In this review we look at the Hifiman Susvara Unveiled headphone. It is selling for $8,000 USD at this moment.
Disclaimer: Hifiman directly sent us the Susvara Unveiled for this review in exchange for our honest opinion.
Hifiman
If you’re into personal audio, then you must be familiar with the Hifiman brand. It was founded in 2007 by Dr. Fang in New York to produce high-end personal audio products. Hifiman was the first brand to release a high-end portable audio player, the HM-801, which was like a catalyst for Reference Audio Players that we know today.
One of the many points that make Hifiman stand out is that they are a very innovative company, and they are constantly chasing the better, in every price range. They create different flavoured headphones, warm, neutral, and balanced, for every kind of audiophile out there. We’ve reviewed many Hifiman units in the past, and each time we get excited as if it’s the first time. Just type Hifiman in our search box and discover all of our Hifiman reviews.
For those of you who’d like to know more about Hifiman and their founder, there’s always this interview we did with him: https://headfonia.com/q-n-a-saturday-hifiman/
In this new Hifiman review, we’re looking at the Hifiman Susvara Unveiled flagship headphone that was released around June at the High-End Show in Munich.
Let’s get started!
Hifiman Susvara Unveiled
A few months ago, when we were visiting the High-End Show in Munich, we got invited by Fang Bian for a surprise presentation after closing time. It turned out to be the Hifiman Susvara Unveiled, the first Hifiman headphone of their present Unveiled series.
The Susvara Unveiled is Hifiman’s flagship headphone when it comes to planar magnetic drivers. The unveiled tech is new and impressive, but it does result in the Susvara Unveiled’s price being increased to an impressive $8,000 USD. That puts the Susvara Unveiled in the top part of the high-end headphone segment. That said, the experience is incredible and impressive, but more on that later in this article. The Susvara Unveiled’s dedicated web page can be found here.
“But what is this Unveiled technology?” I hear you say. “Isn’t the regular Susvara incredibly good already?” In this article I hope to answer both of these questions. Keep reading.
With the Unveiled technology, the fully open-back design of the planar headphone – according to Hifiman – completely eliminates the negative effects of sound wave reflection, removing the last impediment to exceptional sound quality. The Susvara Unveiled now shows you all the depth and beauty of your music, hence the “Unveiled” name. Basically it comes down to opening up the driver even more, in order to not get any sound wave reflection. Hifiman uses a window shade design to increase the opening rate, maximizing the grill exposure and reducing the probability of reflection and refraction.
Besides that, the regular Susvara was already profiting from the Nanometer thickness diaphragm. The Susvara Unveiled also features Hifiman’s Stealth magnets, optimized to reduce air turbulence and diffraction between magnets. This allows the sound to pass between them in an almost unaffected way, without disrupting the sound quality as is the case with traditional magnets. When comparing both Unveiled and regular Susvara drivers to each other, they look very different.
You can find out all about the diaphragm and stealth magnets on Hifiman’s website here.
As said earlier, the Susvara Unveiled has a $8,000 USD price tag. You can get it from one of Hifiman’s dealers or from Hifiman directly here. In Europe the Susvara Unveiled sets you back €8.799 Euro. Hifiman actually also has set up a “trade up” program for those who have already bought the regular Susvara. This allows you to upgrade to the Susvara Unveiled for $4,500 USD, if you are part of the first 100 who sign up for this deal.
Accessories, Box, Specifications
The Susvara Unveiled arrives in Hifiman’s typical imitation leather box, we already know by now. New here on the inside are the protecting pouches for the driver and magnetic covers as you can see in the pictures.
In the center of the box you will find two headphone cables. Both cables are three meters long and they are terminated with a 6.35mm single ended and a 4-pin balanced XLR. The cables use monocrystalline copper and monocrystalline silver. I actually quite like these cables and they are a clear upgrade from the original Susvara cables. You can of course opt for a nice aftermarket boutique cable, if that’s your thing.
I also found a carrying pouch, driver measurement, owner’s manual, quality check “card” and warranty card on the inside. It’s a nice package and a nice delivery, but this is a headphone setting you back $8K USD, so I honestly expected some more, something special.
Specifications
Open headphone design
Magnetostatic driver
Impedance: 45 Ω
Characteristic sound pressure: 86 dB
Frequency range: 6 Hz – 75 kHz
Weight: 430 g (excluding Magnetic Veils and headphone cable)
Note: Maximum load 25 volts. (This corresponds approximately to the maximum power of an amplifier with 80 watts at 8 ohms.)
Build Quality & Design
From a design point of view, the Susvara Unveiled of course looks very familiar already as it uses Hifiman’s excellent headband system.
New here are the brown ear pads which I like myself. The outside of the ear cup is of course very different with the new Unveiled technology, but I actually like the look of the window shade design, as Hifiman calls it. I can see why it for some might look like an unfinished headphone or prototype, but I’ve always been into weird designs.
The magnetic covers are also new but these are only on the headphone when it’s not being used. They do however fit the headphone nicely, and they give it a unique look. No complaints here from me.
I have no issues whatsoever with the build quality of my review unit, and everything looks and feels perfect as usual from Hifiman.
Comfort, usability & Isolation
The Susvara Unveiled still weighs 430g (excluding Magnetic Veils and headphone cable) and that’s more or less in the same ballpark as the other reference orthodynamic headphones on the market. We’re already familiar with Hifiman’s headband, and it again does an excellent job in evenly distributing the weight over the top of your head. Even with 430g, it is a very comfortable headphone and I can use it for hours without any discomfort from the pads or the top band. The sound is also effortlessly produced and this easy sound production doesn’t give you any listening fatigue whatsoever.
The Hifiman Susvara Unveiled sports asymmetric ear pads and they deliver excellent comfort as well. The inner side of the pads never touch your ears and the side grip/pressure sits just right in order to deliver the best comforts and performance.
With an unveiled driver, the driver basically is very open an vulnerable. I however don’t see how you could damage the driver if you use the headphone like it is supposed to be used. That said, I have seen images of someone’s Unveiled driver being punctured. I have no idea how that happened there, but as not everyone is as careful, the Susvara Unveiled comes with magnetic covers. These nicely fit the outside of the ear cup, even though the magnetic force could be a little higher (like on the HE1000 Unveiled, review soon). Anyway, this allows you to safely store the Susvara Unveiled, without any risk of objects being absorbed by the magnetic driver.
The Hifiman Susvara Unveiled of course is a fully open headphone and as such a lot of music will leak out and noise will leak in. This is a headphone that’s supposed to be used in optimal (silent) conditions.
The review continues on the second page with the part on sound. Click here or use the jumps below.
Page 2: Sound – Intro, General, Synergy
Page 3: Vs Susvara, Conclusion, Summary
