[gonzalo1004es]

comfort goes to hd800S the susvara touched my ears and generated heat so.... The build is fine but not 3 times better thats for sure, hd 800S holds up against everything for the dollars.

Glad that someone mentions the fact that the Susvara touch the ears. I was surprised by that when I auditioned them and found it a bit annoying, has anybody tried using different pads?

 

[astrostar59]

Interesting about using your speaker taps AnakChan. My question would be the impedance. In the Susvara they are 32 ohms, so not so out of waco with 16 ohm speakers. But other Planars like the LCD4s are 200 ohms and in those cases it would probably cause phase shift. So IMO probably only low ohm HPs can work well out of a classic speaker amp directly. How do you avoid over powering them? 15 watts+ is way more voltage than you should need, more like 2v max. It could be the current reserves that make your Susvara sing on your 275.

 

[tonyo442]

I have both but it is very difficult to answer that without doing a real crash test. HD800 seems more durable but I would not recommend using HD800 or Susvara in bed

This may be very subjective, IMHO: Susvara feels light weight on my head (the weight is still OK compared to ligher HD800) and it is very comfortable. I tried Audeze LCD-4 yesterday and it is quite heavy.

Hello, it is true that the LCD4 is heavy, but it is well built and reassuring, at a certain price level we are not only looking for a headset that works well, but that it is qualitative and reliable over time, a helmet is handled without stopping, it is not a pair of speaker that is posed and that does not move, a helmet will be handled permanently over a long period of time, do we want to invest 3 or 4 or 5 or 6,000 dolls or euros and worry about how long the helmet will not disappoint us on its manufacture, unless for some money is not a problem, if we talk about Hifiman, I would be more reassured with the HE6, than with the 1000 or 2000, despite all the technology that has been used,

 

[zodiac1234]

Thanks again! Only the iFi Pro iCan is available locally. I will try it and keep it only if it is really better than the headamp integrated in Dave. Unfortunately, I have not found any dealer for the HeadAmp GS-X mk2 nearby.

I just found out that Mjolnir has produced a PureBipolar (Dynalo Mk2) amp: https://mjolnir-audio.com/product-selection/
But parameters are unknown and I am not sure about pairing with Susvara. Any experience?

IfI Pro is a tremendous amplifier.
With Hi End source and HPs = incredible amplifier.
It has:

• all the gain you need (adjustable).
• Good Volume Control.
• Lots of adjustibility: use x-feed, Bass correction, Tube input, Transistor input.
• Many connector alternatives
• It is dead-quiet.
• Price is really fair.

It sounded much better than all the other amps I had on hand with the Susvaras:

• Pass HPA,
• Kumiza,
• Several diy Tube & several diy Transistor amps,
• Big Pioneer A-09 (with HFM tansformer)

 

[tonyo442]

theLCD4 at 200 Ohm impedance but 97db output, the Susvara 60 Ohm but 83 db output, so the Susvara is harder to drive than the LCD4, personally I have the Moon 430 HA and iFI pro ican, and as dac the T + A dac8 connected symmetrically with 5 volts gain, so enough power for the LCD4,

 

[seaice]

IfI Pro is a tremendous amplifier.
With Hi End source and HPs = incredible amplifier.
It has:

• all the gain you need (adjustable).
• Good Volume Control.
• Lots of adjustibility: use x-feed, Bass correction, Tube input, Transistor input.
• Many connector alternatives
• It is dead-quiet.
• Price is really fair.

It sounded much better than all the other amps I had on hand with the Susvaras:

• Pass HPA,
• Kumiza,
• Several diy Tube & several diy Transistor amps,
• Big Pioneer A-09 (with HFM tansformer)

Thanks again! I do not have the HE adapter for speaker amps. Based on your experience, I will skip it and try the iFi Pro iCan. I really like Susvara directly from Chord Dave and I am really curious if the iFi can improve SQ of Susvara.

I tried the following headphone amps with Susvara but the integrated HA in Dave is clearly superior to both of them:
Audio-GD Phoenix
Little Dot MKVIIIse (high gain)

Look forward to the iFi! I will share my experience after receiving it.

 

[Whazzzup]

Gsx mk2 med gain 6 on the dial max. FYI

 

[AnakChan]

Interesting about using your speaker taps AnakChan. My question would be the impedance. In the Susvara they are 32 ohms, so not so out of waco with 16 ohm speakers. But other Planars like the LCD4s are 200 ohms and in those cases it would probably cause phase shift. So IMO probably only low ohm HPs can work well out of a classic speaker amp directly. How do you avoid over powering them? 15 watts+ is way more voltage than you should need, more like 2v max. It could be the current reserves that make your Susvara sing on your 275.

