BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

Marius · « **Reply #660 on:** 1 Aug 2013, 10:40 am »

Hi!

been enjoying 2 complete live Wagner Rings these last weeks (Proms, Bayreuth) with my BHA1/HD800. Total bliss and no fatigue on the head or ears whatsoever. Many, many ours of constant listening. Great combination they make. (only complaint is the lack of remote control, but thats beside this topic...)

The issue at hand is that my fellow housemates didn't enjoy it as much as I did.... And now I am on the lookout for a closed Headphone, with the same specifications: great comfort, great sound, overear, and , of course: no external radiation. What would be your best bet? Please let me know.

And while your at it: Im looking for a set of in-ears too. Been commuting quite a bit lately, and will for the time coming, so need a great pair of eardbuds, that filter out all train noise.... seen the Sennheisers http://nl-nl.sennheiser.com/in-ear-headphones-earphones-ie-800-ceramic (almost as expensive as the HD800's) but Grado offers some too http://www.gradolabs.com/page_headphones.php?item=6678c09cae1e8f02045b1733923ed4b6, amongst others. Some guidance would be appreciated. Don;t want to have a pair of B&W p5's or the likes, I feel even more awkward looking than without already...

Thanks,
Marius

ttsto · « **Reply #661 on:** 1 Aug 2013, 04:52 pm »

Hi
For IEMs I would recommend Comply Foam plugs, great comfort and isolation
I use SoundMagic IEM, great value for about 30 pounds.
Best
Titi

Marius · « **Reply #662 on:** 12 Aug 2013, 06:40 am »

HI ,

on the search for closed or sealed headphones the choice so far is between Ultrasone http://www.ultrasone.com/index.php/en/products/edition-8.html and Audio Technica http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/5215eb84d110cad5/

James, have you listened to these 2 phones on the BHA1? Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Marius

dodgy · « **Reply #663 on:** 12 Aug 2013, 09:07 am »

Greetings from NZ! I have just received my new silver BHA-1 after trialling that and the HDVD800 with my HD800s. I got all brave and reterminated the standard cable with a 4-pin XLR (which I did for the trial).

Quick question, perhaps one that James and/or the modders can answer. I see a couple of 4,700uF polarised caps bang in the signal path. Now, most amps where I have seen such beasts in such places, I have either replaced them with bipolars and bypass caps, or removed them altogether. I have experienced great results in replacing the Jamicon caps in my MF DM25 DAC with Elna Silmics.

Now, putting warranty issues aside as I figure that my 20 year warranty would be void if I got anywhere near it with a soldering iron - are these really necessary? Has anyone modded them and what was the result. I figure that if my DAC has input caps, then why have these, although they would help make this bulletproof.

Apologies if I have started a war...

Maxvla · « **Reply #664 on:** 12 Aug 2013, 09:12 pm »

I'm a little disappointed in the demand and resale value of the BHA-1. I've been trying to sell mine for over 4 months for as much as $350 off new ($1295) and in basically mint condition and I have literally zero interest.

Is this typical of Bryston products? If so you won't see me buying Bryston again. This is pretty frustrating.

budcook · « **Reply #665 on:** 12 Aug 2013, 11:46 pm »

Quote from: Maxvla on 12 Aug 2013, 09:12 pm

I'm a little disappointed in the demand and resale value of the BHA-1. I've been trying to sell mine for over 4 months for as much as $350 off new ($1295) and in basically mint condition and I have literally zero interest.

Is this typical of Bryston products? If so you won't see me buying Bryston again. This is pretty frustrating.

To clarify, have you been offering it for $945? On eBay or AudiogoN?

Bud

Maxvla · « **Reply #666 on:** 13 Aug 2013, 01:52 am »

Head-fi.org and just edited my sale post here today to drop the price for the third time.

budcook · « **Reply #667 on:** 13 Aug 2013, 02:03 am »

Quote from: Maxvla on 13 Aug 2013, 01:52 am

Head-fi.org and just edited my sale post here today to drop the price for the third time.

Try AudiogoN. They only charge $4 to list it and 2% of the sale price. You may get more action there than where you have it. I've had good luck with them.

Do you have the box for the amp as well as a receipt from a Bryston dealer to validate the warranty?

Bud

Maxvla · « **Reply #668 on:** 13 Aug 2013, 02:16 am »

Yes to both. I'm not a fan of audiogon, but I might have to resort to it. I thought I would keep it to headphone and bryston favored boards thinking it would sell quickly.

Grit · « **Reply #669 on:** 13 Aug 2013, 05:42 am »

I think you'll have better luck on Audiogon. I don't think it's a question of Bryston's quality or resale value as much as it is of not reaching enough potential buyers.

95Dyna · « **Reply #670 on:** 13 Aug 2013, 02:30 pm »

Quote from: Maxvla on 12 Aug 2013, 09:12 pm

I'm a little disappointed in the demand and resale value of the BHA-1. I've been trying to sell mine for over 4 months for as much as $350 off new ($1295) and in basically mint condition and I have literally zero interest.

Is this typical of Bryston products? If so you won't see me buying Bryston again. This is pretty frustrating.

