[paradoxper]

BHSE is quite a round and musical amp, and it really helps the Stax 009 (and HE60) a lot. Not much talk about e-stats, but these are right up there with the best of the best still.

However, you're hearing mostly midbass thickness from the tube and not quite visceral slam - but the raw resolving power and detail of 009 is ahead of Susvara.

Someone was just selling a 009 for 1800 a couple days ago on Head-Fi too, absolute steal of a price if you're willing to commit to a system.

At the end of the day though, Susvara is the more musically complete and engaging headphone for me. I'll be receiving the CRBN (and maybe X9000 for review) and will try to compare with Susvara/ Utopia / LCD5 / LCD4 and HE6 OG

It's crazy to see the 009 selling for $1800.

 

[townes]

It's crazy to see the 009 selling for $1800.

Let me add, it was not USD 1800, it was Swiss Francs 1800, that's very close to USD 2000 and I bought it ten years ago. Of course it was still an excellent price for the buyer.

 

[townes]

Having both, the Susvara and the Stax SR-009 (not 009S), some weeks ago, I set up a test environment to compare them.
The "competitors" were:
Pass Preamp XP32 tape-out --> BHSE --> Stax SR009
vs
Pass Preamp XP32 main output --> Pass XA25 Speaker amp --> Susvara (using an Arctic cable, connected to the speaker taps)
common part of the test environment:
local files on a fanless Roon server --> network --> Sonore Signatue Rendu SE --> emm Labs DA2 V2 DAC --> Preamp Pass XP32

I carefully tried to adjust the volume (BHSE and XP32) to the same level so that no headphone had a disadvantage

(Note: The Susvara is only competitive to the Stax 009/BHSE with an excellent amp, preferably a speaker amp, e.g. it was clearly not on the same level with the Benchmark HPA4)

If the result would have been very clear to me, I would have posted about this experiment already two months ago.
Anyway, better late than never, some conclusions after hours of comparing:

- If you have a Susvara with an excellent amp like the Pass, you don't have to be jealous on someone with a Stax 009/BHSE
- same as above, but vice versa.
- Stax 009/BHSE has a bit more punch, dynamics. A bit more vivid. Upper mids and treble are sometimes a bit too pronounced.
- Susvara/Pass XA25 is smoother, * seems to have * a bit less resolution and clarity. A bit less vivid also.

Digging into "resolution/clarity", example: Pink Floy - On the Run, the female voice on the loudspeaker... one might guess, that the Stax resolves this better, but that's not the case, it's a tie. The Susvara has more resolution, than you might think at first.

For me the smoothness over the whole frequeny range and the slightly better lower mids and bass provides a small advantage for the Susvara/Pass combo. On the other hand, my wife prefers the punch/dynamics/upper frequeny range of the BHSE/Stax combo.

Anyway, the difference is so small, that I pre-ordered the Stax SR-X9000. I am confident, that the combination Stax SR-X9000 and BHSE will be a step ahead of the two setups described above, let's wait and see. I am curious for sure.

 

[Axel]

Pass labs amps are known to be on the smooth side of the spectrum, especially their class A variations.
Maybe a more open amp will better suit the Susvara.

 

[Articnoise]

Pass labs amps are known to be on the smooth side of the spectrum, especially their class A variations.
Maybe a more open amp will better suit the Susvara.

I agree on that, but even with a more aggressive amp the Susvara will (probably) never sound as dynamic and vivid as the top 3 headphones in this specific regard.

 

[Sajid Amit]

Pass labs amps are known to be on the smooth side of the spectrum, especially their class A variations.
Maybe a more open amp will better suit the Susvara.

I personally agree. I owned the Pass Labd xp12 and xa25, loved the combo, until I heard the TC, and then decided to pair the Sus with the more dynamic sounding Accuphase.

 

[Sajid Amit]

I agree on that, but even with a more aggressive amp the Susvara will (probably) never sound as dynamic and vivid as the top 3 headphones in this specific regard.

True, the Sus wasn’t intended to become a punchy monster, regardless of what’s driving it.

 

[kion]

From the specs, does it looks like the new Chord Anni (https://chordelectronics.co.uk/product/anni) will be a good pairing for the Susvara?

Perhaps a poor man's Bakoon AMP-13R?

 

[paradoxper]

The dual-feed forward and SATRI are really the only parallels, the rest of the topology is entirely different.

This will drive the Susvara like dog.

 

[kion]

The dual-feed forward and SATRI are really the only parallels, the rest of the topology is entirely different.

This will drive the Susvara like dog.

Thanks- what’s your take on the Enleum AMP-23R based on the limited info we have so far?

 

[paradoxper]

Thanks- what’s your take on the Enleum AMP-23R based on the limited info we have so far?

It will be ths same as the AMP-13R. Only exceptionally more plain aesthetically.

 

[BassicScience]

True, the Sus wasn’t intended to become a punchy monster, regardless of what’s driving it.

The Susvara gets slagged a fair amount around here for relative "lack of punch", but I really don't hear it that way. I also use a very powerful Class D amp to drive them, which basically yields as much bass and slam out of them as one is likely to get. Some people seem to think that powerful, solid state power amps can sound too clinical. My recommendation: insert a tube preamp into the chain!

 

[DuncanDirkDick]

Impossible to say without knowing your points of reference. Compared to 1266, older Hifiman or older Audeze it doesn't slam that hard.

 

[BassicScience]

Impossible to say without knowing your points of reference. Compared to 1266, older Hifiman or older Audeze it doesn't slam that hard.

My point of reference is other headphones I can enjoy listening to. Slam for slam's sake is empty calories. Again, I don't listen to metal/hardcore much anymore, so filter my opinions and preferences through that lens, and they'll probably make more sense.

 

[puppypatrol]

My point of reference is other headphones I can enjoy listening to. Slam for slam's sake is empty calories. Again, I don't listen to metal/hardcore much anymore, so filter my opinions and preferences through that lens, and they'll probably make more sense.

My Susvaras slam as much as my LCD-4 if not more but they need lots of speaker amp power, no matter what anyone here says to the contrary ..