[xtr4]

I have experience with those 3 amps you mentioned and unfortunately they are lack lustre with Susvara.

What floats my boat are Ultrasonic Studio amps with Susvara. https://ultrasonicstudios.org/odyssey/





So impressed I'm with the synergy, I'm ordering and waiting for a 300b version called Telemachus.

I hate you for sharing these lovelies. Time to check out their webpage again.

 

[UntilThen]

I hate you for sharing these lovelies. Time to check out their webpage again.

Pretty sure we’ve interacted before but I can’t remember where.

 

[orangecrescent]

Thank you everyone for your time and valuable information. I totally appreciate the fact that susvara requires potent amp to deliver its best. Browsing the forum I know it's going to be a very tedious and lengthy journey. The reason I asked about the comparison against hekv2 using the lesser amps is I want to know if I can notice a sound quality improvement at all, so that I can at least get some kind of an initial baseline reference point. If the answer is yes, then I'll see if I want to get it started. But if the answer is no, then I'll have to see what can or should I do before getting my feet wet. Thanks!

 

[dude120]

Thank you everyone for your time and valuable information. I totally appreciate the fact that susvara requires potent amp to deliver its best. Browsing the forum I know it's going to be a very tedious and lengthy journey. The reason I asked about the comparison against hekv2 using the lesser amps is I want to know if I can notice a sound quality improvement at all, so that I can at least get some kind of an initial baseline reference point. If the answer is yes, then I'll see if I want to get it started. But if the answer is no, then I'll have to see what can or should I do before getting my feet wet. Thanks!

Would get a better amp before I invest in the susvara if I were you.

This is just one guys's opinion. Feel free to take it with a grain of salt, but i went from the he1000se to the susvara and was not impressed with the susvara till I was able to try it on substantially more robust (and sadly more expensive) amps. In many respects I preferred the he1000 on the amps I had till I got a CFA3.

 

[hifixman]

Hifiman Susvara is my favorite headphone in my collection till today so much so that I don’t have to own another can, even it is not as detailed as TOTL Electrostatic cans, not beefy as Abyss 1266 TC, nor ethereal sounding as Sony R10. Yet The only change I want from SUS is more bass, authority and better low extension as I want a can that could combine Susvara and Abyss 1266 TC. There are many paths to reach that, including pads, DACs, isolation board…… Yet Wa23 is the most positive, organic, and effective means I have tried so far building various systems for Hifiman Susvara. Thank you @WooAudio for making my wish come true and I am happy to relentlessly hype this great great product since its debut.

 

[Ciggavelli]

That's impressive considering the line-up you have. Out of curiousity, how does the ES-R10 fare against the Sus?

The Susvara is technically better in all aspects compared to the ES-R10, but the ES-R10 has a sweeter sound and nice wood resonance, which I prefer from time to time. If I had to only keep one, it would be the Susvaras. The ES-R10 is kinda special though too, so I keep it around. There’s just something special about the sound. It’s hard to put into words.

 

[goldwerger]

Hifiman Susvara is my favorite headphone in my collection till today so much so that I don’t have to own another can, even it is not as detailed as TOTL Electrostatic cans, not beefy as Abyss 1266 TC, nor ethereal sounding as Sony R10. Yet The only change I want from SUS is more bass, authority and better low extension as I want a can that could combine Susvara and Abyss 1266 TC. There are many paths to reach that, including pads, DACs, isolation board…… Yet Wa23 is the most positive, organic, and effective means I have tried so far building various systems for Hifiman Susvara. Thank you @WooAudio for making my wish come true and I am happy to relentlessly hype this great great product since its debut.

R u using it as a preamp into the Riviera or as a standalone headphone amp?

 

[hifixman]

R u using it as a preamp into the Riviera or as a standalone headphone amp?

preamp more often to my loudspeaker systems and stand-alone to my Susvara for now in that I am still looking for better xlr to rca cables. Snake River is building me the custom adapter cable and I’m very excited to see how it connects my Riviera to Luna sonically considering how much I appreciate their clock cable.

 

[goldwerger]

preamp more often to my loudspeaker systems and stand-alone to my Susvara for now in that I am still looking for better xlr to rca cables.

as headphone amp, how do you like the Luna compared to the Riviera?

