[rev92]

Hi folks!

After a year of gathering, listening, comparing, shooting photos, writing the actual text...my flagships comparison 2022 is live! I've decided on the name "The Battle Of The Flagships" as a bow before David Mahler, the creator of the legendary thread here on Head-Fi. I've read it so many times in the last 10 years, and it helped me a lot in my head-fi journey.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/battle-of-the-flagships-58-headphones-compared.634201/

This article is originally posted on my website, but I decided to put it here as well. I think this will be convenient for everybody with questions or people to actually chat and share their opinions.

But PLEASE - make this thread polite and cultural. We all have different opinions, we might not agree with each other, but this is the beauty of it. Respect others opinion and just have fun. This is my subjective take and I won't even try to answer objectivists attacks per "measurements show differently".

Quick additional round of FAQ over the last 48 hours on the internet:

Why is it called a battle of the flagships if there are some non-flagship headphones in it?
- Look above, and also, because I wanted it to.

Why isn't a XYZ headphone in it?
- Because I don't have it and haven't had it for the past year. Maybe it'll get included in the future update.

A flagship comparison without Utopia/LCD5/XYZ is a joke.
- Okay.
Maybe it'll get included in the future update.

I wish you have included a XYZ headphone.
- Same.

Without measurements this is worthless.
- Okay, go read other stuff.

I dont agree with you.
- Great, because you're not meant to. I have my opinion, you have yours. Share your opinion as a reply and let's have a cool discussion, that's what it is all about.

You've been paid to praise/trash different headphones.
- Looking at how much time I've put into everything related to this, I think no manufacturer could actually afford it. Just kidding, like you are with this question.

I would have done it differently.
- Go ahead, the more different opinions, the better.

Welcome to the biggest (as far as I’m aware) flagship headphones comparison in years. Having all these Summit-Fi headphones here at Ear Fidelity HQ made me wonder – what if, apart from the reviews, I’ll compare them all in one big article? How to approach this? How to do the rating? What’s the best anyway?

This one is by far the most challenging and time-consuming article in my entire career as a reviewer. It took me quite a while to decide on the form of this article, and I must have tamed my ambitions by some margin. At the end of the day, I want this comparison to be easy to read, clean, and not overly complicated. I decided that splitting it into 10 different categories containing 10 points each will probably be the most fair and simple to navigate.

I’m hugely thankful that I actually got to do it. Ever since launching Ear Fidelity I’ve been given a chance to audition, test, and own a lot of products that would be hard for me to reach without being a reviewer. I want this comparison to be my way of saying thank you to all of you who are supporting and constantly visiting our website.

Deciding which high-end headphones to buy can be really tough, especially nowadays with so much choice on the market. I hope this comparison will help you make a decision, or at least give you a good direction regarding which headphones to audition.

Let me give you a quick story of my audiophile journey to help you evaluate my ratings. I’ve been into headphones for about ten years now. I’ve been reviewing, working in sales, marketing, distribution, and production for years. I owned hundreds of different audio devices and auditioned thousands. Over the years I have found my perfect “tune” and things that I like about sound the most, but I always try to somewhat keep it out of my head while reviewing. However, it is impossible to do it completely, so please remember, every reviewer is subjective to some extent, and this comparison is no different.

This article comes with a few disclaimers that are very important, basically essential for anyone interesting in reading the rest of it. I’ll try to make things clear and straightforward.

1. Everything stated in this comparison is my opinion and I wasn’t influenced by anybody. None of the manufacturers got to see the article before publishing it, none of them knew any of the results and none of them gave me any financial benefits. It is worth noting that Ear Fidelity cooperates with a lot of manufacturers in the audio market and that we get free samples, including some of the headphones used in this article. However, the point of this comparison is to make it easier for YOU to decide which flagship headphones might be the best for you. Also, this has been just fun! This is NOT a sponsored post to praise manufacturers that are cooperating with Ear Fidelity, I’m being as honest as I can.

2. This comparison is my subjective take. There will be no measurements (not that I don’t believe they are relevant), and I’m not a “universal truth-teller”. Audio is a highly subjective hobby so even though I believe something is great, doesn’t mean that you’re going to love it, nor that it is objectively “great”. I’m not going to argue which approach is correct, there are simply two ways to do audio reviews and I believe both are correct. This is my way of doing this and I hope you’ll respect it.

3. This article has been in the works for about a year, which is A LOT. Listening to all these headphones on dozens of systems, different cables, different music, and different moods helped me in evaluating their final score. I believe it was essential for me to get to know all of the models included in the comparison well enough to be able to rate them in a fair way.

4. I will be posting a list of equipment that has been used throughout the whole comparison listening, but I won’t be explaining this part too much. See, over the past year, I’ve heard some of these headphones on so many different devices, that this section alone would have been complete chaos. Everything I’m going to write about ANY of the headphones included is a summary of everything I’ve tested them with. Getting a “one system to rule them all” for this comparison wasn’t the way I wanted to do it. Different headphones work best with different DACs, different AMPs, cables, music genres, etc. The correct way for me was to get to know these headphones on many different devices to see the big picture about their sound quality.

5. This comparison IS and WILL BE a work in progress. I will be including new entries in the future, so I want this article to be as modular as possible. There will be updates to it including new headphones that are going to be released or the ones that I will get to stay here in the Ear Fidelity HQ.

6. All the ratings are given without the retail price in mind. This is meant to give an ultimate 0-10 score, with no value involved in any single category, as there is a separate category regarding the value of each headphone. If a headphone gets 10 points in a specific category, it means that it’s simply perfect in it, not “perfect for its price”.

7. All headphones are rated at their “stock” version. No aftermarket pads, cables, and NO EQ.

8. The most important disclaimer of them all – just have fun. This is a subjective take of a person on the internet. If your favorite model didn’t score too good, don’t be mad about it, we might have different tastes or we just simply disagree with each other. It’s not a reason to go into comments and start a WW III about it.

As I stated before, I’ve used A LOT of different audio devices throughout this whole process. I’m not going to go into details too much as this section alone could have been 5000 words. I’ll try to list all of the devices that I’ve used and that are important for the results. There’s probably been more of it, I just can’t remember everything.



