[Somatic]

Yeah, personally never heard my solid state gear “burn in”. I’ve heard some differences on bright headphones before.

 

[FooFighter]

Enter the Kinki !
Will give it time to break in (300 hrs recommended before making a judgment. As you can see Kiinki's clock is set to 1 and it could go to 3 or even more ! What a hungry beast of a Susvara !

Just looking at the specs of your DAC I also suggest that you use the highest possible preout gain level.
It seems to have a so called Studio mode.
Use that one if you haven't yet and run that thing balanced into your new power amp:
STANDARD 14dBu: XLR: 5.084V RCA: 2.549V
STUDIO 20dBu: XLR: 8.887V RCA: 4.475V

If not using additional preamps that's the best you can do.
Otherwise the Poweramp might not have enough juice

 

[hammondfan]

Just looking at the specs of your DAC I also suggest that you use the highest possible preout gain level.
It seems to have a so called Studio mode.
Use that one if you haven't yet and run that thing balanced into your new power amp:
STANDARD 14dBu: XLR: 5.084V RCA: 2.549V
STUDIO 20dBu: XLR: 8.887V RCA: 4.475V

If not using additional preamps that's the best you can do.
Otherwise the Poweramp might not have enough juice

Yes Thanks I already used the "fixed level" toggle and now I am going to try the Studio mode (+6dBu)

 

[dleblanc343]

As a Susvara owner who recently acquired an Arya V3 (SE) out of pure curiosity - I have to say, it offers tremendous sound and is a benchmark, hands down, in the under 2K segment. LCD-X 2021, Clear MG and HE6 OG would be the other best buys under 2K - all specializing in different facets.

Personally, having owned Arya V1 & all 3 variants of HE1000 simultaneously at one point last year - I genuinely think I prefer Arya V3 over all of em going by audio memory.

HEKse is a standout, but its victim of poor tuning, so doesn't play well with all. HEKv1 is the most analog of all, but it lacks depth image and is a bit dulled. HEKv2 is the best tuned, and most correct sounding, but the least dynamic/ softest bass.

Arya V1 from memory is notably more diffuse but also more dead, dynamically limp and thin vs the newest V3 revision. Arya V1 sounded like HEKv1 a lot, just less refined. Arya V3 is more refined than HEKv1 from memory.

Cheers,

 

[hammondfan]

That's almost two weeks... Not even plastic is that malleable, much less, solid state components. Solid state components should take no more than 30 minutes-1 hour to warm up and settle. If not, then that points to terrible quality control and manufacturing techniques. If you don't like it after the first few days, return it and don't play into the trap of the manufacturer.

Sure I'm gonna let it burn slowly. 300hrs is in the manual, most users recommend 100hrs but dont worry I will continually use it as it slowly cooks ! So maybe I can here the value of burn-in and share it with you.

Another thing to have in mind is that the recommended operation is at 40 degrees. That temperature is achieved after 40 minutes being powered. I guess I should power it every day in the morning after the shower or let it on all the time ? Will I contribute significantly to global warming ? Will my energy bill explode ?

 

[apmusson]

too old and not sensitive enough to distinguish between 'mid-fi' champs and modern TOTL.

I think mid-fi headphones will always have their 'best case' music matches... I love my HD650 with great rock and bass heavy music but prefer the HD800 with classical / opera / Jazz.

I tried giving my Denon D9200, LCD-X 2021, and Beyerdynamic T1 a "final audition" before being sold and all three sing like F#cking angels and blow mind with how good they are...

Was it late at night? All headphones sound better after the sun goes down

 

[hammondfan]

What input do you use? Output of CMA is 2V?

Here come the specs I use the XLR output with Van de Hull xlr

 

[hammondfan]

Here come the specs I use the XLR output with Van de Hull xlr

 

[Somatic]

As a Susvara owner who recently acquired an Arya V3 (SE) out of pure curiosity - I have to say, it offers tremendous sound and is a benchmark, hands down, in the under 2K segment. LCD-X 2021, Clear MG and HE6 OG would be the other best buys under 2K - all specializing in different facets.

Personally, having owned Arya V1 & all 3 variants of HE1000 simultaneously at one point last year - I genuinely think I prefer Arya V3 over all of em going by audio memory.

HEKse is a standout, but its victim of poor tuning, so doesn't play well with all. HEKv1 is the most analog of all, but it lacks depth image and is a bit dulled. HEKv2 is the best tuned, and most correct sounding, but the least dynamic/ softest bass.

Arya V1 from memory is notably more diffuse but also more dead, dynamically limp and thin vs the newest V3 revision. Arya V1 sounded like HEKv1 a lot, just less refined. Arya V3 is more refined than HEKv1 from memory.

