[801evan]

Come on. It doesn’t matter what others think - you’re right.

Even if 99% of people think one thing, you are right regardless of what side you are on.

and then you use facts to support your argument. Then it’s pointed out your facts are wrong yet they still support your argument.

that is something else. It’s brilliant

It’s like listening to a politician. And eventually they lose their credibility

it’s brilliant.
keep posting.…..please.

I see that you don't take it well when other ppl have a different opinion...that's based on facts.

 

[Articnoise]

I see that you don't take it well when other ppl have a different opinion...that's based on facts.

May be, but the question is whether you really understand the facts you are promoting .

 

[Gavin C4]

Holo May and E-480 for Susvara. Is actually a really good pairing. Golden and macro atmosphere and all details in the music is easily heard. The Susvara's stage have fully open up.

 

[thecrow]

I see that you don't take it well when other ppl have a different opinion...that's based on facts.

I like and respect other members opinions based on their own experiences.
- that’s one of the good things of this subjective hobby

Nonetheless let’s not bog each other (or the thread) down.

all the best

 

[acclimatise]

Holo May and E-480 for Susvara. Is actually a really good pairing. Golden and macro atmosphere and all details in the music is easily heard. The Susvara's stage have fully open up.

Accuphase is pretty good, I used e380 last year and I liked add some bass EQ.

 

[FooFighter]

Seems there is no amp even in that class where bass doesn't need to be equed for Susvara

 

[goldwerger]

Seems there is no amp even in that class where bass doesn't need to be equed for Susvara

I think this has much to do with personal taste.

On my Auris Nirvana, I find the bass very satisfying and accurate, not overly or underlying emphasized, but true to bow I imagine the recording may have sound (not that there’s anyone I can know). There are headphones with greater bass, but to me a less natural FR balance. I find the Susvara’s bass extends very low and is provided at the right level. If one wants higher than normal, that’s for EQ I guess (not my thing so can’t comment on that).

 

[EMINENT]

I betcha that if you had many people in the same room listening to the same setup rotating amps/dacs that you'd get differing opinions.

Who's gonna be the first to host such event?

 

[801evan]

I betcha that if you had many people in the same room listening to the same setup rotating amps/dacs that you'd get differing opinions.

Who's gonna be the first to host such event?

Let's call it CanJam.

 

[Paul Noir Culte]

I'm sorry. I'm shocked that you used 430ha to drive the 1266. In my opinion, 430ha does not have enough power, I have used it for more than a year, and I also used different fuses and power cables to strengthen it. I think the most suitable combination for it is the hd800s, which is its limit.
The amplifiers I have used : v281→430ha→gsx mk2→mass kobo 394ii→rkv solaris → pass int30a→accuphase e380→mark 585→ luxman l509x, I really don't think the 430 is suitable for planar headphones

According to the Abyss team, the new dCS Lina should be the best solid-state amp for their headphones.
2x Balanced 2W into 30Ω
2x Balanced 0.48W into 300Ω
2x Unbalanced 1.6W into 30Ω
2x Unbalanced 0.2W into 300Ω

For me, the Moon Neo 430 has more than enough power, I don't want to damage my hearing permanently.

 

[Somatic]

I do. I selectively apply +0.5 to +1.0 db around 2khz with fairly small Q (i.e., large bandwidth).



I heard Shang Jr with a couple of modded Stax amps and Mjolnir Carbon. They're voiced in very similar ways except Shang Jr has a little more energy around lower treble and is a bit rolled in the lower bass. All things considered, my preference goes to Sus. To me they both seem to have equivalent potentials (I can see one can substitute the other), but I found Sus has a way higher degree of freedom in amplifier options.

Cool. I was messing with something similar. Will try again. How low is your Q value? Thanks

 

[number1sixerfan]

We have got to stop feeding the same troll, on the same topic over and over and over and over lol

I get roped in, in the Dave thread, so I'm a hypocrite here. No judgement on my part lol

----------

Separate from that, I do think there would be more excitement and more of a following around the Susvara if we actually talked about its sonic signature rather than amps 24/7. To be very honest, I think the amplification synergy needs get blown out of proportion. Susvara sounded great out of all four amps I tried it from (GSX-mini, HSA-1b, WA33 and EVO400--hell even sounded great from my marantz power amp, just with less refined sound). WA33 and EVO definitely sounded better than the HSA-1b and Mini, but I could live with either of them tbh. I do think if you're chasing TC bass impact or quantity that maybe it's best just to go that route instead.

I've seen a few ppl mention that they're uninterested in the Susvara because of the pain in matching an amp for it, and I just think that's really unfortunate. But just my 2 cents and morning ramble.