DACs



JDS Labs : Atom DAC, Atom DAC+
Topping : E30, E50, DX3Pro, DX3Pro+, D90, D90se,
SMSL : SU-9,
Schiit : Modi 3+
Musician : Pegasus, Aquarius,
Earmen : Tradutto, Colibri
iFi : iDSD Pro, iDSD Pro Signature, iDSD NEO
Cayin : iDAC-6 mk2
Chord : Cutest, Hugo2, Dave



DAPs



Fiio : M11 Plus ESS, M11 Plus LTD, M17
Cayin : N3Pro, N6ii (R01, E01), N8, N8ii
Lotoo : Paw 6000, Paw Gold Touch
Astell&Kern : SP2000T
Shanling : M8, M6 Pro 2021



Turntables and CD players



Pro-Ject : Debut Pro + Hana EL
Transrotor : Alto TMD + Phasemation PP-200 and ZYX Ultimate Omega, ZET3 + Phasemation PP-200
Thorens : TD160 + Nagaoka MP-110
Accuphase : DP-570, DP-750
Ayon : CD-35 II High Fidelity Edition



Amplifiers



Topping : L30, L50, A50s, A90
SMSL : SH-9
XIAudio : Broadway S
Ayon : HA-3 MK II
Octave : V16 Single Ended
Cayin : C8, HA-300, HA-6A, IHA-6
Accuphase : E800, A75 (both from speaker outputs)
LittleDot : MK III SE
xDuoo : TA-26
Ferrum : OOR



Cables



Siltech : 680i, 880i, Princess, Double Crown, Triple Crown
Acrolink : A2070 Leggenda, 9900 Mexcel
Tellurium Q : Black II, Silver, Silver Diamond, Statement
Cross Lambda : Apollo GB
Forza Audioworks : Noir HPC, Claire

I can’t even state how many different songs and albums have been used during the whole process of creating this comparison. I tried to use as many different genres as possible to get a full picture. Even though I’m unable to give you the full list, below I’m attaching a Spotify playlist that might give you some idea.
Of course, I haven’t used Spotify much during this comparison, that would be absurd with all these high-end headphones. I’m using Spotify here to share some of the music used, keep that in mind.

Abyss Diana Phi​

• Price – $4000
• Driver – Planar
• Sensitivity – 91 dB
• Impedance – 32 Ω
• Power requirements – Average
• Tone – Fast aggresive

A revelation of the past few years, Abyss has been one of the most popular choices in the high-end headphones market. The Diana Phi is their “smaller” offering, while their flagship is the vastly unique Abyss 1266 Phi TC. Proud of its US heritage, rocking the thinnest planar-magnetic cups in the world, the Diana Phi is surely quite a looker.

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Crosszone CZ-1​

• Price – $2500
• Driver – 23mm DD + 40mm DD
• Sensitivity – 97 dB
• Impedance – 75 Ω
• Power requirements – Average
• Tone – Weird

A niche Japanese headphone using two dynamic drivers per side. A very unusual approach to creating soundstage in headphones, but how good does it sound compared to the competition? It’s definitely the least popular model in this comparison, but looking at its asking price, it should offer great audio performance.

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Drop + Sennheiser HD8XX​

• Price – $1100
• Driver – Dynamic
• Sensitivity – No information
• Impedance – 300 Ω
• Power requirements – Average
• Tone – V-shaped

The newest version of the legendary HD800 by Sennheiser, this time in cooperation with DROP. This introduction has been wildly popular ever since its announcement. The least expensive entry in the lineup as well as the oldest if we’ll look at it as an updated HD800.

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Final D8000 Pro​

• Price – $4199
• Driver – Planar
• Sensitivity – 98 dB
• Impedance – 60 Ω
• Power requirements – Average
• Tone – Fast neutral

Final Audio released its flagship D8000 Pro back in 2019, after a big success of its earlier version, the D8000. Widely regarded as one of the fastest, cleanest sounding headphones on the market. Final is not a newcomer to the high-end headphones market, as they proved their worth many times already.

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HEDDphone​

• Price – $1899
• Driver – AMT
• Sensitivity – 87 dB
• Impedance – 42 Ω
• Power requirements – High
• Tone – Big and warm

The HEDDphone is the first headphone release by the legendary HEDD Audio. It uses an innovative AMT driver, and it’s the heaviest headphone in the lineup. Widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best value in high-end headphones.

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Hifiman HE1000se​

• Price – $3500
• Driver – Planar
• Sensitivity – 96 dB
• Impedance – 35 Ω
• Power requirements – Low
• Tone – Fast neutral

The HE1000se is the third iteration of the vastly popular HE1000. Thanks to using Stealth Magnets, it got as close as it could to Hifiman’s flagship Susvara. Our “Best High-End Headphone of 2021” award winner. Widely regarded as one of the most detailed headphones in the world.

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Hifiman Susvara​

• Price – $6000
• Driver – Planar
• Sensitivity – 83 dB
• Impedance – 60 Ω
• Power requirements – Extremely high
• Tone – Natural

The Hifiman Susvara is a force to be reckoned with. Ever since its launch in 2017 it’s been widely regarded as the best headphone on the market. The most expensive entry in the lineup. Being known for its crazy power hunger as well as its unparalleled audio quality.

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Meze Elite​

• Price – $4000
• Driver – Planar
• Sensitivity – 101 dB
• Impedance – 32 Ω
• Power requirements – Low
• Tone – Warm/Dark

The Meze Elite is an upgraded version of the Empyrean. Meze Audio took the market by storm with the release of the Empyrean, and now it is even better (by a lot actually). The best-built headphone on the planet as well as the newest model in the comparison.

While the presentation is not as crucial as the actual sound quality, we still have to remember that we’re testing the Summit-Fi level of headphone audio, and in a multi-thousand-dollar price bracket, even the slightest details are important.

The presentation is everything about the first contact with the headphone. The unboxing experience, the overall feeling of seeing the product for the first time. Believe me or not, after working in audio for many years in the past I got to understand that this aspect is important to a lot of people.

Also, I’ll be rating the unboxing experience AND accessories included, so cables are rated as well. Having no accessories at all won’t help you in this category.

The overall presentation of the Crosszone flagship is rather underwhelming. The headphone comes in a large cardboard box with next to no accessories. The included cables are not really good and everything seems a little bit cheap and old-fashioned. This headphone tries to give you that classic Japanese approach to minimalism, but it does it poorly. Having in mind the price of the CZ-1, its presentation and included accessories (or lack of) are disappointing. Final Audio is Japanese as well, and their product is miles ahead when it comes to presentation.

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Slightly better than the Crosszone CZ-1, but still nothing great. The better score is given mainly due to a better cable included and slightly better finishing of the box. Additionally, I feel that this box is much more secure, so shipping the 8XX overseas might be safer. It’s worth noting that this headphone is more than two times less expensive than the CZ-1, and it still is presented better. A typical German approach, there’s nothing bad to it, it just isn’t really interesting.

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This is basically the same as with the HD8XX, but bigger. The HEDDphone is a behemoth of a headphone and the box reflects that. Additionally, the included cable is pretty decent, but certainly not the best ever. I’m not gonna lie, it’s pretty German, just like the HD8XX. While I totally understand this kind of approach to the presentation of the product with studio heritage, I still can’t rate it any higher than 4 points.

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Here we get a much nicer, leather box. It feels sturdy and quite premium, not luxurious though. Three cables are included, and even though their design is rather controversial, I must admit they are quite comfortable and good sounding. Definitely a more “audiophile” approach than the previous ones. It can’t score any higher, as I get a feeling that this is trying to feel more premium than it actually is. The 1000se is a decently presented high-end headphone, nothing more in this regard.