Cheers,

Did you have a better amp connected to V3 VS V1 or same amp? Heard a lot of negative feedback in regards to the V3s soundstage VS V1/V2.

 

[knorris908]

Okay mates... It's time. 3 things: 1 - Won't waste your time faffing-about. I'm buying a Susvara in Feb. (Allowing proper break/burn-in for DAC) 2 - I'm not going to get squeamish about costs. I'm 54, and I can't take it with me, so I'm looking for best performance, so I want to get my audio chain sorted. 3 - R2R is where I've been leaning because I have a Denafrips Pontus II, and was prepared to jump to Terminator, but after reading through the threads here, I am curious to see what you might suggest that I might not have considered. Amp= Currently have an HK 870 with a Burson Soloist 3XP acting as preamp for HE6seV2 (Just worked-out that way, wasn't by design) Considering a Keces s300 that I'm getting in to audition VS the Flux Labs Volot. Genres: ecclectic (Which is why I settled on the Susvara over Abyss 1266 or Raal) Jazz (Davis, Evans, Coltrane, etc..) classical (Holst, Mahler, etc..) Modern (Philter, Linked Horizon, etc..) Streaming Tidal or FLAC/DSD over network. Any DAC upgrade from Pontus II suggestions? Many thanks in advance for any considerations given to my inquiry.

PS: "You're a nutter, the Pontus II is plenty-fine enough for the likes of you." IS an acceptable response. I won't argue.

 

[LarsMan]

Okay mates... It's time. 3 things: 1 - Won't waste your time faffing-about. I'm buying a Susvara in Feb. (Allowing proper break/burn-in for DAC) 2 - I'm not going to get squeamish about costs. I'm 54, and I can't take it with me, so I'm looking for best performance, so I want to get my audio chain sorted. 3 - R2R is where I've been leaning because I have a Denafrips Pontus II, and was prepared to jump to Terminator, but after reading through the threads here, I am curious to see what you might suggest that I might not have considered. Amp= Currently have an HK 870 with a Burson Soloist 3XP acting as preamp for HE6seV2 (Just worked-out that way, wasn't by design) Considering a Keces s300 that I'm getting in to audition VS the Flux Labs Volot. Genres: ecclectic (Which is why I settled on the Susvara over Abyss 1266 or Raal) Jazz (Davis, Evans, Coltrane, etc..) classical (Holst, Mahler, etc..) Modern (Philter, Linked Horizon, etc..) Streaming Tidal or FLAC/DSD over network. Any DAC upgrade from Pontus II suggestions? Many thanks in advance for any considerations given to my inquiry.

PS: "You're a nutter, the Pontus II is plenty-fine enough for the likes of you." IS an acceptable response. I won't argue.

Have you looked into Holo R2R DAC's, like the Spring and the May?

 

[knorris908]

Have you looked into Holo R2R DAC's, like the Spring and the May?

Thank you for your response LarsMan. Yes, the Holo May KTE is the current front-runner in my mind after reading all the info I could find, but I'm open to other's opinions.

 

[llamaluv]

Anyone else using a power amp with a passive preamp?

Previously, when I had a DAVE, I was getting best results by connecting the DAC straight to the power amp, using the DAC for volume control. This fall when I upgraded to a Bartok (oops, did I say "upgraded"? ), doing the same sounded pretty disappointing, unfortunately. Bland, kind of flat and un-dynamic. So I set the speaker amp issue aside for the time being.

This afternoon, I added an old Goldpoint SA4 (stepped attenuator passive preamp with RCA connectors) between the Bartok and the power amp, and I've never heard the X150.8 sound as transparent, detailed, quick, or dynamic. In a word, more "speaker amp-like".

Resistor-based passive preamps are one of those things whose synergy can be pretty system-dependent, though; they behave best with amps that have a sufficiently high input impedance. Also worth trying is the Schiit Sys, which costs next to nothing.

 

[LarsMan]

Thank you for your response LarsMan. Yes, the Holo May KTE is the current front-runner in my mind after reading all the info I could find, but I'm open to other's opinions.

My pleasure! I've got a May KTE, which I run into an Auris Nirvana tube amp for playing through Susvara, and am delighted with that combo. But then, I like a warm, deep, tube-y kind of sound. Tried a DAVE + M Scaler for awhile, but while the sound was great, it just didn't do it for me as far as feeling....

 

[ThanatosVI]

Thank you for your response LarsMan. Yes, the Holo May KTE is the current front-runner in my mind after reading all the info I could find, but I'm open to other's opinions.

Rockna Wavelight is certainly worth a consideration