[OneEyedHito]

lol, tube amp is a bit painful to me especially with tube rolling.

If solid state AMP is no way to drive it, I probably have to give Sus a miss.

You will be missing out if you skip the Susvara due to you misunderstanding what he stated. I use a tube pre into a ss amp and it is my preference for listening to the Susvara also but many SS amps make them sing! It is a preference after all not a prerequisite, power on the other hand........that is a prerequisite for certain! Tube rolling isn't a requirement either again just another preference. A few Burson SS amps made in Aus drive them very well! Give the new GT a run.

 

[OceanRanger]

You will be missing out if you skip the Susvara due to you misunderstanding what he stated. I use a tube pre into a ss amp and it is my preference for listening to the Susvara also but many SS amps make them sing! It is a preference after all not a prerequisite, power on the other hand........that is a prerequisite for certain! Tube rolling isn't a requirement either again just another preference. A few Burson SS amps made in Aus drive them very well! Give the new GT a run.

I am using a DAC with a tube output into a SS amp and absolutely love driving the Susvaras with the combination.

 

[iFi audio]

If solid state AMP is no way to drive it, I probably have to give Sus a miss.

Both solid-state and tube amps can handle Susvara. The difference is that solid-state amps often are more powerful, which is an advantage in case of these cans.

 

[VeeAndBobby]

lol, tube amp is a bit painful to me especially with tube rolling.

If solid state AMP is no way to drive it, I probably have to give Sus a miss.

I can use my Susvara with my Auris Euterpe tube amp, or my solid state Burson Soloist GT. I usually choose the GT for its much greater power, transparency & detail.
I've also had good results driving the Susvara with my Burson Soloist 3X, or my Burson Conductor 3X.

 

[cycchar]

Thanks guys! I'll give my p750u a try!

 

[sahmen]

One honest opinion that does not address all your questions : The He 1000SE does not belong in this conversation about hard to drive Hifiman cans : the He6se and the Susvara do. The He 1000SE can be driven comfortably and satisfactorily by many lower powered, and less sophisticated amps.

I have never owned or heard the Luxman, so I cannot speak to the question of its status as an amp that can optimally drive the Susvara or the He6SE to their optimal best performance, but very few amps ever do, and there are always disagreements regarding what constitutes or qualifies as "optimal best" in the case of these two particular cans.

Interestingly, there are almost no contentious amp-related debates when it comes to the He-1000SE.

PS : I now realize that this post may have made me sound (unintentionally) as if I was giving 'the last word' to the He-1000SE, and that could be misleading, so I need to add the following clarification:

I owned the He-1000SE for a couple of years before trading it up for the Susvara, because HFM offered me a sweet deal for the trade-up that I couldn't resist. I was a big fan of the HeKSE at the moment of the trade up (still am), which made the decision an extremely tough and wrenching one for me. I still say up till today that I would have opted to own both, were that an affordable option to me at that time, rather than trade one in for the other at a much lower price (however attractive that was)...

The good news is that the Susvara has more than compensated for the "loss" I thought I was suffering by letting go of the HeKSE. What is more, it has completely obliterated any sense of "trade-up remorse" I might have expected, by showing me from day one, the extent of its superiority over the HeKSE, even while remaining as notoriously amp-picky and hard to drive as its reputation always alleges. To keep things short, I have experienced the Susvara with a Violectric V281, a modded Flux Lab FA-10, a Niimbus US4, and a Pathos InPol Ear, and each one of these amps has extracted qualities and nuances of performance out of the Susvara that the HekSE cannot quite match, and the differences have often been substantial and not negligible or marginal at all. I still own the last two amps, and they have effectively ended my own personal quest for the "Holy Grail of Susvara amps", in spite of what I said about the Susvara's amp-pickiness. which it still retains--These are just data points that need to be out there.

So no, I was not giving the HekSE any "last word" by any means, although I still retain very fond memories of it... I just want to emphasize that the experiences of the Susvara have been very worth having, in spite of all its notorious "amping-stories." And the adventure with the Susvara continues in full force.

 

[Delta9K]

My journey is not yet as advanced as yours @sahmen but, it is similar and I am comforted by the data points you shared.
My story is HE1000 V2 which I adored and whish that I could have been able to afford along with the Susvara, but onwards an upwards it is... Still the HEKv2 holds a special spot in memory. My current amplifier is the Violectric V550 and could there be better for the Susvara, I've no doubts but, it's still working the Susvara so well that that there exists a major upgrade to my listening enjoyment using the Susvara vs the HEKv2, and the only regret is the sentimental value I feel for the HEKv2 as mentioned earlier - Sonically with my current setup, I'm amazed at every listening session and wear a massive Cheshire Cat like grin...

