[CanadianMaestro]

Hey Antun,

I have an HD650. Not overly difficult to drive as the 800, but every bit helps. 

If your dealer has/is a good tech with excellent soldering skills, then the Bryston Factory isn't req'd for this.   

cheers

[R. Daneel]

Hey Antun,

I have an HD650. Not overly difficult to drive as the 800, but every bit helps. 

If your dealer has/is a good tech with excellent soldering skills, then the Bryston Factory isn't req'd for this.   

cheers

Oh, I really think online comments with respect to HD800 being difficult to drive are way exaggerated. It is no more difficult to drive than the HD650. AKG K701 is far more demanding in reality. Unlike the Sennheiser which require a bit of voltage, AKG K701 requires current. It's a theory of mine that AKG is sort of like ATC speakers. Very flat and responsive but rather demanding of current because of flat wire voice-coils which AKG also employs in the K701.

I think what they mean by "difficult to drive" is that it is difficult to find an amplifier that matches well with it's "sound signature". Still, I don't really agree with that either. HD800 is very revealing of up-stream components so it will show any flaw. To find components that are similarly revealing is a challenge but ultimately worth the time if you value an honest approach to listening to music without "impressionism".

This modification is way too complicated for my distributor. I have had some problems with them before. If I'll be going ahead with this, it'll be done by Bryston themselves or not at all.

Cheers!
Antun

[CanadianMaestro]

You should try a PM like HE560. Heaven with the BHA-1.

[R. Daneel]

You should try a PM like HE560. Heaven with the BHA-1.

Well, Hifiman is off the limits where I live. I heard only good things about them though.

[won ton on]

Does anyone have any comments with a BHA-1 and Audeze LCD-X

[CanadianMaestro]

Well, Hifiman is off the limits where I live. I heard only good things about them though.

The HE400 is a fantastic can and costs much less.

[R. Daneel]

The HE400 is a fantastic can and costs much less.

Oh no, I didn't it mean it like that. What I meant was that Hifiman is not to be found anywhere in Croatia. There's one dealer but of course, they are nothing but order takers and expect you to pay in full in advance before they even order the headphones. Seems very little sense to buy a pair of headphones you have not heard, especially with so much competition. In any case, the prices are ridiculous nonetheless. If something costs 1 dollar in the US, you can be sure it will cost 2 dollars in Croatia, even if it is a European-made product.

[CanadianMaestro]

 

Must be dealers in nearby Italy and Austria...try the audio marts?

cheers

[R. Daneel]

Must be dealers in nearby Italy and Austria...try the audio marts?

cheers

Foreign dealers would leave me with the same problem of not being able to listen to the equipment before purchase. Like I said, all of these nitwits are nothing but order-takers. It is surprising to me how little the manufacturers care about who's representing them because the distributor/dealer network is directly responsible for the sales. In a somewhat traditional country like Croatia dealers that have zero stuff when you walk into a room don't last more than a couple of months. If they are about to pay a premium for something, people expect quality and expect to be able to see it and hear it before they buy. This is why only pro-oriented dealers who usually sell musical instruments prosper among audiophiles. They often sell traditional brands of headphones like Sennheiser, AKG and Beyerdynamic. In fact, I am aware of only a handful of stores in Croatia where you can directly try a dozen or more headphones.

Whatever they choose to call it, it's really poverty. You'll have one hell of a time trying to sell a luxury item that ISN'T a smartphone. But sell bananas at 50% discount and you'll be packed to the roof.

Cheers!
Antun

[NekoAudio]

Does anyone have any comments with a BHA-1 and Audeze LCD-X

We're using the BHA-1 as the reference headphone amp with the Audeze LCD headphones in our demo setup. One of our customers is using the BHA-1 with the Audeze LCD-X.

[won ton on]

NekoAudio         Thanks for the reply.

[R. Daneel]

Any thoughts regarding the Sennheiser HD660S?

[rob80b]

Any thoughts regarding the Sennheiser HD660S?

The HD660 in IMHO is a fine sounding headphone and nice fresh approach to its aging 600/650 brethren which continue to hold the test of time. Performs great off the BHA-1 but no slouch off less capable amps due to its lower impedance.
So if you're a fan of the 600 series midrange but wished for clearer extended highs and better controlled base over the 600/650 then the the 660S should work quite adequately and are more engaging but having said that one may still prefer the warmer more laid back and forgiving character of the originals.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd660s-finally-a-successor-for-the-hd650.862308/page-154#post-14058001

[R. Daneel]

The HD660 in IMHO is a fine sounding headphone and nice fresh approach to its aging 600/650 brethren which continue to hold the test of time. Performs great off the BHA-1 but no slouch off less capable amps due to its lower impedance.
So if you're a fan of the 600 series midrange but wished for clearer extended highs and better controlled base over the 600/650 then the the 660S should work quite adequately and are more engaging but having said that one may still prefer the warmer more laid back and forgiving character of the originals.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd660s-finally-a-successor-for-the-hd650.862308/page-154#post-14058001

Thank you!

I have had an HD650 but was foolish enough to sell it a few years later. I got a T1 instead which proved to be unreliable. I had to send it to Beyerdynamic twice only to eventually sell it as non-working. At that point I had already sold the HD650 and realized how big of a mistake it was.

I liked the HD650 but at times wished it had more detail in the treble. HD660S would perhaps be more suited for my taste.

Cheers!
Antun

[rob80b]

I’ve owned 2 pairs of HD650s and the Massdrop HD6xx, not to mention the HD580/600s....even though they covered most of the bases they all left me disinterested no matter how hard I tried to accommodate them. So for my own personal preferences the HD660S were for me a breath of fresh air but then I was also a fan of the HD700s.

[R. Daneel]

I’ve owned 2 pairs of HD650s and the Massdrop HD6xx, not to mention the HD580/600s....even though they covered most of the bases they all left me disinterested no matter how hard I tried to accommodate them. So for my own personal preferences the HD660S were for me a breath of fresh air but then I was also a fan of the HD700s.

Hi Rob!

Can you please tell me more about the differences between HD660S and HD700?

Cheers,
Antun

[rob80b]

I think it can be generally agreed upon that the 660S to many, not all, is a refreshing face lift to the 600/650 by maintaining the cherished mid-range but producing better extended clearer highs and quicker better defined bass. The HD700 is quite different IMHO and a nice departure from the 600 series sound signature, not quite the 800 but it produced a fairly extended sound stage, deeper and better extended bass over the HD6XXs, the recessed mid-range put some off but that was what made the 700s more speaker like. Also IMHO I've come to believe that if the 700s were not powered properly it resulted in some complaining bitterly about its extended highs, ...which were never a problem off the Bryston BCD-1/BHA-1 combo, of which I believe actually added to the realism and excitement of the recording. 

[won ton on]

James        I will be looking for a headphone amp in the fall,is the bha-1 available with a blue led.

[James Tanner]

James        I will be looking for a headphone amp in the fall,is the bha-1 available with a blue led.

Hi

Yes we can do that as a special order.

James

[won ton on]

James            thanks for quick reply.