Silk screened type disappearing on face of Silver BHA-1

rob80b · « **on:** 23 Mar 2015, 07:24 pm »

Hi Guys

Curious if anyone else has had the silk screened type on current dress panels on newer units not holding up over time as the older face plats did.
My 2.5 year BHA-1 is losing the black type on its silver front in numerous places and was never a problem on any of my previous Brystons including the BP25P, B60R SST or remotes or even the older .5 and .4 preamps even after many years of use.
I’ve contacted Mike but thought I’d do some preliminary research while I’m waiting to hear back and see if it is a current problem maybe with just the silver and not black front panels, it’s only cosmetic but still…?
(I'll add photos later)

BrysTony · « **Reply #1 on:** 23 Mar 2015, 08:10 pm »

The silk screening on my BHA-1 still looks like new. It is silver and just over two years old.

Tony

rob80b · « **Reply #2 on:** 23 Mar 2015, 09:21 pm »

Thanks Tony

Oddly the BHA-1 sits out of harms way at the back so no constant handing, just the on/off switch and the volume control mostly, it has been perfect the last few years and just started recently ..and yes I only use a soft cloth for cleaning..no cleaning fluids.

rob80b · « **Reply #3 on:** 23 Mar 2015, 09:50 pm »

Seeing it’s a headphone amp I could blame toxic oils being transferred from my hair to fingers (alien descendant?) although my previous headphone set-up suffered no such fate after years of use, which is why I was curious if may just be the silver paint being used.

guildenstern · « **Reply #4 on:** 23 Mar 2015, 10:26 pm »

So far, my own silver BHA-1 does not have the problem you mention, but a head-fi member recently posted an ad to sell a silver BHA-1 and he mentioned fading of "the letter L in Low Gain."

BrysTony · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Mar 2015, 12:32 am »

It is not a silver paint - it is an anodized finish. There is a possibility that if the faceplate was not cleaned properly before silk screening it could result in the fading you are experiencing. That is not a conclusion just a possibility.

Tony

rob80b · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Mar 2015, 12:57 am »

Hi Tony

Mike did get back to me and mentioned it should definitely not be coming off… so instead of babying it I just tried gently rubbing my finger across the type and voila… so obviously something did not take.

Grit · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Mar 2015, 09:14 am »

I'm not home right now, but i'm almost positive it's my black BHA-1 that's doing the same thing. I'll update on Wednesday evening.

- Garrett

R. Daneel · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Mar 2015, 01:13 pm »

Hi Robert!

I am sorry to hear that. I will report back when I get home. My BHA-1 is in silver too.

Cheers!
Antun

rob80b · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Mar 2015, 02:22 pm »

Not to worry, my BHA-1 is on its way to service upon Bryston’s request and I’ve full confidence, like always, with them in addressing the issue.

R. Daneel · « **Reply #10 on:** 25 Mar 2015, 03:06 pm »

Hi Robert!

Yes, that was a good decision. I have checked my BHA-1 and the lettering seems intact. It is an anomaly but I have no doubt Bryston will resolve it quickly for you.

Best,
Antun

Grit · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Mar 2015, 05:56 am »

Okay, so a little drama-queening on my part. I don't have nearly the problem rob80b had. The lettering all stays put when I wiped it down. The only one on mine is part of a missing "O" in "Stereo".

rob80b · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Mar 2015, 12:17 pm »

Quote from: Grit on 28 Mar 2015, 05:56 am

Okay, so a little drama-queening on my part. ................

No… it is important that a manufacturer is made aware of little things like this so that they can be addressed, it may be only cosmetic, but there is pride of ownership and especially with a 20 year warranty such as Bryston’s the unit should “look” and function as intended for a long time.
When one considers the numerous devices that are handled daily and do not suffer a similar fate after many many years of use, even vintage Bryston equipment for that matter, there is obviously a problem considering the units are relatively new and I’m sure Bryston appreciates that we bring this to light.

