[Roasty]

I've purchased the Apollon 1ET400A Mini (Purifi) and have had it in my system for the last month or so. It's available with a few different op amp buffers, and after chatting with the proprietor, I went with the Sparkos (Class A) module, but asked him to also send along the stock OPA1612 module (actually just a bare op amp mounted to a tiny header, and not Class A) since it was included in the price of the base amp. I had no sonic quibbles with my NAD M22 V2 (Hypex NCore Class D), but the Apollon has a much smaller footprint, is far more attractive, and Purifi does have slightly better measured specs vs. NCore (flatter treble response, most notably). I also liked the fact that the gain switch on the Apollon went down to 12 dB (the minimum setting on the NAD is 19 dB), which meant it might work for driving the Utopia, as well. So I decided to check it out for about $2k plus $450 for the Sparkos modules, figuring I could recoup much of the cost by selling the NAD.

The amp arrived with the Sparkos modules installed, and my immediate impressions were more energy in the bass, which was most noticeable (and advantageous) on rock and electronica, but a notably reduced soundstage, which I didn't care for. I decided to just listen to it for a few nights on a wide variety of material and see how my impressions evolved. I got an overall sense that I just wasn't enjoying music as much as I had with the NAD, which was confirmed when I swapped the NAD back into the chain. The fabulous soundstage was restored, and the NAD just felt more refined and accurate. This blew my mind, frankly. I wondered if the Purifi module just didn't deal with a 60 ohm impedance as well as the NCore does. At that point, I had basically decided I was sending the Apollon back even though I loved everything about it except the sound.

In my mind, I figured that the difference between op amps was going to be quite minimal, but figured I might as well try swapping out the Sparkos for the OPA1612 before I gave up on the Apollon altogether. What I then heard was........ glorious! The big soundstage was back. The stunning clarity and refinement was back. At first I wasn't sure I liked it quite as much as the NAD, but over the last few weeks it just keeps growing on me. I haven't swapped the NAD back in (yet) because it's been driving my Vandersteen speakers after one of my monoblocks died concurrently with receiving the Apollon. However, I do plan to go back to the NAD in the next couple of days, and will report back with further comparative impressions. Both the NAD M22 V2 and the Apollon 1ET400A Mini get my highest recommendation with the Susvara, but I would avoid the Sparkos buffers for the Apollon!

FWIW.

Oh man.. now I wish I had tried the other opamp as well with the apollon!

 

[Pashmeister]

I've purchased the Apollon 1ET400A Mini (Purifi) and have had it in my system for the last month or so. It's available with a few different op amp buffers, and after chatting with the proprietor, I went with the Sparkos (Class A) module, but asked him to also send along the stock OPA1612 module (actually just a bare op amp mounted to a tiny header, and not Class A) since it was included in the price of the base amp. I had no sonic quibbles with my NAD M22 V2 (Hypex NCore Class D), but the Apollon has a much smaller footprint, is far more attractive, and Purifi does have slightly better measured specs vs. NCore (flatter treble response, most notably). I also liked the fact that the gain switch on the Apollon went down to 12 dB (the minimum setting on the NAD is 19 dB), which meant it might work for driving the Utopia, as well. So I decided to check it out for about $2k plus $450 for the Sparkos modules, figuring I could recoup much of the cost by selling the NAD.

The amp arrived with the Sparkos modules installed, and my immediate impressions were more energy in the bass, which was most noticeable (and advantageous) on rock and electronica, but a notably reduced soundstage, which I didn't care for. I decided to just listen to it for a few nights on a wide variety of material and see how my impressions evolved. I got an overall sense that I just wasn't enjoying music as much as I had with the NAD, which was confirmed when I swapped the NAD back into the chain. The fabulous soundstage was restored, and the NAD just felt more refined and accurate. This blew my mind, frankly. I wondered if the Purifi module just didn't deal with a 60 ohm impedance as well as the NCore does. At that point, I had basically decided I was sending the Apollon back even though I loved everything about it except the sound.

In my mind, I figured that the difference between op amps was going to be quite minimal, but figured I might as well try swapping out the Sparkos for the OPA1612 before I gave up on the Apollon altogether. What I then heard was........ glorious! The big soundstage was back. The stunning clarity and refinement was back. At first I wasn't sure I liked it quite as much as the NAD, but over the last few weeks it just keeps growing on me. I haven't swapped the NAD back in (yet) because it's been driving my Vandersteen speakers after one of my monoblocks died concurrently with receiving the Apollon. However, I do plan to go back to the NAD in the next couple of days, and will report back with further comparative impressions. Both the NAD M22 V2 and the Apollon 1ET400A Mini get my highest recommendation with the Susvara, but I would avoid the Sparkos buffers for the Apollon!

FWIW.

Thanks for the review. Looks like even amongst purifi amps you need to be a little lucky with the variance!

 

[BassicScience]

Thanks for the review. Looks like even amongst purifi amps you need to be a little lucky with the variance!

Pretty much all of the Purifi amps currently out use the same amp modules and (Hypex) power supplies. The op amp modules are the main sonic differentiator, and I clearly wasn't expecting there to be as much difference between them as there turned out to be. I may experiment with some of the other buffer options down the line, but it's not a big priority at the moment. NAD's take on Purifi (the C 298 amp) apparently does not use the stock modules, but they instead licensed the technology from Purifi and built their own boards off of it. The fact that the NAD C 298 also features (optional via switch) continuously variable gain indicates to me that their input buffers are also custom and proprietary. I might have bought the NAD C 298 except that it isn't as small or attractive as the Apollon, and I read that it had some QC and ergonomic issues (mainly some power supply noise, which I hate). If NAD eventually makes a Master series version of the C 298, I may well check it out.

