Does it means 1266 suits me better if am using SET and Class A solid state ?
Again it's nothing to do with whether the amplifier is Class A or not. That doesn't matter.
It's about how powerful the amp is.
Also, personally I would never recommend buying a particular headphone based on the amp/dac you're using. Get the headphone you like most first, THEN find source gear that suits it not the other way around. Otherwise you'll be trying to 'fix' a headphone that doesn't suit your preferences with source gear changes. Instead of trying to make a headphone you DO like sound even better.
Source gear can make a substantial improvement, but the transducers will always have the biggest impact.
What about tube rolling to the point where you find the Susvara god like ?
Tube rolling can make a substantial difference but I've not heard any setup that I liked with susvara as much as several different solid state options.
Why go for AHB2 compare to other speaker amps ?
The AHB2 has several advantages:
- Compact, easy to fit on a desk
- Lowest noise floor of any speaker amp available (afaik this is still the case), to the point that it actually has more dynamic range from normal headphone listening levels than quite a few headphone amps do. This means that you can use any headphones you like straight from it without an impedance adapter. Whereas most speaker amps whilst they may work fine with Susvara connected directly, other headphones will need an impedance adapter otherwise the noise floor will be too high. However this inherently will change frequency response and result in poorer damping factor so it's less ideal.
The fact that I can run ALL my headphones on it, not just Susvara, is great.
- Actually not that expensive compared to other higher end speaker amps. Especially if you buy used (they show up often for $2500 ish)
- Benchmark themselves can't keep up with demand, so it's super easy to resell if you don't like it or want something else.
- Personally I think the AHB2 is a much better sounding speaker amp than a lot of other choices. Particularly in how it handles spatial cues and bass. Seriously the level of control this thing has in the low-end is nuts.
I use it as my main headphone amp for most of my headphones cause it sounds absolutely fantastic and I've not found anything else that was a better 'daily driver' amp for me yet.
What do you think for Benchmark HPA-4 + Susvara combo ?
I don't like the HPA4. I felt it sounded like a slightly better THX 789, which is sort of what it is.
It's not a $3500 headphone amp. It's a $3000 preamp (benchmark LA4) with an opamp based THX headphone amp module added on.
It sounded too sterile, thin and clinical for me.
Also, please do read my previous post, I mentioned most of this already