BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER

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James Tanner

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BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« on: 27 Feb 2012, 04:38 pm »
Hi Folks,

Thought I would start a new thread for feedback on the new Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier.

Below is the response PMC got from their demo at the 2012 Bristol Hi-Fi Show.


MEMO: To All Bryston Customers                                                                                   
SUBJECT: NEW Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier


Dear James

Feedback from the Bristol 2012 S&V Show on the BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMP.

Demo System:

•   Sennheiser HD800 & HD650 (Single ended)
•   Bryston BDP-1 Digital Player
•   Bryston BDA-1 External DAC
•   Bryston BHA-1 Headphone Amplifier




CUSTOMER RESPONSE TO BHA-1:

•  Super product, thumbs up from all persons who used the BHA-1
  (So much so that Sennheiser were sending clients for demos as it was far better than theirs)

•   Easy to use

•   Liked the build quality

•   Superb bass response

•   Has the ability to drive any phone plugged into it

•  Greater high level performance than other products



Kindest regards,
Keith 
« Last Edit: 27 Feb 2012, 06:10 pm by James Tanner »

Vipers

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #1 on: 27 Feb 2012, 05:05 pm »
Thanks for the update James, as you know I'm looking forward to getting my BHA-1 asap, even more so now :) is it in production yet?

« Last Edit: 28 Feb 2012, 09:22 am by Vipers »

James Tanner

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #2 on: 28 Feb 2012, 12:05 pm »
Thanks for the update James, as you know I'm looking forward to getting my BHA-1 asap, even more so now :) is it in production yet?

We have 6 units being built and if all is well we will start full production soon.

James

Vipers

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #3 on: 28 Feb 2012, 12:26 pm »
Excellent, I'll get my PS's warmed up and ready :)

James Tanner

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #4 on: 9 Mar 2012, 06:29 pm »
Hi Folks,

I have a PDF of the new BHA-1 Headphone amp Owners Manual  - email me if you want a copy.

jamestanner@bryston.com

james

Moon Doggy

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #5 on: 11 Mar 2012, 01:25 am »
I'll have to demo the BHA-1 with my Ultrasone Pro-2900s as soon as it arrives at my dealer.

Amazing products..

 :thumb: Bryston flat out rocks!  :thumb:

Vipers

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #6 on: 13 Mar 2012, 07:51 pm »
Hey guys,

In anticipation of the launch of the Bryston BHA-1 in a couple of weeks (hopefully) and as a thank you to anyone who comes in on Saturday, to our PMC/Bryston open day at Zinc-HT, I've managed to get the bosses to agree to hold a draw at the end of the day for one lucky winner to receive a new pair of the award winning Grado SR325i's absolutely free.

These normally retail for around £350, it was the 325i's that I first heard when comparing different headphones which led me down the Grado path to the PS1000's that I eventually ended up with, they really do sound great, here is some more info -

Grado SR325i Open Back Headphones

I'm going to get Mrs Vipers to sneak in and register, I'm sure no one will notice  ;)

milford3

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #7 on: 13 Mar 2012, 08:09 pm »
How about a tubed model.

Anonamemouse

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #8 on: 13 Mar 2012, 09:12 pm »
Hey guys,

In anticipation of the launch of the Bryston BHA-1 in a couple of weeks (hopefully) and as a thank you to anyone who comes in on Saturday, to our PMC/Bryston open day at Zinc-HT, I've managed to get the bosses to agree to hold a draw at the end of the day for one lucky winner to receive a new pair of the award winning Grado SR325i's absolutely free.

These normally retail for around £350, it was the 325i's that I first heard when comparing different headphones which led me down the Grado path to the PS1000's that I eventually ended up with, they really do sound great, here is some more info -

Grado SR325i Open Back Headphones

I'm going to get Mrs Vipers to sneak in and register, I'm sure no one will notice  ;)

How about I mail you my details and you fill in the card?

spinner

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #9 on: 13 Mar 2012, 10:55 pm »
 Oh please James , never go the tube route. I like Bryston for what it has accomplished in the SS world.  :thumb:

James Tanner

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #10 on: 13 Mar 2012, 11:40 pm »
Oh please James , never go the tube route. I like Bryston for what it has accomplished in the SS world.  :thumb:

Not to worry - tubes are not on our radar.

James

spinner

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #11 on: 13 Mar 2012, 11:58 pm »
 ::thankyou... :thumb:

Vipers

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #12 on: 14 Mar 2012, 09:49 am »
How about I mail you my details and you fill in the card?

I guess you can be here in spirit :wink:

Anonamemouse

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #13 on: 14 Mar 2012, 10:50 am »
I actually have been in your shop once, about 5 years ago I think.

Vipers

Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #14 on: 14 Mar 2012, 09:54 pm »
I actually have been in your shop once, about 5 years ago I think.

Not a bad attempt considering we only opened 18 months ago :lol:

But that is good enough for me :wink:

Anonamemouse

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #15 on: 15 Mar 2012, 07:59 am »
Uhm... Oops... In that case it was another place that had Bryston.
I only strolled in then, but it made me realize that a Bryston amp would be a good replacement for my old Aaron amp.

James Tanner

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #16 on: 26 Mar 2012, 12:07 am »
Lappy 
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I brought my Audeze LCD-2 at the Montreal show in hope to find a suitable amp for these. I currently have a Perreaux SXH-2 and it's sound really good but I have to push the amp at least at 3 o'clock position on the volume knob to feel my music (I listen really loud). As I was on a mission, I intentionnaly skipped all the speakers demos (much more present than headphone as you can imagine).

