The new Susvara Unveiled is one of the most premium audiophile headphones to release in quite a while. It’s been many years since the release of the last Susvara, and with it, HiFiMAN made one of the most sought-after endgame headphones around. Now, HiFiMAN is releasing the next generation of its flagship model for $8,000. While it’s quite a big ask, the Susvara is known to be one of the ultimate audiophile goals. Does the new Susvara Unveiled push the envelope further as one of the best headphones around?
What You Get
- Pair of headphones
- 3m headphone cable (4-pin XLR plug)
- 3m headphone cable (6.35mm plug)
- Pair of Magnetic Veils
- Pair of ear pads (mounted on headphones)
- Owner’s Guide
Look & Feel
While the skeleton of the original Susvara exists with the Unveiled, there are a ton of parts that have been redesigned. Just by looking at it, you’ll notice the removable back panels. This is one of the Unveiled’s biggest design changes, acting as what HiFiMAN calls a “magnetic veil.” This acts as a form of protection to the drivers because as you’ll see, the planar driver is completely exposed with no grille. The Susvara Unveiled will need a ton more protection and care than you may be used to giving your headphones. As for its comfort level, the Susvara Unveiled is light and feels very secure. They’re easy to adjust and don’t cause much ear fatigue even after hours of listening in my experience.
Design
HiFiMAN’s Stealth magnet technology is well-established in the headphone world, with most of their current open-back planar headphones supporting it. For the Susvara Unveiled, HiFiMAN takes advantage of the gaps inside of the magnets and their cross-sectional shape within the diaphragm. This design hopes to maximize the precision of the diaphragm, all while minimizing distortion and enhancing spatial properties. The previous Susvara was notoriously hard to drive, and although you still need a good amp to power the Susvara Unveiled, it’s noticeably not as picky. I was able to get great volume and ample headroom out of the Susvara Unveiled using the Fiio K19, and even the Chord Mojo 2.
Soundstage
Behold, the stereo field in all of its glory. I was expecting nothing more than the Susvara Unveiled to be true to each track’s spatial positioning, but the level of realism is still impressive. What separates the Susvara Unveiled from many other premium open-back headphones is its natural confidence in presenting an untampered stereo image without being holographic. The Susvara Unveiled feels linear but offers the width and separation that makes a soundstage encompass your head. You are still in the middle of the performance, with the instruments and vocals wrapping around you effortlessly. Everything is displayed in close proximity to your head, but that doesn’t deter the Susvara Unveiled from highlighting distance effectively. This is what makes the Susvara Unveiled feel like a HiFiMAN headphone the most. It takes away a lot of the airiness of the soundstage but maintains the large area of space that certain sound elements occupy. The corresponding areas of blankness emphasize this that the Susvara Unveiled conveys.
Low End
With the Susvara Unveiled, the bass is all about its tactility. You’re not going to be provided a cinematic bass impact or a thick resonance, however, its dynamism allows for some rich warmth when the track calls for it. The bass profile gives you a completely transparent look into the foundation of the sound signature, unfolding all of its details efficiently and putting them all on display evenly. Bass guitars offer the most energetic performances with the velocity and finesse of notes that take on complete shape. It doesn’t always make the frequency response appear full, but the grooves are there. Everything is rich and communicated smoothly. It takes a backseat when the mix calls for it, and can feature an engrossing body when needed. The sub-bass never gets down to a rumble. You’ll never hear the frequencies start to pool and buzz with vibration, but its lack of edge never feels like a real flaw with just how transparent the frequency range is.
Mids
This is the midrange response you’re paying for. The original Susvara had a very transparent, neutral timbre, but the Unveiled adds something to its low and upper mids that make things jump out a bit more. It never feels like a flat plain of frequencies being gently delivered to you. There’s a greater force here that puts a greater attack on notes while keeping its neutral tonality. Sound elements appear more lush and lively like each sound is a genuine object. Everything that comes through the Susvara Unveiled feels as real as can be. It’s like the “unveiled” name for this Susvara is referring exclusively to the midrange, with its ability to be effortlessly transparent. However, the Unveiled also likes to make things more interesting with its seemingly more pronounced sections of the frequency response. The Unveiled is not afraid to break free from its balance and favor slight color adjustments. There’s more personality to the mids as a whole, but there’s still a level of purity that it never sacrifices.
Highs
The highs on the Susvara Unveiled are quite surprising. Usually, I expect something brighter than this, but the treble is relatively smooth compared to its previous iteration. You still get some incredibly crisp textures with magnificent sparkle, but everything is brought to a balanced level. It makes the timbre easier to digest while also being fully extended with height and detail. It leaves out the airiness that other HiFiMAN headphones tend to bring and replaces it with something a lot more believable.
Summary
I expected the Susvara Unveiled to be great, but with how striking the sound truly is, it takes everything to a new level. It’s a high asking price, but you’re getting the best of the best in my opinion. The Susvara Unveiled should be a big commitment, especially considering its higher maintenance compared to most headphones. It’s all worth it to be able to hear one of the most expressive and engrossing sound signatures you can experience over headphones.
The HiFiMAN Susvara Unveiled is available at Audio46.
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