The headphones/earphones topic, again!

colorfuljinsei · May 13, 2024, 4:55am

When I had the HD800S, I rotated between Singxer SA-1, Schiit Jotunheim 2, Rupert Neve RNHP, and Woo Audio WA8. The WA8 and RNHP were my favorite amp pairings. The headphone was no slouch in the mid-bass for both, but I still preferred the sub-bass extension and detail of the planar sets.

For the Susvara it’s currently bouncing between a first-gen iFi Diablo and a Bakoon AMP-13R. Currently very happy with the 13R … but my curiosity has been piqued with the HeadAmp CFA3. Maybe when it hits the used market in a few years I might pull the trigger.

**Should probably mention that I’m into the smaller footprint stuff, which explains my choices.

zeus · May 24, 2024, 4:13pm

@colorfuljinsei you might be interested in this one.

I’ve been having an issue with my Chu 2’s.

The volume in the left driver is much lower than the right driver. It makes the sound image to the right and it’s distracting (and also not good for long term hearing). I knew how to fix this issue with the SE215’s, but not with these. It’s the first time it’s happened too.

I first tried blowing compressed air through the driver itself, but that didn’t work. Sucked on it a bit to provide suction in the opposite direction, and still nothing. I swapped wires between left and right side and the left side was consistently lower, so I ruled out a short in the wire.

I could just buy another pair, but curiosity got me. I started disassembling them, first by sliding the ear tip off, and then by unscrewing the tip of the driver. The volume seemed to be equal when testing in this state. That would indicate that something on the tip is the problem. Flipped it over, and the other side was completely opaque.

At first, I thought it was covered entirely in earwax too, but I tried to scrape it off and nothing came off. Tried with a wet Q-Tip and similarly nothing. I then noticed that it was two layers glued together, so I removed the metal driver chassis from it’s backing. Stuck the metal back in the tip, screwed the tip back on the driver, tested again, and the volumes were equal!

I guess the membrane that I removed is to prevent earwax from reaching the inner device, so I’ll have to order some replacement filters, but it’s not visibly dirty so I don’t know what to do. Thoughts?

EDIT: Iso did the trick. But I had one hell of a time getting the two pieces back together. Lost the grill, then the membrane, then the grill again, then shoved it back in, tested it, and vocals are in the center again. Now I know how to fix these.

colorfuljinsei · May 26, 2024, 2:50am

@zeus

Glad you got the channel imbalance fixed, but does it sound peaky at all for vocals? The metal grills are typically for wax, but the mesh filters attached via some sort of adhesive are damping filters meant for tuning.

This is the effect on the OG Chu when the filter material is removed. You get sharp boosts in the pinna gain region where the resonance peaks are, with an overall lift as well (probably sounding quite shouty as a result.) :

Go ahead and purchase the ~~new filters~~ **anti-clogging filter/damper (as they refer to it) unless you aren’t bothered by the current sound.

**Ok, now that I’m re-reading it, you probably put all of it together again including the dampers (?). Disregard if that’s the case and it all sounds the same.

So insider information may-or-may not be saying that a Susvara “successor” will be out in early-June for an asking price of $8k. Between this and the new RAAL Immanis, why did non-estat TOTL have to jump another $1k+… JESUS. So if anyone is looking for a $2.5k used Sus, just look out for panic sells come June on Head-Fi classifieds, USAM, etc.

colorfuljinsei · June 3, 2024, 3:31pm

It’s been revealed!

This thing is ugly as sin, and I don’t know how I feel about the exposed drivers (and the required cover system), which sounds worse than coddling a Stax estat for dust. Looks like this, the Final X8000, and Raal Immanis will be new future trio (unless Audeze comes in with a revision.)

Looks like the general impression of this headphone, for those who attended the secret listening party at Munich, is that it’s way easier to drive, more forward/detailed in the high-end, and has a larger stage. However, this seems like a very similar description to the X8000.