At the show, I tried Centrance Dac-mini, Yulong D-100, Grace 902 (all dac + amp) and Woo Audio WA6-SE. They all sound good but not better than my Perreaux (the Woo Audio was the best of the group).

Then, just out of curiosity, I have decided to stop by Bryston room. As a Canadian, Bryston have always been a proud and mythic brand for me. I have Considered some of their products when I was younger but never been able to afford any Bryston products.

I didn't expect to find any headphone related products. But at the end of the room, past all the speakers set-ups, there was this table with two headphone amplifiers prototype (one black and one silver) along with Grado headphones. The silver one was set-up for balanced headphones in balanced configuration from the source. Even if my Audeze LCD-2 have a SE plug, I tried the balanced set-up.

Listening to all genre of music but mostly to electronica, trance, psytrance, I am looking for a strong, accurate and fast bass but not at the price of masking low midrange details and with good high frequency extension.

How was the Bryston sound? in one word AMAZING! this is exactly the sound I was searching for. Smooth, detailed, ample and with extraordinary deep, tight and accurate bass. Listening to some of Deadmau5 tracks with the Bryston, was litteraly sublime. I immediatly felt in love with this beast. I never past the 12 o'clock position on the volume knob (with high gain).

But my budget was between $500 to a thousand. I listened to the Bryston before asking the price. I expect it to be around $2000 or something. No, in fact it had a retail of $1295! Wow! There is no way I am turning back to this unit for about $300 over my budget.

I tried my best to convinced James Tanner (a really kind man that seems down to earth) to sell me the prototype at the end of the show. He told me he can't because the prototype have not yet been approved. I told him it was approved by me! But James was really comprehensive about my enthousiasm and he brought me to a Bryston reseller who had a room near Bryston and facilitate the contact with the manager. In a minute, we had an agreement and I will be a futur owner of a Bryston BHA-1. i will link it to my incoming Wyred4sound DAC-2 in balanced configuration. I can't wait

I would like to sincerely thanks James Tanner for his patience (I think I shooked his hand about ten time!) and kindness.

Kudo to Bryston.

Steve Lapierre

DaveNote

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #17 on: 26 Mar 2012, 11:31 am »
Lappy 
Junior Member
    
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 1

I brought my Audeze LCD-2 at the Montreal show in hope to find a suitable amp for these. I currently have a Perreaux SXH-2 and it's sound really good but I have to push the amp at least at 3 o'clock position on the volume knob to feel my music (I listen really loud). As I was on a mission, I intentionnaly skipped all the speakers demos (much more present than headphone as you can imagine).

At the show, I tried Centrance Dac-mini, Yulong D-100, Grace 902 (all dac + amp) and Woo Audio WA6-SE. They all sound good but not better than my Perreaux (the Woo Audio was the best of the group).

Then, just out of curiosity, I have decided to stop by Bryston room. As a Canadian, Bryston have always been a proud and mythic brand for me. I have Considered some of their products when I was younger but never been able to afford any Bryston products.

I didn't expect to find any headphone related products. But at the end of the room, past all the speakers set-ups, there was this table with two headphone amplifiers prototype (one black and one silver) along with Grado headphones. The silver one was set-up for balanced headphones in balanced configuration from the source. Even if my Audeze LCD-2 have a SE plug, I tried the balanced set-up.

Listening to all genre of music but mostly to electronica, trance, psytrance, I am looking for a strong, accurate and fast bass but not at the price of masking low midrange details and with good high frequency extension.

How was the Bryston sound? in one word AMAZING! this is exactly the sound I was searching for. Smooth, detailed, ample and with extraordinary deep, tight and accurate bass. Listening to some of Deadmau5 tracks with the Bryston, was litteraly sublime. I immediatly felt in love with this beast. I never past the 12 o'clock position on the volume knob (with high gain).

But my budget was between $500 to a thousand. I listened to the Bryston before asking the price. I expect it to be around $2000 or something. No, in fact it had a retail of $1295! Wow! There is no way I am turning back to this unit for about $300 over my budget.

I tried my best to convinced James Tanner (a really kind man that seems down to earth) to sell me the prototype at the end of the show. He told me he can't because the prototype have not yet been approved. I told him it was approved by me! But James was really comprehensive about my enthousiasm and he brought me to a Bryston reseller who had a room near Bryston and facilitate the contact with the manager. In a minute, we had an agreement and I will be a futur owner of a Bryston BHA-1. i will link it to my incoming Wyred4sound DAC-2 in balanced configuration. I can't wait

I would like to sincerely thanks James Tanner for his patience (I think I shooked his hand about ten time!) and kindness.

Kudo to Bryston.

Steve Lapierre

Thanks, James, for this quote. As an LCD-2 owner, this is just the kind of assessment of the BHA-1 I have been looking for - one comparing its performance against tube amps and the kind of sound produced on it using the Audeze cans.

Dave

« Last Edit: 26 Mar 2012, 11:44 am by James Tanner »

James Tanner

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #18 on: 26 Mar 2012, 11:44 am »
Thanks, James, for this quote. As an LCD-2 owner, this is just the kind of assessment of the BHA-1 I have been looking for - one comparing its performance against tube amps and the kind of sound produced on it using the Audeze cans.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Yes the BHA-1 seems to be getting great feedback so far. 

We have used them at a show in England with Sennheiser and in Montreal with a group of different priced Grado's and of course the headphones that attendees brought with them.

james

DaveNote

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Re: BRYSTON BHA-1 HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
« Reply #19 on: 26 Mar 2012, 11:53 am »
James, Lappy writes that the BHA-1 price will be $1295. Is that now the correct Canadian retail price?

And what is the current estimate on when the units will be shipped?

Dave