Getting religion. Etymologically we see religare for 'bind back'. I prefer 'reconnect'. Let's hook up. In that sense I experienced a sudden relink: Susvara religion. It felt as though Dionysus reinflated my Susvara bubble beyond sizing previously achieved. If power corrupts, I was being most willingly corrupted. The ballooning was quite literal. Though my head didn't suddenly expand outward to physically move my ears apart for broader imaging, the outer stage quadrants were more alive and boisterous, dynamic crests grander. The lot felt more expansive and loaded. Whilst writing this, I hooked up with Zuhal Olcay, one of my regulars in the Turkish harem here with "Eksik Bir Şey". Göksun Çavdar contributes on German B-clarinet with a crystal mouthpiece, something my conservatory background notices and enjoys. And no, YouTube compression doesn't equal my 24/44.1kHz Qobuz file. Then all of us trigger to different stimuli; and differently with mood and occasion. Will this song do anything for you? For me it packs a very sunny jubilant disposition; a big juicy slice of musical vitamin D. The Dionysus/Susvara combo really dialled up that solar energy in ways that bypassed critical listening—I prefer 'attentive'— and went straight for my happiness nerve. When we feel happy, we know. It's a very simple personal thing. That inanimate hardware fed digital square waves can cause it is rather magical. Aural serotonin with some endorphins.

As shown, my ears could take Susvara to high gain's ~10'30" and be in my SPL sweet spot. All that was with 4Vrms XLR inputs.

Back on terra firma, we remember. Susvara is considered one of the most technically proficient of all planarmagnetic headphones. That suggests strict measured conformity to high linearity, excellent small-signal tracking and truly full bandwidth—when properly driven. Yet 'technical' and 'happiness' aren't typical bed fellows, much less never-apart Siamese twins. Alas, this combo expressed hot-blooded vitality beyond bookish linearity, bandwidth and high resolution. Think colour intensity, forward drive, image density. Subjectively it felt as though every available virtual pixel cube of my headspace was activated. My sonic balloon was bulging under higher internal pressure. If that reads more poetic than pedantic, guilty as recharged. Going into momentary orbit far above terra firma was important when my easy loads didn't hit quite the same happy spot. They were impressive just not this magical. That could suggest a beefcake. Far from. To my mind this was all about identifying the most ideal jobs for the tool. Memo received. First job? Done!

On second thought, not quite. We need more scaffolding. How many rungs did Jacob's ladder have? I don't think he knew. With some gear, neither do we until the clouds part to reveal further rungs. I mean gear which scales beyond our familiar level once a right prompter shows up. With some hardware we've reached the end. This telegraphs when even rather costlier presumably superior mates no longer pull to become stationary. In other cases we notice untapped potential when it unfurls. Prior to dumb luck, we had no hunch that certain areas could still yield harvest once tended to. For my 1st-gen Susvara, Dionysus added a few rungs to what I remembered from my older amps before disintegrating pads, a fraying headband and blotchy metal had consigned my unit to the hifi cemetery in a closet. Considering how long I've kept it in reserve, that was a surprise. There. Now that first job has proper scaffolding. It reminds me of an old Irish joke. It goes for reviews, too. Paddy and Mick stare up at a flagpole trying to measure it without a ladder. A woman walks by, lays it down, measures it and declares it 20 feet long. Easy. After she leaves, Paddy eyes Mick: "Isn't that just like women? We needed the height and she gave us length!" Perspective. It matters. Which way do we look?

Here I always found my 1st-gen Final D8000 on the bassy thick side. Could Dionysus downshift this Japanese planar for higher revs, a tighter bottom and less overcast highs? This became another ladder job to resuscitate a side-lined older flame. With Dionysus in the driver's seat, bloomier bass stepped back in line. Treble opened up like retracting a skylight's shade. Textures linearized. Tonal balance moved upward much closer to my subjective middle. Not considered a bearish load at all so fully on song at low gain's 12'00", this thin-film design very clearly appreciated being controlled beyond what I'd previously applied. Second job? Done! Was I getting the Fang hang? For best fengshui and like the FiiO FT7, my easy-going aune SR7000 preferred the lighter touch of Audalytic's small DR70. Incidentally, its voltage gain is stout enough even on Susvara Unveiled to leave 25 attenuation clicks in petto. Loudness isn't the issue. The baby Gustard simply renders HifiMan's top planar more electrostatic and vegan. Dionysus bolted on qualities from the dynamic-driver and carnivore cadre. It rather filled out the linked-to YouTube video from a popular Turkish music show with Cengiz Kurtoğlu on lead vocals and Hüsnü Şenlendirici on G clarinet; even more so over the Final. If you're in the mood for a fine duet in the same vein between Cengiz and Hakan Altun for some "heavy 2nd-harmonic distortion" via octave-doubled singing between male leads, go here. This Pop style may do nothing for you but it butters my belly. So indulge me for spreading it around.