I think the suggestion you are making that Bryston products don't have a good resale value based on the experience you have described is off base. First off you can find a Bryston dealer that will sell you a brand new factory sealed unit for a little over $1K. No matter how new or pristine your unit is used product buyers are always looking for a deal that at minimum would be 25% under what they could by it for new so in your case you're now down to $750.00 Secondly, headphone amps are not a large market compared to other Bryston products. Try this with a BDP-1 or a 4B SST2 and see what response you get. This product is very highly reviewed, is of typical bullet proof Bryston quality and from what I can tell is selling well. I think your problem is you are asking too much for it.

Maxvla · « **Reply #671 on:** 13 Aug 2013, 07:58 pm »

I didn't know you could get a new one for $1000, how are people getting $400 off? I bought the first BHA-1 sold so it was $1295. You said 25% should be deducted and $350 off $1295 is 27%. I am in line with your suggestion, except it seems I'm being gutted by gray market dealers. This is where the blame falls on Bryston for allowing the value to fall so much. Denon had the same problem with their D5000/7000 headphones where they first sold for nearly twice what gray market dealers eventually sold them for and their value was forever lowered because Denon never protected their product until it was far too late.

95Dyna · « **Reply #672 on:** 14 Aug 2013, 01:14 pm »

Quote from: Maxvla on 13 Aug 2013, 07:58 pm

I didn't know you could get a new one for $1000, how are people getting $400 off? I bought the first BHA-1 sold so it was $1295. You said 25% should be deducted and $350 off $1295 is 27%. I am in line with your suggestion, except it seems I'm being gutted by gray market dealers. This is where the blame falls on Bryston for allowing the value to fall so much. Denon had the same problem with their D5000/7000 headphones where they first sold for nearly twice what gray market dealers eventually sold them for and their value was forever lowered because Denon never protected their product until it was far too late.

I'm just trying to help you out by encouraging you to be realistic. First, I didn't say "people" were getting $400.00 off on the price of the BHA-1. I said you can buy one at $1K+if you shop around. It's been my experience that some dealers sell at list price and others up to 15or 16% off list. For example, if you don't have a dealer in the area and all the dealer is doing is ordering the product from the factory shipped directly to you they will sometimes acknowledge that "no value add" transaction by selling at less than list price. Another example are systems integrators who make most of their money from design and labor will sometimes offer a "cash and carry price" that is less than list. Where I got the $1K+ estimate was assuming a 15% reduction from the $1,295.00 list price you cited. 15% of $1,295 is less than $200.00.

As for Bryston's role in devaluing the resale price of the BHA-1 or any other of their products, nothing could be further from the truth. They have no control what happens to their products after they are shipped to authorized dealers. A lot of these gray market outlets will pick up the stock from dealers when they go out of business or for some other reason. Bryston goes out of its way to warn buyers to stay away from the gray marketers. They even list their names on the web site.

The primary reason I'm responding to you is not to get in a pissing contest as to why you find yourself in this situation but to dispel the hostile attitude you are showing towards Bryston by blaming them for your predicament. As an owner of several of their products I have found them to have the highest level of integrity in their products, business dealings and above all customer service and focus.

Maxvla · « **Reply #673 on:** 14 Aug 2013, 04:37 pm »

I think you would have a hostile attitude if you were told 57% ($750) was the best you could get from selling a product in perfect condition with the build quality and warranty Bryston offers.

By the way, $1295 was only for the first 100 or so units before they changed the BHA-1 and it went up to $1395. They added a pair of XLR outputs so it would integrate better into a larger system. So yes, I saved $100 buying it early, but now I can't sell it because it doesn't have that feature. Compound that with what you are suggesting for a reasonable selling price, and I may not even get 50% out of this. You better believe I'm hostile.

Blackstone · « **Reply #674 on:** 16 Aug 2013, 05:00 am »

Why would you sell it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

budcook · « **Reply #675 on:** 16 Aug 2013, 05:03 am »

Quote from: Blackstone on 16 Aug 2013, 05:00 am

Why would you sell it. You'd have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

That's how I feel about it.

Maxvla · « **Reply #676 on:** 16 Aug 2013, 05:28 am »

Upgrading to Headamp GS-X II

Marius · « **Reply #677 on:** 16 Aug 2013, 06:38 am »

Don't know about the rest of the GS-X HeadAmp, but wished Bryston would have thought about those locked XLR at the back (Bryston says are not possible), and.......the loop connections.
Now that would have solved a great deal of inconsistency in their own lineup

and prevented switching cables all the time, or, as in my case, have the BDA1 use its rca connection to the bp26, to favor the BHa1 with the balanced ones.
If only.

Cheers.

Marius

Quote from: Maxvla on 16 Aug 2013, 05:28 am

Upgrading to Headamp GS-X II

dodgy · « **Reply #678 on:** 19 Aug 2013, 07:52 pm »

So, I take it that no one has considered removing or bypassing these electrolytic caps? James?

I have left it powered up for the last week and are thoroughly enjoying it. The distributor will have a demo BDA-2 in the next few weeks, look forward to seeing how that performs.

James Tanner · « **Reply #679 on:** 19 Aug 2013, 08:04 pm »

Quote from: dodgy on 19 Aug 2013, 07:52 pm

So, I take it that no one has considered removing or bypassing these electrolytic caps? James?

I have left it powered up for the last week and are thoroughly enjoying it. The distributor will have a demo BDA-2 in the next few weeks, look forward to seeing how that performs.

Hi

They are there for safty reasons to prevent any chance of DC from being passed on.

james