[mightyKyn]

Boom and here it is:

The minimal loss of “authority” in terms of driving the Susvara with the HTT2 vs. a speaker amplifier is absolutely worth the trade off for the extra clarity, detail and texture the HTT2 brings to the table.


Hi Guys!

I gave the Susvara a good listen last night with the HTT2, definitely 4-5 hours, and stayed up a bit too late enjoying the sound!

Here are some initial thoughts on the HTT2.

I was surprised how far I had to turn up the volume with the Susvara, I thought there would be more power/gain than there is (and yes I was on the High gain setting.) I am using the XLR outputs on the rear via an adapter as well. Interesting.

The HTT2 doesn’t have the same grip on the drivers, especially in the low end, as a good speaker amp with the Susvara. HOWEVER the HTT2 still works well with the Susvara, about on par with the iFi Pro iCAN in terms of power and grip on the Susvaras hard to power drivers. The thing is, I haven’t heard the Susvara sound as “good”, as clear, and as detailed, as I am hearing it with the HTT2 due to the superb DAC and lack of adding additional components in the chain to drive the headphones.

Compared to the DAVE direct output, there is no contest with the Susvara. With headphones that are easier to drive, the DAVE is definitely still the way to go, should you have the funds available and don’t mind spending that much on a single piece of gear. I think for hard to drive headphones, as you don’t have to put an amp in front of the HTT2, it is a better idea than the DAVE. At half the price, that is an attractive proposition.

As I was waiting for my HTT2 to arrive, I was using the iFi iDSD BL into a cheap Marantz speaker amplifier to drive the Susvara as I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a temporary set up. This set up had better control of the drivers, especially in the low end when playing difficult complex sub bass patterns in electronic music, BUT with regards to every other metric, the HTT2 absolutely smokes this previous set up. The iFi Micro iDSD BL set up sounded so thick and warm, and was missing those last details that high(er) end set ups bring to the table. The HTT2 is much brighter than the iDSD to Marantz set up, but it is not sibilant (thank god.) The clarity and detail from the HTT2 is superb, and I have only heard better from the DAVE while I still owned it.

The minimal loss of “authority” in terms of driving the Susvara with the HTT2 vs. a speaker amplifier is absolutely worth the trade off for the extra clarity, detail and texture the HTT2 brings to the table.
Regarding the comparison of the HTT2 to the DAVE in terms of DAC performance, not driving the Susvara, I will do my best from memory.

The DAVE is smoother in the treble, a tiny bit less warm and thick sounding than the HTT2, and it also brings more detail to the table. As Jude said in his original video about the HTT2, “The DAVE is still the flagship and sounds the part.” I agree with this.

However, you should go for the HTT2 IF

1. If you own hard to drive headphones (Abyss, Susvara, HE6se etc…) you should definitely purchase the HTT2 over the DAVE, unless you can afford a very transparent speaker amplifier to put in front of the DAVE. I couldn’t afford to own the DAVE, an amp like the Etude, and the Susvara and Abyss, so I chose to sell the DAVE and purchase the HTT2. I am still very happy with this decision.
   
   
2. You do not want to spend DAVE levels of money on a DAC/Headphone amp, and would prefer to allocate more money towards your headphones etc…
   
   
3. You want a cool big lighty up marble to control the volume.
   

The HTT2 is a superb all in one device. There truly isn’t much it can’t do. Drive speakers? Sure. Drive low efficiency headphones to sensitive IEMs? Sure no problemo. Want a superb DAC? Sure, here you go. Want to use the MScaler as well? Great! It will work seamlessly.

The HTT2 is an all around performer. It does not have the ultimate DAC quality of the DAVE, no. It makes that trade off to be what I would consider one of the best, and flexible all in one headphone source components in existence for half the price of the DAVE. Two thumbs up from me

 

[ufospls2]

Boom and here it is:

The minimal loss of “authority” in terms of driving the Susvara with the HTT2 vs. a speaker amplifier is absolutely worth the trade off for the extra clarity, detail and texture the HTT2 brings to the table.


Hi Guys!

I gave the Susvara a good listen last night with the HTT2, definitely 4-5 hours, and stayed up a bit too late enjoying the sound!

Here are some initial thoughts on the HTT2.

I was surprised how far I had to turn up the volume with the Susvara, I thought there would be more power/gain than there is (and yes I was on the High gain setting.) I am using the XLR outputs on the rear via an adapter as well. Interesting.

The HTT2 doesn’t have the same grip on the drivers, especially in the low end, as a good speaker amp with the Susvara. HOWEVER the HTT2 still works well with the Susvara, about on par with the iFi Pro iCAN in terms of power and grip on the Susvaras hard to power drivers. The thing is, I haven’t heard the Susvara sound as “good”, as clear, and as detailed, as I am hearing it with the HTT2 due to the superb DAC and lack of adding additional components in the chain to drive the headphones.

Compared to the DAVE direct output, there is no contest with the Susvara. With headphones that are easier to drive, the DAVE is definitely still the way to go, should you have the funds available and don’t mind spending that much on a single piece of gear. I think for hard to drive headphones, as you don’t have to put an amp in front of the HTT2, it is a better idea than the DAVE. At half the price, that is an attractive proposition.

As I was waiting for my HTT2 to arrive, I was using the iFi iDSD BL into a cheap Marantz speaker amplifier to drive the Susvara as I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a temporary set up. This set up had better control of the drivers, especially in the low end when playing difficult complex sub bass patterns in electronic music, BUT with regards to every other metric, the HTT2 absolutely smokes this previous set up. The iFi Micro iDSD BL set up sounded so thick and warm, and was missing those last details that high(er) end set ups bring to the table. The HTT2 is much brighter than the iDSD to Marantz set up, but it is not sibilant (thank god.) The clarity and detail from the HTT2 is superb, and I have only heard better from the DAVE while I still owned it.

The minimal loss of “authority” in terms of driving the Susvara with the HTT2 vs. a speaker amplifier is absolutely worth the trade off for the extra clarity, detail and texture the HTT2 brings to the table.
Regarding the comparison of the HTT2 to the DAVE in terms of DAC performance, not driving the Susvara, I will do my best from memory.

The DAVE is smoother in the treble, a tiny bit less warm and thick sounding than the HTT2, and it also brings more detail to the table. As Jude said in his original video about the HTT2, “The DAVE is still the flagship and sounds the part.” I agree with this.

However, you should go for the HTT2 IF

1. 
   
   
   • If you own hard to drive headphones (Abyss, Susvara, HE6se etc…) you should definitely purchase the HTT2 over the DAVE, unless you can afford a very transparent speaker amplifier to put in front of the DAVE. I couldn’t afford to own the DAVE, an amp like the Etude, and the Susvara and Abyss, so I chose to sell the DAVE and purchase the HTT2. I am still very happy with this decision.
   • You do not want to spend DAVE levels of money on a DAC/Headphone amp, and would prefer to allocate more money towards your headphones etc…
   • You want a cool big lighty up marble to control the volume.

The HTT2 is a superb all in one device. There truly isn’t much it can’t do. Drive speakers? Sure. Drive low efficiency headphones to sensitive IEMs? Sure no problemo. Want a superb DAC? Sure, here you go. Want to use the MScaler as well? Great! It will work seamlessly.

The HTT2 is an all around performer. It does not have the ultimate DAC quality of the DAVE, no. It makes that trade off to be what I would consider one of the best, and flexible all in one headphone source components in existence for half the price of the DAVE. Two thumbs up from me

Funnily enough. I am selling the HTT2, and now use a better speaker amp with my Susvara ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Mystel]

The Speaker amp itself has to be good , its not a matter of speaker amp vs non speaker amp.
Just like headphone amps, there are average speaker amps, good speaker amps, and even better ones. I dont find it right to generalize it as speaker amps as a whole, having heard only a few.
Funny enough, the few speaker amps ive tried all have different sound signatures, and different sound qualities, if you will. Resulting in different results with the Susvara pairing

And as ive said before, i cant sense any loss of detail or clarity or whatsoever adding a 700i to the chain vs the mDAVE direct.

 

[Matez]

average speaker amps, good speaker amps, and even better ones.

Agreed. I have some banana cables ready and three different power amps to play with. All I need now is some time to have a proper sit down and listen. I'll take my time with this, oh yes I will.

 

[iFi audio]

Different strokes for different folks.

Yup, exactly. The more options there are, the better. But it's quite clear that regular regular stereo amps gained some luv as headphone machines. Is this a trend of sorts, or will it fade away? What do you folks think?