 

[Somatic]

Susvara plays very very nicely with iFi’s XBass

Wondering if one can get the same results using parametric EQ?

 

[FooFighter]

Wondering if one can get the same results using parametric EQ?

Am no EQ expert but in this regards I am wondering about following questions
1. there were reported shutdowns of Ifi Pro Ican with activated Xbass at full load
2. AFAIK the Xbass feature is hardware based (analogue?) through some circuit
I am guessing that this will have the advantage of not lowering the overall volume as if using software equing.
Especially with Susvara needing more juice the 2nd point can be a clear advantage if that volume cannot be provided once the equed volume is drastically reduced - if not issue 1 is happening...
3. You will need to live with the frequency curve of Xbass if not applying additional equing and then come back to the drawbacks of 2

Others please correct me - just my personal thoughts.
I've had Ifi micro idsd and also liked xbass there but no Susvara at those times ago

 

[Pashmeister]

Am no EQ expert but in this regards I am wondering about following questions
1. there were reported shutdowns of Ifi Pro Ican with activated Xbass at full load
2. AFAIK the Xbass feature is hardware based (analogue?) through some circuit
I am guessing that this will have the advantage of not lowering the overall volume as if using software equing.
Especially with Susvara needing more juice the 2nd point can be a clear advantage if that volume cannot be provided once the equed volume is drastically reduced - if not issue 1 is happening...
3. You will need to live with the frequency curve of Xbass if not applying additional equing and then come back to the drawbacks of 2

Others please correct me - just my personal thoughts.
I've had Ifi micro idsd and also liked xbass there but no Susvara at those times ago

I made the previous Xbass comment in the context of the iCan Pro being used as a preamplifier to a more powerful amp, and this is where I was able to get visceral and physical bass rumble.

 

[FooFighter]

I made the previous Xbass comment in the context of the iCan Pro being used as a preamplifier to a more powerful amp, and this is where I was able to get visceral and physical bass rumble.

23V @600 Ohm balanced output - that's a beast of a preamp and I think no shortcomings in terms of lowered volumes after applying software equing should ever happen if the chained Poweramp can digest that voltage

 

[TDinCali]

Happy New Year Gents!

I have a question to the collective group regarding optimizing my Susvara setup further.

My current stack starts with a Aurender N200 streamer to a Holo May Kitsune dac to my (JPS interconnects) Woo WA33 Elite/JPS amp (KR tubes for rectifier and power and stock driver tubes at the moment - a417 coming)

My Susvara is using a Wywires platinum cable.

One of the things I really enjoy about the Susvara is the tone and imaging/layering. I want to maximize that imaging aspect as far as I can take it and perhaps gain a touch of sparkle on the high end.

Any thoughts/suggestions on what I should look into? Different tube(s), different hp cable? Something else entirely?

TIA.

 

[Roasty]

Happy New Year Gents!

I have a question to the collective group regarding optimizing my Susvara setup further.

My current stack starts with a Aurender N200 streamer to a Holo May Kitsune dac to my (JPS interconnects) Woo WA33 Elite/JPS amp (KR tubes for rectifier and power and stock driver tubes at the moment - a417 coming)

My Susvara is using a Wywires platinum cable.

One of the things I really enjoy about the Susvara is the tone and imaging/layering. I want to maximize that imaging aspect as far as I can take it and perhaps gain a touch of sparkle on the high end.

Any thoughts/suggestions on what I should look into? Different tube(s), different hp cable? Something else entirely?

TIA.

that's already some nice gear! I suppose it is time to look at peripherals.. eg EtherRegen, Phoenix net/usb, and power distribution blocks etc?

 

[TDinCali]

Thanks!

I didn’t mention the Network Acoustics Eno filter and the Isotek Aquarius Evo3.

 

[Somatic]

Happy New Year Gents!

I have a question to the collective group regarding optimizing my Susvara setup further.

My current stack starts with a Aurender N200 streamer to a Holo May Kitsune dac to my (JPS interconnects) Woo WA33 Elite/JPS amp (KR tubes for rectifier and power and stock driver tubes at the moment - a417 coming)

My Susvara is using a Wywires platinum cable.

One of the things I really enjoy about the Susvara is the tone and imaging/layering. I want to maximize that imaging aspect as far as I can take it and perhaps gain a touch of sparkle on the high end.

Any thoughts/suggestions on what I should look into? Different tube(s), different hp cable? Something else entirely?

TIA.

Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads?