Another idea is to get an all-in-one integrated amp…
Burson just announced the Timekeeper 3iR which is an all-in-one integrated unit. I don’t have any experience with this unit nor with the Susvara but just putting ideas out there…
Or you could wait for that Holo “Bliss” headphone amp like @SnowRang3r mentioned, but it won’t be until later this year.
Thanks to you and @hifiDJ for your responses. I didn’t know about the Holo Audio Susvara-centric amp, that’s really intriguing. I owned a Cyan and a Spring 2 KTE for a while and really liked them both, so I’m a fan. Perhaps it’s worth seeing how the GS-X Mini performs first before I make any further preparations. I’m assuming the new Holo amp will require a pretty significant outlay, but I’m also assuming that it’ll be a balanced, ‘headphones first’ amp as opposed to the Bakoon (although I have read a lot about it and it does look great - no wonder it won a design award).
That being said, boy am I tempted by the Burson. I’ve seen it around, but I didn’t know that it was hiding so much power. I have an order in with Schiit for a Jotunheim 2 that I decided to try on a whim, but I’m one of the people waiting for the late May shipping date. I’m tempted to cancel my order and try the Burson instead.
Thanks again for the thoughtful and helpful responses.
I’ve used both the Cayin iha 6 and SMSL SP400, each fed by a Matrix Element X. Either will work just fine.
If you do grab the Soloist 3X please share how it and the GSX Mini compares!
Will do. My Susvara won’t be here for a week or two, so plenty of time for research until then.
Folks I upgraded to the DCS Bartok from the RME, and the setup with Bartok + Bakoon with the Susvara is just amazing. I think the Bakoon works even better than the Luxman headphone amp I heard at the dCS dealership. If you have the opportunity listen to the Bartok with the Susvara!
Any believers of clean power here? I don’t have a power conditioner attached to the Bartok yet so wondering if I should invest in something.
Splendid! I’m interested in how the Bakoon sound signature compares to Luxman, and how the Bartok DAC compares to the Rossini, Vivaldi, and MSB DACs, for both headphones and stereo.
Wow, I think that’s the fastest I’ve seemed someone climb to summit-fi. you must be loving your Susvara/Bakoon/Bartok setup!
Did you try the Susvara with the Bartok? I use HEDDphones with the Bartok.
The luxman was also very good, it’s very musical. Although I haven’t listened to it as extensively as I have the Bakoon because the Luxman was at a dealership.
Each product in the dcs line apparently is a big step up and everyone who has listened to the Rossini has said it’s much better than the Bartok and most people who sell the Bartok upgrades to one of them. I don’t know about the MSB, I will probably go for a demo at some stage if possible but because of financial constraints I don’t see myself moving off the Bartok anytime soon. This is it for me lol
I didn’t get the Bartok version which has the headphone out, I just have the regular DAC with streamer and pre-amp. So mine is always connected to the Bakoon. I didn’t want to spend another 2500 for the headphone amp version when I already have the Bakoon.
Love it, yeah! But I don’t have any experience with tubes yet, so that’s next on my list.
@agent_goldenfox That’s an amazing setup, I’m really happy for you. It looks like you’ve achieved endgame, at least until you start moving up the dcs chain. 
It sounds like you were able to audition the Bartok before buying it? Not having to buy blind removes so much stress of buying expensive equipment.
Yeah I went to Music Lovers in San Francisco to hear the DAC, although it was connected to a Luxman headphone amp - but with the Bakoon it sounds as good at the least if not better.
I have the bakoon with the dave/blu2 along with the susvara and it is a marvelous combo…the bakoon is a fantastic amp and the form factor is remarkable
My Susvara is still conspicuous by its absence, so I’ve had lots of time to plan what to do with it. I was eyeing and ex-demo Bakoon AMP 13-R, but it’s no longer available! I’d now need to pay full price for it if I wanted to go that way, and that’s more than I’m personally willing to stretch to considering the outlay for the Susvara. For now, I’m going to try with just the GS-X Mini and probably trial a Soloist 3XP (for a bit of extra context and power) as stop gaps. Then when the new Susvara-centric Holo amp comes along I think that will be my step up.
Susvara out of Burson Funk speaker taps seems perfect, no? Its speaker taps is meant for near-field speakers so not too crazy but powerful enough for Susvara use. Our local seller has one in stock and I cannot wait to try it. This tiny and versatile device will partner well with TT2 which is also a really good versatile device itself, keeping my small audio station streamlined.
I posted a review of the Bakoon AMP-13R paired with Susvara here: Bakoon Amp-13R Review
One of the most informative reviews I’ve read, especially the quirks. I wasn’t aware headphones.com is now selling them so thanks for sharing that; it certainly makes it much more compelling.
The only thing I wish this had was multiple headphone outputs (especially 4pin XLR) as many current amps have. Other than that it sounds like a match made in heaven with the Susvara.
Nice review. Thanks. Have you by any chance tried the Benchmark speaker amp with your Susvara? I have the amp and I have the Susvara, but I haven’t put them together. Guess I would get one of those Amps&Sound junction box things with a four-pin output. Any thoughts or experience with this?
I had a chance to listen to the Susvara with WA33 and a Chord Dave and it sounded amazing(the amp and dac are not my gear). I also compared it with the ZMF and Utopia on the same setup and the Susvara felt a lot better than the Utopia for the music I was listening to(Symphony of Sorrowful by David Zinman and J Cole’s Cole World). The soundstage was much wider and it was more musical. The Utopia felt faster on an electronic music track(don’t recall the name of the track, friend picked it.) The ZMF did slightly better than the Susvara on the J Cole tracks because of the bass felt much more impactful than the Susvara on those tracks, but on the orchestra the Susvara was a lot better. Didn’t really feel anything with the Utopia other than the speed.
One thing to note is that my VO is just two days old and it hasn’t burnt in(if you believe in such a thing). And the other thing is - I am not an experienced listener so take all this with a big pinch of salt 