[PortableAudioLover]

the power man creates an incredibly black background and to my ears a wider soundstage....the black background makes details stand out and bass be more prominent IMHO

When you say blacker background, this is heard when music is playing right ?

 

[FLTWS]

the power man creates an incredibly black background and to my ears a wider soundstage....the black background makes details stand out and bass be more prominent IMHO

can you please briefly comment on the upgrades brought forth by the powerman ?

Never having tried to do much in the way of comparing with and without (other than the first couple of days I had these units) I can say the bass and mid bass with Powerman give the entire frequency spectrum a more solid foundation. I suspect that most of the folks here on Head-Fi are focused on more popular genres than I and matters of bass impact, or slam as it is referred to, or sustained intensity, are important factors. My meat and potatoes is full blown orchestral music where the deepest most powerful bass is a spice and not the entree providing for a wider range in dynamic changes. The deepest bass producing instruments underpin the rest of the orchestra giving it legs, power, even though the duration is short and not always very often during the course of a composition it is essential as far as I'm concerned. With the Powerman I've never considered the bass area lacking in any way or in need of help, it doesn't run out of steam. When I added the Powerman it was apparent to me that I preferred the Formula S with it rather than without, I didn't give it much thought after that. If the recording gets it right the Powerman will deliver the goods, at that point its up to the transducer.

 

[TDinCali]

if I didnt know the power ratings I would think the bakoon and formula s/powerman about on par...although if pushed I would say the bakoon may be slightly better with the susvara....one has to have the powerman for the comparison to be valid because it makes a HUGE difference

I’d love to hear your impressions of the Susvara with the Bakoon versus the Formula S w/Powerman. I have the XI audio rack (dac, amp, Powerman) and I’m considering the Bakoon, thinking that the formula S w/Powerman is not getting everything out of the susvaras.

 

[tunes]

I’d love to hear your impressions of the Susvara with the Bakoon versus the Formula S w/Powerman. I have the XI audio rack (dac, amp, Powerman) and I’m considering the Bakoon, thinking that the formula S w/Powerman is not getting everything out of the susvaras.

Given the marginal differences between the FormulaS/PM combo and the Bakoon for both Susvara and Abyss would think that the simpler, leaner total electronic components of the latter would be more transparent especially when paired with CHORD DAVE. Rob, the engineer behind the DAVE always makes the point that adding any amp in the chain reduces some of the SQ compared to DAVE direct.

 

[jlbrach]

I’d love to hear your impressions of the Susvara with the Bakoon versus the Formula S w/Powerman. I have the XI audio rack (dac, amp, Powerman) and I’m considering the Bakoon, thinking that the formula S w/Powerman is not getting everything out of the susvaras.

I will be honest, last night I hooked up my formula/powerman combo to listen to my susvara after listening to the bakoon...the bakoon has a bit more heft perhaps and a bit more grunt but the formula/powerman is damn good and damn close....in terms of the abyss I would say they are about even...with the susvara I would rate the bakoon a bit better but not enough to make a change...if I was going to buy an amp and didnt have one I would choose the bakoon due to its remarkable form factor and remote which matters a lot to me...that said they are both at the top of the pyramid in terms of amps for TOTL HP's and unless you paid dramatically more I am not sure you can do better

 

[tunes]

I will be honest, last night I hooked up my formula/powerman combo to listen to my susvara after listening to the bakoon...the bakoon has a bit more heft perhaps and a bit more grunt but the formula/powerman is damn good and damn close....in terms of the abyss I would say they are about even...with the susvara I would rate the bakoon a bit better but not enough to make a change...if I was going to buy an amp and didnt have one I would choose the bakoon due to its remarkable form factor and remote which matters a lot to me...that said they are both at the top of the pyramid in terms of amps for TOTL HP's and unless you paid dramatically more I am not sure you can do better

 

[tunes]

Which one is better for the Abyss if you are eventually lucky enough to own both HPs and want only one amp for both??

 

[jlbrach]

in terms of the abyss I call it a wash.....I could be equally happy with either one and it makes sense since the formula combo was designed for the abyss....in terms of the susvara the edge goes to the bakoon although certainly not dramatically

 

[Slim1970]

in terms of the abyss I call it a wash.....I could be equally happy with either one and it makes sense since the formula combo was designed for the abyss....in terms of the susvara the edge goes to the bakoon although certainly not dramatically

Do you use the Dave/Blu II as the DAC for both the Bakoon and Formula S/Powerman?

 

[TDinCali]

Thanks! I pretty much just canceled my Bakoon order. The difference between the two amps for the Susvara is just not big enough for me to justify spending $6k for the amp.

Back to the drawing board.

 

[jlbrach]

Do you use the Dave/Blu II as the DAC for both the Bakoon and Formula S/Powerman?

yes

 

[jlbrach]

Thanks! I pretty much just canceled my Bakoon order. The difference between the two amps for the Susvara is just not big enough for me to justify spending $6k for the amp.

Back to the drawing board.

the formula combo is so good that while you might get a bit of improvement you are already at the top of the ss headphone amp chain unless you spend an absolute fortune

 

[tunes]

Thanks! I pretty much just canceled my Bakoon order. The difference between the two amps for the Susvara is just not big enough for me to justify spending $6k for the amp.

Back to the drawing board.

Is the Formula combo not close in price to the Bakoon solo? Obviously it doesn’t make sense to have both amps so pick one or the other but not both. If you have. Susvara but one day may also have the Abyss (after robbing a bank), then the Bakoon is the better choice IMO.

 

[TDinCali]

Is the Formula combo not close in price to the Bakoon solo? Obviously it doesn’t make sense to have both amps so pick one or the other but not both. If you have. Susvara but one day may also have the Abyss (after robbing a bank), then the Bakoon is the better choice IMO.

I started with the 1266 and the formula s and added the Susvara afterwards. I was assuming that I was missing a fair amount of performance out of the Susvara but it sounds like that’s not the case.

 

[jlbrach]

some might say you are, IMHO as an owner of both and having heard several other amps both more and less powerful etc I believe if I had to buy a new amp not having one already I would choose the bakoon because not only is it a fantastic amp but also it is very attractive(my opinion of course)...it takes up virtually no space and it has a remote...the formula s combo is absolutely a TOTL headphone amp and the differences at this level are a matter of degree and very subjective...there are some fine amps out there which simply cannot drive the susvara properly but the formula s combo is not one of them