 

[hifixman]

as headphone amp, how do you like the Luna compared to the Riviera?

They are two different animals that I really wanna combine together. Riviera has more dimensions with an organic and smooth highly premium sound while Luna is a dynamic bass monster that roar and slam like no others.

Interestingly and comparatively, Rivera sounds as a top notch tube amp, and Luna sounds as the best solid state amp. They could perfectly complement and balance each other theoretically and hopefully with the right cables, which I have had some ideas of brands and models.

 

[iFi audio]

Yes the fantastic and awesome XL DC TT is a huge mass monster weighing in +90kg with the second arm tower.

The Kuzma 4 Point Tonearm is also awesome.

If I could describe the performance of this TT set-up in two words it would be; Rock Solid !

I know this turntable, I've heard it in several systems during various shows, so it's quite interesting seeing someone from this community using it just next to CH stuff

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I know this turntable, I've heard it in several systems during various shows, so it's quite interesting seeing someone from this community using it just next to CH stuff

There are some 'What's Best Forum' (WBF) members who have a Kuzma XL DC with CH Precision electronics.

Some WBF have the fully loaded CH Precision Mono Systems (also with full digital gear) connected to awesome speakers i.e. TOTL Rockport, Magico Wilson Benesch etc.

 

[hifixman]

Behind a successful system:

1. My ongoing experiments: How to realize better synergy with components

Finally I found out the factors causing that minor incoherence and unease matching my Riviera Power Amp to Wa23 Luna Preamp: 1, the incorrectness caused by Hifi Cables; 2, the inconsistencies in types of connection.

The overly tightness and unease were caused by the use of my favorite silver power cable. Since the control in this combination is already top notch, adding the silver cable will be too much of a good thing, causing unease and constriction.

The incoherence is cause by the xlr input from my DAC to the Pre-amp. As both units are single ended designed in nature, it is extremely important to also use RCA input from DAC to maintain the consistency of single ended transmission throughout the system in order to achieve better sonic coherence!

2, My takeaways: We audiophiles are engineers!

I always feel we audiophiles are all audio engineers in a sense. While we didn’t design the inner circuit, we also invested vast time testing and experimenting the connections of different typologies ( Balance vs. Single ended) with various types (AES, IIS, Coax, USB…) from copious brands.

The trial of various isolation, power, grounding, jitter purifier, master clock, and digital to digital conversion per se is in essence the process of source buidling.

It is revolutionary how different choices and combination could revolutionize the overall sonic performance, even as small as a cable connector.

3, My relationship with components: Polygamy

I opt to use the analogy of relationship to describe user experience of Hifi components in that it takes money, time, patience and errors and trials to get the grips of the personality of each component.

From the perspectives of system building, each well made component is just as a part in a single component. The knowledge of each component is crucial to make the whole system works.

Hifi is not monogamy, in that it takes commitment to each and every component in your system. Any single link, or detail could fundamentally affect the final result, as small as the choice of using xlr or rca in the case of my system building of Luna Pre and Rivera Power.

The game of HiFi is not just subjective speculation, data/measurement reading, or purely making assumptions. Behind a successful system is whole lotta first hand practice!

I am sure I will never use Luna as a stand-alone headphone amplifier anymore but only as a preamplifier with my Riviera AFC power amp to drive SUS. The basic structure of my end game system has been set.

 

[iFi audio]

There are some 'What's Best Forum' (WBF) members who have a Kuzma XL DC with CH Precision electronics.

Some WBF have the fully loaded CH Precision Mono Systems (also with full digital gear) connected to awesome speakers i.e. TOTL Rockport, Magico Wilson Benesch etc.

I'm aware, but WBF is heavily focused on stereo setups based on speakers. We all here enjoy primarily cans

 

[Bonesy Jonesy]

I'm aware, but WBF is heavily focused on stereo setups based on speakers. We all here enjoy primarily cans

Headphones in general are more sensitive to noise input from components than speakers. Therefore, for a good to excellent headphone rig, the hifi chain of components should be top notch to reduce such unwanted noise being added to the music signal and reaching the headphones.