so i said i would report back in a few days after trying out the Denafrips Athena pre amp + Apollon power amp to the Susvara.. well, i received it yesterday (a few days earlier than expected) and hooked it up and had a nice long listening session, and i am just unable to wait to share my thoughts with you guys.
this is it for me. i think i have found the missing link in my speaker amp to Susvara chain. from the first song i played, i knew it. i like it more than the dac/pass labs int-60 combo, and no, i'm not saying that just because i have to give the int-60 back soon (sobs sniff...).
i had no idea a pre would or could make such a difference to the final sound. i could bore you guys by telling you about each individual characteristic ie bass mids highs soundstage etc but just believe me that i am loving every bit of it and i cant find anything to complain about with regards to the sound. i love that it just sounds so transparent and easy/effortless, and it feels like the layering has really been taken up a notch (i would say really close to the layering prowess of the utopia). the way the music comes out of nowhere, and the imaging and placement right now, makes some music sound eerily haunting. the pitch black background really helps in making the Susvara disappear. i'm getting lovely low end weight and punch, surreal mids/vocals, and extremely well controlled highs. most importantly, it manages to do the highs so well in that there is great detail without sounding harsh or edgy, and at the same time it doesnt smooth it over excessively or make it sound boring.
if i had to place it on a scale, i'd say it is just slightly warm/warmish neutral. it has an almost palpable visceral feel to the mids/mid bass which i think the Susvara benefits from.
i rate the Athena / Apollon combo really highly. if you are looking for a pre power combo for hard to drive cans, i think you will be really happy with these two together. With the 1266 TC Phi, the bass is thunderous...! i like the combo more than anything else i have now (wa33/milo ref) or had before (gsx mini, wa22, hpa4, ahb2). One of the reasons i wanted to get the Athena was because it has 0dB gain; my Apollon puts out 227w into 8 ohm and has +26dB gain and i was worried if i stuck a pre in front of it with additional gain, there would be too much noise into the susvara or TC (which was what happened with the wa33+300b 2.5v tubes and an atma-sphere mp-3 tube pre). i'm not able to compare it with the xp12/xa25 which a lot of people say is amazing with the Susvara, because sadly i've not had the chance to try out that combo. i am glad i prefer it over the int-60, because well, the int-60 is HUGE and insanely heavy and costs a lot more too. also, having two separate components makes it easier to change out stuff in the future.
some minor downsides though. as u can see from the pic, the case finishings and sizes are not similar. and you're stuck with red for the Athena display whether you like it or not. the volume knob on the Athena also lacks a bit of the premium feel; plasticky, a bit loose both in rotation and also a little bit of left/right play. i also have some issues with the hand-finished brushed aluminium finish of my unit; some blemishes and uneven finishing on the front faceplate and top of the chassis, but Alvin from Vinshine is working to get me a replacement unit as we speak. finally, changing or inserting batteries into the denafrip remote requires you to remove 6 small screws, which, if you dont use the correct sized screwdriver, you will end up either stripping the heads or scuffing off some black finishing (revealing some silver below... groan).
at the end of the day, the Athena is not exactly cheap, but neither is it ridiculously expensive. i do think the unit is great value for money and is really worth a try! My Susvara sounds amazeballs with it!