 

[Articnoise]

We have got to stop feeding the same troll, on the same topic over and over and over and over lol

I get roped in, in the Dave thread, so I'm a hypocrite here. No judgement on my part lol

----------

Separate from that, I do think there would be more excitement and more of a following around the Susvara if we actually talked about its sonic signature rather than amps 24/7. To be very honest, I think the amplification synergy needs get blown out of proportion. Susvara sounded great out of all four amps I tried it from (GSX-mini, HSA-1b, WA33 and EVO400--hell even sounded great from my marantz power amp, just with less refined sound). WA33 and EVO definitely sounded better than the HSA-1b and Mini, but I could live with either of them tbh. I do think if you're chasing TC bass impact or quantity that maybe it's best just to go that route instead.

I've seen a few ppl mention that they're uninterested in the Susvara because of the pain in matching an amp for it, and I just think that's really unfortunate. But just my 2 cents and morning ramble.

I can not argue against what you say , but besides HE6 which is even more sensitive to the choice of amplifier, how Susvara sounds like depends largely on what gear you have up stream.

But lets do it your way. You have some nice headphones how is the Susvara sonic signature compared to them in your opinion and do you have any experience with a mod HE6 driven out of a good speaker amp?

 

[number1sixerfan]

I can not argue against what you say , but besides HE6 which is even more sensitive to the choice of amplifier, how Susvara sounds like depends largely on what gear you have up stream.

But lets do it your way. You have some nice headphones how is the Susvara sonic signature compared to them in your opinion and do you have any experience with a mod HE6 driven out of a good speaker amp?

Edit: should be downstream ofc.

I agree with you, amplification definitely can change it's signature a bit. And I don't want to silence the discourse in this thread, I know it will still mainly revolve around amps lol

As far as the Susvara compared to most of what I have or have owned, it is easily one of the most well balanced headphones ever. If I didn't acquire the SGL, I would absolutely have never sold it. I feel like the 009 very slightly outclasses it in most technical categories, but the Susvara is way smoother, with a better overall tonality while being very, very close technically. I actually listened to the Susvara most when I had them, followed by the 009 and then TC and then Sr1a.

The other thing I loved about them, is that when powered properly, they sound great at low volumes. A lot of other headphones I tend to want to crank up, so I can't use them while I work (I do a lot of writing). The Susvara I could play at lower volumes and enjoy without feeling like I needed to.

 

[Takarajima]

In discussing maximum output levels, I do think using rated power would be confusing at best and misleading at worst. This is largely because headphones are much easier load than speakers in that they pull a lot smaller current (remember I = V/R and usual speakers have nominal impedance between 4 and 8 ohms). My recommendation is to convert it to log-transformed voltage units such as dbu or dbV. This reduces potential confusion a lot.

Here is a little math.

2W and 30ohm --> 7.7 Vrms --> roughly 20 dbu
(I chose this because many decent dedicated headphones amplifier have similar power rating at 30ohm)

Susvara's measured impedance and sensitivity are 62.5 ohm and 80.6dbSPL/mW (as per Brent Butterworth at SoundStage). The latter converted into 90.4db at 0dbu input. Headphones input signal (= amps output signal) of 20dbu will result in 110dbSPL. This can be too loud for both headphones and human ears.

There are several more things to consider, including
1) Rated power is usually based on 1% THD+N. We may want cleaner operating ranges so that THD+N fall below 0.1% at least.
2) Many people, myself included, are not comfortable with volume pot all the right. If someone want to keep 10-11am, this means a fair amount of attenuation -- hard to generalize because potentiometers as well as stepped attenuators vary in volume curve (should check with pot's spec).
3) Amp's power rating mostly uses single tone. Using multi-tones and noise signals (white, pink, etc) might lower the rating a little. For more realistic consideration, recording's headroom and crest factors matter, too.

Last but not least, when we audiophiles talk about "power" or "driving", we may mean NOT loudness BUT something else (prol far more subjective thing)*. It's true if loudness upper boundary is insufficient, most subjective perceptions get worse.. but not necessarily the other way.

To sum, it's predictable to see if an amp A and headphones B can sound loud enough (but it's a bit trickier than spec sheet as I claimed above).. but let's not forget it may not be what we're looking after (no matter how we express languages)..

---
* I did test my Sus with a lot of different amplifiers (most recommended ones here, too).. While I do prefer Sus driven by some speakers amps such as AHB2 over good headphones amp like HPA4, I am under the impression it's not because of loudness. More because of something I'd associate with bass controls, macrodynamics, etc (multiple factors indeed -- all individually subtle tho).