Hello guys. Been listening to HD800 for the past 10 years and recently added Susvara to the list. Came across this thread and after reading all, became interested in the Ferrum stack. My system at this time consists of :
- Streamer > Aurender N10 with internal HDDs
- Dac > Emm Labs DAC2X v2
- Amp > Benchmark HPA4
At this point, although the general SQ is good, I feel it can be better. While the streamer & dac are very musical (they are also used in my stereo system along with Pass Labs amplification), I feel the Benchmark is a bit sterile sounding and underpowered for the Susvara (vol knob almost at max all the time, lack of slam in the midbass and bass area). What can those that have listened to both say about Benchmark vs Ferrum ? Will this be a good upgrade ? Also, I can use the Pass Labs XP-10 preamp instead of the one in Ferrum if this one would be better. Unfortunately, I’m stuck with unbalanced connection from dac or preamp to the hp amp since the balanced connection is already used in my stereo system