C&C BH Portable Headphone Amp (80 Hours from a Single Charge!) [Buyer Review] - Page 48

Just ordered my BH amp!

Can't wait for it to arrive after the Pollychen is done with their time off! 

for those craving for holy grail how about this? http://www.avguide.com/blog/first-listen-meridian-explorer-usb-dac?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email-72

looks like high end audio makers are now deciding slowly to enter portable market and listening to my Musical Fidelity IEMs i can only say the others must fear this :-)

i am now to try double amping BH with ZO2, report results then.

i did a quick listen to YES Magnification album with double amping C3 via BH and ZO2. what can i say. i did not like it. immediate problem i note is losing soundstage depth, background noise and congested sound. what you get in return is meatier bass and mid range presentation though mids become too much in your face and too digitally thick. yes you gain great bass and at first moment you smile saying to yourself ''Yes, i made it'' but after a few minute listening you begin to feel you are missing something and the more you listen the more you realize that stage depth, detailing, air and instrument separation all become compromised in this double amping chain.

if you still want double amping C3 the best result gives this connection sequence: C3 -> BH -> ZO2 ... at least it preserves some C3 and BH signature but ZO2 kills fair amount of stage and details layering... you also realize digital noise is eating something in musical presentation and the whole listen experience becomes less pleasing.... but BASS, yes BASS is heavy and some detailing is preserved. the whole experience is too much in your face while in congested soundstage. music shouts at you rather than flowing... 

worst result was: C3 -> ZO2 -> BH - congested sound, you feel like BH is gone and this is only ZO2 working, trebles are worst, bass too powerful but lush and brings only quantity. i would not advise this combination, better throw away the whole setup than listen to this result.

for what is worth. i find YES Magnification a very good material for using this in testing. it has very complex polyphony and blends well rock & symphonic sounds and has tremendous soundstage and slam.... believe me this material i also used on testing some very expensive gear and many listeners agreed that Magnification is very demanding and revealing material good for critical listen.

from my test i hear it that BH is fine amp and C3-BH combo are doing their best to bring you natural music. put something else in between them and it kills this marriage.

so if you want gain bass i would recommend you try experimenting with various IEMs. ZO2 is good on its own but is no solution for double amping and can only kill some nice things you get with BH. 

for what is worth and i do not have golden ears but i tried hard my best.

NB: if you have a chance to do same comparison take YES Magnification album and listen to composition ''We Agree'' or ''Dreamtime''... this will reveal any gear faults immediately. alternative is to take ''Eyes Wide Shut'' soundtrack from Stanley Kubrick movie which is very amazing album nearly made for audiophile gear testing and critical listening. the first musical theme is pure piano and it immediately shows you acoustical limitations of your gear, then continue listening into Waltz Jazz Suite II and so forth, the whole album is amazing and nicely combined.

yes, forgot one small detail, as i expected double amping with ZO2 makes ZO2 hissing all more so apparent, for me this worked unacceptable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gintaras 

yes, forgot one small detail, as i expected double amping with ZO2 makes ZO2 hissing all more so apparent, for me this worked unacceptable.

Thanks, is this with IEMs though? I think you were an IEM user if I read it right. So guess it shouldn't be a problem with headphones. At least double amping with 2x ZO's wasn't a prob hissing wise for me (yes I've tested this and it was quite hilarious the bass, something you wouldn't think was possible from headphones)

I personally like an  "In-your-face" / music "shouting" at me presentation so I might actually like the double-amped sound I'm guessing. I just find it much more engaging while a laid-back / distant sound leaves me bored. For me when listening to music I just want to be engaged and feel like I have to dance while I'm guessing you're the opposite kind that rather likes to "analyze" the music why you like more "distance".

I'd describe ZO2.1 to have a more closer  to such signature versus ZO2.3 why I tend to like the ZO2.1 more, it's a more thick, meatier, in-your-face midrange compared to ZO2.3. I like big bass + forward mids. So guess it's worth checking out for me then.

i have the latest ZO2 so this is 2.3, i love this in subwoofer mode but switching into amping mode i do not like ZO that much.

my IEMs are magical, these are Musical Fidelity EB50 which some users rated over W4 or similar much higher price IEMs. i can only admit that Musical Fidelity somehow pulled a rabbit out of their hat with this IEM, in one word they are amazing IEMs and i doubt i can hear anything better unless going above 500$ IEMs.

i am not sure about full sized headphones because what i hear from double amping is loss of soundstage, naturalness of presentation and congested sound coming back. i do not think this will go away with full sized phones IMHO or at least from experience i had with high-end gear this will not improve. this is all about source and not earphones you have, and i feel ZO compromises clarity and lucidity in favor of bass way too much.

so i am sure for me this double amping did not work but you surely can try this out and may be you will like this. to each his own.

yes, i also love rich mids, tight yet punchy pass and silky smooth transients from upper mids into trebles... all this i have on my hifi rig which delivers incredible bass too which shakes walls but never shakes floor so in a way similar to concert equipment which punches you right in your stomach. Naim CDP also have that marvelous in-your-face presentation without sacrificing details and else.

that said what i hear from ZO is very far from what i described above, ZO is mostly adding meat to the bones but one problem i find is i still want to see some bones in details which are all shallow with ZO and i cannot tolerate shrinking soundstage which makes in your face too aggressive and simplistic and too flat sounding.

in effect ZO removes the effect of presence and no matter in your face presentation you feel a glass wall between you and singer growing. remove ZO and C3+BH spring to life and glass wall disappears ... or such was my impression.