HIFIMAN Susvara Headphone Review

[xrqp]

Could the tested Susvara have been defective? I think we need to test another Susvara.

 

[solderdude]

Could the tested Susvara have been defective? I think we need to test another Susvara.

That is highly unlikely because both channels would have to have the same faults in the driver.

 

[xrqp]

Could have the same defects in both drivers. Like if it was dropped affecting both, or a bad batch, or bad employee, assembling, or counterfeit, or ? Need to test another.

 

[delta76]

Could the tested Susvara have been defective? I think we need to test another Susvara.

A $6000 headphone should have impeccable build quality and rigorous quality control, come with a hard case and handled with care. I am not saying it can't have fault but defective without owner and Amir knowing is simply unacceptable at this price range.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

Unfortunately unit variation between Susvaras can be quite big.
I had 3 units... 3 sounded different.

 

[BlueTunes]

Unfortunately unit variation between Susvaras can be quite big.
I had 3 units... 3 sounded different.

/thread.

 

[delta76]

Unfortunately unit variation between Susvaras can be quite big.
I had 3 units... 3 sounded different.

that should be a big red flag for anyone want to buy this.
Personally I can't never see myself spending $6000 on a Hifiman headphone (probably, any headphone, but especially Hifiman). Their QC is very questionable even with this very top end model

 

[xrqp]

Amir said it was "drop shipped by a member". I wonder if they returned it, or exchanged it, after seeing this review.

 

[delta76]

$6000 headphones bested by $22 IEMs. Classic. This is what ASR is all about. Thank you, @amirm!

to be fair IEM is much easier to get right. also you pay for premium.
With that said, no excuse for this performance and subpar quality control at this price

 

[GalaxyRadio]

Hello everyone,

I could have sworn I already had an account here, but my memory might be playing tricks on me.

Before diving in, a quick disclaimer: I am a firm believer in measurements, controlled testing, and hard data. A few years ago, I found myself in rather heated debates on Head-Fi after committing the ultimate audiophile heresy, admitting that in level-matched blind tests, neither I nor my listening group could reliably tell well-engineered solid-state DACs and amps apart, even when switching sources on the fly.

Back in 2021, I set out on a quest for my “endgame” headphone setup. To keep the comparison fair, every headphone was level-matched to 75 dBA using a 1 kHz test tone. Aside from tube amps exhibiting slight audible differences, solid-state gear was virtually indistinguishable—much to our group’s collective surprise, but after that experience everyone from my blind tests were going back to their belief. Additionally, I actively use Oratory1990 EQ profiles and previously sent him my own Sendy Audio Peacock for measurement. Every headphone tested aside from the Susvara improved using that Profiles, just the treble area were often off sounding.


Headphones tested during my search

• Focal: Utopia (pre-2022), Clear, Clear MG
• Sennheiser: HD 650, HD 800 S
• Audeze: LCD-2 Classic, LCD-3, LCD-5
• Beyerdynamic: DT 990 Pro, DT 880
• HIFIMAN: Arya, Ananda, Susvara, HE1000se, HE1000 V2, Sundara
• ZMF: Vérité, Auteur, Aeolus[Memory]
• Grado: Several models (my treble tolerance tapped out immediately)
• Dan Clark Audio: Aeon, Noire X
• Meze: Elite, Liric, Empyrean
• STAX: SR-007 MK2
• HEDD Audio: HEDDphone
• Denon: AH-D2000
• Others: Various models from Koss, AKG, Apple AirPods Max, Shure SRH series, and a few others

Recent impressions (2026): HEDDphone D1, Meze 109 Pro, HIFIMAN Arya Organic, HIFIMAN Arya Unveiled, and a revisit of the HIFIMAN Susvara.


Sound Impressions and Favorites

After stepping away into stereo speakers for a few years, I missed the intimacy of headphone listening and returned to my original top three: the Sennheiser HD 800 S, ZMF Auteur, and HIFIMAN Susvara.

Listening at moderate levels (peaks never exceeding 95–97 dBA), each filled a distinct role

• ZMF Auteur: The undisputed zero-fatigue, all-day listening champion
• Sennheiser HD 800 S: Exceptional staging that opens up intimate recordings with remarkable width and air
• HIFIMAN Susvara: The most complete all-rounder—effortlessly smooth, with authoritative slam and deep sub-bass rumble on electronic tracks. It combined the openness of the HD 800 S (presented taller rather than overly wide), the fatigue-free midrange of the Auteur with added top-end brilliance, and the dynamic impact reminiscent of Audeze and the ZMF Vérité.

