[beemerphile]

Ok guys, here's my thoughts on the Pass XA25 with the Susvara - I'm on night 3 of listening.

Kind of parallels my first week with the First Watt J2. I had first intended to return it to Reno HiFi because it wasn't sufficiently better. After a couple of weeks either the amp or my appreciation of it improved immensely. I'd suggest to give it a longer trial. You may get a similar result. - Lee

 

[Sajid Amit]

Would be interesting if you try the Chord TToby with the Susvara's and 1266 TC's which will give more power and hence the added bass the TT2 isn't giving you enough of and perfect synergy and form factor with you TT2 and M Scaler ! Add the WAVE Storm BNC cables (unless you already have them) and you have one of the most highest quality compact, synergistic, flexible (decent size speakers and headphone system to drive any headphone on the planet no matter what impedance it is) and one of the best bang for the buck systems around !

On my rig, driven by the XP12, XA25 and the Holo Audio May combo, the one defining characteristic of the combo imparted on the Susvara, is a greater sense of spaciousness, environmental cues, etc. So life-like.

Although the Sus and the 1266 have such different sound signatures, the one amp that rendered the Sus signature a tad closer to the 1266, if that matters to you, is the Accuphase E380. The presentation is more forward, the treble is more present, and the bass impact increases. It still retains the Susvara’s signature musicality. But the XA25 stages much better and is a tad more relaxed.

Different flavors...

 

[Sajid Amit]

Kind of parallels my first week with the First Watt J2. I had first intended to return it to Reno HiFi because it wasn't sufficiently better. After a couple of weeks either the amp or my appreciation of it improved immensely. I'd suggest to give it a longer trial. You may get a similar result. - Lee

Absolutely.

 

[ra990]

Kind of parallels my first week with the First Watt J2. I had first intended to return it to Reno HiFi because it wasn't sufficiently better. After a couple of weeks either the amp or my appreciation of it improved immensely. I'd suggest to give it a longer trial. You may get a similar result. - Lee

You are right and I'm absolutely going to stay open to that. I have no intention of selling it anytime soon. I am also eager to try it with my Klipsch Cornwall IIIs that I'm currently driving in my basement with a NAD stereo amp. So, it may end up staying with me anyway if that pairing is as great as I think it will be. It may or may not end up staying in my office (headphone rig) but let's see. I'm going to switch back to the TT2 after a couple of weeks to see how much of a difference I notice. I am also trying new earpads with the Susvara that seem to have an obvious change to the sound as well, so that's not helping me stay as objective about the amp as I could be.

EDIT: Well I plugged my Susvara back into the TT2 today after about a week straight of listening out of the XA25. Honestly didn't miss much! I was surprised again. I have decided to list it on head-fi and keep enjoying it until it sells.

 

[beemerphile]

... I am also trying new earpads with the Susvara that seem to have an obvious change to the sound as well, so that's not helping me stay as objective about the amp as I could be.

Any info on the earpads you are auditioning?

 

[BassicScience]

Any info on the earpads you are auditioning?

Check the Hifiman Susvara thread. I just installed the same earpads (Dekoni Elite Fenestrated Sheepskin) on my Susvara. We both posted preliminary reports in that thread.

 

[Sajid Amit]

My review of the Hifiman Susvaras:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-susvara.22588/reviews#item-review-25200

Give it a read if you get a chance.

 

[olle83]

My review of the Hifiman Susvaras:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hifiman-susvara.22588/reviews#item-review-25200

Give it a read if you get a chance.

Did you try the 1266 TC with your Pass Labs amp?
I'm thinking about buying the XA25 and would like to know how it performed on it.

 

[ra990]

Did you try the 1266 TC with your Pass Labs amp?
I'm thinking about buying the XA25 and would like to know how it performed on it.

I'm sure it will sound incredible. I'll report back once I get my hands on the Abyss again.

 

[ra990]

I switched back to driving my Susvara straight out of the TT2 and...I don't hear much difference. Again, goes to show how capable the TT2 is, these are the hardest to drive headphones and I'm comparing it to the Pass XA25, which several have confirmed to be one of the most ideal pairings with the Susvara. Anyway, I have moved the XA25 to my basement and hooked it up to my Klipsch Cornwall III's. Going to have a late night listening session tonight.

Here's some hi-fi porn for you all...

 

[donato]

For anyone interested, you can order a 5ft. speaker tap cable using 16ga Belden speaker cable from Blue Jeans Cables for only $55.

 

[Roasty]

Hey guys. Could I get some advice?

I'm using the rockna wavelight as dac/pre to an apollon power amp, to my susvara. It sounds amazing to me as it is right now, but is there any added benefit of adding a dedicated preamplifier to the setup?

Tube pre such as a line magnetic, modwright ls100, atma-sphere mp3. Or solid state like a Holo Audio Serene or musical fidelity m6s pre.

Or is it good enough just to keep on using my dac as a pre?

*edit

I have tried the wa33 as a pre, and also my Audiolab 8300a integrated in pre mode. And I didn't think the sound from either was better than the rockna as dac/pre. The 8300a as pre was actually quite bad.. So wondering if a dedicated pre would be a lot better.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Hey guys. Could I get some advice?

I'm using the rockna wavelight as dac/pre to an apollon power amp, to my susvara. It sounds amazing to me as it is right now, but is there any added benefit of adding a dedicated preamplifier to the setup?

Tube pre such as a line magnetic, modwright ls100, atma-sphere mp3. Or solid state like a Holo Audio Serene or musical fidelity m6s pre.

Or is it good enough just to keep on using my dac as a pre?

*edit

I have tried the wa33 as a pre, and also my Audiolab 8300a integrated in pre mode. And I didn't think the sound from either was better than the rockna as dac/pre. The 8300a as pre was actually quite bad.. So wondering if a dedicated pre would be a lot better.

I don't think that it would be a noteable improvement, but I also never had a preamp of the higher end classes (5k+)

How was Wavelight vs Wa33 as pre?

That being said, if you have the urge to try something new, please go for the Holo Serene

 

[Articnoise]

I switched back to driving my Susvara straight out of the TT2 and...I don't hear much difference. Again, goes to show how capable the TT2 is, these are the hardest to drive headphones and I'm comparing it to the Pass XA25, which several have confirmed to be one of the most ideal pairings with the Susvara. Anyway, I have moved the XA25 to my basement and hooked it up to my Klipsch Cornwall III's. Going to have a late night listening session tonight.

Here's some hi-fi porn for you all...

I'm curious if you mean Susvara straight out of the TT2's front SE jack or out of the rear XLR.

 

[Roasty]

I don't think that it would be a noteable improvement, but I also never had a preamp of the higher end classes (5k+)

How was Wavelight vs Wa33 as pre?

That being said, if you have the urge to try something new, please go for the Holo Serene

The wavelight is much better as a pre than the wa33.