Not really. I am very passionate though of my profession and work and I love making lots of money for my expertise and what I do !
HiFiMan Susvara
Yes especially when you add the add on Power Pack to the Formula S which they could have done with the main unit in a bigger chassis but they wanted to make more money so people would buy this add on Power Pack and lower the output performance of the main unit.
In the last several months, I have invested my weekends and after-office hours auditioning amps from leading manufacturers, including Pass Labs, Mcintosh, Gryphon, Luxman, Accuphase, Musical Fidelity, Parasound, Anthem, PS Audio, etc.
I have also heard amps from leading headphone amp manufacturers, which, to my mind, paled in comparison to speaker amps. I am, of course, not the first to say this. Nor will I be the last.
Users of the Hifiman Susvara, and to a lesser degree, the Abyss 1266 HPs, have also noted the superior sound from speaker amps, even when driving other headphones, far less ravenous than the Susvaras or the 1266.
Herb Reichert has a poetic review of the Susvaras where he posits the same, referring to these explorations of driving headphones with speaker amps, rather amusingly, as “unauthorized experiments.”
In any case, my conclusions from my experiments are as follows:
1. The Pass Labs XA25 power amp and XP12 pre-amp combo is the best sound I have heard from any amplifier, be it speaker or headphone amp; Class A or Class A/B; Solid State or Tube. Its the most transparent sounding amp, with outstanding naturalness of timbre, an eerily large soundstage, surprising tactility to instrument sounds, and vocals that are just breathtaking. I am, of course, not the first to be impressed by this. Many revered audio critics have opined that the XA25 might be Nelson Pass’s best creation. I myself have also heard Pass’s Class A Monoblocks, if that helps to know, as a benchmark.
2. I have run the Susvaras off 8-10 different head amp and speaker amp combos, but nothing comes close to this rig. The marriage between the XP12, XA25, and the Susvaras, is divine. I was told by my (South Asian) parents growing up that marriages are made in heaven. This is probably what they had in mind? For reference, I am a happily married man.
3. The Hifiman Susvaras off the Pass XP12 and XA25 is the best sound I have heard, period. The sound is far superior to my ears, than speaker rigs worth multiple times more, to say nothing of other headphone + head amp rigs. I may have heard every other TOTL headphone and amp pairings. Your preferences may vary of course, as they should. As they must. But for me, this is endgame. The elusive crossing of the final frontier.
In case you would like impressions, as some of you sought, when I reported acquiring this rig:
Listening to the Susvaras off the Pass Labs accentuates the Susvara’s beguiling musicality.
The details. Oh, the details on this rig. Ubiquitous but never offensive. Blithely inhabiting the space and stage afforded by the marriage of the Sus and the Pass.
As the music’s details hang in this expanded spaciousness of stage, the listener is able to pin point the location and size of each instrument; the movement of the performer on stage, etc.
In terms of frequencies: the bass is deep, detailed, visceral, and subsonic. The bass is tight, controlled, fast, and where Susvaras shine is their low-end detail.
The treble sparkles but stays unerringly polite. In fact, the Susvara treble is a shameless exhibitionist. It's like it wants to see you walk the line on treble energy without ever, ever, giving you sibilance. It makes you laud the damn headphones even whilst listening to it. I kid you not.
The midrange is so true to life, that it can make a saint of a sinner, a truth teller of a lying man. Vocals glow and you may start believing the transparency is the handmaiden of musicality, which, for most gears, are compromises.
This is audio nirvana as far as I am concerned.
Full review of the Hifiman Susvara on various amps, forthcoming.
Man, I am so curious to what you have learned. I started my head-fi journey, before my years of speaker hobby with Naim and Harbeth, with the excellent Arya A90/D90 combo during the first lockdown. But, I always knew I wanted true TOTL end game set-up.
I consider myself so lucky: got the truly magical Holo May KTE dac on christmas eve, and yesterday a fresh Susvara arrived.