 

[ineztia]

Entered the world of speaker amps, I found all my headphones (AKG K701 / HD800 / Abyss 1266 / Susvara)

Slightly off-topic, but arguably not-really:

A couple weeks ago as a test I connected my Pass Lab X150.8 speaker amp -- which I use for the Susvara and SR1a -- to my recently re-acquired Utopia, and have been pretty much blown away by the results. I gushed about it here.

Point being that a good speaker amp can potentially have good synergy with all sorts of headphones, not just the hardest-to-drive ones (though even more caution than usual should be exercised, naturally). So Susvara + speaker amp owners may want to eye their headphone collections with this in mind...

Can't agree more, all my headphones **AKG K701 / HD800 / Susvara / Abyss 1266 phi** sounds "level up" when they connected to descent speaker amps.

 

[Oregonian]

Yup, exactly. The more options there are, the better. But it's quite clear that regular regular stereo amps gained some luv as headphone machines. Is this a trend of sorts, or will it fade away? What do you folks think?

I got into vintage speaker amps about 6 years ago and am amazed at the quality and depth of sound..................running my old HE-6 and now new HE-6SE confirms for me just how lucky I was to give them a try. They even run my Denon LA7000's extremely well, even though some "experts" would say they are overpowered. Nope..............sound amazing. It's just a shame that many folks won't even give them a try. Their loss.......

 

[Articnoise]

I have used a speaker amp for all my headphones for 4 years now. Not as long as Oregonian, but long enough to know that if one use a good quality speaker amp and follow some basics safety rules it is both safe and hassle free. The rule is the better the amp is the better the ultimate sound will be. No exceptions. My Moon 600i which can be found for a good price used really plays in another class than my Master 9 and Marantz PM11.

 

[Matez]

I got into vintage speaker amps about 6 years ago and am amazed at the quality and depth of sound..................running my old HE-6 and now new HE-6SE confirms for me just how lucky I was to give them a try. They even run my Denon LA7000's extremely well, even though some "experts" would say they are overpowered. Nope..............sound amazing. It's just a shame that many folks won't even give them a try. Their loss.......

Early on I thought that speaker amps were designed to work nicely with 8/4 ohms products, hence not headphones. But once I've tried it, there's really something in there to dig into.

 

[Articnoise]

Early on I thought that speaker amps were designed to work nicely with 8/4 ohms products, hence not headphones. But once I've tried it, there's really something in there to dig into.

Speaker amps are designed to work with speakers with rather low average impedance. Lower than headphones. Not many speakers have the exact same impedance in all frequencies thou, and can have both higher and lower than what is stated as their average impedance at some parts of the frequency. Also a higher impedance is normally an easier load for an amp.

 

[Zhanming057]

Early on I thought that speaker amps were designed to work nicely with 8/4 ohms products, hence not headphones. But once I've tried it, there's really something in there to dig into.

Being engineered for low (and uneven WRT the FR) impedance means that speaker amps are more often than not overengineered.

As an illustration, here's a $5,000-ish Accuphase amp. Note the massive, double-shielded power transformer and the cap array, and the custom PCB to handle large loads on the taps:

Compare this to a Headtrip 2, which is (nominally) the more expensive amp. Bleh.

 

[iFi audio]

Looks like Accuphase inside alright!

The P-4200 is their entry level!

 

[lambdastorm]

This mad lad in China reached out to hifiman and had them custom-build a Susvara for him. What little grill there is is completely gone, and the drivers are slightly tweaked to have an even lower sensitivity. Below are some photos of his 3 Susvaras. The last one custom-built. He reported better transparency and said the sound is now 'devoid of any grain', and 'stripped of the last bit of haze' from the pleb Sus.

 

[me2621a]

I have spent the past few weeks with a Susvara and I am really quite amazed... I use it with an Ampsandsound Mogwai SE (about 5 watts out of 8ohms with the 6l6gc and a 5ar4) easily beats out all of my other phones to my ears, I am not sure why it took me so long to listen to a pair of these, but at least it finally happened haha.

 

[iFi audio]

This mad lad in China reached out to hifiman and had them custom-build a Susvara for him. What little grill there is is completely gone, and the drivers are slightly tweaked to have an even lower sensitivity. Below are some photos of his 3 Susvaras. The last one custom-built. He reported better transparency and said the sound is now 'devoid of any grain', and 'stripped of the last bit of haze' from the pleb Sus.

Does it get any crazier than this? Just asking...