HiFiMan Susvara

The reference planar — the headphone reviewers use to test amplifiers rather than the other way around. At 83 dB and 60 Ω it turns almost nothing into sound without serious current behind it; fed properly, it returns the most even-handed, unforced presentation in this catalogue.

It is a destination purchase for a listener whose chain is already settled and whose recordings deserve it — the Susvara is famously unkind to thin masters and thin amplification alike.

We sell it order-only, and we mean the note: talk to us about amplification first. A headphone amp with a USB socket on the back is usually not the answer; a stout stereo amplifier through the HE-Adapter usually is.