Measurements and Personal Context

I only recently discovered the 2023 review and measurements of the Susvara published here, and they certainly caught me off guard. Even so, under my personal listening conditions and target volume levels, it remains one of the finest transducers I have heard to date.

For context, I am in my 40s with verified hearing up to 15–16 kHz (confirmed above average by an audiologist). I have always protected my ears, avoiding loud concerts and leaving clubs after five minutes wondering how anyone survives the decibel levels unprotected. My fiancée—who has even sharper hearing—blind-tested about half of these models without knowing any price tags. Her top pick was the Arya Organic for its emotional delivery and clarity, followed closely by the Susvara and HD 800 S as the most technically impressive.

Conclusion

The Susvara remains my leading endgame candidate, though I plan to revisit the broader ZMF lineup and audition offerings from Dan Clark Audio and Audio-Technica, if i can, before making a final commitment.

I truly appreciate communities like this that rely on objective measurements to help enthusiasts make informed decisions. You are the reason i was getting all that stuff in the pictures for testing audio equipment in the first place in order to test under fair conditions. Thanks for that!

 

[Jimster480]

Hello everyone,

I could have sworn I already had an account here, but my memory might be playing tricks on me.

Before diving in, a quick disclaimer: I am a firm believer in measurements, controlled testing, and hard data. A few years ago, I found myself in rather heated debates on Head-Fi after committing the ultimate audiophile heresy, admitting that in level-matched blind tests, neither I nor my listening group could reliably tell well-engineered solid-state DACs and amps apart, even when switching sources on the fly.

Back in 2021, I set out on a quest for my “endgame” headphone setup. To keep the comparison fair, every headphone was level-matched to 75 dBA using a 1 kHz test tone. Aside from tube amps exhibiting slight audible differences, solid-state gear was virtually indistinguishable—much to our group’s collective surprise, but after that experience everyone from my blind tests were going back to their belief. Additionally, I actively use Oratory1990 EQ profiles and previously sent him my own Sendy Audio Peacock for measurement. Every headphone tested aside from the Susvara improved using that Profiles, just the treble area were often off sounding.


Headphones tested during my search

• Focal: Utopia (pre-2022), Clear, Clear MG
• Sennheiser: HD 650, HD 800 S
• Audeze: LCD-2 Classic, LCD-3, LCD-5
• Beyerdynamic: DT 990 Pro, DT 880
• HIFIMAN: Arya, Ananda, Susvara, HE1000se, HE1000 V2, Sundara
• ZMF: Vérité, Auteur, Aeolus[Memory]
• Grado: Several models (my treble tolerance tapped out immediately)
• Dan Clark Audio: Aeon, Noire X
• Meze: Elite, Liric, Empyrean
• STAX: SR-007 MK2
• HEDD Audio: HEDDphone
• Denon: AH-D2000
• Others: Various models from Koss, AKG, Apple AirPods Max, Shure SRH series, and a few others

Recent impressions (2026): HEDDphone D1, Meze 109 Pro, HIFIMAN Arya Organic, HIFIMAN Arya Unveiled, and a revisit of the HIFIMAN Susvara.


Sound Impressions and Favorites

After stepping away into stereo speakers for a few years, I missed the intimacy of headphone listening and returned to my original top three: the Sennheiser HD 800 S, ZMF Auteur, and HIFIMAN Susvara.

Listening at moderate levels (peaks never exceeding 95–97 dBA), each filled a distinct role

• ZMF Auteur: The undisputed zero-fatigue, all-day listening champion
• Sennheiser HD 800 S: Exceptional staging that opens up intimate recordings with remarkable width and air
• HIFIMAN Susvara: The most complete all-rounder—effortlessly smooth, with authoritative slam and deep sub-bass rumble on electronic tracks. It combined the openness of the HD 800 S (presented taller rather than overly wide), the fatigue-free midrange of the Auteur with added top-end brilliance, and the dynamic impact reminiscent of Audeze and the ZMF Vérité.

Measurements and Personal Context

I only recently discovered the 2023 review and measurements of the Susvara published here, and they certainly caught me off guard. Even so, under my personal listening conditions and target volume levels, it remains one of the finest transducers I have heard to date.

