Further to my post of June 18 (p.263), Soo In Chae ran some tests on a QA401 analyzer on Bakoon 13-R relating to Susvara and provided me with info as well as graphs (if anyone is interested in the latter please PM me). Here's a data summary (all tests at 60 ohms resistance), followed by some of...

Is yours level 1 or level 2?

My objective would be to get gain figures at minimal distortion so I'd know how loud I could play the Susvara with Bakoon straight out of my Marantz SA-KI Ruby SACD/DAC, which outputs the standard 2v for CDs and 2.4v for SACDs Meanwhile I've solved my problem by adding a preamp to the chain. But...

As I understand it (and I have no real understanding of electronics, so please correct anything I say!): power is related to slam/grunt//headroom (measured in watts); gain is related to volume, stated as dBs. Gain is a measure of usable amplification, essentially the ratio of maximum output...

I don't doubt that it sounds good with Susvara since everyone here who's heard the combination has been impressed, not to mention the reviews. But whether it's going to be loud enough for different listeners is something that only gain figures at acceptable THD can provide. They could easily...

Agreed that specs can be meaningless, but they can also point to possible problems. In terms of this spec, it doesn't tell us much - although that they are quoting the SNR at less than 0.5% THD is itself not encouraging, because 0.5% is pretty high. One question is, are they quoting the SNR at...

There are no distortion figures listed in the specs of the 13R. And there's another issue if you'd want to use it with headphones much more sensitive than the Susvara. To quote Torq from the Bakooon thread in the headphones.com forum on May 7: It’s really an integrated speaker amp, that happens...

What amp are you using these days with the Susvara - Benchmark HPA-4? Its rated power is 6w at 16 ohms - so that would be around 1.5w at 60 ohms, and a lot of Susvara owners say that's not really enough to drive them optimally. Having just bought a pair I'm interested in any advice. I mostly...

I'm surprised that most cable makers don't supply measurements of their products, but maybe they're afraid to. The DIY silver cable that I'm using now (and that has the wrong connectors for the Susvaras) measures 11pF/foot = 34pF/metre, and it was designed to have as low capacitance as possible...

Double post.

So Matt, which cable would you prefer with the Susvaras, assuming you've heard them with the Hybrid? I have used DIY OCC silver cables with my hp amps and have liked their wide-open highs, so I doubt the Hybrid would be too bright. Or, maybe I should wait for the new cable you're working on?

I see though that in the HiFi Knights Susvara/5 amps test you guys used the HPC Mk2 rather than the Hybrid. but from what you're saying here it seems the Hybrid would be better for them.

I also much prefer the LCD3F to the HEDDphone and posted in some detail about this a month or more ago. At that time one member theorized that this preference was probably the result of my amp and/or hearing; someone else suggested that there could be major unit-to-unit variation, and now people...

I'd be interested in what power you all think is required to drive these phones properly. I've seen figures in the 1-3 watt range. My amps are both within that range, so I doubt they are the problem. I'm concerned that I may have a sub-par unit - they were probably part of a batch that...

It's true, but with mine at least the pitches are the same, and the ringing is somewhat damped (I've heard worse). The LCD-3F and Stax 009 grilles do not ring when tapped. If you purchased from Headphones.com let me know if you get a response - I haven't been able to over the last couple of weeks.