covertash t1_j1mj1rj wrote on December 25, 2022 at 4:59 PM

Thanks for sharing this! Always good to see your posts. :)

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I often play my Susvara and HE6se v2 through an entry level Cambridge Class AB speaker amp (nothing over the top in the least), and generally hover around 50-60% volume, which gives me a comfortable ~75 dB average, with spikes in the low 80's. Similarly, I do find the sound to be subjectively fuller in the low end, and smoother overall, through extended long-term listening. Especially when watching action movies or shows, the dynamic and visceral snaps/cracks of gunshots and explosions sometimes do cause me to involuntarily flinch a bit, which isn't always observed in other setups - at least in the context of these hard to drive planars. And this is compared against headphone amps that are not lacking in powering, on paper, like the Schiit Lyr 3 and Jotunheim 2.

What I wonder is if the design of speaker amps just inherently have "a sound" (whether if by topology, design, component choices, etc.) that contributes to these types of sound impressions, rather than it being simply a characteristic of having excessive power on reserve. Any thoughts on this?

random_LA_azn_dude t1_j1n0hxt wrote on December 25, 2022 at 7:16 PM

Those cans crave current and I wonder if speaker amps not being as current-limited as a lot of headphone amps plays a part.

Then again, my recently-acquired Cavalli Liquid Gold (OG) (LAu) puts out 8-9W at 50ohms and my HE-6's sound pretty good on it when comparing the LAu against my Bryston 3B-ST. However, the Bryston 3B-ST (120W at 8ohms) is a far better value proposition for an HE-6 setup at the $500 used price I paid for it.

covertash t1_j1r5k61 wrote on December 26, 2022 at 7:14 PM

> Those cans crave current and I wonder if speaker amps not being as current-limited as a lot of headphone amps plays a part.

Ah yes, great point! Definitely need a refresher on this, for myself. :P

Nice find on the OG LAu! I was interested in the more recent LAuX but never pulled the trigger, and completely forgot about it. I'll pick this one back up in the new year.