[krude]

I started with Hypsos and compared with iFi iPower Elite, found no difference so returned the Hypsos and pocketed the (large) difference. I have always been running bypass mode with anywhere from -1dB to -3dB digital trim. After reading your post a few days ago I did try analog volume but couldn't hear a meaningful difference in terms of bass/slam & dynamics. I have tried all the HQ filters of course but the differences between them are very small, none of them can bring out more/less bass/slam & dynamics, usually just small differences in treble presentation. As for hours, somewhere between 50-100hrs I'd wager.


I have never tried the stock power brick. I bought the Wandla with Hypsos then tried the iFi iPower Elite after experiencing some non-sq-related issues from the Hypsos. I found the iFi performed equally as well as the Hypsos so kept the iFi as mentioned above.


Wavedream Sig XLR has always been my final destination and I am currently working toward that, with a few planned pit-stops along the way (one of which was going to be the May). Interesting that you mention the Chord DAVE, I will have to add that to my list. I do notice that it is capable of big output voltage which is important to me if still using the Bliss. I'll probably just end up keeping the lowly Cayin DAC and continue along the road toward the Wavedream.

I would love to try an HM1 or Riviera but I have no interest in paying full retail for those and they are extremely rare on the used market so unfortunately will probably never be able to try them. At that point in terms of financial expenditure I think I'd rather get back into a 2ch loudspeaker setup and dedicate the funds to that, I'd get much more for my money that way. I do regret selling my system years ago, I miss it dearly and no headphone rig I've ever heard can compare to what I had back then.

The thought of ditching Susvara has definitely crossed my mind and I did know it was a potential road-to-nowhere when I bought them due to everyone saying it's a never-ending carousel of chasing a chain that can do them justice. Maybe a pair of Caldera or something else is in my future, who knows. Just trying to enjoy the journey!

Choosing a cheaper solution is not the right mindset for a Susvara owner ... Susvara demands a blood sacrifice !

In all seriousness, Susvara demands every last bit of dynamics you can squeeze out of your chain, even 1db matters. It has this "wake up" point as far as I remember.

The problem with Bliss is that it doesn't have a traditional gain stage. The benefit of this is that it sounds super smooth, great for wild headphones like 1266 TC that need a bit more control, but not so great for Susvara that needs a massive kick in the cahoonas to wake the hell up.

So that whole job is now delegated to the DAC in your chain.

If you set the output to bypass then you're not using volume vontrol at all I think.

Try leaving Bliss say at -20 or -15 and using the analogue volume in pro mode on Wandla with -1db trim or preferably zero if you can. Use the Apod filter. Make sure your digital front end is bit perfect (so no digital volume control, resampling etc). Try to set the volumes in a way that the right listening level for you is around 60-70 output from Wandla.


If that doesn't change the dynamic output in your system then Cayin is the DAC for you.

There's this audiophile saying "if it sounds good DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHIN!"

For me Hypsos made a big difference tho. The test stack I got didn't have the Wandla preset but I just set it up by hand. I was surprised when the new one had the preset and actually sounded better ... no idea why

 

[OhmsClaw]

Choosing a cheaper solution is not the right mindset for a Susvara owner ... Susvara demands a blood sacrifice !

In all seriousness, Susvara demands every last bit of dynamics you can squeeze out of your chain, even 1db matters. It has this "wake up" point as far as I remember.

The problem with Bliss is that it doesn't have a traditional gain stage. The benefit of this is that it sounds super smooth, great for wild headphones like 1266 TC that need a bit more control, but not so great for Susvara that needs a massive kick in the cahoonas to wake the hell up.

So that whole job is now delegated to the DAC in your chain.

If you set the output to bypass then you're not using volume vontrol at all I think.

Try leaving Bliss say at -20 or -15 and using the analogue volume in pro mode on Wandla with -1db trim or preferably zero if you can. Use the Apod filter. Make sure your digital front end is bit perfect (so no digital volume control, resampling etc). Try to set the volumes in a way that the right listening level for you is around 60-70 output from Wandla.


If that doesn't change the dynamic output in your system then Cayin is the DAC for you.

There's this audiophile saying "if it sounds good DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHIN!"

For me Hypsos made a big difference tho. The test stack I got didn't have the Wandla preset but I just set it up by hand. I was surprised when the new one had the preset and actually sounded better ... no idea why

Nuclear power plant amp or nothing Speaking of which, I hope that Ukranian amp company ships again soon

 

[Leto Dal]

Nuclear power plant amp or nothing Speaking of which, I hope that Ukranian amp company ships again soon

Which one?

 

[Mimetic]

Choosing a cheaper solution is not the right mindset for a Susvara owner ... Susvara demands a blood sacrifice !

In all seriousness, Susvara demands every last bit of dynamics you can squeeze out of your chain, even 1db matters. It has this "wake up" point as far as I remember.

The problem with Bliss is that it doesn't have a traditional gain stage. The benefit of this is that it sounds super smooth, great for wild headphones like 1266 TC that need a bit more control, but not so great for Susvara that needs a massive kick in the cahoonas to wake the hell up.

So that whole job is now delegated to the DAC in your chain.

This is why I put a strong emphasis on having a DAC with high output voltage. I realized the Bliss needs all the help it can get with the Sus.

If you set the output to bypass then you're not using volume vontrol at all I think.

Try leaving Bliss say at -20 or -15 and using the analogue volume in pro mode on Wandla with -1db trim or preferably zero if you can. Use the Apod filter. Make sure your digital front end is bit perfect (so no digital volume control, resampling etc). Try to set the volumes in a way that the right listening level for you is around 60-70 output from Wandla.


