[lunarhjs]

My source in California just called me and said that they're getting TT2 units in tomorrow and he can give me a review of the TT2 in comparison to the Niimbus on Friday. Some of the initial feedbacks for the Niimbus were impressive, but I know that in America, a number of Niimbus units have arrived under capacity with a manufacturing flaw. I was told the american voltage for the system was actually shipped in the european voltage. So some Niimbus's will need to be recalled. Of course I learned never to buy an electronic item at the beginning of its release and to at least wait a few months afterwards.

 

[ufospls2]

I haven't heard the Nimbus, but for those interested in the Susvara and HTT2, I posted some thoughts here a while ago.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hug...official-thread.879425/page-230#post-14661059

 

[jlbrach]

i just read your review and I must admit to being somewhat confused...I own the Dave and for a while i owned the IFI Pro can....when using it in balanced mode with my susvara i not only had no issue driving them but literally could do so on the lowest power level....in fact i was very surprised......out of the Dave direct you are correct the Susvara requires more power......the Dave however can drive the Abyss Phi quite nicely although from time to time an external amp is needed as well

 

[koven]

i just read your review and I must admit to being somewhat confused...I own the Dave and for a while i owned the IFI Pro can....when using it in balanced mode with my susvara i not only had no issue driving them but literally could do so on the lowest power level....in fact i was very surprised......out of the Dave direct you are correct the Susvara requires more power......the Dave however can drive the Abyss Phi quite nicely although from time to time an external amp is needed as well

What volume do you find DAVE needs driving Phi direct? Past -10dB?

 

[ufospls2]

i just read your review and I must admit to being somewhat confused...I own the Dave and for a while i owned the IFI Pro can....when using it in balanced mode with my susvara i not only had no issue driving them but literally could do so on the lowest power level....in fact i was very surprised......out of the Dave direct you are correct the Susvara requires more power......the Dave however can drive the Abyss Phi quite nicely although from time to time an external amp is needed as well

I'm sorry I don't understand what part you are confused about. The HTT2 drives the Susvara well, similar in terms of quality as the Pro iCAN, but its not as good as a good speaker amp. However, the clarity, and detail the HTT2 bring to the table are worth the trade off.

 

[gordec]

Because I have never been a detail freak, I never found Chord products all that enjoyable. I have owned Hugo 1 and Qutest, and they don't sound more dynamic or add more emotion into music than other DACs. I think it's more of a preference than downplaying Chord's technical achievements.

 

[jlbrach]

What volume do you find DAVE needs driving Phi direct? Past -10dB?

I find that i listen to the Abyss phi straight from the Dave most often from -15 to -3 with the occasional old jazz recording needing + 2-4

 

[jlbrach]

I'm sorry I don't understand what part you are confused about. The HTT2 drives the Susvara well, similar in terms of quality as the Pro iCAN, but its not as good as a good speaker amp. However, the clarity, and detail the HTT2 bring to the table are worth the trade off.

I am confused because you indicated that when you used the Ican Pro and susvara that you needed to turn the volume up quite high and i had the exact opposite experience

 

[iFi audio]

Did anyone compare the HE1000se to the Susvara?

Now that's a good question. We'd guess that HE-1000SE is softer, not as revealing and not as neutral, anyone can confirm?

 

[lunarhjs]

I got into the audiophile game in Jan 2018 and I sampled today my Susvara with a Hugo 2 and some of the songs sounded good, definitely better than I heard before, the vocals reminded me as gordec knows, stereoisomers regarding their spatial arrangements in space, but most of the songs sounded muddy and choppy. Not sure why. But I can tell the Hugo 2 isn't an ideal pairing to the Susvara. I was able to max out the volume of the Hugo 2 as well. Looking forward to trying the TT2 next month.

 

[gordec]

I got into the audiophile game in Jan 2018 and I sampled today my Susvara with a Hugo 2 and some of the songs sounded good, definitely better than I heard before, the vocals reminded me as gordec knows, stereoisomers regarding their special arrangements in space, but most of the songs sounded muddy and choppy. Not sure why. But I can tell the Hugo 2 isn't an ideal pairing to the Susvara. I was able to max out the volume of the Hugo 2 as well. Looking forward to trying the TT2 next month.

You are driving Susvara straight out of the H2? I tried use Susvara straight out of the balanced out of the Pro iDSD, it feels like I was crammed into an elevator. The P1 is the only amp that really brought the air out of the Susvara. Funny thing is even MHA100 out of the speaker taps sound smaller compared to the P1. I guess it's not just how much power and also about the quality of the power.

 

[rgs9200m]

I'm getting very good results with a DAVE/Niimbus/Susvara combination. I wrote my impressions a few weeks ago in one of the main Niimbus threads. And things have actually improved as time has gone on.
I'm quite happy with this chain.
It's very engaging and fine balance of liquidity, impact, bass quantity and quality, sweet non-fatiguing highs, and excellent detail and image placement. Textures are nice and plump


I am also getting fine results with a Utopia. The Utopia though is more picky about source material and is not as forgiving as the Susvara (which is one of the reasons I love the Susvara).

I find the Susvara is a big step up from the HEKv2, a much more compelling musical experience.

 

[lunarhjs]

You are driving Susvara straight out of the H2? I tried use Susvara straight out of the balanced out of the Pro iDSD, it feels like I was crammed into an elevator. The P1 is the only amp that really brought the air out of the Susvara. Funny thing is even MHA100 out of the speaker taps sound smaller compared to the P1. I guess it's not just how much power and also about the quality of the power.

Yes, I was driving straight out of the H2 as the H2 is claimed as a a dac and amp. Yes, the quality of the power does seem to be the reason.

 

[Slim1970]

You are driving Susvara straight out of the H2? I tried use Susvara straight out of the balanced out of the Pro iDSD, it feels like I was crammed into an elevator. The P1 is the only amp that really brought the air out of the Susvara. Funny thing is even MHA100 out of the speaker taps sound smaller compared to the P1. I guess it's not just how much power and also about the quality of the power.

I drive my Susvara’s out of the Pro iCan and it’s more than capable on the highest gain. There is more information to be had because when I use speakers taps my Susvara’s really excel. If the P1 alone can achieve the sound performance of speaker taps, I’d love to ear it one day for comparison.

 

[gordec]

I drive my Susvara’s out of the Pro iCan and it’s more than capable on the highest gain. There is more information to be had because when I use speakers taps my Susvara’s really excel. If the P1 alone can achieve the sound performance of speaker taps, I’d love to ear it one day for comparison.

P1 is truely an awesome amp at any value. It's not easy to get one. I wish another Susvara owner has heard of it, so I'm not alone on this one. If anyone in the Bay Area want to listen to it, welcome to come over. It sounds like it's designed for the Susvara.