That's a very specific question Dave - one that I don't believe has been directly addressed. In simple general terms, acknowledging that this will vary depending on the headphones, the question then is:
Does the BHA-1 sound different, specifically in term of warmth/body and perhaps liquidity/smoothness, than the integrated headphone amps supplied standard in Bryston preamp/processors?
Thank you, SoundGame. You have asked a question I've tried to get the answer to from James for months, but obviously I have not used the right words and have fumbled the ball. I hope that now that you have expressed it so well, James will be able to answer it.
I've also tried to make the point that unless the BHA-1 is better not only in the terms you have described, but in every other way, then why in hell would Bryston want to have developed it, or, in fact, dare to sell it to its loyal customers?
if it isn't better than the headphone operation on a Bryston integrated device like the SP3 or BP26, then why would Bryston have spent time, effort and money to develop it and bring it to market? I would like to know what James's ultimate goals were for the BHA-1. A headphone amp for users without Bryston integrated devices? A headphone amp just to add one more device to that growing market?
James is great at keeping his ear to to ground in terms of what Bryston customers want. It seems to me he discovered a lot of us are into headphones. So if his intent was not to do better than the headphone option many of us have already on our Bryston integrated devices, then with respect, what was the point?
And if you owned an SP3 or BP26, went out and bought a BHA-1 on faith (as I did with my BDA and BDP), only to discover that it performed no better than your headphone jack, wouldn't you be pissed off? I would.
Dave