Definitely would start with source before anything else, I think you can improve from the Dave and Envy each on their own and potentially also find more synergistic systems (never heard the combo so maybe this one is amazing) but if I had to guess where there might be a bottleneck it would be the PC and Matrix side.
HiFiMan Susvara
Yes, I remember that amp was incredibly fast. That was my favorite part.
I personally use Innuos. Power supplies are designed by SJ too. There are many others out there.
Like with anything in this hobby, all depends on your appetite and wallet. Happy to move this to DMs for some ideas. Supporting Qobuz is a little trickier if you don't use Roon or Squeeze and still want to step away from the PC.
Susvara, as we all know, is very revealing of what it's fed. Your DAC and Amp are in that same camp, how much you want to invest in what's delivered to your amp is totally up to you! Can also climb the ladder nice and slow, the market has many more options than it used to.
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
I think my interconnects are decent enough, Neotech Sahara rca's. All my cables are boutique cables besides the headphone cable itself.
Yeah, swapped back to the Utopia's to see what I was missing, and the Utopia still sounds better(to me) in my system. The Susvara sounds slightly flat and uni-dimensional compared to the Utopia. The Susvara is the technically superior headphone. The susvara has a wider more spacious sound, more detailed (only slightly more), more tonally accurate( just slightly more), but the Utopia pulls me into the music more, the Susvara does not. It's probably my chain. The Utopia's just sound fuller, more dynamic, has more soul. Thinking about reselling the almost brand new set of Susvara's... I don't think I have the correct signal chain for it, but it's perfect for the Utopia's.
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
The Matrix x-spdif 2 could be swapped out. I use to have that in my chain. It really bottle necked my system.
I also use a pc to stream qobuz and audirvana.
My chain: PS Audio Power Plant Stellar 3(orange fuse)/Puritan PSM156(ultimate cable) -> PC with Jcat usb xe/ethernet xe cards (jcat/fidelizer lps) -> aq diamond usb -> holo may kte (zen wave PL11 pc)-> Neotech rca interconnect, Enleum 23R(sr purple fuse)(nep3200 pc)
Ferrum hypsos lps(nep3200 pc) -> uptone etherregen ->jcat ethernet card xe
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Polygonhell
100+ Head-Fier
The Utopia is a really underrated headphone, IMO pretty much defined by it's dynamics. Mine probably gets as much listening time as the Susvara's do, albeit on a very different source chain, and if push came to shove as much as I think the Susvara is the better headphone I might even keep the Utopia over the Susvara, but that's more a combination of things in my setups, the Susvara only plays well with one of my two setups.
They are just very different sounding headphones that need very different things from their sources.
The Susvara is a headphone some people seem to struggle to get, it's not a headphone I had that issue with, though I have with others I've ended up liking, but I do see it commonly reported.
I'd give them a week or three to see if they grow on you, but if you like where you are, I wouldn't start rebuilding your system around the Susvara just because other people like them.
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
Yeah, I'm on the fence on whether to spend the funds from reselling a brand new set of susvaras, on another pair of OG utopia's (just in case my first pair breaks), the 2022 utopia, or danacable nirvana for the Utopia's. It really is a shame how underrated the Utopia's are(it's good for me since I can just buy a brand new set for relatively "cheap"). I think Sajid really hit the nail on the head with his Utopia video.
draytonklammer
Headphoneus Supremus
If those were my options, I'd be grabbing the Utopia 2022. Just my two cents.
Thanks for sharing! This is the thing, I don't know if WA33 was actually the magic in the chain. I never tried AHB2 on another preamp. But from the way it amplifies the original WA33, I'm pretty convinced it doesn't add/change color, and I can certainly see AHB2 making a chain sterile or bass lacking. My strategy is to keep AHB2 and try different source/preamp. I have a Primaluna Evo 400 preamp which should arrive today. It'll be exciting to see how it fares against WA33.
When I add a 2 CH in my system I plan to get the mono dual ABH2. They are very transparent. With the tiniest amount of smoothing. Extremely neutral. I want the tube pre-amp to imbide the coloration ... etc
If you have a chain you're really happy with Utopia OG on it, I wouldn't start rebuilding around Susvara. Synergy with Utopia is imo just as hard to nail right as Sus is but can be achieved for much much cheaper than a TOTL Sus chain would end up costing.
I never had both the OG and 22 at the same time here, but I owned both and I'm guessing a very good OG focused chain wouldn't neccesarily be perfect for the 22. It would depend on your preferences and how warm your current chain might be (with OG might be perfect and than with 22 might be too much).
Personally I wouldn't trade a headphone for a cable but there are other good options to try out that can be very interesting if you haven't already. The first that comes to mind is Final D8000 Pro (or the Pro Limited Edition).
I can see what you mean by the "smoothing". WA33 + AHB2 makes susvara sound very much like speakers; it just removes that bit of "grain" which I can hear with WA33 alone. Plus the wide soundstage. Only time I heard something similar is on LCD-5 on wells audio headtrip 2 level 2 mono blocks.
I once tried many high end amps together, and it was very clear non-tube amps sounded boring to me. Tubes are a must to me now.
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