Susvara?

[davidnow]

Hi,
i am wondering if i could drive the power-hungry hifiman susvara headphones (60 ohm, 83dB) with my stereomour II.
Will i get enough power to drive them and if so, what is the best way to connect them?
Kind regards
David

 

[Paul Joppa]

Sure. Stereomour will make about 1 watt into 60 ohms; that's 30dBmore than a milliwatt, i.e. 113dB. THX theater spec is 102dB. Wire the output for 16 ohms, or subtract 3dB @ 8 ohms / 6dB @ 4 ohms.

 

[davidnow]

Thank you very much, Paul, it sounds great!
I will change the wiring to 16 ohm and plug it directly to output speakers? No need for a parallel 16 ohm resistance or anything else?
kind regards
David

 

[Doc B]

If the 4 ohm wiring gives adequate output level you might want to go with it to improve the S/N ratio. It's usually worth experimenting with all the possible output impedance configurations to see what sounds best for a given headphone. Differences will be subtle but might include a little lower noise floor for a lower impedance setting and an impression of a little fuller upper/midbass for higher impedance settings.

 

[Paul Joppa]

You can experiment with a parallel resistor - 22 ohms in parallel with 60 makes 16 ohms. It may make a small difference in the sound. I expect these phones have a pretty flat impedance already.