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Abyss is well…unique. The included bag is a nice touch when it comes to its quality (it’s really well-made), but it’s still a canvas bag…it doesn’t really offer any proper protection to use it. I’ll give them points for actually trying, for execution and originality, but the idea itself is rather a miss. I would never use it personally, as it’s not sturdy enough to make me feel like the Diana Phi is safe, and as for the style…well, not my type. Also, the included cable is pretty bad, and it uses proprietary connectors, so bye bye good aftermarket options for a reasonable price.

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Susvara scores a point above the HE1000se, simply because its leather box is slightly better, and additionally you’re getting a hardcover book that is just a brilliant touch. The included cable is once again, pretty okay, but it feels a little weird in the hand. For the $6000 asking price, Hifiman should have included something nicer. Not great, not terrible. It scores the same as the Diana Phi, as the leather box is much more secure than the canvas bag, and the cable uses standard 3.5mm jack connectors, but there’s a certain lack of originality.

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A first really nice presentation here. The D8000 Pro comes in a multi-layered box, and the proper one is made of fake crocodile skin. Included are two very high-quality cables, especially the silver one. One big downside though (highly subjective) is that the silver cable is both very long and very heavy, so it’s basically unusable for me near my desk. I wish Final have gone with a 1.5m MAX. On top of that, included is a very nice carrying case that I actually use a lot, mainly for traveling with my Susvara. This is what a high-end type of unboxing experience should be like. Unless…

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…The Meze Elite is just a pure masterclass when it comes to the overall presentation. It comes in a rather standard box, but underneath there’s…an aluminum suitcase. This is just perfect, elegant, and very secure at the same time. Very easy to carry and you actually feel like you’re the president carrying his nuclear suitcase around. Next up, the accessories. You’re getting two pairs of earpads, both of absolutely top quality, and a very nice included cable. In terms of the presentation, the Elite plays in its own league. Best unboxing experience I’ve ever seen with headphones.

This is a very important aspect of a high-end headphone. First of all, you want your new favorite toy to be comfortable, so you can wear them all day. Secondly, they have to be durable and functional. Lastly, the quality of the materials and the overall design make for a more premium and more pleasant experience, and if you’re paying a couple of thousand dollars for a pair of headphones, you want only the best type of experience.

I need to note something here – I’m rating the combination of build quality and comfort. These two aspects can’t be rated separately, they complement each other and one is essential for the other.

The Crosszone CZ-1 is made mostly of plastic. While I can’t really say anything bad about the finishing, the overall feeling in the hand is rather underwhelming for a pair of high-end headphones. The comfort is somewhat okay, but the clamping force is pretty low, resulting in a very weird and not really secure fit. They could have scored 4, but they look so weird and just overly complicated. Oh, and the “levers” are just for aesthetics, they don’t move. I don’t understand this.

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Oh, this one is hard. I really like the design and finish of the HEDDphone. It’s pretty german, solid as a tank, minimalistic and it looks like a piece of the engineering tool. However, this headphone is very uncomfortable after about 20 minutes of using them, resulting in a low score. The HEDDphone is the heaviest pair of the whole lineup, and its overall design doesn’t help that (lack of suspension strap, weight balance not perfect). If only HEDD Audio made an mk2 version with just an improved weight and a good suspension strap headband system…

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The Diana Phi is potentially the best-crafted headphone from the lineup, well maybe next to the Elite. With its full-metal construction, perfect finishing and great quality leather it should score a lot of points, doesn’t it? Well…it would have, but the design of the Diana Phi is simply put broken. You HAVE to get the new V2 earpads from Abyss ($300) and some sort of headband sock or Dekoni Nuggets to be able to use these headphones. The headband has literally no padding and the original earpads are too shallow and just weird. Add a pretty significant clamping force and you’re getting a pretty horrible headphone when it comes to comfort. I’d actually go as far as calling the Diana Phi almost unusable straight out of the box without modifications. This is such an impressive piece of engineering and a beautiful headphone overall, but the moment you put them on your head…poof, the excitement vanishes.

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This build is legendary. Mostly plastic, but it’s a good quality plastic, which together with a very futuristic and actually brilliant design makes for one of the most comfortable headphones ever. The earpads are huge, and the clamping force is pretty much perfect, so you can easily wear the 8XX for many hours without even noticing. I can’t rate it any higher however mainly due to its plastic build and the fact that they are pretty prone to scratching. Overall a mixed bag of great comfort, superb looks, and a somewhat cheap feeling. Still, for the price these are superb.

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The Hifiman HE1000se is made of metal and wood veneer, and thanks to its overall size and brilliant suspension strap design, it is a very comfortable pair of headphones. While the finishing is not the best of the lineup (definitely worse than the Diana Phi and the Elite), it is nothing to be ashamed of. While Hifiman had some problems in the past, their current lineup (including the 1000se) feels quite solid and well-built in hand. The wooden accent is actually a veneer, and as I said in the review of the 1000se – it’s a great choice. I surely don’t want my wooden headphones to crack, and I’ve seen so many Audeze LCD wooden headphones with cracks, that I’d rather have a similar effect with no drawback.

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This might come as a surprise. Overall, the D8000 Pro feels very solid and very “Japanese” in hands, with its fit and finish being extraordinary. However, this is NOT a very comfortable pair of headphones. The earpads are quite stiff and not as huge as the competitors, which together with its high clamping force makes for a semi-comfortable type of experience. While it’s nowhere as bad as the HEDDphone or the Diana Phi, the comfort leaves a lot to be desired. Also, the pleather headband strap doesn’t make me feel like it’s going to last 10 years without chipping or cracking. Overall, the build quality is outstanding, but the comfort is just okay.

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Basically the same as the HE1000se with two differences. One is the finish, since every Susvara is hand finished and it really adds some character to the headphone. Secondly, the shape is way better, and it helps reduce that lower jaw pressure that might be present on the 1000se. Overall, the Susvara is a joy to wear for a whole day without any problems, as it is just a brilliantly engineered and well-executed headphone. It feels premium, comfortable, and durable at the same time, and that’s definitely what $6000 should give you. It doesn’t use very premium materials, but because of that, it’s rather lightweight and just excellent in terms of ergonomics.

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Once again, the Meze Elite is the best-built pair of headphones in the world. Period.
The Elite is designed and built to be comfortable, reliable and to last many, many years without problems. It has it all, and at the same time, its finish and overall design are just extraordinary. The fit and finish are both just perfect, as you can see the CNC passes throughout every aluminum part of this headphone, and the closer you’ll look, the more impressed you’ll be. Additionally, the Elite is also wonderfully comfortable and you’ll be able to wear them all day with no problems. It doesn’t get any better than this.

 

[rev92]

Probably the most important aspect of the sound for me personally. At the end of the day, the overall tone of the headphone determines how much I’m going to love the sound. We all have our idea of the “perfect” tone of the music, the way we think music is supposed to sound. This is also the most subjective aspect of the sound of the headphone, as my taste might not suit yours.

Because of that, I’ll try to go as objective as possible in this section, rewarding both a natural approach to the tone, as well as being highly colored in a pleasing way. If vocals and natural instruments sound way off, this means that the tone of the headphone is poor. If they sound unique and different from “neutral”, but still very pleasant and musical, the tone is good. If they sound just like they do in real life, the tone is perfect.

The tone of the Crosszone CZ-1 is just extremely unnatural and echoey. It has some similar aspects to that of the Audio-Technica W5000, but the latter (while also being full of reverberation) was definitely more pleasing and less boxy.
The easiest way to describe this tone is boxy, plasticky, and nasal. This is far from sounding even remotely close to “flat” or “neutral”, and the overall tone of the CZ-1 is miles behind something like the Sennheiser HD6XX, which is 10x more affordable.

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The Drop version of the legendary HD800 sees a major downgrade in the tone of this headphone. Its midrange performance is quite unnatural and weirdly lean sounding, lacking body and definition. The tone is probably the weakest aspect of the 8XX, scoring less than the HD800/800s would have scored. There’s a constant problem with a timbre that makes everything sound rather dull and distant, unnatural. Overall, while the 8XX has some strengths, the tone of this headphone definitely isn’t one.

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The Diana Phi is a hot and aggressive sounding headphone. My girlfriend actually wasn’t able to listen to it for more than 30 seconds, no matter what we’ve plugged them into. This is the type of experience to give you a lot at once, which might be highly desirable for some, definitely. Having in mind that we’re comparing the Diana Phi to other flagship-level headphones, rating it 5 or above (which would have meant that the tone is good) is impossible for me. This kind of high-contrast sound requires good tonality to sound good, and the Diana Phi definitely lacks good tonality.

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The 1000se has a slightly bright and forward tone to it. While most of the music sounds really good, poor masterings are definitely something to be aware of. The upper midrange might come up as slightly aggressive or too bright sounding, depending on the rest of the system and the quality of the music. While not as extreme as the Diana Phi, it could be problematic for some. Probably the biggest downside to the sound quality of these fantastic headphones. Additionally, this is the biggest difference between the 1000se and the Susvara in terms of sound quality.

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The D8000 Pro is the most neutral and “reference” tuned headphones in this comparison. It has a very professional tune to it that might be desirable for many. However, there’s one headphone in this comparison that had a similar goal, but the delivery is just much better. Because of that, 7 points sounds fair to me for a very neutral, flat tone. Safe, universal but not extraordinary. If you really like neutral tuning, then this could have been a 9 for you, but for me, it takes a bit more to score that high than just plain neutral tuning.

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This might come as a big surprise that the Elite scores a point above the D8000 Pro. Yes, the new Meze flagship is not a neutral-sounding headphone. Hell, it’s not even close to being anywhere near “flat” or “reference” sounding. Why does it get 8 points then you’ll ask?
It’s pretty simple, the Elite is such an enjoyable and pleasant sounding pair of headphones that it definitely sounds more engaging than the D8000 Pro. Of course, this might not be important for you if you’re after the most neutral and uncolored sound possible, but considering the fact that most of the Summit-Fi headphones are somewhat “neutral” oriented, the magical and musical approach of the Elite is definitely worth noting. It is insanely hard to give headphones such a lush and rich tuning while maintaining realistic timbre and good detail. Meze succeeded, and they’re getting their fully earned 8 points.

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Okay, this one is by far the hardest to rate. It is when you compare the HEDDphone to the Summit-Fi level headphones that you’re starting to hear that they are actually a bit veiled and lacking in crispiness, especially in the midrange area. Putting on the 1000se after listening to the HEDDphone instantly gives you a more open and fresh sound.
However, the overall tone of the HEDDphone is very pleasant and unique, it sounds like a hybrid of DD, Planar, and Electrostatic driver, different than all of the other contenders in this comparison. It gives me that sensation when I think to myself “Yeah, this is what it’s supposed to sound like” when listening to music. For me, this is the strongest aspect of this headphone. A similar approach to the Elite, but even more unique and flavorful.

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For me, the Susvara has probably the best tone in the history of headphones, being comparable only to the legendary Sennheiser HE90, the original Orpheus.
I can describe the tone of the Susvara as incredibly natural with the best vocal reproduction ever. What’s the most important about it though, is that the Susvara never sounds forced or aggressive, it is rather an easy-going type of experience that is just incredibly accurate.
The D8000 Pro by Final sounds like it’s trying to achieve a similar type of tone, but it’s so much more forced and forward sounding, while the Susvara is just a walk in a park. It gives you the most natural tone on the market with absolutely no effort. Silky smooth, sensational.

Oh, the objective way to rate all these Summit-Fi headphones. If you’re spending thousands of dollars on a pair of headphones then you definitely want to hear all the little details there are in the mix.
For years this has been a major difference between a normal pair of headphones, and something truly high-end. We all heard the sentence “You’ll hear things you’ve never heard before in your favorite tracks”, and this basically says it all. I believe there’s nothing more to say.

Oh, the CZ-1 just get destroyed in every single category, it actually makes me a bit sad for the Japanese brand. However, the comparison has to be fair and square, and I’m not going to go easy on anything.
So, the detail retrieval of the CZ-1 is just bad. It’s by far less detailed than the $500 Hifiman Edition XS, and having in mind the $2500 price of the CZ-1 as well as the rest of the lineup, 1 point actually sounds more than fair for me. It is hard to distinguish any fine detail with all the reverberation and utterly bad frequency response.

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The Sennheiser HD800 has been known for its great detail retrieval for more than 10 years now. However, the 8xx is slightly less detailed, mainly because of its somewhat recessed midrange presentation and objectively worse frequency response.
It is still a fairly detailed headphone, scoring 5 points while being the most affordable from the entire lineup surely means something. Nonetheless, the rest of the contenders are just better in this regard. Still, it is the midrange where a lot of fine details are not represented well enough.

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The Elite is a highly musical and easy-going type of listening experience, and detail retrieval is definitely not its strongest aspect, but I don’t think it was meant to anyway. The Elite is still a highly detailed headphone (definitely a great upgrade to the Empyrean) but it sacrifices a bit of the detail retrieval for that beautiful tone and super pleasant listening experience. While listening to the Elite I never get a feeling that I’m “missing out” on essential details, just the tiniest bits of little sounds. I want to say it loud and clear – the Meze Elite is a highly detailed pair of headphones, just not AS detailed as the best there are.

