Oh this is great, just what I was looking for! Thanks so much!

Yes I know that but I plan on continually upgrading my headphones to the Susvara at some point, and I don’t think something like the Schiit Valhalla would cut it since it only drives 600 mW and even the Feliks Euphoria is under 0.5 W… nowhere near 3 watts or so, so I was thinking this might be an option instead of spending another couple grand just for a high power headphone amp

If only it didn't have 2 clunky powerbricks.

Save $385 and use the Hifiman HE adapter- https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/he-adapter.html. I use this with my Benchmark AHB2

That's nice! Back here to say your thoughts about it. Enjoy!

-> Got a great reason to buy a new pair of closed-backs!!!

Quarks DSP. I'm thinking of just ordering a pile of them and handing them out to anyone I know who could use them.

I've got a pair being delivered tomorrow. 🙌 Happy dance 🕺

I'mma sell my Dusk cause of this thing.

They don’t start improving the sound until you reach the $50,000 mark for cables.

Lots of people plugging their low sensitivity planars into speaker amps using banana to xlr adapters (any cable maker will be able to make one of these for you). Just gotta be extra careful with the volume as you don't want to blow up your headphones.

https://soundnews.net/headphones/full-size/the-ultimate-hifiman-susvara-review/

this guy recommends driving the Susvara with a speaker amplifier and gives some tips for doing so safely.

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You know that "professional gear" means nothing, right?

Like the DT 1990 PRO and audeze LCD X are both marketed for "professional use" and have nothing in common with each other and nothing in commong with a "pro" staple like the MDR 7506.

I hope you understand that thats just a buzz word to target a specifc audience, like gaming for example.

You could just as well use a Hifiman Susvara in the studio, if you so desired :)

You can have both looks and sound quality. Look at the Beyerdynamic DT 700 Pro X and V-Moda M-200.

Yeah you know how it is, one wrong click and you’ve bought a kilobuck headphone…

Jk. It was actually an eBay action and my bid was relatively low (compared to earlier auction prices), so I didn’t think it’d go through, but it did.

You know that for 485 USD you could just as well get a tube headphone amp, right?

Likely because he compares in absolutes, with the HE-1 on top and Susvara right after that. And many people aren’t into the disproportionate amounts of treble in comparison to the other octaves.. he’s also not comparing it after EQ but that can definitely help.

Sennheiser store

Audio devices that sound different are either wrong or right. They are either adhering to straight wire with gain, or deviating.

Find a setup that give you straight wire with gain, and anything that sounds different is “wrong”.

Yes, I was thinking about that after I posted and didn't update it. Inputs/outputs a serious reason to upgrade or just change. Also balanced vs unbalanced and I say that not from a sound quality perspective but if there's noise and such. I had to get a balanced DAC or amp to help remove some feedback/ground loop type static. I didn't try one of those $1,000 power cables though 😂

Damn, and here I am considering the opposite. Selling my HD800S in favour of the NDH 30, crazy how subjective audio can be, though I’ve been listening to professional gear for years now so I’m probably partial to it.

That and interface (knobs, ins and outs and features like that). And form factor/design

Thanks! Same for you!

I mean, you're very likely to hear the difference, because it rarely happens that DSD and PCM releases have the same mastering, but to me it's a mixed experience - I often find PCM releases done more professionaly and having more thoughtful mastering.

Much of DSD was recorded for archival purposes, the idea being that new formats could be derived from the DSD master.