For context, I am in my 40s with verified hearing up to 15–16 kHz (confirmed above average by an audiologist). I have always protected my ears, avoiding loud concerts and leaving clubs after five minutes wondering how anyone survives the decibel levels unprotected. My fiancée—who has even sharper hearing—blind-tested about half of these models without knowing any price tags. Her top pick was the Arya Organic for its emotional delivery and clarity, followed closely by the Susvara and HD 800 S as the most technically impressive.

Conclusion

The Susvara remains my leading endgame candidate, though I plan to revisit the broader ZMF lineup and audition offerings from Dan Clark Audio and Audio-Technica, if i can, before making a final commitment.

I truly appreciate communities like this that rely on objective measurements to help enthusiasts make informed decisions. You are the reason i was getting all that stuff in the pictures for testing audio equipment in the first place in order to test under fair conditions. Thanks for that!

An interesting take on headphones. Personally, I haven't heard the ARYA organic, although I did consider purchasing one recently. My favorite headphone of all time was the original Aeon, now from Dan Clark Audio, but I think the best headphone that I've listened to in terms of overall balance is the Stealth, which of course is the successor to the original Aeon. However, the price is quite high. I also have enjoyed the Oppo PM2 using PM1 pads. I have that headphone for a long time now, and I enjoy it. I don't personally think that there's one headphone, that's the best for absolutely all music, because it also depends on taste. I also have a Hifiman Amanda and I like it for electronic music specifically, but not much else.
As I mentioned before, I think the stealth comes the closest to being the best at everything. I did listen to the ZMF Auteur as you mentioned, but I don't have the same feelings about it as I don't think it is technically accurate enough for my tastes. As a person who listens to a lot of different types of music, including classical and jazz, I found that the Arteur fails in those categories vs the Aeon and Stealth.
As far as your journey with DACs are concerned, I feel the same and I've spent tons of time testing the performance of different DACs, and I find that there is no way to tell the difference from 105 SINAD. Linearity is the biggest measurement and to exceed 105 the Linearity needs to be great. Below 100, I have heard some specific differences in specific tracks at specific times with the right level and headphones. Honestly, it's hard to tell the difference in everyday listening from anything that has 85 SINAD or more unless Linearity is broken (as was the case with the Modi Multibit back in the day).
Today there is truly state-of-the-art performance available for only a few dollars, especially in the form of dongles which can power some of the headphones that you discussed.

 

[solderdude]

I only recently discovered the 2023 review and measurements of the Susvara published here, and they certainly caught me off guard. Even so, under my personal listening conditions and target volume levels, it remains one of the finest transducers I have heard to date.

Actually the measurements are not bad at all.
As you never listen to music with peaks reaching 100dB SPL you need to realize that signals above 1kHz will never even reach 80dB peaks so absolutely distortion free in practice.
Tonality also is pretty good as is. A mild dip around the ear gain area (2kHz) is often preferred and makes the sound more relaxed.

Susvara is a fine headphone... just very insensitive but when you never want to play loud this also is not an issue and any half decent headphone amplifier can be sufficient in your case.

114dB measurements are relevant for frequencies below 200Hz, 104dB for 200Hz to 2kHz and 94dB for 2kHz + and can show if distortion can be expected (not necessarily heard) when playing really loud.

When you want to measure peak levels from your headphones then play music as loud as you need to go.
Leave the volume control as it was.
Replace the music with a 1kHz tone 0dBFS (do NOT listen to that !) and use the meter the way you did on the pictures with the volume control in the same position.
Only then the dB meter will give the correct peak levels you listen to (A, C or X weighting does not matter for this)

 

[GalaxyRadio]

@Jimster480

I can actually enjoy pretty much every genre with the Susvara. I’ve never really been into keeping a separate pair of headphones for each music style, though I totally get the appeal—a friend of mine has around 15 to 20 high-end cans, mostly ZMFs.

I haven’t heard much from DCA yet, so I’m not sure if it's for me. The Heddphone D1, for example, looks great on a FR graph, but to my ears it sounded dry and lifeless, technically impressive, but no emotional connection. My Fiance told me exactly the same, i was surprised. And I had never heard of that Oppo before, definitely interesting!

Totally agree on the gear part. I use the Qudelix 5K and love it. The plastic build and cheap feel in the hand are definitely nothing to write home about, but the features and app are good. I’ll try to demo the DCA Stealth and a few others if I get the chance (probably at Projekt Akustik up in northern Germany), even though I’ve never been much of a closed-back fan.

@solderdude

Thanks for explaining that! Makes total sense now—I probably didn’t notice any issues simply because I wasn’t listening loud enough to push it that hard. I’ll definitely pay more attention to the volume peaks next time I listen to the Susvara. Thanks again!