 

[EMINENT]

Would my M15 be ok as a USB dac and allow funding towards a better amp?

 

[rangerid]

Would my M15 be ok as a USB dac and allow funding towards a better amp?

I used my WM1Z as an USB DAC for the longest time and it sounded great, M15 should be fine but you'd def want to get a proper DAC eventually to get most out of the Susvaras.

 

[sonicsailor]

I used my WM1Z as an USB DAC for the longest time and it sounded great, M15 should be fine but you'd def want to get a proper DAC eventually to get most out of the Susvaras.

Regarding getting a proper DAC for the Susvara's. I currently use a Bluesound Node2i's RCA's out to a Burson Soloist 3X to feed my Susvara's, and am considering adding an external DAC. I keep reading on the forums that the Bluesound Node is a "beginner" or "entry level" streamer, and of course, if you own TOTL headphones, the entire chain HAS to be the most expensive gear you can get.
If I feed a decent DAC with the Node 2i, what do I gain by buying a very expensive streamer to send the same data to the same DAC? Is there some "higher quality" to the data that a coax SPDIF interface would pass along to the DAC and allow it to create a higher quality analog signal?
I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

 

[eskamobob1]

Has anyone had a chance to compaire the 13r vs oor vs (maybe) ahb2 yet? I like stuff with smaller foot prints so I'm currious if anyone here has had these pieces.

 

[BassicScience]

Regarding getting a proper DAC for the Susvara's. I currently use a Bluesound Node2i's RCA's out to a Burson Soloist 3X to feed my Susvara's, and am considering adding an external DAC. I keep reading on the forums that the Bluesound Node is a "beginner" or "entry level" streamer, and of course, if you own TOTL headphones, the entire chain HAS to be the most expensive gear you can get.
If I feed a decent DAC with the Node 2i, what do I gain by buying a very expensive streamer to send the same data to the same DAC? Is there some "higher quality" to the data that a coax SPDIF interface would pass along to the DAC and allow it to create a higher quality analog signal?
I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

Quality and price have a very loose relationship in the audio gear industry, so you absolutely do not have to spend a fortune to get great sound out of your Susvara. I would concentrate more on a quality DAC than on an expensive streamer. If a DAC offers excellent jitter mitigation and galvanic isolation, the sonic impact of different streamers should be quite minimal. If the DAC doesn't do a good job with those things, there are intermediate devices that do, and they'll cost a lot less than a kilobuck streamer. I put the latter in the audio jewelry category. A lot of people here disagree, and I expect them to chime in shortly.

 

[eskamobob1]

Regarding getting a proper DAC for the Susvara's. I currently use a Bluesound Node2i's RCA's out to a Burson Soloist 3X to feed my Susvara's, and am considering adding an external DAC. I keep reading on the forums that the Bluesound Node is a "beginner" or "entry level" streamer, and of course, if you own TOTL headphones, the entire chain HAS to be the most expensive gear you can get.
If I feed a decent DAC with the Node 2i, what do I gain by buying a very expensive streamer to send the same data to the same DAC? Is there some "higher quality" to the data that a coax SPDIF interface would pass along to the DAC and allow it to create a higher quality analog signal?
I would appreciate any thoughts on this.

Lol. I had this same level of frustration when I first started getting into the digital side of things. Ultimately what you are looking to "fix" with a streamer is to reduce jitter and background noise as far as possible. Because jitter is time domain error it is said to have a large impact on timbre and stage (though studies on the topic basicaly just don't exist). If you want a better explanation of what exactky a ddc does, this is a fantastic place to start

Imo, instead of looking at individual pieces what you should look at instead is your system wholisticaly. What is you budget? What is your plan on amps? Just how deep do you want to go? What exactly is your usecasw? All of these will determine what exactly should be done with your digital upgrades. What kind of streamer/ddc you will want will be heavily effected by dac choice (inputs and ppl both play a role here)

 

[EMINENT]

I used my WM1Z as an USB DAC for the longest time and it sounded great, M15 should be fine but you'd def want to get a proper DAC eventually to get most out of the Susvaras.

With another amp or the one in the WM1Z?

 

[Ciggavelli]

Quality and price have a very loose relationship in the audio gear industry, so you absolutely do not have to spend a fortune to get great sound out of your Susvara. I would concentrate more on a quality DAC than on an expensive streamer. If a DAC offers excellent jitter mitigation and galvanic isolation, the sonic impact of different streamers should be quite minimal. If the DAC doesn't do a good job with those things, there are intermediate devices that do, and they'll cost a lot less than a kilobuck streamer. I put the latter in the audio jewelry category. A lot of people here disagree, and I expect them to chime in shortly.

I assume you didn't try the more expensive streamers, as I've heard you don't need to listen to something to know how it sounds


Sorry, had to do it

 

[eskamobob1]

I assume you didn't try the more expensive streamers

That doesnt invalidate his point though. "Still improvements to be had" and "already excelent sound" aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[BassicScience]

I assume you didn't try the more expensive streamers, as I've heard you don't need to listen to something to know how it sounds


Sorry, had to do it

You're right. I also haven't tried putting Tibetan rocks on top of all my components, or upgrading to a linear power supply for my Ethernet router.

 

[rangerid]

With another amp or the one in the WM1Z?

To a tube amp, not aware of any DAP that has remotely enough power for Susvara.

 

[eskamobob1]

To a tube amp, not aware of any DAP that has remotely enough power for Susvara.

Fwiw, the bx2 plus (portable amp) gets it listenable bjt certainly not desktop levels. Same with diablo. Kind of a "works if yiu have it but don't buy for this setup specificaly".

I will be currious about the m17 and lp7ti though. Both should have quite a huge amount of power for a straight dap.

Also, @FooFighter likes it on m30. Thats technicaly a dap