs 1995

Absolutely. 99.9% of the population would be well served to just buy Arya and never think about headphones again. To this day Arya is my default recommendation to almost anyone who ever asks me for one. Sus-OG is readily available for $3500 already and has been for a long time.

Fwiw, I personally think you're doing yourself and your product a disservice by getting this caught up in reviews and measurements. Letting yourself get drawn in to this kind of debate is not a good look, and insisting that you are only ok with measurements that you are "consulted" on so you...

You may be right, but as someone who JUST bought Sus-OG a few months ago, the aggregate cost of headphone + amp vs performance was paramount. If you want me to buy an $8k headphone, it better be materially better than a $4k headphone plus an optimal amp.

Ironically, that would almost make MORE sense, given the audience. ;)

And I've caught up on the last 3 days of posts (~400 of them!) listening to my Sus-OG (on Stellaris) quite content that my endgame headphone is not VEILED, regardless of Hifiman's marketing department's folly. ;) #believeyourownears

I wouldn't stress too much about any one review that says Magna or Immanis is just this side of warm or just that side of bright - these things depend SO MUCH on what you've just listened to previously, what amp & dac it was connected to, what time of day it was, what mood you were in, etc. If...

If YOU believe you heard it, then you heard it. Nothing else matters. Just don't insist the rest of us must hear the same thing. ;)

I do predict we are going to see history repeating with the release of the Newvara. ;) But yeah, Utopia OG is prettier. And sounded AT LEAST as good. ;)

Very curious to hear your take as a 1266 owner on 1266 vs Caldera. I've only heard 1266 in passing, but I've been unconvinced that it has any advantage on Caldera's bass. I know 1266 is commonly believed to be the ultimate basshead headphone, but I'm not sure that shouldn't be challenged with...

This rings true - up/oversampling is May's achilles heel. Because I tend to only ever listen to "high fidelity" music seated at my desk connected to my laptop (running HQPlayer) that isn't a huge problem, but when I start feeding it from a CDT or a streamer that would quickly become...

I don't think anyone is questioning that. We all knew any "Susvara 2" had to be more efficient. Efficiency, and the necessity of pairing your TOTL headphone with an equally expensive amp, has always been Susvara's achilles heel. What we're questioning is pricing this new "unveiled" version...

I am that rare freak that actually loves Hifiman's physical design. Is it as pretty as my ZMF Caldera? Not even close. Is it as sturdy as a 1266? Nope. But is it the lightest most comfortable headphone I've ever worn? Can I wear it for hours and hours and literally just forget I'm wearing...