[95Dyna]

Check Grit, the current balanced outs are volume controlled by the BHA1.
Given the current lineup of Bryston amps, it would have been a very welcome feature if the BHA had bypassed outputs, enabling a fully balanced setup from the Bp26 to both headphone and speakers.

to Jay: my setup exactly, sounds stunning doesn't it? do you connect through balanced or rca? My hd800 is fed through the balanced outputs, but my BHA itself is fed from my tape out's so unbalanced. Sounds great. I liked the balanced connection to my BHA even better, but need that for my speaker setup.

Never got to try a balanced split cable (enabling the same balanced signal into the BHA and BP26 from my BDA), as opinions on that seem to vary.

A balanced passthrough on the BHA or double balanced out on the BP 26 would do miracles here.  Maybe someday..

Enjoy!
Marius

Hi Marius,

I've been pondering the BP 26/balanced BHA-1 operation dilemma as well.  I'm not wiling to give up the balanced connection BP26>7B's, don't want to buy a new preamp with a second balanced out unless it is a tape loop fixed level output.  I ran across a headphone amp that employs a phase splitter on board that converts a single ended signal to a balanced signal for output to the headphones.  It costs $2K more than the BHA-1 but seems like a good solution when compared to swapping out the BP26 for one of the few available pramps that feature a balanced tape out.  Per haps the phase splitter might be a good idea for a future BHA-x. 

Bill

[rob80b]

Well this is strange....when i run the amp with the gain switch set to low it runs very hot. However when I run the amp on high gain, runs downright cool?

Why would this be?

Sounds about right, to obtain the same volume with the low output setting the BHA-1 has to work that much harder...how hard depends on the headphones.

[larevoj]

Hi

Yes it is fairly easy. Email Mike. Mpicket@bryston.com

Hi James/Mike, got this rot out. Thanks for your help! 

[rob80b]

Might be over kill with the BHA-1..but just got these very affordable closed backed 32 ohms  K550s from AKG..... actually sound very good running off my Bryston.



For a closed back… when you need to filter outside sources or to keep the music to yourself…. they offer excellent sound staging and clarity and if you can get a proper seal..prodigious base…but then again the BHA-1 will pull the best/most from any phone. 

[R. Daneel]

Might be over kill with the BHA-1..but just got these very affordable closed backed 32 ohms  K550s from AKG..... actually sound very good running off my Bryston.



For a closed back… when you need to filter outside sources or to keep the music to yourself…. they offer excellent sound staging and clarity and if you can get a proper seal..prodigious base…but then again the BHA-1 will pull the best/most from any phone. 

Hi Robert!

Those are sweet headphones! How do you find the sound in comparison to the K701 on your BHA-1?

Cheers!
Antun

[rob80b]

Hi Robert!

Those are sweet headphones! How do you find the sound in comparison to the K701 on your BHA-1?

Cheers!
Antun

Hi Antun

Keep in mind these are closed back but AKG have tried to offer as best they could to offer a similar performance, therefor less in your head and more comparable to an open backed headphone and with that respect they’re not bad.
Can’t do a direct comparison with K701s as they were replaced by the K712s a year ago but those have also been recently sold, but going by recent memory the K550s are better focused maybe less linear and if one can achieve a proper seal…base can be better than the K712s and the “base port mode” on the K701s. The K550s are also more detailed than both the K701/712s and therefore less forgiving of poor recordings.
Although far from perfect…overall I find them a more satisfying/fun listen, more intimate..closer but with a properly delineated sound stage…. but again the K550s are my alternative to my Sennheiser HD700s when I need some sound isolation to or from the surrounding environment. The 700s are still my preferred and IMHO a much better can.

Robert

[Marius]

Hi Dyna,


Did we ever discuss this switcher on AC?
I found it while looking for a passive balanced level control on their site, seems rather well built, and exactly what we're looking for?


http://www.goldpt.com/sw2x.html


Hope James/Mike will be able to post their comments on this one.


connect the BDA to the Goldpoint In, and the Goldpoint outs to the BP26 and the BHA1. All is connected fully balanced. And nothing is compromised??


Seems so much more reliable and technically more advanced than a simple XLR splitter we've seen before on AC. No signal loss, no distortion.


