Do my Sundaras need more power or are they just faulty?

[solderdude]

When switching the Sundara from SE output to 4.4mm balanced on my A50S, I had the perception that there was an increase in bass (Punch and Slam) and so did my friend. I notice less of a difference with my Ananda, but that is not surprising considering their lower impedance.

When switching outputs you will get 6dB higher output level. Due to the way our hearing operates (not just for you and our friend) you will have audibly more bass.

You can redo the test for yourself but when plugging from SE to bal also drop the volume (digitally) 6dB to even the playing field.
Both Sundara and Ananda have a (to an amp) very similar impedance (33 vs 37 ohm).

I have an Archel 2 GMR amplifier and while it’s not the most powerful amp (1W @ 16ohms), calculations would indicate it is capable of providing more than enough power to both headphones.

In Sundara A2Pro will reach 0.6W in 33 ohm = 116dB SPL peak
In Ananda A2Pro will reach 122dB peak.
About 0.13A which is not a LOT of current is it ?
Given the required EQ to reach Harman you can shave off 5dB.

Aside from the incredibly high amount of added distortion by the AGD (where the A2Pro has virtually no distortion) the output power in 33ohm is about the same (0.7W in 33 ohm).
The AGD will go a whopping 0.7dB louder !

Looks like a classic case of expectation bias where one believes one amp has 'lots more power' or you may have been fooled by the added distortion which borders on audible levels in the AGD.

I, however, am not sure how to figure out how much current an amp can put out beyond a straightforward power calculation

Easy, measurements from Amir and simple Ohm's law will tell you. See data above.

So I agree with @hmscott that despite the A90’s high power rating, it probably produces less current than the Xduoo TA20, though I’m not all that familiar with it (or what it is).

Nonsense. The A90 can supply (not produce) 3x more power (and thus current they are related 1:srt1) than TA20
A90 can supply 0.43A, the TA20 only 0.25A so that can't explain it either.

I’m trying to understand why the Drop THX One Linear Amp comes with a 0.25A power supply when the Cavalli Tube Hybrid has a 1.25A supply. Is it just cuz of the tubes? The THX amp has more power too

The heater only draws 2 Watt extra

THX = 2.7W in 32 ohm = 0.3A currents can be delivered
AC =2W = 0.25A currents can be delivered.

THX supply = 24V/1.8A = 43W continuous which is more than enough to supply 5W into 32 ohm
AC power supply 28V/1.25A = 35W so is actually lower rated than the THX.

These power supplies are all standard ones made by OEM manufacturers.

will the Cavalli amp actually work better with planars?

Nope. Planars are not special compared to most other similar impedance headphones except with some low efficiency ones (not Ananda) you may need to turn the volume control up a notch higher.

NOTE:

Headphones draw power they aren't 'fed' with power so any excess 'power' that is potentially available will not be 'used' nor will/can it make any difference.
Amplifiers provide an output voltage. That voltage is limited by the amps internal voltage rails and/or current limits of the amp/power supply.
When that voltage is reached (output power) in a certain impedance the required current obviously is available (because of Ohm's law).
Having more voltage or current available (as long as neither are clipping) does not really matter at all.

 

[Ear-Wax]

I did not enjoy my Sundara's fully until I upgraded to more power with a THX AAA 789 and a balanced cable. I think I've found my endgame setup, Roon convolution + Jolida Tube Glass FX DAC from 2006 with 1950's Raytheon Long Black tubes piped through the 789 to Sundara. Heaven.

 

[Veri]

I did not enjoy my Sundara's fully until I upgraded to more power with a THX AAA 789 and a balanced cable. I think I've found my endgame setup, Roon convolution + Jolida Tube Glass FX DAC from 2006 with 1950's Raytheon Long Black tubes piped through the 789 to Sundara. Heaven.

Not a big tube fan but that sounds like a sweet set-up. Enjoy!

 

[Ear-Wax]

Not a big tube fan but that sounds like a sweet set-up. Enjoy!

Thank you I was not into tubes either until this DAC fell into my lap recently. I can't really put into words the difference in fidelity and the imaging I now enjoy compared to solid state only. S P A C E is the best I can up with to describe the experience. Everything just feels like it's in the right place now.

 

[cestmoi]

@nohomo_sapiens

Any update?

 

[nohomo_sapiens]

Forgot to write an update. The A50S that I got 2 months ago didn't change anything. The more I used my Sundaras the more I started noticing differences between it and my older headphones including the soundstage, so I just wasn't used to the sound not that it's faulty.

 

[Cirodx]

I also thought that my sundara is faulty, currently I have a gustard x16 and topping A90 but the sundara has a harsh and tight sound absolutely not pleasant, beyerdinamic amiron instead sounds wonderful
To my gustard dac I also connected a loxjie p20 in balanced, a little more heat but listening to the sundara itself is tiring, why?

 

[GaryH]

I also thought that my sundara is faulty, currently I have a gustard x16 and topping A90 but the sundara has a harsh and tight sound absolutely not pleasant, beyerdinamic amiron instead sounds wonderful
To my gustard dac I also connected a loxjie p20 in balanced, a little more heat but listening to the sundara itself is tiring, why?

Probably the 6.5 kHz peak:

Plus maybe the high distortion in that region (if you listen at high levels):

 

[Cirodx]

Thanks, I'm not an expert, I use an ibasso dx220 as a source connected to the gustard dac and topping A90, how do I equalize the EQ of hiby player?