For budget amp, look no further than Schiit Mjolnir 3 at $1.2K brand new. You'd be seriously hard pressed to find a brand new amp at its price and lower that can beat it in terms of driving the Susvara. You get very close to Envy like slam and dynamics and tons of refinement and nuances, just don't expect magical tube sound out of it
If I'm forced to go below Mjolnir 3's refinement and nuance ability just to keep the Sus, I'd rather just let go of Susvara and get far better performance with the HE1000SE or HEKV2, but that's just how much I value refinement in timbre, tonality, resolution etc. with the Susvara
Sounds like you love it! No need to pursue anything further than that seriously! I'd say attend a CanJam and hear Susvara on different setups. If you don't find as much differences from your setup then you're golden. We're crazies here that we want to explore how Susvara can potentially sound in unexpected ways by demoing a bunch of systems for it. As for the $1500 SET amp, a used Forge (6SL7 / EL34, anything in between all the way to KT88, SS rectifier SET amp) with the right combination of tubes (I find certain NOS tubes on the front end is essential, but the power tubes with new production are good enough) will bring those wrap-around and expansive soundstage to Susvara. Your Topping might slam more than the Forge since Forge can only muster 1-2W of power nominal power with max peak power of 4-4.5 watts (peak power for 1/20th of a second burst: see ifi iDiablo 2 power rating fiasco touting their power rating as the true power and not clearing things up that their 5W quoted is actually peak power)
If you want a more refined SET amp, you can DIY the Aegis AMP for $2000, and run Susvara at 5pm on the knob (again, it's roughly 1-2 watts like based on how much gain it has on the knob)
Tampa Florida Audio Expo coming up in a month so I'll definitely be bringing Susvara and testing there. Hopefully they have some tube amps I can play with. It's not nearly as comprehensive as Canjam as far as headphone gear, but it gets the job done
I got my 3.5mm Sus, and my Danacables Nirvana cables come tomorrow. First things first. I like the new black sleeved stock cable much more than the previous sh!tty ones. The probably didn't change the internals, but the sleeving is so much nicer. I also like that the 3.5mm connector is a little bit bigger than the 2.5mm. It should help avoid bending, though I would still have preferred them to use a different connector. These 3.5mm and 2.5mm are just too prone to bending. I wish they used a mini-xlr or something, or at least something more secure
Would my iFi Pro iCan Signature drive the Susvara? And would I be happy with it? It's my most powerful amp. And it is very powerful: 14,000 mW into 16 Ohms balanced.
If I'm forced to go below Mjolnir 3's refinement and nuance ability just to keep the Sus, I'd rather just let go of Susvara and get far better performance with the HE1000SE or HEKV2, but that's just how much I value refinement in timbre, tonality, resolution etc. with the Susvara
For budget amp, look no further than Schiit Mjolnir 3 at $1.2K brand new. You'd be seriously hard pressed to find a brand new amp at its price and lower that can beat it in terms of driving the Susvara. You get very close to Envy like slam and dynamics and tons of refinement and nuances, just don't expect magical tube sound out of it
Would my iFi Pro iCan Signature drive the Susvara? And would I be happy with it? It's my most powerful amp. And it is very powerful: 14,000 mW into 16 Ohms balanced.
I'm looking for a system for my office to drive Susvara.
I have an Accuphase e-406 in the living room which is great for sus, so I'm after another amp which can do them justice but doesn't need to be spectacular.
My preferences:
I generally don't value the improvement DACs make above what amps can do, assuming the DAC has a decent power supply.
I'm sensitive to fatigue, I prefer something chill over lively.
An option
I saw a Hegel H80 up for $1350 AUD, which I think is a great deal for a full system if it can do a decent job with the sus.
I would say give it a shot and see how it works. It will certainly drive the susvara. I found I enjoyed the susvara off of even a hdva600. Yes it does get better going up to higher end components but that amp will work. Mj3 drives susvara well.
Lake People/Niimbus is well known for that microscopic level detail retrieval. Second only to direct output from a Chord DAVE in that regard, but we all know DAVE's headphone output ain't gonna move Susvara's drivers to exciting presentation
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.