Cheers,
Marius

Hi Marius,

I've been pondering the BP 26/balanced BHA-1 operation dilemma as well.  I'm not wiling to give up the balanced connection BP26>7B's, don't want to buy a new preamp with a second balanced out unless it is a tape loop fixed level output.  I ran across a headphone amp that employs a phase splitter on board that converts a single ended signal to a balanced signal for output to the headphones.  It costs $2K more than the BHA-1 but seems like a good solution when compared to swapping out the BP26 for one of the few available pramps that feature a balanced tape out.  Per haps the phase splitter might be a good idea for a future BHA-x. 

Bill

[95Dyna]

Hi Dyna,


Did we ever discuss this switcher on AC?
I found it while looking for a passive balanced level control on their site, seems rather well built, and exactly what we're looking for?


http://www.goldpt.com/sw2x.html


Hope James/Mike will be able to post their comments on this one.


connect the BDA to the Goldpoint In, and the Goldpoint outs to the BP26 and the BHA1. All is connected fully balanced. And nothing is compromised??


Seems so much more reliable and technically more advanced than a simple XLR splitter we've seen before on AC. No signal loss, no distortion.


Cheers,
Marius

Hi Marius,

I PM'd Mike P. on this a month or two ago and he tells me that what comes out of the 4 pin or dual 3 pin balanced outs on the BHA-1 is fully balanced regardless of the input signal.  Using the single ended fixed level tape loop out on the BP 26 to the RCA in on the BHA-1 therefore does not compromise the balanced signal to the phones.  No need for a balanced splitter.

[Marius]

HI Dyna,


Thanks, but it wasn't the balanced outs I was referring to talking about compromising. I meant connecting to the Goldpoint, would the balanced signal be compromised in any way.

I understand what Mike says here, and thats how I've setup my BHA. I still find the BHA1 not having a balanced passthrough being sort of a design flaw, especially for Bryston, building these spectaculair fully balanced amps. Why not implement a balanced feed to the BHA1, it is the only  unbalanced bit of signal in the chain.

And as James always points out: the extra voltage swing makes many machines sing. It certainly does with the BHA1, just try it and you'll be easily tempted. Thats why we 'need' the balanced splitter.

I only chose to hook up the BHA1 on the tape loop because I play my Bp26 more often.

So, the question holds for now, hope Mike or James wil comment.

Cheers,
Marius

Hi Marius,

I PM'd Mike P. on this a month or two ago and he tells me that what comes out of the 4 pin or dual 3 pin balanced outs on the BHA-1 is fully balanced regardless of the input signal.  Using the single ended fixed level tape loop out on the BP 26 to the RCA in on the BHA-1 therefore does not compromise the balanced signal to the phones.  No need for a balanced splitter.

[James Tanner]

BobG55
Formerly known as Old Groucho

Location: Maritimes

I've had the Bryston BHA-1 for a week now.  I've owned headphone amps such as the GS-X mk2, Taurus mkii, still own the vintage Fisher 500c and I find the BHA-1 better.  This of course is subjective to personal taste and perception.  In any case I stick to my guns on this opinion.  Paired with Grado PS1000e and BDA-1 (some HF members reacted in horror learning I had bought this DAC) coaxed to my SACD/CD player, the sound is linear with wonderful depth.  On some songs I'm able to discern background/vocals lyrics which used to be submerged even w/ the GS-X mk2 and HD800 combo (about which I was reproachfully advised to "check my sources".)   What's uncanny is I still have the same sources but different headphones and HP Amp. 
 
I won't say that I've found my "end game" knowing how much this hobby has cost me over the years but I will say that it's going to take something quite remarkable even revolutionary to better the sound I'm getting from this amp/HP combo. 

[Armaegis]

I wanted to poke my head in here and mention that I'm one of those nuts that runs his headphones directly off the power amp speaker taps.

I've never had the pleasure of hearing a BHA-1, but I currently have a 2B and run my speakers off the binding posts. Actually, I know there's a headphone jack in front but it has resistors in-line... so I took those out  Interestingly, I prefer the sound of the 2B over the 3B and 4B with my Hifiman HE-6. However, the 3B and 4B that I have are quite old (pre SST era). One of these days I'd like to hear an updated model.

