BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

James Tanner · « **Reply #800 on:** 31 Jul 2014, 06:00 pm »

Quote from: MellowVelo on 31 Jul 2014, 05:42 pm

Hi James,

I'm wondering if it's possible to order the BHA-1 with custom gain settings (lower than the current levels). Thanks!

Should be possible - email Mike Pickett - mpickett@bryston.com

james

Spritz57 · « **Reply #801 on:** 15 Aug 2014, 02:18 pm »

James,

Yesterday my 1 month old BHA made a recording screech and then shut down while changing the green led to red. I disconnected the power plug and let the unit sit for hours. This morning I plugged it back in and it's working normally. I couldn't find anything in the user's manual to explain the episode so I next thought to post here to get some direction. The BHA is sitting on top of my BDP and BDA, it is the top unit and the sides are open to air flow as is the rear which is greater than 6 inches from the wall.

Thanks

James Tanner · « **Reply #802 on:** 15 Aug 2014, 03:49 pm »

Quote from: Spritz57 on 15 Aug 2014, 02:18 pm

James,

Yesterday my 1 month old BHA made a recording screech and then shut down while changing the green led to red. I disconnected the power plug and let the unit sit for hours. This morning I plugged it back in and it's working normally. I couldn't find anything in the user's manual to explain the episode so I next thought to post here to get some direction. The BHA is sitting on top of my BDP and BDA, it is the top unit and the sides are open to air flow as is the rear which is greater than 6 inches from the wall.

Thanks

Hi

It sounds like it overheated? If it happens again see if the chassis is too hot to touch. If so the bias needs to be adjusted.

James

Spritz57 · « **Reply #803 on:** 15 Aug 2014, 07:48 pm »

Thanks for the assistance, I'll keep an eye on it and report back to you if the episode reoccurs.

Quote from: James Tanner on 15 Aug 2014, 03:49 pm

Hi

It sounds like it overheated? If it happens again see if the chassis is too hot to touch. If so the bias needs to be adjusted.

James

BrysTony · « **Reply #804 on:** 15 Aug 2014, 10:12 pm »

Quote from: Spritz57 on 15 Aug 2014, 02:18 pm

... The BHA is sitting on top of my BDP and BDA, it is the top unit and the sides are open to air flow as is the rear which is greater than 6 inches from the wall.

You do not mention how much space you have from the top of the BHA to the shelf above. Most of the cooling is from the top surface. If it is too close you will definitely have an overheating issue and it will do exactly what you described. This is from personal experience. I moved my BHA-1 so that I had almost 3 inches of space above and have not had the problem since.

Tony

Spritz57 · « **Reply #805 on:** 16 Aug 2014, 06:27 pm »

Quote from: BrysTony on 15 Aug 2014, 10:12 pm

You do not mention how much space you have from the top of the BHA to the shelf above. Most of the cooling is from the top surface. If it is too close you will definitely have an overheating issue and it will do exactly what you described. This is from personal experience. I moved my BHA-1 so that I had almost 3 inches of space above and have not had the problem since.

Tony

Tony,
Thanks for the support. There is no shelf on top of the unit only a ceiling 6 feet above and I failed to mention it sits on my credenza 2-3 feet from an open window so I'll be shocked if it overheated with a room temperature of 76 degrees. My headphones in use that day were 300 ohm Sennheiser HD 650's and the volume never exceeds 9 o'clock @ the high gain setting. Hope this provides a more complete picture.

Now I'm wondering if one can adjust the bias or do I have to ship this back to Bryston? Do you know? Seems a shame on a virtually brand new unit.

Spritz57

santacore · « **Reply #806 on:** 16 Aug 2014, 06:46 pm »

Could sun from the open window be the cause of the overheating?

Spritz57 · « **Reply #807 on:** 16 Aug 2014, 06:57 pm »

Quote from: santacore on 16 Aug 2014, 06:46 pm

Could sun from the open window be the cause of the overheating?

Hi Santacore,
I get no direct sunlight through my home office window but thanks for the thought. Would you know anything about adjusting the bias? Just curious since it seems obvious to me the unit may need an adjustment.

Spritz57

santacore · « **Reply #808 on:** 16 Aug 2014, 08:59 pm »

Quote

Would you know anything about adjusting the bias? Just curious since it seems obvious to me the unit may need an adjustment.

Sorry, no, I leave that stuff to the professionals.

R. Daneel · « **Reply #809 on:** 17 Aug 2014, 07:56 am »

But why would an amplifier need bias adjustmnet after it has been adjusted in the factory?

My tape machines require bias adjustment (typically called realignment) but this is needed only periodically to ensure the machines are at factory nominal values (and thus allow compatibility with previously recorded tapes).