Hifiman provided the HE-Adapter to be used with speaker amps. Specs are as follows :-

Input: Speaker Connector
Output: 4 pin XLR
Resistors in Parallel: 10 Ohm
Resistors in Series: 25 Ohm
Size: 16.5 cm * 12.2 cm * 7.5 cm or 6.5 inch * 4.8 inch * 2.9 inch
Weight: 542 g or 1.2 lb

 

[astrostar59]

Hifiman provided the HE-Adapter to be used with speaker amps. Specs are as follows :-

Input: Speaker Connector
Output: 4 pin XLR
Resistors in Parallel: 10 Ohm
Resistors in Series: 25 Ohm
Size: 16.5 cm * 12.2 cm * 7.5 cm or 6.5 inch * 4.8 inch * 2.9 inch
Weight: 542 g or 1.2 lb

Interesting. So how do you isolate your speakers to then use the HPs?

 

[AnakChan]

Interesting. So how do you isolate your speakers to then use the HPs?

I use an ORB switcher

 

[astrostar59]

Interesting.

I have a DAC without a volume pot / adjustment, and I have no active pre-amplifier to my speakers, so I use a Khozmo Passive pre with an Elmar Selector. I modded the selector to send full line out to my HP amplifier, or send the signal via the Khozmo pot to my Power Amplifer. It works very well. I have 10v line out on my DAC to my HP amp so it is virtually just an output impedance buffer and volume pot, really simple. I find it has minimal loss in transparency almost DAC direct. Running a passive pre can work well if you have very short interconnects, and have a low output impedance DAC to a high impedance power amp. To retain full dynamics and bass, no phase shift it is best to have output transformers in the DAC that keep the impedance right down and can drive the next stage better.

 

[ufospls2]

They were NOS EL34 XF4's. There is no doubt the BHSE brings out a lot out of the SR-009s. I enjoyed them a lot (naturally a lot more than my Electra even with XF2s). Without the Susvara in scope for comparison, the SR-009/BHSE would be a "practical" top "to own" setup.

However when including the Susvara into the comparison, I have to say I enjoy the Susvara and the MC275 combo more. There other amps that make the Susvara sing but I quote only the MC275 as that was the only (Susvara/MC275) setup I had to compare against the SR-009/SR-007Mk1/BHSE. That was performed over an extended period (let's just say more than quite a few days).

Now for a simple setup, a few weeks ago, I went to the local (e-earphone) store and tried the Susvara off the AK ACRO L1000 and I have to say, single ended, with the L1000 it actually managed to drive the Susvara at pretty decent and acceptable levels with the ACRO L1000 at max volume. I tend to listen a little louder than others and I'm not jesting when I say that I'm actually rather impressed with that setup. The shop did not have a balanced cable therefore I didn't get to try balanced nor off the speaker taps with the HE adapter. I'm particularly curious if the ACRO L1000 15W/ch @ 4ohm speaker taps would be enough to drive the Susvara with even greater authority than than the off the single ended headphone out. If the ACRO L1000 can with its speaker taps, that maybe a rather practical "cheap" DAC/Amp Susvara combo.

I think experimenting with cheaper DAC's/amps is a great idea with the Susvara. Yes they may be expensive headphones, and yes they definitely perform at their best with quality amps and whatnot, but I think cheap vintage speaker amps, or the right cheap modern speaker amp will be almost as good. I use mine with my AGD Master 9 with +3db gain, and it works well. Is it the best set up? No, but it is a great set up IMO. You don't need a $15,000 amp for the Susvara, they just need the right amp. I remember earlier in this thread someone was using a $200ish Marantz speaker amp, and it worked well. Definitely worth experimenting with at least

 

[gordec]

I'm thinking about getting the Susvara. I would have to sell HeK v2 and HD800s and some. I absolutely love the HeK with McIntosh mha100. Would imagine it will drive the Susvara well through the speaker taps.

 

[Whitigir]

I'm thinking about getting the Susvara. I have a rare opportunity to get it at cost from an authorized dealer. It's still more than the $3500 everyone is quoting. I would have to sell HeK v2 and HD800s. I absolutely love the HeK with McIntosh mha100. Would imagine it will drive the Susvara well through the speaker taps. What do you guys think? Worth it?

$3500 ? I would go for it

 

[oneguy]

I'm thinking about getting the Susvara. I have a rare opportunity to get it at cost from an authorized dealer. It's still more than the $3500 everyone is quoting. I would have to sell HeK v2 and HD800s. I absolutely love the HeK with McIntosh mha100. Would imagine it will drive the Susvara well through the speaker taps. What do you guys think? Worth it?