[BassicScience]

I would consider this an exaggeration and a Susvara myth that won't die sadly. I tried my Susvara's with a few speaker amps and got a little more out of the low end. In no way was it transformational like it is frequently described in this thread.

Temper your expectations and don't lust after speaker amps if you are already using a solid headamp. Have fun experimenting, but know the hype from the reality. That is my advice and my opinion only.

Which speaker amps did you use to power your Susvaras, if I may ask?

 

[ra990]

Which speaker amps did you use to power your Susvaras, if I may ask?

Pass XA25, Chord Etude, a stereo NAD Class D amp I use with my Cornwalls, and on old Onkyo amp I have.

None of them were transformational. The Pass and Chord were a little better with bass, but not worth it over what I was getting out of the TT2 XLR outs.

The TT2 provides almost 8watts to the Susvara and is capable of driving efficient speakers, so I was already providing the Susvara enough juice and current.

 

[BassicScience]

Pass XA25, Chord Etude, a stereo NAD Class D amp I use with my Cornwalls, and on old Onkyo amp I have.

None of them were transformational. The Pass and Chord were a little better with bass, but not worth it over what I was getting out of the TT2 XLR outs.

The TT2 provides almost 8watts to the Susvara and is capable of driving efficient speakers, so I was already providing the Susvara enough juice and current.

OK, thanks for the info. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree about this, although in fairness, I've never heard the Susvara out of a TT2. Perhaps I'll have the opportunity at CanJam later this month.

 

[ra990]

OK, thanks for the info. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree about this, although in fairness, I've never heard the Susvara out of a TT2. Perhaps I'll have the opportunity at CanJam later this month.

Make sure you give the balanced outs a try. The single ended outs aren't enough for the Susvara.

 

[lumdicks]

I don't think anyone would disagree that the susvara isn't as 'bassy' as the TC.
The TC is well known to be an extremely lively and energetic can with significant slam.

But Susvara isn't going for that, it's going for sheer realism. And whilst the TC will probably be a more fun choice for electronic genres and perhaps rock etc, the Susvara is likely going to be the better choice for any music where realism and in particular, timbre, is of importance. I've honestly never heard any other headphone present lowend elements and drums with as convincing a presentation as susvara does.

It's also worth noting that susvara changes a LOT when you put it on a speaker amp. It's honestly not the same headphone.
If it sounds soft/lacking impact, it's because you're underpowering it.

The Susvara sounds soft on the SA-1, 789, Serene, Asgard 3, GSX-Mini, and likely the Formula S (given as it's not a particularly powerful amp).
But then put it on a pass XA25 or AHB2 and strap yourself in....

@Sajid Amit and @Danmellinger both own or have owned 1266 and Susvara, and can probably expand on this further.
How I'd probably sum it up as this:

Susvara and 1266 are very different sounding headphones. Neither is outright 'better' than the other, and every single person I know that has properly powered and tested both has said they love both for different reasons, and even if they ended up preferring one, they readily admitted it was just personal preference, not performance.
If someone is adamant one is outright a 'better' headphone it's either they're just wanting to justify their purchase, or have not tried Susvara on a speaker amp.

Susvara absolutely needs a speaker amp to sound its best. I've yet to hear a 'headphone' amp that actually got it sounding as good as it does on a speaker amp. Though I have the OOR coming in so perhaps that will change that.

I drive my Susvara happily with Benchmark HPA4 as line amp and Burson Conductor 3XR as power amp. Dynamics and imaging are amazing, bass is good textured and goes deep. Bass quantity may be a bit less than my OG Empy and Final D8000 but it is so real and lively in Susvara and makes it the most enjoyable.

Recommend the below track that I use to test the bass performance of different CANs, for both quality and quantity.



https://tidal.com/track/4964763

 

[Sajid Amit]

I would consider this an exaggeration and a Susvara myth that won't die sadly. I tried my Susvara's with a few speaker amps and got a little more out of the low end. In no way was it transformational like it is frequently described in this thread.

