Phil - your analogies are amazing, like Dad jokes keep them coming please! I agree with all of your sentiments especially how the Susvara have a fuller/warmer sound to them with the Oor. Also as mentioned yes there is a small dial on the back of the unit to dim the Bat Signal of a logo. I am currently using an AHB2 and I have to admit that it is just not full enough to me in sound on the Susvara paired with the Spring 3/Preamp versus the WA33 and Dave/Mscaler stack. I am splitting hairs here but will need to compare the Oor stack when it returns to the AHB2 in detail to decide on one of them.
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While abyss is due for some new models at this point, I doubt it would be a fundamental design change when it comes to the 1266, it’s too recognizable of a design for them to change, and they have continually stuck with it since 2012 lol, so I’d be surprised if they did end up doing something drastically different
Arggg I wish my oor would get here sooner after reading all this lol
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I’m surprised it’s taking this damn long. lol
Probably stuck at customs somewhere.
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I’ve always thought it is reminiscent of the water powered torture device from The Princess Bride.
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Just an update to say that my Hypsos is now not going to be with me until next week, so I’m still using the Oor by itself.
I’m very impressed by this amp. I’ve owned the Susvara for about six months, and it was one of my least-used headphones - It would just sit on its fancy Room’s stand and look at me longingly while I ignored it. I’d taken to using it for specific songs, thinking that it sounded incredibly natural and pleasant, but exceedingly polite and not particularly engaging. I think I said it further up - it sounded lean. I’d resigned myself to the idea that it wasn’t being sufficiently powered by the Mini, but I was also really sceptical that a different amp would make that much difference.
The Oor makes a difference. I haven’t switched back to the Mini yet to compare, but this feels like a much more dynamic, wider, warmer, meatier experience.
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Oof yah. Mini + sus is an absalute no-go imo. Bright, thin, and nasty. Oor is a massive step up from there
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That was my impression of the gsx mkii combo as well when I went to canjam. So +1
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Finally got mine today, been listening to it so far, very nice
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Excited you received yours…and excited that your impression is favorable!!
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You have the Hypsos too, correct?
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Yes, so far that’s what I’ve been using it with, and it really does improve it quite alot to where I don’t know if I’d buy one without, but too early to really say accurately
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PS skeptics need not apply!
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Nice, IMO there would not be a question but to get both as a set. Look forward to your expanded musings after more time and with other phones and sources. Though admittedly it is Susvara that I’m interested in.
I know, I know, I’m one of those hopeful for a less expensive amp solution (don’t kill my account please).
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I’d honestly wonder how anyone buying anything at this price point would be a power supply skeptic, given that almost every design at this price point places large importance on the power supply, internal or external. It’s almost a given that without a quality psu you won’t get far at this level of performance (although what constitutes a “quality” psu is a different question lol), but you will see most designs put a fair amount of care and attention towards the power supply moreso as you move up the ladder
Might be some time since I’m pretty busy lately but will respond back when I can and have enough time
So far it’s doing quite well with the susvara
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I always say it’s better to be too busy than not busy enough. lol
You’re gonna give us all a heart attack when that Mid-Tier DAC roundup drops!
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Too busy = making money
Not busy enough = buying even more audio shit while I endlessly browse forums 
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A quality PSU certainly matters a lot more than people think.
PSUs for audio are quite often overpriced though. compared to bench PSUs
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Some positives so far, amp really lets through the dac a fair bit for the price, I wouldn’t skimp on the dac if you decided to pick up one of these. So far my favorite pairings have been either my totaldac or the mojo, both do lean more toward the warmer and richer side of things which helps to add a bit of meat on the bone to the amp but I think more importantly emphasizes the raw grip and control this amp can have at times which is somewhat standout to me. Also if you have a nice preamp or a dac with a nice preamp (for the totaldac I was using it’s internal volume control in combination with the d1-drivers and with the mojo since that was attached to my bedroom setup I had a pass preamp to use there) it can really benefit, so that bypass is pretty awesome assuming you have a better method of volume control on hand. Also higher gain = better on this amp I feel, the low gain mode felt dulled with most things I have tried on it. Also for the hypsos dropping the voltage gave the same effect. Balanced is better. Hypsos is almost a must, will touch on that later
So far
The standouts:
- Macrodynamics really do really well here
- As does impact, hits very hard without losing control
- Cleanliness without much clinicalness (depending on the dac)
- Pretty damn balanced overall presentation
- Grip and control real nice here
- Speed and separation are solid
- While tonal density is very slightly on the dryer side of things it does a great job of balancing that and is well controlled here
The neutral:
- Stage is very balanced and both has good width and depth but doesn’t immediately stand out to me, I don’t want to call it lacking or flat but it just seems like it’s doing it’s job and not anything more, might lack placement realism, potentially also meh background could contribute to this
- Extension is good but not stand out to me
- Reasonable smoothness although might be slightly duller leaning to me moreso in the treble, but balanced enough to not be a problem
- Noise floor is actually not bad for the amount of power but not absent
- Background blackness is ok
- Microdynamics are respectable but not really stand out and are overshadowed by the macrodynamics
- Timbre is decent
The bad:
- Honestly to me this amp lacks some texture to where it leaves things feeling a bit lifeless at times, it’s strange since it feels like it has it, but then fails to present it well? Not sure, iffy on this one, but really something is offputting to me here
Now without the hypsos, I have a less favorable experience with this amp, to me it sounds rather average doing nothing wrong but not really doing anything right either, somewhat dull and not that enjoyable, somewhat mechanical, so I’d really be hesitant to consider one without either getting a hypsos up front or planning for one later on down the line
Will continue to listen ofc
Headphone wise I’ve mainly been using the 1266, susvara, and d8kp, but it did play nicely with the mysphere 3.2 moreso than I expected, utopia was also nice (but for the last 2 I might have other things I’d rather have at this price point), but I can’t say anything I tried pairing wise I’d consider a miss, at least for what I have, but the ones that really took advantage of it were the sus and 1266 I’d say
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Would you take this over the other offerings around this price point (Soloist, GSXmini, Bryston, etc…)? Or would you rather get something else?
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Hmmmm. Is this with or without the power supply? With the psu, really depends on the headphone, but at this price point for something like a 1266 or susvara it would be very high on my list if I had to buy a new amp (and psu for it) at this price range, but for other headphones it might depend. I think the closest competition might honestly be something like a vio v550 given both go for a more neutral reference signature with a bit of smoothness. It’s too early for me to really make that comparison but it would be an interesting one for sure, def trading blows there.
Without the psu, I might be less interested in it depending on the headphone, it’s still a nice amp on it’s own, it just gets a fair bit better with the psu. I don’t know if I’d really consider it much without the psu
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