It is clear my Susvara still needs ample burn in, but it already sounds sweet on the Topping A90. I do have to adjust mentally to the different sound signature of the Susvara from the Arya, which seem more open and dynamic, but also leaner in the mids. But just like I learned from my Aryas, power potential is key for Hifiman planars to really start singing. The A90 is IMHO an perfect match for the Arya, and is impressively fun with the Susvaras, but clearly not the powerhouse ithe Susvara deserves.
Already ordered an speaker-amp adapter, so I can test my Supernait II + Hi-Cap DR combo. I do not expect anything, the supernait is amazing but not at lower levels.
Again, I'm really looking forward to your amplication review, and I'm confident other fresh Susvara owners are too.
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I look forward to learning how this plays out.
The Topping a90 has enough power with xlr output for Susvara. On the other hand, the sound quality is missing. With a better amp Susvara scales a lot.
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jlbrach
Headphoneus Supremus
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the topping amp has plenty of power for the susvara but being a 500 dollar amp it simply isnt up to the task as other TOTL amps are...I actually got one recently used at an attractive price to take with me on trips along with my hugo 2..it is excellent for such purposes but it isnt up to driving the susvara as a home setup IMHO other than in a pinch...great value though
paradoxper
Headphoneus Supremus
No. If you recall, the Formula S isn't so enthralling without the Powerman. It's the power supply that notches things up.
A bold statement! Trying the Pass combo is a must after reading this, thanks a lot for the hint! Could you let us know which models you've actually tested? Here's my list and I must say on most of the amps the Susvaras played excellent though in bold are my favorites:
FEZZ AUDIO Mira Ceti (2A3)
FEZZ AUDIO Titania (KT88)
PRIMALUNA Evo 300 (EL34)
AUDIO NOTE Oto Phono SE Signature (EL84, class A)
AUDIO NOTE P1 PP (EL34, class A)
CARY AUDIO CAD-300 SEI SE (300B)
CARY AUDIO SLI-80 (6550)
HIFIMAN EF-1000 (6922, 20W class A @35ohm; 50W in class A and 100W in class A/B @8ohm)
LEBEN CS-300F (6CL6)
HAIKU AUDIO SEnsei 300B SE (300B)
HAIKU AUDIO Origami SE (6550)
DENON PMA-850 (vintage, 100W @8ohm)
LUXMAN L-509X (120W @8ohm)
ACCUPHASE E-480 (180W @8ohm)
ACCUPHASE E-600 (30W @8ohm, class A)
AYON Spirit III (KT88?)
MBL 7008 (180W @8ohm)
LUXMAN L-550 (vintage, 50W @8ohm, class A)
AVM Evolution A 5.2 (185W @8ohm)
HEGEL H390 (250W @8ohm)
Really, hard to decide, at this moment I own the vintage Luxman L-550 but what I've heard from Accuphase E-480 and Hegel H390 is really outstanding. Now I'm looking forward to hearing the Pass Labs!
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LoL, I thought I would end up with a nice little desktop set. Now with the Susvara's, it seems the hunt is on
)) I can easily see myself walking in hi-fi stores, with my Susvara, adapter cable and ask for demo's. So cool (and kind of ridiculous from a shop owners perspective). Im also eying TOTL audio-gd monoblocks. One thing is for sure, not rushing this one.
paradoxper
Headphoneus Supremus
This is the ridiculous and spirited fun this hobby should elicit.LoL, I thought I would end up with a nice little desktop set. Now with the Susvara's, it seems the hunt is on
jlbrach
Headphoneus Supremus
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the formula s alone is a fine amp in the class of say a violectric 281 or milo...with the powerman it move to the top of the class IMHO
donato
500+ Head-Fier
And I'll vouch that the V281 wasn't enough to really drive the Susvara.
jlbrach
Headphoneus Supremus
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the 281 has plenty of power but I agree I didnt think it drove the susvara to its potential ....there are all sorts of factors involved
How would you rank the Hifiman EF-1000 gwos with the other Amps you have marked in bold with the Susvara's ?
smodtactical
Headphoneus Supremus
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Oversimplification is a common mistake in hifi audio (ie. Amir on asr). There are many moving parts and all should be considered... as I think you learned? Not even sure anymore.
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