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We have three different headphones scoring 8 points in this category. It is because I feel they are all just equally detailed. The D8000 Pro has the most detailed treble response, the Diana Phi has the best detail in the midrange, while the HEDDphone has the best detail retrieval in the bass category.
All of these headphones get to the point where they sound incredibly detailed, falling a bit short only of the most detailed headphones on the planet. This is the type of detail retrieval that would make everyone happy. Trust me, you really don’t need anything MORE detailed than this anyway, unless you’re just craving for details more than everything else in audio.
What’s worth mentioning is that the HEDDphone scores the same as the D8000 Pro and the Diana Phi, being 2x less expensive than both, which is really impressive.

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The HE1000se is definitely one of the most detailed headphones on planet earth. It has that incredibly detailed and open sound to it that just gives you so much information. This is the greatest example of that “You’ll hear things you’ve never heard before in your favorite tracks” sentence when you put the 1000se on your head and you immediately start to hear things you’ve never heard before.
Additionally, the 1000se does sound astonishingly detailed even from a high-end DAP. It does not need a very powerful amplifier to get everything out of it like the winner of this category which is…

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The Hifiman Susvara is the most detailed headphone I’ve ever listened to. It’s not a huge leap over the 1000se, it can actually sound less detailed if you won’t power the Susvara correctly, but when you do…you’ll get such an immense level of details that it’s hard not to be amazed. I believe the detail retrieval of the Susvara is matched only by the Stax 009, which for some sounded a bit too detailed back when it was released. The Susvara sounds just as detailed while also being much more tonally accurate and rich sounding. This is a detail masterclass and another 10 points scored by the Susvara. Such an extraordinary headphone.

I decided to put everything regarding soundstage into one category. I’ll be rating the soundstage size, imaging, and separation together into a single rating for this article to be somewhat readable and not super long.

It is important to note that the size of the soundstage is not the most important aspect of the staging capabilities of the headphone. The accurate imaging and good separation are essential for you to get a natural sounding and highly involving soundstage, regardless of the size of the actual stage.

I’ll give the CZ-1 a point for trying. They really tried hard to make the CZ-1 sound like a pair of speakers in a room, but instead, the CZ-1 sounds…like you’re listening to music through a tube…in cardboard. This is nowhere close to being accurate, natural, or pleasant. Different sounds seem to come from random places around your head, and the amount of reverberation is just over the top.

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The original HD800 is a living legend mainly to its huge soundstage unlike anything else on the market. Thirteen years (!) after its release it’s still one of the biggest (if not still THE biggest) soundstages you can get in headphones. The HD8xx also has a huge soundstage, but its imaging is not as precise as the rest of the lineup. While the original HD800 could have sounded a bit too diffused, the 8xx takes it to a higher level. Surely an impressive-sounding headphone when it comes to its stage size, somewhat limited by its mediocre imaging.

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We’re getting into some really good staging headphones. The HEDDphone has an amazing depth of the stage and its imaging is unique and very accurate, but its width is not as impressive. The Diana Phi on the other hand has no weak points, but it’s just not class-leading in any way. Both of these headphones are good in terms of staging, but it’s definitely not their strongest point.

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Both the Elite and the 1000se are brilliant when it comes to their soundstage. The imaging is very accurate, the size of the stage impressive and the amount of air and separation is among the best on the market. The 1000se is a bit more open and vast sounding, while the Elite has an ability to create large instruments resulting in a more intimate approach. While they create a different type of experience, they are both excellent in staging capabilities.

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First joint winners in the comparison. Both the Susvara and the D8000 Pro offer an amazing soundstage in every aspect. Perfect imaging, great separation, and natural size both in depth and in width. I can’t rate them 10 however, as I still feel there’s more possible in the soundstage category in headphones. I really hope there will be a headphone in the future that will get 10 points, but for now, 9 points is the meta.

 

[rev92]

The bass is pretty essential in any audio device, including headphones. While often being overlooked by audiophile newbies, probably as a way to rebel against all of these mainstream bass-heavy headphones, it’s certainly a very important aspect of the sound.

You see, I met a lot of people that told me once that they hate bass. I was one of them at one point as well, where I was so tired of mainstream headphones that getting something bass-light like the Akg K701 felt like the perfect getaway. Fast forward a few years and here I am, really appreciating a good bass response in my headphones. It’s not THE most important of course, but a good bass makes me have more fun with audio, just like it was something new and fresh, which is ironic.

This is a high score for the CZ-1 in this comparison, and for a good reason. The bass response is actually the best aspect of the Crosszone CZ-1. It has a good slam, good dynamics, and is pretty linear in comparison to the rest of the frequency response. While this is by no means a great bass response, I have to give credit when it’s due. Keep in mind though that this is a rather big type of bass.

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The bass response of the 8xx is a mixed bag. It has a very nice kick to it, it’s physical and big, but it gets boomy and too forward quite often. This might not be a bad thing for many, as a slight emphasis on the bass frequencies might be something that you’re looking for, but it has to be noted. The competitors offer better control and resolution to the bass, while also being fun and full-bodied.

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The bass response of the HEDDphone is very detailed and agile, but it’s not class-leading. While it has that electrostatic-like detail and pace, it’s not AS snappy as the competition. At the same time, the HEDDphone comes up at somewhat limited in attack and impact, sounding a bit too gentle when compared to the rest of the lineup, especially the Diana Phi. It’s a good headphone when it comes to the bass, but not the best.

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By many, the biggest problem of the Empyrean was its bass response, and I agree with that statement. The Elite is a straight-up improvement over the Empyrean in every aspect, and the bass response has also been significantly improved. The Elite sports a saturated and punchy low-end, and it only lacks a bit of dynamics and rumble. It sounds just a hair too soft and easy-going, but it’s often desirable. Actually, when I just want to chill and get lost in the music, the bass response of the Elite is one of my favorite.

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Yay, the Susvara won’t win every single category regarding the sound quality! And it actually won’t beat the cheaper HE1000se as well, which is really interesting.
Well, scoring 8 points means that they both have an extraordinary bass response, but they’re not perfect. The Susvara is just too bass-light on most amplifiers. Of course, connected to something crazy high-end and powerful it gets astonishing, but it wouldn’t have been fair to rate the bass response only using Summit-Fi amplifiers. While using more “down to earth” equipment, the Susvara generally lacks just a bit of body and is simply too soft.
On the other hand, the bass response of the Final D8000 Pro is very neutral and highly technical, but its sub-bass delivery is somewhat subdued. Overall, the D8000 Pro lacks a little bit of excitement and musicality in comparison to the best out there, hence scoring “only” 8 points, even though technically it’s one of the best bass responses out there.

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This category was pretty close, but these two headphones just came up as the best from the lineup.
The HE1000se wins with the Susvara mainly due to its more pronounced presentation and better physicality in the bass response, having all the details and amazing resolution to pair with it. This is one of the best bass responses in headphones and it’s just a joy to listen to.
The bass of the Abyss Diana Phi is extreme, just like the rest of these headphones. Abyss makes the most extreme sounding headphones in the high-end market and the Diana Phi is the perfect example of it. It has the best attack, slam, and dynamics from the whole lineup. While both the 1000se and the Diana Phi are NOT the most technical in the bass response, they both have that perfect blend of different aspects to create an almost perfect low end.