 

[Skj]

Fiio ft3 350 ohm is the headphone to beat

 

[GalaxyRadio]

I have decided to pick the Susvara, after almost 30 headphones heard with or without EQ, that was the only one i could enjoy without EQ and i always come back to this one.

So, i purchased one. I hope it gets loud enough with the Qudelix 5, or else i will get aDAP for music and the Qudelix T71 for PS5 Gaming.

 

[Sebby]

I have decided to pick the Susvara, after almost 30 headphones heard with or without EQ, that was the only one i could enjoy without EQ and i always come back to this one.

So, i purchased one. I hope it gets loud enough with the Qudelix 5, or else i will get aDAP for music and the Qudelix T71 for PS5 Gaming.

With the Qudelix, you’ll struggle to properly drive the HE400se even in balanced mode.
With the Susvara, you’ll struggle even with the Topping G5, especially with quiet or highly dynamic tracks. If you want something “portable”, you should at least start considering an iFi iDSD Gr 2

 

[Oso Polar]

With the Qudelix, you’ll struggle to properly drive the HE400se even in balanced mode.

This is not true, in balanced mode it works very well with HE400se.

 

[staticV3]

With the Qudelix, you’ll struggle to properly drive the HE400se even in balanced mode.

I bought the Apple A2049 dongle—I managed to find it in Europe for €11. It drives both my HD560S and HE400SE perfectly. I'm using Oratory's PEQ settings for both. I'm really surprised that 1V gets the job done. I don't need anything else.

Edit:
At 25Ω (400se impedance), the 5K can play 25% louder than the A2049 via 3.5mm and 80% louder via 2.5mm balanced.

 

[Sebby]

Edit:
At 25Ω (400se impedance), the 5K can play 25% louder than the A2049 via 3.5mm and 80% louder via 2.5mm balanced.

In case I’m remembering incorrectly, I took my father’s HE400se, connected to the BHD Pro, which has been running constantly at 100% power in balanced mode for the past two years. I connected them to the BTR17, plugged the cable into the 4.4 mm output, connected it to mains power to enable Desktop Mode (650 mW + 6 V), and started Spotify with volume normalization disabled.

I didn’t apply the +5 dB bass shelf out of laziness, so I kept them completely stock and without negative gain, just to be fair. I started the album Holst: The Planets, and to get decent dynamics without losing a lot of details that would otherwise be extremely quiet, I used volume 50/60 with High Gain.

If I apply the +5 dB bass shelf, I have to move up to the Topping G5.

Yes, if I listen to Five Finger Death Punch, I need much less power to get an adequate volume level, but part of my library becomes extremely quiet without a good amount of output power and leaving some headroom. If you EQ to Harman, the situation gets even more demanding, although that isn’t even my particular case.

I own the Qudelix and use it with IEMs, but with planar headphones it is always insufficient, especially if you apply EQ with negative gain.

With the Susvara, the situation becomes even more demanding. It’s not true that you need a nuclear power station to drive them (with a Topping DX5 II, you have everything you could possibly need and anything beyond that is just audiophile overthinking), but it’s equally false to claim that they can be properly driven by low powered devices.

Again: if you use your headphones for background listening or with heavily compressed tracks, then you’re right. Hifiman headphones aren’t all difficult to drive. My Arya Stealth, for example, are fairly easy to drive. However, with the exception of the Sundara, all the models that don’t have an oval ear pad, simply need a bit more muscle than usual

P.S. I have excellent hearing, with medical hearing tests performed every two years, and I don’t like listening to music at very high volume, except on rare and brief occasions.

 

[Kremmen]

With the Qudelix, you’ll struggle to properly drive the HE400se even in balanced mode.
With the Susvara, you’ll struggle even with the Topping G5, especially with quiet or highly dynamic tracks. If you want something “portable”, you should at least start considering an iFi iDSD Gr 2

Strange. I have no trouble at all driving the HE400se, Edition XS, or Deva Pro with my Qudelix 5k at 1 volt in unbalanced mode to very loud levels when required, let alone 2 volts (or 4 volts in balanced mode)!

Listening to the Secrets album by Allan Holdsworth (FLAC) with my Deva Pro from a Motorola Edge 60 Pro (using either MediaMonkey Pro or foobar2000) I get the following volume settings at the maximum sustained volume level I would want to use. The second image is when the voltage is set to 2 with +6dB on tap.