[Shahrose]

Grab a session with the X350.8 to open headroom and lift softness compared to the XA25 -- even the INT-150 closes that gap although it still is a little relaxed.

Is something that monstrous necessary to alleviate the softness? I was close to blind-purchasing an XA30.8 for its balanced ins. Would appreciate your thoughts.

 

[paradoxper]

Is something that monstrous necessary to alleviate the softness? I was close to blind-purchasing an XA30.8 for its balanced ins. Would appreciate your thoughts.

It's just the context. The Pass line aren't inherent in softness except when you start comparing to other gears that are a little more forward.

So yes, IME the Pass have a more relaxed (wonderfully smooth) dense, and enveloping large sound. The X350.8 and XS 300 have a more authoritative presentation to them.
I'm not running monos for headphones, so presently I've decided to keep the INT-150 and complement with the CFA3 which is far more forward and dynamic.

The XA30.8 will be a bit better than the XA25. But of course, I will invite you to make that judgement. Go for it!

 

[ra990]

I would try these Dekoni fenestrated sheep skin pads before another amp. They have really changed the character of the Susvaras and made them a bit crispier and fun. Susvaras don't sound soft to me with them at all. Also, my ear lobes are no longer touching the headphone, so that's nice. They used to get a little itchy rubbing up against the lining of the stock pads.

 

[townes]

I was following closely the discussion about the benefit of a speaker amp for the Susvara. I have the Susvara since a few months driven by a Benchmark HPA4. The Susvara replaced a HD800S. The Susvara was of course better but I must admit, I expected more. I still preferred the BHSE/Stax SR009 combo.
Curious to find out how much improvement a speaker amp could provide, I ordered a LQi adapter cable (speaker taps to XLR). I used my speaker rig for testing. I can only say, I am overhelmed, I never heard a headphone this good!
I am afraid, I won't be able to resist and go for a XA 25 or XA 30.8. Then I will see, what's preferable for my desktop rig, either:
Tambaqui DAC > HPA4 as Preamp > Pass amp or
Tambaqui DAC > Pass amp. (The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC provides a digital volume control).

Thinking about XA 30.8 vs XA 25: the XA 25 is less expensive and the newer design but has only single ended inputs and slightly less power... not yet sure...

 

[gwos]

I was following closely the discussion about the benefit of a speaker amp for the Susvara. I have the Susvara since a few months driven by a Benchmark HPA4. The Susvara replaced a HD800S. The Susvara was of course better but I must admit, I expected more. I still preferred the BHSE/Stax SR009 combo.
Curious to find out how much improvement a speaker amp could provide, I ordered a LQi adapter cable (speaker taps to XLR). I used my speaker rig for testing. I can only say, I am overhelmed, I never heard a headphone this good!
I am afraid, I won't be able to resist and go for a XA 25 or XA 30.8. Then I will see, what's preferable for my desktop rig, either:
Tambaqui DAC > HPA4 as Preamp > Pass amp or
Tambaqui DAC > Pass amp. (The Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC provides a digital volume control).

Thinking about XA 30.8 vs XA 25: the XA 25 is less expensive and the newer design but has only single ended inputs and slightly less power... not yet sure...

Ha, another guy got infected

You will or you have listened to Pass (as the picture suggests)? I'll be curious about the difference between XA25 and XA30.8. From what I read today it seems that XA25 is much better than its 30-watt counterpart, in terms of components and technology.

 

[ra990]

Ha, another guy got infected

You will or you have listened to Pass (as the picture suggests)? I'll be curious about the difference between XA25 and XA30.8. From what I read today it seems that XA25 is much better than its 30-watt counterpart, in terms of components and technology.

One benefit of the XA25 is that it seems to have just the right amount of gain for the Susvara. I can turn my DAC/pre up and get nice volume control. If you go with an amp with too much more power, you'll end up having to attenuate the source to keep the volume reasonable on the Susvara. That's never good, you want as much of the source signal as possible with the least amount of attenuation. XA25 seems to be perfect in this regard.

 

[townes]

Ha, another guy got infected

You will or you have listened to Pass (as the picture suggests)? I'll be curious about the difference between XA25 and XA30.8. From what I read today it seems that XA25 is much better than its 30-watt counterpart, in terms of components and technology.