The midrange is where the magic happens. This category will probably be home to the most controversial results in this article. I’m going to be extremely picky in this one, as for me the midrange is essential for high-end, being something that truly makes high-end “special”. For a headphone to be super detailed is a challenge, but to be super detailed and natural, rich-sounding at the same time is something that really makes these headphones Summit-Fi.

This is brutal. I can’t give the CZ-1 even a single point, simply because its midrange performance is just terrible. Peaks and dips all over the place, echoey, boxy, plasticky, tonally inaccurate, and just ridiculously weird. I really don’t want to keep demolishing this little guy, but headphones costing 5% of their price offer better, more natural, and tonally accurate midrange performance.

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I’m a big fan of the original HD800. I actually owned them 5 times, and I’m kind of a local legend who got to know the HD800 as much as it’s simply possible. The HD8xx is not the original though, and it shows the most in the midrange performance. I really, really like DROP, for me this is a great company doing some absolutely fantastic things for the audio community. Unfortunately, they wanted to tweak the HD800 too much and its midrange performance is just underwhelming. The frequency response in the mid region is just weird, unnaturally recessed, and lacking in definition.

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As I stated a few times already, the Diana Phi sounds very extreme and aggressive, and it just doesn’t work with midrange. It sounds artificial, forced, and tiring, definitely not worth being called Summit-Fi. This is by far the biggest problem of this headphone, resulting in an unnatural and somewhat cheap timbre, which is unacceptable for a headphone costing that much.

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The HEDDphone has a very unique midrange presentation. It’s pretty warm and dark, but it still offers an immense amount of details, which is quite unusual. It won’t score higher simply because it is slightly veiled when compared to the absolute top, but thanks to its unique flavor it is one of the most interesting sounding headphones on the market, in a good way.

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These two continue to trade blows. The midrange presentation in both is actually pretty similar. Amazing detail retrieval, resolution, neutral tune and a slight emphasis on the upper-midrange. Both are excellent in many music genres, but that highly technical sound together with a slight peak around higher-midrange makes them not the best for poor masterings. Almost perfect, but not quite yet.

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Meze Elite goes the opposite way than the two above. Its biggest strength is its lovely tune and beautiful vocal performance, making for one of the most romantic-sounding headphones on the market. The Elite is an easy-listening type of experience and it’s just great at that. The amount of body, note thickness, natural warmth, and smoothness in the entire mid section is just intoxicating, making for one of the most beautiful midrange performances I’ve heard.

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You all saw that coming, didn’t you? The Hifiman Susvara is the king of midrange, master of timbre, and god of detail, and it’s all happening in the midrange region. This is the most detailed yet the most natural-sounding headphone I’ve ever heard and I would have rated it even higher if I could have. This midrange is just as smooth and musical as the one of the Meze Elite, but it’s just in a completely different league when it comes to detail retrieval and resolution. Just perfect.

Lastly, the treble. This is one of the hardest things to get right about headphones, as it’s really easy to make things sound too bright or subdued. You can’t have a fully natural sound without a good treble response.

The treble response of the Crosszone CZ-1 is almost as bad as the midrange. Peaks and dips all over the place, harsh and subdued at the same time, unnatural and weird sounding. There’s nothing smooth, detailed, or extended to it, as the entire treble response is just simply bad. Nothing more to say.

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The Diana Phi is once again: too aggressive and harsh, and its treble performance comes up as too forward and tiring most of the time. It lacks definition and coherence, and its frequency response seems all over the place. The treble of the Diana Phi is highly detailed, but because of its poor control and definition it can only score 4 points.

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The treble response of the HD8xx is pretty peaky with great technicalities. The detail retrieval and the amount of speed are both fantastic. However, I have to rate it significantly lower than the competitors mainly due to its somewhat chaotic tone and lack of smoothness.

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Both of these headphones offer an incredible level of detail retrieval in the treble area. The only reason they didn’t rate higher is purely because of the fact that the next headphones offer a more tonally accurate or more interesting approach to the tone, while also having a phenomenal detail retrieval.

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Two different approaches to the treble, both spectacular. The D8000 Pro has a highly neutral, reference-sounding treble that is full of detail and resolution. An exceptional crispy kind of delivery that is actually one of the most detailed in the game.
The Elite on the other hand is not AS impressive when it comes to the technical performance, but the tone of the entire treble response is just lovely. It has that ability to make things sound prettier than they actually should. Highly musical, dense, incredibly smooth, and incredibly natural.

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Once again, the Susvara gets 10 points, but what can you do. The treble response of these headphones is just simply mind-blowing. Exceptional texture, God-tier detail retrieval, the most natural timbre there is, and all that while still being beautifully smooth and rich. This treble can be both aggressive and mellow, depending on what it’s actually supposed to sound like. It doesn’t get better than this.

 

[rev92]

This category reflects how well these headphones handle different music genres and different qualities of mastering. This is an incredibly important aspect of every kind of audio gear. Sure, you can kind of rate this by just looking at the frequency graph, but in MY OPINION, it won’t give you a full picture.

See, different music genres, types of production, different brands all have different flavors that are often quite surprising. That’s why I always say that it is essential to test a product you’re potentially thinking about buying with your favorite music, not those sound demos available from different manufacturers. There’s no perfect loudspeaker or headphones for every single type of music, that is just impossible and will probably never be achieved (at least in a form of a single tuning), and yes, Harman target isn’t that as well. Try a perfectly neutral pair of headphones with German Power Metal like Helloween – I dare you.

This one is as simple as it gets – the CZ-1 does sound incorrect and simply weird with every single type of music and type of masterings there are. What’s incredible is that it doesn’t sound good even with ambient, which is a type of music that gains a lot from good reverberation in my opinion. Yes, “good” is the key here. Audio-Technica W5000 was a horrible headphone, but it did have a rather coherent reverb aspect to it. The CZ-1 doesn’t. I’m sorry.

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Here’s the deal. The Diana Phi is an incredible headphone for some metal and electronic music. Which ones to be specific? Well, this question is impossible to answer, to be honest. The tonality of these headphones is so uneven, that paired with its highly aggressive and hyperdetailed sound gives you a rather slim chance of the music actually sounding “bearable”. If it does, then you’ll be absolutely amazed by this headphone, but if it doesn’t, then you actually might be better off with something like the HD6xx or Sundara.

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This one is weird as well. There’s a catch to it – don’t go for vocals, and the 8xx might actually be a great headphone for you. If you like electronic music, or basically anything with no vocals and (preferably) no natural instruments, the vast soundstage with great physicality of the sound of the 8XX could be just perfect. However, due to its poor midrange, the 8xx can’t really sound natural nor pleasant with most music genres.