With respect to amplifiers, does the bias change with temperature or something?

rob80b · « **Reply #810 on:** 17 Aug 2014, 08:23 pm »

Quote from: santacore on 30 Jan 2014, 03:50 pm

What are you finding are you favorite headphones with the BHA-1?

My current go to and chill outs so far are still the Sennheiser HD700s, much prefer them over the HD800s for long term listening and overall musical enjoyment.

Spritz57 · « **Reply #811 on:** 2 Sep 2014, 07:29 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 15 Aug 2014, 03:49 pm

Hi

It sounds like it overheated? If it happens again see if the chassis is too hot to touch. If so the bias needs to be adjusted.

James

James,
The problem persists. Is the bias adjustment something I can do or should the unit be shipped somewhere for repair?
Thanks

James Tanner · « **Reply #812 on:** 2 Sep 2014, 07:40 pm »

Quote from: Spritz57 on 2 Sep 2014, 07:29 pm

James,
The problem persists. Is the bias adjustment something I can do or should the unit be shipped somewhere for repair?
Thanks

Email Mike Pickett at Bryston please - mpickett@bryston.com

james

amblin · « **Reply #813 on:** 2 Sep 2014, 08:17 pm »

Quote from: santacore on 16 Aug 2014, 08:59 pm

Sorry, no, I leave that stuff to the professionals.

I used to own an old jadis tube power amp and it required bias adjustments. They even gave me a service manual for it but after I opened the base and saw the huuuuge mess of wires, I was confident that I'll get fried if I'm stupid enough to do it myself... So paid some men to do it for me.

Spritz57 · « **Reply #814 on:** 2 Sep 2014, 08:48 pm »

Quote from: James Tanner on 2 Sep 2014, 07:40 pm

Email Mike Pickett at Bryston please - mpickett@bryston.com

james

I sent an email to Mike Pickett, thanks for the hot link.

rob80b · « **Reply #815 on:** 8 Sep 2014, 08:43 pm »

Hi Guys

Having since sold off my 2BLP pro which ran off the BHA-1s balanced pre outs to run a second pair of phones in tandem I’ve been in contact with Mike at service to see anything could be done to modifythe BHA-1 to allow the use of two phones at once, balanced and single ended, which obviously require different gains.

Anyway thought I’d throw this at you and see what James has to say.
Basically it is a BHA-1 having two 4 pin XLRs, (much more convenient IMHO than using two 3 pin XLRs) but one with an independent gain allowing it to be adjusted with regards to another balanced or unbalanced headphone when used simultaneously.
For me this would be a big plus as many headphone users have more than one phone and or a significant other to listen with and also having the ability to adjust for unity gain between two sets is a great comparison tool (which I believe a lot of us do all the time

)

R. Daneel · « **Reply #816 on:** 11 Sep 2014, 04:13 pm »

Quote from: rob80b on 8 Sep 2014, 08:43 pm

Hi Guys

Having since sold off my 2BLP pro which ran off the BHA-1s balanced pre outs to run a second pair of phones in tandem I’ve been in contact with Mike at service to see anything could be done to modifythe BHA-1 to allow the use of two phones at once, balanced and single ended, which obviously require different gains.

Anyway thought I’d throw this at you and see what James has to say.
Basically it is a BHA-1 having two 4 pin XLRs, (much more convenient IMHO than using two 3 pin XLRs) but one with an independent gain allowing it to be adjusted with regards to another balanced or unbalanced headphone when used simultaneously.
For me this would be a big plus as many headphone users have more than one phone and or a significant other to listen with and also having the ability to adjust for unity gain between two sets is a great comparison tool (which I believe a lot of us do all the time )

Hi Rob!

Did you make the photo yourself or is it an actual modification of the BHA-1?

It would perhaps be a good idea for Bryston to consider an additional headphone amplifier. One that would employ their latest volume control because it is that much more important with headphones to have a accurate channel tracking and I would also like to see relay-based input switching.

Just for the psycho headphone maniacs like us!

rob80b · « **Reply #817 on:** 11 Sep 2014, 10:27 pm »

Quote from: R. Daneel on 11 Sep 2014, 04:13 pm

Hi Rob!

Did you make the photo yourself or is it an actual modification of the BHA-1?

Hi Daneel

Just me day dreaming with a little P.S..... but maybe someday.

Mir · « **Reply #818 on:** 12 Sep 2014, 02:54 am »

Greetings!

I plan to use BHA-1 with a DAC that has XLR outputs at 6.8Vrms, which is higher than a typical ~4Vrms. Will that be a problem for BHA-1?

ttsto · « **Reply #819 on:** 12 Sep 2014, 05:56 am »

I guess will depend also on your headphones
I have BHA with HiFi Man HE-500, input on XLR from the Bryston DAC, low gain and I find the BHA providing very high volume at very little turning the knob (I listen between 8 and 9 o'clock and I find it loud to very loud especially with nowdays recordings)