If you’re looking for a pair of true wireless earbuds that put sound quality first while still offering premium features like active noise cancellation, the HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless Jr. and HIFIMAN Wireless LE have arrived to vye for your attention. With a rich history in over-ear headphones, in-ear monitors, DACs, and amps, HIFIMAN brings its audiophile pedigree to bear on the mainstream, and most accessible, listening market. At $119 for the Svanar Wireless Jr. and $199 for the Svanar Wireless LE, these are two pairs of true wireless earphones that fans of good audio should pay attention to.
Specifications
HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless LE and Wireless Jr - What Are They?
Last year, HIFIMAN took a bold step and released the wired Svanar in-ear monitors to the market. It was bold because — wait for it — they were priced at an eye-watering $2,000. A halo product to be sure but there was no mistaking just how great they sounded. Shortly after, the company released the Svanar Wireless, a true wireless take on the Svanar still aimed at the discerning and well-off audiophile with a price point of $499.
The result of this is that audio enthusiasts had a lot to discuss but mainstream listeners, even if they liked what they read, chalked them as too expensive. This was especially true of the Svanar Wireless which remains one of the most expensive pairs of true wireless earbuds on the market.
And so we arrive at today with two new models that are much more accessibly priced: the Svanar Wireless Jr. and Svanar Wireless LE. Coming in at $119 and $199 respectively, they’re finally competing in price brackets mainstream listeners are accustomed to. In this review, I’ll be looking at both models to pick apart the differences and what they offer in comparison to the $499 Svanar Wireless and to each other.
For starters, you won’t mistake either set as anything other than a Svanar. Like the original, they both come in unique clamshell-like charging case that’s more like a jewelry box than a typical earbud case. As the more expensive model, I expected the LE to be trimmed in a different material, but the only difference is the color: the LE is brown and the Jr. is white. Both have a leatherette texture on their surface but are plastic. Both cases are also a bit too big to be easily pocketable unless it’s the only thing you place in that pocket.
From there, it does become clear which is the more premium model. While the Svanar Jr.’s earbuds are a matching white, the LE’s have a metallic finish (while still being plastic). This makes them look closer to the original Svanar Wireless while cutting costs in materials.
Both earbuds follow the same design, derived from the original. They follow the bud and step design popularized by Apple but are much bulkier to accommodate their built-in DAC and amp setup — something that just about every other manufacturer leaves to the wireless chipset. There are no such compromises here.
Let’s talk specs, because this is where the two pairs really differentiate themselves. The Svanar Wireless LE uses HIFIMAN’s proprietary Himalya R2R ladder DAC and a custom amplifier to drive their sonics. It’s the same system used in the company’s premium desktop DACs, like the Serenade, and is widely acclaimed for its natural and high resolution sound. It offers up to 45mW of power output (which in a TWS means you’ll never need to worry about your music not being loud enough) with only 0.005% of total harmonic distortion and 54mW at 0.52%.
The Wireless Jr., as the more affordable set, doesn’t get the Himalaya DAC. HIFIMAN is mum on what exactly it’s using, in fact, but does confirm that it’s using a separate amplifier to enhance its sound quality and volume output. Without the advanced DAC and amp of the LE, it’s only able to offer 10mW of output power with 0.019% total harmonic distortion. It can get louder, up to 50mW in fact, but with a THD of 1%.
There’s also a curious trade-off in features between the two. Both offer active noise cancellation that performs similarly to one another, but despite having the higher performance DAC and amp, LDAC is only available on the Wireless Jr. and not the Wireless LE. Both models offer environmental noise cancellation, IPX5 water resistance, and reliable touch controls, so they’re more alike than different in features.
Both models also use a single dynamic driver for their sound output. This is relatively common in the true wireless market for space savings and a reliably cohesive sound, but HIFIMAN takes it a step further by applying a specialized coating to each driver.
It calls this its topology diaphragm. The company’s founder, Dr. Fang Bian, based his doctoral thesis on the idea: nanomaterials have different structures and densities, so applying them to a driver’s diaphragm in different ways impacts its sound characteristics. As you can see in the image above, the company illustrates this by showing different patterns on the surface of the driver, though which is applied is a secret (and is the case for all of HIFIMAN’s topology drivers). My experience with these drivers over the years has been very positive for the most part, and we know that driver coatings do make a difference. Whether the pattern itself of pure amount of surface area coverage is the audible differentiator, we can’t be sure. However, it’s an example of a level of consideration that isn’t present in even the most popular true wireless earbuds.