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The Hifiman HE1000se is a slightly bright headphone and it could lead to some problems with poorly mastered albums or some music genres. As far as the music you’re listening to is at the highest level of production then you’ll get a high-contrast, dynamic, and insanely detailed type of sound that could be just next to unbeatable by any headphone in the world. But, most of the Indie scene (low-budget mastering) doesn’t sound too good on the 1000se. Because of that, it can’t score more than 7 points.

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The Final D8000 Pro is a highly neutral headphone that is just a hair bright, not as much as the HE1000se, so it scores a point higher. Basically, the D8000 Pro is a jack of all trades but master of none. It does every music genre exceptionally well, but none worth calling the best in the world.
The HEDDphone however has that lovely tune to it that is not as neutral, but it does do many things beautifully, especially male vocals. It “adds” things to the music, but in a very, very good way.

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The Hifiman Susvara scores 9, as it is almost perfect with most music genres. Almost, because it tends to sound a bit anemic with some heavier tracks. When listening to metal or electronic music you definitely want that bass impact and kick to the sound, and the Susvara just doesn’t do that. It always sounds exceptionally smooth and natural, but it doesn’t do “fun” as much as it could have.
Other than that, the Susvara is just a masterclass for rock, indie, jazz, classical…basically everything that is meant to sound natural and pleasing.

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This is the most impressive aspect of the sound of the Elite – it just sounds wonderful no matter what you’ll throw at them. Every music genre, every level of production, the Elite does it all with an unparalleled level of refinement. This is the headphone to get if you’re looking for a “do it all” type of experience. Also, it does sound fantastic with both high-end and budget-friendly devices and it needs basically no power to be driven properly. Fantastic.

This is the last category of this comparison – the value.

As you remember from the “disclaimers” part in the beginning, all of the ratings have been given without considering the price of the headphones. Because of that, now it’s time to rate the value of each entry.

A quick guide to this category – 8 means that the headphone is well worth its asking price, no questions asked. Even if its price is extremely high, it is just class-leading (or simply the best), and it’s fairly priced because of its exceptional quality. Everything above 8 means that the headphone is actually worth more than its asking price (spoiler alert: there’s one), and everything below is…well, you get the idea.

If you’ve read this entire article then you already know that you should NOT buy the Crosszone CZ-1. Its value is just one of the worst in the market.

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This is harsh, but I stand behind it. The Diana Phi basically requires you to buy the upgraded pads and something to help with no padding on the headband. The included cable is not great, and because Abyss used proprietary connectors, changing the cable gives you basically no choice other than their own offerings, which are extremely expensive.
Lastly, the sound quality is just not worth the $4000 asking price. It’s way too aggressive and the frequency response is very uneven. I really like the energy of this brand, their YouTube channel is great, I like how they are proud of the “USA heritage”. I hope the best for Abyss, but the Diana Phi is a letdown for me. Hopefully, I’ll get the Diana TC or 1266 some time to include in this battle.

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The value of the 8XX is kinda hard to judge. First of all, it’s a fantastic gaming headphone with its huge soundstage and bassy presentation. Without EQ I would say this headphone is not worth the asking price, but after EQ I saw many people bringing a lot of life into them. Having in mind how comfortable the 8XX is together with a fairly “affordable” price in 2022 for a Made In Germany high-end headphone, I think 5 is fair, but please, EQ them.

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The Hifiman HE1000se and the D8000 Pro by Final are ALMOST worth their price. Almost, only because there

‘s a headphone called Meze Elite, which scored higher in this comparison while being very similarly priced. Any discount on these two or buying them used instantly make them a great deal and you can buy them with no hesitation – you’ll be amazed.

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The Susvara is the most important headphone in this entire comparison, but it is also the best one. Because of that, even though it comes at a monstrous $6000, I believe they are well worth it. After all, you’re buying the best of the best.
The Elite is a similar story, $4000 is far from being affordable. However, it gets you the best-built pair of headphones on planet earth, lovely tone and simply a headphone that is excellent with everything. I’m not in place to question the prices of audio gear. Actually, I worked in audio manufacturing in the past and I know that it has to be expensive. The price of the Elite is very, very fair considering what you’re getting and what it took to craft this magnificent piece of tech.

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The HEDDphone scores 9, which means it is actually worth more than its asking price (HEDD Audio please, don’t use it to raise its price after seeing this!). It’s pretty self-explanatory, it is 3x cheaper than the Susvara, 2x cheaper than the Elite, D8000 Pro, Diana Phi, and almost 2x cheaper than the HE1000se. Wait for the summary and you’ll see how impressive that is when you’ll see its score.
Actually, it would have been 10. Would have, because it is simply too uncomfortable to get that score. If HEDD Audio came up with the same headphone, for the same price but just more comfortable and lighter, then it would have been 10 with no hesitation.

Here we are, time to see the results and crown the king. This has been a wild ride, the most time-consuming reviewing project I’ve ever did and the most exciting at the same time. Let’s just get right into it.

8. Crosszone CZ-1 / 13 points​

Presentation	2
Build Quality and Comfort	3
Tone	1
Detail	1
Soundstage	1
Bass	3
Midrange	0
Treble	1
Musicality	0
Value	1

The Crosszone CZ-1 scores 13 points out of 100, ouch.
The project was ambitious, but the delivery just disappoints a lot. The Crosszone CZ-1 is one of the worst values in the market and you literally can get better audio quality for 1/10th of its price (HD6xx). I strongly recommend not buying these headphones (I’m sorry my Japanese friends).

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7. Drop + Sennheiser HD8XX / 46 points​

Presentation	4
Build Quality and Comfort	6
Tone	4
Detail	5
Soundstage	6
Bass	4
Midrange	3
Treble	5
Musicality	4
Value	5

The HD8XX scores 46 points, which is actually not bad considering its low(ish) asking price. It has some major problems with its tuning, especially in the midrange area, but it is also well-built, very comfortable and it has a huge soundstage. If you can and will EQ these headphones, then it might actually be a great option.

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6. Abyss Diana Phi / 51 points​

Presentation	6
Build Quality and Comfort	4
Tone	4
Detail	8
Soundstage	7
Bass	9
Midrange	4
Treble	4
Musicality	3
Value	2

Just like I said in the previous category, I actually feel sorry for Abyss. They seem to be really chill people and I like their energy. However, I tried my best to be as objective as I could in this comparison, and the Diana Phi actually has been the biggest disappointment for me. Yes, it scored better than the 8xx, but it is almost 4 (!) times more expensive, and the 8xx is not a gem itself.
I remember listening to the AB-1266 a few years ago and I was blown away. It was so lively sounding, fun, and extremely pleasing. Would be cool to get the 1266 TC or the Diana TC to include in this comparison in the future.