If that doesn't change the dynamic output in your system then Cayin is the DAC for you.

There's this audiophile saying "if it sounds good DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHIN!"

When testing the analog volume I turned off bypass mode of course. My frontend is indeed bit perfect. HQ Apod was the filter I used most. Cayin is definitely my preference between the two right now but I'm still looking to upgrade. I'd like to find something with at least equal bass/slam & dynamics as with the Cayin but with the transparency, imaging and refinement technicalities of the Wandla (or better). Maybe when I try the DAVE or the Wavedream that'll be the ticket. Not sure what other amps I can try other than the Bliss without getting into very expensive territory, maybe Flux Volot or a Silver Fox? Hesitant to try tube amps because my audiophile neuroses will probably go wild with tube rolling, same reason I try to avoid vinyl rigs.

For me Hypsos made a big difference tho. The test stack I got didn't have the Wandla preset but I just set it up by hand. I was surprised when the new one had the preset and actually sounded better ... no idea why

I never tried without Hypsos, only with Hypsos and with iFi iPower Elite. Can't comment on Hypsos vs stock Ferrum PSU, never compared them.

 

[OhmsClaw]

Which one?

FLUX Lab MENTOR Dual Mono-Class-A. I would just get the single amp, I don't need mono-blocks

 

[krude]

This is why I put a strong emphasis on having a DAC with high output voltage. I realized the Bliss needs all the help it can get with the Sus.


When testing the analog volume I turned off bypass mode of course. My frontend is indeed bit perfect. HQ Apod was the filter I used most. Cayin is definitely my preference between the two right now but I'm still looking to upgrade. I'd like to find something with at least equal bass/slam & dynamics as with the Cayin but with the transparency, imaging and refinement technicalities of the Wandla (or better). Maybe when I try the DAVE or the Wavedream that'll be the ticket. Not sure what other amps I can try other than the Bliss without getting into very expensive territory, maybe Flux Volot or a Silver Fox? Hesitant to try tube amps because my audiophile neuroses will probably go wild with tube rolling, same reason I try to avoid vinyl rigs.


I never tried without Hypsos, only with Hypsos and with iFi iPower Elite. Can't comment on Hypsos vs stock Ferrum PSU, never compared them.

FWIW Oor worked for me a lot better with Susvara than Bliss ...

But to get the proper upgrade I think you need a big boy amp like Envy or HA300 ... or maybe a speaker amp. Or maybe Impact+ in GSE will solve this for you. With Susvara you never know. I was really surprised by how it reacted to the chain many times, probably because it relies on the stacks ability to deliver obnoxious amounts of current that no one is actually putting in the specs and most people (myslef included) don't fully understand.

I've heard good things about the Bakoon, could be worth checking out next and then trying to pair this up with the GSE ... that sounds like the safest "low cost" system for Sus to me atm.

 

[krude]

Btw even reading this brings back Susvara PTSD ... I'm so glad I'm out of that race TC is soooooo much easier to amp.

 

[Leto Dal]

Very different headphones though

 

[TheR0v3r]

I am rather impressed by the standard Wandla with Hypsos owning May previously.

To my ears it's summit fi and sounds anything but a typical delta sigma / ESS.

We can agree to disagree here

Since my initial impressions which were already very positive it burned in a lot, lost any hint of sharpness or digitalness it still might have had. It's a very clean and powerful sound while somehow managing to sound as analogue and refined as a top class R2R. I can't get over how good it sounds and I can't believe it uses an ESS

Very much looking forward to auditioning the Wandla GSE.

Over the past two years I’ve both auditioned and used some good R2R DAC’s in my system. I no longer see R2R as an inherently better technology than ”delta sigma”, just different. IF Ferrum has managed to adress that ”sharpness” or ”digitalness” of ESS I’ll be very impressed.

 

[Menkau-ra]

I started with Hypsos and compared with iFi iPower Elite, found no difference so returned the Hypsos and pocketed the (large) difference. I have always been running bypass mode with anywhere from -1dB to -3dB digital trim. After reading your post a few days ago I did try analog volume but couldn't hear a meaningful difference in terms of bass/slam & dynamics. I have tried all the HQ filters of course but the differences between them are very small, none of them can bring out more/less bass/slam & dynamics, usually just small differences in treble presentation. As for hours, somewhere between 50-100hrs I'd wager.


I have never tried the stock power brick. I bought the Wandla with Hypsos then tried the iFi iPower Elite after experiencing some non-sq-related issues from the Hypsos. I found the iFi performed equally as well as the Hypsos so kept the iFi as mentioned above.


Wavedream Sig XLR has always been my final destination and I am currently working toward that, with a few planned pit-stops along the way (one of which was going to be the May). Interesting that you mention the Chord DAVE, I will have to add that to my list. I do notice that it is capable of big output voltage which is important to me if still using the Bliss. I'll probably just end up keeping the lowly Cayin DAC and continue along the road toward the Wavedream.

I would love to try an HM1 or Riviera but I have no interest in paying full retail for those and they are extremely rare on the used market so unfortunately will probably never be able to try them. At that point in terms of financial expenditure I think I'd rather get back into a 2ch loudspeaker setup and dedicate the funds to that, I'd get much more for my money that way. I do regret selling my system years ago, I miss it dearly and no headphone rig I've ever heard can compare to what I had back then.

The thought of ditching Susvara has definitely crossed my mind and I did know it was a potential road-to-nowhere when I bought them due to everyone saying it's a never-ending carousel of chasing a chain that can do them justice. Maybe a pair of Caldera or something else is in my future, who knows. Just trying to enjoy the journey!

Can you take a picture of Hypsos next to iFi Elite? I just wonder how big is iFi?