There’s another interesting difference between the two sets. Battery life is actually better on the cheaper model, though, admittedly, not by much. It bucks expectation but does make sense when you consider the higher power output of the Svanar LE. There are three listening modes to choose from: HiFi mode, ANC mode, and Transparency mode. For the LE, it’s rated to last up to five, six, and seven hours respectively. For the Jr., that jumps to six, seven, and eight. The case is good for three recharges for each set, bringing total potential listening time to 28 hours for the LE and 32 hours for the Jr.
HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless LE and Wireless Jr - Sound Quality and Daily Carry Performance
I’ve been using both pairs of Svanars for the last several weeks to really get a feel for them. While they have similar tonality, there are some pretty notable differences between the two. Both sets have a bit of a bass and treble boost. I wasn’t able to measure these, but vocals come forward, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a small bump in the mids. My impression of both is that they’re warm but clear and make for good “all-arounders” for different kinds of listening.
While the bass is punched up on both, the Svanar Jr is definitely touched up a bit more in the mid-bass. There’s a noticeable thickness to bass guitars. It might be a bit of a meme to say that cheaper products are bassier and “audiophile” products are brighter, but in this case, it’s true. This isn’t to say that the Jr is overdone, because it’s not. It’s just a shift in emphasis from the sub-bass to the mid-bass.
Both sets have a good sense of clarity thanks to their higher treble. I didn’t find either to be sharp or sibilant, but compared to something like the Jabra Elite 7 or Sennheiser Momentum TWS 4, there’s less of a veil — though admittedly, the Momentum’s are excellent when tuned using its mobile app. This accentuation really enhances their sense of clarity and allows you to pick up on more fine details.
The mids are smooth on both. The low-end warms them up a bit, so male voices have a lushness to them. Instrument detail doesn’t compare to a great pair of wired IEMs, like the original Svanars, but it’s good enough to compete with other mainstream TWS earbuds and generally come out tied or on top.
The soundstage on both is impressive. They’re not closed in like many TWS IEMs. Perhaps due to their larger size, there’s a greater sense of width to the sound. Music sounds like it’s coming from outside the head, though it doesn't match a great pair of headphones — nor would you expect them to. These are some of the things we trade for the convenience of wireless earbuds. Still, they’re pretty darn good and give each layer in your music space to breathe.
For both sets, HiFi mode is where you’ll want to listen for the best sound. For both, turning it on immediately makes music louder, clearer, and more full-bodied. This effect is much more pronounced on the LE, however, thanks to its boutique DAC and amp setup. Using HiFi mode cuts battery life down substantially (HIFIMAN’s figures matched my own, more or less), but it’s where I found myself spending the most time.
Those are the similarities, so now let’s get to the differences. As I mentioned before, the Svanar Jr has a greater mid-bass emphasis. They’re more friendly to electronica, hip-hop, and ambient music, though I didn’t find those same genres unpleasant with the LE either. Sensitive listeners may also find that there’s a bit less compression on the Svanar Jr when listening over LDAC, but you’ll need to listen carefully in the highs to pick it up. On the other hand, the Himalaya DAC definitely imparts a warm, natural timbre to music, so it’s a bit of a draw.
ANC is fine. It cuts down on droning low tones but only moderately reduces mid frequency noise. This makes them good for commutes but not great for blocking out typical office sounds like voices and keyboards. There’s less cabin pressure and hiss than the original Svanar Wireless, however, and side-by-side, it appears that the Jr and LE may block out slightly more sound overall, so it’s an improvement. Oddly, you can’t use ANC in HiFI mode.
Call quality is also very good. Both Svanars did a good job of blocking out background noise without making my voice sound over-compressed or too nasally. I was impressed at the overall quality.
Fit and comfort is a remaining issue for both. While the larger size is necessary for the added components and sound, the earbuds are bulky and heavier than most pairs they’re competing with. Their larger bodies did make my ears get fatigued after about 90 minutes, forcing me to take a break.
Finally, gaming. While they’ll work for slower paced games, this isn’t the set I would choose for anything with cutscenes with character dialogue or first-person shooters. There’s a slight amount of audio lag that is perceptible when firing a gun or watching characters speak. This isn’t a problem with apps like YouTube, Netflix, or the other major streamers since they have built-in audio sync technology.
Final Thoughts
The HIFIMAN Svanar series has established itself as one of the best sounding TWS sets you can find. The Svanar Wireless Jr. is the most approachable with a mainstream-friendly sound but a good amount of detail. The Svanar Wireless LE is overall better with an impeccable sound thanks to its R2R ladder DAC, though I really wish it had LDAC. If you’re an audio enthusiast that couldn’t justify the original Svanar Wireless, the Wireless LE is the next best thing. If you’re looking for great sound on an even tighter budget, the Wireless Jr. is a good alternative that’s worth considering.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes. Some articles may contain affiliate links and purchases made through this will result in a small commission for the site. Commissions are not directed to the author or related to compensation in any way.