I just recently acquired a Stax SR-007 as well, and have been connecting those to the Brystons through a Woo Audio WEE transformer box. I modded one of the ports to bypass the transformers, but unfortunately even the 4B doesn't have enough gain to drive the 007 directly.

[R. Daneel]

Hi Marius,

I PM'd Mike P. on this a month or two ago and he tells me that what comes out of the 4 pin or dual 3 pin balanced outs on the BHA-1 is fully balanced regardless of the input signal.  Using the single ended fixed level tape loop out on the BP 26 to the RCA in on the BHA-1 therefore does not compromise the balanced signal to the phones.  No need for a balanced splitter.

Hi!

I must say the difference between single-ended and balanced connection on BHA-1 is dramatic. I can hear an audible improvement in transparency and detail retrieval when BHA-1 is connected to the source with balanced cables, even when using the same source.

As it is sometimes the case, some amplifiers work better when you connect them to a source with balanced cables.

BHA-1 inverts the signal so inevitably, signal coming out of balanced outputs is balanced, despite the source or the way it is connected to the amplifier.

Cheers!
Antun

[Gibalok]

Gents,

Are there big difference of bha-1 and bp26 as headphone amp?

[R. Daneel]

Gents,

Are there big difference of bha-1 and bp26 as headphone amp?

I can't speak for the BP26 but I'd venture to say the differences are likely to be substantial. It would be dependent on the headphones. BHA-1 is a remarkable amplifier and there seems to be no limit to it's potential, no matter the source quality as it grows with the system.

[rob80b]

Gents,

Are there big difference of bha-1 and bp26 as headphone amp?

Hi Gibalok

Had a BP25 for years which has the identical HP output as the BP26 which is powered off the preamp output…. and while is was fine for casual listening it had trouble powering most of my phones with any authority and would get maxed out on the volume so I always had a dedicated headphone amp in the system. The BHA-1 on the other hand has been designed from the ground up as a fully balanced class A dedicated headphone amp, so all round a lot more powerful and flexible.
Currently I’m really enjoying mine powering the Audeze LCD-2s

[Gibalok]

Rob80b,

Thanks. That is what i suspected. BP26 is great pre, but will save for dedicated headphone amp 

[Ansum]

Just bought a BHA-1this weekend. The plan is to use it mainly as a preamp in combination with my 4BSST2 poweramp. My speakers are a pair of PMC OB1i.

Im very happy with the sound quality but the problem is that there seems to be too much gain in the system. I have the 4BSST2 and the BHA-1 in their respective low gain settings and Im using balanced XLR connections between them. With this setup I can only use a tiny fraction of the volume control (say between 7 to 8 o clock) before the sound is too loud. Some of the reviews of the BHA-1 also talked about such issues when using it as a preamp. Im just wondering if there are any good solutions that could help reduce gain in my system. I came accross passive in-line attenuators as one possible solution, but Im not sure of their influence on the sound.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[James Tanner]

Just bought a BHA-1this weekend. The plan is to use it mainly as a preamp in combination with my 4BSST2 poweramp. My speakers are a pair of PMC OB1i.

Im very happy with the sound quality but the problem is that there seems to be too much gain in the system. I have the 4BSST2 and the BHA-1 in their respective low gain settings and Im using balanced XLR connections between them. With this setup I can only use a tiny fraction of the volume control (say between 7 to 8 o clock) before the sound is too loud. Some of the reviews of the BHA-1 also talked about such issues when using it as a preamp. Im just wondering if there are any good solutions that could help reduce gain in my system. I came accross passive in-line attenuators as one possible solution, but Im not sure of their influence on the sound.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi

Yes we can do a modification to lower the gain for you - please contact Mike at Bryston - mpickett@bryston.com

james

[Mir]

Is it possible to modify BHA-1 to have higher output impedance? The 300Ohm Sennheisers and 600Ohm Beyerdynamics love that.

[James Tanner]

Is it possible to modify BHA-1 to have higher output impedance? The 300Ohm Sennheisers and 600Ohm Beyerdynamics love that.

I would think so but I would check with Mike.

james