Hi Folks,
News from the Front on the Bryston BHA-1 headphone Amp:
MLee
Location: Kentucky
I've had my BHA-1 Headphone amp a couple weeks now. First off I'll say this amp is way more than I need. I figured that it will be a nice amp to have no matter what headphones I try now and in the future.
My two current headphones are the Ultrasone Edition 8 and the Audio Technica W3000anv. Both are easy to drive but show improvement with amplification, and the Bryston made both sound exceptional. I'm not a reviewer nor an advanced audiophile, but the difference in the Bryston versus the Burson 160 or the Objective 2 is somewhere between definite and substantial.
The detail and the "Fullness", for lack of a better term, of the sound is exceptional. Crisp with impact. While the other amps pair well with these two headphones the Bryston is just a step up, no doubt about it. I'm sure others that have harder to drive phones are going to find the Bryston worth every penny. Yeah, it's more than some/most of us spend on an amp in this hobby, but if you have the ability to get it you won't be disappointed.
BlackstoneJD
Location: Chicago, IL
This BHA-1 is such a bad mutha!
I would honestly just get one if you can and then spend the rest of your head-fi dom playing around with Dacs, cables and phones. I hooked it up to the old DCS stack tonight and god damn it was good. I simply cannot imagine a better amplifier. All of the sonic signature of that system came right through, super black between the notes and dead quiet, superb soundstage and imaging, and detail and nuance to die for without a hint of fatigue. The material was 44.1khz and 96khz up-sampled to DSD via the DCS up-sampler.
I am simply done with headphone amps for now. Now it is on to better software, power conditioning, and little tinfoil hat tweaks. I have never enjoyed my music more. Even my dad (dCS owner) was impressed.
It isn't just an amp, this must be state of the art right now for solid state.
Now that it is broke in, I just love how right when those loud congested passages come in where you think you are going to get an earful of shreaking pain, the BHA-1 (and PS1000s) sort it all out into a million tiny little waves tickling your ear drums.
Yes, I love this system