[Bonesy Jonesy]

Which companies apart from msb manufacture modular dacs ? And kindly put some light on upgradation friendly dacs manufacturing companies (timely software update support / firmware updates / hardware upgrade ).

dCS are one company.

 

[cangle]

Which companies apart from msb manufacture modular dacs ? And kindly put some light on upgradation friendly dacs manufacturing companies (timely software update support / firmware updates / hardware upgrade ).

Schiit and Bricasti do. Bricasti more so but both offer upgrades.

 

[goldwerger]

Schiit and Bricasti do. Bricasti more so but both offer upgrades.

Bricasti upgraded their digital board couple of years ago (the MDx board, which was updated to its network bridge, clock, and DAC), and customers could send their DAC to them for upgrade (I bought mine post upgrade).

 

[Olmanwood123]

Best DAC for Susvara?

Weiss DAC502. Works well with all headphones I have tried. Amp will depend on personal tastes.

 

[SuperBurrito]

Visit a local dealer, do not buy blind, do not burn $20k.

For sure once you get to a certain DAC level, the total price of the system increases exponentially since everything matters so much. An amazing equipment stand, cables, etc. are not going to matter much at all for a $1k DAC. But if you're going to spend $10-$20k+ DAC then every single other aspect of your system can become the weakest link and may need to be upgraded. There was a recent article about this hifi phenomenon (The law of increasing marginal returns).

 

[Polygonhell]

Let’s say up to 20k?

I use a Lampizator Pacific, balanced with the pre option, it was about that used with some additional tubes.
It's way more DAC than I could rationally justify for a headphone system even with the Susvara, it was a clear step up from the Chord Dave I was using, but so were several other DAC's I tried at a similar price point. It really does come down to system synergy (how it pairs with the Amp), and what you're looking for TBH.
DAC's at least the more common ones are relatively easy to try at retail stores, so go listen, there are a lot of options, many of them not commonly lusted after on forums that are good none the less.

 

[Frankie D]

Weiss DAC502. Works well with all headphones I have tried. Amp will depend on personal tastes.

This has some great reviews. Thanks for the rec.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Visit a local dealer, do not buy blind, do not burn $20k.

No matter what you end up doing, you end up taking a leap of faith in all high end product purchases. That's because it is next to impossible to A/B test various TOTL offerings. And, even when you do, it's not clear how that component will sound in your own system. So, I go through a lot of trial and error. So far pretty happy with my purchases, but I am sure I could have done better. What would be really great is if I could demo a product for a week in home for a fee to trial run a product, a combination of products or a competing set of products before committing to it. I wish someone would create that business model.

 

[tawmizzzz]

Thanks!!

Hopefully someone here may have heard both the Enleum and Ferrum. I’m really curious how those compare with the Susvara…

My units were not fully burned-in when I did the comparison so take it with a grain of salt, but the 23R had more dynamics and energy with the Susvara with a slightly dryer presentation meanwhile I felt the OOR had a bit more of a "natural" touch in the mids for the Susvara, albeit laid-back. Both were used through either a Spring 3 DAC or the iDSD Pro Signature DAC + preamp. 23R was also a bit darker in the higher registries than OOR Hypsos to my ears.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Just installed the Dekoni FSS pads, It really is an upgrade in terms of comfort and seal.

The OG pads would get a bit damp and itchy after a while, but the FSS pads seem to solve that issue. On top of that, there seems to be a better seal which helps with the lowest frequencies.

 

[goldwerger]

My units were not fully burned-in when I did the comparison so take it with a grain of salt, but the 23R had more dynamics and energy with the Susvara with a slightly dryer presentation meanwhile I felt the OOR had a bit more of a "natural" touch in the mids for the Susvara, albeit laid-back. Both were used through either a Spring 3 DAC or the iDSD Pro Signature DAC + preamp. 23R was also a bit darker in the higher registries than OOR Hypsos to my ears.

Thanks! Another very helpful perspective. Really appreciate it.

 

[Somatic]

Just installed the Dekoni FSS pads, It really is an upgrade in terms of comfort and seal.

The OG pads would get a bit damp and itchy after a while, but the FSS pads seem to solve that issue. On top of that, there seems to be a better seal which helps with the lowest frequencies.

Interesting. I have the same pads. I noticed a looser fit produces a bit more bass.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Interesting. I have the same pads. I noticed a looser fit produces a bit more bass.

A loose fit may give a sight bump above 30hz, but it lowers the frequency response around 20hz. But I also wear glasses, so that could be giving me a different experience as well.

 

[FiGuY1017]

One question to Dekoni pads users: they seem to have the same measurements as stock pads, is that right? How come then they would provide a wider soundstage? If I pull slightly both speakers away from my ears (with original pads) I love the improvement! Better soundstage and more air. Could Dekoni Audio Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin Replacement Ear Pads provide me with that?

I noticed when I swapped for Dekoni fss, imaging was increased, a little less lush in mid-range but more lively and soundstage was increased, according to my ears, but the biggest difference I've noticed for soundstage was with amps, with Flux Labs Volot it is huge in every direction and depth is very deep.

 

[Gavin C4]

Best DAC for Susvara?

I have owned several DACs and some have passed and some have stayed. I would skip those lower-priced DACs in this post as we are at the summit tier here.

I have paired the Susvara through the Ferrum Hypsos OOR with, dCS Bartok, dCS Rossini, Holo May, Chord Dave. While all these DACs are very detailed, they do have different tuning. Listening on the Dave the color tone is white, while listening to the dCS Rossini pairing the color tone is Light Golden. While the Holo May is caramel. I would say dCS Bartok and Chord Dave will be on the highly analytical side of things. Holo May focuses on the macro stage and warmer. While dCS Rossini is right there in between, with the best of both worlds, very neutral while everything is presented naturally with the body. In direct comparison, Chord Dave feels things are slightly skeletal. This is mostly personal preference, I like mids with a good amount of body and natural presentation. I felt that Dave be slightly too analytical and detailed for my taste.

I ended up favoring the dCS Rossini and queueing up for the Apex Upgrade. I actually prefer a DAC with streaming ability, so that I could stream music from Tidal and my NAS and turn off all unnecessary electronic components including the PC, and only use an iPad and Laptop while intensive listening. Because I could still hear the fan noise from my PC when putting on headphones.

An absolute dead silent and the comfortable listening room actually offers greater upgrades compared to moving up the ladder in your gear.