Temper your expectations and don't lust after speaker amps if you are already using a solid headamp. Have fun experimenting, but know the hype from the reality. That is my advice and my opinion only.

Well, a little more is relative. It really depends on your reference doesn’t it. If your reference is the TC, consciously or subconsciously, then the increase in the Susvara bass / slam will not wow you.

However, if your reference is the Sus itself, on a headamp, and that’s the only summitfi headphone you have, as was my case when I went down the speaker amp route, then even small changes in bass slam will sound like big changes.

At least that’s how I see it. I find that as much as I love the Sus, post-TC, I am less sensitive to how it’s bass or slam changes, even when I drive it off my Kann Alpha DAP.

But I do find both the TC and the Sus supremely enjoyable off all my sources, but for different use cases as Golden was saying.

 

[ra990]

My old pair is featured on this video!

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Susvara absolutely needs a speaker amp to sound its best. I've yet to hear a 'headphone' amp that actually got it sounding as good as it does on a speaker amp. Though I have the OOR coming in so perhaps that will change that.

Something like Dynahi or CFA3 should do the trick tbh.

 

[TDinCali]

Since we’re sharing opinions. I own the 1266TC and Susvara’s. I own the eleven audio formula s, the Bakoon 13r and the woo WA33. I’d say the Susvara’s were good on the formula s, better on the Bakoon and great on the WA33.

And running the Susvara directly on my chord TT2 or Dave was nowhere near as good.

the last point I’ll make is that I do listen to my music loud. I’d probably have a tougher time picking a winner if I was listening at much lower volumes.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Something like Dynahi or CFA3 should do the trick tbh.

Yup. A friend of mine got his recently, and can’t stop raving about it.

 

[BTD1]

I keep reading about Susvara with a speaker amp. Could someone tell me exactly how to connect it without blowing out the drivers?

 

[GoldenSound]

I keep reading about Susvara with a speaker amp. Could someone tell me exactly how to connect it without blowing out the drivers?

Just don't turn it up too much. Same as any headphone on any powerful headphone amp

 

[thecrow]

I keep reading about Susvara with a speaker amp. Could someone tell me exactly how to connect it without blowing out the drivers?

How do you connect the susvaras to a power amplifier?
The same way two porcupines make love - VERY CAREFULLY!!!

 

[Pashmeister]

I would consider this an exaggeration and a Susvara myth that won't die sadly. I tried my Susvara's with a few speaker amps and got a little more out of the low end. In no way was it transformational like it is frequently described in this thread.

Temper your expectations and don't lust after speaker amps if you are already using a solid headamp. Have fun experimenting, but know the hype from the reality. That is my advice and my opinion only.

I think this is a healthy exchange of opinions, especially where you advise to temper expectations if we already use a solid headamp. Usual take is that a good speaker amp will almost always be just as good (or exceed) a TOTL headphone amp. I’m glad I learned about the speaker amp route before dropping dough on one of the mpre expensive headamps I auditioned. I cannot agree about the TT2 XLR outs to be sufficient for Susvara, as someone who used TT2 xlr outs. There are certain tracks that really highlight the advantages of a speaker amp, such as Mombasa from the Inception OST or “Had Some Drinks” by Two Feet. The difference between TT2 xlr vs a good speaker amp is not at all subtle for me.

 

[chief79]

Since we’re sharing opinions. I own the 1266TC and Susvara’s. I own the eleven audio formula s, the Bakoon 13r and the woo WA33. I’d say the Susvara’s were good on the formula s, better on the Bakoon and great on the WA33.

And running the Susvara directly on my chord TT2 or Dave was nowhere near as good.

the last point I’ll make is that I do listen to my music loud. I’d probably have a tougher time picking a winner if I was listening at much lower volumes.

Out of curiosity, have you run the WA33 as a preamp into the Bakoon? I wonder if it takes the sound to the next level since both are supposedly amazing (haven’t heard the Bakoon) independently