Laundrew · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Mar 2015, 02:11 pm »

Quote from: rob80b on 28 Mar 2015, 12:17 pm

"...No… it is important that a manufacturer is made aware of little things like this so that they can be addressed, it may be only cosmetic, but there is pride of ownership and especially with a 20 year warranty such as Bryston’s the unit should “look” and function as intended for a long time..."

So true and well said. Aesthetics is also very important to me and this issue with respect to this subject would deeply annoy me.

While I do not mind spending on quality audio equipment our household has changed our purchasing philosophy on other items. One example is appliances as we used to only buy the higher end items and have noticed that their reliability and quality is not where it should be - remember how long a washer and dryer would last?

Case in point, our oven started rattling and when the service rep came out he told me he knew what the problem was - apparently the manufacturer would only install metal screws in every other hole to save money. He opened the back of the oven and his assumption was spot on.

Be well...

avahifi · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Mar 2015, 03:49 pm »

Something Bryston might want to consider is a process we use for faceplate text and graphics that can never wear off.

It is a double anodizing process unique to our metal finisher, Nor-ell of St. Paul, Minnesota.

The process first anodizes the background in one color, with the text and graphics masked with a wax formula preventing the anodizing process from affecting these areas.

Then the wax is dissolved, a new wax screen is applied masking the first background color completely and then the panels go through the anodizing process again with a different color.

When this is completed, the second wax resist is dissolved and presto, we have a finished panel with the text and graphics now a separate finish color that is now part of the metal and can never be worn off.

For a company with a 20 year warranty, I suggest this would be a good low cost improvement to make sure the finished external panels markings last perfectly for 20 years too.

You can examine the result of this process with any of our products built in the last 30 years or so.

By the way Nor-ell can do this process in any color and even with images.

Regards,

Frank Van Alstine

rob80b · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Mar 2015, 04:12 pm »

It just may be a matter that there has been a move/change toward more “environmental friendly” paints over the last few years and seeing the BHA-1 is one of the few totally manual devices, no remote and therefore more oily finger contact, the permanence of what is currently used for silk screening may have not been totally tested.
But in my case and maybe some others it was not a matter of wear and tear, like around the dials, as the lettering did literally just flake off all over…one could hypothesize that maybe the dress panels still had a bit of undetected residual coating left over from the manufacturing process which has interfered with the curing and adherence of the silk screened paint.

http://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/company-tours/bryston-august-18-2011/170-manufacturing

Grit · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Mar 2015, 07:19 am »

Thanks for that link! That was fun.

I guess I'm not worried too much because Bryston's customer service has always been excellent. I'm sure they'd arrange a fix if I asked.

rob80b · « **Reply #17 on:** 9 Apr 2015, 09:46 pm »

Sometimes with Bryston I feel like there is a Genie in the bottle, when I first contacted Bryston mentioning the problem concerning the type it was also to inquire about the cost of “buying” a new faceplate…and thinking maybe the problem might only be with the silver faced units I thought maybe I should go black (silver is nice but black would also match my other gear)…… well I was informed the issue was covered under warranty ..… so off it went to Bryston…only to return with a completely new face plate.... and in ……black.

Well as the saying goes “Your wish is my command” at least with Bryston

GentleBender · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 09:51 am »

Nice! Great to see that you not only got what you needed, but also what you wanted.

rob80b · « **Reply #19 on:** 10 Apr 2015, 01:06 pm »

Quote from: GentleBender on 10 Apr 2015, 09:51 am

Nice! Great to see that you not only got what you needed, but also what you wanted.

I was happy with Silver …but seeing I was originally going to order a new faceplate I figured why not go with black…what I wanted was not having the silk screen come off…what I needed was my BHA-1 back… silver or black did not quite matter.
The fact that Bryston offered the option in black just went above and beyond their warranty coverage and customer satisfaction….once more.