truth is one has to take a sizable loss to sell the HP that quickly because there is a 10yr warranty for the original owner but only 2 yrs for the second buyer so it pays to curb the impulse buy without serious investigation

I use the 5692 with my ER300 and love the combo

personally I do not think the HP changes as much as our perception of it does which is why I never subscribed to A/B testing..I think you have to live with audio products for persiods of time before you can appreciate them since to me it is all about nuance...

if you open the sr1a very wide yes the bass becomes anemic and it is tough to get volume...that Is not the case with the ca-1a and wont be with the Imannis...personally I dont need my sr1a to be so wide so it was never an issue for me

totally subjective...my envy with elrog and WE300 is terrific...I have heard the susvara with the EF1000 and it is excellent as expected and I can see subjectively somebody liking it more but it certainly is subjective...I am at the point that the differences above the envy with upgraded tubes...

truth is when playing in the big leagues...1266,susvara Immanis etc it becomes a matter of subjective likes and dislikes...from the first time I ever heard the sr1a I loved the presentation and my limited time with the Imannis and Magnus at Canjam just confirmed my appreciation of the ribbon...

for me the Raal stable of headphones are the most discerning headphones I have ever heard and I await my Imannis...it is true that the Raal ribbons sound like nothing else...very special

utopia slightly behind the 800 in terms of width...huh?...I have had both and my 800 was huge sounding compared to my utopia which I found very closed in sounding...goes to show you how different people hear things..to me the 800 sounded artificial but it was huge

the elrogs definitely helped as did the rca 5692...I suggest you experiment...tube amps are finniky coming from all SS it took me a while to figure it out and I am still learning

I do have a caldera that I do use with my envy...I have found issues of hum and noise are very dependent on the tubes you use...I have essentially eliminated my noise issues with different tubes...I find the envy very sensitive to tubes and to power issues...experiment and you might find you...

I do listen to jazz with my susvara although without a smoking jacket but quite often with a fine glass of Blantons bourbon

physics makes it impossible for the new version to have the bass or the soundstage the 1266 does but they are getting closer and closer

most likely the dave will stay the basic chord DAC for a long time to be enhanced with the new m-scaler etc

the whole thing is out of control,there seems no limits

20k,wow

I do wonder who would buy a 1266 and then decide to use a topping amp with it but hey,whatever!

I do not know that this new HP will be more expensive if what the rep told me is true but who knows?

when I was at canjam the rep told me that the new susvara would be easier to drive but not better sound wise than the prevailing version..who knows but that is what I was told

nothing to tremble about there are a bunch of TOTL headphones available all outstanding depending on your subjective desires....

I agree, that is total BS..one can assert tubes improve with some burn in but 450 hours for the envy itself...silly

as I eagerly await my imannis I must say as I listen to my sr1a what a marvel it is...

I am going back to when they sold new for 10-12 k,the cost of this stuff is getting ridiculous IMHO

I liked the sol p ,it was to me a more open less dark and thick lcd-4 without the bass of the lcd-4...ultimately I sold it and kept my susvara

kind of insane to be honest,some years ago before the price took off to the moon I actually turned down a used on for 5k lol

the tungsten needs enormous power...make sure u provide it when listening...even harder to drive than the susvara