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5. HEDDphone / 70 points​

Presentation	4
Build Quality and Comfort	4
Tone	9
Detail	8
Soundstage	7
Bass	6
Midrange	7
Treble	8
Musicality	8
Value	9

The HEDDphone is insanely impressive considering its asking price. While being 2-3 times less expensive than the competition it still managed to go head-to-head in many categories. For a first-ever headphone release, HEDD Audio did a magnificent job and I believe there’s a seriously bright future for this brand. Just please, make them lighter and more comfortable. Huge respect.

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4. Hifiman HE1000se / 74 points​

Presentation	5
Build Quality and Comfort	7
Tone	6
Detail	9
Soundstage	8
Bass	9
Midrange	8
Treble	8
Musicality	7
Value	7

The Hifiman HE1000se is a brilliant headphone with exceptional detail retrieval, only somewhat limited by its slightly sterile tuning. It is a very good value at $3499, especially knowing how technically capable the 1000se is. It also doesn’t need a ton of power to sound great, which is always a great feature to have, as you won’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the amplifier alone.

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3. Final D8000 Pro / 80 points​

Presentation	9
Build Quality and Comfort	7
Tone	7
Detail	8
Soundstage	9
Bass	8
Midrange	8
Treble	9
Musicality	8
Value	7

The Final D8000 Pro scores 80 points, proving that it is a great headphone. With its highly neutral, reference-like tuning and impressive technical capabilities it is among the best headphones on the market. The only things to criticize for me is the comfort which is questionable and the tuning which while highly impressive, feels a bit sterile.

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2. Meze Elite / 85 points​

Presentation	10
Build Quality and Comfort	10
Tone	8
Detail	6
Soundstage	8
Bass	7
Midrange	9
Treble	9
Musicality	10
Value	8

The Meze Elite is just a complete package. Best-built headphones on planet earth, insane ergonomics, and beautiful design, paired with an extremely musical and smooth sound that is just so easy to love. Sounds good with every device you’ll plug it into, with every music genre you’ll try. Not the most technically capable, but definitely one of the most charming on the market.

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1. Hifiman Susvara / 88 points​

Presentation	6
Build Quality and Comfort	8
Tone	10
Detail	10
Soundstage	9
Bass	8
Midrange	10
Treble	10
Musicality	9
Value	8

The king of headphones. The Hifiman Susvara is the best headphone I’ve ever heard, used, and owned. It is a perfect combination of insane technicalities with a beautiful and lifelike timbre that just sounds marvelous. Comfort for days, best detail retrieval ever, exceptional tuning, the Susvara has it all. If only it wasn’t that power-hungry, so more people would be able to hear them shine (Topping A90 just doesn’t do it for the Susvara).
Seeing that the Susvara has been released quite a long time ago, it’s really interesting if (or when) Hifiman will come up with its successor. If it’ll be significantly better than the Susvara, then this would be a really big day, introducing the next milestone for personal audio.


That’s all for now. Thank you for reading this comparison, I hope you enjoyed it and that it’ll help you with your decision. As stated in the beginning, this comparison will be getting updated with more high-end headphones in the future, so this is definitely not the end. It was incredibly fun to do this and even though my head feels like it’s going to explode, I’m happy with the result. See you!

 

[r343]

Great post. Liked how you tell about weaknesses too, just need more headphones

 

[DeweyCH]

I enjoyed the writeup. Thanks for sharing.

 

[rev92]

Great post. Liked how you tell about weaknesses too, just need more headphones

Thanks bro

Yeah, every headphone has a weakness, it's important to mention them

What's your favorite at the moment?

 

[rev92]

I enjoyed the writeup. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks mate!

I see that you have modded 8xx, did it change by a lot?

Also, Susvara vs ZMF in terms of timbre, what do you think?

 

[DeweyCH]

Thanks mate!

I see that you have modded 8xx, did it change by a lot?

Also, Susvara vs ZMF in terms of timbre, what do you think?

It changed a LOT. I completely agree with your take on the 8XX, doing the tape mod basically fixes all of those massive drawbacks (lack of vocal clarity/presence being my biggest complaint).

I actually did a comparison between the Susvara and the ZMF Atrium over in the Atrium post on the Summit-Fi forum, and it's in my review of the Atrium as well. Susvara is better - as you'd expect for over double the MSRP - but the Atrium provides a really engaging, rich, musical listening experience that is complementary.

 

[rev92]

It changed a LOT. I completely agree with your take on the 8XX, doing the tape mod basically fixes all of those massive drawbacks (lack of vocal clarity/presence being my biggest complaint).

I actually did a comparison between the Susvara and the ZMF Atrium over in the Atrium post on the Summit-Fi forum, and it's in my review of the Atrium as well. Susvara is better - as you'd expect for over double the MSRP - but the Atrium provides a really engaging, rich, musical listening experience that is complementary.

Definitely gonna read the comparison then, thanks!

Could you link the 8xx mod?

 

[DeweyCH]

Definitely gonna read the comparison then, thanks!

Could you link the 8xx mod?

It's immensely easy - take off the pads, and you'll see three sections of dampening tape on the inside of the silver mesh. Remove two of them, so it ends up looking like this picture of mine:

The tape peels off easily, but you'll want to use some isopropyl alcohol to remove the sticky residue. I did it with paper towels. I'd recommend a lint-free cloth instead.

Maybe 20-ish minutes of work and you'll have, in my opinion, a HD800 S with better bass and no treble spike.

 

[rev92]

It's immensely easy - take off the pads, and you'll see three sections of dampening tape on the inside of the silver mesh. Remove two of them, so it ends up looking like this picture of mine:



The tape peels off easily, but you'll want to use some isopropyl alcohol to remove the sticky residue. I did it with paper towels. I'd recommend a lint-free cloth instead.

Maybe 20-ish minutes of work and you'll have, in my opinion, a HD800 S with better bass and no treble spike.

Rofl, yeah, it looks really easy.

So basically, the HD8XX is actually a phenomenal headphone basically in stock, you just have to remove two things that were meant to make them better, and did the opposite instead. Weird


Hmm, maybe I should do it and include a new entry - a modded 8xx

 

[joe]

Mod Note: I've removed some personal attacks. Let's get along, folks.

 

[DeweyCH]

Rofl, yeah, it looks really easy.

So basically, the HD8XX is actually a phenomenal headphone basically in stock, you just have to remove two things that were meant to make them better, and did the opposite instead. Weird


Hmm, maybe I should do it and include a new entry - a modded 8xx

Exactly. I'd give it a shot and see how you like it, particularly since you've got such a history with the HD800 series. Let me know if my "basically a HD 800 S but with better bass" is on target.

 

[DeweyCH]

You should also track down a pair of ZMFs for yourself. The new Atrium is really, really great, and pad rolling is really fun with all ZMF cans. I have been enjoying a review model (like I'm a reviewer lol), and just got their "final" mesh filters swapped in. Detail is phenomenal, and I'd put money on them giving the Elite a run for your money in the musicality department.