[tunes]

I've had the Phi for close to 2 years now , and the Susvara for about a year ish.
I posted somewhere in the Abyss thread about my journey to find a great amp for the Phi as driving it out of the DAVE directly lacks slam and excitement.
Long story short, i ended up with a EC studio after going through lots of amps ( GSX mk2, simaudio moon 430ha, ragnarok , v281, Liquid Gold, Milo and a couple more that ive had extended listening sessions at stores like the WA33/Headtrip). The Studio was the only amp that can keep up with the transparency and resolution of the DAVE to my ears.


As for the Susvara, i went through similar headphone amps, and tried 2 speaker amps ( first watt f7 , almarro 318b ).
From what ive experienced, the Susvara really benefits from the extra power. The slam , space and sense of rhythm is completely different when fed with enough power.
I personally still like the Susvara paired with the Studio(Spacious, extremely resolving). Not that this paring lacks dynamics, but i feel it doesnt have the dynamics compared to the speaker amps ive tried.But for now, I have yet to find a speaker amp that is transparent enough so im sticking to the Studio anyway.
Ive tried the Phis with the same speaker amps and they just dont sound as good as when paired with the studio. It was bloated, and the detail loss was too obvious. However, ive heard that some speaker amps like the simaudio moon 600i will do a great job with the Abyss, but ive yet to try.

For now, i can say that my amp journey for the Phi has ended, but i feel that im still a long way from the end of my amp journey for the Susvara.

The EC studio is more costly than I am willing to spring for and I am really looking for a solid state amp to drive the Susvara with transparency direct from Chord Dave balanced without a preamp. So far I have come up with two different options that may fit the bill for under $3K.

The Soundaware P1 balanced headphone amp versus more powerful First watt speaker amp J2 or F7 ($1k less but no balanced input). Finally, since I have a Chord Dave, wonder how the new Etude would pair with the Susvara. This could be a killer combination with Dave, Mscaler and Etude stack???

 

[gordec]

Can the balanced output of the Chord DAVE drive the P1 directly without a preamp and give a more transparent balanced output to the Susvara?

Yes. That's what I do. XLR out from pro iDSD to the P1.

 

[franz12]

Hifiman has updated their headphones over the last year. Explicitly for HEKv2 (HEKse) and implicitly for HEXv2 (ayra, ananda, the massdrop version), HE500 (probably sundara?).
I am speculating that the next target would be Susvara.

 

[Slim1970]

Hifiman has updated their headphones over the last year. Explicitly for HEKv2 (HEKse) and implicitly for HEXv2 (ayra, ananda, the massdrop version), HE500 (probably sundara?).
I am speculating that the next target would be Susvara.

The Susvara’s were the reason for the HEKse update. Hopefully we’ll get to enjoy these for at least a couple more years before they see an update.

 

[llamaluv]

- Bryston 2.5B SST2 (125w): Sounds neutral and by the books. Has a low-gain setting which gives it just 3dB more than the 25watt J2, actually. It has a low input impedance which may affect its matchability with resistor-based passive preamps. I just received this to power the RAAL SR1a for now, so not much else to say on it yet....

So this Bryston is actually very interesting.

Paired to the Susvara, it's revealing in the extreme, very fast, and very dynamic (125 watts...). It could almost be characterized as having a "raw" sound, which is, naturally, a double-edge sword. The First Watt J2 in contrast is smoother, more refined. And probably more "musical". But if you're a resolution fiend, you should be very curious.

Treble extension is great, and has tons of air. Dynamics are big, transients are sharp, and it decisively puts to rest any criticism that the Susvara sounds "too soft". Micro-detail and decay on low-level lingering sounds is great. It just offers a lot of expressivity in its ability to play the loud things loud and the soft things soft in a very controlled way. It's very neutral, but bass is very taught, unbloated, and deeply extended. So the cliche about an amp having a vice-like grip on the driver... that's what I'm hearing. One generalization I think I can make at this point based on the speaker amps I've heard with the Susvara is that 100-150 watts still isn't overkill, and kind of gives you more of everything.

When I initially had it hooked up to my resistor-based passive preamp, it sounded very bland, so the impedance ratio between the amp and preamp must have been much too low. It was only when I "mainlined" the DAC output directly into the amp (I know, I know, "Be careful!") that it's turned into a different amp as described above. But I do need to find a new preamp solution stat...

 

[lunarhjs]

Hifiman has updated their headphones over the last year. Explicitly for HEKv2 (HEKse) and implicitly for HEXv2 (ayra, ananda, the massdrop version), HE500 (probably sundara?).
I am speculating that the next target would be Susvara.

Hifiman will not be bringing out anything with a Susvara sequel. Hifiman has reached pretty much their endgame which is why they have 50k retailed headphones and are branching out into wireless pieces. Dr. Fang Bian, the creator, specifically told me when I questioned him about a Susvara 2 last week, that he's ran out of ideas. Which is believable. Normally I would think something is coming this year looking at calculable statistics but maybe in within a year or 2, marking 3-4 years since the original's released, he'll come up with an idea. But that next thing, I don't see it being an explosive godsend in new sonics compared to the current Susvara or HE1000se. Maybe 15% at most better. We'll see. But it does seem we reached near end game. Which is kind of good to know.

 

[lunarhjs]

Lol, maybe he'll come up with an idea to replace the gold with vibranium or a finer metal to increase the sonics.

 

[lunarhjs]

I heard Dr. Bian's Susvara on a TT2 and M Scaler and boy that things tough to drive. I maxed out the TT2 volume. I also paired it with Dave by itself and maxed out its volume. Something I wouldn't be able to do with a V2 or Se.

 

[Slim1970]

I heard Dr. Bian's Susvara on a TT2 and M Scaler and boy that things tough to drive. I maxed out the TT2 volume. I also paired it with Dave by itself and maxed out its volume. Something I wouldn't be able to do with a V2 or Se.

Did you drive it from the TT2's balanced outputs or headphone jack?

 

[lunarhjs]

Did you drive it from the TT2's balanced outputs or headphone jack?

I'm not familiar with the term balanced output, but I linked the 6.35 mm cable to the outer front portion of the TT2.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Everyone listens differently so one has to hear it for oneself. That is why we offer the 30-day money back guarantee.
If you happen to be attending CanJam NYC this weekend, come to room Royale to hear the Danacable Lazuli Ultra on a pair of Susvara for yourself, as compared to the stock cable. Both are fed by a Wells Head Trip amp playing music from a Modwright modded Oppo UDP-205.
Vinh Vu, Danacable

Crap! why didn't I know about this! I would've loved to hear this setup.

 

[bozebuttons]

Crap! why didn't I know about this! I would've loved to hear this setup.

That was last years Canjam,I bought the ultra.
They where not at this years Canjam,I was looking forward to hearing the new nivirna cable
Saved my self some money by not hearing it.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

That was last years Canjam,I bought the ultra.
They where not at this years Canjam,I was looking forward to hearing the new nivirna cable
Saved my self some money by not hearing it.

Ooh lol

 

[vtvu]

Sorry but that was a post from 2018. We were not at NYC CanJam this year.
But since you are in Lakewood NJ, PM me and we perhaps can make arrangements for you to hear such a demo as I am only about 20 minutes from you.
Vinh Vu

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

Sorry but that was a post from 2018. We were not at NYC CanJam this year.
But since you are in Lakewood NJ, PM me and we perhaps can make arrangements for you to hear such a demo as I am only about 20 minutes from you.
Vinh Vu

Lol, I noticed February but didn't notice 2018.