Yes, in my speaker rig, I use an XP32 preamp and a X250.8 power amp.

 

[donato]

I believe the XA25 is the most quiet amp that Pass makes at less than 50uV of noise. Many of the other Pass amps have 200uV noise (including the XA30.8, my 150.5, etc.), which may be an issue if you use this setup with other more sensitive HPs than the Susvara. With my X150.5, hum/noise was noticeable with the LCD-4 and was obtrusive with any sensitive headphones, but not noticeable with the Susvara. With the XA25, there is a very very slight hum/buzz I can hear with my sensitive headphones if no music is playing.

I used to be a "balanced is better" person, but it is never that simple. It's always in the implementation and the use case. The XA25 seems to follow a less is more implementation by Pass. It doesn't use a big bank of output devices, so the power is limited. For inefficient speakers, this might be a non-starter, but this actually makes it more ideal for a lower power use like an inefficient headphone like the Susvara.

Here's the output board for an XA25

Here's the output board for .8 amp with 28 mosfets.

 

[jonnyt211]

My review of the Hifiman Susvaras:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-susvara.22588/reviews#item-review-25200

Excellent review.

Any thoughts of the A90 as a preamp into the Roksan K3?

The price of the A90 and power K3 isn't too much more than a gsx-mini.

 

[Roasty]

https://apos.audio/products/singxer-sa-1-fully-balanced-amplifier?_pos=1&_sid=118d90404&_ss=r

This looks like a decent amp with good connectivity. Looks to also have enough power for susvara..

 

[Sajid Amit]

Excellent review.

Any thoughts of the A90 as a preamp into the Roksan K3?

The price of the A90 and power K3 isn't too much more than a gsx-mini.

The A90 preamp isn't the best, so far I have tried and heard from others who have had more extensive sessions. Topping has a pre-amp I think, that they released recently. The K3 is quite a good amp for its price. It does have a slightly V-shaped sound, to my ears. The treble is spicier, and the bass has a tad more energy than on other amps. Some people really like the K3 for those exact reasons, however.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Ha, another guy got infected

You will or you have listened to Pass (as the picture suggests)? I'll be curious about the difference between XA25 and XA30.8. From what I read today it seems that XA25 is much better than its 30-watt counterpart, in terms of components and technology.

I have had the opportunity to try the 30.8 and the other .8 amps (a more powerful one in the photo). The XA25 has better bass, a lower noise floor, and has this spacious presentation that the 30.8 did not have. The 30.8 sounds a tad forward in comparison. I preferred the XA25.

Not my room. The photo was taken at my Pass dealer's listening room.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Bravo. Pleased to have the opportunity to "like" it twice - here and there. - Lee

Thanks, Lee.

 

[Shahrose]

I have had the opportunity to try the 30.8 and the other .8 amps (a more powerful one in the photo). The XA25 has better bass, a lower noise floor, and has this spacious presentation that the 30.8 did not have. The 30.8 sounds a tad forward in comparison. I preferred the XA25.



Not my room. The photo was taken at my Pass dealer's listening room.

Valuable info. thanks.

 

[beemerphile]

I used to be a "balanced is better" person, but it is never that simple. It's always in the implementation and the use case.{QUOTE]

Well said. Most of the "reasons" for going balanced don't even exist in the home system. In upgrading my current headphone system, I limited myself to amps with balanced inputs because my DAC, though it had both XLR and SE outs, was severely gimped through the SE outs. Many of the components with "balanced" connections don't even have differential circuits and only accommodate XLR connection. My previous DAC was the other way around with differential construction that accommodated SE connection. I am now using a DAC with well implemented SE and XLR outs by virtue of having separate output boards for each. With that, I might have made a different choice. Though I am completely satisfied with my J2, at least with this DAC a single-ended choice would be open to me. Certainly the "advantages" of balanced construction aren't strong enough to drive the decision unless you have to work within the capabilities of existing equipment. I would now have to have a better reason than "balanced inputs" to pick the 30.8 over the 25. Sajid is fortunate to have such a good Pass dealer locally to allow the choice to be made after a careful audition.